We're Even

Zhu Wuneng had still been basking in the gratitude he felt for his master's defense. At the sight of the newcomer, his massive body jolted. He lowered his head, his big ears drooping, and trembled faintly.

He was truly afraid.

Afraid of hearing the words "deserves to die" from this woman's lips.

The woman stood there, slender and frail, her fingers white at the knuckles as she gripped the doorframe.

"Cui Lan! My child!"

At the sight of his daughter, Elder Gao froze, then burst into tears and rushed toward her.

"That monster deserves a thousand cuts! Look what he's done to you! Don't be afraid. The holy monk of the Great Tang is here. Today, he'll pay with his life!"

Though her face was somewhat pale and her figure thin, and the earlier shaking had left her hair a little disheveled, her clothes were neat. There was fear in her expression, but no panic.

It was Gao Cuilan.

"Wife... Cui Lan."

Zhu Wuneng shuddered and instinctively started toward her, but one glance at his own thick pig's hands made him stop.

Gao Cuilan raised her head. Her gaze passed over everyone else and settled on Zhu Wuneng.

"Father."

Gao Cuilan's voice was gentle, yet it rang out with particular clarity in the deathly silent hall.

"He... never hurt me."

Elder Gao looked as though lightning had struck him. His eyes widened, and he nearly choked. "Cui Lan! What nonsense are you talking about? Has this monster bewitched you?! What he did to you..."

"He only confined me upstairs."

"For half a year, I was locked in the rear courtyard. Those days were indeed dark and filled with fear."

Elder Gao brightened with delight. "Listen, Elder! Listen! I told you this..."

"But-"

Gao Cuilan lowered her head, twisting her handkerchief between her fingers, and said softly:

"For these six months, apart from bringing me meals, he only spoke to me through the door when I refused to see him. He never forced himself on me. I hated him for locking me up, for taking away my freedom. But we went through the wedding rites. We were husband and wife for three years. If you insist he took possession of me by force, Father, he was my husband. How could that be called taking possession?"

"He said people's words outside were fearsome. He was afraid they would hurt me, and afraid you would drive him away. Every day, he brought me meals, saving the sweetest wild fruit and the best food for me... Though... though he looked frightening, he never once forced himself on me or crossed that line."

Gao Cuilan turned to her pale-faced father, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"Father, are you doing this for your daughter? Or for your reputation?"

"I..."

Elder Gao opened his mouth, but no words came.

Gao Cuilan drew a deep breath. Taking that first step seemed to require every last ounce of her strength. Holding the blue cloth bundle in her hands, she walked slowly to the center of the hall.

"Cui Lan, you... don't go over there!" Elder Gao slapped his thigh in distress. "He might hurt you!"

Gao Cuilan paid him no heed.

She stopped three feet from Zhu Wuneng, looking at this figure who was both strange and familiar.

"Husband."

Zhu Wuneng went rigid and slowly turned around. He dared not lift his head, only stealing a glimpse of the hem of her skirt from the corner of his eye.

"My family owes you justice."

"But you were also in the wrong."

Gao Cuilan looked at him. "For these six months, I lacked neither food nor clothing, but I lived in fear day and night, as though trapped in a cage, unable to care for my parents. You caused that."

Zhu Wuneng lowered his head in shame, wringing his hands together. "I... I know I was wrong..."

"So today, our bond as husband and wife ends. But we must settle our accounts."

Gao Cuilan set the bundle on the table and rested her palm gently on it.

"Can our three years of marriage and these six months of confinement balance out the toil you endured, working like an ox and horse for my family?"

She stared at Zhu Wuneng, her tone solemn.

"Can we... call ourselves even?"

At those words, everyone in the hall looked at Zhu Wuneng. Xuanzang, too, closed his eyes and remained silent.

Zhu Wuneng simply stared blankly at Gao Cuilan.

A long time passed.

Zhu Wuneng let out a long breath.

"Even...!"

Zhu Wuneng stretched his mouth into a smile uglier than tears and nodded emphatically.

"All right! Whatever you say! We're even, then! I've become a monk, and I'm going with my master to fetch the scriptures! Take good care of yourself!"

Then he turned and kowtowed heavily before Xuanzang.

"Master, your disciple's worldly ties are settled. Old Pig... will follow you wholeheartedly to fetch the scriptures."

With that, he rose to leave.

"Wait." Gao Cuilan stopped him.

Zhu Wuneng halted, his back stiff.

Gao Cuilan opened the bundle.

"These are the new clothes you kept asking for the other day."

Gao Cuilan's voice was calm. "The fabric is the black hemp you found in the mountains. It's sturdy. I had nothing to do, so I sewed them."

"Originally... I meant for you to wear them through the winter."

"Now that you've taken a master and are going far away, change out of those old rags. I made them in my spare time. I don't know whether they'll fit."

"They'll fit... They'll definitely fit."

Zhu Wuneng said nothing more. He snatched up the bundle, wiped his face haphazardly, then pressed his palms together and bowed deeply to Gao Cuilan.

"Thank you... benefactress."

Gao Cuilan turned away without looking at him.

By then, the roosters were crowing, and the sun had risen.

Xuanzang opened his eyes and nodded to Wukong and Little White Dragon.

He bowed to Elder Gao. "What the benefactors said just now was brought about by this poor monk's divine power. I hope you will not vent your anger on others, elder benefactor. Accumulate virtue and do good, and blessings will surely follow."

Elder Gao hastily shook his head and waved his hands, promising he would not.

"Wukong, Wuneng, Benefactor Ao, it's time for us to leave."

Xuanzang turned and strode outside. Wukong carried his staff over his shoulder and flashed Elder Gao a toothy grin.

Little White Dragon followed close behind, carrying the luggage on a shoulder pole.

Zhu Wuneng shuddered.

He glanced at Gao Cuilan.

The woman still had her back to him. Her shoulders trembled slightly, but she never turned around.

He abruptly turned, snatched the Nine-Toothed Rake from the ground, and strode toward the door.

"Don't look back."

Just as he was about to cross the threshold, Gao Cuilan's cry came from behind him.

"Once you're gone, don't look back!"

Gao Cuilan's voice trembled slightly, but her shout rang loud and clear.

"Walk your broad, sunlit road! Become your immortal, your Arhat! Never look back!"

In the wind, Zhu Wuneng's big ears fluttered.

But he did not turn around.

He merely raised his rough, broad hand and gave a casual wave to those behind him.

They left the village and reached the main road.

Sun Wukong had been leading the way with the Golden Cudgel over his shoulder, but now he slowed down. With a flicker of movement, he walked backward until he was beside Zhu Wuneng.

Tilting his head, he sized up his new junior brother, clicking his tongue.

"Hey, blockhead."

With a mischievous grin, Sun Wukong reached out a furry hand and tugged at Zhu Wuneng's newly donned clothes, teasing him:

"I'll give her this, that girl's needlework is pretty good. Filthy-looking as you are, now that you're dressed all in black with that big belly covered up, you almost pass for a respectable fellow."

Zhu Wuneng irritably brushed Sun Wukong's hand away and carefully smoothed the hem he had wrinkled.

"Shoo, shoo! You plague-ridden monkey!"

Zhu Wuneng grumbled, but his steps were especially forceful, kicking dust up from the ground.

"If you're jealous, go find yourself a wife to make you a set! Stop coveting Old Pig's outfit."

"Me, jealous? My master made my clothes with his own hands! Why would I envy you?"

Sun Wukong somersaulted onto a branch of a roadside tree. Swinging his legs, he plucked a blade of grass and held it between his lips as he teased:

"I'm laughing at you. Your body's left, but I'll bet your soul is still caught on Gao Village's doorstep. You waved so breezily back there, but isn't your heart dripping blood now?"

Zhu Wuneng's steps faltered.

"Brother Monkey, don't make fun of me."

Zhu Wuneng's voice was muffled.

"Old Pig knows good from bad. She let me keep my dignity, and I have to accept that. It hurts, sure, but... I won't look back again."

Listening to the exchange behind him, Xuanzang gently patted A-Hu.

A-Hu slowed down.

"Wuneng."

Xuanzang's voice drifted over on the morning breeze.

"Your disciple is here."

Zhu Wuneng hurried a few steps forward to walk beside A-Hu.

Xuanzang turned his head. "If you can let it go, let it go. If you can't, carry it with you for now. Keep your eyes on the road ahead and take your time. If our hearts held nothing, what would we have left to cultivate?"

Zhu Wuneng froze, apparently not expecting his master to say such a thing.

Xuanzang smiled at him. "The Bodhisattva gave you the Dharma name Wuneng so that you might understand the ability to restrain yourself and let go."

"But I see that you are greedy for food, restless, and easily caught in obsessive thoughts. Today, I will give you another name."

"On this journey, you must abstain from the five pungent plants and the three forbidden meats, and remain ever vigilant against the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion!"

"How about-Bajie, the Eight Abstinences?"

"Bajie..."

Zhu Wuneng paused, turning those two syllables over and over in his mouth.

After murmuring them twice, he suddenly rubbed his growling belly and pulled a long face. "Master, these 'Eight Abstinences'... sound like you're trying to starve Old Pig to death. Could I abstain from two fewer things?"

"Pfft-"

Sun Wukong could not hold back his laughter. Spitting out the blade of grass, he jumped down and patted Zhu Wuneng's broad back.

"What a blockhead! Don't worry. As long as your eldest senior brother has a bite to eat on this journey, you'll never lack slops to drink!"

"To hell with your slops!"

The interruption eased some of the sorrow of parting in Zhu Wuneng's heart.

He hoisted the Nine-Toothed Rake onto his shoulder, thrust out his big belly, and shouted:

"Bajie it is!"

"From this day forward, Old Pig's name is Zhu Bajie!"

Watching their antics, Little White Dragon stood at the back of the group with the luggage on his shoulder pole and silently thought, But I was here first!