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.

Then Zhu Bajie came leaping down the mountain and found a small path. He followed it for about five or six li, when suddenly he saw two female demons drawing water at a well. How did he recognize them as two demon women? Their headgear was a bamboo-silk coiled topknot on the head, one chi and two or three cun high, which looked absurdly old-fashioned. Zhu Bajie walked up to them and called out, “Monster.” Hearing this, the demon became furious. The two spoke to one another: “This monk is a boor; we do not even know him, and in ordinary times we are not used to using such language with him—how does he dare to call us demons?” In her anger she raised the water-drawing bar and struck him full at the head.

The fool was unarmed and could not parry at all; after being scooped at a few times he ran back up the mountain with his head knocked and said, “Brother, let’s go back. That demon is fierce.” Sun Wukong said, “How is it fierce?” Zhu Bajie said, “In a hollow on this hill, two female demon spirits were drawing water from the well. I called them ‘monster’ just once, and one of them struck me three or four times with the water pole.” Sun Wukong asked, “For what did you call him that?” Zhu Bajie said, “I called him a monster.” Sun Wukong laughed and said, “Then the beating was too light.” Zhu Bajie said, “Thanks for looking after me. My head is swollen, and you call it little.” Sun Wukong said, “If you go with gentleness, you can pass beneath the heavens; if you are hard and forceful, not a single step will move.” "They are monsters of this place, and we are monks from afar; though your body is all hands and fists, still be a little gentle. You call them monsters, and they do not strike me, why should they strike me? Among men, ritual and courtesy come first." Zhu Bajie said, “I did not understand that at first.” Sun Wukong said, “You have lived since childhood in the mountains eating men. Do you know there are two kinds of wood?” Zhu Bajie said, “I do not. What kind is it?” Sun Wukong said, “One is poplar, one is sandalwood. Poplar is by nature soft; a clever craftsman can carve sacred icons from it, or sculpt the Buddha, coat it with gold and powder, inlay jade, deck it with flowers; then ten thousand people burn incense and make offerings, earning immeasurable merit. Sandalwood is hard in nature. It is taken to the oil room and worked into a pestle, then an iron hoop is placed around its crown, and an iron hammer comes down on it repeatedly. Because it is hard, it suffers this hardship.” Zhu Bajie said, “Brother, if you had told me such sensible words before, that would have been good; then it would not have beaten me.” Sun Wukong said, “Go ask him again, but do it properly.” Zhu Bajie said, “If I go again, he’ll recognize me.” Sun Wukong said, "Then change your form and go." Zhu Bajie said, “Brother, if I have changed, how can I ask him then?” Sun Wukong said, "When you are changed, go before him and make obeisance. Ask how old he is. If she is about our age, call her ‘Girl.’ If she is older than us, call her 'Grandmother.'" Zhu Bajie laughed, “How awkward—so far from home, how can I tell who counts as what relation?” Sun Wukong said, "Not relation, but draw out his words. If it is she who has taken Master, then we can strike at once; if not, we must not get diverted into another matter.” Zhu Bajie said, “That is sound. I’ll go once more.”

The fool tucked his iron pick at his waist, went down into the hollow, and in a twirl changed into a fat, black monk. Swaying heavily, he went near the demon and made a deep obeisance: 'Grandmother, this poor monk makes his bows.' The two demons said, 'This monk is fine—he can offer a proper bow, and he can also speak a smooth, proper answer.' One asked, 'Elder, where do you come from?' Zhu Bajie said, 'Where do I come from?' The same asked, 'Where are you going?' He answered again, 'Where am I going?' Then asked, 'What is your name?' and he answered again, 'What is my name?' The demon laughed: 'This monk is truly decent, but he has no introduction and can answer in one-tongued fashion.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Grandmother, why do you have to draw water?' The demon replied, 'Monk, do you not know? My old mistress has taken hold of a monk on pilgrimage inside our cave tonight; she must feed and care for him. The water in our cave is not clean, so she sent us two to fetch this good yin-yang water, and to set out a vegetarian spread of fruits and vegetables. He must eat with Tripitaka, and this evening they will be united in marriage.'

Hearing this, Zhu Bajie at once pulled himself away and ran back up the mountain. 'Sha Wujing, quickly bring the luggage. Let us split our tasks.' Sha Wujing said, 'Second Brother, what do you mean by splitting?' Zhu Bajie said, 'We split then: you go back to the Flowing-Sand River and eat people, I will go to Gao Laozhuang to visit family, brother will go to Flower-Fruit Mountain to proclaim his sainthood, and the White Dragon Horse will return to the great sea to become a dragon. Master is already in this demon spirit’s cave to marry. Let each of us attend to our own affairs.' Sun Wukong said, 'That fool is lying nonsense again.' Zhu Bajie said, 'Your words are the nonsense. Those two water-drawing demonesses just said she has arranged a pure vegetarian feast for Tripitaka and now they will marry him.' Sun Wukong said, 'That demoness has taken Master into the cave. Master is looking to us in despair for rescue, and you speak such words here.' Zhu Bajie said, 'How to rescue?' Sun Wukong said, "You two lead the horses and shoulder the load poles; we follow those two female demons, use that as a lure and draw her to the gate, then we all strike together."

So Zhu Bajie had no choice but to follow. Sun Wukong kept the two monsters in sight from afar and they gradually entered deep into the mountains. After another ten or twenty li they vanished all at once. Zhu Bajie cried in alarm, 'It must be a day-ghost has taken Master.' Sun Wukong asked, 'Your eyes are keen—how could you see his true form at once?' Zhu Bajie said, 'Those two demons were carrying water and going along, and suddenly they disappeared. Could it be a day-ghost?' Sun Wukong said, 'Probably they have slipped into a cave. Let me go and look.'

Sun Wukong widened his fire-tiger golden eyes at once, looked all around the mountains, and indeed saw no trace of movement. Before the steep cliff he saw a delicate, translucent, ornamented stone gateway, piled in five hues, three eaves and four clusters. The three approached and examined it. Above were six large characters: ‘Pit of Falling Air, Bottomless Cave.’ Sun Wukong said, "Brothers, this demon set this frame here, and we still do not know which way the gate opens." Sha Wujing said, "Not far, not far, look carefully." As they turned, at the base of the gateway, at the foot of the mountain, there was a great slab of stone, roughly ten or more li across, with a perfectly smooth, jar-mouth-wide opening in the center. Zhu Bajie said, 'Brother, this must be the cave where the demon enters and leaves.' Sun Wukong looked and said, "Strange indeed. I, old Sun, must guard Tripitaka; I cannot hide this from you two. The demoness has taken him by some means, yet no such caverns as this have shown themselves. Zhu Bajie, go down first and test how deep it is, and then I can enter and rescue Master.' Zhu Bajie shook his head: 'This is hard; this is hard. My old pig body is clumsy and bulky—if the ground gives way and I hang over the edge, who knows when in two or three years I’d get back from the bottom?' Sun Wukong said, 'How deep is it, then?' Zhu Bajie said, 'You see.' Sun Wukong knelt by the cave edge and looked carefully down. 'Ah! It is deep indeed—more than three hundred li around.' he said on turning back. Zhu Bajie said, 'Then go home. Master cannot be saved.' Sun Wukong said, "What is that talk? Do not grow lazy. Do not let idleness take hold. First put down the luggage and tie the horses to the gateway columns. You use the crowbar, Sha Wujing the staff, to block the cave mouth while I go in to make inquiries. If Master is truly inside, I will beat the demon out with my Golden-Hooped Staff and bring him to the gate; you two stay outside and hold him off. This is the inside-outside coordination. Only when the spirit is killed can Master be saved." The two obeyed.

Sun Wukong at once leapt straight upward and sprang into the cave. Clouds of colored light rose beneath his feet, and a thousand layers of auspicious vapor guarded him from his side. Not long after, he came to a far, deep place where it was bright and clear as day, with a wind, with flowers, grass, and trees. Sun Wukong said with joy, 'What a fine place! If the Great Sage had been born for this world, Heaven would have bestowed this water-curtain cave upon him. This too is a blessed cavernous land.' As he looked, there appeared another gate pavilion with two eaves, all wrapped in pine and bamboo, and inside many chambers. He thought, "This must be the demoness’s dwelling for sure. I should go in and inquire. Yet if I go as I am, she will recognize me. Better that I change and go." He shifted his form and, with a hand gesture, became a fly, then lightly flew upon the pavilion to listen. There he saw the demoness seated high upon a thatched pavilion; her appearance, compared with the one in the pines and the one taken in the monastery, was even more striking:

Her coiffure rose in a cloud-knot, like gathered crows. Her body was dressed in a green velvet embroidered jacket. A pair of golden lotuses were just half-bent, her ten fingers sprouting like spring bamboo shoots. Her round powdered face was like a silver basin, and her lips, bright as cherries, were smooth and glossy. Upright, graceful, perfectly formed, a true beauty; even the moon’s Chang'e would envy her. Today she has caught hold of the monk of the scriptures, and tonight she means to lie with him in delight. Sun Wukong said nothing and just listened. Soon she cracked open cherries and cried, "Servants, quickly set out the pure vegetarian banquet! After eating with Tripitaka, I will marry him tonight!" Sun Wukong laughed inwardly: 'Indeed this is true! I thought Zhu Bajie had only been making jokes and nonsense.' He then flew inward again to look for him. 'How has his heart turned?' he thought. 'If he has been stirred and enticed, then leaving him here is enough.' Spreading his wings, he flew into the inner hall. Beneath the east corridor there were red-paper lattice screens, bright above and dim below, and inside sat Tripitaka.

The Great Sage smashed through the lattice opening with his head, flew over and struck down on Tripitaka’s shaven scalp, and called out, “Master.” Tripitaka recognized the voice and said, “Disciple, save my life!” Sun Wukong said, “Master cannot rescue himself now. The demoness has arranged a banquet and is forcing you to eat and marry her. If one boy and half a girl were to be born, that would still be a monk’s progeny. Why do you worry so?” Tripitaka, grinding his teeth, said, “Disciple, since I left Chang’an and came to Shuangjie Mountain to fetch you, I have gone steadily westward all this time. What moment turned toward flesh? What day brought this crooked intent? Now this demoness has caught me and asks that I take a husband. If I lose my true yang, I will fall into the cycle of rebirth, be struck behind Mount Yin, and never rise again in life after life.” Sun Wukong laughed and said, “Do not swear. Since your heart is sincere about going west for the sutra, I, old Sun, will take you out.” Tripitaka said, “I have forgotten the way I came in.” Sun Wukong replied, “Say no more about forgetfulness. This cave is not entered and left in the ordinary way. One goes in head-first and down through the throat of the earth. Now that I have rescued you, we must bore upward from below. If your fate is high, you will tunnel out through the mouth of the cave; if your fate is low and it is blocked, then a suffocating day of death will follow.” Tripitaka, eyes full of tears, said, “With trouble so great, what is one to do?” Sun Wukong said, “Nothing to fear. Let the demoness prepare wine and food for you. If she insists, drink just one cup. Have her pour quickly, and ask for a cup mixed with a joy-bud. I will become a cicada-like insect and hide beneath the wine foam. Once she swallows me in one bite, I shall tear through her heart and liver, snap her entrails, and kill the demoness so you may escape.” Tripitaka said, “Disciple, hearing this, you are no true son of man.” Sun Wukong said, “Do what is right and let your life go on. The demoness is the root of harm; why should you pity her?” Tripitaka said, “All right, all right. Just keep to my side.”

That Great Sage, Sun Wukong, guards Tripitaka; this monk on pilgrimage lives by the Beauty of the Monkey King alone.

The two did not finish their plans before the demoness, already making her arrangements, came near the east corridor outside, unlatched the gate, and called, “Elder!” Tripitaka dared not answer. She called again; he still would not. Why could he not answer? He thought, “If I open my mouth, my divine spirit scatters; if my tongue moves, right and wrong are born.” Yet in one heart he thought, “If I remain mute, if this wicked one is cruel, he may kill me at once.” It was exactly a mind asking one thing and the mouth another, three thoughts wrestling with two mouths in silence. While he still hesitated, the demoness called again, “Elder.” Tripitaka could not endure it and answered once: “Lady, yes.” When the Elder spoke those words, it felt like a thousand jin fell from his chest. People call Tripitaka a true monk, sincere in going west to worship Buddha for the sutra, so how could he answer a female demoness? Yet at this moment of life and death, he had no choice. Though he answered outwardly, he held no desire within. The demoness, seeing he had answered, pushed open the gate, pulled Tripitaka up, walked with him hand in hand, and whispered at his ear. Watch her move in a thousand charms and ten thousand gestures—how artfully she played the role of beauty, while Tripitaka’s heart was torn with grief. From hiding, Sun Wukong laughed and said, “My Master is so honeyed by her coaxing that I fear he may falter.”

The true monk and demon met a cruel temptress; this wily demon-girl was fair indeed. Fine green brows parted like willow leaves, a bright red face setting off peach blossoms. Embroidered shoes barely showing two hooked phoenix points; her cloud-like hair coiled high, two raven locks at the temples. Smiling, she took his hand, and at that contact her fragrance spread, musk and spikenard, through his robe.

Drawing Tripitaka along, she led him to the grass pavilion and said, “Elder, I have prepared one cup of wine; drink with me.” Tripitaka said, “Lady, poor monk does not eat meat.” She said, “I know you do not. Since the water in this cave is impure, I ordered clear water from the mountain to gather yin and yang purity, and prepared pure vegetarian fruit and vegetables for our banquet to play at marriage with you.” Tripitaka followed her in to see, and truly saw this:

The gate was full of embroidered bindings and bright ribbons; the entire yard reeked sweetly with scented lion incense. Gilded tables were set, with black-oiled wicker-rib boards for platters. On those tables lay curious delicacies; in the platters sat rare vegetarian things. Apples, olives, lotus flesh, grapes, candlenuts, loquats, hazelnuts, pines, lychees, longans, wild chestnuts, hornwort watercress, jujubes, persimmons, walnuts, ginkgo, kumquats, and fragrant oranges—whatever grew in the hills. More fresh vegetables appeared: tofu, flour cakes, wood ear fungus, fresh bamboo shoots, mushrooms, fragrant mushrooms, Chinese yam, and huangjing. Rock-flower greens and daylily buds, stir-fried in green oil; Lablab beans and river beans, sauced and seasoned. Wax gourd and bottle gourd, white nuts, and turnip greens. Eggplant with peeled skin, quail cooked together; scooped winter melon cut in neat cubes. Stewed taro mashing with sugar, and boiled radish glazed in vinegar. Hot peppers and ginger, each dish savory and sharp, salt and sweet in balanced proportion.

The demoness held up her pointed, jewel-like fingers and lifted a golden cup, filled it with fine wine, and offered it to Tripitaka. Through smiling lips she called, “Dear elder brother, wondrous one, have a cup of joy wine with me.” Tripitaka shyly accepted it, tipped a little toward the sky in offering, and inwardly blessed: “Guarding heavens, lords of the Five Directions, Four Officers of Judgment: disciple Chen Xuanzang, dispatched from the East by Guanyin, begs all hidden gods to guard him. I have left the Eastern Land to come to the Thunderous-Voice Buddha and seek the sutra. Now on the road I am seized by this demoness and forced toward forced marriage. She hands me this cup. If this is indeed vegetarian wine, I can reluctantly drink and yet still attain Buddhahood; if it is meaty wine and I violate my precepts, I will fall forever into the misery of rebirth.” But Sun Wukong, at the back of her ear, turned light and close as if he were merely an ear-echo; only Tripitaka heard him, no one else did. He knew Master liked the grape-based vegetarian wine and told him to drink one cup. The Elder had no choice but to drink. He swiftly poured another full cup and handed it back to the demoness. Truly she poured in a joy-bud. Sun Wukong became that cicada-like insect and glided silently beneath the bud of wine. The demoness reached for it, did not drink, set the cup aside, bowed twice to Tripitaka, and in sweet, shy words shared a few love phrases. Only when she raised the cup had the blossom broken apart and the insect been revealed. Not recognizing Sun Wukong in that form, she thought it was only a grub. With her little finger she pinched it up and flicked it downward.

Seeing things go awry, Sun Wukong judged he could not get into her belly and so turned into a famished old hawk. Truly:

Jade claws, golden eyes, iron feathered wings; Manly posture and fierce breath stirred the clouds. Fox spirit and crafty hare, seeing him move, fled a thousand leagues across land and river. Hungry, he runs with the wind to chase sparrows; Sated, he rides high and touches the gate of heaven. His old iron-hard fist is most hurtful to men; proud with success, he soars beyond the sky’s boundary. He rose, spread his jade claws, and with one roar overturned the table setting. He scattered the vegetarian fruits and vegetables, the plates, pitchers, and goblets, all into splinters, brushed Tripitaka aside, and flew out. The demoness was shocked into horror; Tripitaka’s bones and flesh went limp like jelly. Trembling, she hugged Tripitaka and said, “Elder brother, where did this creature come from?” Tripitaka said, “The poor monk does not know.” The demoness said, “I put so much effort into arranging this vegetarian feast for you to amuse yourself, yet I do not know from where this shaggy beast flew in and shattered my hearth. My little fiends! To have broken my fire is one thing, but to splash this purity of dishes across the ground and make them impure—how can it be used?” Tripitaka clearly understood it was Sun Wukong’s doing, but he had no heart to speak. The demoness said, “Servants, I understand. It must be that as I trapped Tripitaka, Heaven and Earth would not permit this, so I have brought this thing down. Pick up the scattered fire and table things. Prepare another round of wine and dishes at once. We will not refuse meat or vegetables; I will take heaven as witness and earth as witness and renew the betrothal with Tripitaka.” She still sent the Elder to sit in the east corridor.

Then Sun Wukong flew out, resumed his true form, and at the cave mouth shouted, “Open the gate!” Zhu Bajie laughed and called out, “Sha Wujing, brother is here.” They both cast aside their weapons. Sun Wukong leapt out. Sha Wujing moved forward and asked, “Is there a demoness? Is Master inside? Is he bound?” Sun Wukong said, “Yes, yes, yes.” Zhu Bajie said, “Master is suffering in there, is he tied up, is he to be steamed or boiled?” Sun Wukong said, “That is not the point. The demoness has arranged a vegetarian feast and plans to carry out that affair with him.” Zhu Bajie said, “You are doomed, you are doomed. Did you come back after drinking the wedding wine with her?” Sun Wukong said, “Fool, Master’s life itself hangs by a thread. What is there to drink with respect to wedding wine?” Zhu Bajie said, “How did you end up back here?” Sun Wukong recounted all he had seen in Tripitaka’s cave form-changing. He said, “Brothers, think no more nonsense. Master is in this place; once I go, old Sun will certainly bring him out alive.”

Turning over again, he entered inside and once more changed into a fly, perching on the gatehouse and listening. He heard the demoness, breathing hotly, calling from the pavilion: “Servants, whether vegetarian or not, bring paper to burn. Let Heaven and Earth stand as witness; I must marry him.” Sun Wukong heard this and laughed inwardly. “This demon has no scrap of shame at all. In broad daylight she has put a monk in her house and made a puppet of him. Do not rush—let the old monkey slip in again and take a look.” With a quick buzzing sound he flew beneath the east corridor. Inside sat Tripitaka, and tears dripped clearly from his cheeks. Wukong slid in beside him and called, “Master.” The Master recognized the voice and leapt up, grinding out in anger: “Monkey! Another man’s courage is still courage inside him; yours is nothing but courage wrapped around your whole body. You used your changeable powers and burst through the household fire—how much is that worth? After you stirred this demon into lustful excitement, she made no distinction between pure and impure and insists on mating with me. What are we to do now?” Wukong, smiling in secret, said, “Do not blame me, Master—there is a way to save you.” Tripitaka asked, “How can you save me?” Wukong answered, “When I flew up just now I saw a garden behind him. Lure him into it and make him play; then I will rescue you.” Tripitaka asked, “How is it to be saved in the garden?” Wukong said, “Go with him to the garden. When you come to the edge of the peach grove, do not move further. I will fly up to the branches and become a red peach. You must take the red fruit first and pick it down. The red one is me. He will certainly pick one too; be sure to give him the red fruit. If he swallows it in one mouthful, I will be inside him. Then I can smash his hide-bag, tear his entrails apart, and kill him, and you will be free.” Tripitaka said, “If you can do it, why not grapple with him yourself? Why hide inside his belly?” Wukong replied, “Master, you do not understand. If his throat-passage were easy to enter and leave, I could wrestle him head-on. But it is crooked and narrow, hard to pass through. If I fought him directly, all that nest of his—old and young alike—would grip even me. What then? Only by this rough-handed handling can we all be cut cleanly away.” Tripitaka nodded and believed him, saying only, “Stay with me.” Wukong said, “Understood. I am on your head.”

The disciples and the Master settled the plan. Tripitaka only then rose, putting his hands on the lattice and called, “Wife, wife.” Hearing it, the demoness ran forward with a soft laugh and said, “Good monk brother, what is to be said?” Tripitaka said, “Wife, since I left Chang’an and came westward, there has been no day without mountains and no day without waters. Yesterday, at Zhenhai Temple, I lodged for the night and came down with a heavy cold and a grave illness; today I broke into a sweat and am only just a little better. And because you were so generous, you brought me into this immortal hall. Yet sitting here all this day, my mind is still unsettled. Would you take me there just to freshen my spirits and play a little?” The demoness was deeply pleased. “Good monk brother, you do seem to have some interest. I will go with you to the garden and we shall play.” She called, “Servants, fetch the keys and open the gate of the garden, and sweep the paths clean.” All the little demons ran off to open the gate and tidy it.

The demoness opened the lattice and helped Tripitaka out. Look at her many little demons: all with oiled heads and powdered faces, pretty and graceful, clustered close, accompanying Tripitaka as they took the path straight to the garden. A good monk, he made no trouble in this embroidered throng, a dumb and deaf creature among a tangle of brocade. If not for that iron-hearted heart fixed on Buddha, no second lusty layman of wine and desire could ever have obtained the Scripture. The whole party reached the garden’s outer edge. The demoness spoke in flirtatious low tones: “Good monk brother, if we sport here, it will truly ease your spirits.” She and Tripitaka took each other’s hands and entered the garden together, lifting their eyes to look around, truly a delightful place.

Winding paths turn and wind, all about them freckled with dark moss; slender latticed windows, everywhere shrouded in muted embroidered foil. At the first movement of the breeze, light brocades of Shu and silk of Wu flutter and spread; the fine rain only just having passed, delicate drops reveal skin like ice and jade. The sun sets the fresh apricots glowing, red as an immortal drying a rainbow garment in sunlight; the moonlight on plantain leaves is blue like the august beauty waving a feather fan. Pink walls on all sides, ten thousand clusters of willows with oriole song; around the quiet halls, the courtyards are full of mountain-ash and fluttering powder-butterflies. Look at the Pavilion of Fragrant Condensation, the Green Moth Pavilion, the Dispelling Intoxication Pavilion, and the Yearning Pavilion, folded one upon another in layered reflections; on red curtains, hooked tassels hold up curled beard-like fringes. Then there are the Growing-Sour Pavilion, the Plain-Robed Pavilion, the Painted-Eyebrow Pavilion, and the Four-Rain Pavilion—each tall and lofty, carved tablets painted with bird-like seal script. Look at the Bathing-Crane Pool, the Wine-Basin Pool, the Moon-Soothing Pool, and the Hair-Rinsing Pool, where blue duckweed and green algae flash like golden scales; there are also Ink-Flower Hall, Strange-Casket Hall, Adept Delights Hall, and Cloud-Coveting Hall, jade ladles and chrysanthemum cups floating on green ants. Between the pools and pavilions stand the Taihu stones, Ziying stones, Yingluo stones, and Jinchuan stones, with tiger-whisker cattails growing verdant. To east and west of hall and pavilion rise the Wooden Rockery, Emerald-Screen Mountain, Whistling-Wind Mountain, and Jade-Fruity Mountain, where phoenix-tail bamboo crowds every place. The gourd-trellis, the rose-trellis, and near them the swing-frame form one vast brocade canopy. The Pine-and-Cypress Pavilion and the Magnolia Pavilion face the Sweet-Wood Pavilion, looking like an emerald-fort embroidered drape. Peony rails, peony thickets—scarlet and purple flowers wrestle in riotous fullness; the Night-Meeting Terrace and the Sweet-Malva Lattice blossom charmingly year after year. Droplets fall in thin threads, purple and smiling, fit to be painted or drawn; splendid scarlet silk-cotton burns the sky, fit to be titled and versified. In judging beauty, do not boast of Langyuan and Penglai; in comparing blossoms, do not number Yaohuang and Weizi. If one compares springtime grasses here, only the Jade-Qiong blossom is lacking in this garden.

The Master, holding the demoness’s arm, walked through the garden, admiring wondrous and strange flowers and trees without end. After passing many pavilions, he truly entered a finer setting. Suddenly he lifted his head and came to the edge of the peach grove. Sun Wukong pinched Tripitaka once on the head, and the Master understood. Wukong flew to a branch of the peach tree, shifted form, and became a red peach, red and enticing. The Master said to the demoness, “Wife, in this garden there is fragrance in the blossoms and ripe fruit on every branch. Bees and wasps compete for the fragrance, and birds quarrel for the ripe fruit. Why are the peaches here mixed in blue and red? Why not the same?” The demoness laughed, “If there were no yin and yang in heaven, the sun and moon would not shine; if there were no yin and yang in earth, grasses and trees would not grow; if there were no yin and yang in people, men and women would not be distinguished. On this peach tree, the fruits on the sunward side, warmed first by sunlight, ripen first and therefore turn red; those in shade ripen slower and remain green. This is the way of yin and yang.” Tripitaka said, “Thank you for your instruction, Wife. Truly this poor monk did not know it.” Then, stepping forward, he reached out and picked a red peach. The demoness also picked a green one. Bowing slightly, Tripitaka held up the red peach to the demoness: “Wife, you love color; please eat this red peach, and let me take the green one.” The demoness truly nodded, and inwardly rejoiced: “What a good monk! He is indeed a true man: even before a husband and wife are joined for even one day, he already shows such affection.” She then honored Tripitaka with delight, fondly and with joy. Tripitaka took the green peach and ate it at once. The demoness, with delight, bit into the red one. Her vermilion lips parted, silver teeth gleaming; before she could close her bite, Sun Wukong—impatient now—spun in a tight somersault and flipped into her throat, straight into her belly. The demoness, frightened, said to Tripitaka, “Great Master, this fruit is fierce! Why did it not break as it was bitten and just roll downward?” Tripitaka said, “Wife, fruit from this newly opened garden is loved for eating, so it goes down quickly.” The demoness said, “She had not yet spat out the stone and already it had vanished.” Tripitaka said, “Wife, the appetite is beautiful and the feeling kind; you enjoyed it so much you did not have time to spit out the stone before swallowing.”

Sun Wukong was in his belly, resumed his true form, and called out, 'Master, do not argue with him. Old Sun Wukong already has him in his grasp.' Tripitaka said, 'Disciple, be more tactful.' The demoness heard and said, 'Who is it that you are speaking with?' Tripitaka said, 'I am speaking with my disciple Sun Wukong.' The demoness said, 'Where is Sun Wukong?' Tripitaka said, 'In your belly, was it not the red peach you just ate?'

The demoness panicked, saying, 'Enough, enough. This monkey-head burrowed into my belly—I am finished. Sun Wukong, by what tricks did you manage to get in my belly by every means?' Sun Wukong, from inside, muttered in resentment, 'No big deal. I have merely eaten your six-fold liver and lungs, your three hairs and seven-orifice heart; I have washed clean your five viscera and made you into a clapper demon.'

Hearing this, the demoness was so frightened that her soul and spirit shook apart. Trembling, she held Tripitaka close and said, 'Venerable Master, I only thought:

Bound in a red thread by former-life ties, fish and water had two hearts in true accord. Yet now the mandarin ducks are broken apart, and who could have expected the phoenixes to drift apart east and west. At Blue Bridge the waters rise and the matter cannot be done; smoke from the Buddha temple drifts, and the blessed meeting is empty. We meant to meet in one affair, and now once more we part—what year will let us meet again?'

Sun Wukong, hearing this from within, feared that the Master's kindness might be swayed again and that he would be duped, so he raised his fists and jumped about, setting himself up and shifting his stance, almost bursting that skin-bag. The demoness could not bear the pain; she crashed to the dust. For a while she dared not speak. Seeing no words from her, Sun Wukong thought she was dead and loosened his grip a little.

She came to herself and called, 'Where are the little ones?' Those little demons, who had entered through the gate earlier, each kept their place as best they could, each wandered to a different spot to gather flowers and wrestle weeds, each playing as they pleased, leaving that demoness and the monk alone to speak as they wished. As soon as they heard her call, they all came running back.

Again they saw her lying on the ground, her color changed, groaning from her mouth, unable to crawl. They hurriedly supported her and clustered together, saying, 'Lady, what is it? Is it from sudden pain of the heart?' The demoness said, 'No, no. Do not ask. There is already one inside my belly. Send this monk out at once and spare my life.'

The little demons truly came to shoulder her. Sun Wukong called from inside, 'Who dares to carry him? If any of you carries my Master out by yourself, once he is out there, I will spare your life.' The fiend, unable to resist, could only think of saving her own life. In haste she rose, lifted Tripitaka onto her back, pulled up her steps, and walked straight out.

The little demons followed, saying, 'Old lady, where are you going?' The demoness replied, 'As long as there is still the bright moon over the Five Lakes, how can there be no place to cast the golden hook? Send this brute out first, then let me go find another head.'

A mighty demoness bounded once through cloud-light and reached the cave mouth. Again came the clatter and clang of arms, weapons clashing in disorder. Tripitaka said, 'Disciple, there is a clanging of weapons outside.' Sun Wukong said, 'It is Zhu Bajie working his crescent spade. Call him.' Tripitaka called, 'Zhu Bajie.' Zhu Bajie heard and said, 'Sha Monk, Master is coming out.' The two drew out the spade and staff, and the demoness carried Tripitaka out on her back.

Ah! it was exactly then:

The Monkey of the Heart should within subdue the wicked fiend, At the Gate of Earth and Wood the holy monk is received.

After all, we do not yet know how the demoness’s life turns out; wait and hear it explained in the next chapter.