Stumbling into Pansi Cave (XIV)

Meanwhile, Tang Sanzang and his disciples arrived at Pansi Ridge.

The four travelers were exhausted and hungry. Seeing many houses on the ridge ahead, Tang Sanzang said he wanted to go there to beg for alms.

Upon hearing this, Bajie stood on tiptoe to look and exclaimed with delight:

"Master, there's a large Manor ahead, with countless houses stretching out, and Cooking Smoke from chimneys everywhere. If we go there to beg for alms, we can eat our fill!" Tang Sanzang was overjoyed to hear this.

Sha Wujing was also pleased.

Wukong, however, dared not be careless. After carefully examining the area, he stopped his master and fellow disciples, saying, "Master, we cannot go. The place ahead is not a good place. I sense a lot of demonic energy about it; it's not a respectable place!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he immediately reined in his White Horse, daring not to go any further, and asked, "Wukong, are there really Demon ahead?"

Wukong pointed to the ridge and said, "Master, look, there's a lingering demonic aura in those ridges; Demon must be living there!"

Bajie said, "Where is the demonic aura? I can't see it."

Sha Wujing said, "Second Senior Brother, Elder Brother can't be mistaken."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang dismounted and looked at the towering mountains ahead, Earthly Way with great worry, "More Demon are blocking our way. What should we do?"

Sha Wujing suggested, "Master, why don't we take a detour?"

Tang Sanzang said, "Taking a detour is fine, but I don't know how wide this ridge is from north to south, how long from east to west, and how long it will take to circle around."

Wukong said, "If you don't want to take the detour, let Bajie patrol the mountain and fight the Demon. Once the Demon are dead, we can naturally pass through!" Bajie shook his head repeatedly, unwilling to go, and hid behind Tang Sanzang, saying:

"Master, it's not that I don't want to go, but when other people encounter Demon, they just avoid them. Who would go out of their way to run into Demon? Who knows how many Demon are on that mountain! If there are only one or two, I'll kill them with my Rake; but if there's a whole nest, how can I possibly fight them all? If I get caught and eaten by the Demon, Demon 'll be full and then let you pass! That's what my senior brother is thinking!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong laughed and scolded, "Fool! You're the one who's afraid of Demon, yet you're blaming me! When have I ever had such thoughts?" Bajie retorted, "Who said I'm afraid of Demon! I'm not afraid at all!"

Wukong asked, "If you're not afraid, would you dare to lead the way?"

Upon hearing that they needed to clear a path, Bajie became somewhat frightened and said, "Clearing a path... I..."

Just then, an old man appeared from the fork in the road at the foot of the ridge and called out loudly:

"Elders ahead, do not go any further! There are Demon on the mountain ahead! You are monks, do not cause trouble, please take a detour!"

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang said to Wukong, "Wukong, Bajie, stop arguing. Look, the old man ahead says there's Demon on the ridge. Which of you will go and ask him to find out the truth?"

Bajie, feeling embarrassed after Wukong accused him of being afraid of Demon, Earthly Way, "I'll go ask for directions!" Wukong, however, thought to himself, "Where would an Old Man suddenly appear in this Desolate Mountain wilderness? Could he be a Demon in disguise?" He hesitated to let Bajie go, fearing the Demon would be captured and he would have to go through the trouble of rescuing him. So he said:

"Master, let me go! Bajie has a long snout and big ears; the old man will be scared half to death just by seeing him. How can he possibly give directions?" Tang Sanzang thought this made sense, so he advised, "Bajie, you're ugly; you might frighten the old man. Let Wukong go instead."

Upon hearing this, Bajie felt somewhat dissatisfied.

Wukong walked up to the ridge and carefully examined the old man. He saw that the old man's hair and beard were all white, he was very old, he wore old-fashioned shoes, and he carried Wooden Staff. There was no trace of demonic aura about him; he was just an ordinary Old Man. Wukong felt much relieved, bowed, and asked:

"Old Man, I just heard you say there's Demon on the mountain. What kind of Demon is it?"

Ao Tu said, "Little monk, I don't know what kind of Demon it is either."

Wukong asked in confusion, "If you don't know, how can you say there are Demon?"

Ao Tu said, "There are seven female Yaoguai on that mountain. They are famous around here. Everyone knows them, but no one knows what kind of Demon they are. You, little monk, with your pointed mouth and monkey cheeks, you look like a Monkey who has become a demon. Those seven Female Monster are all beautiful, with skin more tender than tofu and waists softer than dough. How would anyone know what they are?"

Wukong was very dissatisfied when the old man belittled him, and said:

"You old man, I told you you had a pointy mouth and monkey cheeks, and you only look at the waist and flesh of Yaoguai. Aren't you afraid that Yaoguai will eat you?" Ao Tu laughed, "Those seven Female Monster don't eat people. If they did, why would an old man like me dare to come here?"

Wukong asked in surprise, "Yaoguai don't eat people? Is that so? Then why did you tell us, master and disciples, not to go looking for trouble?" Ao Tu said, "If it were anyone else, I certainly wouldn't tell them. But seeing that you are several monks, it won't hurt to tell you, just don't pass it on to others." Wukong said, "Tell me, tell me."

Ao Tu said, "I heard that the seven Female Monster on the ridge are intercepting men coming from the south and going to the north, and those going Journey Westward. They only intercept men, not women, because they want to find husbands for their children!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong realized it was another attempt to recruit a son-in-law, and became suspicious, fearing it was Demon's scheme. He dared not linger, bid farewell to the Old Man, and returned to Tang Sanzang and the others.

Tang Sanzang asked, "Wukong, have you found out anything?"

Wukong glanced at Bajie, thinking that if he said there was a female Demon seeking a husband, this fool would surely be unable to resist and would likely fall for the Demon's scheme. So he lied and said:

"Master, we've found out. There are seven Demon on this mountain! If you go there and encounter them, the three of us brothers can each take on one, and there will still be four left. One of the four Demon will grab your left hand, one your right hand, one your left foot, and one your right foot, and they'll tear you apart and eat you in no time! Only your monk's head will be left. The three of us will bury you, make a grave, and set you off in a foreign land, where we'll offer sacrifices and you'll never be able to obtain the True Scriptures again."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang was so frightened that he dared not move, Earthly Way in a panic, "Wukong, what should we do? I think we should take a detour!" Wukong smiled to himself and nodded, "Alright, let's take a detour!"

Seeing Bajie smirking, Bajie suspected Wukong Monkey was lying to the old monk, but not knowing why, he didn't expose him. Sha Wujing then asked, "Elder Brother, did you ask what kind of ridge this is, how many miles it is, and whether it's shorter to go around from the north or the the South?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong was unable to answer for a moment. Since his lie was made up on the spot, he naturally couldn't give a proper reply.

Seeing this, Bajie said, "Master, look, this Monkey is so careless, he didn't even ask for directions clearly. Let me, Old Pig, go and ask again!" Tang Sanzang, seeing that Bajie said this and that Wukong had indeed not found out, said, "Alright, Bajie, go and ask again." Bajie happily ran off.

Wukong said, "Bajie, there are Demon on the mountain. Find out the way and come back quickly!"

Bajie gave a hasty reply, ran to the foot of the ridge, saw Ao Tu, bowed, and asked:

"Old man, I am the second disciple of the elder from the foot of the mountain. The one who came just now was my senior brother. My master scolded him for not asking for directions clearly and told me to come back to ask again."

Ao Tu had been waiting for Bajie. Even if Bajie hadn't come, he was prepared to find another opportunity to meet Bajie. Now that Bajie had come over, it suited his purposes perfectly, so he smiled and said:

"Fat Monk, what directions do you need?"

Bajie said, "My senior brother said there are seven Demon on the mountain that eat people, so we've decided to take a detour and ask the old man what the ridge is called, how long it is from east to west, how wide it is from north to south, and which detour is the shortest."