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.

Sun Wukong lingered inside the old demon’s belly for a moment. The demon lord had fallen in the dust, silent and breathless; if he did not speak one might think him dead, though he still moved his hands. He recovered and called, "Great Sage, Greatly Compassionate and Merciful, Equal to Heaven, Bodhisattva!" Sun Wukong heard and said, "Son, do not waste time—spare a few words and just call me Grandfather Sun." The demon, fearing for his life, did call, "Grandfather, Grandfather—my fault. By one misstep and one mistaken act I swallowed you, and now you have turned to harm me. I beg Great Sage for mercy. Have pity on a life-clinging ant and spare me. I will even send your Master across the mountain." Though heroic, Sun still paused out of concern for Tripitaka. He saw the demon’s pleading words and its obsequious tone, and his heart softened. He called out, "Monster, I will spare you. How will you escort my Master?" The old demon replied, "I have nothing here—not gold, nor silver, nor pearls and jade, nor agate, coral, crystal, amber, or tortoise-shell rare treasures to offer you. My three brothers and I can carry him in a fragrant-vine sedan-bier and take your Master over this mountain." Sun Wukong laughed and said, "If it is to have you carry a sedan, that is better than offering jewels. Open your mouth and I will come out." The demon truly opened his mouth. The three demons came close and whispered: "Big brother, when he comes out, clamp down and bite downward. Chew the monkey to pieces and swallow him; then you will have no trouble with him."

From inside, Sun Wukong, having heard all that, did not come out at once. Instead he pushed out the Golden-Hooped Staff and tested it. The monster tried to bite down at once. There came a crackling sound, and the staff split every one of his front teeth. Sun Wukong withdrew the staff and said, "Wretched demon, I spared your life in allowing you to live, yet you retaliate by biting me and seeking my life. If I stay in, I can kill you dead without delay. I will not come out, no, I will not come out." The old demon complained to the three: "Brothers, you are injuring your own flesh and blood. First invite him out, and now you tell me to bite him. He did not even bite me, and yet my gums are shattered and sore. How could this happen?"

The three demons, seeing the old demon angry, used a provoking trick and shouted in ringing tones: "Sun Wukong—your name thunders through the ears from afar. We hear you exerting power outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, showing off your strength beneath the Lingxiao Hall, and now, on the road to the West, you subdue demons and bind monsters. Yet truly you are but a raw monkey chief." Sun Wukong asked, "Why call me a raw youth?" The three answered, "\"Fine to behold from a thousand li, famed a thousand for another ten thousand.\" Come out and wager battle with me; then you are a true man. How can such monkeying be done in a belly? How else is one not a youth?" Sun Wukong reflected inwardly: "Yes, yes, yes. If I were to tear this fiend open now and cut through his liver and guts, it would be no trouble at all. But it would ruin my reputation. Enough, enough. Open your mouth; I will come out and match you. Yet your opening is narrow and narrow—hard for me to make full use of my arts. We must go to a wider place." Hearing this, the demons ordered the big and small ones. Front and back, all around, over thirty thousand spirits came out, each bearing sharpened weapons, forming a triune battle array, waiting for Sun Wukong to emerge so they could all take the field. The two demons, supporting the old demon, went straight to the cave mouth and called, "Sun Wukong, worthy hero, come out! This is a battlefield for a fierce contest!"

Inside, Sun Wukong heard the cries of crows, the chatter of magpies, and the cries of cranes on the wind, and knew it was an open place. He thought, "If I do not come out, I have broken faith with him; if I do come out, this demon has a man’s face and a beast’s heart: at first he promised to send my Master and tricked me out only to bite me; now he has mustered troops. Very well, very well—let us make this even: I will go out, and leave a tether-root in his belly." He plucked one hair from his tail, blew a pinch of immortal breath, and cried, "Transform!" Instantly it became a rope as thin as a hair, about forty zhang in length. As it traveled outward, the wind made it swell thicker. He tied one end to the demon lord’s heart and made a living loop with it. The loop was not tight when slack, but when pulled it hurt sharply. Holding one end, he laughed, "Once this one thing comes out, I can be satisfied if he sends my Master. If he does not, and he stirs up blade and spear, I have no time to fight him. I need only pull this rope, and it will be the same as when I was in his belly." He made himself tiny and went out. Crawling as far as the throat, he saw the demon’s mouth wide open, upper and lower steel teeth arranged like blades. He thought, "No, no. If I come out through the mouth and pull this rope, fearing pain he may close his jaws and bite—will he not tear it? I should go out where he has no teeth." Then Sun Wukong, guiding the rope, crawled from beneath the upper palate toward the front and reached his way into the nostril. The old demon’s nose itched; with an "A-kui!" he sneezed violently, and Sun Wukong shot straight out.

Seeing the breeze, Sun Wukong bent at the waist and instantly grew to about three zhang. In one hand he held the rope, in the other his iron staff. The demon lord, not understanding anything, saw him come out and raised a steel knife, chopping at his face. Sun Wukong met it with the staff in one hand. He also saw the two demons with spears and the three demon’s halberd, and the faceless ones surged in. Sun Wukong slackened the rope, withdrew the staff, and in a rush leapt onto a cloud and fled. He had no wish to brawl while they crowded him. He left the encampment and went to an open mountain ridge, descended the cloud, and with both hands pulled the rope with all his strength. Only then did the old demon feel pain in his heart. Hurting, he strained upward, and Sun Wukong pulled downward in return. The small demons, far off, shouted together: "Sire, do not provoke him; let him go. This monkey is not one to follow the proper season—Qingming has not come yet and he already wants to fly kites." Hearing this, Sun Wukong pressed with all his strength and kicked. The old demon dropped through the air with a whirring sound, like a spinning-wheel, and crashed into the dust. At the foot of the slope he struck through hard-packed yellow earth and made a pit two chi deep.

The two demons and the three demons, startled, all descended from the clouds together, moved forward to seize the rope, knelt at the foot of the slope, and pleaded: "Great Sage, we thought you were a transcendent with vast, overflowing compassion; who knew you were one with mouse and snail insides. We truly deceived you out, then fought in formation before you. Never did we expect you to tie a rope to our big brother’s heart." Sun Wukong laughed: "You band of savage demons are terribly rude. The last time you deceived me out to bite me; this time you deceived me out and set a battle array against me. It is unreasonable for a few tens of thousands of you to fight one me. Untie the rope, untie it, and let me see my Master." The demons together knelt and touched their heads: "Great Sage, in compassion spare our lives. We will send Master Tripitaka across the mountain." Sun Wukong laughed, "If you want life, take a blade and simply cut the rope." The old demon replied, "Grandfather! If I cut the outer end, this inner end is knotted at the heart, and there is this nauseous, writhing pain in my throat. What am I to do?" Sun Wukong said, "Then open your mouth, and let me go in again to undo this rope." The old demon panicked, "If I let you back in, you may not come out—hard, hard indeed!" Sun Wukong said, "I can untie the inner end from outside. If I untie it, will you truly send my Master?" The old demon said, "If I untie it, I will send him. I do not dare to lie." Sun Wukong accepted that it was sincere, gave his body a shake, and withdrew his hair. At once the demon’s heart pain vanished. This was the Great Sage’s trick of masking his form: by binding the demon’s heart with a hair-tether, he removed the hurt when he withdrew it. The three demons rose, thanked him: "Great Sage, please return and have Tripitaka gather his things. We will bring the sedan and escort him." The demons lowered their arms and let all their weapons lie down, and all returned to the cave.

Sun Wukong gathered up his rope and headed east across the mountain, and from a distance saw Tripitaka lying on the ground, rolling and crying. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing had undone their pack-sacks and divided the luggage there. Wukong muttered to himself, “No need to make a fuss. This must be that Zhu Bajie told Master I had been eaten by a demon; Master cannot bear to lose me and weeps, while this fool is splitting things and making a mess. Hmm—was it really his intention? I’ll wait and call him once.” He dropped from the cloud-head and called out, “Master.” Sha Wujing heard and complained to Zhu Bajie, “You are a coffin-maker’s wretch, always harming others. Master-brother was not dead, and you said he was, and you do this work here—where do you expect this to end?” Zhu Bajie said, “I clearly saw him swallowed in one bite by a demon. It must be a bad day’s luck; that monkey came back as a manifest spirit.” Wukong stepped up, grabbed Zhu Bajie by the face, and with one slap made him stagger: “Fool! What kind of spirit did I show?” The pig, twisting his face, said, “Brother, you truly were eaten, you…how are you alive again?” Wukong said, “What a useless pus-sore you are. If he had eaten me, I would have clutched his bowels, squeezed his lungs, threaded this rope through his heart, pulled until he could not bear it, and made him kneel and beg one by one before I spared his life. Now he has carried me to escort Master across the mountains in a sedan chair.” On hearing this, Tripitaka, with effort, rose and bowed to Wukong: “Disciple, this has exhausted you. Had I believed Wuneng’s word, I would have been finished.” Wukong swung his fist and cuffed Zhu Bajie, cursing, “This mangy idiot is terribly lax and not at all fit to be a man. Master, do not be upset; that monster may now come to escort you too.” Sha Wujing, deeply ashamed, hurried to cover it up, gathered the baggage, buckled the packs and mounts, and all they did was wait along the road.

Then the three demon chiefs gathered their hordes and returned to the cave. The second demon said, “Brother, I thought he was a Sun Wukong with nine heads and eight tails, but it turned out to be your little monkey. You should not have swallowed him. If you had only fought him, how could he have defeated you and me? In this cave there are so many demons; even their spit could kill him. But you swallowed him into your belly, and then he brought out his arts and made you suffer. How dare you compare? He only claimed he would escort Tripitaka, but that was deceit; in truth his life was what mattered, so he lured him out and will not send him.” The old demon said, “Younger worthy, why then refuse to send him on?” The second demon said, “You set my three thousand little demons in formation; I alone can catch this monkey-head.” The old demon said, “Say not three thousand. If you can take the field and hold him, then all of us share the merit.”

The two demons at once ordered three thousand little demons, went to stand by the roadside, and had a blue-banner messenger run back and forth: “Sun Wukong, come out at once and do battle with your two great lords.” Zhu Bajie heard and laughed, “Brother, there is a saying: ‘A lie does not deceive the people of one village.’ So first they say they have subdued a demon and come carrying the Master’s sedan chair, and then they summon us to fight. Why is that?” Wukong said, “The old demon has been subdued by me and dare not show himself. But hearing the name ‘Sun’ gives him headaches. This must be the two demons, still angry that he was not captured, and so they call for battle. I tell you, brothers, that demon has three brothers and such loyalty; my brothers too are three, why should we have none? I have already subdued the old demon. If the two come out now, you may fight him.” Zhu Bajie said, “Why fear him? Let me have one bout with him.” Wukong said, “If you must go, then go.” Zhu Bajie laughed, “Brother, if I go, lend me that rope to use.” Wukong said, “For what? You cannot wriggle into a stomach like his, and you cannot fasten it to his heart. What use would that be?” Zhu Bajie said, “I’ll tie it around my waist and use it as a lifeline. You and Sha Wujing hold the rear end and release me. If I defeat him, you loosen it and I’ll seize him; if I lose, pull me back and do not let him drag me off.” Wukong laughed inwardly, thinking, “Just a bit of fooling.” He fastened the rope at Zhu Bajie’s waist and sent him into the fight.

The fool ran up the cliff with his hooked spade in hand, shouting, “Demon, come out—fight the Pig Ancestor!” The blue-banner soldier hastened to report, “Great king, a monk with a long snout and broad ears has come.” The two demons then came out of the camp. Seeing Zhu Bajie, they did not speak and thrust their spears straight at him; this fool raised the spade and stepped forward to meet them. The two grappled hand to hand on the slope and fought back and forth seven or eight exchanges, but Zhu Bajie’s strength failed and he could not hold the demon. In panic he turned and cried, “Senior brother, it is bad! Pull the lifeline, pull the lifeline!” On the other side, Wukong heard and relaxed the rope, then cast it away. Zhu Bajie broke rank and ran. The rope dragged behind him and he did not feel it; when it came back he had loosened it, so his feet tangled. He tripped himself and fell, rose, and fell again. At first it was a long-heeled tangle; later he crashed mouth-first into the earth. The demon caught up and, with one snout-grip like a flood-dragon, wound him in one snoutful and brought him back victorious. The demons shouted victory songs together and returned in a crowd.

Tripitaka, seeing this below the slope, accused Wukong: “No wonder Wuneng cursed you to death. So your brotherly relation truly has no sense of loving closeness, only envy and jealousy. He told you to pull the lifeline and you did not pull; instead you threw the rope away. Now he is being endangered—what is to be done?” Wukong laughed and said, “Master is too indulgent, too partial. Enough. When old Sun was taken, you did not worry much; that was exactly a life-pleasing quality. This fool has now been captured and you blame me for it. Let him bear some hardship so you can see how hard this road has become.” Tripitaka said, “Disciple, you go. Do I not worry for you? I know you can transform and will not be harmed. That fool is born like a wolf-dog and cannot even leap well. This journey will bring more ill-luck than good. Go, and save him again.” Wukong said, “Master, do not blame me; I will go save him.”

He leapt up at once, ran up the mountain, and in secret fumed: “That fool cursed me to death; for now let him have no joy. I will follow and see how that demon is handling him; let him suffer a while, then I’ll save him.” He snapped the knot, recited the true mantra, and in one change became a chao-liao insect. He flew there, clinging by the root of Zhu Bajie’s ear, and entered the cave with that demon. The two demons led three thousand little spirits with loud drums and horns and massed at the cave mouth. Bringing Zhu Bajie inside, the old demon said, “Brother, I have caught one.” “Show him to me,” said the old demon. He loosened his nose, hauled Zhu Bajie out and said, “Is this it?” The old demon said, “This brute is useless.” Zhu Bajie answered, “Great lord, put away the useless one, and fetch one that is useful.” The three demons said, “Though he is useless, he is still a disciple of Tripitaka, Zhu Bajie. Bind him and send him to the pond behind. Soak him till his hair is gone, split his belly, salt him, and dry him in the sun. When the sky turns overcast, we will drink him.” Zhu Bajie cried out in alarm, “Enough, enough—alas, I have fallen into the hands of a pickling demon.” All the demons sprang to work, binding him with all four limbs tied together, lifting him and carrying him to the pond edge. With one push toward the middle, he went in and turned over all the way.

Wukong flew up to look again. Zhu Bajie was afloat with his limbs up, paws gouging, half submerged, his mouth snorting and wheezing. It was, absurdly, almost funny: he looked like a large black lotus pod that had fallen in the eighth or ninth month after a frost. Seeing his face and mouth, Wukong both hated him and pitied him and said, “How is this possible? He too is one of the men of the Dragon Flower Assembly. Still, I only regret that he keeps at times dividing the luggage and spreading trouble, and then goads Master to recite the Tightening Headband Spell against me. I once heard Sha Wujing say that he had hidden a private stockpile. I wonder whether he has any still. Let me give him a fright and see.”

The Great Sage flew close to Zhu Bajie’s ear, mimicking another voice and crying, 'Pig Wuneng, Pig Wuneng.' Zhu Bajie panicked: 'What misery! This name Wuneng was given me by Guanyin Bodhisattva. Since I started following Tripitaka I have also been called Bajie. How is it that someone here knows I am called Wuneng?' The Fool could not help asking, 'Who gave me that Dharma name?' The Great Sage said, 'It was me.' The Fool said, 'Who are you?' The Great Sage said, 'I am the catcher sent by the Yama officials.' The Fool was alarmed: 'Officer, where are you from?' The Great Sage said, 'I am sent by the Five Yama Kings to catch you.' The Fool said, 'Officer, go back and report to the Five Yama Kings. He is on excellent terms with my senior brother Sun Wukong; ask him to let me off for one day, and tomorrow I will come and be taken.' The Great Sage said, 'Nonsense. The Lord of the Third Watch is destined to die at the third watch; who dares to keep a man alive to the fourth? Be quick and come with me so you are not roped and dragged.' The Fool said, 'Officer, where is any convenience? Look at my face—do you think I still expect to live? Death is certain, and only one day is left. This demon spirit has carried off my teachers as well; if we meet, all of us will be settled then anyway.' The Great Sage laughed inwardly. 'Very well. I have three men out of my thirty waiting around here; when I bring them, you will gain another day. Do you have any travel coin? Hand over some.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Wretch, how could a monk have any savings?' The Great Sage said, 'If there is no savings, I will seize them and bring you along.' The Fool cried out in fear: 'Do not seize me, officer. I know your rope is called the Life-Pursuing Rope; once one is roped, he is done for. Yes, yes, I do have some, but not much.' The Great Sage said, 'Where is it? Bring it out at once.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Wretch, from that pityless beginning to now, I became a monk. Some faithful householders invited me to a meal; seeing my belly, they put in a little extra alms. I put aside what little I got, and the scraps came to five qian of silver. Since I could not store it neatly, when we first reached town I asked a silversmith to melt it in one place. He was shameless and stole a few pieces, so only four qian and six fen in one piece remained. Take it.' The Great Sage reflected inwardly, 'This fool can hardly find trousers to wear, yet he has hidden some somewhere. Hey! where is your silver?' The Fool said, 'It is tucked inside my left ear-hole. You can take it yourself; I cannot untie it.'

As he spoke, the Great Sage put his hand in the ear-hole and brought it out. Truly, it was a saddle-shaped lump of silver, weighing about four qian and five or six fen. He held it and could not suppress a loud laugh. The Fool, hearing it was the Great Sage’s voice, cursed at him while splashing in the water: 'Demon-catcher Bimawen, in such bitter misery you still come here to swindle coins.' The Great Sage laughed too: 'I, old Sun, guarded the Master and do not know what hardships he has suffered; and you set aside a secret hoard.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Secret hoard? It is all what came scraped from my teeth. I could not spend it on food and kept some to buy cloth for a robe. You frightened me instead. Share a little with me.' The Great Sage said, 'Not even a half coin will be given to you.' Zhu Bajie cursed back: 'Take the money that buys my life and I’ll let it go—if by mercy you can save me too.' The Great Sage said, 'Do not be rash; let me rescue you first.' He hid the silver away, then revealed his true form, drew the Golden-Hooped Staff, hooked the Fool close, hoisted him up by the legs, and pulled him free. Zhu Bajie jumped up, removed his clothes, wrung off the water, gave himself a hard shake, and put back on the damp cloth, saying, 'Brother, let us go out by the back gate.' The Great Sage said, 'Go by the back gate? Is that a fit way out? Better to go up by the front gate.' Zhu Bajie said, 'My legs are tied numb; I cannot run.' The Great Sage said, 'Come with me quickly.'

The Great Sage threw the staff forward to loosen the bonds and struck as he moved. The Fool, only half conscious from numbness, could only follow him. He looked and saw at the lower side gate that his spiked pike was still there. He stepped ahead, pushed aside small demons, dashed forward in a rush, and with the Great Sage struck out three or four gate-houses, not knowing how many little demons he had killed. The old demon heard and told the second demon: 'You captured him well, captured him well. See, Sun Wukong has kidnapped Zhu Bajie, and he has wounded your little demons at the gate as well.' The second demon leaped up at once, spear in hand, and rushed out through the gate. He shouted, 'Reckless monkey! So impudent, how dare you dare to disdain us?' The Great Sage heard and stepped down at once. The demon gave no place for words and stabbed with his spear; the Great Sage, exact and unhurried, drew the Golden-Hooped Staff and met him face to face. Outside the cave door, this was a fierce match:

Yellow-tusked old elephant takes human form; it swears brotherhood with the Lion King. Because the Great demon arrived and joined hands in counsel, together they planned to eat Tripitaka. Great Sage Equal to Heaven, wide in divine power, supports the righteous and drives out evil to destroy the fiendly force. Zhu Bajie, helpless, falls to cruel hands; Wukong rescues him and brings him out. The demon king closes in with fierce strength; spear and staff flash, each showing prowess. One spear strike is like a python slithering through forest, the staff-thrust like a dragon rising from the sea. When the dragon breaches the sea gate, clouds billow; when the python cuts the woods, the mist coils. All this was for Tripitaka, yet the painful mutual struggle has no mercy.

When Zhu Bajie saw the Great Sage battling the demon, he stood above the ridge with the spiked pike and, instead of helping, stared dully. The demon saw that the Great Sage’s cudgel was heavy and that there was no flaw in all his methods; he planted the spear, yanked open his nose, and tried to coil him in. The Great Sage saw through the demon’s trick, raised the Golden-Hooped Staff with both hands, and held it up. The demon, with a twist of his nose, had coiled around his waist and hips, yet had not coiled the hands. See how with both hands at the demon’s nose he played tricks with the staff like a juggler. Zhu Bajie saw and thumped his chest: 'Ah! That demon is cursed. He coiled this fool of mine and got even my hands bound so I could not move. He coiled that slippery one and yet did not get my hands. With those two hands of his and the staff, if he were to prick once into the nostril, the pain would make him cry; how then could he hold him?'

The Great Sage had no such intention at first; Zhu Bajie had taught him this. He flicked the staff once; it was as small as a chick and then grew for a whole zhang, and truly jabbed into the demon’s nostril. The demon, frightened, made a 'sha' sound and released his nose. Then the Great Sage turned his hand and grabbed, pulling with all his force. The demon, in pain, followed the pull, step by step, with him. Only then did Zhu Bajie dare to come near, and with the spiked pike he struck at random at the demon’s hips. The Great Sage said, 'No, no. The pike teeth are so sharp; if they pierce skin and blood spills, Master will see and say we harmed life. Use only the handle to strike.'

Indeed the Fool raised the pike handle; one step forward, one strike. The Great Sage hauled him by the nose, and the two of them looked like two elephant keepers hauling a beast down the slope. Tripitaka fixed his gaze and, seeing them coming in noisy tumult, called out, 'Sha Wujing, what is Wukong dragging?' Sha Wujing laughed: 'Master, Elder Brother Wukong is dragging the demon by the nose, truly eager for killing.' Tripitaka said, 'Excellent, excellent! What a big demon, what a long nose. Ask him: if he is willing to kindly escort us over the mountain, spare him and do not take his life.' Sha Wujing hurried up and called out: 'Master says: if that monster will ferry us across the mountain, do not harm his life.' Hearing this, the monster knelt at once and, muffled, pleaded. In fact, when the Great Sage had him by the nose, he had cramped it so hard, like a hard winter wind gone wild. He cried, 'Sir Tripitaka, if you spare my life, then I will at once lift and carry the sedan-chair.' The Great Sage said, 'My disciples and I are all men of true victory and compassion. As you said, your life is spared. Bring the sedan-chair at once; if you shift your way again, we will seize you and never spare you again.' The monster slipped out of his grip, knelt to the ground, and left. The Great Sage and Zhu Bajie explained everything to Tripitaka. Zhu Bajie, overwhelmed with shame, stood on the slope and aired his clothes, and there was no need to continue.

The second demon, trembling all over, returned to the cave. Before he arrived, a little demon had already reported to the old demon and the third demon that the second had been dragged away by the Great Sage by the nose. Frightened, the old and third demons, leading the soldiers, came out at once. Seeing the second return alone, they all gathered in and asked why he had been let go. The second demon spoke to the assembly, recounting all the words of mercy and compassion from Tripitaka. One by one they looked at each other and dared say nothing. The second demon said, 'Brother, are we to send Tripitaka on?' The old demon said, 'Brother, what are you saying? Sun Wukong is a monkey head full of broad benevolence and righteousness. He was already inside my belly first; if he had wished to take my life, he could have killed a thousand of us. Yet he only gripped your nose. If he had pulled it and not sent you back, he would only have crushed your nose-head, but still he was terrified. At once make arrangements to send him off.' The third demon laughed, 'Send him, send him, send him.' The old demon said, 'Virtuous younger brother, your words still sound resentful. If you do not send him, the two of us will send him.'

The three demons laughed again: "Senior brothers above, if the monk refuses to go with us and slips away this way by himself, then it is only his own fate; if he lets us escort him, he has unknowingly fallen into my tiger-drawn-from-the-mountain trick." The old demon asked, "What do you mean by ‘drawing the tiger away from the mountain’?" The third demon said, "Now we call all the beasts in the cavern. From ten thousand pick a thousand, from a thousand pick a hundred, from a hundred pick sixteen, and pick thirty as well." The old demon asked, "Why need both sixteen and thirty?" The third demon said, "The thirty are for cooking: give them fine rice, fine flour, bamboo shoots, tea buds, fragrant mushrooms, ordinary mushrooms, tofu, and gluten, and send them twenty or thirty li behind us to pitch shelter, set up places for tea and meals, and take care of Tripitaka." The old demon asked, "What use are the sixteen?" The third demon said, "Eight should carry, eight should clear and call the road. My brothers will escort him, staying on either side, for one stage. Going this way, over four hundred li to the west, is my city, where I already have men and horses ready to receive him. When we reach the edge of the city… exactly in this and that way, master and disciples will not be able to look to one another. To seize Tripitaka, success depends entirely on those sixteen." Hearing this, the old demon was beyond joyful; it was truly like waking from drunkenness, like waking from a dream. He said, "Very well, very well, very well," and at once signaled the demons, first selecting thirty and giving them provisions, then selecting sixteen and having a perfumed vine sedan lifted, and all came out together. He further ordered all the demons: "None of you may wander idly up the mountain. Sun Wukong is a monkey with many suspicions. If he sees you coming and going, he will certainly suspect and see through this plan."

The old demon then marched his band to the road by the hillside and shouted loudly, "Elder Master Tang, there is no red-sand offense today; please cross the mountain early." Tripitaka heard this and said, "Wukong, who is calling for me?" The Great Sage pointed and said, "Over there is the demon you subdued, carrying a sedan to escort you." Tripitaka folded his hands to heaven and said, "Excellent! Excellent! If my worthy disciples were not so capable, how could I reach the end of this road?" He went straight forward and, in a respectful turn, said to the assembled demons, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness. I am returning from the western journey with my scriptures to Chang’an; then I shall publicize the blessed results." All the demons knelt and knocked their heads: "Please mount the sedan, Reverend Master." Tripitaka, with ordinary human eyes, did not know there was any trick. The Great Sage, himself the Tàiyǐ Golden Immortal and upright by nature, thought only that he had achieved the merit of capturing and subduing demons and did not expect that they themselves could plot something else. Yet he never examined closely and fully followed the Master’s wishes. He ordered Zhu Bajie to send the baggage with the horse, and had Sha Wujing follow closely behind. He struck forward with his Golden-Hooped Staff to clear the way, casting glances to read omens. Eight demons lifted the sedan, and another eight called out one after the other with a cry; three demons shouldered and carried it. The Master joyfully sat upright in the sedan. They climbed the high mountains and followed the main road.

From there, who could have known that sorrow would return in the midst of joy? The classics say, "When supreme yang is exhausted, yin comes again." At this juncture, fortune met true Tai Sui and also the mourning gate and death-star. Those demons, acting in shared purpose, stood as guards at the sides with strict attention by day and by night. They passed thirty li and offered a vegetarian fast, fifty li and offered another; if it was not yet late they asked to rest; along the whole road everything was in proper order. Three meals a day, each one to full satisfaction. By night they stayed one sleep, in the best places to settle and rest.

They moved more than four hundred li to the west, and suddenly their city came into view. The Great Sage raised his staff, and when he was only one li away from the sedan, seeing the city, he was so startled that he stumbled and nearly could not stand. You would think, from his former courage, how could such a one be frightened? It was because he saw evil qi in that city. Its look was this:

In dense clusters gathered countless demons and monsters; at all four gates stood only wolf spirits. Color-spotted tigers served as city officers, white-faced fierce leopards as chief commanders. Fork-horned deer bore errands and passed messages; clever foxes handled the way. Serpents a thousand zhang in length circled the walls, and ten-thousand-zhang serpents blocked the roads. Beneath the towers, blue wolves acted as signal messengers, and before the platform flowered leopards spoke with human voices. They waved banners and beat war drums—all were demons; patrols and watch posts were all mountain spirits. Cunning rabbits opened their stalls and played at trade, wild boars carried shoulder poles and made a living. It had once been a land of the Heavenly Court, but now it has become a Tiger-Wolf City. The Great Sage was indeed in full terror when he heard a gust of wind behind his ears. He turned sharply and saw the three demons raising in both hands a painted-hand Fangtian halberd, thrusting it toward the Great Sage’s head. The Great Sage at once rolled over, sprang up, and met it face-on with the Golden-Hooped Staff. The two demons were both inwardly furious, hot-breathing, and said not a word; each clenched his teeth and sought to strike. Again they saw the old demon king give the command: he raised a steel dao and hacked at Zhu Bajie. Startled, Zhu Bajie dropped the horse, raised his pike, and rushed forward in chaotic thrusts. The two remaining demons coiled long spears and tried to stab at Sha Wujing; Sha Wujing used his demon-subduing staff to brace, ward, and block them. The three demon lords and the three monks fought, one-to-one, with life and death in mind on the hillside.

Those sixteen minor demons obeyed the order and each did his assigned task. They snatched the white horse and the packs, crowded around Tripitaka, lifted the sedan, and went straight to the edge of the city, shouting at the top of their voices: "Your Majesty the Great King’s design has succeeded: we have already seized Tripitaka." All the young and old demons on and around the city walls came running down and threw the city gates wide open. The order was sent to each camp: roll the banners and stop the drums; no shouting, no beating of gongs and drums. "The Great King has already ordered this at the outset, and you must not frighten Tripitaka. Tripitaka cannot endure being startled: one fright would dissolve his flesh and he would be swallowed." All the demons, joyful and exultant, welcomed Tripitaka, bending with bowed backs to receive the leading monk. They lifted Tripitaka’s sedan up to the Golden Canopy Hall, asked him to sit in the center, and on one side offered tea and meals while attendants moved around him on both sides. The Elder sat dull and drowsy, half-awake, with his eyes vacant and unseeing.

In the end, it is still unknown what will become of life and death; listen to the next installment for the full resolution.