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33 The Kingdom of Miefa

When they were dressed, Wukong said, "We must change our names too. Master shall be Lord Tang the First, Bajie Lord Zhu the Third, Sandy Lord Sha the Fourth, and I Lord Sun the Second. If anyone asks, say we are horse traders." The other three agreed. The four went into the city and came to an inn kept by a woman in her fifties. She came out to meet them. "Where do you gentlemen come from, and what goods do you carry?" Wukong told her the tale he had made up. The innkeeper said, "We have rooms of three grades here: the best, the middling and the poor. Which would you like?" "We have plenty of silver," said Wukong. "Of course we want the best!" Delighted, she led the four to a room upstairs and called towards the kitchen, "Kill a chicken and a goose, and feast our guests!" The Tang Monk waved his hands at Wukong in alarm. Wukong went to the innkeeper and said, "We caught a chill upon the road and cannot touch meat. I trouble you for plain vegetables and rice, but we will pay the price of the finest feast." The innkeeper nodded and went down; presently greens, bean curd and rice were cooked and carried upstairs. After supper the Tang Monk asked where they were to sleep. "Upstairs," said Wukong. The Tang Monk said, "Better find somewhere safe. If they were to find out we are monks while we slept, we should be lost indeed." Wukong saw the sense of this and spoke to the innkeeper. "Lord Zhu the Third has a touch of the damp, Lord Sha the Fourth has a pain in the shoulder, and Lord Tang and I cannot bear the light. Could you find us somewhere dark to sleep?" The innkeeper thought for a moment. "There is a great chest standing in the courtyard," she said. "Six or seven could sleep inside it. Would that do?" Wukong asked her to show them, and when they stood before it the Tang Monk said, "Just the thing, just the thing." Impatient as ever, Bajie jumped in and lay down first. Wukong helped his master in, and Sandy climbed after them with the baggage. Wukong had the stable boy bring the white dragon horse and tether it beside the chest, then had the lid shut and locked. Only then did he rest easy. The weather was hot, and with the lid shut fast it was like a steamer inside; the four sweated until they fell asleep near midnight. Wukong could not sleep. He turned the golden-hooped rod into a little drill, bored a tiny hole in the chest, and watched what passed outside. Now the waiter at the inn was in league with robbers. Seeing that Wukong had taken the best room and boasted of much silver, he called up twenty-odd companions, and they rushed in to rob the place. The innkeeper and her family cowered behind locked doors in a corner and let the thieves take what they pleased.

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