Wu Cheng-en - Journey to the West (vol. 1)

Taking all this for the truth, Sanzang told Pig to undo the ropes and bring the boy down. The idiot, not realizing who he was, was just about to start doing it. This was more than Monkey could bear.

“Damned beast,” he shouted, “there's someone here who can see what you are. Cut out all that nonsense, and stop trying to fool us. If all your family's goods have been stolen, your father has been murdered and your mother kidnapped, then who are we going to hand you to after we rescue you? What sort of reward will you give us? It doesn't hang together. It's a pack of lies.”

This frightened the evil spirit, who realized now that Monkey was an able opponent and was keeping an eye on him. So he trembled and wept as he continued, “Although I've lost both my parents and all my family's goods I've still got all our land and my other relations.”

“What relations?” Monkey asked.

“My other grandfather lives to the South of the mountain,” the evil spirit replied, “and my aunt's home is North of the ridge. Li the Fourth from the head of the ravine is married to my aunt, and Hong the Third in the woods is a distant uncle. I've also got cousins living around the village. If the venerable master will save me and take me back to the village and my relations I'll tell them all about the venerable master's kindness in rescuing me. I'll mortgage or sell some land, and reward you richly.”

At this Pig blocked Monkey's way and said, “Brother, you can't interrogate a little boy like that. He told you that the bandits only took his moveable goods-how could they have possibly taken his houses and land? If he tells his relations all about it the most we'll eat will be an acre and a half's worth, no matter how big our appetites are. Let's save him.” All the idiot could think about was his stomach. He did not care at all whether he was acting wisely as he cut through the ropes with his monk's knife and let the demon down from the tree. The demon then kept kowtowing and weeping copiously in front of the Tang Priest's horse. The tenderhearted priest said, “Come up on the horse, boy, and I'll carry you with me.”

“Master,” said the boy, “my hands and feet are numb after hanging by them for so long, and my back is hurting too. Besides, we villagers don't know how to ride.” The Tang Priest then told Pig to carry the evil spirit, who stole a quick look at Pig and said, “Master, my skin is so tender after being frozen that I couldn't bear to have this gentleman carrying me. His long snout, big ears and the bristles on the back of his head would stick into me something terrible.”

“Friar Sand,” said the Tang Priest, “you carry him.”

The boy then took a glance at Friar Sand and said, “Master, when the bandits raided our house they gave me a terrible fright. They were all made up like actors, wore false beards, and carried sticks and swords. The sight of that evil-looking reverend gentleman scares the wits out of me. I wouldn't dare let him carry me.” The Tang Priest then told Monkey to carry the boy, to which Monkey agreed with a chuckle. The monster concealed his delight as he docilely let Monkey carry him. Monkey pulled him over to the side of the path and tried him for weight.

The boy was only about three pounds ten ounces heavy. “Damn you, you demon,” said Monkey, “you die today. How dare you try your tricks on me! I know that you're one of those.”

“I'm the son of a good family who's had the bad luck to meet with disaster,” protested the demon. “What do you mean by calling me 'one of those?'”

“If you're the son of a good family,” said Monkey, “then why are your bones so light?”

“I have very small bones,” said the demon.

“How old are you?” Monkey asked.

“Six this year,” the demon replied.

“You still ought to put on at least a pound a year,” said Monkey with a smile. “You should weigh at least six pounds: how come you're less than four?”

“I wasn't breastfed as a baby,” said the demon.

“Very well then,” said Monkey, “I'll carry you. But mind you warn me if you need to piss or shit.” Sanzang then pressed ahead with Pig and Friar Sand while Monkey brought up the rear with the demon on his back. They carried on towards the West, as this poem proves:

High fiendish dangers face high virtue;

The stillness of meditation gives rise to evil spirits.

When the Heart Lord is upright and takes the middle way,

Wood's mother foolishly treads the wrong path.

The Thought-horse silently nurses desires,

The Yellow Wife wordlessly worries and grieves.

When the stranger prospers he rejoices in vain;

From just this place must one vanish.

As the Great Sage Monkey carried the evil spirit he felt very resentful of the Tang Priest for not realizing how hard the going was for him. “It would be bad enough to cross these high mountains empty-handed, but he has to make me carry someone else too. Even if this wretch is a good boy and not an evil spirit, he's lost his parents and I don't know who I should take him to. Best thing would be to dash him to the ground and finish him off.”

The demon knew what Monkey was thinking, so he drew in four deep breaths from all around then blew them out again on Monkey's back, which made Monkey feel he weighed a thousand pounds.

“You're using extra-weight magic to weigh me down, my lad,” laughed Monkey. This made the monster afraid that Monkey was going to kill him, so he got his spirit out of his body and sprang up into the ninth layer of cloud. Now that Monkey was finding the load on his back even heavier he grabbed the boy and smashed him so hard against a rock by the path that the boy's body looked like minced pork. Then, just to make sure that the boy would give no more trouble, Monkey tore off all four of his limbs and ripped them into little pieces that he scattered on both sides of the path.

At this the demon, who was watching from mid-air, could hold back his fiery temper no longer. “This ape of a monk is thoroughly vicious,” he said. “Evil spirit wanting to kill your master I may be, but I've not yet laid my hands on him. How could you butcher me so atrociously? If I hadn't anticipated and got my spirit out you'd have slaughtered me in cold blood. I'm going to catch the Tang Priest here and now. If I delay any longer, he will become too clever.”

The splendid evil spirit then conjured up a whirlwind in mid-air. It was a terrible one that sent stones and dust flying. What a splendid wind:

The bowling whirlwind carried a stench over clouds and water;

The sun and moon were blacked out by its pall.

The trees along the ridge were soon uprooted;

The flowering plums were flattened, trunks and all.

Sand-blinded travelers could barely walk along;

The paths were blocked by many a crashing rock.

Its swirling mass made all the earth seem dark;

The mountain creatures screamed and howled from shock.

It blew so hard that Sanzang could barely stay on his horse, Pig could not look straight ahead, and Friar Sand had to bend and cover his face. Realizing that this was a devil's wind, the Great Sage rushed forward to catch them up, but the demon had already scooped the Tang Priest up in his wind. Sanzang had disappeared without a trace. Nobody could tell where he had been taken or where to start looking for him.

Before long the wind fell and the sun was shining again. Monkey went up and saw that the white dragon horse was trembling and neighing. The luggage had been thrown into the path, Pig was hiding under a crag and whimpering, and Friar Sand was squatting howling on the mountainside.

“Pig!” shouted Monkey, and recognizing his voice the idiot looked up to see that the storm was over.

He climbed to his feet, grabbed hold of Monkey, and said, “What a wind.”