Chapter 60

The Bull Demon King Quits the Fight and Goes to the Splendid Feast; Pilgrim Sun Borrows the Banana-Leaf Fan a Second Time

The earth god said: "The Great-Strength King is the Bull Demon King." Pilgrim said: "Were these mountains set burning by the Bull Demon King, under the false name of the Flaming Mountains?" The earth god said: "No, no. If the Great Sage will pardon this poor god's offense, I dare speak plainly." Pilgrim said: "What offense have you? Speak freely." The earth god said: "This fire was first set by the Great Sage himself." Pilgrim said in wrath: "Where was I? What idle talk is this? Am I one who sets fires?" The earth god said: "You do not know me, it seems. There was no such mountain here once. Because the Great Sage, five hundred years ago in the great havoc of heaven, was seized by the Illustrious Sage and carried bound to Lord Lao, who set the Great Sage in the Eight Trigrams furnace. When the smelting was done and the cauldron opened, you kicked over the elixir furnace, and a few bricks fell out with fire still in them, and here they turned into the Flaming Mountains. I was by origin the keeper of the furnace in the Tushita Palace; Lord Lao blamed me for failing my watch and banished me here, and so I became the earth god of the Flaming Mountains." Zhu Bajie heard and said in spite: "No wonder you are dressed so — you are a Daoist turned earth god."

Pilgrim, half believing, said: "Then tell me why I should seek the Great-Strength King." The earth god said: "The Great-Strength King is the Raksasi's husband. Of late he has left the Raksasi and lives now in the Cloud-Resting Cave on Thunder-Gathering Mountain. There was a fox king of ten thousand years; the fox king died, leaving a daughter called the Jade-Faced Princess. The princess had a fortune of a million, and no one to manage it. Two years ago, hearing of the Bull Demon King's vast powers, she was willing to pay in her fortune from her own side and marry him in as husband. The Bull Ox left the Raksasi and has not looked back since. If the Great Sage finds the Bull Ox and begs him to come here, then you can borrow the true fan: first, to quench the flames and let the master go forward; second, to end the fire's scourge forever and preserve the living of this country; and third, to pardon me and let me back to heaven, to return and report to Lord Lao's decree." Pilgrim said: "Where does Thunder-Gathering Mountain lie? How far to it?" The earth god said: "Due south. From here to there, three thousand li and more."

Pilgrim heard, told Sha Monk and Bajie to guard the master, and told the earth god to stay with them and not go back; then with a whoosh he was gone, vanished from sight. In less than half a watch he saw a high mountain brushing the sky. He brought down his cloud and stood on the summit to look — a fine mountain truly:

Tall? Its crown brushes the blue vault. Great? Its roots strike the yellow springs. Before the mountain the sun is warm; behind the ridge the wind is cold. Before the mountain, warm sun: three winters cannot touch the grass and trees; behind the ridge, cold wind: in the ninth summer the ice and frost do not melt. The dragon pool takes the gully water running on; by the tiger's den against the cliff the flowers open early. The water streams in a thousand branches like flying jade; the flowers open at one heart like spread brocade. On the winding ridge the winding trees; beyond the jutting rocks the jutting pines. Truly: high mountains, steep ridges; sheer cliffs, deep gullies; fragrant flowers, beautiful fruits; red vines, purple bamboo; green pines, kingfisher willows. Eight seasons, four quarters, their colors unchanging; a thousand years, ten thousand ages, their color bright as a dragon's sheen.

The Great Sage gazed a long while, then stepped down from the sharp peak, went into the deep mountain, and looked for the way. Just as he had no tidings he saw, under the pine shade, a woman, a spray of fragrant orchid broken off in her hand, coming along with graceful steps. The Great Sage slipped beside a strange rock and looked hard at her. What manner of woman?

Lovelily fair, a beauty to topple kingdoms; slowly her lotus steps move.Her face like Wang Qiang's; her complexion like the maid of Chu.Like a flower that could speak; like jade that gives off fragrance.Her high chignon piles its black like raven wings; her paired eyes, green-tinged, level as autumn waters.Her Xiang skirt half shows her little bow shoes; her kingfisher sleeves unfold to show her long powdered wrists.Speak of evening rain and morning cloud — truly rose lips and pearl-white teeth.Smooth as the mud of the Brocade River, brows lovely as its moth-girls — she passes Wenjun and Xue Tao.

The woman came nearer the rock, and the Great Sage bowed in salutation, saying gently: "Where are you bound, holy maiden?" The woman had not looked; hearing herself called, she raised her head, and seeing the Great Sage's ugly face she was badly startled; to retreat was hard, to go on was hard; trembling she made herself answer: "Who are you, come from where, to question me here?" The Great Sage thought: "If I speak of the scriptures and the fan, this one may be kin to the Bull Ox. Better answer only as one sent by a kinship, to invite the Demon King." The woman, seeing him silent, changed countenance and cried angrily: "Who are you, to question me?" The Great Sage bowed with an apologetic smile: "I am come from Kingfisher-Cloud Mountain, new to your country, and do not know the roads. May I ask, holy maiden — is this Thunder-Gathering Mountain?" The woman said: "It is." The Great Sage said: "There is a Cloud-Resting Cave here — where does it stand?" The woman said: "What do you want with that cave?" The Great Sage said: "I am sent by Princess Iron Fan of the Banana Cave on Kingfisher-Cloud Mountain, to ask the Bull Demon King to come."

At the words that Princess Iron Fan was asking the Bull Demon King, the woman's heart flared with rage, red to the very roots of her ears, and she cursed unchecked: "That cheap drab — how ignorant! Since the Bull Ox came to my house, hardly two years, I cannot say how much pearl and kingfisher, gold and silver, silks and satins I have given him, firewood by the year, rice by the month, to live at ease — and she has no shame, and comes asking for him again?" The Great Sage heard, and knew this was the Jade-Faced Princess; he deliberately drew the gold-banded staff and roared: "You brazen hussy, you bought the Bull Ox with your fortune — truly a wife who dowered her own husband — and are you not ashamed, and dare curse others?" The woman, seeing it, was frightened out of her wits; with no good footing she trampled her golden lilies in disorder and turned and fled, trembling. The Great Sage bawled and shouted, following behind. Past the pine shade was the mouth of the Cloud-Resting Cave. The woman ran in and slammed the door. The Great Sage put up the staff and stopped to look — a fine place:

Woods thick and close; cliffs sheer and craggy. Vine shade drifts slow; orchid scent is sweet. A running spring rinses jade through the tall bamboo; cunning stones know the hour, strewn with fallen petals. Mist and rosy cloud fold the far peaks; sun and moon light the cloudy screen. Dragons moan and tigers roar; cranes cry and thrushes sing. One stretch of clear seclusion, truly lovely: precious flowers and jeweled grasses, the scene ever bright. No less than the immortal caves of Tiantai, finer than Penglai and Yingzhou on the sea.

To say nothing of the Pilgrim looking over the scenery. Now the woman ran in with the sweat pouring, her orchid heart panting with fright, straight into the study. The Bull Demon King was quietly enjoying an alchemical book there. The woman, out of temper, threw herself into his arms, clawing her ears and scratching her cheeks, and wept aloud. The Bull Ox, all smiles: "Beauty, do not fret. Say what is on your mind." The woman leaped and bounded, cursing: "Brazen fiend, you have been the death of me!" The Bull Ox laughed: "For what cause do you curse me?" The woman said: "I had no father or mother to lean on, and took you in to guard my body and keep my life. On the roads they said you were a hero — and you are only a hen-pecked scrub." The Bull Ox heard and gathered her in his arms: "Beauty — in what ways have I failed you? Say it slowly, and I will make my apology." The woman said: "Just now I was strolling in the flower shade outside the cave, breaking orchids and gathering orchids, when suddenly a monk with a hairy face and thunder-god mouth came up and made his bow, and scared me out of my wits. When I had steadied myself and asked who he was, he said the Princess Iron Fan had sent him to invite the Bull Demon King. I gave him a word or two, and he cursed me out in turn and came chasing me with a staff to beat me. Had I not run fast, he had nearly beaten me to death. Is this not inviting ruin on me? You have been the death of me." The Bull Ox heard, smoothed his face for her and made his amends, and humored her a long while before her anger cooled. The demon king then hardened: "Beauty, before you I hide nothing. The Banana Cave, though retired, is quiet and free. My mountain wife has cultivated from childhood and is a lady immortal who has won the Way; but her house is strict, and within there is not a boy of a foot tall — how could a thunder-mouthed man be sent to invite me? This must be some fiend from who knows where, or one who has borrowed a great name to come spying for me. Let me go out and look."

Good Demon King! Striding out of the study, he came to the main hall, took his armor, and dressed; took up a staff of mixed iron, came out the door and called at the top of his voice: "Who plays the insolent fool at my gate?" The Pilgrim at the side saw that his looks were greatly changed from five hundred years before. See him:

On his head a helmet of burnished silver-bright wrought iron; on his body a suit of golden armor threaded with silk; on his feet a pair of deerskin boots with turned, white-soled points; at his waist a three-strand lion-barbarian belt of twisted wire. One pair of eyes, bright as mirrors; two brows, gorgeous as red rainbows. A mouth like a bowl of blood; teeth ranked like copper plates. His roar shakes the mountains and frightens the mountain gods; his stride carries terror and panics the fell ghosts. In the four seas his name is known as Scourge of the Age; in the west, the Great-Strength, titled Demon King.

The Great Sage straightened his clothes, came forward, and bowed low with a great salutation: "Elder brother — do you not know your young brother?" The Bull Ox returned the courtesy: "Are you the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong?" The Great Sage said: "The very one, the very one. Long parted, and never a visit. Only now, coming here and asking a woman, did I find you, brother. Your splendor surpasses the old days — felicitations." The Bull Ox shouted: "No smooth tongue. I hear you wrecked the Heavenly Palace, were pressed down under Five Elements Mountain by the Buddha, and of late, freed from heaven's punishment, guard the Tang monk west to see the Buddha for the scriptures. How is it you did my son, the Holy Infant Ox, to death at the Fire Cloud Cave on the Withered Pine Gully on Number Mountain? I was nursing my wrath against you here — and how do you come seeking me?" The Great Sage saluted: "Elder brother, do not wrong your young brother. When your son seized my master and meant to eat his flesh, your brother could not get near him; happily the Bodhisattva Guanyin, meaning to save my master, persuaded him to the right. He is now the Boy of Wealth-in-Goodness — higher than you, brother, enjoying the halls of Utmost Bliss, granted the unbroken ease of long life. What is there in that — and you blame me?" The Bull Ox cursed: "You glib ape! The business of ruining my son — you have talked it away. But just now you insulted my concubine, and beat your way to my gate — why?" The Great Sage laughed: "I came to call on you, brother, and not finding you, asked that woman the way, not knowing she was my second sister-in-law. She cursed me a few words, and your brother was for once unmannerly, and startled my sister-in-law. I beg you, elder brother, forgive and forgive." The Bull Ox said: "If it is so, for old acquaintance's sake I let you go."

The Great Sage said: "Since I have your gracious pardon, my thanks without end. Only there is one matter more I trouble you with — I beg your help in it." The Bull Ox cursed: "This ape knows not up from down. I spare you, and you do not go — you come hanging on me. What help, and what help?" The Great Sage said: "To speak truly, elder brother: your brother guards the Tang monk west, and the Flaming Mountains bar the road, so that we cannot go forward. I asked the local folk, and learned that my sister-in-law the Raksasi has a banana-leaf fan, which I wished to borrow for a use. Yesterday I came to the old house and paid my respects to my sister-in-law; she would not lend it, not she. So I have come specially to you, elder brother: open a heart of heaven and earth, come with me to my elder sister-in-law, and lend the fan by all means to quench the flames, and see the Tang monk over the mountains — and it shall be given back on the spot, whole as jade." The Bull Ox heard, and his heart caught fire; he ground his steel teeth and cursed: "You said you were not unmannerly — it was over the fan all along. No doubt you insulted my mountain wife first; she would not have it, so you came to find me, and chased my concubine besides. The saying goes: a friend's wife is not to be insulted; a friend's concubine is not to be destroyed. You have insulted my wife and destroyed my concubine — what impudence! Come up and take my staff." The Great Sage said: "If it is fighting you want, brother, your brother does not fear it. Only the treasure is what I truly seek — I beg you a thousand times, lend it me to use." The Bull Ox said: "If you can hold me three rounds, I will have my mountain wife lend it; if you cannot, I beat you to death, and so wash out my wrong." The Great Sage said: "Well said, brother. Your brother has been slothful these days, and has not seen you — let us two brothers try our staff-work, and see how my martial arts stand after these years." The Bull Ox would brook no words; he drew the iron staff and struck at the head; the Great Sage took up the gold-banded staff and met it hand to hand. The two had a rare fight:

The gold-banded staff, the iron staff of mixed iron — faces changed, and friendship goes for nothing.That one says: "I was just cursing you, ape, for the ruin of my son."This one says: "Your son has won the Way — nurse no grudge."That one says: "Ignorant thing — how dare you come to my gate?"This one says: "I had my cause, and came of set purpose to ask you."One demands the fan to guard the Tang monk; one will not lend the banana leaf — too mean by half.Word gave way to word, and old friendship failed; a house without honor all took offense.The Bull Ox's staff rises like a leaping dragon; the Great Sage's staff meets it, and ghosts and gods flee.At first they fought before the mountain; then both mounted auspicious clouds and pressed on.In mid-heaven they show their powers; in five-colored light they work their wonders.Two staffs ring and shake the gates of heaven — no win, no lose; each holds the other within an inch.

The Great Sage and the Bull Ox fought a hundred rounds and more, neither winning. Just as they were locked inextricably, someone called from the mountain top: "Lord Bull Ox — my great king sends a thousand greetings, and begs you come early to take his seat." The Bull Ox heard, held off the gold-banded staff with his iron staff, and called: "Ape — hold a while; I am off to a friend's house to a feast." With that he brought down his cloud, went straight into the cave, and said to the Jade-Faced Princess: "Beauty — that thunder-mouthed fellow was the ape Sun Wukong; one bout of my staff drove him off, and he dares not come again. Play at your ease. I am off to a friend's to drink wine." He took off his armor, put on a jacket of raven-black shorn velvet, went out the door, and mounted his Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast; told the lads to keep the gate, and rode off half cloud, half mist, straight to the northwest.

The Great Sage watched from the high peak and thought in secret: "What friend has the old ox made now, to go feasting off there? Let old Monkey follow and see." Good Pilgrim! He shook himself, changed into a breath of clean wind, caught up, and went along after. Before long they reached a mountain, and the Bull Ox was gone as if the earth had swallowed him. The Great Sage gathered back his form and went into the mountain to search. In the mountain was a pool of deep clear water; at the pool's edge stood a stone tablet, with six great characters on it: the Green Wave Pool on Ragged Stone Mountain. The Great Sage thought: "The old ox has certainly gone into the water. A water spirit — if not a flood-dragon fiend, then a dragon fiend or fish fiend, or some turtle, terrapin, or alligator fiend. Let old Monkey go down and look too."

Good Great Sage! He pinched the sign, murmured a charm, shook himself, and changed into a crab — not big, not small, some thirty-six catties in weight. With a plop he jumped into the water and sank straight to the pool's bottom. Suddenly he saw a gateway arch, dainty and pierce-worked; beneath the arch the Gold-Eyed Beast was tethered. Inside the arch there was no water. The Great Sage crawled in and looked carefully: from that side came the sound of music. Behold:

Vermilion palace and shell-pavilion — no different from the world above. Gold for the roof tiles; white jade for the door pivots. Screens spread with tortoiseshell; balustrades set with coral beads. Auspicious clouds and lucky vapors halo the lotus seats, joining the three lights above and reaching the roads below. It is not the Heavenly Palace nor the sea treasury — truly this place vies with Penglai's isle. In the high hall a feast is spread, guests and host in ranks; officials great and small capped and bejeweled. They call the jade maidens to bring the ivory trays; they hasten the immortal dancers to tune the modes. The great whale sounds; the great crab dances; the turtle blows the reed pipes; the alligator beats the drum; the pearls of the black steed's jaw light up the cups and platters. Bird-seal script lines the kingfisher screens; shrimp-whisker curtains hang from the corridors. The eight notes play in turn, mixed with immortal airs; the notes of kung and shang rise and break against the clouds. A green-headed perch girl sweeps the jasper zither; a red-eyed horse lad plays the jade flute. The perch dame offers in homage dried venison; the dragon maiden pins a golden phoenix pin in her hair. What they eat is the eight-jeweled dainties of heaven's kitchen; what they drink is the ripe nectar of the purple mansion.

Above sat the Bull Demon King; at his right and left three or four flood-dragon fiends; before him sat an old dragon fiend, with the dragon sons and grandsons, the dragon wives and dragon maidens on either side.

Just as cups and tallies were crossing, the Great Sage Sun walked straight up, and the old dragon spied him and gave the word: "Seize that wild crab!" The dragon sons and grandsons crowded up and took the Great Sage. The Great Sage suddenly spoke man's words, crying: "Spare me! Spare me!" The old dragon said: "Where do you come from, you wild crab, that you dare come up the hall and go swaggering crosswise before honored guests? Confess quickly, and be spared the death." Good Great Sage! Fingering out a false tale, he confessed before them all:

"Born in the lake to make my living, I burrowed by the cliffs to house.Long days soothed this shell of mine, and I was made warden of the crosswise shell.Trailing grass and dragging mud, I have never learned the forms of court.Ignorant of the law, I have affronted the king's majesty — I look up and beg your gracious pardon!"

The fiends on the seats, hearing, all bowed to the old dragon in courtesy: "The crab warden is new-come to the jasper palace and does not know the king's forms; let your lordship spare him." The old dragon gave his thanks. The fiends then said: "Let the fellow go — the beating stands on record; let him wait outside." The Great Sage answered and fled for his life, straight to below the gateway arch, thinking in secret: "The Bull Ox is here hugging his cups — how could I wait till the party breaks? And even if it broke, he would never lend me the fan. Better to steal his Gold-Eyed Beast, change into the Bull Demon King, go beguile the Raksasi, and trick the fan from her, and see my master over the mountains."

Good Great Sage! He showed his true form at once, untied the beast's tether, laid hold, mounted the carved saddle, and rode straight up out of the water's depths. Outside the pool he changed himself into the Bull Demon King's shape, drove the beast, rode the cloud, and in no time was at the mouth of the Banana Cave on Kingfisher-Cloud Mountain. He called: "Open the gate." Two maids inside the cave heard the voice, opened the door, saw the Bull Demon King's face, and went in to report: "Madam — the master is home." The Raksasi heard, made her cloud-coiled hair straight in haste, tripped on her lotus steps, and came out the door to meet him. The Great Sage dismounted from the carved saddle and led in the Gold-Eyed Beast, bold as brass, beguiling the fair lady. The Raksasi's fleshly eyes could not tell him; she took his hand and led him in, had the maids set a seat and bring tea. The whole household, seeing their lord, was reverence itself.

In a little while they had exchanged the civilities. The "Bull Ox" said: "Long parted, madam." The Raksasi said: "Ten thousand blessings, my lord." And she said: "My lord, doting on your new bride, you threw your handmaid over. What wind blows you here today?" The Great Sage laughed: "Not throwing you over. Since the Jade-Faced Princess married me, the estate has been full of business and friends press their courtesies; so I have lingered outside — and I have made another estate besides." And he said: "I hear that Wukong creature guards the Tang monk and is near the Flaming Mountains; I fear he will come asking you to lend the fan. My grudge for the ruin of my son is unpaid: when he comes, send some one to tell me, and I will take him and cleave him to ten thousand pieces, and so wash out the wrong between us man and wife." The Raksasi heard, and with falling tears told him: "My lord, the saying goes: a man without a wife has no master for his goods; a woman without a husband has no master for her body. That ape nearly cost me my life." The Great Sage heard, and feigned wrath, cursing: "When was that brazen ape here?" The Raksasi said: "He is not gone yet. Yesterday he came to borrow the fan; because of the wrong to my child, I dressed in my armor, swung my precious blade, and went out the door to hew him. He bore the pain and called me sister-in-law, and said your lordship was once his sworn brother." The Great Sage said: "Five hundred years ago we swore seven brothers." The Raksasi said: "He bore my cursing and dared not answer, my hewing and dared not lift a hand; then one wave of my fan blew him away. He must have found some wind-quelling art somewhere, for this morning he was bawling at the gate again. I waved the fan at him once more — he never stirred. I swung my blade in haste to hew him, and then he would not yield me. I feared his staff was heavy, and ran into the cave and shut the door tight. Who knew from where he got inside me, into my belly — he nearly cost me my life. It was I who called him uncle a few times and gave him the fan."

The Great Sage beat his breast in feigned sorrow: "A pity, a pity! Madam, you were wrong — how could you give that treasure to the ape? You have fretted me to death." The Raksasi laughed: "My lord, calm your wrath. What I gave him was the false fan — only to trick him away." The Great Sage asked: "Where is the true fan kept?" The Raksasi said: "At ease, at ease — I keep it by me." She called the maids to lay wine, to welcome him home and celebrate. Lifting the cup she offered it: "My lord, in your new-wedded bliss, by no means forget your first-married wife. Drink a cup of the water of your old home." The Great Sage dared not refuse; smiling, he raised the cup in his hand: "Madam, you first. I, seeking to order my estate abroad, have long been parted from you — you have guarded my house morning and evening; this cup is my thanks." The Raksasi took the cup again, filled it, and handed it to the king: "The old saying has it: a wife is an equal. The husband is the father who sustains the body — what thanks?" The two of them exchanging courtesies, they sat at last and passed the wine. The Great Sage would not break his fast with meat: he ate only a few fruits, and traded words with her.

After several rounds the Raksasi felt the wine half-master her, and her color rose a little; she snuggled and rubbed against the Great Sage Sun, touching and twiddling: hand in hand, pretty words and tenderness; shoulder to shoulder, murmuring low. Of one cup of wine you drink a sip and I drink a sip — and she fed him fruits besides. The Great Sage, feigning fondness, kept her company and smiled, and, past all choice, leaned and nestled with her. Truly it was:

The hook that baits poems, the broom that sweeps away sorrow — of all things under heaven, none outdoes wine.A man in his cups lays virtue by and opens his bosom; a woman unmindful opens laughing lips.Her face as red as peach in bloom; her body swaying as a tender willow.Flocking and murmuring, words without end; pinching and twiddling, all her charms astir.Now her hand rakes through her cloud of hair; now her deft fingers flutter by.Time and again she cocks her little foot; over and over she shakes her trailing sleeve.Her powdered neck sinks low of itself; her pliant waist twists more and more.The words of dalliance never cease; her soft breast half shows its loosened golden buttons.Drunk, she truly is a jade mountain toppling; her bleared eyes rub and blink — a pretty fool of her.

The Great Sage, seeing her so far gone, kept his wits about him and teased her on: "Madam — where do you keep the true fan? Be careful, morning and evening: that Sun Wukong changes a thousand ways, and may come and trick it from you again." The Raksasi, smiling broadly, brought it from her mouth — no bigger than an apricot leaf — and handed it to the Great Sage: "Is this not the treasure?" The Great Sage took it in his hand, yet would not quite believe, thinking: "A trifle like this — how should it quench the fire? I fear it is false again." The Raksasi, seeing him gazing at the treasure sunk in thought, could not contain herself; she came up and pressed her powdered cheek to the Pilgrim's face, saying: "Darling — take the treasure and drink your wine; why sit dreaming?" The Great Sage took his chance and asked her: "A thing so small — how should it wave out eight hundred li of flame?" The Raksasi, wine-loosened to her true nature, recked of nothing, and told the art: "My lord, two years parted from you, and I suppose you have sought pleasure day and night till that Jade-Faced Princess has clouded your wits — how should you forget the very handling of your own treasure? Only pinch with the left thumb the seventh strand of red silk on the haft, and murmur 'di-hsu-ah-si-si-chui-hu' — and it grows twelve feet long. This treasure changes without end! Never mind eight hundred li of flame — eighty thousand li of it would melt away at one wave."

The Great Sage heard and stored it carefully in his heart. Then he clapped the fan in his mouth too, passed his hand over his face, showed his true form, and called loudly: "Raksasi — look, am I not your own dear husband? To think you made me play at all these ugly dalliances — for shame, for shame!" The woman, seeing it was Sun Pilgrim, in horror overset the table, fell to the ground, shame-stricken past all, crying only: "He has vexed me to death! He has vexed me to death!"

The Great Sage, caring nothing whether she lived or died, freed his hands, strode out with great steps, and went straight out of the Banana Cave. Truly: "With no wish to covet beauty, he went back laughing, his errand won." He gave a leap, trod the auspicious cloud, leaped up the mountain, spat out the fan, and tried the art: with the thumb of his left hand he pinched the seventh strand of red silk on the haft, murmured "di-hsu-ah-si-si-chui-hu" — and truly it grew to some twelve feet. He took it in his hand and looked at it again and again: truly not the same as the false one before. Auspicious light flashing, lucky vapors wreathing; on it were thirty-six strands of red silk, threading through its veins, joined within and without. But the Pilgrim had begged only the art of growing, not the spell to make it small; big or little, it stayed as it was. Past remedy, he could only sling it over his shoulder and take the old road back — but of that no more.

Now the Bull Demon King, the feast broken up with the fiends at the bottom of the Green Wave Pool, came out the door and missed his Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast. The old Dragon King gathered the fiends and asked: "Who has stolen and led away Lord Bull's Gold-Eyed Beast?" The fiends knelt: "None dared steal it. We were all before the feast, pouring wine and bearing trays, singing and making music — not one of us left it." The old dragon said: "The household players would never dare. Has any living stranger come in?" The dragon sons and grandsons said: "Just as the seats were taken, a crab fiend came here — that one was a stranger." The Bull Ox heard and saw through it at once: "Say no more. This morning, when you, worthy friend, sent men to invite me, there was a Sun Wukong guarding the Tang monk for the scriptures, stopped by the Flaming Mountains, who asked to borrow my banana-leaf fan. I would not give it; we fought a bout, neither winning; and I left him and came straight to the feast. That monkey, with his thousand cunning and ten thousand devices, is certainly the one: he changed into a crab fiend, came here to sound us out, stole my beast, and went to trick the fan from my mountain wife." The fiends heard, and one and all went weak with terror, and asked: "The Sun Wukong who wrecked the Heavenly Palace?" The Bull Ox said: "The very one. Gentlemen, if ever he comes your way on the western road, be sure to give him a wide berth." The old dragon said: "If it is so, what of your lordship's steed?" The Bull Ox laughed: "No matter, no matter. Disperse, all of you; I will go after him."

So he parted the waters, leaped from the pool's bottom, mounted a yellow cloud, and came straight to the Banana Cave on Kingfisher-Cloud Mountain. He heard the Raksasi stamping and beating her breast, crying out loud and small. He pushed open the door, and there was the Gold-Eyed Beast tethered below. The Bull Ox called: "Madam — where has that Sun Wukong gone?" The maids, seeing the Bull Demon King, knelt in a body: "The master is come?" The Raksasi seized the Bull Ox, kowtowing and knocking her head, cursing: "You plague-stricken villain! How could you be so careless, letting that ape steal the Gold-Eyed Beast, change into your likeness, come here and trick me?" The Bull Ox, grinding his teeth: "Where has the ape gone?" The Raksasi beat her breast and cursed: "That brazen ape cozened me of my treasure, showed his true form, and made off. He has vexed me to death!" The Bull Ox said: "Madam, take care of yourself; do not fret. When I have caught the ape, I will take the treasure back, strip his hide, pound his bones to shards, and pick out his heart and liver — and ease your wrath." He called: "Bring my weapons!" The maid said: "Your weapons are not here, master." The Bull Ox said: "Then bring your mistress's weapons." The maids brought out the two precious blades of green steel. The Bull Ox stripped off the raven-black velvet jacket he had worn to the feast, tightened his under-garments, took the blades in both hands, walked out of the Banana Cave, and made straight for the Flaming Mountains in chase. Truly:

The thankless husband has beguiled his doting wife; the fiery fiend comes closing on the man of the staff.

But whether this errand would end in fortune or in ruin? Listen to the next chapter to find out.

The Bull Demon King quits the fight for a grand banquet; Pilgrim Sun plays his second trick on the banana-leaf fan

The earth god said: "The King of Great Strength is the Bull Demon King." Pilgrim said: "Was it the Bull Demon King who set this mountain on fire, and are the Flaming Mountains only a borrowed name?" The earth god said: "No, no. Great Sage, if you will pardon this little god his fault, I dare speak plainly." Pilgrim said: "What fault have you? Speak out, it does no harm." The earth god said: "This fire was first set by the Great Sage himself." Pilgrim said angrily: "Where was I? What nonsense is this? Am I one who sets fires?" The earth god said: "You simply do not know me. This mountain was not here of old. It was when the Great Sage wrecked the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, and was taken by the Illustrious Sage and sent under guard to Lord Lao, and Lord Lao set him in the Eight Trigrams furnace, that when the smelting was done and the cauldron opened, you kicked over the elixir furnace, and a few bricks fell out with fire still in them, which fell here and turned into the Flaming Mountains. I was the furnace keeper of the Tushita Palace; Lord Lao blamed me for failing in my watch, banished me here, and I became the local earth god of the Flaming Mountains." Zhu Bajie, hearing, said with spite: "No wonder you are dressed so—an ex-Taoist turned earth god."

Pilgrim half believed, half doubted: "Then tell me, why seek the King of Great Strength first?" The earth god said: "The King of Great Strength is the Raksasi's husband. He has lately left the Raksasi and lives now in the Cloud-Piercing Cave on Pile-Thunder Mountain. There was a fox king of ten thousand years; that fox king died, leaving a daughter called the Princess of the Jade Face. The princess had a family fortune of a million, and no one to manage it. Two years ago, hearing of the Bull Demon King's vast powers, she was willing to throw in her fortune and take him as husband in her own house. The Bull King abandoned the Raksasi and has not looked back for a long time. If the Great Sage finds the Bull King and begs him to come here, then you can borrow the true fan: first, to still the flames and get the master forward; second, to end the fire's harm forever and protect the living of this land; third, to pardon me and send me back to Heaven, to answer to Lord Lao for his edict." Pilgrim said: "Where does Pile-Thunder Mountain stand? How far is it?" The earth god said: "Due south. Three thousand li and more from here."

Hearing this, Pilgrim ordered Sha Monk and Bajie to guard the master and told the earth god to stay and keep them company. Then, with a whoosh, he was gone from sight. In less than half a watch he saw a high mountain against the sky. He pressed down the cloud, stood on the peak and looked. Truly a fine mountain:

Is it high? Its crown scrapes the blue vault. Is it great? Its roots strike the yellow springs.Before the mountain the sun is warm; behind the ridge the wind is cold.Before the mountain the sun is so warm that three winters cannot touch the grass and trees; behind the ridge the wind is so cold that in the very summer's depths the ice and frost never melt.The dragon pool joins the ravine, the water running forever; by the tiger's den against the cliff the flowers open early.The water flows in a thousand streams like flying jade; the flowers open as one heart, like spread brocade.On the winding ridges, winding trees; beyond the jagged rocks, jagged pines.Truly: high mountains and steep ridges; sheer cliffs and deep ravines; fragrant flowers and fine fruit; red vines and purple bamboo; green pines and kingfisher willows.Through the eight seasons and four times its color never changes; for a thousand years, ten thousand ages, its hue like the dragon's.

The Great Sage looked a long while, walked down the sharp peak, into the deep mountains, hunting a path. Just as he was finding nothing, he saw under the shade of the pines a woman, a sprig of orchid broken off in her hand, coming along gracefully. The Great Sage slipped behind a strange boulder and looked carefully. And how did the woman look?

A beauty to topple a kingdom, her lotus steps slow and soft.A face like Wang Qiang, a look like the girl of Chu.Like a flower that can talk, like jade that gives off perfume.High chignons piled black as raven's wings; twin eyes dipped in green, broad as autumn waters.Her Xiang silk skirt half shows tiny arched shoes; her kingfisher sleeves spread a little, showing long powdered wrists.Never mind evening rain and morning clouds: truly cherry lips and white teeth.Smooth and sleek as the Brocade River, brows of the moth's grace—she outdoes Wenjun and Xue Tao.

The woman came nearer the boulder. The Great Sage bowed and said slowly: "Where are you going, holy maiden?" The woman, not having looked, heard the call and raised her head; suddenly seeing the Great Sage's ugly face, she was badly startled, too frightened to retreat, too far along to go on, and could only answer trembling: "Who are you, coming here to question me?" The Great Sage thought: "If I tell the scripture business and the fan, I fear she is kin to the Bull King. Better answer as a pretended kinsman sent to invite the demon king." Seeing him silent, the woman's color changed and she cried angrily: "Who are you, to come questioning me?" The Great Sage bowed and said smiling: "I come from Emerald Cloud Mountain. Just arrived in your land, I do not know the roads. Tell me, holy maiden, is this Pile-Thunder Mountain?" The woman said: "It is." The Great Sage said: "Where does the Cloud-Piercing Cave stand?" The woman said: "Why do you look for that cave?" The Great Sage said: "The Princess of the Iron Fan of the Banana Cave on Emerald Cloud Mountain asked me to come invite the Bull Demon King."

Hearing the Princess of the Iron Fan's name joined with inviting the Bull Demon King, the woman flared up in a mighty rage, red to the roots of her ears, and cursed without measure: "That low slut, ignorant to the bone! Since the Bull King came to my house, hardly two years, I have given him pearls and jade, gold and silver, silks and satins past counting, firewood by the year and rice by the month, and he lives at ease on my means—and she has no shame, coming to invite him again?" The Great Sage heard, knew her now for the Princess of the Jade Face, and deliberately drew the gold-banded staff and shouted: "You brazen hussy! You bought the Bull King with your fortune—truly a woman who pays dowry to take a husband—and you feel no shame, and dare curse others?" The woman, seeing it, was scared out of her soul, lost her footing, stumbled on her golden lotus feet, turned, and fled trembling. The Great Sage shouted and bawled and followed at her heels. Past the pine shade was the mouth of the Cloud-Piercing Cave. The woman ran in and shut the door with a bang. The Great Sage put away the gold-banded staff, stopped, and looked. What a place:

Woods dense and dark; cliffs sheer and jagged.Vine shade drifts soft; orchid scent breathes sweet.The running spring rinses jade through the tall bamboo; the cunning stones know the season and carry fallen petals.Mist and glow wrap the far peaks; sun and moon light the cloud screens.Dragons drone and tigers roar; cranes cry and orioles sing.One sheet of pure quiet, truly lovely; precious flowers and jade grasses in light forever.Not less than the immortal caves of Tiantai; finer than Penglai and Yingzhou at sea.

Not to speak of Pilgrim admiring the scenery. The woman ran in, her powdered face dripping sweat, her orchid heart panting, straight into the study. The Bull Demon King was there quietly reading a Taoist book. The woman, out of temper, threw herself into his arms, scratching her ears and cheeks, and wept aloud. The Bull King's face was all apology: "Beauty, do not fret. Tell me what is wrong." The woman, springing and stamping, cursed: "That wretched demon has been my death!" The Bull King laughed: "Why curse me? What have I done?" The woman said: "With father and mother gone I had none to lean on, so I took you in to shield me and keep me alive. The rivers and lakes say you are a hero, and it turns out you are a tame husband afraid of your wife." Hearing this, the Bull King took her in his arms: "Beauty, where have I failed you? Tell me slowly, and I will make amends." The woman said: "Just now I was strolling outside the cave in the flower shade, breaking orchids and picking rue, when up came a monk with a hairy face and a thunder-god snout, bowing suddenly, and frightened me out of my wits. When I had steadied myself and asked who he was, he said the Princess of the Iron Fan had sent him to invite the Bull Demon King. I gave him a word or two, and he roundly cursed me and chased me with a club to beat me. If I had not run fast, he would have beaten me to death. Is this not taking you for my ruin? I am done for." Hearing this, the Bull King straightened his face and made his apologies, coaxing her a long while before she calmed. Then the Demon King grew fierce: "Beauty, I will hide nothing from you. The Banana Cave may be out of the way, but it is quiet and free. My mountain wife has cultivated since childhood; she is a lady immortal who has won the Way, and her house rules are strict: there is not a foot of a boy servant inside. How could a thunder-snouted fellow come at her bidding? It must be some monster from who knows where, falsely using her name, come here to spy me out. Let me go out and look."

Good Demon King! He strode out of the study, took his armor in the great hall, and dressed. He took an iron-bound club, went out the door, and called: "Who is this, playing the bully on my ground?" Pilgrim, at the side, saw his looks—and they were not what they had been five hundred years ago. See:

On his head a polished silver-bright wrought-iron helmet; on his body a golden armor threaded with floss silk and brocade.On his feet a pair of curled-toe, chalk-white-soled deerskin boots; at his waist a three-strand lion-barbarian belt of twisted silk.A pair of eyes gleaming like bright mirrors; two brows blazing like a red rainbow.A mouth like a basin of blood; teeth set like copper plates.His roar shakes the mountains and scares the mountain gods; his step carries such menace that evil spirits panic.Through the four seas he is known as the Wrecker of the World; in the West he is hailed as the Demon King of Great Strength.

The Great Sage straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and bowed very low: "Elder brother, do you not know your little brother?" The Bull King returned the bow: "Are you Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven?" The Great Sage said: "The same, the same. Long parted, and never a visit. I have just arrived and asked a woman the way, and so found you. Your style is finer than ever—congratulations." The Bull King shouted: "Save your smooth tongue. I hear you wrecked the Heavenly Palace, and the Buddha crushed you under Five Elements Mountain; then, freed of your heavenly punishment, you were protecting the Tang monk westward to see the Buddha and seek the scriptures. How is it you ruined my boy, Bull Holy Infant, at the Fire Cloud Cave on Withered Pine Gully, Howl Mountain? I was fuming at you here—and now you come looking me up?" The Great Sage bowed: "Elder brother, do not wrong your little brother. When your son seized my master and meant to eat his flesh, your little brother could not get near him. Luckily the Bodhisattva Guanyin meant to save my master, and persuaded him to turn to the right. He is now the boy Good Wealth, higher than you, elder brother: enjoying the gateway of Highest Joy and the long ease of ageless life—what is wrong in that, that you blame me?" The Bull King cursed: "You glib ape! The matter of ruining my son—you have talked past it. But you just now insulted my concubine and fought your way to my door—why?" The Great Sage laughed: "I called on you, elder brother, and could not find you, so I asked that woman, never knowing she was my second sister-in-law. She cursed me a few words, and in a moment of roughness I startled her. I beg you, elder brother, forgive and forget." The Bull King said: "If that is how it is, for old acquaintance's sake I let you go."

The Great Sage said: "Since you grant me such grace, my thanks are endless. But there is one more matter I must trouble you with; I beg your help." The Bull King cursed: "You ape, you know no gratitude! I spare you, and instead of going you cling to me. What help, help?" The Great Sage said: "I will hide nothing from you, elder brother. I was protecting the Tang monk westward, and the Flaming Mountains blocked the road, so that we could not go on. I asked the local people and learned that my sister-in-law the Raksasi has a banana-leaf fan, and I wished to borrow it. Yesterday I went to your old house and called on my sister-in-law, and she flatly would not lend it. So I have come specially to beg you, elder brother. Open a heart as wide as heaven and earth, come with me to my elder sister's place, and lend the fan by all means to still the flames, so the Tang monk can cross the mountains, and I will return it on the spot, whole." Hearing this, the Bull King's heart blazed; he ground his steel teeth and cursed: "You say you were not rude! So it was about borrowing the fan. You must have insulted my mountain wife first; she would not lend it, so you came hunting me, and then chased my concubine. As the saying goes: 'A friend's wife you must not insult; a friend's concubine you must not ruin.' You have insulted my wife and ruined my concubine—what insolence! Come up and take my club!" The Great Sage said: "If you want a fight, brother, I do not fear it. Only the treasure is what I truly want; I beg you a thousand times to lend it to me." The Bull King said: "If you can hold three rounds against me, I will have my mountain wife lend it to you. If you cannot, I will beat you to death and wipe out my wrong." The Great Sage said: "Well said, brother. Your little brother has been slack these years and has not seen you; I do not know how your martial arts compare with the old days. Let us brothers try our staffs and see." The Bull King would hear nothing: he drew the iron-bound club and struck straight at his head, and the Great Sage met it with the gold-banded staff. What a fight:

The gold-banded staff, the iron-bound club: faces change, and friendship goes by the board.One says: "I still rage at you, ape, for ruining my son."The other says: "Your son has won the Way—leave off your hate."One says: "You ignorant wretch—how dare you come to my door?"The other says: "I had my reason, and came specially to ask."One wants the fan to guard the Tang monk; one will not lend the banana leaf, mean and stingy.Word against word, and old affection is lost; the whole household faithless, and anger breeds.The Bull King's club rises like a flood dragon; the Great Sage's staff meets it, and gods and ghosts flee.First the fight was before the mountain; then both leaped onto auspicious clouds and pressed on.In mid-air they showed their powers; in five-colored light they tried their wondrous arts.The two clubs clash and shake the gate of heaven—and no victory or loss, an inch between them.

The Great Sage and the Bull King fought a hundred rounds and more with no winner. Just as they were locked inseparably, someone called from the mountainside: "Grandfather Bull, my king sends a thousand respects and begs you to come early, so he may set your seat." Hearing this, the Bull King braced his iron-bound club against the gold-banded staff and called: "Ape, stop for now. I am off to a friend's feast." With that he pressed down his cloud, went straight into the cave, and said to the Princess of the Jade Face: "Beauty, that thunder-snouted fellow just now was the ape Sun Wukong. I beat him off with a round of club-strokes; he will not dare come again. Play at your ease. I am off to a friend's to drink wine." He took off his armor, put on a raven-black clipped-velvet jacket, went out the door, mounted his Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast, told the lads to keep the gate, and went off northwestward, half cloud, half mist.

The Great Sage watched from the high peak and thought: "What friend has this old bull picked up now, and where is he going to feast? Let Old Sun trail him." Good Pilgrim! He shook himself into a gust of clean wind and caught up, traveling with him. In no time they came to a mountain, and the Bull King vanished. The Great Sage gathered himself back into his own shape and went into the mountain to look. In the mountain was a deep pool of clear water, and by the pool a stone tablet, with six big characters on it: "The Jade Wave Pool of Scattered-Stone Mountain." The Great Sage thought: "The old bull has surely gone into the water. A spirit of the deep, if not a flood-dragon spirit, must be a dragon spirit, a fish spirit, or one of the turtle, terrapin, or alligator kind. Let Old Sun go down into the water and see."

Good Great Sage! He pressed his fingers into the sign, murmured a spell, shook himself, and changed into a crab, neither big nor small, weighing thirty-six catties. With a plop he jumped into the water and sank straight to the pool's bottom. Suddenly he saw a delicate, openwork archway, below which the Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast was tied. Inside the archway there was no water. The Great Sage crawled in, looked carefully, and heard music sounding from that side. Look:

Vermilion palaces and shell towers, no different from the world of men.The roof tiles are of gold; the doorposts of white jade.The screens open on tortoiseshell; the sills are paved with coral beads.Auspicious clouds and lucky mists light the lotus thrones, joining the three lights above and reaching the thoroughfares below.This is no heavenly palace or sea treasury, yet truly this place vies with the Pot of Penglai.In the lofty hall a feast is set, guests and host in array; officials great and small in pearl-bedecked caps.They hurry to call the jade girls bearing ivory trays and urge the fairy lasses to tune the pitches.The long whale drones, the great crab dances; the soft-shelled turtle plays the mouth organ, the alligator beats the drum.Pearls from the black dragon's jaw light the cups and trenchers.Bird-script writing lines the kingfisher screens; shrimp-whisker curtains hang in the corridors.The eight instruments sound in turn, mixed with fairy music; gong and shang notes ring clear to the clouds.The green-headed perch girls pluck the jasper zithers; the red-eyed horse lads play the jade flutes.The perch dames offer spiced venison held up on their heads; the dragon girls pin golden phoenix ornaments in their hair.What they eat is the eight-treasure rare fare of the heavenly kitchen; what they drink is the nectar of the purple mansion, wine long mellowed.

At the head sat the Bull Demon King, with three or four flood-dragon spirits at his left and right; in front sat an old dragon spirit, and on both sides dragon sons, dragon grandsons, the dragon wife, and dragon daughters.

Just as the cups and tallies were passing back and forth, the Great Sage Sun walked straight up. The old dragon spied him and ordered: "Seize that wild crab!" Dragon sons and grandsons rushed up together and took the Great Sage. The Great Sage suddenly spoke like a man, crying: "Spare me, spare me!" The old dragon said: "What wild crab are you, to dare come up into the hall and swagger and wander before honored guests? Confess quickly, and spare your life." Good Great Sage! He made up a tale and confessed before them all:

"Born in the lake to make my living, I dug a burrow by the cliff to lodge in.Because the days were long my body grew sleek, and I hold the office of the sidling armored knight.Trampling grass, dragging mud, ragged and rough, I never learned the forms of court.Not knowing the law, I affronted the royal majesty; I prostrate myself and beg your kindness to pardon my crime!"

The spirits at the seats, hearing this, bowed to the old dragon and said: "The armored knight is new to the jade palace and does not know the king's forms. Let your lordship pardon him." The old dragon gave his thanks. The spirits ordered: "Let the fellow go. His beating is noted; let him wait outside." The Great Sage answered and escaped for his life, straight to below the archway, thinking: "The old Bull is here hugging his cup; how could I wait for the party to break up? And even if it broke up, he would never lend me the fan. Better to steal his Gold-Eyed Beast, change into the Bull Demon King, go fool the Raksasi, trick the fan out of her, and get my master over the mountains. That is the plan."

Good Great Sage! He showed his true form, untied the Gold-Eyed Beast's reins, grabbed them, jumped into the saddle, and rode straight out of the water's depths. Outside the pool he changed into the Bull King's shape, and driving the beast and riding the clouds, in no time he was at the Banana Cave on Emerald Cloud Mountain. He called: "Open up!" Two maids inside heard, opened the door, saw the Bull Demon King's face, and went in to report: "Mistress, the master has come home." Hearing this, the Raksasi hurriedly dressed her cloud-chignons, moved her lotus steps quickly, and came out the door to meet him. The Great Sage got down from the saddle, led the Gold-Eyed Beast in, played the bold one, and fooled the lovely lady. The Raksasi's fleshly eyes could not tell, and she took his hand and led him in, ordered the maids to set a seat and serve tea. The whole household, seeing the master, waited on him with all respect.

After a moment's talk of the weather, the "Bull King" said: "Madam, it has been long." The Raksasi said: "Ten thousand blessings to Your Majesty." And she said: "Your Majesty dotes on your new marriage and throws me away. What wind has blown you here today?" The Great Sage laughed: "I did not mean to throw you away. Only since the Jade Face princess took me in, the house has been full of business and friends keep calling, so I have been kept away—but I have made another estate too." And he said: "I hear lately that fellow Wukong is guarding the Tang monk and is nearly at the borders of the Flaming Mountains. I fear he will come ask you for the fan. I still burn with the grudge for my son he ruined. When he comes, send someone to tell me, and I will take him, cut him to ten thousand pieces, and wipe away the wrong done to us husband and wife." The Raksasi, hearing, said through tears: "Your Majesty, as the saying goes: 'A man without a wife has no master for his goods; a woman without a husband has no master for her body.' My life was very nearly ended by that ape." Hearing, the Great Sage pretended to rage and cursed: "When was that brazen monkey here?" The Raksasi said: "He has not gone. Yesterday he came to borrow the fan. Because of what he did to my child, I dressed in my armor, swung my precious swords, went out the door, and hacked at that ape. He bore the pain and called me sister-in-law, saying Your Majesty had been his sworn brother." The Great Sage said: "Yes—five hundred years ago we bowed as seven brothers." The Raksasi said: "He bore my cursing without a word of answer and my hacking without lifting a hand. Then I swept him away with one wave of the fan. Where he found some wind-fixing art, I do not know; this morning he was at the door bawling again. I waved the fan at him again and could not move him. When I rushed at him with my sword, he would not yield to me. Afraid of his heavy staff, I ran into the cave and shut the door tight. Who knew by what art he got inside my belly, and very nearly ended my life. I had to call him uncle a few times and give him the fan."

The Great Sage, feigning, beat his breast: "A pity, a pity! Madam, you were wrong—how could you give that ape the treasure? It kills me." The Raksasi laughed: "Your Majesty, calm your anger. What I gave him was the false fan, only to fool him into going." The Great Sage asked: "And where is the true fan?" The Raksasi said: "At ease, at ease; I have it safe." She called the maids to lay the wine to welcome him home and toast the reunion. Raising the cup, she offered it: "Your Majesty, newlywed as you are, do not forget the wife who tied your hair at the beginning. Drink a cup of the water of your home country." The Great Sage dared not refuse; smiling, he raised the cup in his hand: "Madam, you drink first. I have been away making the outside estate, long parted from you, and you have kept the household morning and evening; let this be my thanks." The Raksasi took the cup back, filled it again, and handed it to the king: "From of old the saying goes: 'A wife is one's equal.' The husband is the father who supports the body—what thanks?" The two of them, humble and courteous, then sat down and the cup went round. The Great Sage dared not break into meat, and ate only a few fruits, talking with her all the while.

After several rounds the Raksasi felt half-tipsy, her passion stirring a little, and she snuggled and rubbed against the Great Sage Sun, touching and toying: hand in hand, pretty words and tenderness; shoulder to shoulder, low whispers and yielding. One cup of wine—you drink a mouthful, I drink a mouthful—and then she fed him fruit. The Great Sage feigned fondness, keeping her company and smiling, and, having no choice, leaned and nestled with her. Truly:

The hook that baits poems, the broom that sweeps sorrows: for breaking through all things nothing beats wine.A man forgets his starch and opens his heart; a woman forgets herself and opens her smiling mouth.Her face red as the wild peach; her body swaying like a tender willow.Murmur and mumble, talk without end; pinch and pat, with plenty of flirtation.Now you see her sweep back her cloud-chignons; now fling out her pointed fingers.Time and again she tilts up her little feet; again and again she shakes her sleeves.Her powdered neck sinks of itself; her supple waist begins to twist.The words of love never stop; half her soft bosom shows, a gold button loose.Drunk, she truly topples like a jade mountain; her wine-glazed eyes rub and roll—somewhat unseemly.

The Great Sage, seeing her so far gone, kept his wits about him and baited her: "Madam, where do you keep the true fan? Be careful, morning and evening—Sun Wukong has a thousand changes, and he may come and trick it away again." Laughing, the Raksasi brought it out of her mouth—no bigger than an apricot leaf—and handed it to the Great Sage: "Is this not the treasure?" The Great Sage took it in his hand, yet did not quite believe, and thought: "A thing this tiny—how could it still the fire? I fear this is false too." The Raksasi, seeing him gazing at the treasure lost in thought, could not help coming close, pressing her powdered cheek to Pilgrim's face, and calling: "Dear heart, put away the treasure and drink your wine. Why sit there dreaming?" The Great Sage took the opening her tilt of the foot gave him and asked: "A thing so small—how can it wave out eight hundred li of flame?" The Raksasi, wine-loosened to her true nature, held back nothing, and told the method: "Your Majesty, two years we have been apart. You must have been chasing pleasure day and night, and that Jade Face princess has worn down your wits—have you forgotten the very use of your own treasure? Press the seventh strand of red silk on the haft with the thumb of your left hand and say 'Hsi-hsu-a-hsi-hsi-chui-hu,' and it grows twelve feet long. The treasure has endless changes! Eighty thousand li of flame would be nothing—one wave and it is gone."

The Great Sage heard, and engraved it on his heart. He put the fan in his mouth too, wiped his face, and showed his true form, calling at the top of his voice: "Raksasi, look—is this your own dear husband? And you carried on with me in all this shamelessness, and feel no shame, no shame!" The woman, seeing it was Sun Pilgrim, panicked, knocked over the table and the feast, and fell to the ground, beyond all shame, crying only: "It kills me! It kills me!"

The Great Sage, caring nothing for her life or death, wrenched his hand free, strode out, and walked straight out of the Banana Cave. Truly: with no wish for the beauty, he went off grinning with success. He gave a spring, trod the auspicious cloud, jumped up the high mountain, spat out the fan, and tried the method: with the thumb of his left hand he pressed the seventh strand of red silk on the haft and said the word "Hsi-hsu-a-hsi-hsi-chui-hu," and truly it grew to twelve feet. Holding it in his hand, he looked at it again and again—truly not like the false one before: auspicious light gleaming, lucky airs streaming, with thirty-six strands of red silk running through warp and woof, joined within and without. But Pilgrim had asked only how to make it long, never the spell to make it small, and long it stayed. With no way out, he could only lay it on his shoulder and take the old road home—and no more of that.

The Bull Demon King, at the bottom of the Jade Wave Pool, broke up the feast with the spirits and came out the door—and his Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast was gone. The old dragon king gathered the spirits and asked: "Who has dared steal and loose Grandfather Bull's Gold-Eyed Beast?" The spirits knelt: "No one would dare steal it. We were all before the feast, pouring wine and carrying trays, singing and playing—not one of us was out front." The old dragon said: "My own musicians would certainly not dare. Did any stranger come in?" Dragon sons and grandsons said: "Just when the seats were being set, a crab spirit came here; he was the stranger." Hearing this, the Bull King saw through it at once: "Say no more. This morning, when you, worthy friend, sent to invite me, there was a Sun Wukong guarding the Tang monk fetching the scriptures, blocked by the Flaming Mountains, who asked me to lend him the banana-leaf fan. I would not give it, and we fought a round with no winner. Then I dropped him and came on to the feast. That monkey with his thousand clevernesses and ten thousand devices has surely changed himself into a crab spirit, come here to fish for news, stolen my beast, and gone to my mountain wife to trick away that banana-leaf fan." The spirits, hearing, trembled one and all, and asked: "That would be the Sun Wukong who wrecked the Heavenly Palace?" The Bull King said: "The same. If any of you gentlemen meets him on the westward road, by all means give him a wide berth." The old dragon said: "If so, what of Your Majesty's fine steed?" The Bull King laughed: "No matter, no matter. You gentlemen disperse. Let me go after him."

So he parted the water, leaped out of the pool bottom, rode a yellow cloud, and came straight to the Banana Cave on Emerald Cloud Mountain. He heard the Raksasi stamping and beating her breast, wailing and shouting. He pushed the door open and saw the Water-Parting Gold-Eyed Beast tied below. The Bull King called: "Madam, which way did Sun Wukong go?" The maids, seeing the Bull Demon King, knelt together: "Is the master back?" The Raksasi grabbed the Bull King, knocking her head about, and cursed: "You plague-stricken heaven-damned wretch! How could you be so careless, to let that ape steal the Gold-Eyed Beast, change into your shape, and come here to trick me?" The Bull King, through gritted teeth: "Which way did the ape go?" The Raksasi beat her breast and cursed: "That brazen monkey tricked me out of my treasure, showed his true form, and ran. It kills me!" The Bull King said: "Madam, take care of yourself, and do not fret. When I catch that ape, I will take back the treasure, skin him, mince his bones, and dish up his heart and liver to please you." He called: "Bring my weapons." The maids said: "Your weapons are not here, master." The Bull King said: "Then bring your mistress's weapons." The maids brought out the two green-steel precious swords. The Bull King stripped off the raven-black velvet jacket he had worn to the feast, tightened his underclothes, took the swords in both hands, and walked out of the Banana Cave, making straight for the Flaming Mountains in pursuit. Truly:

The thankless man tricked the fond-hearted wife;the fierce-hearted demon comes near the staff-bearing man.

But whether this errand would end well or ill—listen to the next chapter to find out.