This is a fresh, complete English translation of Wu Cheng’en’s public-domain one-hundred-chapter novel, produced with GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark assistance. It is an AI-assisted first edition, not a reproduction of an existing translation.

Once again those three entered the forest and came inside. They saw the idiot monkey bound to a tree, crying aloud repeatedly, in pain he could not endure. Sun Wukong stepped forward and laughed,

'You fine son-in-law, at this hour you still cannot stand and go to your mother to give thanks, nor can you return to Master with happy news, yet here you are, still making a fool’s show. Tch! Where is your mother? Where is your wife? What a dangling, strained son-in-law you are.' The idiot, seeing him come near, grew shy in embarrassment, bit his teeth, endured the pain, and dared not cry out. Sha Wujing saw this and could not bear it; he set down the luggage, stepped forward, and untied the rope to save him. The monkey only knelt and kowtowed to all of them, and indeed could hardly bear his shame. There is a verse to the tune “West River Moon” that bears witness:

Beauty is a blade that harms the body; to be greedy for it brings inevitable disaster. A fine young woman, beautiful and well adorned, may be fiercer than a mountain demon. It starts from one original root alone; add no small profit to your bag. Keep your capital carefully and store it in due caution. Hold fast, and do not let yourself run wild.

Zhu Bajie pinched some soil, burned incense, and looked to the sky in prayer. Sun Wukong asked, 'Can you recognize those bodhisattvas?' Zhu Bajie replied, 'I already fainted and became dizzy, my vision blurred and spinning. How could I know who they were?' Sun Wukong handed the summons note to him. When Zhu Bajie saw it was a verse form, he became even more ashamed. Sha Wujing laughed, 'Second Brother, with this kind of fortune, four bodhisattvas have come for your marriage.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Brother, do not bring that up again. I am no longer fit to be called a proper son of a family. From now on I will not dare to act recklessly again. Even if I have to break my bones, it is only to bear burdens shoulder to shoulder while going with Master to the Western Regions.' Tripitaka said, 'If that is what you say, then it is right.'

When they came to the mountain, it was truly a lovely sight:

High mountains rose steep and extreme, their vast forms towering in sharp relief. Its roots clung to the veins of Kunlun, and its peaks rubbed against the streams of the Milky Way. White cranes came and went, perching on cypress and fir; dark apes at times hung among tangled vines. Sunshine lit the clear woods, and layers upon layers of red mist coiled around; wind rose in shadowed ravines, and ten thousand colored clouds drifted on the air. Hidden birds chattered wildly in the green bamboo, and patterned roosters battled together among wildflowers. There appeared Thousand-Year Peak, Wufu Peak, and Lotus Peak, majestic and awe-inspiring, giving forth a faint radiance; Wansui Stone, Huyasha Stone, and Three-Heavens Stone, crackling and gleaming, gave forth auspicious vapors. Before the cliffs the grass was lush, on the ridge tops was plum fragrance. Bramble and thorn were dense beyond measure; orchis and orchids gave off a faint scent. Deep in the forest, eagles and phoenixes gathered a thousand birds; in ancient caves, kirins ruled over myriad beasts. The stream water moved with feeling, winding and winding, with curve after curve and bay after bay. Peaks and ridges came without pause, layer upon layer, circling one around another. Again they saw green pagoda trees, mottled bamboos, and blue-green pines, each lingering through a thousand years and bursting into thick clustered bloom. White plums, red peaches, green willows, all bright and vivid, fought each other in the splendor of three springs. Dragons sang and tigers roared; cranes danced while monkeys cried. Elk came forth from among the blossoms, and azure cranes called in reply to the sun. This was truly a blessed immortal mountain, a land of true merit, as if Penglai and Langyuan themselves. Again the mountain top showed scenes of blossoms opening and fading, clouds coming and going over the ridgeline.

Tripitaka, from the saddle, spoke joyfully, 'Disciple, on my way west I have gone through so many mountains and waters, all of them rugged and perilous; none compare to this mountain. If Mount Leiyin is not far, we can go at once and appear before the World-Honored One with proper decorum and solemnity.' Sun Wukong laughed, 'Too soon, too soon—there is no getting there so quickly.' Sha Wujing said, 'Brother, how far is it from here to Leiyin?' Sun Wukong said, 'One hundred and eight thousand li. Of ten relays, not one has been fully walked yet.' Zhu Bajie asked, 'Brother, how many years will it take to get there?' Sun Wukong said, 'If we two worthy younger disciples walk it, we could reach it in about ten days. If I walk it, I can do fifty such spans in a single day and still see the sun rise. For Master? Do not even imagine it.' Tripitaka said, 'Wukong, when do you think we might arrive?' Sun Wukong said, 'From the age you have walked until you grow old, old then young, though you pass through thousands of turns it remains hard; only if your true nature is awakened and your will sincere, and your thought turns inward at each moment, there is Spirit-Mountain.' Sha Wujing said, 'Elder brother, though this is not Leiyin, by its beauty one can tell some noble person dwells here.' Sun Wukong said, 'That is true. Certainly there are no evil spirits here. It is certainly the dwelling of a holy monk or immortal, so we will roam and proceed slowly.' No further details are needed.

This mountain was called Wanshou Mountain. Within it stood an observatory called Wuzhuang Guan. In it lived an immortal with the dharma name Zhenyuanzi, known among the world simply as Tongjun. It produced a strange treasure: it had taken shape as a spiritual root formed at the time of primordial chaos, before the great blur and before heaven and earth had been separated. Among the four great continents of the world, only Wuzhuang Guan on Xiniuhe Continent produced this one, called Caohuan Dan and also known as Ren Shen Fruit. It blossoms every three thousand years, bears fruit every three thousand years, and only after another three thousand years does it fully ripen; only after ten thousand years can it be eaten. In that span of ten thousand years, it yields only thirty fruits. Each fruit is shaped like a child not yet three years old, with all four limbs complete and all five features present. If a man has the right affinity and merely smells it, he can live three hundred and sixty years. If he eats one, he may live forty-seven thousand years.

That day Zhenyuan Daxian received a memorial from Yuanshi Tianzun summoning him to the Miró Palace in Shangqing Heaven to hear a lecture on the Hunyuan Dao Fruit. Among his followers of roaming immortals there were so many he could not count them; among them he had forty-eight disciples now, all perfected and fully true. That day he led forty-six to ascend to the upper realms to attend the lecture, leaving two very young ones to guard the household: one called Qingfeng, one called Mingyue. Qingfeng was only one thousand three hundred and twenty years old, and Mingyue only one thousand two hundred. Zhenyuan Zi instructed the two boys, 'Do not violate the memorial of the Great Celestial Lord. You must go to Miró Palace to attend the teaching. You two remain at home and mind things carefully. A certain old friend will pass this way, so do not be negligent with him. Give him two of my Ren Shen Fruit to eat, to express our old affection.' The two boys said, 'Master, who is this old friend? Please tell us so we may receive him properly.' The immortal said, 'He is a holy monk from the Great Tang court of the East, Dharma name Tripitaka, now going westward to the Western Heaven to seek sutras from the Buddha.' The two boys laughed, 'Confucius said, “When the Way differs, there is no way to conspire together.” We are from the Taiyi Xuanmen tradition. How can we have any acquaintance with that monk?' Zhenyuan Zi replied, 'How do you know? That monk is Jinchanzi reborn, the second disciple of the Buddha of the Western Supreme Old Man, the Tathagata. Five hundred years ago, I met him at the Lanbo Gathering. He personally served me tea, and the Buddha-child honored me; therefore he is indeed an old friend.'

Hearing this, the two immortal boys obeyed the command. When Zhenyuan left, he again instructed them, 'My fruit is limited; you may give only two to him, no more.' Qingfeng said, 'When I opened the orchard, the assembly all ate two, and there are still twenty-eight left on the tree. I dare not give more.' Zhenyuan said, 'Though Tang Sanzang is an old friend, be careful of the noisy household men under him. Do not let him know.' The two children accepted the order. Zhenyuan then took all his disciples and ascended, and went straight to Heaven.

Then Tripitaka and the three companions wandered about the mountain. Suddenly, looking up, they saw a cluster of pines and bamboos and layered towers and pavilions. Tripitaka said, 'Wukong, what place is that?' Wukong looked and said, 'That place is not a mere village or estate; it must be a monastery. Let us walk around there and then we will know clearly.' Not long afterward they came before the gate and saw:

The pine slopes were cool and sparse, the bamboo path tranquil and secluded. White cranes passed back and forth, carrying drifting clouds; monkeys moved up and down among the trees, offering fruit in turn. Before the gate was a broad pool, with long tree shadows; stones split, and mossy blossoms scattered. The buildings stood in dense rank, reaching toward the purple heights; towers and halls stood mist-soft, as if rosy clouds had fallen from above. It truly was a blessed land and spirit-filled terrain, a Penglai cloud-cave. In this clear emptiness human affairs were few, and in the stillness the Way arose in the heart. Blue birds each carried letters from Queen Mother, and purple phoenixes often conveyed the texts of the Elder Lord. One cannot exhaust the vast wind of upright virtue; indeed it is plainly a faintly mysterious dwelling of immortals.

Tripitaka dismounted and stepped down from the horse. He then saw on the left of the gate a stele with ten large characters: 'Wanshou Mountain, blessed land, Wuzhuang Cave-Heaven.' Tripitaka said, 'Disciple, this truly is a monastic estate.' Sha Wujing said, 'Master, this scene is vivid. Anyone who dwells here must be virtuous. Let us enter and see; even if we are to return eastward, this place itself is a landscape worth seeing.' Wukong said, 'Well said.' So they all entered together. Then they saw on the two gateposts a pair of spring couplets: 'Immortal palace of long life and no aging. A Daoist household sharing heaven-lengthened life.' Wukong laughed, 'This Taoist is boasting to frighten people. When I, old Sun, caused a great upheaval in Heaven Palace five hundred years ago, I did not once see such a boast written at Tai Shang Laojun’s gate.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Do not bother with that. Let us enter. Perhaps this Taoist has some true virtue; we cannot yet know.'

When they reached the second gate, they saw an urgent rush of movement within; two young boys came running out. Their appearance was this:

Their bones were clear, their spirits bright; their faces handsome, with topknots and short, tousled hair. Their Taoist robes naturally wrapped the chest in mistlike folds, and their feather garments had sleeves that drifted in the wind. Silk cords were tightly tied in dragon-head knots; light sandals, softly wrapped, held by soft cocoons. Their grace was most extraordinary, unlike ordinary folk. Truly they were the two immortal youths Qingfeng and Mingyue.

That youth bent low, bowing with folded back and outstretched arm, came out to greet him: 'Honored Master, I failed to receive you in time; please be seated.' Tripitaka was pleased, and then he and the two immortal youths entered the main hall to inspect it. The hall complex faced south with five chambers, all latticed carving, bright above and dim below. One immortal youth pushed open the lattice and invited Tripitaka into the hall; on the wall center hung the two great characters for 'Heaven and Earth' in five-colored form. A vermilion carved-lacquered incense table stood there, and on it was a pair of golden incense vessels, with incense prepared neatly beside the brazier.

Tripitaka came forward, took a pinch of incense in his left hand, poured it into the furnace, and made three bows. After bowing, he turned and said, 'Immortal youth, this Wuzhuang Monastery is truly like the immortal realm of the West. Why do you offer incense only to the two words Heaven and Earth, and not to the Three Purities, the Four Emperors, and the officers of Luotian?' The boy smiled: 'I will not hide it from you, Master. Of these two characters, the upper side can still be taken as proper to receive offerings, but the lower side cannot take our incense; this is all our master’s self-flattery.' Tripitaka asked, 'What is this self-flattery?' The boy replied, 'The Three Purities are my master's friends, the Four Emperors his old companions; the Nine Luminaries are his juniors, and Yuancheng is his subordinate guest.' On hearing this, the Great Sage laughed heartily. Zhu Bajie said, 'Brother, why are you laughing?' Wukong said, 'I thought only Old Sun could stir up trouble, and it turns out this Tao boy can stir the wind as well.' Tripitaka asked, 'Where is your master?' The boy said, 'My master, Primordial-Supreme Lord of Heaven, has gone by imperial summons to Miro Hall in Shangqing Heaven to lecture on the mixed-source Dao fruit, so he is not at home.' On hearing this, Wukong could not help shouting, 'What a vulgar Tao boy—you cannot even recognize who stands before you, yet you raise tricks in his presence and brag about empty airs? Who in that Miro Palace is a Taiyi celestial immortal? Go and tell this oaf how you should speak!'

Seeing his fury rise, Tripitaka feared the boy might answer back and stir trouble, so he said, 'Sun Wukong, do not quarrel. Now that we have entered, we should simply leave and appear dignified. As the saying goes, a heron does not eat heron flesh. His master is absent; why disrupt him? You go to the mountain gate and leave the horse, Sha Wujing guard the luggage, and tell Zhu Bajie to unpack and take out some grain. Borrow their stove and cook us one meal. When we are ready to depart, give him a few strings of firewood money and be done. Each of you do your assigned duty. Let me rest here for a while; once we have eaten, we will go.' The three each did as directed and went to their tasks.

Mingyue and Qingfeng praised in whispers without end: 'What a good monk! Truly a saint beloved of the West has descended among mortals, with original purity still intact. Master ordered us to receive Tripitaka and offer him ginseng fruit to show our old ties, and also told us to be watchful that we do not disturb his attendants. Those three are indeed rough-faced and rough-natured. Luckily we have managed to divert them away. If they had been out front, they would never have seen the ginseng fruit.' Qingfeng said, 'Brother, we do not yet know if that monk is Master’s old friend. Better to ask him directly and avoid error.' The two boys stepped forward again: 'May we ask if the monk is Tripitaka, the one from Great Tang traveling west for the scriptures?' Tripitaka bowed and said, 'I am the poor Tripitaka.' The boy said, 'When my master set out, he ordered us disciples to receive you from afar. Unexpectedly the imperial summons came quickly and I failed to welcome you in time. Please be seated, Master; wait while my brother brings tea to serve you.' Tripitaka said, 'I dare not.' Mingyue hurried back to the room, brought one cup of fragrant tea, and offered it to the elder. After he drank, Qingfeng said, 'Brother, do not disobey Master’s order; you and I will go get some fruit.'

The two boys bade farewell to Tripitaka and together went inside. One took the golden clapper, one took a cinnabar tray, and they also put a green cloth under the tray bottom, then went straight to the ginseng orchard. Qingfeng climbed up the tree and knocked the fruit with the golden clapper; Mingyue stood below receiving them in the tray. After a while, two fruits came down and were caught in the tray; he brought them directly to the front hall and offered them: 'Tang Master, Wuzhuang Monastery is on wild, poor ground with nothing else to present. These are two plain ginseng fruits; take them only to quench your thirst.' Tripitaka saw them and, all trembling, stepped back three feet, saying, 'Excellent, excellent! This year has been rich and full of grain; how can this monastery be so barren as to eat people? This is a child not yet three days old. How can he quench my thirst?' Qingfeng thought to himself, 'This monk, always in the arena of disputation, this sea of right and wrong, has no sense of our immortal rarity, so he takes these for ordinary children.' Mingyue stepped forward: 'Master, this is called ginseng fruit; eating one would do no harm.' Tripitaka replied, 'Nonsense. His mother and father must have suffered unspeakable pain carrying him in the womb before he was born. In less than three days, how could they bring him here and offer him as fruit?' Qingfeng said, 'It truly grew on the tree.' Tripitaka said, 'Nonsense, nonsense. Can a tree bear a child? Do not bring him; he is no fruit but a child.'

The two boys, unable to make him eat after endless urging, had no choice but to take the tray back to their room. The fruit itself was strange: it must not be left for long, and if kept too long it would stiffen and become unfit to eat. The two of them entered the room, one each, sat by the bedstead, and simply began to eat.

Ah—so this is how it is. Their Tao chamber shared a close partition wall with the kitchen, and whispers on this side were heard clearly on that side. Zhu Bajie, while cooking in the kitchen, had already heard them mention taking the golden clapper and the cinnabar tray, and it stayed in his mind; he also heard that Tripitaka did not recognize it as ginseng fruit and had taken it in the room to eat. He could not keep saliva in his mouth and muttered, 'How can I get even a bite of something new?' His body was wild and hard to bear, and he could not move freely, so he waited for Wukong to come and argue with him. At the stove-front his mind was on nothing but fire, and he kept poking his head out every now and then to look around. Soon, he saw Wukong bringing in the horse, tying it to a locust tree, and then going back. The brute waved his arms wildly: 'This way, this way.' Wukong turned at the kitchen door and said, 'Bajie, why all this shouting? If we lack rice, let the old monk eat first; after he is full we can go to a rich house ahead and eat again.' Zhu Bajie said, 'You came in, and it is not because there was no rice. There is a treasure in this monastery; do you know it?' Wukong said, 'What treasure?' Zhu Bajie laughed, 'If I tell you, you have never seen it; if I give it to you, you do not recognize it.' Wukong said, 'You stupid one, mocker of old Sun. I have, in five hundred years of seeking the Dao, wandered through sea and sky among immortals; has a thing like this ever not appeared?' Zhu Bajie said, 'Brother, have you ever seen ginseng fruit?' Wukong exclaimed, 'Truly, never. I have only heard people say that ginseng fruit is a life-restoring herb-and-elixir. Whoever eats it gains greatly lengthened life. Where would one get such a thing now?' Zhu Bajie said, 'It exists here. Those youths gave two to Master, but he did not recognize them and said they were infants not yet three days old and he dared not eat. The boy was so indolent that since Master did not eat, he thought it should be for us. He hid it from us and sat in the adjoining room, one each, munching and munching; then came out to leave. That has left my mouth watering. How can I taste something fresh? I thought you were nimble and could slip into their orchard and steal a few to try.' Wukong said, 'Easy enough. Old Sun will have it handled in one reach.' He moved to leave at once. Zhu Bajie grabbed him: 'Brother, I heard him in this room say he was going to take some golden clapper and strike. It must be done cleanly and without spreading wind.' Wukong said, 'I know. I know.'

The Great Sage used a hiding-and-disappearing technique and slipped into the Tao room to look. The two youths had already eaten the fruit and gone to the front hall to speak with Tripitaka; they were no longer inside. Wukong looked all around for the golden clapper, and only saw on the lattice a strip of red-gold hanging there, about two chi long and a finger thick. At its lower end was a garlic-knob-like head, at its upper end a hole, with a green velvet cord tied there. He said, 'This must surely be what they call the golden clapper.' He took it down, left the Tao room, and went straight to the back, pushing open two doors. Lifting his head, he looked and exclaimed, 'This is a garden!':

Vermilion rails and jewel-like balustrades, ridged terraces curving like small hills. Wondrous flowers competed with the radiant sun for beauty; jade bamboos contended with the blue sky for color. Outside the Pavilion of Pouring Cups, a bay of green willows drifted like smoke. Before the Moon-Viewing Terrace, several clusters of lofty pines spread like indigo paint. Scarlet fluttering, brocade-nested pomegranates; green and tender, embroidered-cushion grasses; blue and soft, blue-sand orchids; vast and graceful, set by the stream. Amber osmanthus shone near the golden-well parasol trees, and brocaded locusts lined vermilion rails and jade paving. Some peaches with a thousand leaves were red or white, and chrysanthemums were fragrant or yellow in the ninth autumn. Vining frames threw light onto the peony pavilion; hibiscus terraces linked to peony beds. One could not get to the end of frost-defying gentlemanly bamboos and snow-defying lofty pines. There were also Crane Hall and Deer Hall, square wetlands and round pools; spring water ran like broken jade, the ground mounded in goldlike heaps. The north wind touched and made the white plum blossoms open, while spring came and broke into the pink of flowering begonia. Indeed this is truly the first fairy-scene among all human lands, the foremost floral assemblage of the Western Regions.

Crops for all four seasons were planted: spinach-like greens, chard chives, and young ginger shoots. Bamboo shoots, sweet yams, melons, calabash gourds, white jiaobai, scallions, garlic, coriander, chives, and shallots. Woqu, tonghao, bitter herbs, and eggplant-plants with bottle gourds set out in rows. Mangjing and radishes, sheep-head turnips tucked in, with red amaranth, green bok choy, and purple mustard.

The Great Sage laughed and said, 'He too is a Taoist who grows his own and eats by himself.'

After walking past the vegetable plot, Sun Wukong saw another gate. He pushed it open and peered in, and there in the very center stood a great tree: truly lush green branches, dark and shadowy leaves, the leaves shaped like plantain. It rose straight up more than a thousand chi, and at its root it was seven or eight zhang across, round and broad. The Great Sage leaned against the tree and looked up. On a southern branch he saw a ginseng fruit that truly looked like a child. As it were, it had a stalk at the end, and from its perch on the bough its hands and feet seemed to wriggle, its head bobbing as if nodding, and when the wind passed it seemed to make a sound. Sun Wukong could not contain his joy and praised himself: "Excellent! truly rare, truly rare!" Leaning on the tree, with a breath he climbed up at once. He was the first monkey to know how to climb a tree and steal fruit. He struck it with his golden clapper, and the fruit came down with a thud. He leapt down to follow, but it vanished at once. He searched in the grass on all sides, and there was no trace at all.

Sun Wukong said, "What an odd trick, what an odd trick. I suppose if it can walk it can run, and even if it ran it still could not jump over the wall. I know now: the land spirit of this garden does not allow Old Sun to steal his fruit, so he must have carried it off once I took it." He then chanted a formula, pinched the spell, and intoned a single Om, summoning the Garden Landlord. The spirit came and bowed to him: "The Great Sage summons the little god. What is the command?" Sun Wukong said, "You do not know that Old Sun is a thief famed across Heaven and Earth. In my day I stole peaches of immortality, plundered court wine, and pilfered elixirs of life, yet no one dared share with me. How is it then that today, when I took one ginseng fruit, you snatched it from my head? The fruit hangs on a tree; even birds in the sky should have their share. Old Sun taking one is no great harm. Why, just when it fell, you grabbed it?" The land spirit replied, "Great Sage, you have mistaken the little god. This treasure belongs to an earth-immortal. I am but a ghost-immortal; how dare I touch it? I could not even be worthy of smelling it."

Sun Wukong asked, "If you did not take it, how is it that it disappeared after it fell?" The land spirit answered, "Great Sage, you only know that this treasure prolongs life; you do not know its origin." Sun Wukong asked, "What origin?" The land spirit said, "This treasure blooms every three thousand years, bears fruit every three thousand years, and needs another three thousand to fully ripen. In a brief span of ten thousand years it yields only thirty. One who is fated may sniff it and live three hundred sixty years; one who eats one may live forty-seven thousand years. It obeys only the cycle of the Five Phases." "What does it mean to obey the Five Phases?" Sun Wukong asked. The land spirit explained, "When it meets metal it falls; when it meets wood it withers; when it meets water it dissolves; when it meets fire it scorches and is useless; when it meets earth it sinks into the ground. It should be struck down only with a metal implement. Once knocked down, it must be caught on a tray padded with silk cloth. If placed on wood it will wither, and then it cannot be eaten for longevity. It must be used in porcelain, dissolved in clear water, and eaten. If near fire it becomes charred and useless. If near earth it goes down into it. The earth here is four-thousand and seventy years old—no, forty-seven thousand; even a steel auger cannot bore through a grain of it, it is three or four points harder than raw cast iron. It is because one who eats it thereby gains long life. If the Great Sage does not believe, test the ground here." Sun Wukong flicked out his Golden-Hooped Staff and struck once. A sharp sound burst out as the staff sprang up, yet the ground bore no mark. "Indeed, indeed," said Sun Wukong. "This staff breaks stone like powder and leaves scars on forged iron. How is it that this strike did not damage it at all? Then I have wrongly accused you. Go back." The land spirit returned to his own shrine.

Sun Wukong, however, had a plan. One hand striking with his clapper, with the other he pulled up the hem of his robe of brocade lining and made a pouch. Then he worked his way along the branches and leaves, struck three fruits, and caught them in the fold of his robe. He leapt down and went straight to the kitchen. Zhu Bajie asked, "Brother, is there any?" Sun Wukong said, "Why, this is no ordinary thing. Old Sun has it in hand. As for this fruit, we need not burden Sha Wujing to carry it; call him." "Wujing," Zhu Bajie called. Sha Wujing took down the baggage and ran into the kitchen. "Brother, why did you call me?" he asked. Sun Wukong untucked the robe pouch and said, "Brother, see what this thing is." Sha Wujing saw it and said, "It is ginseng fruit." Sun Wukong said, "Good! You recognize it—you had eaten this before, had you not?" Sha Wujing replied, "Though my junior brother has not eaten it, I once served as a curtain-guard marshal and attended the Phoenix-carriage in the Peach-Peaching banquet, where I saw this fruit offered for the Queen Mother to celebrate her longevity. I saw it then, but did not eat it. Brother, could you let me taste a little?" Sun Wukong said, "No need to talk. Each brother gets one."

The three of them each took one of the three fruits and ate it. Zhu Bajie had a large appetite and an even larger mouth; having heard a young attendant eat, his gluttonous cravings had already stirred. When he saw the fruit he snatched it up, opened his mouth, and gulped it down whole with a gurgling swallow. He then stared with wide, white-rimmed eyes and bawled to Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, "What are you two eating?" Sha Wujing said, "It is ginseng fruit." Zhu Bajie asked, "What does it taste like?" Sun Wukong said, "Wujing, do not mind him. You ate first and only now ask whose?" Zhu Bajie said, "Brother, I ate in haste and not the way you two do, carefully chewing and tasting it. I do not even know whether there was a pit, so I swallowed it all at once. Brother, I suppose it is wonderful. It has stirred my ravenous craving all over again; let's get another so I can eat slowly, old pig as befits a gentleman." Sun Wukong said, "Brother, you do not know when to stop. This fruit is not like rice gruel or noodles, where eating fills the stomach. A thing that in ten-thousand years yields only thirty fruits—if we now have eaten one, that is by great destiny, not to be wasted. Enough, enough, enough!" He got up, grabbed a golden clapper, slipped it through the window slat, and tossed it into his chamber, completely ignoring him.

The stubborn one went on chattering and muttering nonstop. Unexpectedly those two Dao boys entered the room again to take tea out for offering, and they could hear Zhu Bajie still crying, "The ginseng fruit did not taste quite right; if I could get another one, I should eat it." Qingfeng heard it and wondered, "Mingyue, did you hear the long-mouthed monk? 'I need another ginseng fruit to eat.' Master had warned us before departing: guard what is under our charge, lest he think his men stole our treasure." Mingyue turned around and said, "Brother, it is bad, it is bad! how did the golden clapper end up on the ground? Let us go to the garden and see."

The two of them hurried off at once. They found the garden gate open. Qingfeng said, "I was the one who closed this gate. How was it opened?" Then they rushed around and found the vegetable-garden gate also open. They hurried into the ginseng grove, leaned on the tree, and counted by looking up and down. They could count only twenty-two. Mingyue said, "Can you do arithmetic?" Qingfeng said, "I can. You tell me what we had." Mingyue said, "There should have been thirty. Master opened the garden, and we ate two, so twenty-eight remained. Just now we gave two to Tangjika and he ate them, so there should have been twenty-six. Now only twenty-two remain. That is not one short but four. No need to discuss. It must be those villains, and we should only accuse Master."

The two went out through the gate and came straight to the hall, pointed at Tripitaka, and with both front and back tongues of abuse, filth and obscenity poured from them without pause—loud, foul, and uncontrolled. Tripitaka, unable to bear it, said, "Immortal boys, what is all this noise? Settle down. Say what you have to say in order, do not spread lies." Qingfeng said, "Are your ears deaf? I speak plainly, you do not understand? You have eaten the ginseng fruit, and you do not let me speak." Tripitaka asked, "What does a ginseng fruit look like?" Mingyue said, "You were just given one to eat—did you not say it looked like a child?" Tripitaka said, "Amitabha Buddha! The moment I saw that thing, I was frightened. How could I dare to steal and eat it? Even if this ravenous brute did it, I would never do such wickedness. Do not wrong a man." Qingfeng said, "Even if you did not eat it, your men wish to steal and eat it." Tripitaka said, "That can be true. But do not shout. Let me question them. If they stole it, I will have them compensate you." Mingyue said, "Compensate! With what money can they buy the like of this?" Tripitaka said, "Even if there is money, where can they buy it? As the saying goes, righteousness and loyalty are worth a thousand pieces of gold. Have them pay with a proper apology and that is enough. And we still do not even know whether it was they or not." Mingyue said, "How could it be someone else? They themselves did not divide equally, and they are still shouting there." Tripitaka called out, "Disciples, all of you come." Sha Wujing heard and said, "This is bad. Teacher Father has called us. If the two Dao boys are cursing us, this is not just the old tale of rumor, but something else indeed." Sun Wukong said, "To expose it would be a deadly shame. This is only a matter of food and drink; if we speak of it, we are admitting we stole from them. Simply deny it." Zhu Bajie agreed, "Exactly, exactly. Let us just pretend not to understand." The three then came out of the kitchen and went up to the hall.

In the end, they still did not know how to wriggle out of his accusation. Read on to the next chapter for the resolution.