Dragons are frightened when it overturns the ocean.
Even if you have some tricks, you monster,
One blow from this rake will leave nine bloody holes.”
This made the monster more determined that ever, and with his Seven-starred Sword he battled thorough twenty inconclusive rounds with Pig on the mountain. Pig fought back with deadly fury, and at the sight of him pricking up his ears, spewing out saliva, and waving his rake with grunts and shouts, the frightened demon turned round to bring all his underlings into the battle beside him.
Had he been fighting only the one enemy, Pig would have done fine, but when all the little devils rushed him he lost control, could no longer put up any resistance, and fled in defeat. As he was not paying attention to the uneven path he tripped over a creeper and fell over. He was just picking himself up and starting off again when a junior demon who was lying there tugged at his ankle and brought him tumbling down like a dog eating muck. A crowd of demons seized him and carried him back to the cave, holding him by the bristles, ears, legs and tail. Indeed:
A single demon is hard enough to destroy;
Countless disasters can barely be averted.
If you don't know whether Pig lived or not, listen to the explanation in the next installment.
Chapter 33
Heterodoxy Confuses the True Nature
The Primal Deity Helps the Original Heart
Taking Pig into the cave the monster said, “Here's one, brother.”
“Let me have a look at him,” said the older demon with delight.
“Isn't this the one?” asked the younger demon.
“No,” the other replied, “you've caught the wrong one. He's useless.”
“Your Majesty,” said Pig, taking his chance, “I'm just a useless monk, so let me go. I'm scarcely human.”
“No, don't let him go, brother,” said the younger monster. “He may be no use himself, but he's with the Tang Priest. Pig's his name. We can soak him in the drinking-water pool at the back till his bristles come out, salt him and dry him to eat with our wine some rain day.”
“Dammit,” said Pig, “I would have to run into a devil who's a salt-pork peddler.” The junior demons carried Pig inside and threw him into the pool.
Sanzang meanwhile was sitting on the slope feeling uneasy. His ears were hot and his eyes twitched. “Wukong,” he said, “Pig's been a long time patrolling the mountain. Why isn't he back?”
“Don't you understand his mentality yet, Master?” said Monkey.
“What mentality?” Sanzang asked.
“If there were monsters in the mountains he'd be completely helpless,” said Monkey. “He'd make a tremendous fuss and come rushing back to tell me. I don't think that there can be any monsters. I expect he found the path easy and went straight ahead.”
“If he has gone ahead,” said Sanzang, “where shall we meet him? This is a vast wilderness. It won't be like finding him in a city or a market-place.”
“Mount your horse and stop worrying,” said Monkey. “That lazy idiot won't be walking fast, so you only have to make your horse get a move on. We're bound to catch him up and continue our journey together.” The Tang Priest mounted his horse as asked, and Monkey led the way into the mountains as Friar Sand carried the baggage.
“Brother,” said Gold Horn the senior demon king to Silver Horn the junior demon king, “as you've captured Pig we can be sure that the Tang Priest is here. Make another search and don't get the wrong one this time.”
“Right away,” said Silver Horn, who immediately mustered fifty junior demons and set out on patrol.
As they went along they saw an auspicious cloud drifting and circling around. “The Tang Priest is here,” said the junior demon king.
“Where?” the other demons asked.
“An auspicious cloud always shines above a good man's head and an evil effluence rises over a bad man,” said Silver Horn. “The Tang Priest is an incarnation of the Venerable Golden Cicada. He's a holy man who has cultivated his conduct for ten lives. That's why he has that auspicious cloud.”
When the others still could not see it the junior demon king pointed again and said, “There it is.” Sanzang shuddered thrice in the saddle, once each time the demon pointed.
“Why did I shudder, disciples?” he asked uneasily.
“Probably it's indigestion,” said Friar Sand.
“Nonsense,” said Monkey, “it must be because these steep mountains make the master feel nervous. Don't be frightened. You'll feel better when I've cleared the path with my cudgel.” Monkey then ran through all the routines in the military manuals as he swung his cudgel up and down and all around in front of his master's horse. The Tang Priest watched as he displayed divine powers unmatched on earth.
At the sight of Monkey hacking his way forward the demon almost died of terror; his souls went flying as he watched from the mountain top. “Well,” he found himself saying, “now I know that all I've been hearing about Sun the Novice for years is absolutely true.”
“Your Majesty,” said the junior demons, coming up to him, “you're boosting your enemy and making yourself small. Why? Who is it who's so terrific?”
“With Monkey's magic powers we'll never be able to eat the Tang Priest,” said Silver Horn.
“If you're not up to it,” said the junior demons, “we'll send some of us to ask the senior king to send all the troops in our cave into battle. If we all work together they can't possibly get away.”
“You've never seen that iron cudgel,” said the junior king. “He's more than a match for a whole army, so with only four or five hundred of us we wouldn't have a hope against that cudgel of his.”
“In that case,” said the other demons, “we'll never be able to eat the Tang Priest. There was no point in capturing Pig. Let's free him.”
“We were right to capture him and shouldn't let him go,” said the junior king. “We may not be able to eat the Tang Priest yet but sooner or later we will.”
“How many years will that take?” the others asked.
“It won't be a matter of years,” replied the junior king. “In my opinion we must catch him by cunning, not by being vicious. Try to grab him by force and we won't get so much as a smell of him. But if we make friends with him by kindness we'll be able to get him by trickery.”
“Please find a place for us in your plan, Your Majesty,” said the little demons.
“Go back to the camp,” the junior demon king told them, “but don't let on to His Senior Majesty. If he gets alarmed and gives the game away our plan will be ruined. I can catch the Tang Priest through magical transformations.” As the other demons went away he leapt down the mountainside to the path, shook himself and changed into a aged Taoist. This is what he looked like:
A gleaming star-hat,
Unkempt white hair.
An embroidered belt round a cloak of feathers,
Cloud sandals tied with yellow coir.
Clear of spirit and bright-eyed as an immortal,
Strong and light like one who will live for ever.
He could be compared to the Taoist Riding a Buffalo,
But is more like the Master of the White Scroll.
This false image could be a real one;
His deception appears to be the truth.
There he was, beside the path, pretending to be a Taoist who had broken his leg. His feet were covered in blood. “Help help,” he shouted.
Just as Sanzang was happily walking along, supported by the Great Sage Monkey and Friar Sand, he heard a shout of “Help me, Father.”
“Well I never,” said Sanzang. “Who could that be shouting in these wild and uninhabited mountains? It must be someone who's been frightened by tigers, leopards or wolves.” Reining in his horse he called, “Who's that in trouble? Come out.” The demon crawled out from the undergrowth and kowtowed noisily for all he was worth before the Tang Priest, who was most upset to see that he was a Taoist and of such advanced years at that. He dismounted rapidly and helped the old man to his feet, begging him to rise.