After resting and recuperating for two days, Bajie went out to subdue the demon again.
Meanwhile, Ao Tu scattered a handful of red sand each day, pinning down Sun Wukong's body and primordial spirit so he could not escape.
When Bajie arrived that day, Ao Tu left Tiger Vanguard temporarily in charge of the formation, transformed into Tiger Vanguard's likeness, and went out to meet him.
Rake in hand, Bajie shouted:
"You murderous Evil Tiger! How many sins have you committed? Today, your Grandpa Pig is going to finish you off, you monster!"
Ao Tu said, "Well, well, you pig demon! Last time I beat you so badly you pissed and shat yourself, and now you've come back to die. Are you hoping to stuff this king to death?"
"Stop bragging!" Bajie said. "Last time, you caught me unprepared. Take my rake!"
With that, he struck with his rake.
Ao Tu raised his saber to meet it. Metal clashed against metal, sending sparks flying.
Bajie exclaimed in surprise, "How did you beast get so much stronger?"
Ao Tu laughed. "It's you who lacks strength, pig demon! Watch me chop off your trotters and stew them!"
Enraged, Bajie raised his rake and attacked again.
Ao Tu held back as he fought him. They exchanged more than thirty rounds without either gaining the upper hand.
Bajie grew vicious, swinging his rake and pounding wildly in every direction.
Ao Tu put away his saber, took out the Long Spear, and unleashed a razor-sharp beam of golden light.
At the sight, Bajie hurriedly raised his rake to block it.
But the golden light was far more powerful than before. Even with his rake blocking it, Bajie was blasted away, his hands and feet going numb.
"You sly Evil Tiger!" Bajie said. "You were holding back before! They say to play the pig to eat the tiger, but today you're trying to eat me, Old Pig!"
Ao Tu said, "You do have some strength, pig demon, to block my golden light!"
"You haven't seen what your Grandpa Pig can really do yet!" Bajie said.
With that, he raised his rake and charged again.
After several dozen more rounds, Bajie felt that the Evil Tiger's martial skill was on a par with his own, though that golden light was rather formidable. So he assumed his true form and rampaged about, trampling the forest floor until it collapsed and uprooting great trees.
Ao Tu roared, "You pig demon! How dare you damage my mountain forest!"
He raised the Long Spear and unleashed more than a hundred razor-sharp beams of golden light.
Bajie dodged some and took others, suffering numerous wounds and being forced out of his true form.
Seeing this, Ao Tu pretended to pant for breath and said:
"You pig demon, you're still alive! You do have some ability. Let's call a truce for today. Once I've had a meal, I'll fight you again."
Bajie thought the tiger demon had run out of strength and wanted to keep fighting, but he feared the cunning creature still had strength in reserve. In the end, they each withdrew.
After returning, Bajie recuperated for two days, then came back to fight again.
Ao Tu came out to meet him as before.
Each time, Bajie felt he was only a hair's breadth from defeating Ao Tu, yet he could never win.
More than ten days passed like this. Seeing that Bajie still had not subdued the demon, Tang Sanzang grew anxious and could not help saying, "Bajie, since you can't subdue that demon, why not invite the Bodhisattva here?"
"All right," Bajie said. "But Master, my cloud isn't as fast as Senior Brother's. Don't get anxious while you wait here."
"I won't be anxious," Tang Sanzang said. "Go quickly!"
Bajie rose on his cloud and headed toward the Southern Sea.
Seeing Bajie leave on a cloud, Tiger Vanguard immediately reported it to Ao Tu. Guessing that Bajie had gone to seek help, Ao Tu rose on a cloud and caught up, then transformed himself into Sun Wukong's likeness.
Wearing the Phoenix-Winged Purple-Gold Crown on his head, the Golden Chainmail Armor on his body, and the Cloud-Treading Lotus Silk Shoes on his feet, with an exquisitely wrapped gift in hand, he swept past Bajie on his cloud.
Bajie rubbed his eyes at the sight and hurriedly called, "Senior Brother! Senior Brother!"
Ao Tu stopped his cloud, looked at Bajie, and said, "Dear brother, what are you doing here?"
"Senior Brother, where have you been?" Bajie said. "You have no idea how much I've suffered since you left!"
"Didn't I leave a message on silk saying I was going home for a visit?" Ao Tu said.
"Then why didn't you tell Master to his face?" Bajie asked.
Ao Tu laughed. "If I'd told him to his face, would he have let me take leave?"
"Then where are you going now?" Bajie asked.
"To my nephew's birthday feast," Ao Tu said.
"Since when have you had a nephew?" Bajie asked.
"He's the son of the Mighty Bull Demon King, who became my sworn brother back in the day!" Ao Tu said.
Only then did Bajie understand, and he complained:
"You've got it good, going off to a feast! Meanwhile, I've been bullied by that demon!"
"What happened?" Ao Tu asked. "Tell me at once."
Bajie recounted his fierce battles with the Evil Tiger over the past several days, then lifted his clothes to reveal his many wounds. His clothes were badly damaged too.
"Dear brother, you've suffered," Ao Tu said. "This is my fault as your elder brother, putting you through so much hardship. Here's what we'll do: don't go looking for the Bodhisattva. The Southern Sea is far away, and the journey is exhausting. Besides, what if a demon captures Master while he's left there alone? Go back and protect him. Once I return from the feast, I'll get rid of that Evil Tiger."
Pouting his snout, Bajie muttered, "Senior Brother, it would be good if we could handle it ourselves and spare ourselves begging for help! But how long will you be gone?"
"Six or seven days at least," Ao Tu said. "Ten-odd days at most."
"Why so long just to attend a feast?" Bajie asked.
"I was pinned beneath the Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years," Ao Tu said. "We've been out of touch for so long. Surely catching up calls for staying a few extra days?"
As he spoke, Ao Tu lifted the gift box and patted Bajie's shoulder.
"This is the gift I prepared for the Bull Demon King. Take it to Master and ask him not to be angry, and to allow me a few more days' leave."
Bajie accepted the gift. Feeling its weight, he brightened a little.
Ao Tu then took a pearl from inside his robes and said:
"I picked this up when I went to the East Sea Dragon Palace for tea the day before yesterday. Dear brother, you've worked so hard fighting demons that even your clothes are ruined. Take this as a little private spending money to buy new clothes. Consider it my apology!"
Bajie accepted the pearl and said happily:
"Senior Brother, why are you treating me so well? I, Old Pig, am not quite used to it!"
"When have I ever treated you badly?" Ao Tu said. "When I return from the feast, I'll bring you some banquet food too. Just put in a few good words for me with Master, and ask him not to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell."
Bajie thumped his chest. "Don't worry, Senior Brother! With me, Old Pig, here, I guarantee you'll be fine!"
Carrying the gift, Bajie tucked the pearl into his ear for safekeeping and returned in high spirits.
When he saw Tang Sanzang, Bajie explained what had happened. He dared not say that Sun Wukong had gone to visit the Bull Demon King, saying only that Sun Wukong had a sworn brother with whom he had been out of touch for years, and had now gone to visit him and would return in ten-odd days.
He also presented Sun Wukong's gift and put in many good words for him.
Though Tang Sanzang still felt some resentment, Bajie managed to coax him out of it.
Still, he felt that ten-odd days was too long and would delay their quest for the scriptures.
Bajie persuaded him that even a trip to seek the Bodhisattva would take considerable time there and back, and that constantly turning to the Bodhisattva made them look useless.
Tang Sanzang thought this made some sense, so he could only wait patiently.
Meanwhile, Sun Wukong remained trapped in the formation. Ao Tu threw in a handful of red sand each day, leaving Sun Wukong unable to move.
Seven or eight days passed like this. Every day, Tang Sanzang stood outside watching for Sun Wukong's return, gradually growing impatient.
Bajie once again offered many soothing words, and Tang Sanzang reluctantly endured the wait.
Another seven or eight days passed. By now, the month specified in Sun Wukong's message on silk had elapsed, yet Sun Wukong still had not returned.
Unable to bear it any longer, Tang Sanzang said:
"That wicked beast must be too wild to tame and unwilling to return!"
As he spoke, he was about to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell.
Bajie hurriedly soothed him, saying only that Senior Brother might have run into something that would delay him for a couple of days. After much persuasion, he got Tang Sanzang to grant another two days.
Two more days passed, and Sun Wukong still had not returned.
Tang Sanzang would hear no further persuasion and began reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell.
Inside the Red Sand Formation, Ao Tu grabbed a handful of red sand and scattered it as usual. Just then, golden light suddenly shone from Sun Wukong's head as the Tight-Fillet Spell took effect.
Sun Wukong's spirit, which had been befuddled by the red sand, was instantly jolted awake by the pain.
Ao Tu had battered Sun Wukong with red sand for more than thirty days without breaking through his steel tendons and iron bones. Now, as Tang Sanzang recited the spell, the constriction instantly turned Sun Wukong's ears and face crimson, making his eyes bulge and his head swim.
Sun Wukong somersaulted and tugged at the Golden Fillet, his eyes reddening with unbearable pain-a hundred times worse than the red sand within the Red Sand Formation.
Outside, Tang Sanzang recited it five times, then stopped and said, "If that wicked beast still hasn't returned tomorrow, I'll recite it twenty more times!"
Inside the Red Sand Formation, Sun Wukong finally returned to normal. There was no sense of time within the formation, so he did not know why Tang Sanzang had recited the Tight-Fillet Spell, but he knew he had to escape as quickly as possible.
Yet he truly could not break through this formation.
At his wits' end, he suddenly remembered the three Life-Saving Hairs the Bodhisattva had bestowed on him at Eagle Sorrow Ravine on Snake Coil Mountain.
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