A Sudden Realization
"After I parted ways with Tang Xuanzang, I came to the Water Curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain to look for my belongings. Sure enough, I found a fake Tang Xuanzang and a fake Zhu Bajie. I've already killed them both. Their real forms were actually two monkeys."
Bodhisattva Guanyin recounted what had just happened to Zhu Bajie. Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie was overjoyed and then returned to his previous state.
Tang Xuanzang studied the teachings of Bodhisattva Guanyin, and later took in Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, severing their wandering minds, and together they went to the Western Heaven to obtain Buddhist scriptures.
After a short while, the four travelers continued onward, gradually feeling the oppressive heat. Tang Xuanzang reined in his White Dragon Horse and said:
"It's autumn now, why is the weather so hot? What happened here? Can anyone go and take a look?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie laughed and said to Tang Xuanzang:
"Master, you are unaware of this, but there is a country on the western road known as the Place of Sunset."
"The sun there is like real fire, falling between the Western Sea and the West Sea. When water drips onto the ground, it instantly dries up. If you place a basin of water on the ground, it will instantly become scalding hot."
"We must have reached the Place of Sunset by now."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong burst into laughter:
"Fool, stop talking nonsense. We're still a long way from reaching that country. You and your master have been traveling for so long, you'll never get there even when you're old."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately looked unconvinced and said to Sun Wukong:
"Brother Monkey, if you say this isn't Place of Sunset, then why is it so hot here?"
Upon hearing this, Sha Wujing laughed and said, "It must be because the weather here is not right; autumn is as hot as summer."
The three of them were arguing fiercely when Tang Xuanzang noticed a courtyard in front of him. Tang Xuanzang dismounted and said to Sun Wukong:
"Wukong, go and ask the people in that courtyard over there what's causing this heat."
Sun Wukong put away his Jingu Bang, straightened his clothes, and, putting on a refined appearance, arrived at the door like a scoundrel.
A short while later, an old man suddenly emerged from the doorway. He was dressed in a yellowish-brown robe, wore a hat, carried a cane, and had gold teeth. Upon seeing Sun Wukong, the old man was greatly surprised and quickly said:
"Who are you? Why have you come here? And what brings you to my door?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to the old man:
"Old man, please don't be afraid of me. I'm not a strange person. I come from the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, on my way to the Western Heaven Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures."
"Now, the four of us, master and disciples, have arrived here and find the weather extremely hot. We don't know why this place is so hot, nor what it's called, so we came here to ask."
Upon hearing this, the old man was immediately relieved and said to Sun Wukong:
"Elder, please don't blame me. I just didn't see your true colors clearly at the time."
Sun Wukong smiled at the old man, who then asked Sun Wukong, "Where is your master now?"
Sun Wukong laughed and said upon hearing this:
"My masters are coming up the main road outside. If you want to see them, I'll bring them over right now."
Upon hearing Sun Wukong's words, the old man was overjoyed and immediately called out to Tang Xuanzang:
"Masters, please don't just stand there, come inside and sit down."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang smiled and walked over. The old man was both surprised and delighted to see Tang Xuanzang, who was plump, and Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, who had strange appearances. He could only invite them inside.
After a short while, Tang Xuanzang finally couldn't sit still any longer, so he stood up and asked the old man:
"Sir, I'd like to ask you what this place is called, and why is the weather so hot?"
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang, "This place is called the Flaming Mountain. There are no spring, autumn, or winter here; only the heat of all four seasons."
After pondering this for a long time, Tang Xuanzang continued to ask the old man:
"Where exactly is the Flaming Mountain? Is it blocking the journey to the Western Heaven to obtain the Buddhist scriptures?"
Upon hearing this, the old man hurriedly said to Tang Xuanzang, "Master, you must not go to the West anymore. The Flaming Mountain are quite a distance from here, and they are a necessary route to the Western Heaven."
"And the area around the Flaming Mountain is barren; if one were to Flaming Mountain, even with a copper head and iron walls, one would be turned into molten iron."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang was greatly alarmed and did not ask any further questions.
A little while later, a young man stood at the door, pushing a red cart and shouting, "Food for sale! Anyone want to buy food?"
Sun Wukong plucked a hair from his body and transformed it into a copper coin, which he then used to buy a piece of food from the man.
After taking the money, regardless of its quality, the man lifted the cloth covering the carriage and took out some steaming food, handing it to Sun Wukong. Upon receiving the food, Sun Wukong was immediately caught off guard by the heat.
The food was like coal in a brazier or red-hot nails in a coal stove.
Sun Wukong switched the food from his left hand to his right, then from his right hand to his left, muttering, "This stuff is so hot, and it tastes awful too."
Upon hearing this, the young man smiled and said to Sun Wukong, "If you're afraid of the heat, then you definitely shouldn't come here; it'll only get hotter."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong felt a surge of anger and reprimanded the young man:
"You're incredibly ungrateful! They say crops don't grow well when it's neither hot nor cold, but it's scorching hot here. Where did you get all this food?"
After hearing what Sun Wukong said, the man smiled and said to Sun Wukong:
"If you want to know where my food came from, go find the fairy with the banana Plantain Fan."
Sun Wukong looked at the person with a bewildered expression. Seeing Sun Wukong's expression, the person realized that Sun Wukong didn't know what was going on and said to Sun Wukong:
"The fairy with the Plantain Fan extinguishes fire with one fan, creates wind with two, and brings rain with three, so we can cultivate and harvest, and thus have no worries about the five grains."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong quickly handed the pastry to Tang Xuanzang said to him:
"Master, you don't need to worry about this. Don't eat this rice cake."
"I'll go borrow that Plantain Fan in a bit, then we can put out this fire, and then we can cross this Flaming Mountain, right?"
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled and said to Sun Wukong, "You're thinking too simply. If you didn't have gifts, he probably wouldn't have helped you at all."