The story continues. Leaving the farmhouse folk, Sanzang and his disciples followed the road west, and within some thirty or forty li they had already reached the borders of the Western Land of Women. From horseback the Tang elder pointed ahead: "Wukong, there is a city before us. From the hubbub of voices in the market it must be the Western Land of Women. You must all be careful and keep to proper behavior. On no account give free rein to your wild ways and disturb the rules and teachings of our religion."
The three of them heard this and humbly obeyed their master's strict command. And even as the words were spoken, they reached the street opening of the eastern quarter of the city.
There all the folk, wearing long skirts and short jackets, with powdered faces and sleeked heads of hair—young and old alike, every one of them women—were busy buying and selling in the streets on either side. When they suddenly saw the four of them arrive, they clapped their hands and laughed aloud all together, composing their faces into happy smiles: "The human seed has come! The human seed has come!"
In a flurry, Sanzang reined in his horse and could barely move; in a moment the streets were choked full, and nothing but laughter was to be heard. Bajie was bawling at random: "I'm a gelded boar! I'm a gelded boar!" The Pilgrim said: "Blockhead, none of your nonsense—just put on your old face." Bajie did indeed shake his head twice, pricked up his pair of palm-leaf fan ears, waggled his lotus-pod snout with its pendulous lips, and let out a bellow that sent the womenfolk tumbling and sprawling over one another in fright. There is a poem in proof:
The holy monk, worshiping the Buddha, came to the Western Land of Women, A realm of pure yin, where the world holds little yang. Farmers, scholars, craftsmen, merchants—all were of the fairer kind; Fisherman, woodcutter, plowman, herdsman—all were in rouge and powder. Fair maids along the roads all cried "the human seed!"; Young wives packed the streets to welcome the painted gallant. Were it not for Wuneng's display of his ugly face, The siege of the painted world had been past all bearing!
And so, one and all afraid, they dared not come near, but each stood clutching her hands and shrinking her shoulders, shaking her head and biting her fingers, trembling and quaking, packed along the street and by the roadside, all gazing at Tang Sanzang. The Great Sage Sun also made an ugly face to clear the way, and the Sha Monk too played the fierce tiger to hold them back, while Bajie held the horse, pouting his snout and wagging his ears.
As they pressed on, they saw the houses of the market town trim and neat, the shop fronts tall and handsome, with salt and rice on sale everywhere, wine shops and teahouses; drum-towers and pavilions where trade flourished, and taverns and hostelries hung with curtains and blinds. As master and disciples wound their way along, suddenly they saw a lady official standing by the roadside, who called out in a loud voice: "Traveling envoys from afar, you may not enter the city gate unbidden. Pray repair to the post station to register your names, and your officer will then carry the list before Her Majesty, examine your papers, and let you pass."
Hearing this, Sanzang dismounted and saw above the yamen gate a tablet inscribed with three characters: Welcoming-Yang Station. "Wukong," said the elder, "what the village folk told us was true enough—there is indeed a Welcoming-Yang Station." The Sha Monk laughed: "Second Brother, go and stand by the Child-Revealing Spring and look into it—see whether you cast a double shadow." "Stop your tricks!" said Bajie. "Since I drank that bowl of water from the Child-Aborting Spring, I've already aborted the fetus. What would I go peering at it for?" Sanzang turned his head and admonished: "Wuneng, mind your tongue! Mind your tongue!"
Then he stepped forward and bowed to the lady official. The official led the way and invited them all into the station, where they sat down in the main hall and tea was called for. And they saw that all the attendants, too, were of the kind that comb their hair in three tresses and dress in two-piece garments—why, even the one who brought the tea was smiling.
After a while the tea was done, and the lady official inclined her body and asked: "Envoys, from whence do you come?" The Pilgrim said: "We are envoys commissioned by the great Tang emperor of the Eastern Land, journeying to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek the scriptures. My master is the Tang king's sworn brother, styled Tang Sanzang, and I am his eldest disciple, Sun Wukong. These two are my junior brothers, Zhu Wuneng and Sha Wujing—a company of five counting the horse. We carry a travel permit with us, and beg that it be examined and stamped that we may pass on." The lady official took up her brush and wrote it all down, then came down and knocked her head: "Pray forgive your servant, my lords. Your servant is the keeper of the Welcoming-Yang Station, and truly did not know of your honors of the superior realm, else I should have come to meet you from afar." Her obeisance done, she rose and bade the steward prepare food and drink: "Sirs, be pleased to sit at ease a while, and your servant will go into the city to memorialize our queen, exchange the travel permit, make provision for your allowances, and see your honors sent on westward." Sanzang sat down contentedly—of this no more.
Now this keeper of the station, after dressing herself properly in cap and gown, went straight to the front of the Tower of the Five Phoenixes in the city and said to the yellow-gate officer: "I am the keeper of the Welcoming-Yang Station, and I have business with Her Majesty." The yellow-gate officer at once made the report, and an edict summoned her before the palace, where she was asked: "Keeper of the station, what have you come to report?" The keeper said: "Your servant, at the station, has received the sworn brother of the great Tang emperor of the Eastern Land, one Tang Sanzang, who has three disciples named Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing—five souls counting the horse—wishing to go to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures. Your servant has come especially to memorialize Your Majesty: will you permit them to exchange their travel permit and be sent on?"
At this report the Queen was filled with joy, and said to all her civil and military officers: "Last night I dreamed that a golden screen bloomed with rainbow hues and a jade mirror unfolded its brightness—this is the happy omen of this very day!" The lady officers thronged to worship at the vermilion steps: "Your Majesty, how do you make it the happy omen of this day?" The Queen said: "The man of the Eastern Land is the sworn brother of the Tang court. In our kingdom, since the age when Chaos was first divided and down through all the generations of our sovereigns, never has a man been seen to come here. In this happy chance the Tang king's sworn brother descends upon us—surely a gift from Heaven. With the wealth of my whole realm, I wish to take the sworn brother to husband and set him on the throne, and I will be his queen. Joined with him in yin and yang, we shall bear sons and grandsons and hand down the imperial line forever—is that not the happy omen of this day?" All the lady officers bowed and danced their praises, every one delighted.
The keeper of the station memorialized again: "Your Majesty's counsel is the good of ten thousand generations. But the sworn brother's three disciples are fierce and ugly, no proper sight at all." The Queen said: "What is the sworn brother like to look upon? And in what way are his disciples fierce and ugly?" The keeper said: "The sworn brother is a proper man indeed, handsome of countenance and graceful of bearing—truly a man of the Celestial Court of the superior realm, a figure of the China of the Southern Continent. But those three disciples are of frightful looks and demonic faces." The Queen said: "If that is so, let his disciples be given their allowances, let the travel permit be exchanged, and send them on to the Western Heaven—only keep the sworn brother here. What objection can there be?" All the officials bowed and memorialized: "Your Majesty's words are exactly right; your servants reverently obey. Only, for the making of such a match there must be a matchmaker; as the ancients said, marriage is contracted by the red leaf, and the Old Man of the Moon binds husband and wife with the crimson cord." The Queen said: "As you counsel, let the Grand Preceptor in waiting act as matchmaker, and the keeper of the Welcoming-Yang Station give away the bride; go first to the station and seek the match with the sworn brother. When he has given his consent, I will set forth my carriage to meet him outside the city." So the Grand Preceptor and the keeper of the station received the decree and left the court.
Meanwhile Sanzang and his disciples were enjoying their vegetarian meal in the station hall when someone reported from outside: "The Grand Preceptor in waiting and our own officer, the old lady, are come." Sanzang said: "What can the Grand Preceptor want?" Bajie said: "Maybe the Queen is inviting us." The Pilgrim said: "It's not an invitation—it's a proposal of marriage." Sanzang said: "Wukong, suppose they will not let us go, but force the marriage upon us—what are we to do?" The Pilgrim said: "Master, just consent to her. Old Sun will find a way."
Before he had done speaking, the two lady officials arrived, and knelt in obeisance to the elder. The elder returned the salutation to each: "I am but a poor monk who has left the world—what virtue or ability have I that you should trouble your honors to bow to me?" The Grand Preceptor, seeing the elder's fine and lofty bearing, secretly rejoiced in her heart: "Our kingdom truly has good fortune; this man could well be our queen's husband." The two officials finished their obeisance and rose, and stood on either side, saying: "Lord sworn brother, a thousand felicitations!" Sanzang said: "I am one who has left the world—what felicity could come to me?" The Grand Preceptor bowed and said: "This is the Western Land of Women, and since time immemorial there has never been a man in this kingdom. In this happy chance the lord sworn brother has descended upon us, and your servant, by command of our queen, has come especially to seek the match." Sanzang said: "Well! Well! This poor monk has come to your honored land alone, without children to follow me, only three unruly disciples—which of them, may I ask, is the match you seek?" The keeper of the station said: "Your servant but now presented the memorial in court, and our queen was overjoyed, saying she had dreamed a lucky dream—a golden screen blooming with rainbow hues, a jade mirror unfolding its brightness—and so knew that the sworn brother was a man of the superior realm of China. With the wealth of her whole kingdom she will take the lord sworn brother to husband, that he may sit facing south and style himself sovereign, while she becomes his empress. She has decreed the Grand Preceptor be matchmaker and your servant give away the bride; and so we have come especially to seek this match."
Hearing this, Sanzang hung his head and was silent. The Grand Preceptor said: "A true man does not miss his moment. Betrothal such as this may be found in the world from time to time, but a kingdom's wealth entrusted to you—that is rare indeed on earth. I beg the sworn brother to consent at once, so that we may make our report." The elder grew only more dumb and mute. Bajie at the side thrust out his mortar-snout and cried: "Grand Preceptor, go back and tell your queen: my master is an arhat of long cultivation who has attained the Way, and he will never love your kingdom's wealth, nor your realm-toppling beauty either. Have the travel permit exchanged at once and send him on his way west—and leave me here to be taken to husband. How about that?" The Grand Preceptor's heart quaked with fear at these words, and she dared not answer. The keeper of the station said: "Though you are of the male sex, your looks are ugly past bearing, and would not suit our queen." Bajie laughed: "You understand nothing! As the saying goes, coarse willow makes a winnowing basket, fine willow a measure—who in this world ever saw a man so ugly he was done for?" The Pilgrim said: "Blockhead, none of your wild talk! Let Master decide as he thinks best—whether to go on or to stop. Don't hold up the matchmaker's business." Sanzang said: "Wukong, whatever you say is best!" The Pilgrim said: "By old Sun's reckoning, you might do well to stay here. As the old saying goes, an affiance from a thousand li is drawn by a single thread—where else would you find such a fitting match?" Sanzang said: "Disciples, if we stay here coveting wealth and rank, who then will go to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures? Would that not betray the hopes of our sovereign of the great Tang?" The Grand Preceptor said: "My lord sworn brother, your servant dares not conceal the truth. Our queen's will is only to take you to husband; your three disciples are to attend the betrothal feast, receive their allowances, exchange the travel permit, and go on to the Western Heaven for the scriptures." The Pilgrim said: "What the Grand Preceptor says is reasonable. We need make no difficulty of it—we gladly leave our master here as your queen's husband. Have the permit exchanged quickly and send us west; when we have fetched the scriptures and come back, we can come here to acknowledge our father and mother, beg traveling money, and return to the great Tang." At this the Grand Preceptor and the keeper of the station bowed to the Pilgrim: "Many thanks for the teacher's kindness in bringing the match to perfection!" Bajie said: "Grand Preceptor, don't just set out dishes with your mouth [Translator's note: a proverb—don't make empty promises]. Since we've consented, have your queen first lay on a feast and give us a cup of betrothal wine. How about it?" The Grand Preceptor said: "Yes, yes, yes—the banquet shall be spread at once." And the keeper of the station and the Grand Preceptor, beside themselves with joy, went back to report to the female monarch—of this no more.
Now the Tang elder seized hold of the Pilgrim and cursed: "You ape! You'll be the death of me! How could you say such a thing, telling me to stay here and take a wife while you go west to worship the Buddha? I'd never dare such a thing even at the cost of my life." The Pilgrim said: "Set your mind at ease, Master. Do you think old Sun doesn't know your nature? But having come to this place, and met these people, we have no choice but to turn their scheme to our own use." Sanzang said: "What do you mean, turn their scheme to our own use?" The Pilgrim said: "If you hold out in the stiff way and refuse her, she will not exchange the travel permit, nor let us go our way. And if her heart turns cruel, she could order her people to cut the flesh from your body to make scent-bags of it, as the saying goes—and then how would we come off well? We should be forced to use our arts of quelling demons and destroying monsters. You know how heavy our hands are and how fierce our weapons—one gesture from us and the whole kingdom's folk would be beaten to death. Though they are blocking our way, they are not monsters or spirits, but men and women of an honest realm; and you, who have always been compassionate and merciful, and who have carried every soul along the road without a scratch—how could your heart bear it if we beat countless innocent people to death? It would be no good deed at all."
Hearing this, Sanzang said: "Wukong, this counsel is best of all. But I fear the female monarch will take me within and demand the rites of husband and wife—how could I ever be willing to forfeit my primal yang and ruin the virtue of the Buddha's religion, to let slip my true essence and cast down the body of our own teaching?"
The Pilgrim said: "Once you have consented to the match, she will be sure to receive you outside the city with all the rites of an emperor. Do not refuse; sit in her phoenix palanquin and dragon carriage, ascend the jeweled hall, and seat yourself facing south. Ask the Queen to bring out the imperial seal, summon our brothers to court, stamp the travel permit, then ask the Queen to sign her name and set her hand, and hand it over to us. Meanwhile bid her spread the banquet, making it serve at once for the celebration of your union with the Queen and for our send-off. When the feast is done, order the carriage made ready again, on the pretext of seeing us three out of the city and then returning to be joined with the Queen. When their ruler and ministers have been cajoled into high delight, with no thought of blocking us and no mind for cruelty, then, once they have seen us out of the city, you step down from the dragon carriage and phoenix palanquin, have the Sha Monk in attendance to help you mount the white horse, and old Sun will cast an immobilizing spell so that their ruler and ministers and all their folk cannot move a step, and we can go straight west along the great road. After traveling a day and a night, I'll recite the spell and undo the charm, and let their ruler and ministers wake and return to the city. Thus, first, no lives are harmed; and second, your primal spirit is not impaired. This is what is called the plan of a false marriage to escape the net—is it not a fine scheme that serves both ends at once?" At these words Sanzang felt like one awakened from drunkenness, like one roused from a dream; his grief turned to joy, and his thanks knew no end. "I am deeply grateful for your worthy disciple's far-seeing counsel." The four of them were of one mind and heart, and were still laying their plans together—of this no more.
Now the Grand Preceptor and the keeper of the station, not waiting for the summons, went straight to the white-jade steps before the court and memorialized: "Your Majesty's lucky dream was most true—the union of fish and water is at hand." At this report the Queen drew back the pearl curtain, descended from the dragon couch, parted her cherry lips, showed her silver teeth, and asked in a smiling, charming voice: "Worthy ministers, what said the sworn brother?" The Grand Preceptor said: "When your servants reached the station and had paid their respects to the sworn brother, they at once set out the business of the match. The sworn brother made some show of declining, but happily his eldest disciple consented at once, being willing to leave his master to become Your Majesty's husband and sit facing south as sovereign, if only the travel permit be first exchanged and the three of them be sent westward—so that when they have fetched the scriptures and returned, they may come here to acknowledge their father and mother, beg traveling money, and go back to the great Tang." The Queen laughed: "And what more did the sworn brother say?" The Grand Preceptor memorialized: "The sworn brother said nothing, but is willing to be joined with Your Majesty—only his second disciple must first have his cup of betrothal wine."
At this the Queen at once decreed that the Court of Imperial Entertainments lay a banquet, and at the same time make ready the great carriage to go out of the city to welcome her husband. All the lady officials reverently obeyed the royal command, sweeping the palaces and decking the halls and terraces. One band that was to lay the feast bustled and hurried; another that was to make ready the carriage worked with the speed of a shooting star. And though the kingdom of Western Liang was but a realm of women, its royal carriage was no less splendid than China's own. See:
Six dragons spouting rainbow hues, twin phoenixes breathing grace. Six dragons spout their hues to bear the carriage forth; Twin phoenixes breathe their grace to draw the palanquin in. The air is thick with rare fragrance, and auspicious vapors unfold. Golden fishes and jade pendants crowd round the many officers; Jeweled coiffures and cloud-chignons make a file of lovely ladies. Mandarin-duck canopy fans shade the royal carriage; Kingfisher pearl curtains cast their shadow over phoenix hairpins. Sweet are the pipes and songs, harmonious the strings and flutes; One flood of joy surges to the azure sky, Boundless delight pours from the seat of the heart. Three-tiered silk canopies sway beneath the heavens, Five-colored banners reflect upon the imperial steps. Never in this land was there a nuptial cup; The Queen today is matched with a man of worth.
In a little while the great carriage left the city and reached the Welcoming-Yang Station. Suddenly word was brought to Sanzang and his disciples: "The carriage has arrived!" Hearing this, Sanzang and his three disciples straightened their clothes and came out of the hall to receive the royal presence.
The Queen raised the curtain and descended from her palanquin: "Which one is the sworn brother of Tang?" The Grand Preceptor pointed: "The one in the long robe before the incense table outside the station gate is he." The Queen flashed her phoenix eyes and drew her moth brows together, looking at him closely. Truly he was an extraordinary figure. See:
His bearing was heroic and fine, his countenance imposing and grand. Teeth white as silver laid in, lips red, and a square-set mouth. The crown of his head flat, his brow broad, his temples full; His eyes clear, his brows delicate, his chin long and firm. Ears with their rims well formed—a true man of mettle; His whole person out of the common—a gifted gallant. A fine young man of quick wit and free spirit, Worthy to match the graceful maiden of the Western Land!
The Queen, seeing him to the very delight of her heart and eye, could not but let her amorous thoughts well up and her amorous desires run wild. She parted her little cherry mouth and called: "Sworn brother of the great Tang, will you not come and take your phoenix and ride your luan?" Hearing this, Sanzang turned red to his ears and face, and in bashfulness dared not lift his head. Zhu Bajie at the side, pouting his snout and half-closing his eyes, gazed at the Queen. She was charming indeed, truly:
Her brows were like kingfisher feathers, her skin like sheep-fat jade. Her face was set off like a peach petal; her hairpins coiled gold phoenix threads. Her autumn-pool eyes held a seductive grace; Her spring-bamboo fingers, a winsome delicacy. Askew her red silk hung, streaming with bright colors; High-placed her pearls and kingfisher pins shone with radiance. Why speak of Zhaojun's beauty? Truly she surpassed Xi Shi. Her willow waist swayed, her golden pendants tinkling; Her lotus steps lightly moved her jade limbs. The moon's Chang'e could never come here; The immortals of the ninth heaven could not compare. Her palace dress, so finely made, was beyond the common kind— Surely the Queen Mother herself descending from Jasper Pool.
The blockhead, gazing at such beauty, could not restrain his mouth from watering and his heart from thumping; in an instant his bones turned soft and his sinews numb, exactly like a snow lion before a fire—he felt himself melting away without knowing it.
Then the Queen came near, seized Sanzang by the hand, and said in a sweet and charming voice: "Brother sworn brother, pray mount the dragon carriage and come with me to the golden jeweled hall, to be joined as husband and wife." The elder, all a-tremble, could scarcely stand, as if drunk or dazed. The Pilgrim called out at his side: "Master, don't be so bashful. Get up on the palanquin with your lady mother [Translator's note: the disciples jokingly call the Queen "teacher's mother," i.e., their master's wife], and hurry the exchange of the travel permit, so we can go fetch the scriptures." The elder dared not reply, but wiped at the Pilgrim a couple of times, unable to stop his tears. The Pilgrim said: "Master, don't fret so. With such wealth and rank before you, what more would you enjoy?" Sanzang had no help for it but to comply; he wiped away his tears, forced his face into a happy smile, and stepped forward, and with the female monarch—hand in hand they mounted the dragon carriage together. The female monarch was all joy at being joined as husband and wife; the elder was all worry, thinking only of worshiping the Buddha. One would be paired as loving birds with bridal candles in the nuptial chamber; the other would see the World-Honored One on Vulture Peak in the Western Heaven. The female emperor was in earnest; the holy monk was in pretense. The female emperor was in earnest, hoping to live in harmony to old age; the holy monk was in pretense, keeping his feelings tightly locked to nourish his primal spirit. One rejoiced to see a male body, wishing to pillow side by side in broad daylight and be man and wife; the other dreaded to meet a female's beauty, thinking only to escape the net and reach the Thunderclap at once. The two climbed the palanquin together—but who could know that Tang Sanzang's heart was set on other things!
Seeing their monarch mount the phoenix palanquin shoulder to shoulder with the elder, the civil and military officers were all smiles, and turning the procession about, they re-entered the city. Only then did the Great Sage Sun bid the Sha Monk take up the luggage and lead the white horse, following along at the rear of the great procession.
Zhu Bajie ran wildly ahead and reached the front of the Tower of the Five Phoenixes first, shouting: "How comfortable! How ready-made! This won't do! This won't do! One must drink the wedding wine before going in to the marriage!" This so frightened the lady officers guiding the procession that they all came back to the carriage and said: "Your Majesty, that one with the long snout and big ears is standing before the Tower of the Five Phoenixes shouting for wedding wine." On hearing this, the female monarch leaned her fragrant shoulder against the elder, pressed her peach cheeks against his, parted her sandalwood lips, and asked in a quiet voice: "Brother sworn brother, which of your worthy disciples is the one with the long snout and big ears?" Sanzang said: "He is my second disciple. He was born with a mighty appetite and is always coveting good food for his mouth. We must first set out some food and drink for him, and only then can we proceed." The Queen asked hurriedly: "Has the Court of Imperial Entertainments prepared the banquet yet?" A lady official reported: "It is ready, laid in two kinds, meat and vegetable, in the Eastern Pavilion." The Queen asked: "Why two kinds?" The official said: "Your servant feared that the sworn brother of Tang and his worthy disciples are in the habit of eating vegetarian, and so laid out two kinds." The Queen, smiling again and nestling her fragrant cheek against the elder's, said: "Brother sworn brother, do you eat meat or vegetables?" Sanzang said: "This poor monk eats vegetarian. But I have not yet taken the vow against wine, and my second disciple will need a few cups of vegetarian wine."
Before the words were done, the Grand Preceptor memorialized: "Pray come to the banquet in the Eastern Pavilion. This night is the lucky hour and auspicious moment, and the sworn brother may be joined in marriage this very evening; tomorrow, when Heaven opens its golden way, the lord sworn brother shall ascend the jeweled hall, sit facing south, change the reign title, and take the throne." The Queen was overjoyed, and taking the elder by the hand, they descended the dragon carriage together and entered through the main gate, where was seen:
The wind wafted celestial music down the towers; Midway through the palace gates came the emerald palanquin. The phoenix portals opened wide, their light resplendent; The imperial halls unbarred, their brocades displayed. In the unicorn hall, incense curled from the braziers; By the peacock screens, the shadows of the rooms came back. Pavilions and terraces rose magnificent as in the superior realm; The jade hall and golden horse were marvelous beyond all telling!
When they reached the foot of the Eastern Pavilion, strains of sweet sheng and song were heard, and two rows of rosy beauties were to be seen. In the center of the hall two great feasts were spread: the vegetable feast at the head of the left side, the meat feast at the head of the right, and below them two rows of single seats. The Queen folded her sleeves, and with her ten slender fingertips holding a jade cup, came to seat the guests.
The Pilgrim stepped forward: "My master and we are all vegetarians. Pray seat our master first at the vegetable feast on the left, and then set down the three seats below, one to either side, where my brothers and I may sit." The Grand Preceptor was delighted: "Exactly so, exactly so. Master and disciple are as father and son, and must not sit shoulder to shoulder." The lady officials at once rearranged the seats, and the Queen passed round the cups one by one, seating the three brothers. The Pilgrim also cast a wink at Sanzang, bidding his master return the courtesy. Sanzang came down and, holding the jade cup, seated the Queen in her turn. The civil and military officers bowed to thank the royal grace and took their seats on the two sides according to rank; only then did the music cease and the wine begin.
Bajie, caring nothing for fine or coarse, let out his belly and fell to with a will. Whatever it was—jade-rice steamed buns, cakes, sugar pastries, mushrooms, fragrant fungi, bamboo shoots, wood-ear, day-lily flowers, stone flowers, laver, turnips, taro, radishes, yams, Solomon's-seal—he gobbled it all up in one great gulp, and washed it down with five or seven cups of wine, bawling all the while: "Look to the refills! Bring the great goblets! A few more beakers, and then each man to his own business." The Sha Monk asked: "With such a fine banquet before you and you won't eat—what business is there to do?" The blockhead laughed: "As the ancients said, let him who makes bows make bows, and him who makes arrows make arrows. With us, some are taking a husband, some are giving a bride away, the scripture-fetchers still go fetch scriptures, and the travelers still go their road. Don't linger over your cups and spoil the business—have the travel permit settled soon. As it is said, the general does not dismount; each man hastens to his own future." Hearing this, the Queen ordered great cups to be brought. The waiting officials hurried to fetch parrot cups, cormorant ladles, golden wine bowls, silver engraved beakers, colored-glass cups, crystal basins, Penglai bowls, and amber goblets, filled them to the brim with jade nectar and poured them full of immortal wine; and truly each of the company drank his round.
Sanzang rose slightly from his seat and said to the Queen with palms together: "Your Majesty, we are most grateful for this bounteous entertainment, and the wine has been enough. Pray let us ascend the jeweled hall and exchange the travel permit, and while the day is still early send these three of mine out of the city." The Queen, following his words, took the elder by the hand, dismissed the banquet, and ascended the golden jeweled hall, where she would have had the elder take the throne at once. Sanzang said: "No, no! The Grand Preceptor said but now that only tomorrow, when Heaven opens its golden way, would this poor monk dare ascend the throne and style himself sovereign. Today let us only stamp the travel permit and send them on." The Queen, yielding, seated herself again on the dragon couch, and had a golden armchair set at the couch's left hand, inviting Sanzang to sit, and bade the disciples bring up the travel permit. The Great Sage bade the Sha Monk open the bundle and take out the permit, and the Great Sage presented it with both hands. The Queen looked it over carefully: at the top were the nine jeweled seals of the great Tang emperor, and below them the seal of the Bao Xiang kingdom, the seal of the Wuji kingdom, and the seal of the Chechi kingdom.
Having read it, the Queen said with a sweet smile: "So the sworn brother's surname is also Chen?" Sanzang said: "My family name is Chen, and my religious name is Xuanzang. Because the Tang king in his grace recognized me as his sworn brother and bestowed the surname Tang upon me." The Queen said: "Why do your worthy disciples' names not appear on the permit?" Sanzang said: "Those three unruly disciples are not men of our Tang." The Queen said: "Since they are not of your Tang, why are they willing to follow you here?" Sanzang said: "My eldest disciple is a native of the country of Aolai in the Eastern Continent of Superior Body; the second is a native of Wusi Village in the Western Continent of Cattle-Gift; the third is a native of the Flowing Sands River. All three, having offended against the laws of Heaven, were freed from their suffering by the Bodhisattva Guanyin of the Southern Sea, and, taking up goodness, sought refuge in the faith, making merit to atone for their crimes, of their own will undertaking to protect me on my way to the Western Heaven for the scriptures. They were all accepted on the road, and so their religious names were never entered on the permit." The Queen said: "Let me add their religious names for you—would that be well?" Sanzang said: "As Your Majesty pleases." The Queen at once ordered brush and inkstone brought; grinding the fragrant ink thick and moistening the fragrant brush, she wrote after the document the names Sun Wukong, Zhu Wuneng, and Sha Wujing, and only then brought out the imperial seal, stamped it squarely in the middle, added her signature in her own hand, and passed it down.
The Great Sage Sun received it and bade the Sha Monk wrap it up properly.
The Queen then bestowed a tray of scattered gold and scattered silver, descending from the dragon couch to hand it to the Pilgrim: "You three may use this as traveling money on the road; go early to the Western Heaven. When you return with the scriptures, I shall have heavier rewards for you." The Pilgrim said: "We are men who have left the world, and we accept no gold or silver; on the road we have our begging." Seeing he would not take it, the Queen brought out ten bolts of brocaded silk: "Your journey is hasty and there is no time for tailoring; take this to make clothes against the cold on the road." The Pilgrim said: "Those who have left the world may not wear brocaded silk; we have our plain cotton garments to cover our bodies." Seeing he would not take this either, the Queen bade: "Fetch three sheng of imperial rice, to serve as a meal on the road." At the word "rice" Bajie took it at once and stowed it in the bundle. The Pilgrim said: "Brother, the luggage is already heavy enough—and yet you have the strength to carry rice?" Bajie laughed: "What do you know? Rice is a fine thing that melts away by day—one meal and it's done with." So he put his palms together and gave thanks for the queen's grace.
Sanzang said: "I would trouble Your Majesty to come with this poor monk to see the three of them out of the city. When I have given them a few words of instruction, bidding them go well to the West, I shall return and enjoy wealth and honor with Your Majesty forever, with nothing to bind or worry me, and only then may we be joined as the phoenix and its mate."
The Queen, not knowing it was a trick, decreed the carriage made ready, and leaning shoulder against shoulder with Sanzang, climbed the phoenix palanquin and went out the western gate. Through the whole city they filled their lamps with pure water and burned true incense on their altars, one part to see the Queen's carriage, another to see the sworn brother who was a man. Young and old alike, all were powdered of face and lovely, with green-black hair and cloud-coiffures.
In a little while the great carriage left the city, and when it reached the western pass, the Pilgrim, Bajie, and the Sha Monk, of one mind and heart, in full and tidy array, came straight up to meet the royal palanquin, and called out in loud voices: "Your Majesty need escort us no farther. We take our leave here." The elder slowly descended from the dragon carriage and said to the Queen with folded hands: "Your Majesty, pray return. Let this poor monk go fetch the scriptures." At these words the Queen's face changed and she was greatly alarmed. She caught hold of Sanzang: "Brother sworn brother, I was willing to entrust the wealth of my whole kingdom to you, taking you to husband, and tomorrow you were to ascend the high throne and take your seat as sovereign, with me as your queen. The wedding feast is all drunk up—how can you change your mind now?" At these words Bajie flew into a fury, twisting his snout and shaking his ears wildly, and rushed up before the carriage, shouting: "What husband and wife would we monks make with you painted skeletons! Let my master go his way!" At the sight of such wild and ugly behavior, the Queen's spirit fled and her soul scattered; she tumbled back into her palanquin. The Sha Monk, meanwhile, snatched Sanzang out of the crowd and helped him onto his horse. Then suddenly from the roadside a woman sprang out, shouting: "Sworn brother of Tang, where do you think you're going! Come and sport a while in wind and moon with me!" The Sha Monk cursed: "You ignorant thief!" and drew his precious staff to strike her over the head. The woman raised a whirlwind, and with a whoosh carried Sanzang clean away, without shadow or trace; none knew where he had gone. Ah! Truly:
Escaped from the net of the painted world, Only to meet the demon of wind and moon.
Whether that woman was human or monster, and whether the elder's life was to be saved or lost—hear the explanation in the next chapter.