Chapter 41

The Mind-Monkey Is Defeated by Fire; the Wood-Mother Is Seized by the Demon

Good and evil dropped from thought in a moment; bloom and wither alike never touched his heart. Dark or bright, hidden or seen — let them sink or swim. As it comes: hungry, then eat; thirsty, then drink.The spirit calm and clear is ever still; but when dusk and murk descend, the demons come creeping in. The Five Phases stumble, and the grove of Zen is broken; once the wind stirs, a biting chill must follow.

Now the Great Sage Sun, taking Bajie with him after bidding Sha Monk farewell, leapt across Withered Pine Ravine and came straight to the face of the Crag of Strange Rocks. There indeed stood a cave dwelling, and truly a sight out of the common run. Here is what they saw:

An old road wound home through quiet and shade; the breeze and the moonlight listened to dark cranes at play.White clouds let out a shine that filled the stream; water ran beneath the bridge, and the spirit of immortals rose.Gibbons whistled, birds sang among strange flowers and trees; vines hung and stone steps were crowned with ganoderma and orchids.Gray rock swayed on cliff and ravine, scattering mist and rose-cloud; emerald-dyed pine and bamboo beckoned the parti-colored phoenix.Far off the peaks were ranked like standing screens; hills paid court and ravines came winding to a true immortal's cave.The earth-vein of Kunlun sends the dragon out this way; those with the lot and the fate are the ones who may enjoy it.

As they drew near the gate they came upon a stone tablet engraved with eight large characters: “Fire Cloud Cave, Withered Pine Ravine, Mount Hao.” Alongside, a swarm of little demons was whirling spears and dancing swords, romping in the wind.

The Great Sage Sun called out at the top of his voice: “You little ones! Run and tell your cave lord, and tell him to hand over my master the Tang monk, and spare every spirit in this cave its life. If half the word ‘no’ cracks between his teeth, I'll turn your mountain over and trample your cave dwelling flat.” At this the little demons wheeled about in a panic, scurried each one back into the cave, shut the two stone doors, and gave word inside: “Great King, disaster!”

Now the monster, since carrying Tripitaka off into the cave, had stripped his clothes from him, trussed him hand and foot, and laid him in the back courtyard, ordering the little demons to draw clean water and scrub him — meaning to steam him and eat him. At the cry of disaster he put off the scrubbing and came to the front court to ask: “What disaster?” A little demon said: “There's a monk outside with a hairy face and a thunder-god beak, leading a monk with a long snout and big ears, demanding some master of theirs, a Tang monk. If half the word ‘no’ passes their teeth, they'll turn the mountain over and trample the cave flat.” The demon king smiled faintly and coldly: “This is Pilgrim Sun and Zhu Bajie — so they do know how to come looking. I seized his master; from mid-mountain to here it is a hundred and fifty li. How have they tracked me to my very door?” He ordered the lads in charge of the carts to push the carts out. That squad of little demons rolled five little carts out and opened the front gate.

Bajie, seeing them, said: “Brother, the demon must be afraid of us — pushing out carts to move house somewhere.” Pilgrim said: “He is not. Let's watch where he puts them.” The little demons set the carts out according to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, left five to guard them, and five went in to make their report. The demon king asked: “All in order?” The answer came: “All in order.” He called for his spear. Two of the little demons in charge of weapons carried out a fire-tipped spear eighteen feet long and handed it to the demon king. Brandishing it and dragging his steps, wearing no armor at all but a brocade battle skirt bound at his waist, and barefoot, he came out the gate. Pilgrim and Bajie looked up, and here is the monster they saw:

A face like powder laid on, three parts white; lips like brushed cinnabar — a well-set lad.Temple hair coiled like blue-black cloud that shamed the indigo dye; brows arched like new moons, as if cut with a blade.His battle skirt was cunningly embroidered with coiled dragons and phoenixes; beside Nezha he looked the plumper boy.The spear poised in both hands, awesome and chill; a lucky radiance guarded his body as he came out the gate.His snarl crashed out like the roar of spring thunder; his glaring eyes flashed sharp as forked lightning.To learn this demon's true surname: through the ages the name rings — Red Boy.

The monster Red Boy came out the gate and shouted: “What sort of people come caterwauling on my ground!” Pilgrim came up smiling: “Nephew mine, none of your sleight of hand. Early this morning, hanging from the tip of a pine by the roadside, you were one scarecrow of a sickly, yellow-faced child, and you gulled my master. I, in all kindness, carried you on my back, and you whipped up a wind and whisked my master away. And now you put on this appearance — do you think I wouldn't know you? Hand over my master at once. Don't let this sour your face and break the family bond, for fear your worthy father should hear of it and blame old Sun for elders bullying the young — a shabby look.” At this the monster flared into a rage and thundered: “You brazen ape-head! What family bond have I with you? Standing there wagging your jaw with your rubbish — which one of us is your nephew?” Pilgrim said: “Brother, it's you who don't know. Back when your worthy father and I were sworn brothers, you were not yet born.” The monster said: “Monkey, more and more you rave! What people are you, and what people am I, that my father should be your brother?” Pilgrim said: “You simply don't know. I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. Before I wrecked it I roamed the rim of the seas and the ends of the earth, all four great continents, missing no quarter; and in those days I had eyes for heroes only. Your worthy father is called the Bull Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Levels Heaven; he and old Sun swore brotherhood — seven of us — and we made him our eldest. There was the Flood-Dragon Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Covers the Sea, who was second; and the Great Roc Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Confounds Heaven, who was third; and the Lion Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Moves Mountains, who was fourth; and the Macaque Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Rides the Wind, who was fifth; and the Gibbon Demon King, titled the Great Sage Who Drives Out Gods, who was sixth; and old Sun, being small of stature, was titled the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and ranked seventh. When we brothers were out sporting in those days, you were not yet born.”

Hearing this, would the monster believe it? He raised the fire-tipped spear and thrust. Pilgrim, being a past master, was in no hurry: with a twist of body he slipped past the spearhead, swung the iron staff, and cursed: “You little beast, you know no bounds — take the staff!” The demon likewise twisted aside from the staff and answered: “Brazen monkey, you know nothing of the times — take the spear!” The two of them, kinship forgotten, changed face together, each let loose his powers, and leapt up into the clouds — a fine fight:

Pilgrim's name was great; the demon king's art was strong. One swung level the gold-banded staff; one thrust straight the fire-tipped spear. One breathed fog to veil the Three Realms; one spewed cloud over the four quarters. A sky of murderous roar and bellowing cries; sun, moon and stars lost their light. No courteous yielding in their words; on both sides feeling ran perverse. That one deceived his heart and forfeited courtesy; this one changed countenance and cast off all constancy. The staff parried with a long swell of might; the spear came in with wild abandon. One was the true Great Sage of Primal Origin; one was the youth Sudhana come to his true fruit. The two strove with all their might for victory, all for the Tang monk's worship of the Dharma King.

The demon and the Great Sage Sun fought some twenty rounds without a verdict. Pig Bajie watched from the side and saw it clearly: the demon, though not yet beaten, did nothing but parry and fend, with no power to press an attack; and Pilgrim, even if he could not yet win, was masterly and precise with the staff, circling ever about the demon's head, never straying from his flanks. Bajie thought to himself: “This is bad. Pilgrim is quick — any moment he'll leave a gap open, lure the demon to dart in, bring the iron staff down, and there goes my share of the credit.” Look at him: he shook out his spirit, raised the nine-toothed rake into the air, and struck down at the demon's skull. The demon, startled at the sight, hastily dragged his spear and fled the field. Pilgrim shouted after him: “Bajie, chase him! Chase him!”

The two of them chased him to the cave gate, where the demon stood atop the middle of the five little carts, the fire-tipped spear raised in one hand, while with the other he clenched his fist and pounded his own nose twice. Bajie laughed: “This rascal plays the crybaby and knows no shame. Pounding his nose to a pulp so the blood will run and redden his face — where does he think he'll go and file charges against us?” The demon pounded his nose twice, recited a spell, and fire spewed from his mouth while thick smoke burst from his nostrils; he blinked his eyes, and flames sprang up all together, and fire came surging out of the five little carts. Mouthful after mouthful he spewed, until red roaring flame filled the sky and smoke and fire wrapped the whole Fire Cloud Cave — truly it seared the heavens and scorched the earth. Bajie panicked: “Brother, it's no good — dive into that fire and you can forget about living. Old Pig would come out roast and ready, seasoned and spiced, all for his delectation. Run, run!” With the word “run” he left Pilgrim where he stood and fled across the ravine.

This Pilgrim, whose powers are vast, pinched the fire-averting sign and plunged into the flames after the demon. The demon, seeing him come, spewed mouthful upon mouthful, and the fire burned hotter than before. What a fire:

Blazing, blazing — fire filling the sky; majestic, mighty — red over all the ground. Like a wheel of flame tumbling up and down; like charcoal sparks whirling east and west. This fire was no fire struck from wood by Suiren, nor Laozi's elixir flame; not fire from heaven, not wildfire on the plain, but the samadhi fire a demon has cultivated to its truth. Five little carts answering the Five Phases; out of the Five Phases' birth and change the fire was simmered forth. Wood in the liver feeds the heart-fire's blaze; the heart-fire settles the spleen's earth to balance. The spleen's earth begets metal, and metal melts to water; water breeds wood again — and the whole wheel rings with spirit. Birth upon birth, change upon change, all of it from fire; fire fills the vault of heaven and the ten thousand things flourish. Long has this demon meditated on the samadhi's call; westward he holds his post forever, first of the rank.

Wrapped in billowing smoke and flame, Pilgrim could not come at the demon or make out the path to the cave gate, so he drew out of the fire in a leap. From the gate the demon had watched the whole of it; seeing Pilgrim gone, only then did he put away his fire gear and lead his pack of demons back inside, shutting the stone doors. Sure of victory, he ordered his lads to lay a feast and strike up music, and laughed his fill — no more of that.

Pilgrim leapt back across Withered Pine Ravine, brought his cloud down, and heard Bajie and Sha Monk talking away among the pines. He came up and shouted at Bajie: “You Idiot, not a drop of manhood in you! Scared of a demon's fire, you run for your life and leave old Sun behind. It's lucky I keep a trick or two up my sleeve.” Bajie laughed: “Brother, that demon had your measure — you truly never read the times. The old saying goes: ‘Whoever reads the times is called a hero.’ The demon was no kin of yours, yet you had to claim kin. Once you were at blows he let loose that fire that knows no mercy — and you still wouldn't run; you had to keep trading strokes with him.” Pilgrim said: “And how does that monster's skill compare with mine?” Bajie said: “No comparison.” “His spear-work beside mine?” “No comparison there either. Old Pig could see he couldn't hold out, so I stepped in to lend you one stroke of the rake — and the wretch, with no notion of fair sport, turned tail and — mark the justice of it — breathed fire.” Pilgrim said: “All the more reason you shouldn't have come in. Give me a few rounds more and I'd have found my opening and landed the staff on him — and wouldn't that have been a sight better?”

The two of them went on debating the demon's skill and the venom of his fire, while Sha Monk leaned against a pine root and laughed till he was simple. Pilgrim caught sight of him: “Brother, what's the joke? Maybe you have some art in hand to seize this demon and break his array of fire? This is business in which all of us stand to gain. The proverb says: ‘Many hairs together make a ball.’ If you could take the demon and save Master, it would be a great feat to your credit too.” Sha Monk said: “I have no arts, and I can't subdue demons. I'm laughing because you have both lost your heads.” Pilgrim said: “How so, lost my head?” Sha Monk said: “In skill the demon is beneath you; in spear-work beneath you. It is only the extra fierceness of his fire that keeps you from winning. Take the advice of your humble brother: take him by the law of generation and conquest — where's the difficulty?” Pilgrim burst out laughing: “Brother, you talk reason. It's true — we lost our heads and forgot all about it. By the law of generation and conquest, water conquers fire. Where do we find water enough to drown this demon fire — and then haven't we saved Master?” Sha Monk said: “Just so, and no lingering.” Pilgrim said: “You two stay here and don't provoke him to battle. Old Sun will go to the Eastern Ocean and ask the loan of the dragon soldiery, bring water back, drown the demon fire, and take this brazen beast.” Bajie said: “Go with an easy heart, brother. We know our business.”

The good Great Sage rode his cloud from that place and in an instant stood over the Eastern Ocean. He had no stomach for the sea views; he used his water-parting art and clove the waves. On the way he ran into a sea-yaksha on patrol, who, the moment he saw the Great Sage Sun, sped back to the crystal palace to report to the old Dragon King. Ao Guang at once led out dragon sons and grandsons, shrimp soldiers and crab privates, to meet him at the gate, and begged him inside. They sat, the courtesies were done, and tea was offered. Pilgrim said: “Spare me the tea — I've a matter to put to you. My master the Tang monk is bound for the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and fetch the scriptures. Passing Fire Cloud Cave in Withered Pine Ravine on Mount Hao, a demon named Red Boy, who styles himself the Holy Infant King, seized my master. Old Sun tracked him to the cave and fought him, and out came his fire. We can't stand up to it; and since water conquers fire, I've come to ask you for water — send down a good soaking rain, drown the fire, and deliver the Tang monk from one of his tribulations.” The Dragon King said: “Great Sage, you've got it wrong. For rain you shouldn't come to me.” Pilgrim said: “You are the Dragon King of the Four Seas, the steward of rain and dew. If not to you, whom should I apply?” The Dragon King said: “Though I preside over rain, I dare not act alone. There must be a decree from the Jade Emperor naming the place, the feet and inches of the fall, and the watches of beginning and ending; the Three Officials must raise their brushes, the Taiyi must move the writ, and Thunder Lord, Lightning Mother, Wind Uncle and Cloud Boy must all be convened. As the proverb says: ‘Without a cloud, the dragon does not travel.’” Pilgrim said: “I don't need wind, cloud, thunder or lightning — just rainwater enough to put out a fire.” The Dragon King said: “Wind, cloud, thunder, lightning or none, I alone cannot muster the force. How would it be if my younger brothers joined the Great Sage in the work?” Pilgrim said: “Where do your brothers keep themselves?” The Dragon King said: “Ao Qin, Dragon King of the Southern Sea; Ao Run, Dragon King of the Northern Sea; Ao Shun, Dragon King of the Western Sea.” Pilgrim laughed: “Rather than tour three more seas, I might as well go upstairs and get the Jade Emperor's decree.” The Dragon King said: “There's no need, Great Sage. Let me strike the iron drum and the golden bell, and they'll be here in an instant.” Pilgrim said: “Then strike, old Dragon King — quick about it.”

In a trice the Dragon Kings of the three seas came crowding in: “Eldest brother, what charge have you for us?” Ao Guang said: “The Great Sage Sun is here to borrow rain, to help subdue a demon.” The third brother led him in and presented him, and Pilgrim told out the whole business of the borrowed water. Every spirit gave joyful consent, and the host was mustered:

Bold sharks formed the van; the witless, wide-mouthed pike led the forlorn hope.Marshal Carp went tumbling through the waves; Commodore Herring belched fog and spouted wind.Commandant Mackerel whistled the watch in the east; Colonel Whitefish hurried the march on the western road.Red-Eye Horseboy danced in the south; General Black Armor charged down from the north.Sergeant Bonito sounded the call at the center; the troops of the five quarters, heroes every one.The Soft-Shelled Turtle, Grand Councilor, artful in all maneuvers; His Excellency the Tortoise, subtle past sounding in his schemes.Premier Alligator, stocked with stratagem and sense; General-in-Chief Snapper, of many a change and many a power.Crab soldiers, sidling, brandished long swords; shrimp crones, springing straight, bent stiff bows.Clerk Catfish checked the rolls and the registers; the dragon host, counted off, marched out of the waves.

There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas gladly lent their strength; at the Great Sage Equal to Heaven's call they came.All because the Tang monk met tribulation on his road: water was borrowed and brought to drown the crimson fire.

Pilgrim led the dragon host, and in no long time they were over Withered Pine Ravine on Mount Hao. Pilgrim said: “Sons of Ao, I've troubled you over a long road. This is the demon's own ground. Wait for me up in the air and don't show your faces. Let old Sun have his bout with him: if I beat him, there'll be no need for any of you to lay hands on him; if he beats me, there'll be no need for any of you to join the fray. Only, the moment he breathes fire, listen for my call and pour down rain together.” The dragons all took the word of command.

Pilgrim brought his cloud down into the pine wood, found Bajie and Sha Monk, and called: “Brothers!” Bajie said: “Brother, you were quick. Did you fetch the Dragon Kings?” Pilgrim said: “They're all here. You two take care — mind the rain isn't heavy enough to wet the luggage. Old Sun will go and fight him.” Sha Monk said: “Go with an easy heart, brother; we know our business.”

Pilgrim leapt the ravine, reached the gate, and called: “Open the gate!” The little demons ran in to report: “Pilgrim Sun is back again.” Red Boy tipped his head back laughing: “So the fire didn't finish the monkey — that's why he comes again. This time we spare him nothing; we burn him to a crackling of skin and a mush of flesh, and only then have done.” He sprang up, leveled his long spear, and called: “Lads, roll out the fire carts!” At the gate he said to Pilgrim: “What are you back for?” Pilgrim said: “Give me back my master.” The demon said: “Monkey-head, you're too stiff to bend. What serves you as a master will serve me as a relish with my wine — and you still dream of having him? Not a hope, not a hope.” Pilgrim, hearing this, was vexed to the limit; he whipped out the gold-banded staff and smashed at his head, and the demon met him with the fire-tipped spear, striking up a parry in haste. This was a bout unlike the one before. A fine fight:

Rage flared in the brazen demon; anger stung the Monkey King warrior. This one was bent on saving the scripture-seeking monk; that one meant to eat the Tang monk Tripitaka. Hearts estranged, no bond of blood was left; feelings soured, no courtesy remained. This one itched to seize him and skin him alive; that one itched to take him raw and dip him in sauce. Truly, what a pair of champions; indeed, what a pair of bruisers. Staff came out, spear parried, staking win and loss; spear went out, staff met it, contesting low and high. Twenty rounds they traded, arm on arm, and the craft of the two houses matched stroke for stroke.

At twenty rounds the demon king could see no way to win. He feinted one spear-thrust, whipped back, clenched his fist, pounded his nose twice more, and out came the fire: smoke and flame burst up from the carts before the gate, and red flame streamed from his mouth and eyes. The Great Sage Sun turned his head and shouted: “Where are the Dragon Kings?” The dragon brothers led their water host and rained it down into the demon's firelight. What a rain! Truly:

Sweeping and sprinkling; thick and lowering.Sweeping and sprinkling — like stars tumbling from the rim of the sky; thick and lowering — like the sea-gate hung upside down, wave upon wave.At first the drops were big as fists; then urns were spilled and basins overturned.It watered the plain to the green on a duck's crown; it washed the high hills to the blue of a Buddha's head.In the gullies water flew, a thousand zhang of jade; in the ravines the springs swelled, ten thousand ribbons of silver.The three-forked crossroads brimmed before your eyes; the nine-bend brook little by little leveled.This was the divine dragons' help for the Tang monk in his trouble: the River of Heaven itself tipped over and poured.

But big rain or small, none of it could quell the demon's fire. A dragon's private rain can douse common fire — how would it douse a demon's samadhi true fire? It was oil poured upon flame: the more they poured, the fiercer it burned.

The Great Sage said: “Then let me pinch the sign and dive into the fire.” He swung the iron staff, hunting the demon to strike him. The demon, seeing him come, spat a mouthful of smoke full in his face. Pilgrim jerked his head aside, but the smoke seared his eyes into a dazzle of sparks, and tears rained down in spite of him. The truth was this Great Sage did not fear fire — he feared smoke. Long ago, when he wrecked the Heavenly Palace, the Supreme Lord Lao tempered him in the Eight Trigrams Furnace; he had the luck to shelter in the trigram Xun, the wind, and the flames never touched him. But the wind whipped the smoke into his eyes and smoked them into fiery eyes and golden pupils — and that is why, to this day, it is only smoke he fears. The demon spat another mouthful; Pilgrim could not endure it, and away he went on his cloud. The demon king put away his fire gear and returned to his cave dwelling.

The Great Sage, caked in smoke and fire, baked dry and past enduring, flung himself into the water of the ravine to quench it. Who could have known the cold water's shock would drive the fire in upon his heart: his three souls fled the body. Poor soul — breath dammed his chest, his throat went cold; spirit and splendor scattered, his life all but gone. The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, badly frightened, shut off the rain in midair and cried out with loud voices: “Marshal Tianpeng! Curtain-Raising General! Don't go hiding in the wood — come find your brother!”

Bajie and Sha Monk, hearing their saintly titles called, hurriedly loosed the horse and shouldered the load and came running out of the wood, mud and all, searching along the banks of the ravine. Upstream the water rolled in billows, and out of the rushing current came a body, floating down. Sha Monk saw it, sprang into the water clothes and all, and bore him to the bank: it was the Great Sage Sun. Ah! Look at him — his four limbs curled and would not stretch, his body from head to foot cold as ice. Sha Monk, tears dropping fast, said: “Brother, what a loss! A guest of deathless life these hundred million years — and now turned a man cut off in mid-road.” Bajie laughed: “Don't cry, brother. The monkey's shamming death to put a scare in us. Feel him: is there one spark of warmth in his chest or isn't there?” Sha Monk said: “He's cold from crown to sole. Even if one spark is left, how would it bring him round?” Bajie said: “He has seventy-two transformations, so he has seventy-two lives. Hold his feet and let me manage him.” So Sha Monk pulled the feet while Bajie cradled the head; they pulled him straight, drew his feet up, and set him sitting cross-legged and still. Bajie rubbed his two palms hot, pressed them to the seven apertures of his face, and worked the massage method of Zen. The truth was the cold water had cramped the breath in his elixir field so that he could not raise his voice. But under Bajie's kneading and rubbing the breath in a little while passed the three barriers, came round through the bright hall, and burst the apertures open — and out it came: “Master!” Sha Monk said: “Brother, alive for the master, and dying with the master's name in your mouth. Come back to yourself — we are here.” Pilgrim opened his eyes: “Are my brothers here? Old Sun has had his losses.” Bajie laughed: “You were swooning this very minute. If old Pig hadn't fetched you round, it would have been all over — and not a word of thanks yet.”

Pilgrim now rose, tipped back his head and called: “Where are the Ao brothers?” The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas answered from midair: “Here your humble dragons stand in attendance.” Pilgrim said: “I've wearied you over a long road and won no fruit of it for my pains. Go home for now; another day I'll thank you as I ought.” The Dragon Kings led their host home in stately state — and that we pass by.

Sha Monk propped Pilgrim up, and the two of them sat down beneath the pines. In a little while his spirit settled and his breath ran smooth; still the tears would not stop dropping down his cheeks. Again he called: “Master!

I remember the day we left the Great Tang: before the cliff you saved me out of calamity.Over three mountains and six streams we met the demons' barriers; ten thousand miseries, a thousand toils have cut my heart to ribbons.Morning meal begged in the bowl, rich or thin as it came; at dusk, meditation and lodging in wood or farmstead.One heart fixed on winning the fruit of success — who could know that today I would smart with wounds?”

Sha Monk said: “Brother, give over tormenting yourself. Let's settle our plan early: where do we go to beg troops to help and rescue Master?” Pilgrim said: “Where would one beg relief?” Sha Monk said: “Long ago the Bodhisattva charged us to guard the Tang monk, and she promised us: call on heaven and heaven will answer; call on earth and earth will answer. Where shall we beg help?” Pilgrim said: “When old Sun wrecked the Heavenly Palace, those celestial hosts could not hold me. This demon's powers are not small: only one whose arts are a cut above old Sun's could subdue him. The gods of heaven are no use, the fiends of earth can't manage it. To take this demon we must go invite the Bodhisattva Guanyin. But my flesh is numb and aching, my waist and knees are sore; I can't manage the somersault cloud. How would I go begging?” Bajie said: “What instructions have you? Let me go and do the begging.” Pilgrim laughed: “So be it — you may go. When you see the Bodhisattva, don't look up at her; only bow your head and make your reverence. When she questions you, give her the place and the demon's name, then beg her to rescue Master. If she consents to come, the monster is as good as taken.” Bajie heard him out, mounted the clouds and mist, and away he went south.

Now in the cave the demon king was delighted: “Lads, Pilgrim Sun has had his losses and is off. He didn't die of it, but he swooned well enough. Eh! Only mind he doesn't go inviting reinforcements. Open the gates quickly — let me see whom he asks.”

The demons opened the gates, and the demon darted up into the sky to watch. He saw Bajie heading south, and he thought: south of here there is nowhere else to go — he must be off to invite the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Down he pressed his cloud in haste, calling: “Lads, fetch out that leather bag of mine. It's lain long unused; I'm afraid the mouth-rope has gone rotten. Put a new one on and set it inside the second gate. I'll go gull Bajie into coming back, pack him in the bag, steam him to a pulp, and feast you all.” The truth was the demon kept a wishing leather bag. The little demons brought it out, changed the mouth-rope, and set it within the cave gate — no more of that.

The demon king had lived so long in these parts that he knew every path as his own beat: which road to the Southern Sea ran near and which ran far. By the near road he rode a cloud, overhauled Bajie, settled himself on a cliff face, changed into the very likeness of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, and waited for Bajie.

The Idiot, riding his cloud, suddenly caught sight of the Bodhisattva. How would he know true from false? He worshiped the image as Buddha at sight. The Idiot brought his cloud down and bowed: “Bodhisattva, your disciple Zhu Wuneng kowtows.” The demon said: “You've left off guarding the Tang monk and his scriptures — what business brings you to me?” Bajie said: “Disciple, journeying with Master, midway we met a demon at Fire Cloud Cave in Withered Pine Ravine on Mount Hao — one Red Boy — and he carried my master off. My brother and I tracked him to his door and fought him. He can breathe fire, it turns out: in the first bout we couldn't beat him; in the second we had the Dragon Kings help us with rain, and still the fire wouldn't die. My brother was scorched and can't move, so he sent me to invite the Bodhisattva. Grant us your mercy, and save my master from this tribulation.” The demon said: “The lord of that Fire Cloud Cave is no killer of lives. You must have given him offense.” Bajie said: “I never gave him offense — my brother Wukong did. The demon changed into a little child hung on a tree, to test my master. Master, with the kindest heart, told me to take him down, and had my brother carry him a stretch of the way. My brother dashed him down once, and the demon whipped up a wind and whisked Master away.” The demon said: “Get up and follow me into the cave to see the cave lord. I'll speak a good word for you: you make one bow of apology and have your master out.” Bajie said: “O Bodhisattva, if you'll only give me back my master, I'll kowtow to him into the bargain.” The demon king said: “Then follow me.”

The Idiot, knowing no better, went along with him straight back by the old road — not toward the southern ocean at all, but to the Fire Cloud gate — and in a moment they stood at the gate. The demon went in first: “Entertain no suspicion. He's an old friend of mine. Come in.” The Idiot could only lift his foot and enter. At once all the demons raised a shout together, fell on Bajie, packed him in the bag, cinched the mouth-rope tight, and hung him high from the ridge-beam. The demon showed his true form and sat in the middle: “Zhu Bajie! What arts are yours, that you dare guard the Tang monk on his scripture quest — dare invite the Bodhisattva to subdue me? With both eyes wide open you didn't know me: I am the Holy Infant King! Now you're taken. Hang you three days, five days, steam you soft, and make you the treat I hand my little demons — a relish for the table.” From inside the bag Bajie cursed him: “You brazen monster, the very height of rudeness! With your hundred ruses and thousand tricks you've gulled me to be eaten — but I tell you, one and all of you will catch the head-swollen plague.” The Idiot cursed and cursed again, bawled and bawled again — no more of that.

Now the Great Sage Sun and Sha Monk were sitting together when a wind with a reek of carrion swept across their faces. He gave a sneeze and said: “Bad, bad! This wind bodes far more ill than good. I'm afraid Bajie has taken the wrong road.” Sha Monk said: “If he took the wrong road, couldn't he ask the way?” Pilgrim said: “He's met the demon, that's what it is.” Sha Monk said: “If he met the demon, couldn't he run home?” Pilgrim said: “It's bad. You sit here and keep watch; I'll run across the ravine and sound it out.” Sha Monk said: “Your back is hurt, brother — I'm afraid he'll lay hands on you again. Let me go.” Pilgrim said: “You wouldn't manage it. Leave it to me.”

Good Pilgrim: he set his teeth, bore the pain, took up the iron staff, crossed the ravine, and stood before Fire Cloud Cave bawling: “Brazen monster!” The door-keeping demons hurried in to report: “Pilgrim Sun is bawling at the gate again.” The demon king gave the order to take him. The pack of demons, bristling with spears and blades and howling in chorus, flung the gates open, all crying: “Take him! Take him!” Pilgrim, weary to be sure, dared not face them: he slipped aside by the roadside, recited a spell, cried “Change!”, and turned himself into a bundle-wrap stitched with gold. A little demon saw it, took it up, and carried it in, reporting: “Great King, Pilgrim Sun has lost his nerve. At the one word ‘take’ he was in such a fright he dropped his bundle and ran.” The demon king laughed: “Nothing worth having in that bundle — the monk's ragged gown and an old hat, most likely. Carry it in and unpick it for patches.” So a little demon really carried the bundle in, never guessing it was Pilgrim transformed. Thinks Pilgrim: “Good — now my gold-stitched bundle is being carried in.” The demon thought nothing of it and tossed it down inside the gate.

Good Pilgrim — false upon false, sham upon sham: he plucked a hair, blew on it a breath of magic air, and made a second bundle-wrap just like it; and his true body changed into a tiny fly and settled on the door hinge. There he heard Bajie groaning and mumbling inside, his voice muffled, exactly like a plague-struck pig. Whining off he flew to look, and found him hung up inside the leather bag. Pilgrim settled on the bag and heard him cursing the demon long and demon short with a will: “You turned yourself into a sham Bodhisattva Guanyin to gull me back here and hang me up — and you talk of eating me? One of these days my brother will:

unloose the boundless arts of the Sage Equal to Heaven, and every brazen monster on this mountain be taken on the spot.He'll undo the leather bag and let me out, and pound you with a thousand rakes before his heart is satisfied.”

Pilgrim heard him and chuckled to himself: “Though the Idiot stews in there, he doesn't let his colors drop. Old Sun will have this monster yet — and if I don't, how am I ever to wash out this score?”

He was on the point of contriving Bajie's rescue when the demon king's voice rang out: “Where are my Six Able Generals?” Now he had six little demons, spirits after his own heart, raised to the rank of able generals and each with a name: one called Cloud-in-the-Fog, one Fog-in-the-Cloud; one Quick-as-Fire, one Fast-as-Wind; one Blazing-Up, one Up-Blazing. The Six Able Generals came forward and knelt. The demon king said: “Do you know the house of the Old Elder King?” The six said: “We know it.” The demon king said: “Fly, day and night, and invite the Old Elder King here. Tell him I've caught the Tang monk and will steam him for him to eat, and his span will stretch a thousand ages.” The six monsters took the order and went out the gate, hauling and dragging one another along. Pilgrim whined softly, flew down from the bag, hung on the six monsters' trail, and slipped out of the cave.

But how would they go about the inviting? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

The Mind-Ape Is Beaten by Fire; the Wood Mother Is Taken by the Demon.

Good and evil are forgotten in a moment; thriving and withering no longer touch the heart. In dark or light, hidden or seen, let all things float or sink. Take each day as it comes: eat when hungry, drink when thirsty.When the spirit is quiet it stays clear and still; when it darkens, demons creep in. Stumbling against the Five Elements wrecks the grove of meditation. When the wind stirs, a chill is sure to come.

Now the Great Sage Sun led Bajie, and after they had parted from Sha Monk, they jumped across the Withered Pine Stream and came straight to the cliff of strange rocks. There they really did find a cave home, and the scenery was truly out of the ordinary. Here is what they saw:

The old road winds in, quiet and still; in wind and moonlight you can hear black cranes playing.White clouds open up light over the whole valley; running water passes the bridge with the air of an immortal's home.Apes cry and birds call among strange flowers and trees; vines, stone steps, sweet herbs, and orchids outdo one another.Gray cliff shadows shake loose mist and colored haze; dark green pines and bamboo call in bright phoenixes.Far off, peaks stand in a row like a set screen; hills face it, streams wind around it—a true immortal cave.Its dragon-line of earth runs out from Mount Kunlun; only those with the fate and the bond may enjoy it.

As they came near the gate they saw a stone tablet carved with eight large characters: "Mount Hao, Withered Pine Stream, Fire Cloud Cave." Nearby, a band of little demons was swinging spears and brandishing swords, leaping and playing in the wind.

The Great Sage Sun called out in a sharp voice: "You little ones, go at once and report to your cave's master. Tell him to hand over my master, the Tang monk, and I will spare the lives of every spirit in this cave. But if half a 'no' slips out between his teeth, I will tip your mountain over and flatten your cave home." The little demons, hearing this, spun around in a panic and hurried back into the cave. They shut the two stone doors and went in to report: "Great King, disaster has come!"

Now the demon had carried Tripitaka into the cave, stripped off his clothes, trussed him up hand and foot, and left him tied in the back courtyard. He had told the little demons to fetch clean water and scrub him clean, for he meant to steam him and eat him. Hearing the report of disaster, he left off the scrubbing and came to the front hall to ask: "What disaster?" The little demon said: "There's a monk with a hairy face and a beak like the Thunder God's, and with him a monk with a long mouth and big ears, at the gate demanding their master, the Tang monk. They say if half a 'no' slips out, they'll tip the mountain over and flatten the cave." The demon king gave a faint cold laugh: "So it's Pilgrim Sun and Zhu Bajie. They're good at tracking, though. I took his master from mid-mountain to here, a hundred and fifty li—how did they find their way to my very gate?" He ordered the lads in charge of the carts to push them out. Several of the little demons pushed out five little carts and opened the front gate.

Bajie saw it and said: "Brother, this demon must be afraid of us—he's pushing out carts to move away over there." Pilgrim said: "No. Let's see where he sets them." The little demons set the carts in place according to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, put five in charge of watching them, and five went in to report. The demon king asked: "Ready?" The answer came: "Ready." He called for his spear. Two of the little demons in charge of weapons carried out a fire-tipped spear eighteen feet long and handed it to the demon king. Swinging the spear and striding out, with no armor at all—only a brocade war skirt bound at his waist, and barefoot—he came out the gate. Pilgrim and Bajie looked up and watched. Here is what that creature looked like:

A face like powdered chalk, three parts pale; lips like touched rouge, a handsome sight.Temple hair coiled like dark clouds, deeper than indigo dye; brows like a new moon cut by a knife.His war skirt was finely stitched with coiling dragons and phoenixes; his build was fuller even than Nezha's.Both hands held the spear with awesome bearing; an auspicious light guarded him as he came out the gate.His roar rang out like spring thunder; his glaring eyes flashed like sudden lightning.To know this demon's true name, famous through the ages—he is called Red Boy.

That Red Boy demon came out the gate and shouted: "Who's out here yelling at my door!" Pilgrim came up smiling: "Good nephew, don't put on acts. This very morning you were hanging from the top of a pine by the mountain road, a thin, sickly, yellow-faced boy, and you fooled my master. Out of kindness I carried you on my back, and you raised a wind and snatched my master away. Now you show up in this shape—do you think I wouldn't know you? Hand over my master now. Don't put on a cold face and throw away the family tie. If your father hears of it, he'll blame old Sun for the senior bullying the junior—not a proper way to behave." At this the demon's heart boiled with anger, and he roared: "You wretched ape! What family tie do we have? You stand there spouting rubbish—where do you get such a line? Who is your good nephew?" Pilgrim said: "Brother, that's just it—you don't know. Back when I swore brotherhood with your father, you weren't even born yet." The demon said: "Monkey, more nonsense! Where are you from and where am I from? How could you be my father's sworn brother?" Pilgrim said: "You don't know. I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago. Before that, when I had not yet wrecked the palace, I roamed every corner of the seas and the four great continents; nowhere did I fail to go. In those days I sought out men of mettle. Your father, called the Bull Demon King, styled the Great Sage Who Levels Heaven, and I, old Sun, became sworn brothers—seven of us—and we made him the eldest. There was also the Flood-Dragon Demon King, the Great Sage Who Covers the Sea, second brother; the Great Roc Demon King, the Great Sage Who Mingles with Heaven, third brother; the Lion Demon King, the Great Sage Who Moves Mountains, fourth brother; the Macaque Demon King, the Great Sage of the Passing Wind, fifth brother; the Gibbon Demon King, the Great Sage Who Drives Out Gods, sixth brother; and I, old Sun, small of body, styled the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, ranked seventh. When we old brothers were out at our games in those days, you weren't born yet."

The monster heard this and would not believe a word. He raised the fire-tipped spear and stabbed. Pilgrim was the practiced hand who never flusters; he made a shift of his body to dodge the spearhead, swung the iron staff, and swore: "You little beast, you don't know your betters! Take the staff!" The demon too made a shift of his body, avoided the staff, and said: "Brazen monkey, you have no sense of the times! Take the spear!" The two of them threw any thought of kinship to the wind, turned on each other at once, each loosed his divine powers, and leaped up into the clouds. A fine fight:

Pilgrim's name rings loud; the demon king's skill runs strong. One swings the gold-banded staff across; one levels the fire-tipped spear. Fog spewed out shrouds the three worlds; clouds spewed out light up the four quarters. A day of killing air and fierce roaring—the sun, moon, and stars lose their light. No yielding in their words; both tempers ran wild. One cheats his heart and throws off courtesy; the other turns his face and drops all bond of duty. Staff rises in long majesty; spear darts in wild fury. One is the true Great Sage of Primal Unity; the other a good young Sudhana bound for the fruit of enlightenment. Both strive with all their might for the win—all for the Tang monk to worship the Dharma King.

The demon fought the Great Sage Sun twenty rounds without a win on either side. Zhu Bajie watched from the side and saw it plainly: though the demon did not lose ground, he only parried and blocked, with no power to attack; and though Pilgrim could not beat him, his staff work was sharp and strong, always sweeping around the demon's head, never leaving his left or right. Bajie thought to himself: "This is bad. Pilgrim is quick—he'll drop an opening any minute, trick the demon into diving in, knock him flat with one blow of the staff, and there goes my share of the credit." Watch him: bracing his spirit, he raised the nine-toothed rake in the air and struck straight at the demon's head. The monster's heart jumped; he dragged his spear away and fled the field. Pilgrim shouted: "Bajie, after him! After him!"

The two chased him to his cave gate. There stood the demon, fire-tipped spear raised in one hand, on the middle cart of the five; with the other hand he clenched his fist and hammered his own nose twice. Bajie laughed: "This fellow is crying foul without any shame. Smash your nose bloody, paint your face red—where do you think you'll go to file charges against us?" The demon hammered his nose twice, said a spell, and fire came out of his mouth while thick smoke burst from his nose; he blinked his eyes and flames sprang up at once. Fire gushed out from all five carts. Mouthful after mouthful—the red flames filled the sky, and smoke and fire wrapped the whole Fire Cloud Cave. Truly it scorched heaven and burned the earth. Bajie panicked: "Brother, this is bad! Dive into that fire and don't dream of coming out alive. It would make old Pig a roast, nicely seasoned, for him to enjoy. Run, run!" At the word "run" he left Pilgrim behind and bolted across the stream.

This Pilgrim had vast powers. He pinched the charm for keeping off fire and plunged into the flames to hunt the demon. Seeing him come, the demon spat several more mouthfuls, and the fire burned fiercer than before. A fine fire:

Blazing and raging, it filled the sky with flame; awesome and dreadful, it reddened the earth from end to end. It was like a fiery wheel flying up and down, like charcoal sparks dancing east and west. This fire was not Suiren's fire drilled from wood, nor Laozi's fire for smelting cinnabar; not heaven's fire, not wild fire—it was the true samadhi fire the demon had cultivated to reality. The five carts matched the Five Elements, and the elements' growth and change had simmered this fire into being. Liver-wood begets heart-fire and makes it blaze; heart-fire in turn levels spleen-earth. Spleen-earth begets metal, and metal turns to water; water begets wood, and through it all the spirit runs free. Growth and change all come from fire; fire fills the long sky and all things flourish. The demon long ago mastered what is called samadhi, and in the West it forever holds first place.

Pilgrim, with smoke and flame whirling around him, could not find the demon or even see the path before the cave gate, so he pulled himself out of the fire. The demon, watching clearly from his gate, saw Pilgrim leave; only then did he put away his fire gear, lead his pack of demons inside, and shut the stone doors. Sure he had won, he ordered the lads to lay a feast and make music, and they laughed and rejoiced. No more of that for now.

Now Pilgrim jumped back across the Withered Pine Stream, set down his cloud, and heard Bajie and Sha Monk talking away among the pines. He came up and shouted at Bajie: "You Idiot, you've no guts at all. You feared the demon's fire, ran for your life, and left old Sun behind. Good thing I have a few wits of my own." Bajie laughed: "Brother, the demon called it right—you truly have no sense of the times. The ancients say: 'Whoever knows the times is called a hero.' The demon is no kin of yours, yet you insisted on claiming kin. Once you were fighting him, he breathed out that pitiless fire—and you still wouldn't leave, but had to keep sparring with him." Pilgrim said: "How does the monster's skill compare with mine?" Bajie said: "Not a match." "His spear play compared with mine?" "Not a match either. Old Pig saw he couldn't hold out, so I came to help you with one rake—who knew he'd have no sense of fair play and just quit the field, and then breathe fire, the wretch." Pilgrim said: "Then you shouldn't have come. If I'd fought him a few more rounds, I'd have found a sly opening and caught him one good blow of the staff—wouldn't that have been fine?"

The two of them went on discussing the demon's skill and the venom of his fire. Sha Monk leaned on a pine root, laughing away to himself. Pilgrim saw it and said: "Brother, what are you laughing at? Have you some skill to catch the demon and break his fire formation? This business is everyone's business. The common saying goes: 'Many hairs together make a ball.' If you catch the demon and save Master, that's a great merit of yours too." Sha Monk said: "I have no skills and cannot subdue demons. I'm laughing at you two—both of you lost your heads." Pilgrim said: "How did I lose my head?" Sha Monk said: "That demon's skill is not as good as yours, nor his spear play—only he has fire to add to it, so you couldn't beat him. If you take my advice, catch him by the law of one element conquering another—what would be hard about that?" Pilgrim laughed out loud: "Brother, you talk sense. Truly we lost our heads and forgot this. By the law of conquering, water beats fire. Where can we find water to drown the demon's fire and save Master?" Sha Monk said: "Exactly so. No delay." Pilgrim said: "You two stay here. Don't challenge him to battle. I'll go to the Eastern Ocean and borrow the dragon troops, bring water to drown the demon fire, and catch this foul monster." Bajie said: "Go with an easy heart, brother. We know what to do."

Good Great Sage—he sped off on his cloud and in a moment reached the Eastern Ocean. He had no mind to admire the sea view; he used a water-splitting spell to push the waves apart. As he went along he ran into a night-patrol yaksha, who saw it was the Great Sage Sun, rushed back to the crystal palace, and told the old Dragon King. Ao Guang at once led his dragon sons and grandsons, his shrimp soldiers and crab privates, out the gates to meet him and asked him inside to sit. When they had sat down and the courtesies were done, tea was offered. Pilgrim said: "No tea needed. I've come to trouble you over a matter. My master, the Tang monk, is on his way to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and fetch scriptures. On the road, at Fire Cloud Cave on Withered Pine Stream at Mount Hao, a demon named Red Boy, styled the Holy Infant King, seized my master. Old Sun tracked him to the cave and fought him, but he breathed out fire, and we could not stand against it. Since water beats fire, I've come to ask you for some water—let fall a good rain, drown that fire, and save the Tang monk from this trouble." The Dragon King said: "Great Sage, you've come to the wrong one. If you want rain, you shouldn't ask me." Pilgrim said: "You are the Dragon King of the four seas, in charge of rain and dew. If I don't ask you, whom do I ask?" The Dragon King said: "Though I am in charge of rain, I dare not act on my own. It takes an edict from the Jade Emperor: how many feet and inches of rain for that place, what hour to start and stop—and the Three Officials must write it out, the Taiyi officer must move the papers, and Thunder Lord, Lightning Mother, Wind Uncle, and Cloud Boy must all be called together. The old saying goes: a dragon without clouds cannot travel." Pilgrim said: "I don't need wind, cloud, thunder, or lightning—just some rain to put out a fire." The Dragon King said: "Even without wind, cloud, thunder, and lightning, I alone cannot manage it. What if my younger brothers come to help the Great Sage?" Pilgrim said: "Where are your brothers?" The Dragon King said: "Ao Qin, Dragon King of the Southern Sea; Ao Run, Dragon King of the Northern Sea; Ao Shun, Dragon King of the Western Sea." Pilgrim laughed: "Rather than tour three more seas, I might as well go up top and ask the Jade Emperor for an edict." The Dragon King said: "No need to go, Great Sage. If I strike this iron drum and gold bell of mine, they'll be here in a moment." Pilgrim said: "Old Dragon King, then strike the bell and drum quickly."

In a moment the Dragon Kings of the three seas crowded in and asked: "Big brother, what do you want of us?" Ao Guang said: "The Great Sage Sun is here to borrow rain to help subdue a demon." The three younger brothers were led in and made their greetings. Pilgrim told the whole story of borrowing water. The gods all gladly agreed, and the roll was called:

Sharks, brave and fierce, form the front division; the big-mouthed, dull-witted catfish leads the vanguard.Marshal Carp tumbles through the waves; Commander Bonefish spews mist and wind.Watch Commander Mackerel patrols the east; Division Director Whitefish drives the march on the west road.Red-eyed Horse Boy dances to the south; General Black Armor charges down from the north.Squad Leader Dorado sounds the call in the central army; soldiers of the five quarters, heroes everywhere.The Privy Counselor Turtle, crafty in every maneuver; His Lordship Tortoise, subtle master of deep schemes.Prime Minister Alligator, full of wit and wisdom; Commander-in-Chief Snapping Turtle, full of changes and powers.Sidewalking crab soldiers swing long swords; leaping shrimp grannies pull stiff bows.Catfish Clerk checks the rolls and tallies; the dragon troops are counted and march out of the waves.

There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The Dragon Kings of the four seas gladly came to help; the Great Sage Equal to Heaven had asked them along.Only because Tripitaka met trouble on the road did they come with borrowed water to put out the red fire.

Pilgrim led the dragon troops, and in no time they were over Mount Hao and the Withered Pine Stream. Pilgrim said: "Ao brothers, thank you for coming so far. This is demon country. Stay up in the air and do not show your faces. Leave old Sun to fight him. If I beat him, there's no need for you to catch him; if I lose to him, there's no need for you to join the fight. Only, whenever he breathes fire, wait for my call and rain down together." The Dragon Kings all took the order.

Pilgrim lowered his cloud, went into the pine wood, found Bajie and Sha Monk, and called: "Brothers." Bajie said: "Brother, you were quick. Did you get the Dragon King to come?" Pilgrim said: "They've all come. You two take care—fear the rain may be heavy; don't let it wet the luggage. I'll go fight him." Sha Monk said: "Go with an easy heart, brother. We know what to do."

Pilgrim jumped the stream, reached the gate, and called: "Open up!" The little demons went in to report again: "Pilgrim Sun has come back." Red Boy laughed skyward: "So the monkey wasn't burned in the fire after all, and here he comes again. This time I won't let him off—I'll burn him to crackled skin and charred meat before I stop." He sprang up, leveled his long spear, and called: "Little ones, push out the fire carts." Outside the gate he said to Pilgrim: "What are you back for?" Pilgrim said: "Return my master." The demon said: "You monkey—you're too dense to bend. That Tang monk of yours makes a fine master for you, and fine meat to go with wine for me. And you still think of taking him? Forget it, forget it." Pilgrim boiled with anger at this; he drew the gold-banded staff and smashed at his head. The demon brought up the fire-tipped spear and hastily parried. This fight was unlike the last. A fine battle:

The foul monster flared in rage; the Monkey King marshal fumed. This one burned to save the scripture-seeking monk; that one hungered to eat the Tang Tripitaka. Their hearts had turned; no kinship left. Their feelings estranged; no yielding between them. This one would gladly catch him and skin him alive; that one would gladly take him and dip him raw in sauce. Truly too bold a hero, really packed with fierce strength. Staff comes, spear parries, wagering the win; spear goes, staff meets, contesting the lead. Twenty rounds they swung at each other—their two skills were much the same.

After twenty rounds with Pilgrim, the demon king saw he could not win. He feinted one thrust, pulled back at once, clenched his fist, struck his nose twice more, and breathed out fire. Smoke and flame burst up from the carts before the gate, and red flame flew from his mouth and eyes. The Great Sage turned his head and shouted: "Dragon Kings, where are you?" The Dragon King brothers led their water folk and rained down into the demon's firelight. A fine rain! Truly:

Drumming and pattering, dense and heavy. Drumming and pattering—like stars falling from the sky's edge; dense and heavy—like waves tumbling from an overturned sea mouth. At first the drops were fist-sized; then they poured like tipped urns and basins. It watered the whole earth green as a duck's head and washed the high hills blue as a Buddha's crown. From the gullies water flew like thousand-foot jade; in the stream beds waves rose like ten thousand threads of silver. The three-fork crossroads slowly filled; the nine-bend creek slowly leveled. This was the divine dragons' help for the Tang monk in his hour of need—the River of Heaven tipped over and poured down.

Big or small, the rain could not stop the demon's fire. The Dragon Kings' private rain could put out ordinary fire only. How could it put out the demon's true samadhi fire? It was like pouring oil on a fire: the more they poured, the hotter it burned.

The Great Sage said: "Then watch me pinch the charm and dive into the fire." He swung the iron staff, hunting the demon to strike him. Seeing him come, the demon sprayed a mouthful of smoke straight into his face. Pilgrim jerked his head back, his eyes stung and swam with sparks, and tears ran like rain—he could not hold them. The truth is, the Great Sage did not fear fire; he feared smoke. Back when he wrecked the Heavenly Palace, the Supreme Lord Lao had roasted him once in the Eight Trigrams furnace. He had the luck to settle in the Xun position, the windy spot, so the fire never burned him; but the wind stirred the smoke and smoked his eyes into fiery golden eyes. That is why he has feared smoke ever since. The demon sprayed another mouthful; Pilgrim could not stand it, and he rode his cloud away. The demon king put away his fire gear and returned to his cave.

The Great Sage, his whole body wrapped in smoke and fire, parched and burning past all bearing, dived straight into the stream water to quench it. Who knew that the cold water, pressing in on him, would drive the fire against his heart and send his three souls out of his body? Poor man—his breath choked his chest, his throat went cold, his soul fled and his spirit scattered, and the life left him. The four Dragon Kings, in a panic, stopped the rain in midair and cried out at the top of their voices: "Marshal Tianpeng! Curtain-Raising General! Don't hide in the wood. Come find your brother!"

When Bajie and Sha Monk heard their old titles called, they hurriedly unhitched the horse, shouldered the load, and ran out of the wood. They did not mind the mud but searched along the banks of the stream. Upstream they saw waves rolling and tumbling, and something drifting down in the swift current. Sha Monk saw it, jumped into the water clothed as he was, and carried it ashore. It was the body of the Great Sage Sun. Ah! His four limbs were doubled up and would not stretch, and his whole body was cold as ice. Sha Monk's eyes filled with tears: "Brother, what a loss—you, a guest of long life who was never to age for millions of years, have now become a man whose life was cut short halfway on the road." Bajie laughed: "Brother, don't cry. This monkey is only shamming death to scare us. Feel him yourself—isn't there one bit of warmth left in his chest?" Sha Monk said: "His whole body is cold. Even if there is one bit of warmth, how would that bring him back to life?" Bajie said: "He has seventy-two transformations, so he has seventy-two lives. Hold his legs, and I'll work on him." So Sha Monk really held his legs while Bajie held his head. They pulled him straight, pushed his feet up, and sat him cross-legged. Bajie rubbed his two hands hot, pressed them on the seven openings of his head, and used a massage technique of meditation. The truth was that the cold water had blocked Pilgrim's breath below his navel, so he could not make a sound. But thanks to Bajie's pressing and rubbing, in a moment his breath passed the three barriers, moved up into the head, burst open his passages, and he cried out: "Master!" Sha Monk said: "Brother, you lived for your master, and dying you still have him on your lips. Come to, we're here." Pilgrim opened his eyes: "Brothers, are you here? Old Sun took a beating." Bajie laughed: "You'd only fainted. If old Pig hadn't saved you, it would have been all over—and you don't even thank me."

Pilgrim got up, lifted his face, and said: "Where are the Ao brothers?" The four Dragon Kings answered from midair: "We little dragons stand in attendance." Pilgrim said: "I troubled you to travel so far and gained no merit after all. Please go back; I will thank you another day." The Dragon Kings led their water folk away again in state. No more of that.

Sha Monk helped Pilgrim over, and the two sat down under the pines. Before long his spirit settled and his breath calmed, but the tears kept dripping down his cheeks. He called again: "Master!

I remember when we left the great Tang of old; at the cliff face you saved me out of disaster.Over three mountains and six waters we met demon blocks; ten thousand pains, a thousand hardships, cut my heart like knives.With my bowl at morning meals I took thick or thin; at evening I lodged in woods or villages to practice meditation.My one hope was to reach the fruit of success—who could know that today would bring such wounds?"

Sha Monk said: "Brother, don't torment yourself. Let's settle on a plan early—where can we ask for soldiers to help and save Master?" Pilgrim said: "Where would we ask for help?" Sha Monk said: "When the Bodhisattva first ordered us to protect the Tang monk, she promised us: call on heaven and heaven answers, call on earth and earth answers. Where shall we go to ask?" Pilgrim said: "In the days when old Sun wrecked the Heavenly Palace, those divine troops could not stand against me. This demon's powers are not small; only someone whose skill is bigger than old Sun's own can subdue him. Heaven's gods won't do; the fiends of earth can't. To catch this demon, we must ask the Bodhisattva Guanyin. But my skin and flesh ache and tingle, my back and knees hurt; I can't manage the somersault cloud. How could I go ask?" Bajie said: "Any orders for me? Let me go ask." Pilgrim laughed: "All right—you're the one to go. But when you see the Bodhisattva, do not look up at her; only bow your head and worship. When she questions you, give her the place name and the demon's name, then beg her to save our master. If she is willing to come, the monster is sure to be caught." Bajie heard this, mounted the clouds and mists, and went off south.

Now in the cave the demon king said happily: "Little ones, Pilgrim Sun has taken his beating and gone. This round didn't kill him, but he must have fainted hard. Ah—only I'm afraid he's gone to fetch reinforcements. Open the gate quickly, and I'll go see whom he asks."

The demons opened the gate, and the demon rushed into the air to watch. He saw Bajie heading south. The demon reasoned that there was nothing else to the south but one place: without doubt it was the Bodhisattva Guanyin he was after. He dropped his cloud at once and called: "Little ones, fetch out my leather bag. It hasn't been used in a long time—the mouth rope may have gone slack. Change it for a new one and set it under the inner gate. I'll go trick Bajie back, stuff him in the bag, steam him soft, and reward you all." The demon had a leather bag that grants every wish. The little demons brought it out, changed the mouth rope, and set it inside the cave gate. No more of that for now.

Now the demon king had lived here long, and all these paths were ground he knew well: he knew which road to the Southern Sea was short and which was long. He took the short road, rode a cloud, overtook Bajie, sat himself on a cliff face, transformed into the likeness of Guanyin, and waited for Bajie.

The Idiot, riding along on his cloud, suddenly caught sight of the Bodhisattva. How could he tell true from false? This was truly seeing a statue and taking it for the Buddha. The Idiot stopped his cloud and bowed: "Bodhisattva, your disciple Zhu Wuneng kowtows." The demon said: "Aren't you supposed to be guarding the Tang monk on his quest for scriptures? What business do you have with me?" Bajie said: "We were on the road with Master when we met the Red Boy demon of Fire Cloud Cave on Withered Pine Stream at Mount Hao, and he carried my master off. My brother and I went to his gate and fought him. It turns out he can breathe fire. In the first round we didn't win. In the second round we asked the Dragon King to help with rain, and that couldn't put the fire out either. My brother was burned and cannot move, so he sent me to ask you, Bodhisattva. Please take pity and save my master from this trouble." The demon said: "The master of Fire Cloud Cave is not one who takes life. Surely it was you who offended him." Bajie said: "I didn't offend him—it was my brother Wukong who offended him. He turned into a small child hanging in a tree, to test my master. Master has a kind heart and told me to take the child down and have my brother carry him a stretch of the way. My brother threw him down once, and the boy raised a wind and carried Master off." The demon said: "Get up and follow me into the cave to see the master of the cave. I'll speak a good word for you; you make a bow, give an apology, and we'll get your master out." Bajie said: "Bodhisattva, if you will give me back my master, I'll kowtow to him too." The demon king said: "Then follow me."

The Idiot, knowing no better, followed him straight back the way they had come—not to the Southern Sea at all, but to the gate of the Fire Cloud Cave, and in a moment they stood before it. The demon went in and said: "Don't be suspicious. He's an old friend of mine. Come in." The Idiot had no choice but to step through the gate. The pack of demons shouted at once, threw Bajie down, stuffed him into the bag, drew the mouth rope tight, and hung him high on the roof beam. The demon showed his true form and sat in the middle: "Zhu Bajie, what powers have you, that you dare guard the Tang monk on his quest and dare ask the Bodhisattva to subdue me? With your two eyes wide open, you still didn't know me—I am the Holy Infant King. Now that I've caught you, I'll hang you three or five days, steam you soft, and hand you out to my little demons—make a side dish of you." From inside the bag Bajie cursed: "Foul monster! Utterly without manners! Use all your hundred tricks to catch me and eat me—I'll see that every last one of you comes down with the plague of swollen heads!" The Idiot cursed on and on and yelled on and on. No more of that for now.

Now the Great Sage and Sha Monk were sitting together when a wind with a fishy smell blew across their faces. He gave a sneeze and said: "Not good, not good! This wind bodes more ill than good. I'd say Bajie has taken the wrong road." Sha Monk said: "If he took the wrong road, can't he ask someone?" Pilgrim said: "I'd guess he's run into the demon." Sha Monk said: "If he ran into the demon, can't he run back?" Pilgrim said: "It isn't safe. You stay here and keep watch. I'll dash across the stream and find out." Sha Monk said: "Your back hurts, brother. I'm afraid you'll fall into his hands again—let me go." Pilgrim said: "You're no use for it. Let me go."

Good Pilgrim—gritting his teeth and bearing the pain, he gripped the iron staff, crossed the stream, and came to the front of Fire Cloud Cave, shouting: "Foul monster!" The demons at the gate hurried in to report: "Pilgrim Sun is shouting at the gate again." The demon king gave the order to seize him. The pack of little demons crowded out with spears and blades, yelling together, threw the gate open, and all cried: "Catch him! Catch him!" Pilgrim was truly worn out; he dared not face them. He slipped aside to the edge of the road, said a spell, called "Change!" and turned himself into a wrapping cloth stitched with gold. A little demon saw it, picked it up, and carried it in, reporting: "Great King, Pilgrim Sun has lost his nerve. He'd barely heard the word 'catch' when he dropped his bundle in a panic and ran." The demon king laughed: "There's nothing worth a coin in that bundle—nothing but the monk's worn cassock and an old hat. Carry it in and take it apart for patches." A little demon really did carry the bundle in, not knowing it was Pilgrim transformed. Pilgrim said to himself: "Good—this gold-stitched bundle has found its carrier." The demon thought nothing of it and tossed it inside the gate.

Good Pilgrim—false upon false, sham inside sham: he plucked a hair, blew on it a breath of magic air, and made a second wrapping cloth just like it; his real body then turned into a small fly and settled on the door hinge. He could hear Bajie groaning away inside, his voice thick and unclear, like a pig with the plague. Pilgrim buzzed off to look and found him hanging in the leather bag. Pilgrim settled on the bag and heard him cursing the demon long and the demon short: "Why did you turn into a fake Bodhisattva Guanyin to trick me back here and hang me up—and say you'll eat me too? One of these days my brother will—

unfurl his heaven-shaking arts, and every demon on this mountain will be caught that hour.He'll untie the leather bag and set me free, and a thousand rake-blows on you will ease my heart."

Pilgrim heard this and laughed to himself: "Though this Idiot is stifling in there, he still keeps his flag up. Old Sun simply must catch this monster—how else can I wipe away this disgrace?"

Just as he was working out how to rescue Bajie, he heard the demon king call: "Where are my Six Strong Generals?" He had six clever little demons, spirits of his inner circle, whom he had made Strong Generals, all with names: one called Cloud-in-the-Fog, one called Fog-in-the-Cloud; one called Swift-as-Fire, one called Fast-as-Wind; one called Stir-Up-the-Fire, one called Fire-Stirred-Up. The Six Strong Generals came forward and knelt. The demon king said: "Do you know the Old Great King's house?" The six said they did. The demon king said: "Go tonight without stopping and ask the Old Great King to come. Tell him I've caught the Tang monk and will steam him for him to eat—it will add a thousand ages to his life." The six demons took the order and, dragging each other along, went straight out the gate. Pilgrim buzzed, flew down from the bag, followed close behind the six demons, and slipped out of the cave.

How would that invitation turn out? Listen to the next chapter to find out.