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.

Tripitaka and the four disciples left Little Western Heaven and set off joyfully. After traveling for a little over a month, it was deep spring in bloom; they saw several gardens, all dark with fresh greenery, and after one bout of wind and rain dusk was already settling. Tripitaka pulled his horse up and said, “Disciple, it is late now. Which road should we take to find lodging?” Wukong laughed, “Master, do not worry. If there is no place to borrow a room, the three of us have some skill. Have Bajie cut grass, Sha Wujing split pine, and old Wukong do carpentry, and we can raise a lean shelter by the roadside and spend the night there; why be so hurried?” Bajie said, “Elder brother, is this a place for lodging? The mountain is full of tigers, leopards, wolves, and creatures, and all the ground is crowded with demons and spirits. If we can scarcely pass by day, how can one dare to stay at night?” Wukong replied, “You blockhead, you grow no wiser. If only this staff in my hand is held, even if heaven should collapse, I could hold it up.”

The four disciples were still talking when they suddenly saw a manor not far off. Wukong said, “Good, we have a place to stay.” Tripitaka asked, “Where?” Wukong pointed, “Isn’t that a house in the thicket? Let us stay there for one night and depart at dawn.” Tripitaka, gladdened, pressed his horse and dismounted outside the gate. He found the wooden gate tightly shut. Tripitaka knocked, “Open the gate, open it!” From within came an old man, dragging a staff, wearing straw sandals and a black cloth tied on his head, clothed in plain garments. He opened the gate and asked, “Who are you people raising such shouting?” Tripitaka pressed his palms together at his chest, bowed, and said, “Respected householder, this poor monk is Tripitaka, sent from the Eastern Land to fetch scriptures in the Great Western Heaven. I have just arrived in this place; the sky is late, so we have come to your residence to request a night’s lodging. I beg your permission.” The old man said, “Monk, if you are going west, you cannot go there indeed. This is Little Western Heaven; to the Great Western Heaven the road is far. Do not speak of what comes later—this place alone is already hard to pass.” Tripitaka asked, “Why is it so hard?” The old man pointed with his hand, “From this manor it is over thirty li west, a narrow lane called Xishidong; the mountain is called Qi Jue.” Tripitaka asked, “Why called ‘Seven-Extremes’?” The old man said, “The mountain pass is eight hundred li long, and the whole mountain is full of persimmons. The old saying is, ‘Persimmons have seven excellencees: first, they prolong life; second, they give much shade; third, no bird’s nest; fourth, no insects; fifth, frost-touched leaves can be played with; sixth, excellent fruit; seventh, dense luxuriant branches and leaves.’ For that reason it is called Mount Seven-Extremes. Here our settlement is wide and sparsely populated, and for ages none has come into these deep hills. Each year ripe fallen persimmons drop onto the road and fill a whole stony lane; afterward rain, dew, snow, and frost rot it through summer into a filthy stretch. The folk here call this lane ‘Xishi Lane.’ If the west wind blows, a stench rises—worse than any night-soil pit. At present it is deep spring and the southeast wind is strong, so you do not smell it yet.” Tripitaka felt vexed inside but spoke nothing.

Wukong could not bear it and shouted, “Old man, you are terribly insensitive. We came here from afar to seek lodging, and you only frighten us with all this talk. Your place is so tight and narrow that there is no room to sleep—if we squat under these trees, we can pass the night there. Why all this chattering?” Seeing his ugly appearance, the old man clenched up his mouth and, in frightened courage, shouted once and pointed his staff: “You wretch, with your bony face, knocking knuckles, flat nose, hollow cheeks, hairy eyes and brows, plague-ghost face—how rude you are, not knowing your place! With that sharp mouth, dare you storm an old man’s gate?” Wukong grinned and answered, “You’re an old official with eyes but no pearls, not recognizing this sick ghost. The art of physiognomy says, ‘Though strange in face, there may be beautiful jade hidden in a stone.’ If you judge by looks, you are entirely mistaken. Though I am ugly, I do have some skill.” The old man asked, “Where are you from? What is your surname and name? What skill do you have?” Wukong smiled and said, “My

My ancestral home was on Great God is East Victory Isle; since childhood I trained before Mount Flower-Fruit. I first bowed beneath the Ling Tai Patriarch of the palm-sized altar, and learned complete arts in all respects. I can stir the sea and subdue the Dragon Mother, and am good at bearing mountains and driving back the sun; First in binding fiends and seizing demons, making stars shift and constellations change till ghosts and gods are troubled. My name is famous for overturning heaven and turning the earth—I am the wondrous Stone Monkey of endless transformation.” The old man grew inwardly pleased and smilingly bowed as he spoke, “Please, please enter the cold house and stay.” So the four disciples led in horses and shoulder-poles and all entered. On both sides there were thorn-bramble fences. The second gate was a wall of brick and stone, also covered by brambles. Inside were only three tiled rooms. The old man pulled out a chair, sat to take tea, and called for food. Shortly after, they moved a table and set out many bowls of flour cakes, tofu, yam shoots, white radish, spiked mustard, celeriac, fragrant rice, and vinegar-cooked sorrel soup. The whole party ate until full.

After the meal, Bajie pulled Wukong aside and said, “Brother, this old man would not let us stay at first; why does he now spread such a fine feast?” Wukong replied, “Do you think this is worth anything? By tomorrow we will expect him to send ten kinds of fruit and ten kinds of vegetables with us as we leave.” Bajie said, “Shameless! With your few boasts you fooled him into one meal, and tomorrow we run off. How can he forcefully supply you afterward?” Wukong said, “Do not be in a hurry; I have my own way to settle this.”

Not long after, dusk had deepened, and the old man asked for lights. Wukong bowed and asked, “What is your surname, sir?” The old man answered, “Li.” Wukong said, “So this is Li House, then?” The old man said, “No. This place is called Tuoluozhuang, where more than five hundred households live. There are many surnames here, and only I am of the Li family.” Wukong said, “Householder Li, what good intention made you offer us such a feast?” The old man stood up and said, “I just heard you say you can catch a monster. Here there is a beastly demon troubling us. If you can take it for us, there will be heavy thanks.” Wukong gave a respectful nod and said, “I accept your kindness.”

Bajie said, “See how he invited trouble. At the word ‘take a demon,’ even his own grandfather would not show such friendliness; yet he already bowed to you first.” Wukong said, “Virtuous brother, you do not know that when I bow, it is a token of my commitment; then he won’t ask another.” Tripitaka heard this and said, “This monkey, everything he does is done on his own. If this demon is truly powerful in spirit and you cannot seize it, would I, a monk, not be swearing falsely?” Wukong laughed, “Master, do not be angry—let me ask once more.”

The old man asked, “What more is he asking?” Wukong said, “In your place the ground is peaceful and many households live here; this is not a secluded region. What demon could dare to ascend to a great house like yours?” The old man said, “To be plain with you, we had long peace. Only three years ago, in the sixth month, there was suddenly a wind. At that time every household was busy—the wheat harvest in one field, transplanting in another—and everyone said the weather had changed. Little did they know that once the wind passed, a demon came. It ate the cattle and horses being grazed, the pigs and sheep too; it swallowed chickens and geese whole, and when it met men and women it swallowed the living at once. Since then, for these two years, it has come often to do harm. Tripitaka, if you have skill, catch that demon and sweep this land clean; we will truly repay you deeply and will not be lightly insulting.” Wukong said, “That one is hard to catch.” Bajie said, “It is truly hard. We are traveling monks, staying only one night, leaving tomorrow. How can we take a demon?” The old man said, “You are monks who eat by deceit. At first you spoke grandly with your tongue, saying you could change stars and move constellations, subdue demons and bind monsters. But when I mention it, you recoil, saying it is hard.”

Wukong said, “Old man, a demon is easy to take; only this region’s households are not united, and that is why it is hard.” The old man asked, “How do you know the people are not in accord?” Wukong said, “The demon has troubled you for three years, and who knows how many lives it has harmed. I think: if each household gives one tael of silver, five hundred households could raise five hundred taels. Wherever we have to go, even then we can find a magistrate to seize the demon. Why have you endured three years of this?” The old man said, “As for spending silver, it would bring shame to living men; do not our households each spend three or five taels? Last year we even found a monk from south of the mountain and invited him here to catch the monster, but he did not win.” Wukong said, “How did that monk fare?” The old man said,

That monk, with collared monastic robe and cassock, first chanted the Peacock scripture, then recited the Lotus Sutra. In the incense brazier burned the perfume while he held a bell in hand. While he was chanting, he stirred the demon and evil spirits. The wind rose and clouds gathered as he rushed straight to the manor. Monk and monster fought; indeed it was a contest to praise: a punch exchanged, a blow exchanged, a seize and a grab. The monk answered in kind, but after the bout he was left bare of hair on top of his head. Soon the demon had the better, turning and vanishing into the mists. When the matter was over and the scar had dried, they came close and looked: the smooth head looked like a rotten watermelon.

Wukong laughed, “As you put it, he suffers a real loss.” The old man said, “He lost only one life, and still it is we who are in the wrong: we had to buy his coffin and funeral wood, and give some silver to his disciple. That disciple’s grievance has not cooled; even now he still presses charges, and we are not fully clear of it.

Sun Wukong said, “Did you ask anyone else to catch him?” The old man said, “Last year we also invited a Daoist.” Sun Wukong asked, “How did that Daoist seize him?” The old man said, “That Daoist:

Wore a golden crown on his head and a Daoist robe on his body. He struck the command tablet, used talisman water to work its rite. Spirit-driving officers chased and brought the demon spirit under capture. Wild wind roared, black mist spread thickly. Then, with the Daoist, the two wrestled and held one another. They fought until evening; the monster turned back into cloud and rainbow. Heaven and earth were clear and bright; all of us were together. When we went out to look for the Daoist, he was dead in the mountain stream. We pulled him out for everyone to see, and he looked like a chicken pulled from hot water.”

Sun Wukong laughed, “So then, there is still loss.” The old man said, “He gave up only one life, and in the end we still gained enough money and grain.”

Sun Wukong said, “No matter, no matter. Let me bring him for you.” The old man said, “If by your skill you can catch him, I will ask a few elders of this household to draw up a document with you. If you win, ask for as much silver as you wish as thanks—not a fraction less. If you are at a loss, then do not dare to take liberties with us; let Heaven’s decree stand.” Sun Wukong laughed, “This old fellow has become so fearful of being cheated. We are not that kind of people. Quickly ask the elders to come.”

The old man was heartily glad, and at once ordered the house servant to summon the left neighbors, right neighbors, cousins, uncles by marriage, in-laws, and friends—eight or nine elders in all. They all came, met Tripitaka, and when the matter of seizing the demon was mentioned everyone was pleased. The elders asked, “Which senior disciple is to do it?” Sun Wukong folded his hands and said, “It is I, the young monk.” The elders said with dread, “Not possible, not possible. That demon has broad spirit power and a wolf-like, huge body. You, venerable, are thin and small; you are not even enough to fill a gap between his teeth.” Sun Wukong laughed, “Old official, you cannot tell people by their looks. Though I am small, I am sturdy; it is all that fine qi from water used to sharpen a knife within me.” Hearing this, the elders could only consent: “Master, if you capture the demon spirit, what reward will you take?” Sun Wukong said, “Why speak of asking any reward? As the saying goes: ‘Speak of gold and eyes dazzle; speak of silver and minds grow dull; speak of copper cash and it smells foul.’ We are merit-accumulating monks, and we do not want money.” The elders said, “If this is what you say, you are clearly ordained monks. If no money is wanted, how can this be unpaid labor? Each of our households makes a living from fishponds and fields. If you bring down the demon and cleanse this place, each house will give you two mu of good land. Together it makes a thousand mu, set in one place, so your disciples and you may establish a monastery, sit and sit in meditation and Zen. It is far better than soaring among the clouds.” Sun Wukong laughed again, “That is agreeable, but enough said. Once land is demanded, one must keep horses in service, deliver grain and mow grass; one sleeps not at dusk and rests not by the fifth drum. One could be made to kill men just by doing so.” The elders asked, “If all those are not wanted, what thanks then?” Sun Wukong said, “As a monk, one cup of tea and one meal is enough a reward.” The elders rejoiced, “That is easy. But we do not know how you will catch him.” Sun Wukong said, “If only he comes, I will seize him.” The elders said, “The demon is mighty: he leans on heaven and props on earth. He comes with wind and leaves in fog. How then can you get near him?” Sun Wukong laughed, “As for a demon that rides wind and fog, I may treat him as if he were my own grandson. As for one whose body is only large, there are ways to strike him down.”

As they were just speaking, they heard the sound of rushing wind. In panic, the eight or nine elders stammered, “That monk with the salty-tongued mouth—say ‘demon spirit,’ and the demon spirit comes.” Old Li opened the threshold and called in the relatives and Tripitaka as well: “Come in, come in—the monster is here!” Terrified, Zhu Bajie also tried to go inside, and Sha Wujing also tried to go inside. Sun Wukong caught both by both hands. “You two are very improper. How can ordained ones make no distinction between inside and outside? Stay still, do not go. Come with me into the courtyard and see what kind of demon this is.” Zhu Bajie said, “Brother, these people are all in panic; when there is wind, a demon arrives. If it hides, what then? We have no family ties with it, no acquaintance either, and we are not childhood friends—what is there for us to do with it?” Sun Wukong was too strong to be argued with and pulled them all into the courtyard to stand there. The wind grew even stronger:

Trees were felled, forests collapsed; even wolves and tigers grew uneasy. It whipped the riverbanks and churned the sea; spirits and gods were distraught. It overturned stones atop three peaks of Mount Hua and stirred heaven and earth and the four seas. In every village house, all doors were shut; all sons and daughters hid their heads. Dense black clouds covered the starry river, and lamp lights had no glow, dark everywhere on the earth. So frightened was Zhu Bajie that he trembled, rolled to the ground, and buried his mouth in the soil as if nailed fast. Sha Wujing covered his face with his head, his eyes barely able to open.

Sun Wukong, sensing the wind, recognized the monster. In an instant, when the wind passed, they saw vaguely in the air two lantern lights coming. He bent his head and called, “Brothers, the wind is over—get up and look.” The glutton pulled out his mouth, shook off the dusty earth, raised his face and looked up at the sky. Seeing two lantern lights, he suddenly laughed out, “What a trick! What a trick! It is truly a disciplined demon spirit; we should become friends with him.” Sha Wujing said, “In such darkness and not yet seeing him face-to-face, how can one know whether he is good or bad?” Zhu Bajie said, “The ancients said, ‘Walk at night with a lamp, and if there is no lamp, stop.’ You see he carries a pair of lanterns to lead his way; he must surely be a good one.” Sha Wujing said, “You are seeing wrong. Those are not a pair of lanterns; they are the demon spirit’s two bright eyes.” At that, the glutton sank in fear, as if three inches shorter: “Goodness! Are his eyes this big? Who knows how large his mouth must be!” Sun Wukong said, “Venerable brother, do not be afraid. You two guard the Master, while Old Sun goes up to draw him out and test his temper to see what manner of demon he is.” Zhu Bajie said, “Brother, do not expose us.”

The capable Wukong whistled sharply, sprang into the air, and with the Iron Cudgel in hand shouted loudly, “Wait, wait—I am here!” The monster saw him and braced his body, then whirled a long spear wildly. Sun Wukong took up his staff and challenged, “Which demon are you, and from where do you come?” The monster still did not answer, only danced the spear. Sun Wukong asked again; still no answer, only the spear-dance. Sun Wukong laughed inwardly, “Good indeed, deaf and dumb as it is. Do not run—watch the staff.” The monster was no less fearless, whipping the spear to block and ward. In midair they came and went, went up and down, and fought until the third watch, with no sign yet of victory or defeat. From Li’s courtyard, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing saw everything clearly. The monster was merely waving the spear to parry and cover, with not even half a degree of intent to attack or kill. Sun Wukong’s staff never left the top of the monster’s head. Zhu Bajie laughed, “Sha Wujing, stand here and guard. Let old pig help a little in the fighting so that old monkey does not do all the work himself and claim the opening cup of wine.”

That glutton leaped up his clouded brow and rushed in to strike. The monster brought forth another spear as well. The two spears flashed like snakes pulled by lightning. Zhu Bajie praised, “That demon has fine spearwork! It is not the mountain-back spear, not the silk-winding spear; nor is it a Horse family spear, yet it is what they call a flexible-handled spear.” Sun Wukong said, “Don’t talk nonsense, idiot. What sort of flexible-handled spear is there like this?” Zhu Bajie said, “You see, he uses the spearhead to hold us off. I cannot see the shaft at all—no idea where it is being kept.” Sun Wukong said, “Perhaps it is a flexible-handled spear. But this monster still cannot speak. Likely he has not yet settled into the human Way, and his yin force remains heavy. I only fear that when dawn comes, yang will prevail and he will have to leave. Yet when he leaves, he is certain to pass by here, so do not let him go.” Zhu Bajie said, “Right, right.”

After fighting for quite a while, they did not notice the east had already turned pale. The demon did not dare to keep fighting and turned to flee. Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie ran together after it, when suddenly a filthy odor rose at them. It was the stench from Xishitong on Mount Qijue. Zhu Bajie said, 「Which house is that, a swill-soaked privy? Bah! What a terrible stink.」 Sun Wukong pinched his nose and only called, 「Hurry, chase the demon! Hurry, chase the demon!」 The monster rushed over the mountain and then showed its true shape: it was a great python with red scales. You see it:

Its eyes throw out the light of dawn, its nose exhales morning mist. Densely set teeth stand like steel sabers, curved paws bent like golden hooks. A fleshly horn-ridge crowns its head, as if a thousand bits of agate were heaped there; its body is covered with one sweep of red scales, as though endless dots of rouge had been inlaid. Coiled on the ground it could be mistaken for a brocade blanket, while in flight it could be mistaken for a rainbow arc. Where it lies still, the rank odor rises to the heavens; when it moves, red cloud wraps around its body. Is it large? none can be seen at either side. Is it long? one whole mountain spans from south to north. Zhu Bajie said, 「So this is what a long snake is like. If it wanted to eat people, it would need at least five hundred in one sitting and still not be full.」 Sun Wukong said, 「That soft-handled spear has two hooked cords. We will soften him and then strike from behind.」 Zhu Bajie leapt up and ran up, putting down the nine-toothed spade. The creature dove into a cave, leaving seven or eight chi of tail outside. Zhu Bajie put down the spade and caught the tail in one hand, saying, 「Get hold, get hold.」 He pulled with all his strength, and not once did he think he could pull out even a hair. Sun Wukong laughed, 「Dull child, let him go in. We will take care of him. Do not pull a snake by the tail like that.」 Zhu Bajie then let go. The monster shrank inward. Zhu Bajie complained, 「When I had not let go, half of it was already ours; now that he has shrunk, how can we get him out? Is this not letting the snake slip away?」 Sun Wukong said, 「This brute’s body is wolf-long, and this cave is narrow. He cannot turn suddenly; he must run straight, so he must have a back door to come out. Go stand outside the back gate and block it. I will stay outside the front gate and strike.」

The fool truly ran like smoke over the mountain and indeed found a cave-hole, where he planted his feet. He had not yet fully steadied himself when Sun Wukong, outside the front gate, struck his staff into it. The monster, pained and startled, dashed out through the back gate. Zhu Bajie, unprepared, was knocked down by a single tail strike and could not struggle up; he lay on the ground below and endured the pain. Sun Wukong saw no object in the cave, lifted the Golden-Hooped Staff, and came back calling for the demon to be chased. Hearing the shout, Zhu Bajie, embarrassed, held in his pain and got up, using the spade in wild lunges. Sun Wukong, seeing this, laughed, 「The demon has gone. What are you still pouncing at?」 Zhu Bajie said, 「The old pig here is trying to scare the snake by beating the brush.」 Sun Wukong said, 「Lively fool, hurry up and chase.」

The two crossed a ravine and saw the monster curled into a coil. It raised its head and opened a giant mouth to swallow Zhu Bajie. Zhu Bajie, frightened, retreated backward. Sun Wukong instead faced it and was swallowed at once. Zhu Bajie pounded his chest and stamped his feet, crying, 「Brother, he may swallow you too!」 Sun Wukong, with the Golden-Hooped Staff braced inside the demon’s belly, said, 「Zhu Bajie, do not worry. I will make him into a bridge, watch.」 The beast bent its back like a rainbow bridge spanning eastward. Zhu Bajie said, 「Though it looks like a bridge, no one would dare to cross it.」 Sun Wukong said, 「Now I will make him into a boat; watch.」 With the staff braced against its belly, the beast pressed its belly to the ground and raised its head, like a covered boat. Zhu Bajie said, 「Though it looks like a boat, without mast and sail it cannot use the wind.」 Sun Wukong said, 「Step aside and watch me make wind.」 He then pushed hard with all his strength, driving the staff from the back until it jutted out about five to seven zhang, like a mast. The brute, still in pain and struggling for life, sprang forward, faster than wind, turned back by its old route, and came down the mountain. After more than twenty li, it toppled in the dust and could no longer move—the end had come. Zhu Bajie came up behind and raised the spade in wild swipes. Sun Wukong had already bored one large hole through it and emerged, saying, 「Fool, now he is dead and gone. Why still strike him?」 Zhu Bajie said, 「Brother, you do not know that I, old pig, have always liked to kill snakes.」 So saying, he gathered his weapons, caught the tail, and dragged it in.

The others in Tuo Luo manor, Li Lao and all, said to Tripitaka, 「Your two disciples have not returned for a night; they are surely lost.」 Tripitaka said, 「There is no need to worry. We will go and see for ourselves.」 In a moment they saw Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie coming, dragging a great python and shouting as they came. The people then rejoiced. All the elders and children, men and women in the manor came and knelt, saying, 「Master, it was this demon who has been hurting people here. Now, thanks to you, you have used your arts to slash the monster and drive out evil. We among the households can all finally live at peace.」

All the households were full of gratitude, calling from east and west, each offering thanks. The disciples were detained five to seven days, and only with bitter reluctance did they agree to leave. Also, because all these households did not ask for silver or goods, they prepared dry rations and fruit, loaded up donkeys and horses, carried red ribbons and bright flags, and all came out to see them off. In this place, among five hundred households, seven or eight hundred people came as escorts.

All along the road they went on in joy and cheer, and from time to time came to the mouth of Xishitong in Mount Qijue. Tripitaka smelled that evil stench, and seeing the road blocked, said, 「Sun Wukong, how can we pass here?」 Sun Wukong pinched his nose and said, 「This is difficult.」 Seeing Sun Wukong say it was difficult, Tripitaka lowered his eyes in tears. Li Lao and the others came forward: 「Master, do not be anxious. We brought you to this point, and we have all agreed. Your senior disciple has subdued the demon and removed this manor’s calamity. We will each make separate offerings and open another good road to send the Master over.」 Sun Wukong laughed, 「Old man, you speak as if that is all true. At first you said this mountain path is eight hundred li. You are not the divine tools of Great Yu, so how could you have cut mountains and carved roads? If my master is to cross, it still takes our effort; you all cannot do it.」 Tripitaka dismounted and said, 「Sun Wukong, how can we apply our strength?」 Sun Wukong laughed, 「Right now, crossing the mountain is hard; if we say to cut a new road, that is hard too. We must pass this old lane as before, only we are afraid no one can feed us.」 Li Lao said, 「What use is your caution? If it takes only our four to carry this for a while, we can sustain it for long enough. How can you claim there will be no one to feed you?」 Sun Wukong said, 「Then go prepare two stone measures of dry rice and make some steamed cakes and mòmo. After the long-nosed monk has eaten and is full, he will become a big boar and plow open the old lane; with my master riding on his horse, and us helping him along, he will pass through safely.」

Hearing this, Zhu Bajie said, 「Brother, all of you want things clean; why is it that old pig alone must make the foulness?」 Tripitaka said, 「Wuneng, if you truly can turn, open the lane, and lead me over the mountain, then this is a feat of your first rank.」 Zhu Bajie laughed, 「With Master above and these laymen all present, do not mock me. As for this old pig, I have thirty-six transformations. As for light, delicate, and splendid things that rise and fly, truly I cannot. But to become mountain, tree, stone slab, earthen mound, elephant, boar, water buffalo, or camel—those I can truly do. It is only that when the body changes, it becomes larger, and the belly becomes still larger. Only when I have eaten enough can I do good work.」 The others said, 「There is food, there is food. We have dry rations, fruit, baked cakes, and mòmo here; we had intended to open the mountain with these as we saw you off. Bring everything out for you to use. Once you have transformed and set out, we will send people back for fresh meals.」 Zhu Bajie was joyful in his heart. He removed his coarse robe and threw away the nine-toothed spade, saying to them, 「No mockery. Watch old pig do this foul work.」

Good fool, gripping the secret gesture and spinning his body, he changed in an instant and truly became a great boar. Truly, he was:

His snout is long and short-haired, the lower jaw half-fattened, and since childhood he has grazed on wild herbs in the mountain. A black face, ringed eyes like sun and moon, round head and great ears like plantain leaves. His bones were forged hard, with Heaven-like longevity, and his rough hide was tempered as stout as an iron cell. With a fetid-nosed growl and choked grunts, he bawled and belched and roared in a clattering throat. Four white hooves, each as high as a thousand chi, with coarse, bristling hide his long body ran nearly a hundred zhang. Of all the fat hogs and swine of the world, none had seen such an old boar-demon as this day. Tripitaka and the rest praised him together, amazed at how lofty Zhu Bajie’s magic might be. Sun Wukong, seeing Zhu Bajie transformed so, immediately told the escorts to quickly stack all the dry provisions together so that Zhu Bajie could take whatever he needed. The fool made no distinction between cooked and raw; in one great sweep he ate everything, then moved forward again. Sun Wukong told Sha Wujing to remove his shoes and take the load well; he had Tripitaka sit steadily in the carved saddle. He too took off his clogs and ordered everyone to return: "If there is any kindness in your hearts, send us some rice quickly to keep my fellow disciple going." There were seven or eight hundred attendants, more than half mounted on mules or horses, who flew back to the inn and set to cooking; three hundred went on foot and stood below the mountain to watch him from afar. From this manor to the mountain was more than thirty li; to fetch and bring back the food was another thirty li again, making the round trip close to a hundred li. By then, the pilgrims had already gone far ahead. They could not bear to leave him and urged the animals hard, entered the lanes, and rode through the night; only the next day did they catch up. They called out, "Master Tripitaka, slow down, slow down—we have come to bring your meal." Hearing this, the Elder thanked them endlessly and said, "Truly you are people of righteous faith." He told Zhu Bajie to hold still and eat more food to brace his strength. The fool had already been plowing ahead for two days. At a time of sharp hunger, and no matter how many there were—well over seven or eight shi of rice—he did not care if it was rice or noodles, he scooped it up and consumed it in one stretch, ate until full, and then once more began pushing forward. Tripitaka, Sun Wukong, and Sha Wujing thanked everyone and parted, each to their own way. It was truly: The guests of Tuo Luo Zhuang turned homeward, while Zhu Bajie broke out and crossed the mountain lane. Tripitaka’s sincere heart and true power embraced him; Sun Wukong’s method made the strange demons wither. A thousand-year rarity is made pure this day; the sevenfold lane opens this day. All six desires and dusty worldly feelings are cut away, and peace goes unhindered as they bow at the Lotus Terrace.

How far the road remains, and what further monsters they will still meet, we do not know yet. Listen as it is unraveled in the next chapter.