We shall tell you about the three of them who, on entering the forest, found Idiot tied to a tree. He was screaming continuously because of the unbearable pain. Pilgrim approached and said to him, laughing, "Dear son-inlaw! It's getting rather late, and you still haven't got around to performing the proper ceremony of thanking your parents or announcing your marriage to Master. You are still having a grand old time playing games here! Hey! Where's your mama? Where's your wife? What a dear son-in-law, all bound and beaten!" When Idiot heard such ridicule, he was so mortified that he clenched his teeth to try to endure the pain without malting any more noise. Sha Monk, however, could not bear to look at him; he put down the luggage and went forward to untie the ropes. After he was freed, Idiot could only drop to his knees and kowtow toward the sky, for he was filled with shame. For him we have as a testimony this lyric to the tune of "Moon Over West River":
Eros is a sword injurious:
Live by it and you will be slain.
The lady so fair and lovely at sixteen
Is more vicious than a ya~a!
You have but one principal sum;
You can't add profit to your purse.
Guard and keep well your precious capital,
Which you must not squander and waste.
Scooping up some dirt and scattering it like incense, Eight Rules bowed to the sky. "Did you recognize those bodhisattvas at all?" asked Pilgrim. "I was in a stupor, about to faint;' replied Eight Rules. "How could I recognize anyone?" Pilgrim then handed him the slip of paper. When Eight Rules saw
the gāthā, he was more embarrassed than ever. "Second Brother does have
all the luck," said Sha Monk with a laugh, "for you have attracted these four bodhisattvas here to become your wives!" "Brother;' said Eight Rules, "let's not ever mention that again! It's blasphemy! From now on, I'll never dare do such foolish things again. Even if it breaks my bones, I'll carry the pole and luggage to follow Master to the West." "You are finally speaking sensibly;' said Tripitaka.
Pilgrim then led his master up the main road, and after journeying for a long time, they suddenly came upon a tall mountain. Pulling in the reins, Tripitaka said, "Disciples, let's be careful as we travel up this mountain before us, for there may be monsters seeking to harm us." ·~ead of your horse you have the three of us;' said Pilgrim. "Why fear the monsters?" Reassured by these words, the elder proceeded. That mountain is truly a magnificent mountain:
A tall mountain most rugged,
Its shape both lofty and grand.
Its root joins the Kunlun 2 ranges;
Its top reaches to the sky.
White cranes come oft to perch on junipers;
Black apes hang .frequently on the vines.
As the sun lights up the forest,
Strands upon strands of red mist are circling;
As wind rises from dark gorges,
Ten thousand pink cloud pieces soar and fly.
Hidden birds sing madly in green bamboos;
Pheasants do battle amidst wildflowers.
You see that Thousand-Year Peak,
That Five-Blessings3 Peak,
And the Hibiscus Peak-
They all glow and shimmer most awesomely;
That Ageless Rock,
That Tiger-Tooth Rock,
And that Three-Heaven Rock-
Where auspicious air rises endlessly.
Below the cliff, delicate grass;
Atop the ridge, .fragrant plum.
The thorns and briars are thick;
The orchids are pale and pure.
The deep woods's phoenix musters a thousand fowls;
An old cave's unicorn rules countless beasts.
Even the brook seems caring:
She twists and turns as if looking back.
The peaks are continuous:
Row upon row circling all around.
You also see those green locust trees, 4
Those mottled bamboos,
And those verdant pines-
Rivals ever fresh in their dense lushness;
Those pears milk-white,
Those peaches red,
And those willows green-
All competing in their Triple-Spring hues.
Dragons sing and tigers roar;
The cranes dance and the apes wail;
The musk deer from flowers walk out;
The phoenix cries facing the sun.
It's a mount divine, land of true blessings,
The same as Penglai, wondrous fairyland.
See those flowers blooming and dying-this mountain scene,
Where clouds draw near or leave the soaring peaks.
With great delight, Tripi taka said as he rode along, "Disciples, since I began this journey to the West, I have passed through many regions, all rather treacherous and difficult to traverse. None of the other places has scenery like this mountain, which is extraordinarily beautiful. Perhaps we are not far from Thunderclap, and, if so, we should prepare in a dignified and solemn manner to meet the World's Honored One:'
"It's early, much too early!" said Pilgrim, laughing. "We are nowhere near!"
"Elder Brother;' said Sha Monk, "how far is it for us to reach Thunderclap?"
"One hundred and eight thousand miles," said Pilgrim, "and we have not even covered one-tenth of the distance."
"Elder Brother:' said Eight Rules, "how many years do we have to travel before we get there?"
"If we were talking about you two, my worthy brothers," said Pilgrim, "this journey would take some ten days. If we were talking about me, I could probably make about fifty round trips in a day and there would still be sunlight. But if we are talking about Master, then don't even think about it!" "Wukong;' said the Tang Monk, "tell us when we shall be able to reach our destination:'
Pilgrim said, "You can walk from the time of your youth till the time you grow old, and after that, till you become youthful again; and even after going through such a cycle a thousand times, you may still find it difficult to reach the place you want to go to. But when you perceive, by the resoluteness of your will, the Buddha-nature in all things, and when every one of your thoughts goes back to its very source in your memory, that will be the time you arrive at the Spirit Mountain."
"Elder Brother," said Sha Monk, "even though this is not the region of Thunderclap, a place of such scenic splendor must be the residence of a
good man:' "That's an appropriate observation," said Pilgrim, "for this can
hardly be a place for demons or goblins; rather, it must be the home of a holy monk or an immortal. We can walk leisurely and enjoy the scenery." We shall say no more about them for the time being.
We now tell you about this mountain, which had the name of the Long Life Mountain. In the mountain there was a Daoist Abbey called the Five Villages Abbey; it was the abode of an immortal whose Daoist style was Master Zhenyuan5 and whose nickname was Lord, Equal to Earth. There was, moreover, a strange treasure grown in this temple, a spiritual root that was formed just after chaos had been parted and the nebula had been established prior to the division of Heaven and Earth. Throughout the four great continents of the world, it could be found in only the Five Villages Abbey in the West Aparagodani:ya Continent. This treasure was called grass of the reverted cinnabar, 6 or the ginseng fruit. It took three thousand years for the plant to bloom, another three thousand years to bear fruit, and still another three thousand years before they ripened. All in all, it would be nearly ten thousand years before they could be eaten, and even after such a long time, there would be only thirty such fruits. The shape of the fruit was exacdy that of a newborn infant not yet three days old, complete with the four limbs and the five senses. If a man had the good fortune of even smelling the fruit, he would live for three hundred and sixty years; if he ate one, he would reach his forty-seven thousandth year.
That day, the Great Zhenyuan Immortal happened to have received a card from the Celestial Worthy of Original Commencement, who invited him to the Miluo Palace in the Heaven of Highest Clarity to listen to the discourse on "The Daoist Fruit of the Chaotic Origin." That Great Immortal, you see, had already trained coundess disciples to become immortals; even now he had with him some forty-eight disciples, all Daoists of the Quanzhen Order who had acquired the Way. When he went up to the region above to listen to the lecture that day, he took forty-six disciples along with him, leaving behind two of the youngest ones to look after the temple. One was called Clear Breeze, and the other was named Bright Moon. Clear Breeze was only one thousand two hundred and twenty years old, while Bright Moon had just passed his one thousand two hundredth birthday. Before his departure, Master Zhenyuan gave instructions to the two young lads, saying, "I cannot refuse the invitation of the Great Honorable Divine, and I'm leaving for the Miluo Palace to attend a lecture. You two must be watchful, for an old friend of mine will be passing by here any day. Don't fail to treat him kindly: you may, in fact, strike down from the tree two of the ginseng fruits for him to eat as a token of our past friendship."
"Who is this friend of yours, Master?" asked one of the lads. "Tell us, so that we may take good care of him:' "He is a holy monk serving the Great Tang Emperor in the land of the East;' said the Great Immortal, "and his religious name is Tripitaka. He is now on his way to the Western Heaven to acquire scriptures from Buddha:'
''According to Confucius:' said one of the lads, laughing, " 'One does not take counsel with those who follow a different Way:7 We belong to the Mysterious Fold of the Great Monad. Why should we associate with a Buddhist monk?"
"You should know," said the Great Immortal, "that that monk happens to be the incarnate Gold Cicada, the second disciple ofTathagata, the Aged Sage of the West. Five hundred years ago, I became acquainted with him during the Feast of the Ullambana Bowl, when he presented me tea with his own hands as the various sons of Buddha paid me their respect. That's why I consider him an old friend." When the two immortal lads heard these words, they accepted them as the instruction of their master. As the Great Immortal was about to leave, he cautioned them again, saying, "Those fruits of mine are all numbered. You may give him two, but no more." "When the garden was opened to the public;' said Clear Breeze, "we shared and ate two of the fruits; there should be still twenty-eight of them on the tree. We
wouldn't think of using any more than you have told us to:' The Great Im-
mortal said, "Though Tripitaka Tang is an old friend, his disciples, I fear, may be somewhat rowdy. It's best not to let them know about the fruits:' After he had finished giving these instructions to the two lads, the Great Immortal ascended to the region of Heaven with all his disciples.
We tell you now about the Tang Monk and his three companions, who were making a tour of the mountain. Looking up, they suddenly discovered several tall buildings by a cluster of pines and bamboos. "Wukong;' said the Tang Monk, "what sort of place do you think that is over there?" After taking a look at it, Pilgrim said, "It's either a Daoist abbey or a Buddhist monastery. Let's move along, and we'll find out more about it when we get there:' They soon arrived at the gate, and they saw
A pine knoll cool and serene;
A bamboo path dark and secluded;
White cranes coming and leaving with clouds afloat;
And apes climbing up and down to hand out fruits.
Before the gate, the pond's wide and trees cast long shadows;
The rocks crack, breaking the moss's growth.
Palatial halls dark and tall as the purple Heaven;
And towers aloft from which bright red mists descend.
Truly a blessed region, a spiritual place
Like the cloudy cave of Penglai:
Quiet, untouched by the affairs of man;
Tranquil, fit to nurse the mind of Dao.
Bluebirds may bring at times a Queen Mother's note;
A phoenix oft arrives with a Laozi scroll.
There's no end to the sight of this noble Daoist scene:
It's the spacious home of immortals indeed!
As the Tang Monk dismounted, he saw on the left a huge stone tablet, on which the following inscription was written in large letters:
The Blessed Land of the Long Life Mountain.
The Cave Heaven of the Five Villages Abbey.
"Disciples:' said the Elder, "it's indeed a Daoist abbey." "Master," said Sha Monk, "with such splendid scenery, there must be a good man living in this temple. Let us go in and take a look. When we return to the East after completing our merits, this may be the place for another visit because of its marvelous scenery." "Well spoken," said Pilgrim, and they all went inside. On both sides of the second gate they saw this New Year couplet:
Long-living and ever young, this immortal house.
Of the same age as Heaven, this Daoist home.
Pilgrim said with a snicker, "This Daoist is mouthing big words just to intimidate people! When I, old Monkey, caused disturbance in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, I did not encounter such words even on the door ofLaozi!" "Never mind him!" said Eight Rules. "Let's go inside! Let's go inside! You never know, maybe this Daoist does possess some virtuous accomplishment:'
When they passed through the second gate, they were met by two young lads who were hurrying out. Look how they appear:
Healthy in bone and spirit with visage fair,
On their heads were short bundled tufts of hair.
Their Daoistgowns,freefalling, seemed wrapped in mists;
Their feathered robes, more quaint,for the wind-blown sleeves.
Dragon-heads had their sashes knotted tight;
Silk cords laced lightly their sandals of straw.
Such uncommon looks were of no worldly-born;
They were Clear Breeze and Bright Moon, two lads divine.
The two young lads came out to meet them, bowing and saying, "Old Master, forgive us for not coming to meet you. Please take a seat." Delighted, the elder followed the two lads to the main hall to look around. There were altogether five huge chambers facing south, separated by floor-length windows that had carved panes and were translucent at the top and solid at the bottom. Pushing open one of these, the two immortal lads invited the Tang Monk into the central chamber, with a panel hanging on the middle wall on which two large characters-"Heaven, Earth"-were embroidered in five colors. Beneath the panel was a cinnabar-red lacquered incense table, on which there was an urn of yellow gold. Conveniently placed beside the urn were several sticks of incense.
The Tang Monk went forward and with his left hand, took up some incense to put into the urn. He then prostrated himself three times before the table, after which he turned around and said, "Immortal lads, your Five Villages Abbey is in truth a godly region of the West. But why is it that you do not worship the Three Pure Ones, the Thearchs of Four Quarters, or the many Lords of High Heaven? Why is it that you merely put up these two words of Heaven and Earth to receive the oblation of fire and incense?" Smiling, one of the lads said, "To tell you the truth, Master, putting these two words up is an act of flattery on the part of our teacher, for of these two words, the one on top, 8 may deserve our reverence, but the one below is hardly worthy of our fire and incense." "What do you mean by an act of flattery?" asked Tripitaka. The lad replied, "The Three Pure Ones are friends of our teacher; the Four Thearchs, his old acquaintances; the Nine Luminaries, his junior colleagues; and the God of the New Year, his unwanted guest!"
When Pilgrim heard this remark, he laughed so hard that he could barely stand up. "Elder Brother," said Eight Rules, "why are you laughing?" "Talk about the shenanigans of old Monkey!" said Pilgrim. "Just listen to the flimflam of this Daoist kid!" "Where is your honorable teacher?" asked Tripitaka. "Our teacher:' said the lad, "had been invited by the Honorable Divine of the Origin to attend a lecture on 'The Daoist Fruit of the Chaotic Origin' at the Miluo Palace in the Heaven of Highest Clarity. He's not home:'
No longer able to restrain himself after hearing these words, Pilgrim shouted: "You stinking young Daoists! You can't even recognize people! Whom are you trying to hoodwink? What kind oftaradiddle is this? Who is that Heavenly Immortal in the Miluo Palace who wanted to invite this wild bull shank of yours? And what sort oflecture is he going to give?" When Tripi taka saw how aroused Pilgrim was, he feared that the lads might give some reply that would lead to real trouble. So he said, "Wukong, stop being quarrelsome. If we leave this place the moment after we arrive, it is hardly a friendly gesture. The proverb says, 'The egrets do not devour the egret's flesh: If their teacher is not here, why bother them? You go to graze the horse outside the temple gate; let Sha Monk look after the luggage and Eight Rules fetch some grain from our bags. Let's borrow their pans and stove to prepare a meal for ourselves. When we are done, we can pay them a few pennies for firewood and that will be the end of the matter. Attend to your business, each of you, and let me rest here for a while. After the meal, we'll leave:' The three of them duly went about their business.
Clear Breeze and Bright Moon, filled with admiration, said softly to each other: "What a monk! Truly the incarnation of a lovable sage of the West, whose true origin is not at all obscured! Well, our master did tell us to take care of the Tang Monk and to serve him some ginseng fruits as a token of past friendship. He also cautioned us about the rowdiness of his disciples, and he couldn't have been more correct. It's a good thing that those three, so fierce in their looks and so churlish in their manners, were sent away. For had they remained, they would certainly have to see the ginseng fruits." Then Clear Breeze said, "Brother, we are still not quite certain whether that monk is really an old acquaintance of Master. We had better ask him and not make a mistake." The two lads therefore went forward again and said, "May we ask the old master whether he is Tripitaka Tang from the Great Tang Empire, who is on his way to fetch scriptures from the Western Heaven?" Returning their bows, the elder said, "I am, indeed. How is it that the immortal youths know my vulgar name?" "Before our mas-
ter's departure;' said one of them:' he gave us instructions that we should
go some distance to meet you. We did not expect your arrival to be so soon, and thus we failed in the proper etiquette of greeting you. Please tal<e a seat, Master, and allow us to serve you tea:' "I hardly deserve that;' said Tripitaka, but Bright Moon went quickly back to his room and brought back a cup of fragrant tea to present to the elder. After Tripi taka had drunk the tea, Clear Breeze said, "Brother, we must not disobey our master's command. Let's go and bring back the fruit."
The two lads took leave ofTripitaka and went back to their room, where one of them took out a gold mallet and the other a wooden tray for carrying elixir. They also spread out several silk handkerchiefs on the tray before going to the Ginseng Garden. Clear Breeze then climbed on the tree to strike at the fruits with the mallet, while Bright Moon waited below, holding the tray. In a moment, two of the fruits dropped down and fell onto the tray. The young lads returned to the main hall and presented the fruits to the Tang Monk, saying, "Master Tang, our Five Villages Abbey is situated in the midst of wild and desolate country. There's not much that we can offer you except these two fruits, our local products. Please use them to relieve your thirst." When the elder saw the fruits, he trembled all over and backed away three feet, saying, "Goodness! Goodness! The harvest seems to be plentiful this year! But why is this abbey so destitute that they have to practice cannibalism here? These are newborn infants not yet three days old! How could you serve them to me to relieve my thirst?"
"This monk;' said Clear Breeze quietly to himself, "has been so corrupted by the fields of mouths and tongues, by the sea of strife and envy, that all he possesses are but two fleshly eyes and a worldly mind. That's why he can't recognize the strange treasures of our divine abode!" Bright Moon then drew near and said, "Master, this thing is called ginseng fruit. It's perfectly all right for you to eat one." "Nonsense! Nonsense!" said Tripitaka. "Their parents went through who knows how much suffering before they brought them to birth! How could you serve them as fruits when they are less than three days old?" Clear Breeze said, "Honestly, they were formed on a tree." "Rubbish! Rubbish!" said the elder. "How can people grow on trees? Take them away! This is blasphemy!" When the young lads saw that he absolutely refused to eat them, they had no choice but to take the tray back to their own room. The fruit, you see, is peculiar: if it is kept too long, it will become stiff and inedible. So, when the two of them reached their room, they each took one of the fruits and began to eat them, sitting on the edge of their beds.
Alas, now this is what has to happen! That chamber of theirs, you see, was immediately adjacent to the kitchen; joined, in fact, by a common wall. Even the whispered words from one room could be heard in the other, and Eight Rules was busily cooking rice in the kitchen. All that talk, moments before, about taking the golden mallet and the elixir tray had already caught his attention. Then, when he heard how the Tang Monk could not recognize ginseng fruits that were served him, and how they had to be eaten by the young lads in their own room, he could not stop his mouth watering, and said to himself, "How can I try one myself?" Since he himself was reluctant to do anything, he decided to wait for Pilgrim's arrival so that they could plan something together. Completely distracted by now from tending the fire in the stove, he kept sticking his head out of the door to watch for Pilgrim. In a little while, he saw Pilgrim arrive, leading the horse. Having tied the horse to a locust tree, Pilgrim started to walk toward the rear, when Idiot waved to him madly with his hands, crying, "Come this way! Come this way!" Pilgrim turned around and went to the door of the kitchen, saying, "Idiot, why are you yelling? Not enough rice, perhaps? Let the old monk have his fill first, and we can beg more rice from some big
household along our way:'
"Come in;' said Eight Rules. "This has nothing to do with the amount of rice we have. There's a treasure in this Daoist temple. Did you know that?"
"What kind of treasure?" asked Pilgrim.
"I can tell you," said Eight Rules with a laugh, "but you have never seen it; I can put it before you, but you won't recognize it:' "You must be joking, Idiot;' said Pilgrim. "Five hundred years ago, when I, old Monkey, searched for the Way of Immortality, I went all the way to the comer of the ocean and the edge of the sky. What can there be that I have never seen?"
"Elder Brother," said Eight Rules, "have you ever seen the ginseng fruit?" Somewhat startled, Pilgrim said, "That I really have never seen! But I have heard that ginseng fruit is the grass of the reverted cinnabar. When a man eats it, his life will be prolonged. But where can one get ahold of it?" "They have it here;' said Eight Rules. "The two lads brought two of these fruits for Master to eat, but that old monk could not recognize them for what they were. He said that they were infants not yet three days old and dared not eat them. The lads themselves were quite disobliging; if Master would not eat, they should have given them to us. Instead, they hid them from us. Just now in the room next door, each had a fruit to himself and finished it with great relish. I got so excited that I was drooling, wondering how I could have a taste of this fruit. I know you are quite tricky. How about going to their garden and stealing a few for us to have a taste of them?"
"That's easy;' said Pilgrim. "Old Monkey will go, and they will be at the reach of his hands!" He turned quickly and began to walk to the front. Eight Rules caught hold of him and said, "Elder Brother, I heard them talking in the room, and they mentioned something about using a gold mallet to knock down the fruits. You must do it properly, and without being detected." "I know! I know!" exclaimed Pilgrim.
Our Great Sage used the magic of body concealment and stole into the Daoist chamber. The two Daoist lads, you see, were not in the room, for they had gone back to the main hall to speak to the Tang Monk after they had finished eating the fruits. Pilgrim looked everywhere for the gold mallet and discovered a stick of red gold hanging on the window pane: it was about two feet long and as thick as a finger. At the lower end there was a knob about the size of a clove of garlic, while the upper end had a hole through which a green woolen thread was fastened. He said to himself: "This must be the thing called the gold mallet:' Taking it down, he left the Daoist chamber, went to the rear, and pushed through a double-leaf door to have a look. Ah, it was a garden! You see
Vermilion fences and carved railings;
Artificial hills ruggedly built.
Strange flowers rival the sun in brightness;
Bamboos match well the clear sky in blueness.
Beyond the flowing-cup pavilion,
One curvate band of willows like mists outspread;
Before the moon-gazing terrace,
Bands of choice pines like spilled indigo.
ShininB red,
Pomewanates with brocade-like sacs;
Fresh, tender Breen,
Grass by the ornamental stools;
Luxuriant blue,
Sand-orchids like jade;
Limpid and smooth,
The water in the brook.
The cassia Blows with the wutonB by the BOlden well;9
The locust trees stand near the red fences and marble steps.
Some red and some white: peaches with a thousand leaves;
Some fraBrant and some yellow: chrysanthemums of late fall.
The rush-flower supports
Complement the peony pavilion;
The hibiscus terrace
Connects with the peony plot.
There are countless princely bamboos that mock the frost,
And noble pines that defy the snow.
There are, moreover, crane hamlets and deer homes,
The square pool and the round pond.
The stream spills chips ofjade;
The Bround sprouts mounds of Bold.
The winter wind cracks and whitens the plum blossoms;
A touch of sprinB breaks open the beBonia's red.
Truly it may be called the best fairyland on Earth,
The finest floral site of the West.
Pilgrim could not take his eyes off this marvelous place. He came upon another door that he pushed open and found inside a vegetable garden,
Planted with the herbs of all four seasons:
Spinach, celery, mare's tail, 10 beet, BinBer, and seaweed;
Bamboo shoot, melon, squash, and watercress;
Chive, Barlic, coriander, leek, and scallion;
Hollow water-lotus,younB celery, and bitter su;u
The BOurd and the eBBPlant that must be trimmed;
Green turnip, white turnip, and taro deep in the earth;
Red spinach, Breen cab baBe, and purple mustard plant.12
Pilgrim smiled to himself and said, "So he's a Daoist who eats his homegrown food!"
He walked past the vegetable garden and found another door, which he pushed open also. Ah! There was a huge tree right in the middle of the garden, with long, healthy branches and luxuriant green leaves that somewhat resembled those of the plantain. Soaring straight up, the tree was over a thousand feet tall, and its base must have measured sixty or seventy feet around. Leaning on the tree, Pilgrim looked up and found one ginseng fruit sticking out on one of the branches pointing southward. It certainly had the appearance of an infant with a tail-like peduncle. Look at it dangling from the end of the branch, with limbs moving wildly and head bobbing madly! It seemed to mal<e sounds as it swung in the breeze. Filled with admiration and delight, Pilgrim said to himself, "What a marvelous thing! It's rarely seen! It's rarely seen!" With a swish, he vaulted up the tree.
The monkey, you see, was an expert in climbing trees and stealing fruits. He took the gold mallet and struck lightly at the fruit, which dropped at once from the branch. Pilgrim leaped down after it but the fruit was nowhere to be seen. Though he searched for it all over the grass, there was not a trace of it. "Strange! Strange!" said Pilgrim. "I suppose it could walk with its legs, but even so, it could hardly have jumped across the wall. I know! It must be the local spirit of this garden who will not allow me to steal the fruit; he must have taken it." Making the magic sign and reciting a spell that began with the letter om, he summoned the local spirit of the garden, who came bowing to Pilgrim and said, "Great Sage, what sort of instructions do you have for this humble deity?"
"Don't you know;' said Pilgrim, "that old Monkey happens to be the world's most famous thief? When I stole the immortal peaches, the imperial wine, and the efficacious pills that year, there was no one brave enough to share the spoils with me. How is it, therefore, when I steal just one of their fruits today, that you have the gall to snatch away the prime portion? Since these fruits are formed on a tree, I suppose even the fowls of the air may partake of them. What's wrong with my eating one of them? How dare you grab it the moment I knock it down?" "Great Sage," said the local spirit, "you have made a mistake in blaming me. This treasure is something that belongs to an earthbound immortal, whereas I am only a ghost immortal.B Would I dare take it? I don't even have the good fortune to smell it!"
"If you hadn't snatched it;' said Pilgrim, "why did it disappear the moment it fell?" "You may know only about its power to prolong life, Great Sage," said the local spirit, "but you don't know its background:'
"What do you mean by background?" said Pilgrim. "This treasure;' said the local spirit, "will bloom only once in three thousand years; it will bear fruit after another three thousand years; and the fruit won't ripen for yet another three thousand years. All in all, one must wait for almost ten thousand years before there are thirty of these fruits. A person lucky enough to smell it once will live for three hundred and sixty years; if he eats one, he will live for forty-seven thousand years. However, the fruit is resistant to the Five Phases:' "What do you mean by resistant to the Five Phases?" asked Pilgrim. The local spirit replied, "This fruit will fall when it encounters gold; it will wither when it encounters wood; it will melt when it encounters water; it will dry up if it encounters fire; and it will be assimilated if it encounters earth. That is why one has to use an instrument of gold to knock it down, but when it falls, it has to be held by a tray cushioned with silk handkerchiefs. The moment it touches wood, it will wither and will not prolong life even if it's eaten. When it is eaten, it should be held in a porcelain container and should be dissolved with water. Again, fire will dry it up and it will be useless. Finally, what is meant by its assimilation into earth may be illustrated by what happened just now, for when you knocked it down, it at once crawled into the ground. This part of the garden will last for at least forty-seven thousand years. Even a steel pick will not be able to bore through it, for it is three or four times harder than raw iron. That is why a man will live long if he eats one of the fruits. If you don't believe me, Great Sage, strike at the ground and see foryourself" Whipping out his golden-hooped rod, Pilgrim gave the ground a terriffic blow. The rod rebounded at once, but there was not the slightest mark on the ground. "Indeed! Indeed!" said Pilgrim. "This rod of mine can tum a boulder into powder; it will leave its mark even on raw iron. How is it that there's not even a scratch on the ground? Well, in that case, I have made a mistake in blaming you. You may go back."14 The local spirit thus went back to his own shrine.
The Great Sage, however, had his own plan: after climbing up on the tree, he held the golden mallet in one hand and, with the other, pulled up the front of his silk shirt to make a little sack. Parting the leaves and branches, he knocked three of the fruits into the sack. He jumped down from the tree and ran straight to the kitchen. "Elder Brother," said Eight Rules smiling, "do you have them?" ·~ren't these the ones?'' said Pilgrim. "I reached and took, that's all! But we shouldn't let Sha Monk pass up the chance of tas~ ing this fruit. You call him:' Eight Rules waved his hands and cried, "Wujing, come!" Setting down the luggage, Sha Monk ran into the kitchen and said, "Elder Brother, why did you call me?" Opening the sack, Pilgrim said, "Brother, take a look. What are these?" When Sha Monk saw them, he said, "Ginseng fruits." "Fine!" said Pilgrim. "So, you recognize them! Where did you taste them before?" "I have never tasted the fruit before," said Sha Monk. "But when I was the Curtain-Raising Captain, I waited on the Throne to attend the Festival of Immortal Peaches, and I once saw many immortals from beyond the sea presenting this fruit to the Lady Queen Mother as a birthday gift. So I have seen it, but I have never tasted it. Elder Brother, will you let me try a little?" "No need to say anymore:' said Pilgrim. "There's one for each of us brothers."
The three of them took the fruits and began to enjoy them. That Eight Rules, of course, had a huge appetite and a huge mouth. When he heard the conversation of the young lads earlier, he already felt ravenous. The moment he saw the fruit, therefore, he grabbed it and, with one gulp, swallowed it whole. Then he rolled up his eyes and said in a roguish manner to Pilgrim and Sha Monk, "What are you two eating?" "Ginseng fruit," said Sha Monk. "How does it taste?" asked Eight Rules. "Wujing," said Pilgrim, "don't listen to him. He ate it first. Why all these questions now?" "Elder Brother," said Eight Rules, "I ate it somewhat too hurriedly, not as the two of you are doing, mincing and munching little by little to discover its taste. I swallowed it without even knowing whether it had a pit or not! Elder Brother, if you are helping someone, help him to the end. You have roused the worms in my stomach! Please fetch me another fruit so that I can take time to enjoy it:' "Brother;' said Pilgrim, "you really don't know when to stop! This thing here is not like rice or noodles, food to stuff yourself with. There are only thirty such fruits in ten thousand years! It's our great fortune to have eaten one already, and you should not regard this lightly. Stop now! It's enough:' He stretched himself and threw the gold mallet into the adjacent room through a little hole on the window paper without saying anything more to Eight Rules.
Idiot, however, kept muttering and mumbling to himself When the two Daoist lads unexpectedly came back to the room to fetch some tea for the Tang Monk, they heard Eight Rules complaining about "not enjoying my ginseng fruit," and saying that it would be much better if he could have a taste of another one. Hearing this, Clear Breeze grew suspicious and said, "Bright Moon, listen to that monl< with the long snout; he said he wanted to eat another ginseng fruit. Before our master's departure, he told us to be wary of their mischief Could it be that they have stolen our treasures?" 'fuming around, Bright Moon said, "Elder Brother, it looks bad, very bad! Why has the golden mallet fallen to the ground? Let's go into the garden to take a look:' They ran hastily to the back and found the door to the flower garden open. "I closed this door myself," said Clear Breeze. "Why is it open?" They ran past the flower garden and saw that the door to the vegetable garden was also open. They dashed into the ginseng garden; running up to the tree, they started to count, staring upward. Back and forth they counted, but they could find only twenty-two of the fruits. "You know how to do accounting?" asked Bright Moon. "I do;' said Clear Breeze, "give me the figures!" "There were originally thirty fruits," said Bright Moon. "When Master opened the garden to the public, he divided two of them for all of us, so that twenty-eight fruits were left. Just now we knocked down two more for the Tang Monk, leaving twenty-six behind. Now we have only twenty-two left. Doesn't that mean that four are missing? No need for further explanation; they must have been stolen by that bunch of rogues. Let's go and chide the Tang Monk."
The two of them went out of the garden gate and came directly back to the main hall. Pointing their fingers at the Tang Monk, they berated him with all kinds of foul and abusive language, accusing him of being a larcenous baldhead and a thievish rat. They went on like this for a long time, until finally the Tang Monk could not endure it any longer. "Divine lads," he said, "why are you making all this fuss? Be quiet a moment. If you have something to say, say it slowly, but don't use such nonsensical language." ''Are you deaf?" asked Clear Breeze. ·~ I speaking in a barbarian tongue that you can't understand? You stole and ate our ginseng fruits. Do you now forbid me to say so?" "What is a ginseng fruit like?" asked the Tang Monk. "Like an infant," said Bright Moon, "as you said when we brought two of them for you to eat just now." '~tabha Buddha!" exclaimed the Tang Monk. "I only had to take one look at that thing and I trembled all over! You think I would dare steal one and eat it? Even if I had a case of bulimia, I would not dare indulge in such thievery. Don't blame the wrong person." "You might not have eaten them:• said Clear Breeze, "but your followers wanted to steal them and eat them." "Perhaps you are right," said Tripitaka, "but there's no need for you to shout. Let me ask them. If they have stolen them, I will ask them to repay you.''
"Repay!" said Bright Moon. "You couldn't buy these fruits even if you had the money!"
"If they can't buy them with money:• said Tripi taka, "they can at least offer you an apology, for as the proverb says, 'Righteousness is worth a thousand pieces of gold.' That should be sufficient. Moreover, we are still not sure whether it is my disciples who took your fruits.'' "What do you mean, not sure?" said Bright Moon. "They were arguing among themselves, saying something about the portions not being equally divided."
"Disciples," cried Tripitaka, "come, all of you." When Sha Monk heard this, he said, "It's terrible! We've been discovered! Old master is calling us, and the Daoist lads are making all this racket. They must have found out!" "It is extremely embarrassing!" said Pilgrim. "This is just a matter of food and drink. But if we say so, that means we are stealing for our mouths! Let's not admit it." "Yes! Yes!" said Eight Rules. "Let's deny it!" The three of them had no choice, however, but to leave the kitchen for the main hall. Alas, we do not know how they would be able to deny the charges; let's listen to the explanation in the next chapter.