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.

"> Cultivate virtue to the tune of eight hundred measures,

accrue three thousand hidden merits in advance. Set even and impartial self, people, and even the wrongdoer. Then at last it accords with the Original Vow of the Western Heaven. I do not fear the demon-rhinoceros's steel and spears; no use toiling with water and fire when no fault is found. Laozi subdued him and led him before Heaven, then laughed and tugged the Blue Ox around."

By the roadside, who was crying out? It was the Mountain God and the Earth God of Mount Jindou, holding a purple-gold bowl as they called: "Holy Tripitaka, this bowl of food was brought forth through Great Sage Sun Wukong's transformations. Because you would not heed good counsel and blundered into the demon’s hands, Great Sage had to labor through endless hardships, and only today could he rescue you. Come and eat, then continue your road, and do not fail this disciple’s heart of reverence and filial service." Tripitaka said, "Disciple, my gratitude is boundless and words fail me. Had I known not to step out of your protective circle, how could there be such a threat to my life?" Wukong said, "I will not hide it, Master: it is because you did not trust my circle, yet you allowed yourself to fall into another. So much pain. Alas, alas!" Zhu Bajie asked, "How could there be another circle again?" Wukong replied, "It is your accursed tongue and tongue-quick curses, that mule-headed fool, that brought Master into this great calamity and compelled old Sun to turn heaven and earth. He called forth heavenly soldiers, Water and Fire, and Buddha’s cinnabar; all was finally snared in a pale, ghost-white circle. The Buddha signaled the Arhat and told old Sun the demon’s true origin; only then was Laozi invited to subdue him, and it turned out to be a deed of the Blue Ox." Hearing this, Tripitaka said, "Excellent disciple. After this trial, next time I will surely obey your commands."

Then the four shared the food, and though it had been some time, it was still steaming hot. Wukong said, "The food has sat for so long. How can it still be hot?" The Earth God knelt and said, "The little god knew that Great Sage’s task was complete, so it warmed itself to serve you." In a moment, when the meal was finished, he packed away the bowl, took leave of the Earth God and the Mountain God, and only then did Tripitaka climb onto the saddle and pass over the high mountain. It was exactly this: cleanse cares from the mind, wash the heart and return to right awakening, living on wind for food and water for lodging as one goes west.

There being early spring weather, they heard:

The purple swallows whisper, the orioles peer and sing. The purple swallows whisper, their perfumed beaks tired of song; the orioles flash and trill in nimble cadence. All over the ground, fallen red blossoms spread like brocade; across the whole mountain, fresh green unfolds like a piled carpet. On the ridges the green plums plump into bean-like buds, and ancient cypresses at the cliffs hold the drifting cloud. The wild air is damp with faint smoke-light; the sandy banks glow softly in the dimming sun. In several gardens the blossoms open at last, and the return of sunlight brings new willow shoots to the earth."

After walking some distance, it was now early spring weather still. They came upon a small river, clear as polished jade, its cold waves dark and still. Tripitaka drew up the horse and looked across. On the opposite bank, beneath willow shade and beneath a hint of that azure-green light, he saw a few eaves of a thatch cottage. Wukong pointed ahead and said, "There, on that side, is surely the ferryman’s place." Tripitaka said, "I too see the same there, but I saw no boat and could not yet speak." Zhu Bajie quickly unloaded the baggage and called out in a loud voice, "Ferrywoman, bring the boat this way." He called several times, and from the willow shade there appeared, in a quavering voice, a boat slowly pushing out, and after a short while it came close to this bank. The monks examined it closely and saw indeed:

Short oar cleaves the waves, light paddle parts the surf. The cabin is painted in bright lacquer, the deckboards are broad and even. At the bow sits an iron winch with coiled rings; aft a bright little helm-house. Though it is but a reed-borne craft, it is no poorer for lake or sea. Even without embroidered cables or tiger-toothed rigging, it truly has fir piles and cassia paddles. Not like a thousand-mile divine barge, yet it can well carry one across a single river-gap. Its coming and going stays only between two cliffs, in and out, never leaving the ancient ford."

Soon the boat touched shore. The oarsman-catcher shouted, "Those crossing, this way." As Tripitaka rode close, he looked and saw the ferryman’s form to be:

A fine velvet turban wraps her head, with soap-silk shoes on her feet. She wore a padded jacket of a hundred-stitch kind, and around her waist, a thousand-knotened skirted sash. Her wrists are thick-skinned and sinewy, hard with strength; her eyes flowered, brows furrowed, face already worn by time. Her voice was tiny and pretty like a warbler’s song, and up close she was an old boatwoman in an old maid’s pins. Wukong went near the boat’s side and asked, "Are you the ferryman?" The woman said, "Yes." Wukong said, "Where is the oar-master? How come you, an oarswoman, row the boat?" She only smiled faintly, never answering, and drew the gangplank up by hand. Sha Wujing hefted the baggage and stepped in, and Wukong supported Tripitaka up and across, then followed; Zhu Bajie hauled over the white horse, and pulled in the gangplank. The woman set the boat in motion, paddled, and in a moment they had crossed. On arriving at the west bank, Tripitaka asked Sha Wujing to untie the pack and gave her several strings of coins. She did not bargain at all, tied the rope to a post by the water, laughed cheerfully, and walked straight into the village house.

When Tripitaka saw how clear the water was, he soon felt thirsty and told Zhu Bajie, "Take the bowl and scoop some water for me to drink." The boor said, "I was just about to drink some too." So he took the bowl, scooped one, and handed it to the Master. Tripitaka ate perhaps half, leaving still almost half. Zhu Bajie took it and drank it down in one breath, then knelt and helped Tripitaka mount. The three set off westward. Not even half an hour later, Tripitaka groaned on horseback: "My belly hurts." Zhu Bajie immediately added, "I, too, feel pain in my belly." Sha Wujing said, "It must be from drinking cold water." Before he could finish, the Master called out, "The pain is sharp." and Zhu Bajie said the same, "It is sharp indeed." As the two endured, their bellies began to swell gradually. When they pressed their hands, they felt like clots of blood and chunks of flesh, with bones knocking against one another restlessly. Just as Tripitaka’s seat became unsteady, he suddenly noticed by the roadside a village house, with two bundles of straw hung from a treetop. Wukong said, "Master, that is a house selling wine. Let us go there and have them make some hot broth for you; ask whether there is anyone who sells medicine and beg for a plaster to treat your pain."

Tripitaka, delighted to hear this, dismounted from the white horse. In no time they had come to the gate and come down from the horse. On the porch outside sat an old woman on a little thatch mound, spinning hemp. Wukong stepped forward and offered greeting: "Grandmother, this humble monk comes from the Great Tang of the Eastern Capital. My Master is a prince of the Tang court. He drank from the river after crossing and now feels severe abdominal pain." The old woman laughed, "Oh, what a trick you children are! How charming. You drank from the river there, did you?" Wukong answered, "Yes, from the clear water on this eastern bank." She smiled with delight and said, "Very funny indeed, very funny indeed. Come inside and I will tell you."

Wukong helped Tripitaka and Sha Wujing helped Zhu Bajie; both cried out as they went, belly-groaning, faces yellow, brows knotted, each in pain. They sat in the thatched room. Wukong said only, "Grandmother, please boil some hot broth for my Master; we are all grateful." The old woman neither boiled broth nor moved, but laughed with a wheezy titter and ran to the back, crying, "Come out, everyone, come out and see!" From within came three half-young, half-old women, stomping out with clattering steps, all of them staring at Tripitaka and laughing. Wukong grew furious and roared once, showing his teeth. The entire household shrank, stumbling backward and then hurried out of the way. Wukong moved forward, pulled up the old woman, and said, "Burn the broth at once, and I will spare you." She trembled and said, "Sir, even if I boil broth it will not help, and I cannot treat two men’s belly pain. Let me go and explain." Wukong released her. She said, "This is the Woman’s Kingdom of Western Liang, and all under this kingdom are women; there are no men. So you look so unusual and amusing to them. Your Master’s water was unclean. The river is called the Mother-and-Child River. Outside our king’s city is a relay station called the Yingyang Guesthouse, and just outside its gate is the Zhaotai Spring. For people like me, no one over twenty years old may drink from the river water. Those who drink it will feel abdominal pain because the water carries gestation. After three days, at the edge of the Zhaotai Spring at Yingyang Guesthouse, one must look to see whether two reflections appear. If two shadows are seen, a child will be born. Your Master has swallowed the Mother-and-Child water and so has taken on the burden of pregnancy. It is near time for him to bear a child; how could hot broth cure that?"

Tripitaka, hearing this, turned pale and exclaimed, "Disciple! What are we to do now?" Zhu Bajie, bending his waist and moaning, said, "Good grief! If we must give birth, we are men. How can there be a birth passage? How can one ever come out?" Wukong laughed and said, "The elders said, 'Like ripe melon, it falls by itself.' When the hour comes, a hole will surely tear open at the side, and it will crawl out." Hearing this, Zhu Bajie trembled and, no longer able to bear the pain, cried, "Enough, enough! Then I will die, I will die." Sha Wujing said with a laugh, "Second Brother, do not twist. If you keep twisting, you may only worsen a child-carrying pain and turn it into a prenatal trouble." Zhu Bajie became more flustered; tears filled his eyes. He tugged at Wukong’s robe and pleaded, "Brother, ask this old woman to find the calmest midwives now, a few of them. The pains are gripping and coming in waves, like labor already. Hurry—hurry." Sha Wujing laughed once more: "Now that the second brother knows it is labor pain, do not twist. You fear only that you might rupture the embryo bag."

Tripitaka hummed and said, 'Grandma, do you have any physician here? Send my disciple to buy a dose of medicine to bring down the fetus, have him take it, and make him expel it.' The old woman said, 'There is medicine, but it will not help. Here, along Zhengnan Street, stands Mount Jieyang. In the mountain there is a broken cave, and in that cave is a Fall-Pregnancy Spring. Only by drinking a mouthful of that spring water can the fetal qi be dispelled. Yet the water cannot be taken now. Recently a Daoist came, calling himself Ruyi Zhenxian; he changed that broken cave into Juxian Hermitage and guards the spring water there, refusing to share it freely. If one wants the water, one must bring red paper offerings, sheep wine, and a fruit tray, and with earnest devotion make an offering, only then ask him and gain a bowlful. You itinerant monks, how can you have enough money for all that? You can only endure your fate and wait until the time to give birth.' When Wukong heard this, he was joyfully reassured and said, 'Old mother, how far is this to Mount Jieyang?' The old woman replied, 'Thirty li.' Wukong said, 'Good, good. Master, do not worry; I shall bring back some water for you.'

The Great Sage instructed Sha Wujing, 'Watch Master carefully. If this family shows no courtesy and troubles him, use your old methods and scare them at once. I am going to fetch water.' Sha Wujing obeyed. The old woman then brought out a large earthen bowl and handed it to Wukong: 'Take this bowl and fetch plenty, keeping some for us in reserve for emergencies.' Wukong truly took the bowl, left the grass hut, and rose through the clouds. At that moment the old woman looked up in reverence and said, 'My lord! This monk can ride the clouds.' She then went inside and called out several women, who came to kneel before Tripitaka and bow. All addressed him as Arhat Bodhisattva. In one corner someone cooked broth and prepared the meal in offering to Tripitaka; not recorded further.

The narrative says: Sun Great Sage raised a jindou-cloud and in a short while saw a mountain peak blocking the edge of the clouds. He steadied his cloud and looked around. 'What a fine mountain!' he thought, then beheld:

Fragrant flowers sway like brocade, wild grasses lie in blue expanse. The ravine streams join and fall, and the creek-clouds pass in still leisure. Deep valleys and gullies are wrapped in thick vines and vines, far-off peaks and trees spread thickly. Birds cry, geese pass; deer drink, monkeys climb. Green ridges stand like screen walls, blue cliffs resemble braided coiffures. Rolling dust makes it truly hard to reach, and spring stones keep whispering in little rivulets without tiring the eye. Whenever one sees an immortal child gathering herbs, one often meets a woodcutter returning with a load of fuel. Truly it is not less than the scenes of Heaven’s terrace, even surpassing the western splendor of Three Peaks Mountain.

As the Great Sage was still gazing at the mountain, he saw, in the shadow behind it, an estate and heard barking. He descended and went straight to the manor; it too was a fitting place. He saw:

A small bridge crosses living water, thatched cottage leans on green mountain. Village dogs bark amid hedges and fences; the recluse goes and returns.

Not long after, he arrived at the gate and saw an old Daoist seated in lotus posture upon green turf. The Great Sage set down the bowl and came forward to offer greetings. The old Daoist inclined his body and returned the courtesy: 'From which quarter have you come, and what business brings you to this little hermitage?' Wukong said, 'I am Tripitaka, the Dharma Master sent by the Great Tang in the East, by imperial commission, to fetch the scriptures in the Western Heaven. My Master drank from the Child-Mother River by mistake, and now suffers abdominal swelling too great to bear. Inquiring of the locals, we were told he has formed fetal qi and no remedy exists. We learned that in Mount Jieyang the Broken-Child Cave has a Fall-Pregnancy Spring that can clear such qi, so I have come specifically to make obeisance to Ruyi Zhenxian and beg spring water to save Master. Please be so kind as to point the way.' The Daoist smiled, 'This place is the Broken-Child Cave, now changed to Juxian Hermitage. I am no ordinary man; I am the senior disciple of Master Ruyi Zhenxian himself. What is your name? I must report it.' Wukong said, 'I am the senior disciple of Master Tripitaka of the Great Tang, a humble monk named Sun Wukong.' The Daoist asked, 'Where are your red token, wine and offerings?' Wukong said, 'I am a passing traveling monk; I could not make such preparations.' The Daoist laughed: 'You are very naïve. My master guards the mountain spring and has never given it away for nothing. Go and bring the gifts; then I can report it. If not, go back. Do not dare to hope, do not dare.' Wukong said, 'Compassion among people is like an imperial decree. Go tell him my name is Elder Sun Wukong, and he will surely show kindness, perhaps giving me even the whole well.'

That Daoist, after hearing this, went in only to report. He saw the true Immortal plucking the guqin and waited until the instrument was done, then said, 'Master, there is a monk outside claiming to be Sun Wukong, Great Tang Tripitaka’s senior disciple, seeking water from the Fall-Pregnancy Spring to save his Master.' The true immortal did not dismiss it at once. But when he heard Wukong’s name, anger rose at once to the top of his heart and evil flashed to the edge of his gall. He sprang up from the qin bed, shed his plain robe, put on Daoist robes, took up a Ruyi hook, leapt from the hermitage gate, and called out, 'Where is Sun Wukong?' Wukong turned and saw him thus dressed:

On his head a star-studded crown, colors flying and radiant. On his body a crimson Daoist robe woven with golden filigree. Beneath, cloud shoes heaped with brocade and embroidery. A bejewelled belt of exquisite loops around his waist. A pair of embroidered cloud-wave socks, hem of skirt flashes silk in its folds. In his hand a Ruyi golden hook, its iron shaft long and sinewy as a python. Phoenix eyes bright, brows knit in fierce arcs, steel teeth sharp and mouth reddened. Below the brow, whiskers drift like blazing fire, short red hair at temples in loose frizz. His form is menacing as Marshal Wen Yuan-shi, yet his robes and cap are not the same. Wukong joined his palms and bowed, 'I am truly Sun Wukong.' The master laughed, 'You are truly Sun Wukong, but are you one using a false surname and borrowed name?' Wukong said, 'Look at your own words. There is an old saying: a noble man does not change his given name by travel, does not alter his surname while seated. I am Wukong. How could there be any fraud?' The master said, 'Do you recognize me?' Wukong answered, 'Since I entered the True Way of Buddha and hold to the monastic teachings, I have crossed mountains and waters these days. My childhood friends I have forgotten to visit; I scarcely know your honored face. Just by asking those families west of the Child-Mother River I heard that you are Ruyi Zhenxian, and thus I knew of you.' The master said, 'You go your way, I keep my Way; why come to visit me?' Wukong said, 'Because my Master has drunk Child-Mother River water in error; his belly has swollen with fetal qi and is near death. I came to this Immortal Court to ask for one bowl of the spring to save him.'

The master glowered, 'Is your Master indeed Tang Sanzang?' Wukong said, 'Yes indeed.' The master ground his teeth in hatred: 'Have you met the Holy Infant King?' Wukong said, 'That is the nickname for the demon Red Boy of Kusong Ravine and Huoyun Cave. Why does the true Immortal ask about him?' The master said, 'He is my house-nephew, and I am the brother of the Bull Demon King. Formerly my elder brother sent word saying that Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang’s senior disciple, was lazy and had harmed him. At this place I had no chance to bring him to account. You come here to seek me, and then ask for water?' Wukong smiled and said, 'You are mistaken. Your honored brother also was once my friend; in our youth we were seven sworn brethren. But I have not had the chance to meet your august face. Now your nephew has gained good merit and now follows Guanyin as Shancai Tongzi. Even we are not as good as that; how then could you take offense at me?'

The master shouted, 'You brash monkey, still tossing clever words! My nephew—was he not better being king in freedom, or being slave to others? Do not be so impolite. Take this one hook of mine!' The Great Sage set his staff across and said, 'Master, do not speak of fighting. Give me some water as well.' The master cursed, 'Brash ape! You do not know life and death. If in three rounds I can contend with you, take the water. If you cannot, I will turn you to meat paste, and so repay my nephew.' Wukong snarled, 'You degenerate demon who knows nothing of your own beginning! If you want to fight, draw up and show your staff.' The master’s Ruyi hook came up and met him. At Juxian Hermitage, they clashed savagely:

The holy monk ate wrong and became with fetal swelling; Wukong came seeking Ruyi Immortal. The true Immortal he had sought was, in fact, a demon, leaning on strength to guard the Fall-Pregnancy Spring. When they met and spoke of old enmity, each refused to yield a straightforward resolution. Their words and replies turned to frantic snarling; evil-minded and fierce in heart, each sought redress for grievance. This one came for water to save his Master and risk his life. That one, for his nephew’s death, would not let spring-water pass. The Ruyi hook was harsh as scorpion venom; the Golden-Hooped Staff cruel as a dragon’s summit. Chaos-thrusts at the chest, powers unleashed with ferocity. Footwork and slanting hooks revealed subtle arcana. Underhand staff blows came with no front or back; through-the-shoulder hooks rose and struck near the head like whips. A waist-locking staff, eagle-gripped sparrow; three hooks over the crown, cicadas caught like prey. Over and over they came and went, fighting for victory and defeat, returning and returning again and again. Hook and staff twisted and struck without sequence; no trace of victory or loss was seen. The master and the Great Sage fought for well over ten rounds. The master could not withstand the Great Sage. The Great Sage became even more violent, and his staff was like a roaring comet, striking wildly at the head. The master lost his strength, dragged the Ruyi hook, and withdrew toward the mountain.

Great Sage did not chase him off; instead he came into the hermitage in search of water. That Taoist had already shut the hut door. Holding his tile bowl, Sun Wukong hurried to the gate and, with all his strength, kicked it open and burst inside. He saw the priest lying against the well curb. Sun Wukong called out, raised his staff to strike, and the priest ran backward. Only then did Sun Wukong find the bucket and about to draw water, when the other rushed in front, used the Ruyi Hook to snag him by the foot, and hooked him into a fall, the blow driving him down face-first. Sun Wukong climbed up and struck with his iron cudgel. The priest kept to the side, holding the hook and saying, "See if you can take my water and get away." Sun Wukong cursed, "Come on, come on up! I’ll beat you dead, you demon-mischief!" The priest did not move forward to oppose him, only stayed his ground and forbade him from drawing water. Seeing him unmoving, Sun Wukong used his left hand to brandish the staff and his right to lower the bucket. He had only just let the rope slip down with a rattling clatter when the priest moved again with the hook. Sun Wukong could not brace one hand; the man hooked his foot once more, tugged him into a lurching stumble and pulled him all the way down into the well with the rope. "This brute is utterly impertinent," Sun Wukong said. He got up, both hands lifting the staff, and battered away at him without restraint. The priest still withdrew and did not dare meet him. Sun Wukong tried again to get water, but now he had no bucket and feared being hooked again. Inwardly he thought, "I’d better go summon some help."

Great Sage turned the cloud and headed straight to the village doorway, called out once, "Sha Wujing." Inside, Tripitaka moaned through pain while Zhu Bajie kept grunting nonstop. Hearing the call, the two exulted, "Sha, it is Wukong." Sha Wujing hurried to the door to receive him: "Elder brother, did you bring water?" Sun Wukong entered and told Tripitaka what had happened. Tripitaka, tears in his eyes, said, "My disciple, what is this to me now?" Sun Wukong said, "I came to fetch Sha Wujing to go with me to that hermitage. Let Old Sun struggle there with that fellow, and then Sha Wujing can slip in and bring water to save you." Tripitaka replied, "Both of you who are well have gone, leaving me and the two of us who are sick. Who will attend us then?" The old woman at the side spoke: "Holy arhat, just be at ease. You need not send your disciples; my household will naturally care for and attend to you. When you came this morning, we truly meant kindness. Only now, seeing this Bodhisattva drift in and out through cloud and mist, have we known that you are indeed an arhat-Bodhisattva. My household will never dare to harm you again."

The Great Sage snapped, "You women, how dare you harm him?" The old woman laughed, "Goodness, master, it is your good fortune to have arrived at my house! Had you gone to another house, you would not have gone away whole." Zhu Bajie grunted, "What do you mean, not going away whole?" The old woman said, "There are four or five in my household, all at ages where they still have strength. They have all long ago laid aside all that wind-and-moon business, so they refuse to harm you. But if you go to another house, there are elders, youths, men and women—who among them would let you pass? They will press you into coupling. If you refuse, they will kill you and cut the flesh off your bodies to make incense sachets." Zhu Bajie said, "If that is the case, I won’t mind being hurt. They are all sweet-smelling and perfumed, good for incense bags. I am a stinking pig; if they cut my flesh, it will stink too, and so I can take no harm from that." Sun Wukong laughed, "Don’t argue. Save your strength and do your proper work." The old woman said, "No need to hesitate. Go quickly and ask for water." Sun Wukong asked, "Do you have a bucket at home? Lend me one to use." The woman at once went to the back, brought out a bucket and wound out a rope, then handed them to Sha Wujing. Sha Wujing said, "Take two ropes, in case the well is very deep and needs it."

Sha Wujing took the bucket rope and followed Sun Wukong out of the village house; together they rode on the clouds. In half a watch they reached the boundary of Mount Jieyang. He checked the cloud stride and headed straight to the hermitage edge. Sun Wukong told Sha Wujing: "Keep the bucket and rope and stay hidden on one side. Wait until Old Sun breaks forth and fights him full-on. When you see our struggle at its height, slip in at the right moment, take the water, and leave." Sha Wujing obeyed him carefully.

Sun Wukong drew out his iron cudgel and, near the gate, shouted, "Open the gate, open!" The guard who saw him ran in to report at once: "Master, Sun Wukong has come again." The priest was furious in his heart. "This insolent monkey has no manners. We had heard he had some skill, and only today we truly know it—his staff is indeed hard to withstand." The Taoist assistant said, "Master, though his skill is high, you are by no means inferior to him; he is truly a match." The priest said, "The first two times, he defeated me." "Though he won twice before, it was only one fit of brute force," said the assistant. "In the later two occasions when you were drawing water, you were hooked by him into two falls, were you not? That was no equal match. Earlier you had no choice but to withdraw, and now he has come again. It must be that Master Tripitaka, with his body made so heavy, is in deep complaint and could not stay away. He surely comes with a grudge at your teacher; my master has no doubt will take the decisive victory."

Hearing this, the true immortal’s face lit with delighted composure, his whole manner proud and smiling. He strode out with his Ruyi Hook raised and called, "Impudent monkey! Why have you come again?" Sun Wukong said, "I only came to draw water." The true immortal said, "This spring is the well of my household. Even an emperor or a prime minister must come with formal libation of wine and request before receiving even a little. As for you, you are my enemy, yet you dare come unbidden, hands free, to draw water?" Sun Wukong said, "Do you truly refuse?" The true immortal said, "I refuse, refuse." Sun Wukong swore, "Reprobate demon-thing! If no water, then look at this staff!" He flung in an opening move, charged in like a packed flood, gave him no room to speak, and struck at once. The true immortal sidestepped and quickly used his hook in return. This bout surpassed the earlier ones and was truly deadly:

Golden-Hooped Staff, Ruyi Hook—both men, in anger, each carrying old grudges. Flying sand and rolling stones dim heaven and earth; kicked-up dust leaves sun and moon in sorrow. Sun Wukong, sent by his Master, comes for water; the demon-immortal, nephew of the clans, will not allow it. Both sides strain together, each stake against the other, wagering whether there will be peace. Teeth gritted, they contend for victory, testing hard and soft in stubborn turns. As each move appears, each grows braver, while clouds and mist boil up and make spirits and gods despair. Staff and hook strike with a hard, pounding rhythm; roaring shouts shake the hills and mounds. Raging winds whip the forest trees, murderous aura flashes across the Dipper and Ox. The more Sun Wukong fights, the more joyful he grows; the more the true immortal hits, the more entangled he becomes. With will and intent they wrestle in hatred; life or death undecided, they do not cease. The two of them fought hand to hand outside the hermitage gate, leaping and circling in a dance of combat, and carried it down to the foot of the mountain slope, in fierce and unbroken conflict, which I will not set down in detail.

Now as for Sha Wujing, he took up the bucket and burst through the gate. At once he saw the priest blocking the well and saying, "Who are you, and how dare you draw water?" Sha Wujing set down the bucket, drew out his Subduing Monster Staff, and without a word struck at once. The priest could not dodge in time; the staff broke his left shoulder/arm, and he fell to the ground struggling for life. Sha Wujing shouted, "I want to beat this demon-beast to death, but since you still have a human form, I still pity you and let you go. Let me draw water." The priest screamed to heaven and earth and fled to the rear. Sha Wujing then drew a full bucket of water into the bucket, walked out of the hermitage gate, mounted up into cloud and mist, and called to Sun Wukong: "Elder brother, I have fetched the water. Spare him, spare him."

When Sun Wukong heard him, he at once braced his iron staff against the hook and said, "I had intended to cut him down and annihilate him, but he has not committed a crime. Second, for the sake of your relationship to your elder brother Niu Mo Wang, I held back. Earlier, you hooked me twice and I failed to get the water. This time I used a stratagem to draw the tiger from its mountain, to lure you out into fighting, then let my junior brother fetch the water. If Old Sun truly displayed his full power, I would kill you—whether you are any kind of Ruyi Immortal or even if there were several of you. But it is best to spare a life and let one live a few more years, so let you be for now. If others come for water later, do not dare to harass them." The demon-immortal, not knowing right from wrong, tried one more display and came to hook his foot. Sun Wukong dodged the hook head, rushed up, and shouted, "Don’t run!" The demon, unprepared, gave a single kick and could not wrestle free. Sun Wukong snatched away the Ruyi Hook, snapped it into two pieces; then he took another piece and snapped that into four parts, hurling them to the ground: "Impudent demon-spawn! DARE you be insolent again?" The demon shook with fear, silent and enduring. Laughing, Sun Wukong mounted the clouds and rose. A poem attests:

Pure lead cannot be refined without true water; true water must temper pure quicksilver into dryness. True quicksilver and true lead hold no maternal qi; spiritual sand and sacred medicine are the Immortal’s elixir. A child is mistakenly formed like an unborn image, while Earth Mother exerts her power without difficulty. Topple the side-door teachings and rightfully set doctrines straight, and the Heart-Lord smiles in satisfaction.

The Great Sage cast out auspicious light, caught up with Sha Wujing, got the true water, rejoiced with joy, and returned to their place. He pressed down his cloud and came straight to the village hut. There was Zhu Bajie, belly protruding and taut, leaning against the door lintel, softly humming. The Great Sage came up quietly and said, “Bajie, when did you start to be laid up?” The fool startled and said, “Older brother, do not mock me. Has the water come yet?” The Great Sage kept teasing him, and Sha Wujing came right behind and laughed, “The water has come, the water has come.” Tripitaka, though in pain, bent over and said, “My disciples, you are exhausted, too.” The old woman too was overjoyed and all the mouths there made their respectful exclamation: “O Bodhisattva, what a rare thing—such a rare thing indeed.” She hurried to fetch a flower-patterned porcelain cup, scooped out half a cup, and handed it to Tripitaka, saying, “Honored Master, drink just a little. One sip is enough to settle the qi of childbirth.” Zhu Bajie said, “I won’t use a cup. Give me the hanging bucket and let me drink it all.” The old woman said, “Good sir, don’t do it—you’d scare him to death. If he drinks this bucket-water, it may melt away his whole intestines and belly.” Frightened, the fool dared not play tricks and took only half a cup.

At one of the mealtimes there, both of them had cramping in their bellies; their bowels rumbled with a grumbling, clattering cadence. After the rumbling, the fool could no longer hold himself: both urine and stool flowed at once. Tripitaka too could not hold back and needed to go to a quiet place to relieve himself. The Great Sage said, “Master, do not go out into the wind. If a sudden wind is taken, one may fall into a postpartum illness.” At once the old woman brought two clean buckets and set out a place for each of them. Soon enough, after each had gone a few times, they felt the pain abate, the swelling gradually dissolve, and the clots of blood and flesh break apart. The old woman then boiled some white-rice porridge to restore their weakness. Zhu Bajie said, “Auntie, my body is already truly emptied, no need to replenish it. Boil me some hot water to bathe, then I’ll be able to eat porridge.” Sha Wujing said, “Second Brother, you cannot bathe. Those in postpartum confinement fall ill from bathing in water.” Zhu Bajie said, “I have not really given birth to a great child, just a small one; why fear it? I just want to wash clean.” The old woman truly did just that, boiled some water, and had them wash hands and feet. Tripitaka ate only two small cups of porridge and broth. Zhu Bajie ate more than a dozen bowls and still asked for more. The Great Sage laughed, “You oaf, eat less. Don’t make yourself into a sandbag belly; it does not look proper.” Zhu Bajie said, “It’s nothing, it’s nothing—I’m no old sow, so what is there to fear?” Back in that house, they truly went on tidying and cooking the meal.

The grandmother said to Tripitaka, “Master, give this water to me.” The Great Sage said, “Bajie, no more water-drinking?” Zhu Bajie replied, “My belly no longer hurts. The postpartum qi must have dispersed; now it is easy and easy, so why should I drink again?” The Great Sage said, “Since both of them are well now, send the water to your own home.” The old woman thanked him, put the remaining water into a clay jar, and buried it in the ground at the back. To all the household young and old she said, “This jar of water is enough even for my coffin fund.” Everyone was happy. They set the vegetarian meal in order and moved the tables and stools apart. Tripitaka and his company ate their vegetarian repast and, after settling gently, slept through the night.

The next morning at first light, the pilgrims thanked the grandmother’s house and left the village. Tripitaka climbed to the saddle and mounted, Sha Wujing carried the knapsack, Sun Wukong led the way in front, and Zhu Bajie held the reins. Here is what follows:

With the foul mouth washed clean and the body made clean, the ordinary flesh-body dissolves away of its own accord.

It is not yet known what further matters await them in the domain ahead; listen further for the resolution in the next chapter.