Tang Seng and his disciples opened the net of desire and successfully escaped from the prison of emotions, continuing their journey westward. As time passed, summer gradually came to an end, and the coolness of autumn began to seep in. At this moment, a sudden rain drove away the lingering heat, and a leaf fell from the parasol tree, as if surprised by the change of seasons. Fireflies danced along the sedge paths, while crickets softly sang under the moonlight. The hibiscus flowers bloomed in the dew, and the red smartweed swayed in the wind on the beach. The leaves of the poplar began to fall, and the cicadas chirped in rhythm.
As they traveled, Tripitaka suddenly saw a towering mountain, its peak piercing the blue sky, truly a sight to behold. The elder felt a pang of fear and said to Wukong, "Look at that mountain! It's so high; I wonder if there's a way to get through." Wukong chuckled and replied, "Master, don’t worry! Since ancient times, where there are high mountains, there are roads; where there are deep waters, there are ferrymen. We’ll surely find a way!" Hearing this, the elder felt reassured and urged his horse bravely toward the mountain.
Not long after, they encountered an old man, his hair white and unkempt, leaning on a dragon-headed staff. He called out from a distance, "Elder traveling west, stop your horse! There are demons on this mountain that eat people; you must not proceed!" Tripitaka was taken aback, losing his balance and falling off his horse, groaning in pain on the grass. Wukong hurried forward to help him up, saying, "Don't be afraid; I'm here!"
The elder replied, "Did you hear the old man say there are demons on the mountain that eat people without leaving bones? Who would dare to investigate?" Wukong, full of confidence, said, "You wait here; I’ll go ask him." Tripitaka worriedly said, "You look so ugly and speak so roughly; you might offend him and not get the truth." Wukong laughed heartily, "I'll just change into a handsome figure to ask him!" With that, he began to perform a spell and instantly transformed into a clean little monk, with delicate features and graceful movements, speaking in a refined manner, truly a sight to behold.
Seeing this, Tripitaka couldn't help but smile, "What a transformation!" Pigsy chimed in, "How can it not be good? This little monk is better looking than us; even I can’t compare!" Wukong, feeling proud, walked toward the old man and bowed, saying, "Old sir, I come to seek your guidance." The old man, seeing the handsome young monk, felt a bit pleased and asked with a smile, "Little monk, where do you come from?" Wukong replied, "We are from the Tang dynasty in the East, specifically traveling west to worship Buddha and seek scriptures."
"I just heard you mention that there are monsters on the mountain; my master is timid, so I came to ask what kind of demon dares to cause trouble here!" The old man couldn’t help but laugh, "Little monk, you are still young and don’t know the dangers; that demon has great powers, how could it be easily dealt with?" Wukong immediately retorted, "Your words sound like you are protecting him. Do you have a close relationship with that demon? Otherwise, why wouldn’t you dare to reveal its origins?"
The old man was taken aback by the question and chuckled, nodding, "This monk knows how to speak! It seems you’ve learned quite a bit from traveling with your master." Wukong proudly said, "I have seventy-two transformations; I can change into any appearance!" With that, he wiped his face and instantly transformed back into his true self, holding the Golden Staff, standing under the cliff like a living thunder god. The old man was so frightened that his legs turned to jelly, and he kept retreating.
Wukong comforted him, "Old sir, don’t be afraid; we are here to catch demons. Thank you for your kind reminder just now!" But the old man was still too shocked to speak. Seeing this, Wukong had no choice but to return to Tripitaka. The elder anxiously asked, "Wukong, what did you find out?" Wukong laughed, "It's nothing! That demon is just trying to scare people; don’t worry, I’m here!"
Tripitaka sighed, "Did you ask him what kind of mountain this is, what cave it has, how many demons are there, and the way to Thunder Sound Temple?" Pigsy interjected, "Master, don’t blame me; when it comes to transformations and tricking people, we can’t compare to Wukong; but when it comes to being honest, even I can’t match him." Tripitaka nodded, "That’s true; you are indeed honest." Pigsy continued, "He just asked a couple of questions and ran back; let me go ask for clarity!" Tripitaka sternly said, "Wuneng, you need to be careful."
Pigsy hurriedly stuffed his rake into his waistband, straightened his robe, and awkwardly ran up the hill, calling out to the old man, "Sir, I’m here!" The old man, seeing Wukong return, slowly stood up, still feeling a bit frightened and wanting to leave quickly. But upon seeing Pigsy, he became even more flustered: "Oh dear, what kind of nightmare did I have today to encounter these evil people! The monk in front is ugly, but at least he looks somewhat human; but this monk has a mouth like a mortar, ears like fans, and a face like an iron plate, completely lacking any human presence!"
Pigsy laughed heartily, "Old sir, don’t be unhappy; your description is quite amusing! Even though I’m ugly, I’ll be handsome in a little while!" The old man found some truth in Pigsy's words and asked, "Where do you come from?" Pigsy proudly replied, "I’m the second disciple of Tang Seng, my Dharma name is Wuneng Bajie. That one called Wukong is my senior brother. Master thinks he didn’t get the truth, so he sent me to ask: what mountain is this, what cave is there, are there any demons in the cave, and which way leads to the West?"
The old man nodded, "Can you be honest?" Pigsy said earnestly, "I’ve never dared to lie!" The old man added, "Don’t speak nonsense like that previous monk." Pigsy immediately assured him, "I’m not like him!"
The old man, leaning on his staff, told Pigsy, "This mountain is called the Eight Hundred Li Lion Camel Ridge, and there’s a Lion Camel Cave in the middle, where three demon heads reside." Upon hearing this, Pigsy spat, "You’re too paranoid, old man! Three demons, do I need to worry about that?" The old man asked, "Aren’t you afraid?" Pigsy nonchalantly replied, "To be honest, my senior brother can smash one with his staff, I can smash one with my rake, and my junior brother can take one out with his demon-subduing staff. Once we’ve taken care of all three, Master can pass through without any trouble!"
The old man couldn’t help but laugh, "This monk really doesn’t know the dangers! Those three demon heads are not easy to deal with! They have many little demons under them: five thousand in the southern ridge, five thousand in the northern ridge, ten thousand at the eastern entrance, and ten thousand at the western entrance. There are four to five thousand patrolling, and another ten thousand guarding the gates, with countless others gathering firewood and doing chores, totaling around forty-seven to eighty thousand, all of whom are here to eat people!"
Hearing this, Pigsy was so scared that he immediately turned around and ran back to Tripitaka, not saying a word and dropping his rake to relieve himself. Wukong saw this and shouted angrily, "Why aren’t you responding? Why are you squatting there?" Pigsy, looking panicked, said, "I’m so scared I need to go! Let’s hurry and save ourselves!" Wukong shook his head, "You fool! I asked without panic, and you’re the one who’s lost your mind asking!"
Tripitaka asked, "What happened?" Pigsy stammered, "The old man said this is the Eight Hundred Li Lion Camel Mountain, with a Lion Camel Cave in the middle, where there are three old demons and forty-eight thousand little demons that eat people. If we get close, we’ll probably be eaten!"
Tripitaka felt a chill down his spine and asked Wukong, "What should we do?" Wukong smiled reassuringly, "Master, don’t worry; this is nothing serious. There are just a few demons here; everyone is exaggerating out of fear. As long as I’m here, we’ll be fine!" But Pigsy was not pleased, "Brother, you make it sound easy, but I’m talking about the reality—there are demons all over the mountain. How can we move forward?"
Wukong dismissed him, "Don’t be alarmed! If there really are that many demons, I can beat them all to pieces with just one stick!" Pigsy retorted, "Don’t boast! Those demons take seven or eight days to gather; how could we resolve this so quickly?" Wukong laughed, "How would I deal with them? I don’t need to catch or bind them; I can just stretch my stick long and thick, roll it south, and kill five thousand; roll it north, and kill another five thousand; roll it from east to west, and I bet forty to fifty thousand demons will turn into mush!"
Pigsy exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, if that’s the case, we could solve this before midnight!" Sandy chimed in, "Master, with our senior brother here, what’s there to fear? Let’s get on our horses and go!" Tripitaka saw them discussing enthusiastically and, feeling helpless, could only comfort himself and get back on his horse to continue onward.
Just as they were traveling, Sandy suddenly said, "Look, that old man is a monster, deliberately trying to scare us!" Wukong shook his head, "Don’t rush; let me go take a look!" With that, he leaped up and jumped to the high peak, looking around. He soon spotted some colorful clouds shimmering in the air and quickly flew over to check; it turned out to be the Venus Star! He grabbed the star and shouted, "Li Changgeng! Li Changgeng! You lazy fellow, why didn’t you just talk to me directly instead of pretending to be an old mountain monster?"
Venus looked flustered, "Great Sage, I’m late to deliver the message; please don’t hold it against me! That demon leader really has great powers; if you’re not careful, it’ll be hard to get through!" Wukong thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you! It really is difficult to pass here; please go to heaven and tell the Jade Emperor to send some heavenly soldiers to help me!" Venus nodded, "No problem, as long as you send a message, a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers can arrive!"
After bidding farewell to Venus, Wukong returned to Tripitaka, "That old man was actually the Venus Star, here to deliver a message." Tripitaka clasped his hands and said, "Quickly chase after him and ask if there’s another way we can take." Wukong shook his head, "This mountain is eight hundred li long; I don’t know how many paths are around it. How could we turn back?" Hearing this, Tripitaka was almost in tears, "Disciple, with it being this difficult, how can we go worship Buddha?"
Wukong comforted him, "Don’t cry; it won’t help! What he said must have some exaggeration; he mainly wants us to be cautious. You should dismount and sit down." Pigsy asked, "What’s the plan?" Wukong smiled, "There’s no special plan; you stay here to watch over Master, and Sandy will guard the luggage. I’ll go up the mountain to investigate how many demons there are, catch one and ask clearly, make him write a list, and identify them all. Then I’ll have him close the door and not block our way, and we can pass quietly; that’s how I’ll show my skills!"
Sandy reminded him, "Be careful!" Wukong laughed, "Don’t worry, when I go, I can open the Eastern Ocean and break down the Iron Mountain!"
With that, Wukong whistled and leaped up to the high peak, looking around. The mountain was silent. Suddenly, he exclaimed, "Oh no! Letting Venus go was a mistake; he’s trying to scare me—there are no demons here! He must be playing tricks!" Just then, he heard a jingling sound coming from behind the mountain. Turning around, he saw a little demon holding a flag with the character "令" on it, with bells hanging from his waist, banging a clapper as he walked from north to south.
Wukong chuckled to himself, "This little demon must be a small soldier, probably here to deliver a document. Let me listen to what he’s saying." So, Wukong chanted a spell, transformed into a fly, and lightly flew onto the little demon's hat, listening intently. The little demon walked while banging the clapper, muttering, "We’re looking for the mountain; everyone be careful of Sun Wukong; he can turn into a fly!"
Wukong was taken aback, "This little demon actually knows my name and that I can turn into a fly!" In reality, the little demon had never seen him; he was just repeating what the demon leader had instructed him to say, purely rumor. Wukong thought, "If it really comes to a fight, this little demon might not be a big deal, but those three old demon heads are not easy to deal with. I should ask him first."
Great Sage! How do you think Wukong would ask? He jumped off the little demon's hat and pinned himself to a tree, then let the little demon walk a few steps ahead. He quickly turned around and transformed into a little demon himself, banging the clapper, shaking the bells, and holding up the flag. Although his clothes were similar to the little demon’s, they were slightly longer. Wukong walked while chanting, "Hey, you there, wait for me!"
The little demon turned around and asked, "Where are you from?" Wukong smiled and said, "Good fellow! You don’t even recognize family!" The little demon immediately retorted, "My family doesn’t have you!" Wukong feigned innocence, "How could that be? Just take a look." The little demon shook his head, "I don’t recognize you!" Wukong pretended to be helpless, "But I’m the one who tends the fire; how could you not know?" The little demon shook his head even more, "No! None of the fire tenders in my cave look like you."
Wukong thought to himself, "This little demon sure knows how to talk!" So he lowered his head and rubbed his mouth, saying, "My mouth isn’t sharp." As a result, it really became less sharp. The little demon, puzzled, said, "You had a sharp mouth just now; how did rubbing it make it less sharp? This is hard to recognize! My king has strict rules: those who tend the fire just tend the fire, and those who patrol the mountain just patrol the mountain. How can you do both?"
Seeing this, Wukong seized the opportunity to explain, "You don’t know, the king thinks I’m good at tending the fire, so he let me patrol the mountain." The little demon nodded, "That’s fine! We have forty in our patrol team, a total of four hundred across ten teams, and everyone has a title. The king is afraid we’ll get mixed up, so everyone has their own badge. Do you have a badge?"
Wukong felt a tightness in his chest upon hearing this, "Of course I have! It’s just a new badge I received." The little demon didn’t suspect him and quickly lifted his shirt, revealing a golden badge hanging from a cord, showing it to Wukong. Wukong looked at it and thought, "This little demon is really naive!" So he took the chance to say, "You put your shirt down; let me take a look at the badge."
The little demon did as told, and Wukong seized the opportunity to pluck a small hair from himself, chanting "Transform!" It turned into a golden badge, hung on a green cord, with the words "General Wind" written on it. He handed it to the little demon, who was shocked, "We all call ourselves Little Wind; why are you called General Wind?"
Wukong beamed with pride, "Didn’t you know? The king thinks I’m good at tending the fire, so he promoted me to patrol the wind and gave me a new badge called General Wind, responsible for managing your forty brothers!" The little demon hurriedly bowed, "Officer, officer, I’m new here, so I really don’t recognize you; please don’t blame me!"
Wukong laughed, "Whether I blame you or not doesn’t matter, but there’s one thing: you need to pay the greeting fee, five taels each!" The little demon, startled, said, "Officer, don’t worry, I’ll go find my brothers at Nanking; I have to settle them." Wukong nodded, "Alright, I’ll go with you." The little demon immediately moved ahead, with Wukong closely following behind.
Not far away, a peak suddenly appeared. You might ask why it’s called a Pen Peak? Because the top of the mountain looks like a pen, standing straight up like it’s stuck in a holder, about four to five zhang high. Wukong looked at it and felt delighted, jumping up to sit on the peak, shouting, "Little Wind! Come over here!"
The little winds below bowed, "Officer, at your service!" Wukong smiled and asked, "Do you know why the king called me here?" The little demons all shook their heads in unison, "No, we don’t know." Wukong continued, "The king wants to eat Tang Seng, but he’s afraid I, Sun Wukong, have great powers and might transform into a little wind to gather information, so he sent me to check if your team has any fakes."
The little winds responded, "Officer, we’re all genuine!" Wukong widened his eyes, "Since you’re real, do you know what abilities the king has?" The little demons were taken aback and quickly said, "I know!" Wukong felt intrigued, "Quickly tell me; if you’re right, it’ll be true. If you’re wrong, I’ll take you to see the king!"
Seeing Wukong sitting so high, the little winds felt a bit anxious and had to honestly say, "Our king has great powers; he can swallow a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers in one bite!" Wukong immediately shouted, "You’re lying!" The little demon panicked, "Officer, I’m telling the truth; how can you say I’m lying?" Wukong sneered, "You say the king can swallow a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers; how big can he be?"
The little demon panicked, "Officer, you don’t understand! My king can transform; he can be big or small. One year, during the Peach Banquet hosted by the Queen Mother, he didn’t receive an invitation and wanted to fight for heaven. As a result, the Jade Emperor sent a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to subdue him. The king transformed, opened his mouth wide like a city gate, and swallowed them all clean, scaring the heavenly soldiers so much that they didn’t dare to act!" Wukong secretly chuckled, "I could say that too!"
Then he asked, "What about the second king? What abilities does he have?" The little wind replied, "The second king is three zhang tall, with beautiful eyebrows and phoenix eyes, his voice like a beauty’s. His nose can ensnare people; he can make iron backs and copper bodies disappear with just a twist!" Wukong thought, "This nose-snatching demon doesn’t seem too hard to deal with."
He continued, "What about the third king?" The little demon said, "The third king is named Cloud Journey Across Ten Thousand Miles; he moves like the wind and carries a Yin-Yang bottle that can trap people inside, turning them into liquid in just a quarter of an hour!" Wukong was startled, "This demon isn’t to be underestimated, but I need to be cautious of that bottle."
Wukong pressed on, "You’ve described these three kings quite well, but why does the king want to eat Tang Seng?" The little demon looked innocent, "Officer, don’t you know?" Wukong snapped, "I know even less than you! I’m here to interrogate you!"
The little wind quickly explained, "Our king and the second king live in the Lion Camel Cave on Lion Camel Ridge, while the third king resides in the Lion Camel Kingdom, four hundred li away. Five hundred years ago, he ate the city’s king and officials, leaving the men and women of the entire city completely devoured. Later, he heard that Tang Seng is a good person who practices cultivation, so he wants to eat a piece of his flesh to prolong his life, which is why he joined us to capture him!"
Upon hearing this, Wukong was furious: "This wicked demon is too rude! I’m protecting Tang Seng to achieve his goal, and he actually wants to eat my person!" He gritted his teeth, pulled out his iron staff, jumped down from the peak, and smashed it down hard on the little demon’s head, turning the little demon into a meatball. However, seeing this scene, Wukong couldn’t help but feel soft-hearted: "Oh dear, he was just trying to chat with me out of goodwill; how could I be so ruthless? But it’s for my master, so there’s no choice."
Thus, Wukong removed the little demon’s badge and hung it on his waist, draped the "令" flag on his back, attached bells to his waist, and banged a clapper in his hand. He made a gesture against the wind, chanted a spell, and transformed into the appearance of a little wind. He thought to himself, "This time, I need to investigate the true strengths of those three old demons and see what abilities they really have."
As he walked, he suddenly heard distant shouts and the sounds of horses neighing. Looking over, he saw thousands of little demons lined up at the entrance of the Lion Camel Cave, each holding guns, knives, swords, and halberds, with flags fluttering. Wukong felt secretly pleased: "Li Changgeng was right! This is a great opportunity!"
The formation of these little demons was impressive, with two hundred and fifty in each team, and forty colorful long flags dancing wildly in the wind. Wukong pondered, "If I transform into a little wind and the old demon asks me about patrolling the mountain, I need to adapt on the spot. But if I say something wrong and expose my identity, I definitely won’t be able to escape; those demons will block me." Thinking of this, he felt smug: "I can use my title to scare them. Perhaps the monks from the Middle Kingdom have some fate and can retrieve the true scriptures; with just a few heroic words, I might scare these little demons away."
So, Wukong banged the clapper, shook the bells, and boldly approached the entrance of the Lion Camel Cave. The little demons in front immediately blocked him, asking, "Is Little Wind here?" Wukong kept his head down and ignored them, continuing to walk inside. When he reached the second-level camp, he was stopped again by the little demons, who asked, "Is Little Wind here?" Wukong replied, "Yes." The little demons hurriedly asked, "Did you see Sun Wukong while patrolling this morning?" Wukong feigned mystery, "I did; he’s busy sharpening his staff!"
When the little demons heard this, they were terrified: "What does he look like? What staff is he sharpening?" Wukong pretended to be mysterious, "He’s squatting by the ravine, like a road god; if he stands up, he’s over ten zhang tall, holding an iron staff as thick as a bowl, sharpening it on the cliff while muttering, ‘If I don’t show my powers this time, I’ll wait until I kill those three demons to offer you a sacrifice!’"
Upon hearing this, the little demons were all frightened. Seizing the opportunity, Wukong added, "That Tang Seng’s flesh isn’t much; there won’t be enough for me. It’s better for everyone to scatter!" The little demons nodded in agreement, "That’s right, let’s go save ourselves!" These little demons, like wolves, tigers, and leopards, immediately dispersed at once, not leaving a trace behind.
Wukong secretly rejoiced, "Haha, the old demons must be scared to death! Now it’ll be easier for me to get in." However, he also understood that what would happen when he met the old demon inside was something to be discussed later.
