The Great Sage Sun Wukong was stuck in the belly of the old demon for a while, and eventually, the demon collapsed on the ground, not moving at all. At first glance, one might really think he was dead. However, it wasn't long before he regained his senses and shouted, “Great Compassionate Bodhisattva, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!” Hearing this, Wukong teased, “Son, don’t waste time with fancy words; just call me Grandpa Sun!” The old demon felt a pang of fear and quickly exclaimed, “Grandpa! Grandpa! It’s all my fault for swallowing you in a moment of carelessness, and now I’ve harmed myself. Please, Great Sage, spare my life, and I’ll carry your master over the mountain!”
Although the Great Sage was a hero, he cared deeply for Tang Seng. Seeing the old demon pleading so earnestly, he felt a twinge of compassion and asked, “Demon, if I spare you, how will you carry my master?” The old demon replied, “I don’t have any gold or jewels here, but my brothers and I can carry a fragrant rattan sedan chair to take your master over.” Upon hearing this, Wukong burst into laughter, “If you’re just going to carry a chair, I might as well get some treasure instead! Open your mouth, and I’ll come out.”
The old demon indeed opened his mouth, and the third demon quietly said to him, “Big Brother, when he comes out, bite him and crush the monkey, then swallow him. That way, he won’t be able to harm you anymore.” But Wukong heard everything clearly inside and didn’t rush to come out. Instead, he first extended his golden staff to test the waters. The demon bit down, shattering his front teeth. Wukong pulled back his staff and angrily said, “Good demon! I was going to spare your life, but you tried to bite me! I won’t come out now; I’ll just let you die of anger!”
The old demon was displeased and complained, “Brother, you’re harming your own kind! Just get him out; why make me bite him? He didn’t bite me, but now my gums hurt!” The third demon, seeing the old demon angry, began to provoke Wukong: “Sun Wukong, your name is thunderous; I heard you displayed your might outside the Southern Heavenly Gate, and now you’re hiding here like a little monkey!” Wukong, feeling indignant, retorted, “Why am I a little monkey?”
The three demons continued to provoke him: “A great hero travels thousands of miles, how can you be hiding in someone’s belly? If you come out and fight me, that would show true skill!” Wukong thought to himself, “If I pull out his intestines and kill this demon, it would be too easy, but it would ruin my reputation! Forget it! If you open your mouth, I’ll come out and compete with you, but this entrance is too small to exert my strength; I need a wider space.” Hearing this, the three demons immediately called for the little demons to prepare for Wukong’s exit, with the second demon supporting the old demon, yelling outside, “Sun Wukong! Hero, come out quickly! There’s a battlefield here; let’s have a good fight!”
Inside the old demon’s belly, Wukong heard the sounds of birds and the wind outside, realizing it was a spacious area. He thought, “If I don’t go out, I’ll break my promise; but if I do, this demon is truly treacherous. He said he would carry my master, but now he’s bringing troops to deal with me. I need a plan that works for both sides: I’ll go out, but I’ll leave a tether inside him.” So, he pulled out a hair, blew it with some magical breath, and transformed it into a rope, about the thickness of a hair but forty yards long.
Once the rope was out, it grew thicker with the wind. He tied one end to the old demon’s heart and made a live knot. This knot wouldn’t tighten unless pulled, causing pain when tugged. Wukong thought, “If he carries my master, that’s good; if not, and he resorts to violence, I won’t have time to fight him. I just need to pull this rope, and it’ll be like I’m still in his belly!” Next, Wukong shrank his body and crawled out, reaching the old demon’s throat. He saw the demon with his mouth wide open, teeth sharp as blades. He felt a pang of anxiety: “Oh no! If I pull the rope out through his mouth, he might bite me. I need to find a spot without teeth.”
So, Wukong crawled from the roof of the demon’s mouth to his nostrils. The old demon’s nose itched, and he sneezed, causing Wukong to fly out. As he felt the wind, he bent his waist and instantly grew three yards taller, holding the rope in his left hand and his iron staff in his right. Seeing this, the old demon raised his knife to strike, but Wukong met him with his staff. The second demon charged with a spear, and the third with a halberd, all rushing in chaos. Wukong, seeing this, loosened the rope, put away his staff, and hurriedly flew away on a cloud, thinking to himself that dealing with these little demons was quite troublesome.
He jumped out of the camp and landed on a spacious mountaintop. With a strong tug, the old demon felt a sharp pain in his heart. Struggling to escape, Wukong pulled again, and the little demons shouted from a distance in unison, “Great King, don’t provoke him! Let him go! This monkey isn’t following the seasonal customs; it’s not even the Qingming Festival yet, and he’s flying a kite!”
Hearing this, Wukong kicked with all his might, causing the old demon to fall from the sky like a spinning top, landing in the ground and creating a two-foot-deep pit. The second and third demons saw this and quickly knelt at the slope, begging for mercy: “Great Sage, you are truly magnanimous! Who knew you would tie a rope to my brother’s heart!” Wukong laughed, “You demons are so rude! You tricked me into coming out to bite me, and now you want me to fight you! With tens of thousands of your demon soldiers against me alone, it’s utterly unreasonable! I want to see my master!”
All the demons bowed their heads and pleaded for mercy: “Great Sage, have mercy and spare our lives! We’re willing to carry your master over the mountain!” Wukong replied with a smile, “If you want to save your lives, then cut the rope!” The old demon panicked: “Grandpa, if you cut the outside, the inside is still tied to my heart, and my throat is uncomfortable. What should I do?”
Wukong said, “Then open your mouth, and I’ll go back in to untie the rope.” The old demon became anxious: “If I let you in again, you might not come out! That’s too difficult!” Wukong reassured him, “I have the ability to untie the rope from the outside. If I untie it, will you really carry my master?” The old demon replied, “As long as you untie it, I’ll carry him; I wouldn’t dare to lie.” Hearing this, Wukong retracted the hair, and the old demon’s heart no longer hurt. The three demons cheered, “Great Sage, please return! We’ll bring the sedan chair to carry you right away!”
Wukong collected the rope and hurriedly turned towards Shandong. From a distance, he saw Tang Seng crying on the ground, while Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng were sorting their luggage. Wukong sighed, “It must be Bajie who told the master that I was eaten by a demon; the master is heartbroken over me, while that fool is here dividing up the things.” He thought to himself, “I should call out to him and see.” So he descended from the cloud and called, “Master!”
Sha Seng heard this and angrily rebuked Bajie: “You troublemaker! Brother is not dead, yet you say he is! You’re really doing bad things!” Bajie replied, aggrieved, “I clearly saw him being swallowed by a demon! I thought it was a bad omen, and that monkey’s spirit came back!”
Wukong approached and grabbed Bajie’s face, slapping him: “You fool! What spirit am I showing?” Bajie, surprised, said, “Brother, you were really eaten by a monster! How are you alive again?” Wukong answered, “How could someone as useless as you think that? If I was eaten, I’d pull out its intestines, squeeze its lungs, and tug on the rope until it couldn’t stand the pain, before finally sparing its life. Now they’re here to carry you over the mountain!”
Tang Seng, hearing this, quickly got up and bowed to Wukong: “Disciple, you’ve truly worked hard! If it weren’t for Wuneng, I would have given up hope long ago!” Wukong angrily hit Bajie: “This lazy bum is truly useless! Master, don’t be angry; the monster is coming to carry you!”
Sha Seng also felt ashamed and quickly packed the luggage, preparing to set off.
The three demons returned to their cave with a group of little demons. The second demon, looking dissatisfied, said, “Brother, I thought this Sun Wukong was a great demon with nine heads and eight tails, but he turned out to be just a little monkey! You really shouldn’t have swallowed him; when fighting him, he couldn’t even match us! With the tens of thousands of demons in the cave, a mere spit could drown him. You swallowed him, and he started to show his strength, making you suffer. How could you compare to him? Saying he would carry Tang Seng was completely insincere; he only tricked you into coming out to save his own life!”
The old demon, hearing this, asked, “Then what do you think the reason for not carrying him is?” The second demon smugly said, “With you and me plus three thousand little demons, we can set up a formation and I can definitely catch that monkey!” The old demon immediately nodded: “Well said! As long as you can catch him, everyone will share the credit!” So, the second demon gathered three thousand little demons and quickly set up a formation by the roadside, sending a blue flag bearer to shout, “Sun Wukong! Come out and battle with me, the second Great King!”
At this moment, Zhu Bajie heard and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Brother, there's a saying that lies can't fool the locals. You guys are just playing tricks! How can you say you subdued the demon and will carry Master, and then call for battle? What’s going on?" Upon hearing this, Wukong understood: "The old monster has been subdued by me and doesn’t dare to show his face; he gets scared at the mention of 'Sun.' This must be the second demon not wanting to let us go, so he’s calling for battle. I think, the demons have three brothers, so they have loyalty; my brothers are also three, so don’t we have loyalty too? I’ve subdued the big demon, and if the second demon comes out, it wouldn’t hurt to fight him."
Bajie, hearing this, immediately became eager: "What’s there to be afraid of! I’ll go fight him!" Wukong nodded, "Then go ahead." Bajie excitedly said, "Brother, lend me that rope!" Wukong asked, "What do you need the rope for? You can’t even get inside his belly, and you can't tie his heart; what’s the use of it?" Bajie replied, "I want to tie it around my waist as a lifeline. You and Sha Seng can pull me back if I need it. If I win, you can loosen it, and I can catch him; if I lose, you quickly pull me back and don’t let him catch me."
Wukong secretly laughed, "This guy is really amusing!" So he tied the rope around Bajie's waist and pushed him into battle.
Bajie raised his rake and ran up the cliff, shouting, "Demon, come out! I want to fight you, the ancestor of pigs!" The blue flag bearer quickly reported, "Great King, a long-nosed, big-eared monk is coming." The second demon saw this and didn’t say a word, directly lunging with his spear. Bajie immediately charged in to meet him, and the two fought fiercely. After seven or eight exchanges, Bajie couldn’t hold on anymore and urgently called back, "Brother, it’s bad! Quick, pull the lifeline! Pull the lifeline!"
Upon hearing this, the Great Sage immediately loosened the rope, preparing to throw it out. But after Bajie lost, he knelt down. Initially, when the rope was dragging him along, he didn’t feel anything; but when he turned and loosened it, he tripped over it, falling flat on his back and landing face-first. The demon caught up with him, grabbed his nose, and pulled him back into the cave triumphantly.
At this moment, Tang Seng saw this scene from the slope and angrily shouted, "Wukong, no wonder Wuneng cursed you to death! It turns out your brother doesn’t care for you at all and is filled with jealousy! He told you to pull the lifeline, but why didn’t you pull it? Instead, you let it go? Now he’s been caught; what are we going to do?"
Wukong laughed, "Master, you’re being too biased! You didn’t care when I had the rope; it’s all just a matter of life and death. Now that this fool has been caught, you blame me. Let him suffer a bit; it’ll help him understand the difficulty of the journey for the scriptures." Tang Seng became anxious: "Disciple, how could I not worry? I thought you could transform and wouldn’t get hurt. But Bajie, that guy, can’t even jump; going like this is risky for him. You should go save him!"
Wukong helplessly said, "Master, don’t be angry; I’ll go save him right now." After saying that, he hurried up the mountain, thinking to himself, "This fool actually cursed me to death; let’s see how he suffers before I save him!" So, he chanted a spell, transformed into a small cockroach, and flew to Bajie’s ear, following the demons back into the cave.
The second demon, along with three thousand little demons, swaggered to the cave entrance, dragging Bajie inside. The old demon asked, "What did you catch?" The second demon loosened Bajie’s nose and said triumphantly, "Isn’t this it?" The old demon looked at him and shook his head: "This guy is useless!"
As Bajie listened to the demons’ conversation in the water, he quickly said, "Great King, let go of the useless ones and catch those that are useful!" The third demon nodded in agreement: "Although he’s useless, he is still Tang Seng’s disciple, Zhu Bajie. Tie him up and throw him in the back pond to soak; once the hair has soaked away, we can cut him open, salt him, and dry him for a nice drink!" Bajie was shocked and exclaimed, "Oh no! Isn’t this running into a demon that sells pickled meat?" The demons all got to work, tying Bajie up tightly, and when they reached the pond, they pushed him in with a splash.
At this moment, the Great Sage flew up and saw Bajie floating with his limbs in the air, gasping for breath, half-submerged in the water. It was truly amusing, like a black lotus pod. The Great Sage felt a mix of hatred and pity in his heart, murmuring to himself, "This kid also mixed in at the Dragon Flower Conference, but he always causes trouble and makes Master chant spells. A few days ago, I heard Sha Seng say he saved up some private stash; I wonder if he really has it. Let me scare him a bit." So, the Great Sage flew close to Bajie's ear and pretended to call out in a pinched voice, "Zhu Wuneng! Zhu Wuneng!"
Bajie panicked upon hearing this: "What bad luck! This name was given to me by Avalokiteshvara. Ever since I followed Tang Seng, everyone calls me Bajie; how does someone know I'm called Wuneng?" He couldn't help but ask, "Who is calling me?" The Great Sage laughed and replied, "It's me." Bajie hurriedly asked, "Who are you?" The Great Sage answered, "I am the one sent to collect you." Bajie was shocked: "Officer, where are you from?" The Great Sage said, "I’m sent by the King of the Underworld to collect you." Bajie quickly pleaded, "Officer, please tell the King of the Underworld that I have a good relationship with my brother, Sun Wukong. Ask him to let me live one more day, and I’ll come with you tomorrow!"
The Great Sage couldn’t help but laugh: "Nonsense! The King of the Underworld has decreed that you die at midnight; who dares to keep you until dawn? Hurry up and come with me, or you’ll be tied up!" Bajie grew anxious: "Officer, look at me like this; it’s hard to even want to live. Death is certain, and I’m just waiting for a day. That demon even captured my Master; we’ll all meet our end together."
The Great Sage secretly laughed, "Alright, I have thirty people here. Even if I delay a day to take you, it doesn’t matter. Do you have any money? Give me some." Bajie sighed, "How pitiful! Where does a monk get money?" The Great Sage insisted, "If you don’t have money, I’ll take you away! Come with me!" Bajie panicked: "Officer, don’t take me! I know that rope is the lifeline rope; once it’s tied, I’ll be done for. Wait, I have a little money, just not much." The Great Sage eagerly asked, "Where is it? Hurry and get it out!" Bajie said, "It’s pitiful! I’ve become a monk, and the believers give me food. I saved up some small change, but a few days ago, I ran into a silversmith in the city who stole a bit from me, leaving me with just four coins and six pieces. You can take it."
The Great Sage couldn’t help but laugh: "This guy doesn’t even have pants on; where does he hide his money?" Bajie hurriedly replied, "It’s tucked in my left ear! I can’t reach it because I’m tied up; you go get it." Upon hearing this, the Great Sage reached into Bajie's ear and indeed pulled out a piece of silver, worth about four coins and five or six pieces, and couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Bajie, in the water, angrily cursed: "Damn you, Bi Ma Wen! Coming here to swindle me while I’m suffering!" The Great Sage laughed: "You, this guy, old Sun protects Master and has suffered so much, yet you’re saving up your private stash!"
Bajie grew anxious: "This isn’t a private stash! It’s all from scraping my teeth; I didn’t want to spend it on food and saved it to buy cloth for clothes, and yet you come to scare me!" The Great Sage laughed: "Not a single cent will I give you!" Bajie angrily shouted: "I’ll give you money for my life; hurry and save me!" The Great Sage said, "Don’t worry, I’ll save you." After saying this, he hid the silver, revealed his form, seized Bajie with his iron staff, and pulled him up, untieing the ropes.
Bajie jumped up, took off his clothes, shook them out, and water splashed everywhere, drenching him. Excitedly, he said, "Brother, let’s take the back door!" The Great Sage shook his head: "We can’t go out the back door; we have to fight our way out the front!" Bajie complained, "My legs are numb; I can’t run." The Great Sage urged, "Hurry up and follow me!"
As for the Great Sage, he didn’t waste any time; he threw away the iron staff and charged out directly. Bajie, enduring the numbness, followed him. He saw his rake leaning against the door and quickly pushed aside the little demons to grab it, fighting fiercely. As a result, the little demons were sent flying in all directions. The old demon heard the commotion and quickly said to the second demon, "Quick, look! Sun Wukong has rescued Zhu Bajie, and the little demons at the door are all injured!" Upon hearing this, the second demon was furious, grabbed his spear, and rushed out, shouting, "You insolent monkey! How dare you be so rude!"
The Great Sage heard this and stopped, but the second demon didn’t wait for an explanation and lunged at him. Wukong wasn’t afraid; he brandished his iron staff and met him head-on. Thus, the grand battle began:
The old yellow-toothed elephant transformed into human form and became brothers with the Lion King, preparing to deal with Tang Seng together. The Great Sage, with his immense powers, was determined to eradicate the evil demons. Poor Bajie fell victim to their schemes, prompting Wukong to step in and save him. Seeing this, the demon king displayed his bravery, and a fierce battle ensued with spears and rods, neither side willing to back down. The spear darted like a python through the forest, while the staff swung like a dragon emerging from the sea; the scene was truly lively.
Bajie watched from the side, thinking, "Here I am, not helping with my rake; I must be really foolish!" As he observed Wukong and the demon fiercely battling, he thought, "This demon is really unlucky, capturing this clumsy pig while not even managing to tie up Wukong's hands." Wukong sensed that the demon was trying to pull a trick and crossed his hands with the golden staff, but the demon managed to wrap around his waist.
At that moment, Bajie suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought, "If Wukong could poke the demon in the nostrils with his staff, it would surely hurt!" So, Wukong followed through and jabbed the staff into the demon's nostril. The demon screamed in pain, twisting its nose, giving Wukong the chance to pull it closer.
Only then did Bajie dare to step forward and strike the demon with his rake. Wukong grew anxious: "This isn’t good! That rake is sharp; if it breaks the skin, Master will scold us for harming living beings!" Thus, Bajie had to switch to using the rake's handle, taking slow steps and hitting gently, while Wukong led the demon by the nose, almost like guiding two elephants.
Meanwhile, Tang Seng waited at the bottom of the slope and, seeing the two of them coming, hurriedly called out, "Wujing, look at what Wukong is leading!" Sha Seng looked and laughed, saying, "Master, the eldest brother is pulling the demon by the nose; he’s really quite ruthless!"
Tang Seng quickly said, "Good! Such a large demon with such a long nose! Quickly ask him; if he’s willing to take us over the mountain, spare his life and don’t harm him!" Sha Seng immediately approached and shouted loudly, "Master says, if you’re willing to take us over the mountain, we won’t harm your life!"
Upon hearing this, the demon quickly knelt down, mumbling in response. It turned out that it was being yanked by Wukong by the nose, feeling as if it were severely injured, and cried out, "Lord Tang, if you spare my life, I’ll carry you across!" Wukong coldly laughed, "We are all kind-hearted people; since you’re willing, hurry and bring the sedan chair! If you change your mind, there will be no mercy!"
The demon, having gained its freedom, kowtowed and left. Wukong and Bajie quickly recounted the events to Tang Seng. Bajie felt so ashamed, hanging his clothes out to dry at the slope, thinking to himself how embarrassing it was!
Meanwhile, the second demon returned to the cave, trembling with fear. Before he could settle in, a little demon rushed in to report to the old demon and the third demon that the second demon had been dragged away by Wukong by the nose. Upon hearing this, the old demon’s heart raced, and he hurriedly went out to greet him. When they saw the second demon return, everyone crowded around to ask, "How did you get back?"
The second demon recounted Tang Seng's compassionate words, and the other demons exchanged glances, not daring to speak. The second demon asked, "Brother, can we take Tang Seng over?" The old demon replied, "Your words are quite interesting. Sun Wukong is a righteous monkey; if he truly wanted to kill me, he would have a thousand ways to do so. Now he’s only holding your nose; he didn’t tear you apart, showing he’s still afraid." Thus, the old demon quickly arranged for taking Tang Seng over.
The third demon laughed and said, "Let’s send him! Let’s send him!" The old demon replied, "You sound like a miser. If you don’t want to go, I and the second demon will go!" The third demon continued laughing, "Brothers, if Tang Seng doesn’t want us to send him, that’s his fate; if he does want us to send him, then I’ll use a strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain." The old demon quickly asked, "Luring the tiger away? What’s that?"
The third demon explained, "We’ll gather all the demons in the cave, select sixteen or thirty to send Tang Seng." The old demon was puzzled: "What’s the difference between sixteen and thirty?" The third demon clarified, "Thirty are those who can cook, preparing good food for Tang Seng; sixteen are those who carry the sedan and fetch water, taking him partway. Once we reach the city edge, the master and disciple can’t look back; catching Tang Seng will rely on these sixteen demons!"
The old demon was delighted upon hearing this, quickly instructing the demons to prepare, first selecting thirty, then sixteen to carry the sedan, and then ordered everyone, "Don’t wander around the mountain! Sun Wukong is not easy to deal with; if he sees you coming and going, he will definitely become suspicious!"
So, the old monster led the other demons and shouted by the roadside, “Master Tang, today we won’t offend the red sand, please cross the mountain early!” Tang Seng heard this and asked, “Wukong, who is calling me?” The Monkey King pointed over there and said, “Those are the monsters that old Sun subdued, coming to send you off!”
Tang Seng clasped his hands together toward the sky and said, “Well said! If it weren’t for my virtuous disciples, how could I proceed smoothly?” He directly bowed to the demons, thanking them for their kindness. The demons hurriedly bowed their heads and said, “Please, Master, get into the sedan!” Tang Seng was completely unaware that this was a trap, so he ordered Zhu Bajie to put the bags on the horse, with Sha Seng following closely behind, while the Monkey King cleared the way with his iron rod. The eight demons lifted the sedan and shouted in unison, and Tang Seng happily sat in the sedan, moving forward along the main road.
However, amidst this joy, trouble quietly approached. The scriptures say well, “When the extreme is reached, the opposite arises; when fate encounters the true Tai Sui, it is the time of the mourning star.” Those demons worked together diligently, serving attentively, asking Tang Seng to rest every thirty or fifty miles, preparing lavish meals for him.
Just as they were nearing their destination, Tang Seng suddenly noticed the city was right in front of him. The Great Sage raised his iron rod, only a mile away from the sedan, but was startled by the atmosphere in the city. What kind of monsters were in that city? Wolf spirits, striped tigers, white-faced fierce beasts, and clever foxes—it was simply a gathering place for demons.
Just as the Great Sage was in a panic, a sudden sound of wind came from behind him. He turned around to see three demons wielding a square halberd, charging straight at him. The Great Sage hurriedly rolled over and got up, meeting them with his golden-hooped rod. The three demons and the Monkey King were filled with rage, not saying a word, gritting their teeth, ready to settle the score.
At this moment, the old demon was also unwilling to be outdone, swinging a knife at Zhu Bajie. Bajie hurriedly jumped off his horse, swinging his rake wildly. The second demon thrust a long spear at Sha Seng, who blocked the attack with his demon-subduing staff. The three demons, the second demon, the old demon, and the three monks engaged in a fierce battle on the mountain.
Meanwhile, the sixteen little demons followed orders, stealing the white horse and the bags, carrying Tang Seng in the sedan straight to the edge of the city, shouting, “The king has devised a plan; we have captured Tang Seng!” The demons in the city heard this and rushed down, opening the city gates, instructing each camp not to make noise, fearing to scare Tang Seng.
Tang Seng was welcomed into the city by the joyous demons, lifted into the golden hall, and seated in the center, with tea and food presented on both sides. At this moment, Tang Seng was dazed and had no idea about his fate. The story ends here; we will continue next time!
