Chapter 91: Lanterns Glimmer in Jinping Prefecture on the First Full Moon; Tripitaka Gives Testimony in Xuanying Cave

Cultivation of meditation is no place for idle effort;
a poor horse and a wild monkey must be cut off at once.
If you can hold them fast and bind them down, then colors bloom;
if you let them roam for a moment, you fall into the three evil paths.
If you let the sacred elixir leak away in ease,
your jade nature will wither in no time at all.

Sweep away joy, anger, worry, and thought;
only then does one gain the mysterious and the wondrous, as though it were nothing.

Now then: Tripitaka and his three disciples left Jade Flower City and traveled on in peace, a journey that truly might be called a land of bliss. After five or six days on the road they saw another city. Tripitaka asked Wukong, "What place is this?"

Wukong said, "It is a city. But there is a banner pole on the wall and no flag. I do not yet know the district. Let us come closer and ask."

When they reached the eastern gate street, they saw tea shops and wine houses clamoring on both sides, with rice markets and oil shops busy and bright. In the lanes there were a few idle loafers. When they saw Zhu Bajie with his long mouth, Sha Wujing with his black face, and Sun Wukong with his red eyes, they crowded together to stare, but none dared come close and ask questions.

Tripitaka was drenched with sweat, fearing only that they would make trouble. After they had gone through several more alley mouths and still had not reached the city proper, they suddenly saw a monastery gate with the three characters Ciyun Monastery over it.

Tripitaka said, "Could we go in there, rest the horse a while, and take a vegetarian meal?"

Wukong said, "Good. Good."

So the four of them went inside together. There they saw:

Jewel halls of splendid grandeur, and precious thrones rising high.
Buddhahouses towered beyond the clouds; the monks' quarters rested in the moonlit stillness.
Crimson mist floated around the pagoda's height; green trees cast deep shadows over the scripture wheel room.
It was a true land of purity, a false dragon palace; within the Great Hero Hall, purple clouds were draped.
Along the two corridors idle guests laughed and came and went;
upon the tower, visitors climbed whenever the gate stood open.
Incense and fire were lit without pause in the censer;
lamps on the altar glimmered night after night.
And from the abbot's room there came the ring of a golden bell,
as monks recited sutras in a bright, clear voice.

As the four of them were looking about, a monk came out from the corridor and bowed to Tripitaka. "Holy master, from where have you come?"

Tripitaka said, "I am a disciple from China in the Eastern Land of Great Tang."

The monk dropped to the floor and bowed. Tripitaka hurried to help him up. "Why does the abbot bow like this?"

The monk joined his palms and said, "Those here who cultivate good, recite sutras, and call on the Buddha all hope to be reborn in your land of China. When I first saw your holy bearing and your robes, I knew you were truly one of the fortunate from a former life, and therefore I bowed."

Tripitaka smiled. "I am ashamed, ashamed. I am only a traveling monk. What fortune could there be? If the abbot lives here in comfort and ease, then you are the one truly blessed."

The monk led Tripitaka into the main hall to bow before the images, and only then did Tripitaka call in his disciples. It turned out that when Wukong and the others saw the monk speaking with their master, they had turned their faces away, led the horse, and stood by the luggage. The monk had not taken them into his thoughts. When he suddenly heard Tripitaka call for his disciples, the three of them finally turned around.

The monk saw them and cried out in alarm, "My lord! Why are your disciples so ugly?"

Tripitaka said, "They are ugly indeed, but they have quite a bit of magic power. I have owed my life to their protection all along the road."

While they were speaking, more monks came out from inside and bowed. The monk who had first come out said to the others, "This holy master is a man from Great Tang in China. These three are his disciples."

The rest of the monks, with mixed joy and fear, said, "Holy master, Great China, what brings you here?"

Tripitaka said, "I am under the imperial order of the Tang king, heading to Lingshan to bow before the Buddha and seek the scriptures. I have just passed through your honored land and came straight to your monastery, first to ask about the district, and second to request a meal before moving on."

All the monks were delighted and invited him into the abbot's room. There were also a few monks there who had been preparing ritual vegetarian meals for households.

The first monk went in and called out, "Come and look at these people from China. So it turns out China has both handsome and ugly people. The handsome ones are hard to describe or paint, and the ugly ones are truly strange."

Many monks and the meal hosts came out to meet them. After the greetings, they all sat down. When the tea had been finished, Tripitaka asked, "What is this place called?"

The monks said, "This is Jinping Prefecture, a border prefecture beyond the country of India."

Tripitaka asked, "How far is it from your prefecture to Lingshan?"

The monks said, "From here to the capital is two thousand li. That is the road we have traveled ourselves. Westward to Lingshan, we have not gone, so we do not know how many li remain and dare not answer lightly."

Tripitaka thanked them.

After a while the vegetarian meal was set out. When the meal was over, Tripitaka wanted to leave, but the monks and the meal hosts kept him, saying, "Holy master, please stay one or two days. After the Lantern Festival is over, you can go on your way without harm."

Tripitaka asked in alarm, "I have traveled the road only knowing mountains and rivers, always fearing demons and monsters, and I have lost many days already. When is the Lantern Festival?"

The monks laughed. "Holy master, you are devoted to Buddha and intent on awakening, so you do not keep such matters in mind. Today is the thirteenth day of the first month. Tonight we will test the lanterns. The fifteenth is the first full moon. We will not dismiss the lanterns until the eighteenth or nineteenth. Our place likes to celebrate, and our prefectural governor loves the people. All through the district, lanterns are hung high, and flutes and pipes sound all night long. There is also a Golden Lamp Bridge, a relic from ancient times that still shines in full splendor. Please stay a few days, lords; our wild hills can still provide for you."

Tripitaka had no choice but to stay.

That night the bells and drums in the Buddha hall rang to the heavens, as the neighbors and faithful brought lanterns to offer before the Buddha. Tripitaka and the others all came out of the abbot's room to look at the lanterns, then returned to sleep. The next day the monks offered another vegetarian meal. After they had eaten, they went into the rear garden together to stroll and play.

It was indeed a fine place:

It was the first month of the year, the new spring arrived.
The gardens and groves were serene and refined, the scenes bright and luxuriant.
The trees and flowers of all seasons strove for beauty;
layer on layer the peaks and ridges were green with overlapping color.
Sweet grass stirred before the steps;
old plum branches were already fragrant.
Red first tinged the peach blossoms,
while green returned in the willow's new color.
Do not speak of the wealth of Gold Valley Garden,
nor dwell long on the graceful style of Wangchuan's painted scenes.
One stream of water flowed through, with wild ducks drifting in and out;
a thousand bamboo stalks were planted, making even poets hesitate.
Peonies, tree peonies, crape myrtles, and winter jasmines were only now awakening;
camellias, red plums, spring flowers, and fragrant daphne had already opened in bright splendor.
On the shady cliff, snow still held its chill;
in the distant trees, a veil of smoke already carried spring.
There were deer gazing at their reflections by the pool,
cranes coming to hear the zither beneath the pines.
On the east side were a few halls, on the west a few pavilions, for guests to stay the night;
on the south side a few prayer halls, on the north a few pagodas, where monks could sit in stillness.
Among the flowers there were one or two houses for nurturing the spirit, with layered eaves and high arches;
among the mountains and water there were three or four chambers for refining demons, quiet desks and bright windows.
Truly it was a place made by Heaven for hidden living, and there was no need to seek Penglai elsewhere.

The disciples enjoyed the place for a whole day. They looked at the lanterns in the hall, and then went out again to watch the lantern games in the streets.

There they saw:

Agate flower cities, crystal grottoes, halls of cloud-mica and other chambers,
all like layers upon layers of embroidery, layer after layer of perfection.
The shadow of the star bridge flickered and shook heaven and earth;
here and there the fire trees swayed red.
Flutes and drums filled the six streets,
the moon shone like jade over the thousand gates,
and a hundred thousand homes breathed fragrance.
In some places the twin peaks rose high, and fish and dragons leaped from the sea while phoenixes soared into the air.
Lantern light and moonlight were one bright harmony.
In the ranks of silk and brocade, everyone smiled at the sound of pipes and songs.
Carriages and horses roared and rolled: there was no end to the beautiful faces, the gallant and carefree men, or the endless splendor.

Tripitaka and the monks looked at the lanterns in the monastery, and then went into the eastern gate street to play among the crowds. Only at the second watch did they return to rest.

The next day Tripitaka said to the monks, "I once vowed to sweep the pagoda. Since today is the first full moon, please open the pagoda doors and let me fulfill my wish."

The monks opened the doors at once.

Brother Sha took the cassock and followed Tripitaka. At the first level Tripitaka put on the cassock, bowed to Buddha, prayed his vows, and then swept that level clean. After that he took off the cassock and handed it to Brother Sha. He swept the second level, then the third, until he had gone all the way to the top.

Each level of the pagoda held Buddha images and open windows, and every level he swept was also a level he admired and praised. When he had finished, it was already late, and the lamps were lit once more.

That night was the fifteenth, the true Lantern Festival. The monks said, "Holy master, the night before last we only looked at the lanterns in the wild hills and in the gate streets. Tonight is the proper festival night. Would you like to go into the city and see the Golden Lamps?"

Tripitaka gladly agreed, and he went into the city with Wukong, Bajie, Sha Wujing, and many monks from the monastery.

Truly:

The third and fifth nights are fine and bright, and the first full moon brings the spring glow.
Flower lanterns hang over the noisy market, and all sing the song of peace.
Lantern light and bright moon shine on the Lantern Festival night;
with timely rain and favorable wind, the year promises a rich harvest.

At that time the night patrol was not forbidding travel, and the crowds were thick and restless. There were dancers, stilt-walkers, ghost costumes, and elephant riders, all jostling together, impossible to count.

By the time they reached Golden Lamp Bridge, Tripitaka and the monks went up close and saw that there were three golden lanterns. Each was as large as a vat and lit the two stories of a delicate, translucent building from below. They were woven from fine gold thread and lined inside with thin glass plates. Their light shone like moonlight, and the oil gave off a strong fragrance.

Tripitaka asked the monks, "What oil is this? Why is it so fragrant?"

The monks said, "Holy master, you do not know. Behind our prefecture there is a county called Mintian County, and it stretches for two hundred and forty li. Each year, when the burden of taxes and labor is assigned, there are two hundred and forty great households responsible for lantern oil. The burdens of the prefecture and county are heavy enough, but these great households bear the worst of it. Each household must spend more than two hundred taels of silver in a year. This oil is no common oil. It is fragrant clarified butter oil. Each tael of it is worth two taels of silver, and each jin is worth thirty-two taels.

"Each of the three lantern vats holds five hundred jin, so the three vats together hold fifteen hundred jin, worth a total of forty-eight thousand taels of silver. Add the extra expenses and the total comes to more than fifty thousand taels. Yet it lasts only three nights."

Wukong said, "With so much oil, how can it be used up in only three nights?"

The monks said, "Inside each vat there are forty-nine large lamp frames, all made of reeds wrapped in silk floss and as thick as a hen's egg. Tonight is only the first night. When the Buddha reveals himself, tomorrow night the oil will be gone and the lanterns will dim."

Bajie laughed beside them. "So that must mean the Buddha takes the oil away too."

The monks said, "That is indeed what people say. From ancient times to the present, all the households in the city and district have said the same thing. When the oil dries up, they say the Buddha has taken the lamps, and then the grain crop will naturally be abundant. If in some year the oil does not dry up, then the harvest will be poor and the winds and rains out of order. That is why the households all make this offering."

As they were speaking, they heard a rushing wind high in the sky. It frightened all the lantern watchers into scattering in every direction. The monks could not even keep their footing and said, "Holy masters, let us go back. The wind is coming. It must be the Buddha descending in auspicious glory to look at the lanterns."

Tripitaka said, "How do you know it is the Buddha looking at the lanterns?"

The monks said, "Every year it is the same. Before the third watch the wind comes. We know the Buddhas are descending in blessing, so people all avoid it."

Tripitaka said, "I am a man who thinks of Buddha, recites Buddha, and bows to Buddha. Since the scene is so fine and the Buddhas truly are descending, let me bow to them."

The monks kept urging him to leave, but he would not. After a while three Buddha bodies indeed appeared in the wind and came close to the lanterns. Tripitaka was so startled that he ran to the top of the bridge and fell down in prostration.

Wukong hurried to pull him up. "Master, those are not good people. They are surely evil spirits."

Before he had finished, the lantern light went dark. With a whoosh, someone seized Tripitaka and rode away in the wind.

Alas. It was no temple, no cave, but true monsters pretending to be Buddhas and looking at the lanterns year after year.

Bajie was so startled that he searched on both sides. Brother Sha called out left and right. Wukong shouted, "Brothers, there is no need to cry out here. Master has turned from joy to grief and has already been seized by a demon."

The monks were frightened and said, "Grandfather, how do you know it was a demon?"

Wukong smiled. "You ignorant mortals have been fooled year after year and only say that the true Buddhas descend in blessing to receive this lantern offering. The wind that just came and the Buddha form that appeared were the three demons. My master could not tell them apart, so when he bowed at the top of the bridge they used the darkness of the lamp light, covered the vessels, and carried off my master with the oil.

"I was a little too slow, so the three of them escaped on the wind."

Brother Sha said, "Senior brother, what should we do now?"

Wukong said, "Do not delay. You two go back to the monastery with the monks and guard the horse and baggage. Old Sun will follow this wind and chase after them."

The Great Sage hastened to leap onto his somersault cloud and rose into the sky. Following the foul smell of that wind, he rushed straight northeast. By dawn the wind suddenly stopped, and he saw a great mountain, steep and rugged and truly towering. It was a fine mountain:

Layer upon layer of ravines and gullies, and winding springs everywhere.
Vines hung from the sheer cliffs; pines and cypresses stood high on the empty rocks.
Cranes called in the morning mist; wild geese cried among the dawn clouds.
Peaks rose steep and jagged like halberds;
rocks clustered in rough and broken layers.
The summit rose ten thousand ren high,
while the ridges folded a thousand turns.
Wild flowers and fine trees knew the spring and burst into bloom;
cuckoos and orioles answered the lovely weather.
It was lofty and grand, yet jagged and perilous,
old, strange, and hard to travel.
For a long while no one spoke there,
and only the sleep-like growl of tigers and leopards could be heard.
Fragrant antelope and white deer came and went;
jade rabbits and green wolves returned again and again.
In the deep ravines streams ran for thousands of li,
and the turning water struck the rocks with a clear, running sound.

The Great Sage was searching for a path on the cliff when he saw four men driving three sheep down from the western slope, all shouting, "Open peace."

Wukong flashed his fiery eyes and looked closely. He recognized them as the year, month, day, and hour officers in concealed form. He at once drew out his iron staff and shook it, making it as thick as a bowl and as long as twelve feet.

He leaped down from the cliff and cried, "Where are you hiding your heads and shrinking your necks? Where do you think you are going?"

When the four officers heard him identify the wind, they were so frightened that they drove the three sheep away and revealed their true forms. They stepped aside on the road and bowed. "Great Sage, forgive us. Forgive us."

Wukong said, "For some time now I have not needed you. You see Old Sun has been at ease, and one by one you have all grown lazy. You have not even come to see me. What is that supposed to mean? Why have you not been secretly protecting my master? Where have you all gone?"

The officers said, "Your master has been too easy in his meditations at Ciyun Monastery in Jinping Prefecture, and he has been too fond of pleasure. So when fortune reaches its height, it turns low, and joy becomes grief. He has now been captured by evil spirits. The protective temple guardians are still with him.

"We knew the Great Sage would be tracking him through the night, and we feared you would not know the mountains and forests, so we came especially to report."

Wukong said, "If you came to report, why did you disguise yourselves and come driving three sheep and shouting out like that?"

The officers said, "We arranged the three sheep to answer the words 'open peace.' It is called 'three yangs opening peace,' and it breaks the deadlock that has trapped your master."

Wukong was furious and wanted to strike them, but seeing that they had a reason, he spared them, put away his staff, softened his anger into a smile, and asked, "Is this mountain indeed the place of demons?"

The officers said, "It is. This mountain is called Qinglong Mountain, and within it is Xuanying Cave. In the cave there are three demons: the first is the Great King of Defying Cold, the second is the Great King of Defying Heat, and the third is the Great King of Defying Dust. These demons have been here for a thousand years.

"From childhood they loved to eat fragrant clarified butter oil. When they became spirits, they came here disguised as Buddhas and fooled the officers and people of Jinping Prefecture into setting up the Golden Lamps, whose oil is that same clarified butter oil. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first month they transform into Buddhas and collect the oil. This year they happened to see your master, recognized him as a holy monk, and took him and all of you into the cave. In a few days they mean to cut your master's flesh into pieces and fry it in clarified butter oil.

"You must use your strength at once and go save him."

When Wukong heard this, he sent the four officers away and went around the mountain ridge looking for the cave.

After going less than a few li, he saw a rocky cliff beside a stream. Below the cliff stood a stone house with two stone doors, half open and half shut.

Beside the gate was a stone tablet engraved with six characters: Qinglong Mountain Xuanying Cave.

Wukong did not dare enter rashly. He stood his ground and cried out, "Demons! Hurry and send my master out!"

There was a crash as the doors flew open, and a troop of bull-headed spirits ran out. One of them, dazed and thick-headed, asked, "Who are you to dare shout here?"

Wukong said, "I am the eldest disciple of Holy Monk Tang Sanzang from Great Tang in the East, traveling west to seek the scriptures. When we passed through Jinping Prefecture and watched the lanterns, your monster leader carried off my master. Send him back quickly and spare your lives. If not, I will turn your nest upside down and grind all of you into bloody pulp."

The little demons at once ran inside to report, "Great King, disaster! Disaster!"

The three old demons were in the cave, holding Tripitaka far inside. They did not care about right or wrong. They told the little demons to strip off his clothes, fetch clear water from the torrent to wash him, and then planned to cut him into neat slices and fry him in clarified butter oil.

When they heard the cry of disaster, the old monsters were startled and asked what was happening.

The little demon said, "At the front gate there is a monk with a hairy face and a thunder-god's mouth shouting that your great king has seized his master and must send him back quickly or all of us will be reduced to bloody pulp."

The old demons heard this and were all alarmed. "We only just seized this fellow and have not even asked his name or origin. You underlings, put clothes back on him and bring him here for questioning. Let us see who he is and where he comes from."

The monsters swarmed forward, untied Tripitaka, dressed him, and pushed him before the seat. Tripitaka, trembling all over, knelt below and cried, "Great King, spare my life. Spare my life."

The three demons spoke together. "From what place have you come, monk? Why did you see a Buddha image and not avoid it, but instead crash into our cloud road?"

Tripitaka kowtowed and said, "This poor monk was sent by the Tang emperor of the Eastern Land to go to the Great Thunderclap Monastery in India and bow before the Buddha to seek the scriptures. When we came to Ciyun Monastery in Jinping Prefecture, the monks there kindly kept us for the Lantern Festival. On Golden Lamp Bridge I saw the great king appear in a Buddha image. I am only a mortal with flesh and eyes, and when I see Buddha I bow. That is why I collided with the king's cloud road."

The demon said, "You came here from the East, and the road was very far. How many people were in your party? What were their names? Tell us truly, and I will spare your life."

Tripitaka said, "My vulgar name is Chen Xuanzang. From childhood I was a monk at Jinshan Monastery. Later, by imperial order of the Tang emperor, I served as a monk-official at Hongfu Monastery in Chang'an.

"Then Chancellor Wei Zheng dreamed of beheading the old Dragon King of the Jing River, and the Tang king visited the underworld and returned alive to the world of the living. He set up the Water and Land Assembly to deliver the souls in darkness, and the Tang king again selected me to preside over the rite as chief master and chief clerk. Happily, the Bodhisattva Guanyin appeared and told me that the true scriptures of the Great Thunderclap Monastery in the West could save the dead and lift them into heaven. She sent me here to fetch them and bestowed on me the title Tripitaka, while taking Tang as my surname, so that everyone calls me Tang Sanzang.

"I have three disciples.

"The first is surnamed Sun, named Wukong, the pilgrim, and he is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven turned back to the right path."

When the monsters heard this name, they were startled. "Is this the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago?"

Tripitaka said, "Exactly. The second is surnamed Zhu, named Wuneng Bajie, and he is the reincarnation of Marshal Tianpeng. The third is surnamed Sha, named Wujing, and he is the mortal incarnation of the Curtain-Lifting General."

The three demon kings heard this and were all frightened. "It is lucky we have not yet eaten him. You underlings, bind Tang Sanzang with iron chains in the rear, and wait until we have captured his three disciples to make a full meal."

So they picked a troop of mountain ox spirits, water ox spirits, and yellow ox spirits, each bearing weapons, and marched out the gate with drums and banners.

The three demons, fully armored, came to the gate and shouted, "Which one of you dares make such a racket here?"

Wukong, standing on the stone cliff, looked carefully. The monsters were born like this:

Painted faces, ringed eyes, and two horns rising high.
Four pointed ears, each with a spark of bright spirit.
Their bodies were patterned like colored paintings, and all over them shone embroidered brilliance.
The first wore a fox-fur cap, warm and thick on his head,
and his whole face steamed with bristling hot breath.
The second wore a light gauze robe that blazed like fire,
and on all four feet there shone patterned jade.
The third had a powerful roar that shook like thunder,
and his tusks were as sharp as silver needles.
All were brave and fierce, each armed with a different weapon:
one used a halberd-axe, another a great blade;
the third carried a tough vine staff across his shoulder.

There were also all kinds of big and small spirits, seven tall and eight short, seven fat and eight thin, all bull-headed monsters with spears and clubs in hand. Three great banners stood there, plainly marked Great King of Defying Cold, Great King of Defying Heat, and Great King of Defying Dust.

Sun Wukong watched for a while and could not endure it any longer. He stepped forward and shouted, "You thieving beasts! Do you know Old Sun?"

The demon shouted back, "Are you that Sun Wukong who caused trouble in Heaven? Truly, fame reaches the ear before the face is seen. So you are this sort of monkey."

Wukong flew into a rage and cursed him. "You lantern-oil thief, you oily-tongued fiend, stop your foolishness and quickly return my master."

He rushed forward and struck with his iron staff. The three old demons raised their weapons and met him in haste.

The battle in the mountain hollow was fierce:

Halberd-axe, steel blade, and tough vine staff; the Monkey King met them all with one rod.
The monsters of defying cold, heat, and dust knew the fame of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
When the staff rose, even gods and ghosts feared it; when axe and blade came down, they flashed in chaos.
Wondrous indeed is that true void image of the mixed origin,
for it could stand against the false Buddha forms of the three demons.
Those three, who have long grown fat on stolen oil, came now to seize the imperial monk.
This one had crossed mountain roads for his master and did not fear the distance;
that one had long held the lantern offerings for his own greedy mouth.
Only clanging was heard from the axes and blades; only the rod was heard to ring and strike.
They charged and countercharged, three against one, each showing skill.
By the time the struggle reached the edge of evening,
no one knew who would win or lose.

Sun Wukong and the three demons fought for more than one hundred and fifty rounds, and by evening there was still no victor.

Then the Great King of Defying Dust flashed his vine staff, leaped through the line, and shook his banner once. The troop of bull-headed monsters rushed up and surrounded Wukong in the center, beating at him from all sides.

Wukong saw that things had gone badly. With a whoosh he rode away on his somersault cloud, breaking from the field.

The demons did not chase after him. They called back the troop and arranged a supper. Some food was brought to them, and a bowl was also sent to Tripitaka, though only after they had captured Sun Wukong and the others did they plan to make further arrangements.

The master, fasting already, sat weeping and did not dare touch the bowl, so we need not dwell on him here.

As for Wukong, he rode the cloud back into Ciyun Monastery and called out, "Brothers!"

Bajie and Sha Wujing had been waiting and discussing what to do. When they heard him call, they all came out to meet him.

"Brother," they said, "why did you only return after a whole day? What on earth has become of Master?"

Wukong laughed. "Last night I heard the wind and chased it. By dawn I reached a mountain and could not find the place. Fortunately the Four Duty Officers reported that the mountain is called Qinglong Mountain, and within it is Xuanying Cave. In the cave there are three demons called the Great Kings of Defying Cold, Defying Heat, and Defying Dust. They have been stealing oil here for years, disguising themselves as Buddhas and fooling the officers and people of Jinping Prefecture into offering lantern oil. This year they saw our master, recognized him as a holy monk, and carried him away as well. Old Sun investigated the matter, told the Duty Officers to protect the master in secret, and went to the gate to curse them. The three demons came out together, all like bull-headed ghost forms. The first used a halberd-axe, the second a great blade, and the third a vine staff. Then a whole nest of bull-headed monsters came after them, waving flags and beating drums. I fought them all day to a draw. When one of the demon kings shook his banner, all the little devils came out. I saw that night had fallen and feared I could not win, so I rode back on my somersault cloud."

Bajie said, "Could it have been some king of ghosts from Fengdu making the racket?"

Sha Wujing asked, "Why do you think it was some king of ghosts from Fengdu?"

Bajie laughed. "Brother said they were bull-headed ghosts, so I knew it."

Wukong said, "No, no. By Old Sun's reckoning, those monsters are spirits made from three rhinoceroses."

Bajie said, "If they are rhinoceroses, let us catch them and cut off the horns. They would be worth several taels of silver."

While they were speaking, the monks said, "Will Grandfather Sun take a vegetarian supper?"

Wukong said, "If it is convenient, I will eat some; if not, it is fine."

The monks said, "Lord, you fought all day. How could you not be hungry?"

Wukong laughed. "How could Old Sun be hungry after only one day? I went five hundred years without food and drink."

The monks did not know he was speaking truth and only thought he was joking.

In a moment the meal arrived, and Wukong ate as well.

He said, "For now let us sleep and rest. Tomorrow we will all go out and hold them off together. If we can capture the demon kings, then we may save Master."

Brother Sha said from the side, "Brother, that will not do. As the old saying goes, delay breeds cleverness."

"If the monsters do not sleep tonight and harm Master, what then? Better that we go right now and catch them off guard. Only then can we save him. If we delay, I fear we will lose the chance."

Bajie heard this and shook himself with divine vigor. "Brother Sha speaks right. Let us go subdue the demons by this moonlight."

Wukong agreed and told the monks, "Guard the baggage and horse. We are going to capture the demons and then present them to the prefecture chief to prove their false Buddhahood, end the lantern-oil burden, and relieve the common people of the county. Would that not be good?"

The monks obeyed. The three of them rose on auspicious clouds and left the city.

Truly:

When the mind is loose, the monastic heart turns wild;
when disaster and danger come, the mind for the Way grows dim.

As for whether this journey will end in victory or defeat, that must wait for the next chapter to tell.