The story continues: Bajie leapt down from the mountain, found a small path, and followed it onward. After five or six li, he suddenly spotted two female demons drawing water at a well. How did he know they were demons? By the hair buns on their heads—wrapped in bamboo splint, a foot and more high, a style hopelessly out of fashion.
The idiot walked up and called: "Demons!" When the two heard this, they were furious. They turned to each other and said: "This monk is insolent! We don't know him at all—we've never traded words with him before. Why does he call us demons?"
In their anger they raised the water-carrying pole and brought it down on his head. The idiot had no weapon and could not defend himself. He took several blows, clutched his head, and ran back up the mountain: "Brother, let's go back! The demons are fierce!" The Pilgrim said: "How fierce?" Bajie said: "In the mountain hollow, two female demons were drawing water at a well. I just called them by name, and they beat me three or four times with the pole!" The Pilgrim said:
"What did you call them?"
Bajie said: "I called them demons." The Pilgrim laughed: "You got off lightly." Bajie said: "Thanks for your concern! My head is swollen, and you say lightly!" The Pilgrim said: "'Gentleness gets you anywhere in the world; stubbornness cannot move an inch.' They are the local demons, and we are monks from far away. Even if you're all hands, you should still be a little gentle. You go and call them demons—if they don't beat you, who would they beat? A man should lead with courtesy." Bajie said: "I don't understand any of this!" The Pilgrim said: "You grew up in the mountains eating people. Do you know there are two kinds of wood?" Bajie said: "I don't. What wood?" The Pilgrim said: "One is poplar wood, the other is sandalwood. Poplar wood is soft by nature. A skilled craftsman takes it and carves a holy image, or sculpts the Tathagata, dresses it in gold and powder, inlays it with jade and sets it with flowers, and ten thousand people burn incense and worship it—it receives boundless blessings. But sandalwood is hard by nature. The oil press takes it and makes it into an oil-press wedge, hoops its head with iron, and pounds it down with an iron hammer—all because it is stiff and stubborn, it must endure this suffering." Bajie said: "Brother, if you'd told me this fine talk earlier, I wouldn't have taken those blows." The Pilgrim said: "Go back and ask them the facts." Bajie said: "They'll recognize me now." The Pilgrim said: "Change your form and go." Bajie said: "Brother, even if I change, how do I ask?" The Pilgrim said: "Change and go up to them, make a bow, and see how old they look. If they're about our age, call them 'miss'; if they're older, call them 'grandma.'" Bajie laughed: "What a comedown! This far from home, and I'm claiming kin!" The Pilgrim said: "It's not claiming kin—I want to draw out their talk. If they're the ones who took the master, we can move at once; if not, we won't waste time and miss our business elsewhere." Bajie said:
"Good reasoning. Let me go again."
Good idiot! He tucked his rake into his belt, went down into the hollow, shook his body, and changed into a dark, fat monk. Swaying and swaggering, he walked up to the demons, made a deep bow, and said: "Grandmas, this poor monk greets you." The two were pleased: "This monk is nice—he knows how to bow and to call us properly." They asked: "Where are you from, master?" Bajie said: "From where I'm from." They asked: "Where are you going?" He said: "To where I'm going." They asked: "What is your name?" He answered: "My name is what my name is." The demons laughed: "This monk is nice enough, but he has no sense—he just echoes whatever we say." Bajie said: "Grandmas, what are you drawing water for?" The demons said: "Monk, you wouldn't know. Our lady captured a Tang Priest last night and brought him to the cave. She wants to entertain him. The water in our cave isn't clean, so she sent the two of us to draw this water of yin-yang union, to prepare a banquet of vegetarian fruits and dishes for the Tang Priest to eat—for tonight she means to wed him!" When the idiot heard this, he spun around and ran up the mountain, shouting: "Sha Monk! Bring the baggage quick! Let's divide up!" The Sha Monk said: "Second Brother, divide what?" Bajie said: "Divide and be done! You go back to the Flowing Sands River and eat people. I'll go to Gao Village and visit my in-laws. Brother goes to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit to play the sage. The white dragon horse returns to the sea to be a dragon. The master is already getting married in the demon's cave! We can all go mind our own business!" The Pilgrim said: "This idiot, talking nonsense again!" Bajie said: "Your son is the one talking nonsense! Those two water-carrying demons said it themselves—they're preparing a vegetarian banquet for the Tang Priest to eat and then get married!" The Pilgrim said: "The demon has the master trapped in the cave, and the master is looking to us to save him, and you talk like this!" Bajie said: "How do we save him?" The Pilgrim said: "You two lead the horse and carry the load. We'll follow those two female demons—they'll lead us to the door. Then we'll strike together." And so the idiot had no choice but to come along.
The Pilgrim trailed the two demons from afar, deeper into the mountains, for a good ten or twenty li, when suddenly they vanished.
Bajie was startled: "The master's been taken by a daytime ghost!" The Pilgrim said: "Good eyes! How did you see their true form?" Bajie said: "Those two demons were carrying water, and then they just vanished—isn't that a daytime ghost?" The Pilgrim said: "They must have ducked into the cave. Let me go look."
Good Great Sage! He opened his fiery golden eyes wide and scanned the whole mountain. Nothing stirred—until he saw, before a steep cliff, an exquisite, finely ornamented archway, painted in five colors, with three eaves and four clusters of brackets. He and Bajie and the Sha Monk came close to look. On it were six large characters: "Mountain of Sunken Emptiness, Bottomless Cave."
The Pilgrim said: "Brothers, the demon has set up its gateway here—but which way does the door open?"
The Sha Monk said: "Not far! Not far! Let's look carefully." They turned and looked: at the foot of the archway, on the mountain slope, there was a great stone, about ten-odd li in circumference. Right in the middle of it was a hole the size of a water jar mouth, worn smooth and shiny.
Bajie said: "Brother, this is the hole the demons go in and out of."
The Pilgrim looked and said: "Strange! Since old Sun began guarding the Tang Priest—and I won't hide it from you two—I've caught my share of demons, but I've never seen a den like this. Bajie, you go down first and test how deep it is, so I can go in and rescue the master." Bajie shook his head: "Hard! Hard! Old Pig's body is heavy and clumsy. If my foot slips and I fall in, it might take two or three years to reach the bottom!" The Pilgrim said: "Is it that deep?" Bajie said: "You look!" The Great Sage lay on the edge of the hole and peered down carefully. Oh!
Deep! The circumference was at least three hundred li. He turned back: "Brothers, it truly is deep!"
Bajie said: "You'd better go back. The master can't be saved!" The Pilgrim said: "What are you saying! Don't go lazy, don't go idle. Set down the baggage, tie the horse to the archway pillar. You take your rake, Sha Monk take his staff, and block the cave mouth. Let me go in and scout.
If the master is truly inside, I'll use my iron staff to beat the demon out from within. When she runs to the mouth, you two block her from outside—that's an inside-outside pincer. We'll kill the demon and rescue the master." The two obeyed.
The Pilgrim leapt into the hole. Beneath his feet ten thousand rays of colored cloud sprang up, and a thousand layers of auspicious air wrapped around him. Before long he reached the deep interior, where it was bright and clear, with its own sunlight and wind, flowers and grass, fruits and trees.
The Pilgrim was delighted: "What a place! When old Sun was born, Heaven gave me the Water Curtain Cave—and here's another cave heaven and blessed land!"
As he looked, he saw a two-eaved gatehouse, surrounded by pines and bamboo, with many houses inside. He thought: "This must be the demon's dwelling. Let me go in and scout. Wait—if I go like this, she'll recognize me. Let me change." He shook his body, made a magic sign, and changed into a fly. Lightly he flew onto the gatehouse to listen.
He saw the demon sitting high in a thatched pavilion. Her appearance now was different from when they had saved her in the pine forest or when he had fought her in the temple—she was dressed up even more finely:
Hair coiled in cloud-like coiffure, dark as a raven's wing; Body clad in a green velvet flowered vest. A pair of golden lotus feet, barely half a span; Ten fingers like spring bamboo shoots. A round, powdery face like a silver basin; Crimson lips, smooth as a cherry. A truly elegant, upright beauty— Even Chang'e in the moon would be envious. Today she has captured the scripture-seeking monk, And means to share joy with him on pillow and bed.
The Pilgrim held his peace and listened to what she would say.
Presently she parted her cherry lips and called, beaming with joy: "Little ones, quickly set out the vegetarian banquet! I and my Tang Priest brother will eat and be wed."
The Pilgrim laughed inwardly:
"So it's true! I thought Bajie was just talking nonsense! Let me fly in and look for the master, see how he's doing. If she's already seduced him, well, he can just stay here."
He spread his wings and flew inside. There, in the eastern corridor, behind a lattice of red paper, upper panels bright and lower ones dim, sat the Tang Priest.
The Pilgrim flew through the lattice, landed on the Tang Priest's bald head, and called: "Master!" Sanzang recognized the voice and cried: "Disciple, save my life!" The Pilgrim said: "Master, you're done for! The demon is preparing a banquet—she means to eat with you and wed you. If you have a son or a daughter, that'll be your monk's descendant—what are you worried about?" The elder heard this, gnashed his teeth, and said: "Disciple, ever since I left Chang'an and took you in at the Mountain of Two Frontiers, all the way west, when have I ever eaten meat? On what day have I had an evil thought? Now I've been seized by this demon who demands a mate—if I lose my true yang, I'll fall into the cycle of rebirth, cast behind the Yin Mountain, never to rise again!" The Pilgrim laughed: "Don't swear. If you truly mean to seek scriptures at the Western Heaven, old Sun will get you out." Sanzang said: "I've forgotten the way I came in." The Pilgrim said: "Never mind you forgetting—this cave isn't like walking in and out the front door. You came in by drilling down from above. To rescue you, we'll have to drill up from below. If our luck is good and we find the hole, we'll be out; if our luck is bad and we don't, we'll be suffocated." Sanzang's eyes brimmed with tears: "If it's this hard, what are we to do?" The Pilgrim said: "No problem! No problem! The demon is fixing wine for you. You'll have to drink a cup. Just pour it quickly—pour it so it forms a flower of foam on the surface. I'll change into a tiny gnat and fly under the foam bubble. She'll swallow me in one gulp, and then I'll punch through her heart and tear apart her lungs and kill the demon—and you'll be free." Sanzang said: "Disciple, to speak so is hardly proper." The Pilgrim said: "If you keep being saintly, you'll lose your life. The demon is a creature that harms people—why pity her?" Sanzang said: "Very well, very well. Only you must stay close to me." Truly, the Great Sage Sun guarded Tang Sanzang, and the scripture-seeking monk relied on the Handsome Monkey King.
Master and disciple had barely finished their plotting when the demon had everything arranged. She came to the eastern corridor, unlocked the door, and called: "Venerable master." The Tang Priest did not dare answer. She called again, and still he did not dare answer. Why did he not dare? He thought: "When the mouth opens, the spirit scatters; when the tongue moves, trouble is born." And yet another thought: if he clamped his mouth shut and refused to speak, he feared her ruthless heart might kill him in an instant.
He was caught between two minds, heart asking mouth, three times thinking and enduring, mouth asking heart. While he hesitated, the demon called once more: "Venerable master." The Tang Priest had no choice but to answer: "My lady, I am here."
When the elder spoke that one word, it was like shedding a thousand pounds. People all say the Tang Priest was a true-hearted monk going to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek scriptures—how could he bandy words with a female demon? They do not know that this was a moment of mortal peril, ten thousand parts out of no choice. Though he answered outwardly, inwardly he desired nothing.
The demon heard the elder answer. She pushed the door open, helped the Tang Priest to his feet, took his hand, leaned against him, put her head to his ear—and see how she displayed a thousand coquettish airs and ten thousand seductive charms! How could she know that Sanzang's heart was full of nothing but anguish?
The Pilgrim laughed in the dark: "My master, seduced like this—I only hope his heart doesn't stir."
Truly:
A true monk in the demon's trial meets a beauty; The monster's grace and charm are indeed worth praising. Light, light green brows like willow leaves parted; Full, full rosy cheeks set off by peach blossoms. Embroidered shoes just showing twin phoenix hooks; Cloud-coiffure piled high, two temples dark as raven. Where she smiles and takes the master's hand, The scent of orchid and musk fills his cassock.
The demon led Sanzang to the thatched pavilion and said:
"Venerable master, I have prepared a cup of wine. Let us drink together."
The Tang Priest said: "My lady, this poor monk does not eat meat." The demon said: "I know you don't eat meat. The water in our cave was not clean, so I specially sent to the mountain top for pure water of yin-yang union, and made a banquet of vegetarian fruits and dishes, to enjoy with you." The Tang Priest followed her in to look. Sure enough:
At the doorway, embroidered hangings and colored knots; In the courtyard, fragrant smoke from golden incense burners. Set out were black lacquered inlaid tables And red lacquered bamboo-splint platters.
On the inlaid tables were exotic delicacies; in the splint platters were rare vegetarian fare: crabapples, olives, lotus seeds, grapes, torreya nuts, crabapples, hazelnuts, pine nuts, lychees, longans, chestnuts, wind-dried water caltrops, jujubes, persimmons, walnuts, ginkgo nuts, golden mandarins, fragrant citrons—fruits from every mountain; and vegetables fresh in season: tofu, wheat gluten, wood-ear fungus, fresh bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fragrant dried mushrooms, Chinese yam, Solomon's seal.
Stone-flower seaweed and day-lily buds, fried in clear oil; hyacinth beans and cowpeas, dressed with seasoned sauce. Cucumbers, bottle gourds, ginkgo nuts, turnips. Peeled eggplants made into quail shapes, seeded winter melon cut in square cubes. Stewed taro with sugar, white-boiled radish with vinegar. Pepper, ginger, spicy and savory—all of it fine; salt and seasoning, every flavor balanced.
The demon pointed her jade-white fingers, lifted a gleaming golden cup, filled it with wine, and handed it to the Tang Priest, saying: "Venerable brother, you wonderful man—please drink a cup of nuptial wine."
The Tang Priest took the wine bashfully, gazed up, and poured a libation, praying silently: "Guardian devas of the Dharma, Guardians of the Five Quarters, Duty Officers of the Four Seasons: this disciple, Chen Xuanzang, since leaving the Eastern Land, has been protected in secret by all you gods, sent by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, that I might reach Thunder Peak and see the Buddha and seek the scriptures. Now on the road I have been seized by a demon who forces me to wed, and she hands me this cup of wine. If this wine is truly vegetarian, I shall drink it and still see the Buddha and succeed; if it is not, and breaks my vow, I shall fall forever into the suffering of rebirth!" Now the Great Sage Sun, in his tiny form, hovered by his ear like a voice in his ear—so that when he spoke, only Sanzang could hear; no one else could.
He knew the master usually liked grape wine, and so told him to drink a cup.
The master had no choice but to drink. He hastily filled a cup to the brim and offered it back to the demon. And sure enough, as he poured, a flower of foam rose on the surface. The Pilgrim changed into a tiny gnat and slipped under the foam. The demon took the cup in her hand but did not drink. She set the cup down, bowed twice to the Tang Priest, and murmured a few tender words of affection. Then she raised the cup—but the foam had already dispersed, and the gnat was visible.
The demon did not know it was the Pilgrim transformed. She thought it was just a bug. She flicked it off with her little finger and tossed it away.
The Pilgrim saw the plan had failed and knew he could not get into her belly. He changed at once into a hungry eagle. Truly:
Jade talons, golden eyes, iron pinions— A proud form and fierce spirit soaring in the clouds. Fox-demons and cunning rabbits faint at the sight of him; A thousand li of mountains and rivers, he traverses in a trice. When hungry, he faces the wind and hunts sparrows; When full, he soars high against Heaven's gate. His old fists, hard as steel, hurt most of all; When his ambition is fulfilled, he soars beyond the azure and disdains what's near.
He swooped up, spread his jade talons, and with a crash overturned the table and scattered the feast. Every vegetarian fruit and dish, every plate and dish—he smashed them all. Leaving the Tang Priest, he flew out. The demon was terrified, her courage shattered. The Tang Priest's bones and flesh turned to jelly.
The demon, trembling, clutched the Tang Priest and said: "Venerable brother, where did that thing come from?"
Sanzang said: "This poor monk does not know." The demon said: "I spent so much effort preparing this feast for us to enjoy, and I don't know where this flat-feathered beast flew in from to smash all my dishes!" The little demons said: "Madam, the smashed dishes are bad enough, but the food is scattered on the ground, fouled—how can we use it?" Sanzang knew perfectly well it was the Pilgrim's magic, but he dared not say so.
The demon said: "Little ones, I understand now. It must be that Heaven and Earth will not tolerate my keeping the Tang Priest, and so sent this creature. Pick up the broken dishes and take them out. Prepare some more wine and food—I don't care whether it's vegetarian or meat. I'll point to Heaven as my matchmaker and to Earth as my witness, and then I'll wed the Tang Priest."
And so she had the elder taken back to the eastern corridor to sit. We shall speak no more of that for now.
The Pilgrim flew out, resumed his true form, and reached the cave mouth. He called: "Open up!" Bajie laughed: "Sha Monk, brother's back!" The two set down their weapons.
The Pilgrim leapt out. Bajie stepped forward, grabbed him, and said: "Any demon? Any master?"
The Pilgrim said: "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Bajie said: "Is the master suffering in there? Tied up? To be steamed or boiled?" The Pilgrim said: "None of that—just a vegetarian banquet, and she means to do that thing with him." Bajie said: "You lucky dog, you lucky dog! You got to drink the wedding wine!" The Pilgrim said: "Idiot!
The master's life is in danger—what wedding wine!
"Bajie said: "Then why did you come back out?" The Pilgrim told them everything—how he had seen the Tang Priest, worked his transformations, and what had happened. He said: "Brothers, stop your wild thoughts. The master is here. Old Sun is going in again, and I'll surely get him out." He turned and dove back inside, changed again into a fly, and landed on the gatehouse to listen. He heard the demon, huffing with anger, ordering from the pavilion: "Little ones, I don't care if it's meat or vegetarian—bring it and burn paper. I'll ask Heaven and Earth to be my matchmaker and witness. I must wed him!" The Pilgrim heard this and laughed inwardly: "This demon has not a shred of shame! In broad daylight she locks up a monk and bosses him around. But don't rush—let old Sun go in and have another look." With a buzz he flew to the eastern corridor, where he saw the master sitting inside, tears streaming down his cheeks.
The Pilgrim flew in, landed on his head, and called again: "Master!" The elder recognized the voice, leapt up, gnashed his teeth, and said: "You macaque! Other people's boldness is body wrapping around guts—but your boldness is guts wrapping around your body! You worked your transformations and smashed the dishes—what was that worth? You riled the demon's lust, and now she's arranging meat and vegetarian alike, determined to have her way with me! How will this end!"
The Pilgrim apologized with a hidden laugh: "Master, don't be angry—there's a way to save you." Sanzang said: "How can you save me?" The Pilgrim said: "When I flew up just now, I saw a garden behind her place. You coax her into the garden for a stroll, and I'll save you." Sanzang said: "How will you save me in the garden?" The Pilgrim said: "When you and she reach the garden, walk to the peach trees and stop. I'll fly onto a peach branch and change into a red peach. You'll want to eat a fruit—pick the red one first. The red one is me. She'll surely want to pick one too—you must insist she take the red one. If she eats it in one bite, I'll be in her belly, and I'll punch through her hide, tear apart her liver and bowels, kill her, and you'll be free." Sanzang said: "If you have the skill, just fight her outright—why must you burrow into her belly?" The Pilgrim said: "Master, you don't understand.
"This cave of hers—if it were easy to get in and out, we could fight openly. But the way in and out is hard, the passage winding and difficult. If we fight openly, her whole crew—old and young—will grab even me, and then what?
We have to do it this way, clean and neat, so everyone gets out safe." Sanzang nodded and trusted him, saying only: "Stay close to me." The Pilgrim said: "I know! I know! I'm on your head."
Master and disciple having settled their plan, Sanzang propped himself up, held the lattice, and called: "My lady! My lady!" The demon heard him and came running, smiling: "Wonderful brother, what is it?" Sanzang said: "My lady, since I left Chang'an and traveled west, there has not been a day without mountains, not a day without water. Yesterday at the Zhenhai Monastery I caught a heavy cold. Today, after sweating, I'm a little better; and with your kindness in bringing me to this fairy palace, I've been sitting all day, and my heart feels stuffy. Won't you take me somewhere to stroll and clear my head?" The demon was delighted: "My wonderful brother has some spirit after all! I'll take you to the garden to play." She called: "Little ones, bring the keys, open the garden gate, and sweep the paths!" The demons all ran to open up and tidy.
The demon opened the lattice and helped the Tang Priest out. And see what a host of little demons there were—oiled hair and powdered faces, graceful and elegant—all clustered around, escorting the Tang Priest to the garden. What a monk! In that bevy of beauties he was no different from stone; in that grove of silks he played deaf and dumb. If not for this iron-cast heart set on the Buddha, a second wine-and-woman mortal could never have sought the scriptures.
They all reached the garden gate. The demon said, softly and sweetly: "My wonderful brother, let's play here—it will truly ease your heart and dispel your gloom."
The Tang Priest took her hand and they entered together. He looked up and saw what a fine place it was:
Winding paths, every inch strewn with green moss; Elegant latticed windows, all hung with embroidered curtains. When the breeze first stirred, gossamer lightly spread like Shu brocade and Wu silk; When the fine rain just lifted, tender and moist, it revealed an ice-and-jade beauty. Sun-scorched fresh apricots, red as a fairy drying her rainbow robes; Moon-lit banana leaves, green as the imperial consort waving her feather fan. Powder-white walls on all four sides, ten thousand willows where orioles sang; Leisure pavilions all around, a courtyard full of crabapple where white butterflies fluttered. And look at the Pavilion of Concentrated Fragrance:
The Pavilion of Green Brows, the Pavilion of Sobering from Wine, the Pavilion of Lovesick Yearning—layer upon layer, their vermillion blinds hung on shrimp-whisk hooks. Then the Pavilion of Nourishing Sourness, the Pavilion of Draped White, the Pavilion of Painted Eyebrows, the Pavilion of Four Rains—each one lofty, with plaques inscribed in bird-script. Look at the Pool of Bathing Cranes, the Pool of Washing Wine Cups, the Pool of Delighting in the Moon, the Pool of Rinsing Cap-Strings—green duckweed and golden-scaled fish shimmering. There were also the Studio of Ink Flowers, the Studio of Strange Boxes, the Studio of Suitable Amusement, the Studio of Yearning for Clouds—jade cups and jade goblets floating with green-tinted wine. Above and below the pools and pavilions were Taihu rocks, purple fluorite stones, parrot-landing stones, and Jin-chuan stones, with tiger-whisker rush planted green among them. East and west of the studios and pavilions were wooden artificial mountains, Emerald Screen mountains, Whistling Wind mountains, and Jade Fungus mountains, all overgrown with phoenix-tail bamboo.
Blackberry-lily trellis, rose trellis, standing by the swing frame—like brocade canopies and silk bed-curtains; Pine and Cypress Pavilion, Magnolia Pavilion, facing the Rose Pavilion—like a jade city with an embroidered screen. Peony rails, peony clusters, red and purple vying in glory; Night-blooming Jasmine Terrace, Jasmine Railing, year after year blooming in charm. The purple smiling-face flower dripped with dew, fit to paint, fit to draw; the red hibiscus blazed in the sky, fit to write of, fit to compose on. For scenery, do not boast of the fairy gardens of Langyuan and Penglai; for fragrance, it need not yield to the Yao Yellow and Wei Purple peonies. If in third month you came to compete in gathering herbs, the only thing this garden lacked was the jade qiong-flower.
The elder walked with the demon, admiring the garden, gazing at wonders without end. Past many pavilions they went, and truly the scenery grew finer and finer. Then he looked up and saw the peach grove. The Pilgrim pinched the master's head. The elder knew.
The Pilgrim flew onto a peach branch, shook his body, and changed into a red peach—red and lovely. The elder said to the demon: "My lady, in your garden the flowers are fragrant and the branch-fruits are ripe:
The garden's fragrance draws bees to compete; The branches' ripe fruit draws birds to snatch.
But how is it that on this peach tree, some fruits are red and some are green?" The demon laughed: "Without yin and yang, the sun and moon would not shine; without yin and yang, the grass and trees would not grow; without yin and yang, there would be no division of male and female. On this peach tree, the fruit on the sunny side, touched by the sun, ripens first and turns red; the fruit on the shady side, without sun, stays unripe and green. This is the principle of yin and yang."
Sanzang said: "Thank you for the lesson, my lady. Truly, this poor monk did not know."
He reached forward and plucked a red peach. The demon also went and plucked a green peach.
Sanzang bowed and offered the red peach to the demon: "My lady, you love beauty—please eat this red peach. Give me the green one."
The demon traded indeed, and thought, pleased: "What a monk! He is a true man! Not a day of marriage yet, and already he shows such tenderness." The demon, delighted, offered the Tang Priest her reverence. The Tang Priest took the green peach and ate it. The demon, pleased to keep him company, opened her mouth and bit into the red peach.
She parted her crimson lips, bared her silver teeth—but before she could bite down, the Pilgrim Sun, being all too impatient, somersaulted right down her throat and past it, into her belly. The demon was frightened and said to Sanzang: "Venerable master, this fruit is fierce! How could it roll down before I even bit through?" Sanzang said: "My lady, it's the first fruit picked from a newly opened garden, so it went down fast." The demon said: "I didn't even spit out the pit, and it slid right down."
Sanzang said: "My lady, your heart is so full of love and joy that you ate it so eagerly you didn't even spit out the pit—it just went down."
The Pilgrim, inside her belly, resumed his true form and called: "Master, stop talking to her—old Sun has got hold of her!" Sanzang said: "Disciple, be gentle." The demon heard this and said: "Who are you talking to?" Sanzang said: "I'm talking to my disciple, Sun Wukong." The demon said: "Where is Sun Wukong?" Sanzang said: "In your belly. That red peach you just ate—wasn't that him?" The demon panicked: "It's over, it's over! This monkey head has burrowed into my belly—I'm a dead woman!
"Sun Wukong! What are you doing, burrowing into my belly by every trick and scheme?" The Pilgrim, inside, snarled:
"Nothing much! Just eating your six-lobed liver and lungs, your three-haired, seven-holed heart! I'll clean out all five viscera and turn you into a hollow clapper!"
When the demon heard this, her soul flew and her spirit scattered. Trembling, she clutched the Tang Priest and said: "Venerable master! I thought our fate from former lives was tied with the red thread, That fish and water would blend, our hearts deep in accord. But who would expect the mandarin ducks to be torn apart today? Who would think the phoenix pair would scatter, east and west? At Blue Bridge the waters rise—the tryst cannot be kept; The Buddha's temple, incense gone cold—the happy meeting is vain. This earnest meeting ends in parting once more— What year shall I see you again!"
The Pilgrim, inside her belly, heard her words and feared the master's soft heart might be swayed again. So he swung his fists, stomped his feet, braced himself in a wide stance, and nearly punched through her hide. The demon could not bear the pain. She fell to the ground and did not dare speak for a long while. When the Pilgrim saw she was not speaking, he thought she was dead and loosened his grip a little. She gasped back to life and called: "Little ones! Where are you?" Now those little demons, ever since entering the garden, had each gone his own way—picking flowers, competing in games, amusing themselves as they pleased, leaving the demon and the Tang Priest to their own private romance.
Hearing the call, they all came running. They saw the demon lying on the ground, her face changed, moaning and unable to crawl. They hurriedly helped her up and crowded around: "Madam, what's wrong? Is it a fit of heart-pain?"
The demon said: "No! No! Don't ask—there is already a person inside my belly! Quickly, take this monk out of here—spare my life!" The little demons all came to carry him.
The Pilgrim called from inside her belly: "None of you dare carry him! You'd better carry my master out yourself. Once you're outside, I'll spare your life!"
The demon had no other plan. With only her life to think of, she struggled to her feet, hoisted the Tang Priest on her back, and strode out.
The little demons followed: "Madam, where are you going?"
The demon said: "As long as the bright moon of the Five Lakes remains, what worry is there that I can't cast my golden hook somewhere else? Let me send this fellow out, and I'll find another man!" Good demon! She leapt up on a cloud and flew straight to the cave mouth. Again came the clanging and clashing of weapons. Sanzang said: "Disciple, I hear weapons outside." The Pilgrim said:
"It's Bajie scraping his rake. Call him." Sanzang called: "Bajie!" Bajie heard: "Sha Monk! The master's coming out!" The two snatched up their rake and staff. The demon carried the Tang Priest out. Oh! Truly:
The Mind-Ape strikes from within, subduing the evil monster; Wood and Earth guard the gate, receiving the holy monk.
But whether the demon lived or died—listen to the explanation in the next chapter.