“Little ones,” said the she-devil, “I realize now. It must be heaven and earth that sent that thing down here because they can't tolerate my holding the Tang Priest prisoner. Clear all the broken dishes up and lay on another banquet. Never mind whether it's vegetarian or not. Heaven can be our matchmaker and the earth our guarantor. After that the Tang Priest and I will become man and wife.” We will say no more of her as she took the Tang Priest to sit in the East corridor.
Instead the story tells of how Monkey flew out, turned back into himself, reached the entrance to the cave and shouted, “Open up!”
“Friar Sand,” Pig shouted, “our big brother's here.” As the two of them drew their weapons away Monkey sprang out.
“Is there an evil spirit in there?” Pig asked, grabbing hold of him. “Is the master in there?”
“Yes, yes,” said Monkey.
“The master must be having a hard time in there,” said Pig. “Are his arms tied behind his back? Or is he all roped up? Is she going to steam him or boil him?”
“None of them,” Monkey replied. “She'd just had a vegetarian feast served and was going to do it with him.”
“So you've been lucky then,” said Pig. “You must have drunk a wedding toast.”
“Idiot!” retorted Monkey, “Never mind about having a wedding drink. I can hardly keep him alive.”
“Then why are you here?” Pig asked.
Monkey told how he had seen the master and done his transformations, ending, “Don't let your fears run away with you, brothers. The master's here, and when I go back in this time I'll definitely rescue him.”
Going back inside, Monkey turned into a fly and landed on the gate-tower to listen. He could hear the she-devil snorting with fury as she gave instructions within the pavilion.
“Little ones, bring whatever there is, vegetarian or not, and burn paper as offerings to the deities. I'll ask heaven and earth to be the matchmakers. I'm definitely going to marry him.”
When Monkey heard this he smiled to himself and thought, “That she-devil's completely shameless. She's locked a monk up in her home and now she's going to mess around with him in broad daylight. But don't be in too much of a hurry. Give me time to go in and have a look round.” With a buzz he flew along the corridor to see the master sitting inside, tears streaming down his face.
Monkey squeezed in, landed on Sanzang's head and called, “Master.” Recognizing the voice, Sanzang sprang to his feet and said with tooth-gnashing fury, “Macaque! Other people get their courage from a big gall, but they have to wrap their bodies around it. Your gall is so big that you wrap it round your body. You used your magical powers of transformation to smash the crockery, but what use is that? By fighting that she-devil you've only made her more sex-crazed than ever. She is arranging a banquet with vegetarian and impure food all mixed up and is determined to mate with me. Where will this all end?”
Smiling to himself again, Monkey replied, “Don't be angry with me, Master. I've got a way to save you.”
“How will you save me?” the Tang Priest asked.
“When I flew up just now,” said Monkey, “I saw that she has a garden behind here. You must lure her into the garden to fool around and I'll rescue you from there.”
“How will you rescue me from the garden?” the Tang Priest asked.
“Go to the peach trees in the garden with her and stay there. Wait till I've flown to a branch of the peach tree and turned into a red peach. When you want to eat a peach pick the red one first-that will be me. She'll be bound to pick one too. You must insist on giving her the red one. Once she's swallowed it I'll be in her stomach. When I tear her stomach to pieces and rip her guts to shreds she'll be dead and you'll be freed.”
“With your powers you ought to fight her,” said Sanzang. “Why do you want to get into her stomach?”
“You don't understand, Master,” Monkey replied. “If it were easy to get in and out of this cave of hers I would be able to fight her. But this place is very hard to get into or out of: the way out is complicated and difficult. If I started a fight with her all the fiends in her den, young and old, would overpower me. Then how would it end? We must act carefully if we're all to make a clean getaway.”
Sanzang nodded, believing all that Monkey said, adding only, “You must stay with me.”
“I know,” said monkey, “I know. I'll be on your head.”
When master and disciple had settled their plan Sanzang leaned forward, took hold of the bars in the corridor's gates and called out, “Lady, lady.”
As soon as she heard this the evil spirit came rushing over, a simpering smile on her face, to ask, “What do you have to say to me, my wonderful darling?”
“Lady,” replied Sanzang, “ever since leaving Chang'an and starting on my journey to the West I have had to cross mountains and rivers every single day. When I was staying in the Zhenhai Monastery last night I caught a bad chill and I have been in a sweat today. I was just beginning to feel a little better today when in your kindness, good lady, you brought me into your immortals' palace. As I have been sitting here all day I am now feeling in rather low spirits again. Could you take me somewhere to cheer myself up and have a little fun?”
The evil spirit was utterly delighted. “So you're feeling a bit interested, are you, my wonderful darling?” she said. “You and I will go into the garden for some fun. Little ones,” she called, “fetch the key, open the garden gates, and sweep the paths in the garden.” The demons all hurried off to open the gates and tidy the place up.
Meanwhile the evil spirit was opening the screen and helping the Tang Priest out. Just watch the many young demons-all willowy beauties with oiled hair and powdered faces-crowding around the Tang Priest as they head for the garden. What a splendid monk he was, walking amid these beauties in their gauze and brocade for no other purpose than to be deaf and dumb. If instead of having an iron heart set on the Buddha he had been any ordinary man susceptible to wine and women he would never have succeeded in fetching the scriptures.
When they reached the entrance to the garden the evil spirit whispered seductively, “My wonderful darling, let's have some fun here-it'll cheer you up.” They went into the garden hand in hand, and when he looked up he saw that it was indeed a splendid place. This is what could be seen:
All over the winding paths
Bluish lichens grow.
Secluded gauze windows
Kept dark by embroidered curtains.
When the breeze arises
Silks and brocades float in the air.
When the gentle rain stops falling
The smooth white skin and jade-like flesh are revealed.
The sun-scorched apricot
Is red as an immortal's rainbow clothes spread out to dry;
The plantain in the moonlight
Is bluer than Lady Taizhen waving her feather fan.
Whitewashed walls enclose
The golden orioles that sing in ten thousand willows.
Within the empty halls
Butterflies flit among begonias in the courtyard.
Look at the Hall of Crystallized Perfumes,
The Green Moth Hall,
The Hall to Recover from Drunkenness,
The Hall of Longing,
Rolling up the brilliance, one behind the other.
On the red curtains
Hooks hold tassels like prawn whiskers.
Now look at the Pavilion to Ease Pain
The Pavilion of Simplicity,
The Pavilion of Thrushes,
The Four Rains Pavilion,
All towering and lofty,
And bearing on decorated tablets
Their names in archaic script.
Look too at the Pool Where Cranes Bathe,
The Goblet-washing Pool,
The Pool of Delight in the Moon,
The Pool for Cleansing Tassels,