Sun Wukong was feeling quite down as he flew through the sky, thinking about returning to the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain. But he worried that the little demons would laugh at him, thinking he was no real man. He considered going to the Heavenly Palace but feared he wouldn’t be welcome there. He thought about visiting the islands but felt too shy to face the immortals. He even contemplated going to the Dragon Palace but didn’t want to beg the Dragon King. With nowhere to go, he sighed and thought, “Forget it, I’ll just go see my master. Maybe I can earn some merit.” So, he landed directly in front of Tang Seng’s horse and respectfully said, “Master, I truly made a mistake this time!”
He then assured him, “I won’t harm anyone again; I promise to listen to you and ensure your journey to the West goes smoothly!” Tang Seng, seeing this, felt even more displeased. He pulled on the reins and began reciting the Tightening Spell, repeating it over twenty times until Sun Wukong fell to the ground, the spell deeply embedded in his flesh. Only then did he stop and ask, “Why are you here again? Aren’t you supposed to go back?”
Sun Wukong panicked, “Don’t recite it! I have a place to stay, but I’m afraid I can’t go to the West without you.” Tang Seng was furious: “You monkey! You’ve killed so many people and caused me so much trouble! I don’t need you now! Get lost! If you don’t leave soon, I’ll recite the spell again and really squeeze your brain out!” Sun Wukong couldn’t stand the pain. Seeing his master unwilling to forgive him, he had no choice but to ride his cloud and fly up into the sky, thinking, “This monk has betrayed me. I need to tell Guanyin at Mount Putuo!”
He turned back on his cloud and soon reached the South Sea, landing gracefully in the Purple Bamboo Forest of Mount Luojia. Just then, he bumped into the Wood Fork Walker, who asked, “Great Sage, where are you going?” Sun Wukong replied, “I need to see the Bodhisattva.” The Wood Fork immediately led him to the entrance of the Tide Sound Cave, where he encountered the boy Shancai, who greeted him, “Great Sage, what brings you here?” Sun Wukong said, “I have something to report to the Bodhisattva.”
Shancai laughed, “What a sharp-tongued monkey! You’re just like when I was captured by you! The Bodhisattva is full of compassion and saves those in suffering. What do you want to tell me?” Sun Wukong was furious and shouted, “You ungrateful little creature, how foolish! I brought you to the Bodhisattva, and now you enjoy this fortune without thanking me, instead you mock me!” Shancai chuckled, “Don’t be so quick to anger; I was just joking!”
At that moment, a white parrot flew in, clearly summoned by the Bodhisattva. The Wood Fork and Shancai quickly took Sun Wukong to the Baolian Terrace. As soon as Sun Wukong saw the Bodhisattva, he knelt down, tears streaming down his face, and cried loudly. The Bodhisattva comforted him, “Wukong, don’t be sad. Speak quickly; I’m here to help you.” With tears in his eyes, Sun Wukong bowed again, saying, “I’ve endured so much humiliation! I wanted to protect Tang Seng on his journey to the West, but instead, he misunderstood me. It’s driving me crazy!”
The Bodhisattva asked, “What exactly happened?” Sun Wukong then recounted the whole story in detail.
It turned out that Tang Seng held a grudge against Sun Wukong for killing many bandits and, without understanding the situation, recited the Tightening Spell to drive him away. The Bodhisattva said, “Tang Seng is on a mission to the West, intending to do good. How could he easily harm others? You have so many skills; why resort to killing bandits? Although they are not good, they are still human and shouldn’t be treated that way.” Hearing this, Sun Wukong bowed his head in tears, saying, “Although I’m not good, I still hope to atone for my sins. I ask the Bodhisattva to recite the Loose Spell and let me return to the Water Curtain Cave!” The Bodhisattva laughed and said, “The Tightening Spell was given to me by the Tathagata. When I went to the East to obtain scriptures, I received three treasures. There’s no such thing as a Loose Spell!”
Sun Wukong felt disappointed upon hearing this. “Then I’ll take my leave, Bodhisattva.” The Bodhisattva asked, “Where will you go?” Sun Wukong replied, “I’ll go to the West to ask the Tathagata for the Loose Spell.” The Bodhisattva said, “Don’t rush; let me check on Tang Seng’s situation.” Sun Wukong said, “No need to check; it’s definitely not good.” The Bodhisattva replied, “I’m not checking on you; I’m checking on Tang Seng.” The Bodhisattva sat on the lotus platform, focused on the three realms, and soon said, “Wukong, your master is about to face a serious injury and will soon come looking for you. Stay here and let me talk to Tang Seng, so he can join you in the journey to complete your mission.”
Sun Wukong had no choice but to obediently stay under the Baolian Terrace. Meanwhile, Tang Seng, feeling displeased after driving away Sun Wukong, asked Zhu Bajie to lead the horse and Sha Seng to carry the luggage. They traveled westward for less than fifty miles. Tang Seng halted the horse, thinking, “Since we left the village at dawn and have been troubled by the Horse Keeper, I’m now hungry and thirsty. Who will go get some food for me?” Zhu Bajie said, “Master, you get off the horse first; I’ll see if there’s a village nearby.” Upon hearing this, Tang Seng immediately dismounted.
Zhu Bajie flew up on his cloud and looked around carefully, but all he saw were mountains, with no sign of any houses. He landed and told Tang Seng, “There’s no place to get food; it’s all mountains here.” Tang Seng replied, “Then we need to find some water to quench our thirst.” Zhu Bajie said, “I’ll go to the South Mountain Stream to get some water.” Sha Seng handed him a bowl, and Zhu Bajie took the bowl and set off on his cloud. Tang Seng sat by the roadside waiting for a long time, feeling very thirsty and having to endure it. At this moment, a poem came to mind: “Nurturing the spirit is called essence; emotions and nature are originally one. When the heart is disturbed and the spirit is confused, sickness arises, and the body declines.”
Seeing that Tang Seng was suffering from hunger and thirst and that Zhu Bajie hadn’t returned, Sha Seng steadied the luggage and tied the white horse, saying, “Master, you wait here; I’ll go urge him to hurry.” Tang Seng nodded silently, tears in his eyes, and Sha Seng hurried off on his cloud toward the South Mountain.
At this moment, Tang Seng, feeling quite miserable, suddenly heard a loud voice. Startled, he leaned out to look and saw Sun Wukong kneeling by the roadside, holding a clay cup with both hands, smiling, and saying, “Master, without me, you wouldn’t even have water to drink! Here’s some cool water; have a sip to quench your thirst, and I’ll go get some food.” Tang Seng immediately waved his hand, saying, “I won’t drink your water! I’d rather die of thirst than take anything from you! Go away!” Sun Wukong was displeased, “Without me, you can’t reach the West!”
Tang Seng became even angrier: “Whether I can go or not has nothing to do with you! You mischievous monkey, don’t bother me again!” Sun Wukong’s expression changed, filled with rage, and he shouted at Tang Seng, “You heartless bald donkey, you’re really despicable!” After saying this, he threw down the clay cup, swung his iron staff, and struck Tang Seng on the back. Tang Seng immediately fainted and couldn’t say a word. Sun Wukong grabbed two green bundles, rode his cloud, and flew away, leaving everyone helpless.
At this moment, Zhu Bajie was running toward the southern slope with the bowl. Suddenly, he noticed a thatched hut in a hollow of the mountain. He thought to himself, “I didn’t see this before; it’s a great place! If I use this ugly mouth to get food, it won’t work! I need to make myself look better!” So, Zhu Bajie performed a spell, muttered an incantation, shook himself seven or eight times, and transformed into a chubby monk with a wasting disease, mumbling as he walked to the door, calling out, “Benefactor, do you have any leftover rice? My master is hungry on the road.”
The woman in the house saw his sickly appearance and felt a bit scared, thinking he might faint at the door. She had no choice but to give him a bowl of leftover rice. Zhu Bajie was delighted to receive the food, but suddenly heard someone calling, “Bajie!” He looked up and saw Sha Seng on the cliff shouting, “Come here! Come here!” Sha Seng climbed down and asked, “Where have you been?” Zhu Bajie smiled and said, “I went over there to get some dry rice!” Sha Seng replied, “We have food now, but Master is very thirsty. Where’s the water?”
Zhu Bajie slapped his forehead, “Water is easy! You hold the food in your robe, and I’ll go fetch water.” The two happily started back, but when they reached the road, they saw Tang Seng lying in the dust, the white horse neighing beside him, and their luggage was gone. Zhu Bajie panicked, thinking, “This must be the work of Sun Wukong’s followers, coming to rob Master and our belongings!” Sha Seng said, “Quick, tie up the horse!” Zhu Bajie, anxious, pounded his chest, “This is terrible! We’ve really hit a dead end!”
He shouted, “Master!” Tears streamed down his face as he cried. Zhu Bajie said, “Brother, don’t cry. Now that things are this way, let’s put aside the journey for scriptures. Looking at Master’s corpse, I’ll sell the horse to buy a coffin and bury him, and we’ll part ways.” Sha Seng felt reluctant, helped Tang Seng up, and gently said, “Poor Master!” At that moment, Tang Seng surprisingly exhaled warm breath and woke up, calling out, “Bajie, you’re here!” Only then did Zhu Bajie approach and help his master up.
After Tang Seng woke up, he scolded, “What a mischievous monkey, actually hitting me!” Sha Seng and Zhu Bajie quickly asked, “Which monkey?” Tang Seng sighed, took a few sips of water, and then said, “You just left, and Wukong came to bother me again. I refused to accept him, and he hit me with a stick and stole my luggage.” Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie gritted his teeth in anger, “That mischievous monkey is truly too rude!” He turned to Sha Seng and said, “You take care of Master here; I’ll go find him and get the luggage back!”
Sha Seng replied, “Don’t be hasty. Let’s first help Master to that house over there, have some hot tea, eat something, and then go look for him.” Zhu Bajie nodded in agreement, helped Tang Seng onto the horse, and took the bowl, heading straight for the house. When they arrived, they found only an old woman inside. Seeing them come, she hurriedly tried to hide. Sha Seng joined his hands in greeting and said, “Old mother, we are from the Tang Dynasty in the East, traveling to the West to obtain scriptures. Our master is unwell, and we’ve come to ask you for some hot tea.”
The old woman replied, “Just now, a monk with a wasting disease claimed to be from the East and went to ask for food. Why are you here again?”
Zhu Bajie couldn’t help but laugh, “Haha, that was me! Because my mouth is big and my ears are long, I was afraid you’d be scared and refuse to give me food, so I transformed myself like that! If you don’t believe me, I have your leftover rice right here in my pocket!” Upon hearing this, the old woman recognized the rice as Zhu Bajie’s and immediately welcomed them in, inviting them to sit down and even boiling some hot tea for Sha Seng to prepare the rice.
Sha Seng soaked the cold rice and handed it to Tang Seng. After eating a few bites, Tang Seng felt a bit steadier and asked, “Who will go get the luggage?”
Zhu Bajie patted his chest, “I’ll go! I was sent back by Master last year, so I know he’s at the Water Curtain Cave on Flower-Fruit Mountain. Wait for me!” Tang Seng shook his head, “You can’t go; Sun Wukong has a grudge against you. You speak rudely, and if you anger him, he might hit you again. Let Wujing go.” Sha Seng nodded, “I’ll go, I’ll go!” Tang Seng reminded him, “When you go, assess the situation. If he’s willing to give you the luggage, pretend to thank him; if he isn’t, don’t argue. Just go to the South Sea and ask the Bodhisattva for help.”
Sha Seng listened and said to Zhu Bajie, “I’m going to find him, but you mustn’t cause any trouble. Just take good care of Master.” Zhu Bajie nodded, “I understand, but you must come back quickly. Don’t let it turn out like last time, leaving us in a worse situation!” Sha Seng performed a spell, rode his cloud, and headed straight for the Eastern Victory Divine Continent. Along the way, he thought, “I wonder when I’ll be back this time; it’s truly unpredictable!”
Sha Seng flew for three days and nights before finally reaching the Eastern Ocean. Hearing the sound of waves, he looked down to see black mist swirling, heavy with ominous energy, and the surface of the sea shimmering coldly. He had no mood to appreciate the scenery and quickly flew toward Flower-Fruit Mountain. After a while, he finally saw the towering peaks and steep cliffs. Sha Seng navigated down the mountain on his cloud and made his way toward the Water Curtain Cave. As he got closer, he heard a commotion inside. It turned out that Sun Wukong was sitting on a stone platform, holding a piece of paper and reading aloud, “The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li, commands…”
Sha Seng couldn’t help but shout, “Elder Brother, why are you reading Master’s decree?” Sun Wukong quickly looked up but didn’t recognize Sha Seng and shouted, “Catch him! Catch him!” The monkeys surrounded Sha Seng and dragged him over. Seeing this, Sha Seng hurriedly bowed and said, “I’m here for Master. He misunderstood you and sent you away. Master is thirsty, so I came to find water. I didn’t expect you to hit him again and steal our luggage. I hope you can forgive him and let us all go to the West to obtain the scriptures together!”
Sun Wukong sneered, “Hmph, I don’t like what you’re saying. I hit Tang Seng and stole the luggage not because I don’t want to go to the West. I have my own way to go to the Buddha and seek scriptures. Who needs him?” Sha Seng became anxious, “Elder Brother, that’s not right. The Buddha sent us to obtain scriptures. Without Tang Seng, who can pass on the teachings to you? Isn’t that a waste of effort?”
Sun Wukong was dismissive, “You’re right, but I have a true monk here whom I can support on my own.” After saying this, he called for the little demons to bring out a fake Tang Seng. Upon seeing this, Sha Seng was filled with rage and raised his demon-slaying staff, ready to strike, “You monkey, dare to impersonate me, Old Sha!” As a result, with one strike, he killed a monkey spirit.
Sun Wukong was furious, raising his golden staff and surrounding Sha Seng with the monkeys. Sha Seng struggled desperately and finally found a way to escape, thinking, “This mischievous monkey is really lazy; I need to go find the Bodhisattva!” He turned around and vanished without a trace. Seeing this, Sun Wukong didn’t pursue him but returned to the cave to instruct the little demons to drag away the dead monkey spirit, skin it, and prepare for a feast. Then, he found another monkey that could transform and turned it into Sha Seng, continuing to plot their journey to the West.
Sha Seng rode his cloud and flew all day, finally arriving at the South Sea. As he leisurely flew along, he suddenly spotted Mount Potalaka ahead and felt a surge of joy. He quickly lowered his cloud to take a good look at this beautiful place. What a wonderful destination! The scenery around was simply breathtaking, with rushing waters and crashing waves, resembling a fairyland. The flying peacocks and colorful parrots were chirping in the trees, making one feel refreshed and uplifted.
As soon as Sha Seng landed, he soon saw the Wood Fork Walker approach him, saying, “Sha Wujing, why aren’t you protecting Tang Seng and have come here instead?” Sha Seng quickly bowed, “I have matters to discuss with the Bodhisattva; could you please introduce me?” The Wood Fork Walker understood that Sha Seng was looking for Sun Wukong and didn’t say much, directly leading him to see the Bodhisattva. Sun Wukong, hearing this from below, couldn’t help but laugh, “Tang Seng must be in trouble; Sha Seng has come to ask the Bodhisattva for help.”
When Sha Seng met the Bodhisattva and was about to speak, Sun Wukong couldn’t wait any longer and suddenly swung his demon-slaying staff directly at the Wood Fork Walker. Sun Wukong dodged to the side, and Sha Seng angrily shouted, “You mischievous monkey, you’re truly incorrigible! You come here to show off in front of the Bodhisattva again!” The Bodhisattva called out, “Wujing, don’t act rashly. If there’s something to discuss, tell me first.” Sha Seng put away his staff and angrily said to the Bodhisattva, “This monkey has caused trouble all along the way. Just a few days ago, he killed two robbers, and Master scolded him. Then he went to a bandit’s lair at night, beat up a group of thieves, and brought back their heads to scare Master, who fell off his horse in fright and sent him away. As a result, he saw that I and Bajie weren’t around, came back, hit Master again, and stole our luggage!”
After Sha Seng vented his grievances, the Bodhisattva shook his head, “Wujing, don’t blame others. Wukong has been here for four days; I haven’t let him go back. Does he really intend to go obtain the scriptures on his own?” Sha Seng became anxious, “But I saw a Sun Wukong in the Water Curtain Cave; how could I not be suspicious?”
The Bodhisattva replied, “In that case, don’t rush. Have Wukong go with you to Flower-Fruit Mountain to take a look. It’s hard to distinguish truth from falsehood; once you get there, it will become clear.” Sun Wukong, hearing this, immediately bid farewell to the Bodhisattva, and the two set off for Flower-Fruit Mountain, preparing to uncover the truth about the Water Curtain Cave. As for what will happen next, we’ll discuss it next time!
