"With Bodhi in the heart, neither suffers loss."
Bajie muttered, scrubbing his face haphazardly with his broad sleeves.
"As if it were that easy to comprehend! I couldn't fathom it even when I was an immortal, let alone now, wrapped in this pigskin."
Carrying the Nine-Toothed Rake, he stumbled through the pine forest, looking around.
Aside from old black pines so thick a man could barely encircle their trunks, there was not so much as a glimpse of wild fruit.
Thick layers of rotting pine needles carpeted the ground, releasing sour, putrid miasma whenever he stepped on them.
Never mind a household where he could beg for food-he could not even see a single breathing creature.
"Grrrrumble-"
A muffled, thunderous rumble came from his belly.
Bajie's eyes rolled, then settled on a sheltered earthen bank.
Dry pine needles lay more than a foot deep beneath it, looking wonderfully soft and eminently suitable for a nap.
He rubbed his shriveled belly and let out an enormous yawn.
Perhaps all his earlier crying had exhausted him; a powerful wave of drowsiness washed over him.
"Sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting."
"Old Pig will catch another nap first. Once I'm rested, I'll go looking for alms."
He casually tossed the Rake aside and plunged headfirst into the dry needles, rooting around twice like a wild boar foraging until he found an exceedingly comfortable position.
Pulling his two great ears over his eyes, he was snoring loud enough to shake the heavens within moments.
In his dream, he returned to the Celestial River.
The shimmering waters of the silver river flowed gently.
The distinctive fragrance of osmanthus from Guanghan Palace drifted across the silver river, faint and elusive, refreshing his heart and soul.
An immortal maiden sang softly and danced beneath the laurel