Meanwhile, Sha Wujing went out to cut wood and unwittingly fell into the Congenital Eight Trigrams Ao Tu had laid out.
Sha Wujing went back and found thorns; he went left and found thorns; he went right and found thorns; he went forward and still found thorns.
Sha Wujing put down the wood, raised his Precious Staff, and pushed the thorns aside. He walked for a long time but still could not get out.
Sha Wujing then rose on a cloud and flew straight upward. The higher he flew, the thicker the clouds and mist became, and the harder it was to see the way ahead. He lost his bearings and could not distinguish east from west. Even when he had exhausted himself, he still could not fly out.
Meanwhile, Bajie waited a long time without seeing Sha Wujing return and could not help saying:
"That Sha Monk is even lazier than I am. We sent him to cut a little wood, and he's been gone all this time without coming back. Has he fallen asleep somewhere? Master, wait here. I'll go look for him."
As Bajie spoke, he picked up his Rake and was about to go out searching.
Tang Sanzang stopped him. "Wait, Bajie. Neither Wukong nor Wujing has returned. In the past, whenever Wukong went out to beg for food, he never kept us waiting long. Wujing isn't a lazy man either. I fear there may be some monster on this ridge. Don't venture out rashly."
Bajie thought this over and found it rather convincing. He quickly asked, "Master, what should we do?"
Tang Sanzang said, "You and I will wait here tonight. If Wukong and Wujing still haven't returned by tomorrow morning, we'll turn back."
Bajie agreed.
The night passed, and daylight came, but master and