Chapter Summaries

Xuanzang settled the dispute over whether A-Hu should carry him after taking a woman's form, then began telling the group about the Dragon Maiden's origins. His story reached Wisdom Accumulation Bodhisattva's disbelief that an eight-year-old girl could attain enlightenment so quickly.

• A-Hu insisted that becoming female did not make her unwilling to carry Xuanzang, and Xuanzang asked her if she wished to continue.
• Bajie and Little White Dragon said they had concerns about men and women traveling together, but Xuanzang mounted A-Hu and led the group onward.
• Xuanzang began telling the group how the Dragon Maiden, the youngest princess of the Sagara Dragon King, heard Manjushri Bodhisattva teach the Dharma and accompanied him to Spirit Mountain.
• Manjushri praised the eight-year-old Dragon Maiden's wisdom and said she had attained dharani samadhi after hearing the Lotus Sutra.
• Wisdom Accumulation Bodhisattva doubted Manjushri's claims and argued that an eight-year-old girl could not attain enlightenment so swiftly.

As Xuanzang retold Shariputra’s objections to the Dragon Maiden’s instant Buddhahood, his disciples debated whether age, species, and sex could prevent someone from attaining enlightenment. Little White Dragon suggested the Dragon Maiden might have already perfected her cultivation in past lives, and A-Hu challenged him over his earlier remarks about men and women.

• Xuanzang asked his disciples what they thought of Shariputra’s three objections concerning the Dragon Maiden’s age, dragon form, and female body.
• Wukong and A-Hu rejected Shariputra’s claims, arguing that the Dragon Maiden’s attainments mattered more than her appearance or sex.
• Bajie said Buddhahood required cultivation and experience, though Wukong conceded that his argument made some sense.
• Sha Wujing suggested the Dragon Maiden’s past-life cultivation had ripened, leaving only the final step to attain Buddhahood.
• Little White Dragon proposed that the Dragon Maiden had manifested enlightenment to show that all beings could become Buddhas, and A-Hu asked why he had said men and women were different.

A-Hu challenged Little White Dragon for deciding what she could do based on her being a woman, and he apologized after recognizing his mistake. As the group reached the lake, Xuanzang asked each disciple whether they believed they could become a Buddha and taught that the path was theirs to walk.

• A-Hu confronted Little White Dragon for assuming she would not carry Xuanzang, and he admitted he had belittled her and asked forgiveness.
• Bajie tried to make amends with A-Hu, then argued with Wukong, who tugged his ear over an earlier slight.
• Sha Wujing reminded the group that Xuanzang had not finished his story about the Dragon Maiden and asked whether she became a Buddha.
• At the lake, Xuanzang asked Wukong, Bajie, Little White Dragon, Sha Wujing, and A-Hu whether they believed they could become Buddhas, and each answered yes.
• Xuanzang taught that each person had to walk their own path to Buddhahood, and his disciples bowed in acceptance.

After the group returned from the mountain, the Earth God and Mountain God welcomed them with a hot meal. The gods asked Wukong to approve a name for the newly formed lake, but Xuanzang named it Mysterious Pearl Lake.

• The Mountain God prepared wild greens, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and hot rice for Xuanzang and his companions.
• Wukong stopped Bajie from lifting the pot lid before Xuanzang arrived, then thanked the Earth God and Mountain God for their help.
• Everyone ate together beside the lake as snow began to fall, and Xuanzang explained to A-Hu that he had wanted to walk simply to stretch his limbs.
• The Earth God and Mountain God asked Wukong to approve the name Great Sage Lake, but Wukong refused and suggested Xuanzang name it instead.
• Xuanzang named the lake Mysterious Pearl Lake.

Wukong carved the name Mysterious Pearl Lake into a bluestone tablet, and Xuanzang’s group rested there before continuing west. After traveling for many days into early spring, Wukong spotted a river ahead.

• Bajie suggested the name Mysterious Pearl Lake, which the Earth God and Mountain God accepted.
• At the Earth God’s request, Wukong carved “Mysterious Pearl Lake” into the bluestone tablet with his Golden Cudgel.
• Xuanzang and his disciples spent the night in a lakeside shelter while Little White Dragon combed A-Hu’s fur.
• The next morning, the Earth God and Mountain God gave the travelers food, water, and directions before they departed west.
• After many days of travel, Wukong stopped on the road and told Xuanzang that a river lay ahead.

Xuanzang and his companions boarded a ferry to cross a river after a woman insisted that the kingdom’s law required outsiders to use her boat. As they reached the western bank, the woman’s strange question and Bajie’s unease about the water left the river’s mystery unresolved.

• Wukong found no boat at the riverbank, but a woman emerged from the willow shade and offered to ferry the travelers across.
• The woman said the kingdom’s law required outsiders to use her boat and claimed it could carry all of them, including A-Hu.
• Xuanzang agreed to board, and Wukong, Sha Wujing, Little White Dragon, Bajie, and A-Hu joined him on the boat.
• Midstream, the woman asked whether many people like Xuanzang and Little White Dragon lived in the Great Tang.
• Bajie sensed something eerie in the river, but Wukong found no demonic aura or evil presence beneath the water.
• The boat reached the western bank while the woman continued watching the travelers with a peculiar smile.

After refusing a suspicious woman’s offer of river water, Xuanzang and his companions continued through the village and found another unsettling resident. Little White Dragon went to question an old woman, who grabbed him and called him a handsome plaything before summoning others.

• The boatwoman invited Xuanzang and his companions to drink from the river, but Bajie refused, sensing something was wrong.
• The group discussed the boatwoman’s strange attention, and Little White Dragon spotted two figures watching them from behind a farmhouse window before they disappeared.
• Wukong noticed two unusual bundles of straw in a tree near another dwelling and warned the group to wait.
• Little White Dragon entered the dwelling and asked an old woman what region they were in.
• The old woman seized Little White Dragon and tried to drag him inside, then ran to call the others, announcing that a handsome man had arrived.

Little White Dragon escaped a group of women who tried to pull him into their home, then rejoined Xuanzang and the others on the road. The women pursued them and turned their attention to Xuanzang, but A-Hu’s roar and Wukong’s frightening appearance sent them into a panic.

• Little White Dragon escaped the women by kicking up dust and ran back to Xuanzang, Wukong, Bajie, and Sha Wujing.
• Little White Dragon told the group that the women had tried to drag him indoors and ignored his questions.
• The women caught up and invited the men to stay with them, focusing their attention on Xuanzang.
• A-Hu roared and spread his wings, frightening the women and knocking them backward.
• Wukong seized the old woman and startled her by making himself look like a monster.

Wukong and the others questioned an old woman in the Western Liang Women's Kingdom and learned that its women used the Mother-Child River to conceive, while men who drank it would suffer a fatal pregnancy unless they obtained water from the Abortion Spring. The old woman and the other villagers fled, and Wukong questioned how the river could defy the natural union of yin and yang.

• Wukong released the old woman and demanded to know why the women had chased the travelers.
• The old woman explained that women conceived by drinking Mother-Child River water and described the Fetus-Reflecting Spring.
• The old woman revealed that men who drank the river water would suffer a painful pregnancy and could seek relief only from the Abortion Spring, guarded by Ruyi True Immortal.
• The old woman admitted that the women wanted to keep the travelers, and warned that other households might kill men who refused them and make scented sachets from their flesh.
• Wukong let the old woman and the other women return to their homes, and Bajie remarked that the travelers were fortunate not to have drunk the river water.
• Wukong questioned how the Mother-Child River could produce life without the union of yin and yang.

Xuanzang and Wukong investigated how the Mother-Child River could cause men to appear pregnant, suspecting that the Fetus-Reflecting Spring and Abortion Spring were connected to its effects. Wukong flew to Mount Jieyang to fetch Abortion Spring water while the others stayed overnight at a village house and prepared to gather river water.

• Xuanzang explained dream-ghost intercourse syndrome and how illness could cause an abdomen to swell like pregnancy, but Wukong argued it could not explain the birth of a living child.
• Little White Dragon suggested the double shadow was significant, and Bajie wondered whether ghost possession, ghost fetuses, and the Abortion Spring were connected.
• Xuanzang mapped the Mother-Child River, Fetus-Reflecting Spring, and Abortion Spring and identified the springs' strange effects as clues to investigate.
• Wukong flew toward Mount Jieyang to fetch Abortion Spring water while Bajie, Sha Wujing, A-Hu, Xuanzang, and Little White Dragon stayed at the village house.
• Wukong assigned Bajie to watch the food, Sha Wujing to guard the luggage and water, and A-Hu to protect Xuanzang and the others.
• The group returned to the village house, and an old woman opened the gate and welcomed them inside.

Sun Wukong reached Mount Jieyang to obtain water from the Abortion Spring, but the convent’s disciple refused him because he brought no gifts. After hearing Wukong’s name, Ruyi True Immortal armed himself with a Golden Hook and confronted him at the gate.

• Sun Wukong arrived at Mount Jieyang and asked an old Daoist at the Immortals-Gathering Convent for water from the Abortion Spring.
• The old Daoist explained that his master, Ruyi True Immortal, required gifts for the spring water and told Wukong to leave empty-handed.
• Sun Wukong revealed his identity and asked the old Daoist to announce him to Ruyi True Immortal.
• Ruyi True Immortal learned that Sun Wukong was outside, changed into red robes, took up a Golden Hook, and rushed out to confront him.
• Sun Wukong greeted Ruyi True Immortal and asked whether he was the master of the convent.

Sun Wukong tried to explain that Princess Iron Fan and the Holy Infant were safe and away cultivating, but Ruyi True Immortal believed he had harmed them and attacked him. Wukong easily endured Ruyi True Immortal’s assault and captured his arm, then questioned why he guarded the Abortion Spring.

• Ruyi True Immortal accused Sun Wukong of harming Princess Iron Fan and the Holy Infant after they disappeared.
• Sun Wukong said Princess Iron Fan had gone with the Holy Infant toward the South Sea, where the Holy Infant was undergoing trials, but Ruyi True Immortal demanded proof.
• Ruyi True Immortal refused to let Sun Wukong leave Mount Jieyang without a clear account and attacked him with his golden hook.
• Sun Wukong dodged and deflected Ruyi True Immortal’s strikes, explaining that he was holding back because Ruyi True Immortal was Brother Bull’s brother.
• Ruyi True Immortal empowered his golden hook and struck Sun Wukong’s shoulder, but Sun Wukong remained unharmed and seized his arm.
• Sun Wukong asked Ruyi True Immortal why he guarded the Abortion Spring and what the spring water was.

Wukong fought Ruyi True Immortal after he refused to listen about his family, then entered the Immortals-Gathering Convent to collect its spring water. Ruyi True Immortal’s second attack knocked the bucket and rope into the well, but Wukong defeated him and used transformed hairs to retrieve the water.

• Wukong challenged Ruyi True Immortal, and the two fought until Ruyi True Immortal fled up the mountain.
• Wukong entered the Immortals-Gathering Convent and prepared to draw water from its well.
• Ruyi True Immortal returned and tripped Wukong, sending the bucket and rope into the well.
• Wukong shattered Ruyi True Immortal’s hook, kicked him into a wall, and knocked him unconscious.
• Wukong transformed hairs into little monkeys, who formed a chain to fill his gourd with well water.

Wukong took a gourd of water from the Abortion Spring and brought the unconscious Ruyi True Immortal back to Xuanzang’s group. After revealing that Ruyi True Immortal was the Bull Demon King’s younger brother, Wukong faced Bajie’s teasing question about his relatives.

• Wukong gathered the broken pieces of Ruyi True Immortal’s golden hook, carried him out, and told the old Daoist he would take him to meet his master.
• Wukong left Mount Jieyang with Ruyi True Immortal and the water-filled gourd, while the old Daoist watched the convent’s plaque fall and struggled to remember what had happened.
• Bajie inspected the salt and questioned the village woman about the water as she prepared their meal.
• Xuanzang accepted wild fruit from a village woman and said the group would continue west the next day.
• Wukong returned to the village with Ruyi True Immortal, confirmed he had obtained the water, and told the group the Daoist was the Bull Demon King’s younger brother.
• Bajie asked Wukong whether he held a grudge against the Bull Demon King or against relatives.

Wukong brought Ruyi True Immortal back to the village after he attacked and obstructed him, then gave Xuanzang the Abortion Spring water. The group compared it with the Mother-Child River water, and Bajie’s grave inspection left them waiting to hear what he had found.

• Wukong explained that Ruyi True Immortal had attacked him and refused to explain why he monopolized the spring, so Wukong had sealed his spiritual energy and brought him back.
• Wukong gave Xuanzang the Abortion Spring water, and Xuanzang asked Sha Wujing to put Ruyi True Immortal indoors until they could question him the next day.
• The old woman mistook the unconscious Ruyi True Immortal for someone Wukong had killed, and Wukong assured her he only wanted to ask questions.
• After the group ate, Little White Dragon brought the Mother-Child River water, and Wukong and Little White Dragon found no obvious difference between the two waters.
• Bajie closely examined both bowls, and Wukong asked him what he had found.

Bajie sensed that the Abortion Spring water and Mother-Child River water reacted differently, so Xuanzang proposed mixing them to investigate. Bajie drank the mixture before Xuanzang could test it, then suffered a sudden stomach crisis and rushed outside.

• Bajie said the Abortion Spring water felt vaguely like the Ren Water qi inside him, while the Mother-Child River water made him uncomfortable.
• Xuanzang asked Wukong to mix the two waters, and Bajie found that their distinct sensations had disappeared.
• Xuanzang tried to drink the mixture, but Wukong and the others warned him against testing it himself.
• Bajie snatched the bowl and drank all the mixed water, insisting it was safer for him than for Xuanzang.
• Bajie first felt comfortable, then clutched his stomach and rushed outside as Wukong and Little White Dragon followed; they returned in silence as a foul stench entered the room.

After drinking a bowl mixed from Mother-Child River Water and Abortion Spring water, Bajie suffered severe diarrhea but recovered enough to rest and eat. The old woman warned that the Abortion Spring was so potent that ordinary people could suffer grave harm from drinking it.

• Little White Dragon told Sha Wujing that Bajie had been a step too late, and Wukong clarified that Bajie was alive but outside with diarrhea.
• Sha Wujing brought Bajie clean clothes and toilet paper while Bajie endured repeated bouts outside the courtyard.
• Bajie returned weak and exhausted, and Wukong examined him before telling him to rest overnight.
• Bajie bathed and ate rice porridge while Sha Wujing heated water and Little White Dragon cooked for him.
• The old woman learned that Bajie had drunk a bowl containing Abortion Spring water and warned him that even a small sip could dissolve an early pregnancy.

After Bajie recovered from drinking the Abortion Spring water, Xuanzang and his companions questioned why the water had become so expensive despite apparently having few users. They suspected it had another purpose and decided they still needed to question Ruyi True Immortal.

• Bajie recovered from the spring water and refused to drink any more of it.
• An old woman asked Wukong for some spring water to sell, and Xuanzang agreed to give it to her.
• Xuanzang reasoned that few people seemed to need the water and that it had become valuable only after Ruyi True Immortal began guarding the spring.
• Wukong and Xuanzang concluded that the water might have another use and that someone was manipulating its value.
• Little White Dragon said they still had to ask Ruyi True Immortal, who lay nearby with his eyes closed.

Xuanzang and his disciples rested at the old woman’s home, then continued west toward the royal capital. After Wukong woke Ruyi True Immortal beside a wooded fork, the group prepared to question him.

• Xuanzang stopped Bajie from eating more porridge, and the exhausted Bajie soon fell asleep.
• The old woman and her daughters secretly buried a sealed jar of Abortion Spring water while Wukong and Little White Dragon heard them.
• At daybreak, Wukong checked that Bajie had recovered, and Xuanzang thanked the old woman before the group left.
• On the road, Bajie teased Little White Dragon about the women following them, and Little White Dragon threatened to reveal Bajie's ordeal from the previous day.
• After the followers dispersed, Wukong set Ruyi True Immortal against a stone and woke him with a tap between the brows.

Xuanzang questioned Ruyi True Immortal about his fight with Wukong and uncovered inconsistencies in his account. He suspected someone had specifically sent Ruyi True Immortal to guard the Abortion Spring, but the chapter ended before Ruyi answered.

• Ruyi True Immortal woke among Xuanzang and his companions, and agreed to answer questions when Xuanzang introduced himself.
• Ruyi True Immortal said he had attacked Wukong because he believed Wukong had harmed Princess Iron Fan and the Holy Infant Great King.
• Xuanzang pointed out that Ruyi True Immortal had not told the Bull Demon King what Wukong said and had only stopped Wukong from drawing water instead of attacking him.
• Ruyi True Immortal claimed he had settled at Mount Jieyang by chance and guarded the Abortion Spring for gifts that supported his cultivation.
• Xuanzang noted that Ruyi True Immortal's words and circumstances suggested someone had sent him to guard the spring, then asked whether his suspicion was correct.