Chapter 86: The Wood Mother Brings Reinforcement Against the Monster; the Golden One Uses Magic to Destroy the Evil Fiend

Now to return to Sun the Great Sage. He led the horse and carried the baggage while searching the mountain slopes and calling for his master. Then Zhu Bajie came huffing and puffing toward him and asked, "Brother, why are you shouting?"

Wukong said, "Master is missing. Did you see him?"

Bajie said, "I was only following Tripitaka to be a monk. You tricked me and made me some sort of general. I fought that demon with my life on the line and barely got back alive. Master was the one you and Sha Wujing were watching. Why ask me?"

Wukong said, "Brother, I do not blame you. You do not know that your eyes blurred and let the demon come back to seize Master. I went to strike that demon and told Sha Wujing to watch over Master. Now even Sha Wujing is missing."

Bajie laughed. "Maybe Brother Sha took Master off somewhere to relieve himself."

Before he had finished, Sha Wujing arrived.

Wukong asked, "Brother Sha, where did Master go?"

Sha Wujing said, "Your two eyes were both clouded. You let the demon come back to take Master. I went to beat that demon off, and Master was sitting on the horse by himself."

Wukong grew furious and stamped about. "We have fallen into his trap. We have fallen into his trap."

Sha Wujing asked, "What trap?"

Wukong said, "This is the split-petal plum-blossom trick. He drew my brothers away and then snatched Master away with all his heart. Heaven help us, what are we to do?"

He could not stop the tears on his cheeks.

Bajie said, "Do not cry. If you cry, you will turn into a weakling. In any case, he is not far away, only on this mountain. Let us search."

The three of them had no choice but to go into the mountain and look.

They had gone twenty li or so when, below a cliff, they saw a cave dwelling:

Sharp peaks overlapped and cast strange shadows. Unusual rocks stood high and steep. Rare flowers and jade grasses gave off a sweet fragrance, and red apricots and blue peaches shone in bright color. Before the cliff, ancient trees had bark slick from rain in rings forty spans around. Outside the gate, green pines reached up to the sky two thousand chi high. Twin cranes often came to dance there in the clear wind, and paired mountain birds sang through the day on the branches. Clusters of yellow vines hung like ropes; rows of misty willows drooped like gold. A square pool gathered water, and a deep hollow leaned against the mountain. In that square pool lurked a flood dragon not yet transformed, and in that deep hollow lived an old monster who had eaten people for many years. Truly it was no less than an immortal landscape, a cave where wind and force gathered together.

When Wukong saw it, he leaped in two or three steps to the gate and looked. The stone gate was shut tight, and across it was set a stone tablet bearing eight characters: "Hidden-Mist Mountain, Broken-Ridge Linked-Circle Cave."

Wukong said, "Bajie, move. This is the monster's den, and Master must be inside."

That fool, full of battle spirit, raised his rake and struck with all his strength. He knocked a great hole in the stone gate and shouted, "Monster, quickly send out my master, lest my rake smash down the gate and bring ruin on the whole household."

The little demon on watch rushed inside and reported, "Great King, disaster has come."

The old monster asked, "What disaster?"

The little demon said, "Someone outside has smashed the gate and is shouting for the master."

The old monster was frightened. "I do not know who has come looking."

The vanguard said, "Do not fear. Let me go look."

The little demon ran to the front gate and peered out through the broken hole. Seeing a long-mouthed, big-eared monk, he turned back and shouted, "Great King, do not fear him. It is only Zhu Bajie. He is not much good and does not dare act wildly. If he does, open the gate and capture him for steaming. The one to fear is only that shaggy-faced, thunder-mouthed monk."

Bajie heard this outside and said, "Brother, he does not fear me. He fears you.

Master must be in his house. Hurry up."

Wukong cursed, "You vile beast, your Sun Grandfather is right here. Send out my master and I will spare your life."

The vanguard said, "Great King, this is bad. Sun Wukong has come looking too."

The old monster complained bitterly. "It is all your split-petal nonsense that has brought trouble to my gate. How am I supposed to finish this?"

The vanguard said, "Do not worry, Great King. Do not blame me. I remember that Sun Wukong is a broad-hearted monkey. Though he has great powers, he is easy to flatter.

We will take a fake human head out and fool him with a few compliments. We will say his master has already been eaten by us. If he is fooled away, Tripitaka will still be ours. If not, we can think again."

The old monster asked, "Where will we get a fake human head?"

The vanguard said, "Let me make one."

He took up a steel knife-axe and chopped a willow root into the shape of a human head, then splashed on some human blood and smeared it into a mess. He gave it to a little demon on a lacquered tray and sent him out the door.

The little demon called, "Great Sage, calm your anger and hear my report."

Sun Wukong was indeed easy to flatter. Hearing himself called Great Sage, he stopped Bajie at once. "Do not act yet. Let us hear what he says."

The little demon carrying the tray said, "Your master has been brought into my Great King's cave. The cave demons are rough and childish and know no better. One eats, another chews, this one grabs, that one bites. They have eaten your master and there is only a head left here."

Wukong said, "If he has been eaten, so be it. Bring out the head and let me see whether it is true or false."

The little demon tossed the head out through the gate hole.

Bajie broke down crying. "Alas! They took a master inside and turned him into this sort of master coming out."

Wukong said, "Fool, first look and tell whether it is real or fake before you start crying."

Bajie said, "How could a head be real or fake?"

Wukong said, "This is a fake head."

Bajie said, "How do you know it is fake?"

Wukong said, "When a real head is thrown out, it lands with no sound. A fake head makes a wooden clack. If you do not believe me, let me throw it and you can hear."

He picked it up and smashed it against the stone. It rang with a clear crack.

Sha Wujing said, "Brother, it rang."

Wukong said, "If it rings, it is fake. Let me show you its true form."

He quickly drew the Golden-Hooped Rod and struck. The thing burst apart.

Bajie looked and saw that it was only a willow root. The fool could not hold back and cursed, "You hairy brutes! You are hiding my master in the cave and using a willow root to fool your pig-grandfather. Do you think my master is some willow-spirited thing?"

The little demon who had carried the tray went trembling back to report. "Hard, hard, hard. Very hard."

The old monster asked, "Why so many hards?"

The little demon said, "Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing can be fooled, but Sun Wukong is a dealer in antiques - he knows what is real. He recognized it was a fake head.

We need a real human head for him. Then maybe he will go away."

The old monster said, "Where can we get a real head? There are plenty in the Skinning Pavilion. Pick one that has not been eaten."

So the demons went to the pavilion and chose a fresh head. They scraped the scalp clean, made it smooth and dripping, and again had it carried on a tray. They called out, "Great Sage, the first head really was fake. This one is truly Master Tang's head. My Great King kept it to guard the house. We now offer it up."

They tossed the head through the gate hole. Blood rolled and splashed everywhere.

Sun Wukong knew it was a real head and had no choice but to cry. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing also burst into loud sobbing.

Bajie sniffled and said, "Brother, do not cry yet. The weather is not good. I fear the head will rot before we know it. Let me take it and bury it while it still has some living breath in it, then you can cry."

Wukong said, "That is reasonable."

The fool did not mind the filth. He took the head in his arms and ran up the sunny slope, looking for a place sheltered from wind and gathering force. He dug a pit with his rake, buried the head, and built up a grave mound.

Then he called to Sha Wujing, "You and Brother Wukong keep crying. I will go look for something to offer at the grave."

He went to the ravine edge, broke off a few big willow branches, and picked up some round pebbles.

He came back to the grave and stuck the willow branches on both sides, then piled the pebbles in front.

Wukong asked, "What are you doing?"

Bajie said, "These willow branches will stand in for pine and cypress and give the grave some shelter. These stones will stand in for offerings. I am paying my respects."

Wukong shouted, "You clumsy brute. The man is dead, and you are still offering him stones?"

Bajie said, "It is only a token of a living person's heart. It is my way of showing filial respect."

Wukong said, "Stop making a mess. Let Brother Sha stay here for two reasons: first, to keep watch over the grave, and second, to guard the baggage and horses. You and I will go smash the cave dwelling, capture the demon host, and cut them to pieces to avenge Master."

Sha Wujing wept and said, "Senior Brother speaks most reasonably. You two be careful. I will guard the place here."

So Bajie took off his black silk robe, tightened the small undergarment against his body, raised his rake, and followed Wukong.

The two of them charged forward without waiting for anyone to answer. They smashed the stone gate to pieces, and their shouting shook the sky.

"Return our living Tripitaka!"

The whole host of demons inside the cave was frightened out of its wits. They all blamed the vanguard for the trouble.

The old monster asked, "The monks have broken into the gate. What is to be done?"

The vanguard said, "The old saying goes, 'If you put your hand into the fish basket, you cannot avoid the fish smell.' Since we have begun, we cannot stop. In for a penny, in for a pound. Lead the household troops and kill those monks."

The old monster had no choice. He gave the order: "Little ones, all of you be united. Take up your sharp weapons and follow me to the field."

The demons indeed shouted and rushed out through the gate.

The Great Sage and Bajie quickly retreated a few steps and reached an open stretch of mountain ground. There they held back the demon host.

Wukong shouted, "Which one of you is the famous leader? Which one is the monster who took my master?"

The demon host set up camp, and a brocade battle flag fluttered once. The old monster held his steel staff and shouted back, "You wicked monks, do you not recognize me? I am the Southern Mountain King, who has roamed freely here for hundreds of years. Your Tripitaka has already been taken and eaten by me. What can you do?"

Wukong cursed, "You bold tuft of fur! What sort of age do you have that you dare call yourself 'Southern Mountain'? Laozi is the ancestor who opened heaven and earth, and yet he sits only to the right of the Pure Void. The Buddha is the honored ruler of the world and still sits beneath the Roc. Confucius is the honored one of the scholars and is only called Master.

You vile beast, how dare you call yourself the Southern Mountain King and brag of hundreds of years of wantonness? Do not run. Taste your grandfather's staff."

The monster sidestepped and blocked the iron staff with his own, staring as he asked, "You look like a monkey. How dare you speak so many words to suppress me? What skill do you have to swagger in front of my gate?"

Wukong laughed. "You no-name beast, you do not know Old Sun at all.

Stand still and brace yourself while I tell you:

Born in Dongsheng Divine Continent, I have endured through countless ages.
On Flower-Fruit Mountain I was born from a sacred stone egg;
the egg broke open and gave birth to my root.
I am not like the mortal frame. My holy body was joined by sun and moon.
By my own nature I cultivated myself; I was no small matter.
Heaven gave me wit and understanding from the start.
The court named me Great Sage and let me dwell in the cloud palace.
Relying on my strength, I went out to fight the stars.
Ten thousand heavenly soldiers could not get near me,
and I gathered the stars of heaven as easily as plucking grass.
My fame spread through the universe and was known everywhere.
Now fortunately I have returned to the Buddhist path
and support the elder monk on the road west.
I open roads through mountains and bridge waters without a single obstacle.
In the forest I subdue tigers and panthers;
at the cliffs I seize leopards and beasts.
Since the East is coming west in rightness,
what demon or evil spirit dares show itself?
You hurt my master, and that is truly hateful.
I will make sure your life ends here and now.

The monster heard this and grew both angry and frightened. He gritted his teeth and leaped forward, swinging his steel staff at Wukong. The Great Sage met him lightly with his rod and still wanted to keep talking, but Bajie could not hold back and drew his rake, beating at the monster's vanguard. The vanguard led the troops in a rush.

It was a fine battle on the open ground in the mountain:

The monks of the great Eastern Tang were seeking true scriptures in the Western Heaven. The Southern Mountain leopard was spitting wind and fog and blocking the road through the deep hills. With a clever scheme he had tricked his way into capturing the holy monk. But then came Wukong, mighty in his divine powers, and Bajie, famous in his own right. The demon host and the pilgrim host were mixed in a battle on level ground, with dust and dirt flying so thick the sky could not be seen. On one side, little demons shouted and raised their spears and blades. On the other, the divine monks cried out and lifted rake and staff together. The Great Sage was a hero without equal; Marshal Canopy was sturdy and delighted to do rough work. The Southern Yanyu old monster and his vanguard fought for Tripitaka's flesh, and deathly resolve drove them all. These two fought because of their master's life; those two fought because of their deep hatred for Tripitaka. They went back and forth through many rounds, and there was no winner.

Seeing that the little demons were fierce and could not be driven back, Sun the Great Sage used a body-splitting technique. He plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them in his mouth, spat them out, and cried, "Change!"

They all turned into copies of himself, each wielding a Golden-Hooped Rod and charging from the front line inward.

The one or two hundred little demons could not watch front and back at once. They could not guard the left while defending the right. One by one they ran for their lives and fled back to the cave.

Wukong and Bajie fought out from the center of the battle.

Alas, the ignorant demons that took the rake met broken bones and blood from nine places; the ones who ran into the staff were turned to mud and pulp.

The Southern Mountain King was frightened and rolled away in wind and fog, barely escaping alive.

The vanguard could not transform. He was struck down at once by Wukong's staff and revealed his true shape: a steel-backed gray wolf demon.

Bajie stepped forward, grabbed him by the foot, turned him over, and said, "This fellow, since childhood, must have eaten who knows how many pig tusks and lambs."

Wukong shook himself and gathered in the hairs. "Fool, do not delay. Hurry and chase the old monster to ask for Master's life."

Bajie turned around and saw that all the little Wukongs were gone.

"Brother, all your forms have gone away."

Wukong said, "I have already gathered them back."

Bajie said, "Excellent, excellent!"

The two of them turned back happily in triumph.

Now to return to the old monster. He fled alive back to the cave and ordered the little demons to bring stones and pile dirt to block the front gate.

The demons who had saved their lives all stuffed the gate tight and dared not show their heads again.

Wukong led Bajie to the gate and shouted, but no one answered.

Bajie took up his rake and struck the gate, but it would not budge.

Wukong understood. "Bajie, do not waste your energy. He has already blocked the gate."

Bajie said, "If the gate is blocked, how will we avenge Master?"

Wukong said, "For now, let us return to the grave and look at Sha Wujing."

The two of them returned to the earlier spot and found Sha Wujing still crying.

Bajie was even more heartbroken. He dropped his rake and lay over the grave, beating the soil with his hands and crying, "My poor master! My master from a far-off place! Where shall we ever see you again?"

Wukong said, "Brother, do not grieve yet. The monster has blocked the front gate. There must surely be a back gate for entering and leaving.

You two stay here while I go look again."

Bajie wept and said, "Brother, be careful. Do not let them catch you as well. We could not bear to cry properly. One cry for Master, one cry for Senior Brother, and we would be all mixed up."

Wukong said, "No matter. I have my own methods."

The Great Sage gathered up his staff, tightened his robe, and set off. He rounded the mountain slope and suddenly heard a sound of water rushing.

He looked back and saw that it was the ravine water roaring down from upstream.

Then on the far side of the ravine he saw a little gate, and to the left of that gate was a hidden drain where water ran out.

He said, "No need to ask. That must be the back gate. But if I show my true face, perhaps a little demon will open the gate and recognize me. Let me change into a water snake and slip through."

Then he thought, "No, if I become a water snake, Master's spirit might know and blame me for being a monk turned snake. Let me become a little crab. No, that is no good either, for Master might blame me for becoming a monk with too many legs."

So he changed into a water rat. With a swish he darted through the drain and entered the courtyard inside.

He poked up his head to look and saw a little demon in the sunny place arranging slabs of human flesh to dry, piece by piece.

Wukong thought, "My boy, that must be Master's flesh they could not finish eating, and they are drying it for weather like this. If I show my true form and rush in with one staff stroke, I will seem brave but unthinking. Better to change again and find the old monster first."

He jumped out of the drain and changed into a winged ant.

Truly:

Small in body, named the dark ant,
yet after long cultivation it can fly.
It crosses bridges at ease,
and under beds it loves a fine scheme.
When rain is near, it knows to seal the hole,
and when dust gathers, it raises its own little heap.
Clever and light, it moves with ease,
and often slips through a gate before one notices.

He spread his wings and flew silently into the main hall.

There he saw the old monster sitting in irritation and worry. Then a little demon jumped out from the back and reported, "Great King, great joy."

The old monster asked, "Where is this joy coming from?"

The little demon said, "Just now I was at the back gate by the ravine and heard someone weeping. I climbed up the peak and looked down. It was Zhu Bajie, Sun Wukong, and Sha Wujing kneeling by a grave and crying bitterly. It seems they recognized the human head as Master Tang's head and buried it as a grave mound, then cried over it."

Wukong heard this in secret and rejoiced. "If that is what they say, then my master is still hidden there and has not been eaten. Let me go search again and see whether he is alive or dead before I speak to them."

The Great Sage flew in the main hall, looking east and west. He saw a small side door nearby, shut very tightly.

He slipped through the crack to look and saw it was a large garden. Faintly he could hear sobbing from within.

He flew straight to the depths and saw a clump of tall trees. Under the trees were tied up two people, and one of them was Tripitaka.

When Wukong saw him, he was so eager he could hardly contain himself. He showed his true form and called, "Master."

Tripitaka recognized him and said tearfully, "Wukong, you have come? Hurry and save me. Wukong, Wukong."

Wukong said, "Master, do not keep calling my name. Someone may hear and let the news escape. Since you are still alive, I can save you. The monster only said he had already eaten you and used a fake head to fool me. We have fought him bitterly. Master, endure a little longer. Once I bring down that monster, I will come back to rescue you."

The Great Sage recited a spell and turned back into a winged ant. He returned to the main hall and perched on the main beam.

He saw the little demons who had not been injured clustering and shouting. One of them suddenly jumped out and reported, "Great King, when they saw that the gate was blocked and could not be broken open, they gave up on Master Tang. They made a grave mound from the fake head.

They have cried for one day, will cry again tomorrow, and on the third day they will surely stop and go back. Once we hear that they have dispersed, we can bring Master Tang out, cut him up into tiny pieces, season him with rich spices, and cook him until it smells fragrant enough for everyone to eat. That way we will gain both meat and longevity."

Another little demon clapped his hands and said, "Do not say more. Steaming him is even tastier."

Another said, "Boiling him would save firewood."

Another said, "Since he is such a rare thing, salt him as well, and he will keep longer."

Wukong heard this from the beam and grew furious. "What evil grudge do you have with my master that you keep plotting to eat him like this?"

He plucked a handful of hairs, chewed them to pieces, and blew them out quietly while reciting a spell. He had them all turn into sleepy bugs and throw themselves at the demons' faces.

One by one they crawled into noses, and the little demons began to doze. Soon they all fell asleep.

Only the old monster slept badly. He kept rubbing his head and face and sneezing, pinching his nose all the while.

Wukong thought, "Maybe he knows? Let me give him a pair of lamps."

He plucked another hair and made a second insect from it, then threw it at the monster's face. One bug crawled into the left nostril and one into the right.

The old monster got up, stretched, yawned twice, and finally fell asleep.

Wukong was secretly delighted. He jumped down and resumed his true form.

He took the staff from his ear, shook it once until it was as thick as a duck egg, and with one thump smashed the side door open. He ran into the back garden and shouted, "Master!"

Tripitaka said, "Disciple, hurry and loosen the ropes. They have bound me too tightly."

Wukong said, "Master, do not rush. Let me kill the demon first and then I will untie you."

He hurried back to the main hall, raised his staff to strike, then stopped his hand.

"No. Let me free Master first and then strike."

He returned to the garden, thought again, and said, "No, let me strike first and rescue him after."

He went back and forth like this two or three times before jumping and dancing back into the garden.

Tripitaka saw him and, sorrow turning to joy, said, "Monkey, perhaps you saw that I was not dead, and that is why you are so pleased that you dance like this."

When Wukong finally came up close, he untied the ropes and led his master away.

Then he heard the man tied to the opposite tree calling, "Holy sir, take pity and save me too."

Tripitaka stopped and said, "Wukong, please also untie that man."

Wukong asked, "Who is he?"

Tripitaka said, "He was taken in a day before me. He is a woodcutter and says that his mother is old and he is very filial. He is a dutiful son. Save him too."

Wukong agreed and untied him as well. Together they went out through the back gate, hopped up onto the stone cliff, and crossed the steep ravine.

Tripitaka thanked him. "Disciple, thanks to you, you saved both his life and mine. Where are Bajie and Wujing?"

Wukong said, "They are both over there crying for you. Call to them."

Tripitaka indeed shouted sharply, "Bajie! Bajie!"

The fool was crying so hard that he was dizzy. He wiped his nose and tears and said, "Brother Sha, Master has come back as a spirit. Where is he calling to us?"

Wukong stepped forward and shouted, "Clumsy fool, what spirit? Is that not Master?"

Sha Wujing looked up and saw him. He hurried to kneel before Tripitaka. "Master, how much suffering have you endured? How did Senior Brother rescue you?"

Wukong told them everything that had happened.

Bajie gritted his teeth in hate and could not hold back. He raised his rake and smashed the grave mound flat, then dug out the human head and beat it into a pulp.

Tripitaka said, "Why are you beating it?"

Bajie said, "Master, I did not know whose dead man it was, and I cried for him."

Tripitaka said, "He saved my life. Your brothers attacked his gate and shouted for me. He must have used that head to fool us. Otherwise he might really have killed me. You should bury him properly. That is the way monks show their hearts."

Hearing this, Bajie buried the smashed flesh and bones and built up another grave mound.

Wukong laughed. "Master, please sit for a little while. I will go wipe out the cave and come back."

He jumped down the stone cliff again, crossed the ravine, entered the cave, and took the ropes that had bound Tripitaka and the woodcutter into the main hall. The old monster was still asleep.

Wukong tied him up in a four-hoofed bundle, lifted him with the Golden-Hooped Rod, and carried him on his shoulder out the back gate.

From far away Bajie saw him and said, "Brother is really good at carrying heads. Could not you find another one and put it on a pole?"

When Wukong reached the others and set him down, Bajie raised the rake and struck at once.

Wukong said, "Wait. There are still little demons in the cave that have not been taken."

Bajie said, "Brother, if there are any, bring me in too and let me beat them."

Wukong said, "If we fight them, it will waste time. Better to find some firewood and burn them out root and branch."

The woodcutter heard this and led Bajie to the east ravine, where they gathered broken bamboo branches, dead pine needles, hollow willow, broken roots of vine, yellow mugwort, old reed, cattails, and dried mulberry.

They carried a load of it back to the back gate.

Wukong lit it, and Bajie fanned wind with his ears.

The Great Sage leaped up and shook off the sleepy-bug hairs.

The little demons woke too late. The smoke and fire seized them all.

Alas! None of them could hope to keep even half a life.

The whole cave was burned clean through, not a scrap of the demon host left.

Then they returned to see Master again.

Tripitaka heard the old monster waking and calling out, so he said, "Disciples, the monster is waking."

Bajie stepped forward and gave the old fiend a blow that killed him.

He revealed his true form: an artemisia-patterned leopard spirit.

Wukong said, "A spotted leopard can eat tigers, and now he could also transform into a man. This blow has killed him cleanly and ended the trouble for good."

Tripitaka thanked them without end and climbed into the saddle.

The woodcutter said, "Old master, the road to the southwest is not far from my home. Please come with me to my house, meet my mother, thank her for the life-saving kindness, and then continue on your way."

Tripitaka was delighted and dismounted. With the woodcutter and the four pilgrims, he walked southwest together.

After a little while they indeed saw:

Moss overgrew the stone path, and vines and flowers clung to the thorn gate.
Mountain light touched on every side, and birds and sparrows filled the woods with noise.
Dense pines and bamboo grew green together, and strange blossoms and rare flowers bloomed in clusters.
In that remote, cloud-wrapped place, there stood a cottage of bamboo fence and thatch.

Far ahead they saw an old woman leaning on the wooden gate, tears in her eyes, crying out to heaven and earth.

The woodcutter saw his own mother. He left Tripitaka behind and ran to the gate, dropping to his knees. "Mother, your son is back."

The old woman embraced him at once. "Son, you have not come home these past few days. I only thought the mountain lord had captured you and taken your life. It hurt me unbearably.

Since you were not harmed, why have you only come today? Where are your shoulder pole and ax?"

The woodcutter kowtowed and said, "Mother, I had already been captured by the mountain lord and tied to a tree. It truly seemed I would lose my life. Fortunately these honorable masters came.

This master is a luohan from Great Tang in the East going to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures. He too had been captured and tied to a tree by the mountain lord. His three disciples are mighty beyond compare and beat the mountain lord to death. He was really an artemisia-patterned leopard spirit. All the little demons were burned to death as well. They rescued that holy master and also freed your son. This is truly a grace as high as heaven and as deep as earth. Without them, I would surely have died too. Now the mountain is at peace, and your son can walk all night without harm."

The old woman, hearing this, bowed one step at a time to receive the four pilgrims and led them into the hut and thatched cottage.

Mother and son bowed and thanked them without end. Then they hurriedly prepared a vegetarian meal in return.

Bajie said, "Woodman, I know your house is poor. Just make do with one meal. There is no need to trouble yourself."

The woodcutter said, "I do not hide it from you, holy masters. Our mountain house is indeed poor and has no mushrooms, no button mushrooms, no Sichuan pepper, no rich spices. We only have a few kinds of wild greens to offer you, as a small token of our heart."

Bajie laughed. "Enough, enough. The faster you serve it, the better. We are hungry."

The woodcutter said, "There is, there is."

Before long, tables and benches were spread out, and the wild greens were brought up. What a spread it was:

Tender yellow daylily buds, sour pickled shepherd's purse, floating purslane, marsh watercress, swallow-wort, and crisp young shoots. Boiled blueweed roots, white stewed dogfoot grass, cat's ears, wild pea vine, ashweed that becomes tender when cooked, asparagus fern, cow wisp, knotgrass, stonecrop, and several other greens. Oil-fried dark flower blossoms, water chestnuts, and reed shoots were especially fine. Kidney-vetch and young water-caltrop were crisp and clean. Shepherd's needle, tender mustard greens, and several more herbs were fragrant and slippery. Fried marsh mallow flowers and burclover were excellent. Cattail roots and water bamboo shoots were especially fresh. Young wheat seedlings were tender and lovely. Orach and rough pigweed did not need oil at all. Watercress and rabbit's-tail greens, mulberry-branch amaranth and mugwort, sheep's-ear grass, goji shoots, and blueweed all made a meal from the fields. The woodcutter served them with sincere heart and grateful thanks.

The pilgrims ate their fill and prepared to leave.

The woodcutter did not dare keep them long. He invited his mother out again to bow and thank them. Then he himself only kowtowed, took up a jujube-wood staff, tied his clothes neatly, and came out to escort them.

Sha Wujing led the horse, Bajie carried the baggage, and Wukong followed closely on either side. Tripitaka sat on the horse and cupped his hands. "Woodman, please lead us to the main road so we may part there."

They all climbed up and down slopes and crossed ravines and ridges.

Tripitaka, riding, was thinking:

Since I left my lord and came to the Western Regions,
the road has been long and full of hardships.
Water and mountains have brought endless disasters;
demons and monsters make survival hard.
My heart is only set on the scriptures of the Tripitaka;
my mind still seeks the sky above.
When will this drudgery end?
When shall I complete the road and return to Great Tang?

The woodcutter heard this and said, "Holy master, do not worry. This great road westward is less than a thousand li from here, and it leads straight to India, the land of ultimate bliss."

Tripitaka heard that, turned in the saddle, and dismounted. "You have labored to guide us so far. Since this is the main road, please return home and give my respects to your honored mother. Tell her that I am deeply troubled to have imposed upon your fine vegetarian feast. I can only repay you by reciting scriptures morning and evening and praying that you and your mother remain safe and live to old age."

The woodcutter bowed and took his leave, returning along the way he had come.

The pilgrims then set out straight west.

As the saying goes: the monster is subdued, the grievance is settled, and suffering is left behind; the road continues with gratitude in the heart.

How many days remain before they reach the Western Heaven? That must wait for the next chapter.