An Ill-Fated Tumble into Pansi Cave (Twenty-One)

Meanwhile, Bajie, carrying the words taught by Wukong, went to find the Eldest Sister Spider Demon.

Seeing Bajie Bajie, the elder sister spoke before he could say anything, saying, "Elder, my Elder Brother hasn't arrived yet. Please wait a few more days."

Upon hearing this, Bajie, already harboring resentment, complained to the Eldest Sister Spider Demon, "Sister, it's been almost two months! Your Elder Brother can wait, but my master can't!"

The eldest sister said, "Elder, please don't be impatient. I have already sent someone to urge them on. Please wait a few more days."

Seeing that the Eldest Sister Spider Demon was still stalling with her old excuses, Bajie followed what Wukong had taught him and said:

"We can't wait any longer. May I ask which immortal Immortal Mountain and Cave Abode dwelling your Elder Brother resides on? My Old Pig Elder Brother Supernatural Ability powerful; he can Somersault Cloud, covering 108,000 li in a single Somersault Cloud. One of them is your elder brother, and the other is my Old Pig brothers, they can be considered brothers by marriage. Let him go and invite them on my behalf, so as not to cause any delays on the way."

Upon hearing this, the eldest sister naturally couldn't reveal it and declined, saying:

"This is not appropriate. My Elder Brother usually prefers to be in seclusion, often grinding herbs and Alchemy, which can take anywhere from a few days to several months. He is most averse to being disturbed by outsiders. He does not know the elder's Elder Brother. If we rashly invite him, we may offend him and hinder our marriage."

Bajie replied, "That's no problem! My Elder Brother knows Seventy-Two Transformations and can transform into anything. We can just have him transform into someone we know and go invite them, right?"

The elder sister replied, "That's even more inappropriate. Marriage is a major event, and honesty is essential. If there's even the slightest intention to deceive, I'm afraid the marriage won't last!"

Bajie was already suspicious of his elder sister's procrastination, and seeing her making excuses again only fueled his suspicions. So he repeated another set of words that Wukong had taught him:

"Sister, since your Elder Brother can't arrive for the time being, could you please return my Rake to me first?"

The eldest sister said, "Didn't we agree to leave it with us as a token? Why are you going back on your word?"

Bajie said, "It's not that I'm going back on my word, but that Rake is my personal weapon. It's been a long time since I've had it with me, and I don't know how I'll explain it to Master. Since my Elder Brother Elder Brother can't come right away, please return the Rake to me for now. I'll show it to him when he arrives."

Upon hearing this, the older sister countered with a question:

"During these days, Elder, have you been staying in my humble abode without any shortage of food, clothing, or lodging?"

Bajie said, "Thank you for taking good care of me, sister. Everything I need for food, clothing, and lodging is perfect, and there is nothing I lack."

The elder sister then asked, "Have the maids and servants in our household behaved improperly in their service?"

Bajie said, "Although the maids and servants have somewhat unusual appearances, they serve diligently. During the day they wash clothes, and at night they feed the horses. They are very attentive and considerate, and have never been impolite."

The eldest sister nodded, then looked at Bajie again, her eyes filled with reproach, and questioned:

"Since the elder lives in the house and serves us with utmost care and devotion, why have you broken your promise? That Rake was a token you personally promised to give us as an engagement token. Now that the marriage is uncertain, you want to take the token away first. Not only is this extremely inauspicious, but if word gets out, people will think that we sisters are morally flawed, which is why you broke your promise! How are we sisters supposed to find husbands again?"

Upon hearing this, Bajie was rendered speechless, and after a long while, he finally said:

"It's just that my sisters told me to wait too long; I'm afraid they don't really want to recruit me."

The elder sister said, "You and I are both enlightened Demon Immortal immortals. A hundred years in this mortal world is but a snap of the fingers. How can we be like Mortal? The matter of finding a husband is a serious matter. Even discussing it for twenty or thirty years is not excessive. Now you have only waited for two months and you are already impatient. What is the reason for this?"

Bajie said helplessly, "Twenty or thirty years, I can wait that long, but how can my master wait that long?"

The eldest sister sneered, "Throughout history, I've never heard of a monk needing his master's approval to marry into another family! This is all your fault for being two-faced. You wanted to get married and also wanted to Journey to the West the scriptures—where can you find such a good deal? I'm only letting you off the hook because you're not a bad person and are an honest man; if it were anyone else, they would have kicked you out long ago. You're ungrateful and dare to blame me instead?"

Bajie was so embarrassed that he didn't dare say another word and returned home looking ashamed.

The eldest sister watched Bajie run away and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle to herself.

Ao Tu then came out from behind.

Upon seeing this, the eldest sister immediately bowed and said, "Your Great King."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "You were eloquent and persuasive just now, so I'll reward you with a pill."

Ao Tu took out a Elixir Pills.

Upon seeing this, the eldest sister stepped forward, took a small sip, smiled, and bowed, saying, "Thank you for the Great King's gift."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Alright, no need for formalities."

The elder sister cautioned, "Your Great King, although I had the upper hand in the argument just now, that Zhu Bajie is a pragmatic monk. I'm afraid he'll realize something's amiss when he gets back and secretly come back to demand his Rake."

Ao Tu said, "I expected this. You and I will keep watch together tonight and wait for him to come."

The eldest sister agreed.

Meanwhile, after returning home, Bajie felt increasingly uneasy and told Wukong what had happened.

After hearing this, Wukong said, "Fool, can't you see that those seven female Demon were just using this as an excuse to trick you out of your treasure?"

Bajie asked, "How did you lie to me?"

Wukong said, "The local earth god said that those seven female Demon used to eat people all the time, so they're not clean to begin with. What's the point of talking about etiquette? If they were truly willing to recruit you, it would have been done long ago. Why wait until now? This is called a 'white dove trap,' they've tricked your precious one into leaving you with nothing!"

After listening, Bajie thought about it carefully and realized that Wukong was right. He quickly asked, "Brother, what do we do now?"

Wukong thought for a moment and said, "It would be easiest to just kill them directly. But firstly, they are a few women, and it wouldn't be honorable for me to kill them; secondly, their plan was clever, they've treated us to hospitality for two months without the slightest impoliteness, so it would be unreasonable for us to kill them. So, do you know where you've hidden your Rake?"

Bajie said, "Just place it in the hall."

Wukong said, "Tonight you go and steal the treasure back. I'll call Master and Junior Brother Sha, and we'll leave tonight."

Bajie said, "Brother, I don't know how to steal!"

Wukong said, "That precious Rake was originally yours. You just said you wanted to take it back. What's so difficult about that?"

Bajie thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

As night fell, the Little Spider Demon took off her clothes and cuddled with her older sisters, preparing to sleep. But then she noticed her eldest sister was missing and asked curiously, "Where's my eldest sister?"

The Second Sister teased her deliberately, saying, "Eldest sister! She's with the Great King!"

The Little Spider Demon was stunned upon hearing this, then Earthly Way with great grievance, "Why didn't Your Great King invite me to come along?"

Third Sister, also wanting to tease her, pulled her over and made her lie prone, with Fourth Sister and the two of them squeezing the Little Spider Demon in the middle, comparing their sizes and teasing, "What's the use of calling you? You're still half a head shorter!"

The Little Spider Demon spirit blushed and felt angry. Fortunately, in the end, her older sisters told her the truth: her eldest sister had gone with the Great King to catch that Fat Monk with big ears.