Chapter Summaries

Sun Wukong agreed to treat the emperor, who had been ill for three years, and used hairs transformed into threads to examine his pulse. He diagnosed the emperor’s symptoms, winning the ruler’s trust, and prepared to make medicine.

• Sun Wukong told the servants that the emperor’s invitation was insincere because the ruler had not come himself, and they explained that the emperor could not walk.
• Sun Wukong asked Zhu Bajie to accept any medicinal herbs brought to them, then followed the servants to the palace.
• The emperor was frightened by Sun Wukong’s face, while the ministers criticized the monk for failing to bow and speaking bluntly.
• Sun Wukong said he could diagnose the emperor through inspection, listening and smelling, inquiry, and pulse-taking, and the emperor agreed to let him examine him behind curtains.
• Sun Wukong used transformed monkey hairs to take the emperor’s pulse, identified his symptoms, and asked for time to prepare medicine.
• The emperor confirmed Sun Wukong’s diagnosis and praised him as a divine physician.

Sun Wukong treated the emperor’s stomach illness with a pill made from herbs and the White Dragon Horse’s urine, then the cured emperor invited Tang Xuanzang and his disciples to dine. After the meal, the emperor asked Tang Xuanzang to build a temple and spread Buddhism in his kingdom.

• Sun Wukong told the emperor that a worm-like creature was causing his illness and promised to cure him with medicinal herbs and a precious ingredient.
• The emperor supplied ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms, while Sun Wukong ordered Zhu Bajie to boil the herbs and make the residue into a mud pill.
• Sun Wukong frightened the White Dragon Horse into relieving himself, and Zhu Bajie collected a bucket of urine for the medicine.
• Sun Wukong dripped the White Dragon Horse’s excrement onto the pill, which began to glow gold, and gave it to the emperor.
• The emperor took the pill, suffered a bout of stomach pain, and then felt healthy and energetic; Sun Wukong concealed the medicine’s unusual ingredient.
• The emperor hosted Tang Xuanzang and his disciples for a meal, then asked Tang Xuanzang to build a temple and spread Buddhist teachings in the kingdom.

Sun Wukong learned that Sai Taisui had abducted the king’s beloved consort three years earlier and offered to rescue her. The king led Sun Wukong to the hidden demon-shelter tower, where Sun Wukong laughed at its underground design.

• Tang Xuanzang told the king he would discuss Buddhist teachings after returning from fetching the scriptures.
• The king explained that Sai Taisui had taken his beloved consort and threatened the kingdom, forcing him to surrender her.
• Sun Wukong offered to subdue Sai Taisui and asked when the demon might return, while the king described his occasional demands for palace maids.
• The king took Sun Wukong and the officials to the demon-shelter tower, an underground refuge concealed beneath a stone slab.
• Sun Wukong laughed after the king showed him the tower, though the king did not understand why.

Sun Wukong confronted a yaoguai who served King Sai Taisui and drove him off after learning that he had come to take palace maids. After the yaoguai set fire to the west gate, Sun Wukong extinguished it with wine and prepared to wait in the air for Sai Taisui.

• When a yaoguai arrived, the king, Tang Xuanzang, and the officials hid, but Sun Wukong made Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing stay with him to see who had come.
• Sun Wukong questioned the yaoguai, who identified himself as a vanguard under King Sai Taisui and said he had come to take palace maids.
• Sun Wukong fought the vanguard, broke his spear, and made him flee before telling Zhu Bajie to bring Tang Xuanzang and the king out of hiding.
• After a report that the west gate was on fire, Sun Wukong threw his wine cup into the sky, and rain put out the fire and saved a household.
• Sun Wukong explained that he had used the wine to extinguish the fire and told the king he would wait in midair for Sai Taisui.

Sun Wukong left the Kingdom of Zhuzi to find the demon who had taken the queen. He learned the demon was hiding in a cave and planning to challenge him, then killed the messenger and prepared to seek out the demon.

• Sun Wukong told the king he would return the queen and flew toward the demon's cave on his Somersault Cloud.
• Sun Wukong spotted fire and flying sand on a mountain, transformed into a moth, and entered the smoke.
• Sun Wukong overheard a little demon carrying a challenge explain that the demon had taken the queen but could not touch her because of her Five-Colored Sacred Robe.
• Sun Wukong disguised himself as a young Daoist attendant and learned that the demon was in his cave and intended to fight him the next day.
• Sun Wukong struck the little demon from behind with the Ruyi Jingu Bang and killed him.

Sun Wukong brought a dead messenger demon to the palace, then obtained the king’s gold bracelet as a token to help him find the kidnapped queen. He flew straight to Qilin Mountain to search for the demon’s cave abode.

• Sun Wukong took the demon’s challenge letter and lieutenant’s waist tag, then brought the demon’s corpse to the palace.
• Zhu Bajie tried to claim credit by striking the already dead demon, but Sun Wukong pointed out that it had no head.
• Sun Wukong gave Tang Xuanzang the challenge letter to hide and told the king that he had killed one of Sai Taisui’s underlings.
• Sun Wukong asked the grieving king for the queen’s gold bracelet so she would recognize him as a rescuer.
• The king sent for the bracelet, and Sun Wukong put it on before flying to Qilin Mountain to find the demon’s cave.

Sun Wukong disguised himself as Li Laosan and tricked the Demon King into believing the Kingdom of Zhuzi would soon attack. He reached Her Ladyship, revealed his true identity, and offered to rescue her, but she remained puzzled as he continued speaking.

• Sun Wukong took a slain lesser demon’s belongings, transformed into him, and entered the demon’s cave as Li Laosan.
• Sun Wukong told the Demon King that the Kingdom of Zhuzi had threatened war, and the Demon King sent him to reassure Her Ladyship.
• Sun Wukong found Her Ladyship mourning in the rear palace and persuaded her to dismiss her attendants so he could speak privately.
• Sun Wukong revealed his true form and told Her Ladyship that Tang Xuanzang had sent him to rescue her and bring her back to the Kingdom of Zhuzi.
• Her Ladyship looked puzzled, and Sun Wukong continued speaking.

Sun Wukong learned that the Demon King’s three bells produced fire, smoke, and deadly poisonous sand, then helped Her Majesty trick the Demon King into handing them over. The bells were now in Her Majesty’s care, while Sun Wukong was told to prepare wine.

• Sun Wukong revealed his disguise to Her Majesty and asked what treasure the Demon King used to unleash fire, smoke, and sand.
• Her Majesty explained that the Demon King’s three bells produced the attacks and that he kept them at his waist.
• Sun Wukong urged Her Majesty to win the Demon King’s trust and persuade him to leave the bells with her.
• Sun Wukong tricked the Demon King into believing Her Majesty had heard he no longer wanted her and had taken a new queen.
• Her Majesty charmed the Demon King and persuaded him to give her the bells, warning him she would keep them safe.
• Her Majesty told Sun Wukong to prepare wine for the Demon King.

Sun Wukong stole Sai Taisui’s three golden bells but accidentally set them off, then hid in the cave after the demons sealed its exits. He reassured the lady, disguised himself as her maid Chunjiao, and helped her approach Sai Taisui while the demon king continued searching for him.

• Sun Wukong stole the three bells, pulled out their cotton, and accidentally unleashed their smoke and fire.
• When Sai Taisui ordered the cave sealed, Sun Wukong changed into a fly and hid while the demons searched for him.
• Sun Wukong returned to the lady and revealed himself, explaining that he had escaped by hiding as a fly.
• At Sun Wukong’s suggestion, the lady summoned Chunjiao, whom Sun Wukong put to sleep and impersonated.
• The lady went to Sai Taisui and claimed she feared Sun Wukong, while Sai Taisui said they were searching the cave for him.

Sun Wukong disguised himself as Chunjiao and tricked the Demon King into drinking and removing his clothes, then secretly replaced his Law Treasure with a fake. The Demon King left the Lady alone, and Sun Wukong approached her.

• Unable to find Sun Wukong, the Demon King led the Lady to the rear palace and ordered the demons to guard against him.
• Disguised as Chunjiao, Sun Wukong served wine and arranged singing and dancing until the Demon King and the Lady drank deeply.
• Sun Wukong used transformed hairs to make bugs bite the Demon King, and the Lady persuaded him to remove his clothes so they could catch the bugs.
• While the Demon King picked off the bugs, Sun Wukong replaced the Law Treasure with a fake and returned it to him.
• The Demon King gave the Law Treasure to the Lady, then refused to share her bed and left to sleep elsewhere.
• Sun Wukong approached the Lady after the Demon King had left.

Sun Wukong prepared to rescue Her Majesty, then broke into the Demon King's palace after waiting outside all night. The Demon King finally confronted him, and the two were about to fight.

• Sun Wukong assured Her Majesty that he would defeat the Demon King and take her home, then left with the Law Treasure at his waist.
• Sun Wukong smashed the palace door's locks and shouted for the Demon King to return Her Majesty, but the demons hesitated to wake their sleeping king.
• At daybreak, Sun Wukong broke down the door, and the demons told the awakened Demon King that an unknown visitor was demanding Her Majesty's return.
• The Demon King learned that Sun Wukong claimed to be help from the neighboring kingdom and questioned Her Majesty about the visitor's name, which she dismissed as Waigong.
• The Demon King opened the palace door and challenged Sun Wukong, who taunted him; the Demon King charged, and Sun Wukong began cursing back.

Sun Wukong fought the Demon King, who returned to his palace to fetch the golden bells after admitting he could not win. Sun Wukong produced three fake bells and tricked the Demon King into testing his own before shaking them, filling the sky with sand and fire.

• Sun Wukong and the Demon King fought with the Ruyi Jingu Bang and an axe, but neither gained the upper hand.
• The Demon King went to Her Ladyship and demanded his Law Treasure, while she worried that using it could endanger Sun Wukong.
• Her Ladyship gave the Demon King the treasure, unaware that it was fake, and he returned to challenge Sun Wukong.
• Sun Wukong pretended to flee, then produced three bells and claimed they came from Taishang Laojun's Eight Trigrams Furnace.
• The Demon King shook his bells three times without making a sound, then Sun Wukong shook his three bells and unleashed sand and fire.

Bodhisattva Guanyin arrived to extinguish Sun Wukong’s fire and reclaim her runaway mount, explaining the demon’s past and taking him away after Sun Wukong returned her three golden bells. Sun Wukong brought the queen back to the palace, where the king was struck by pain and Zhu Bajie joked about it.

• Bodhisattva Guanyin extinguished the flames and told Sun Wukong that the demon was her mount, recounting how the king had once wounded a peacock at Falling Wind Slope.
• Sun Wukong agreed to spare the demon for Guanyin’s sake, returned her three golden bells, and watched her fly away with the demon.
• Sun Wukong killed the remaining demons, found the queen, and carried her back to the palace on a straw dragon.
• The queen reunited with the king, who suddenly cried out in pain, and Zhu Bajie laughed at him.
• Sun Wukong grabbed Zhu Bajie by the ear and challenged him to test the clothes he had joked about.

Zhang Ziyang removed the thorn-covered garment that had kept the queen safe, allowing her and the king to reunite, and Tang Xuanzang’s party set out west after being welcomed and farewelled by the king. On the road, Tang Xuanzang spotted a nearby household and got off his horse to seek food.

• Sun Wukong explained that the queen’s thorn-covered garment had prevented the monster from touching her, and Zhang Ziyang arrived to take it back.
• Zhang Ziyang restored the queen’s garment to its original form and departed, and the king and queen were reconciled.
• Sun Wukong told the king how he had dealt with the monster, and Tang Xuanzang declined to stay before setting off west with his disciples.
• The king exchanged Tang Xuanzang’s travel permit and sent the party off with a carriage and food.
• While traveling through the mountains, Tang Xuanzang got off his horse after spotting a household and said he wanted to get something to eat.

Tang Xuanzang entered a strange house to beg for food, only to discover that the women there were demons who served human flesh. They overpowered and captured him, leaving him in their hands.

• Tang Xuanzang left his disciples and approached a house where several women were playing.
• The women invited Tang Xuanzang inside, and he grew uneasy at the stone furnishings and eerie surroundings.
• The women served human flesh and brains, but Tang Xuanzang refused the meal because he was a monk.
• When Tang Xuanzang tried to leave, one woman blocked the door and revealed that they would not let him go.
• Tang Xuanzang used Great Might Heavenly Dragon to blast one woman aside, but the others knocked him down and tied him up.

Sun Wukong investigated the cave where Tang Xuanzang had been captured and questioned the local Land God about its inhabitants. He learned that seven female monsters lived in the Webbed Silk Cave and bathed at the hot spring three times a day, while Tang Xuanzang remained trapped.

• The women bound Tang Xuanzang and sealed the cave with a web of threads.
• Sun Wukong stopped Zhu Bajie from rushing ahead and went to inspect the cave entrance himself.
• Sun Wukong found the entrance covered in sticky threads and decided not to strike them in case he alerted the creatures inside.
• The Land God came trembling to Sun Wukong and identified the place as the Webbed Silk Cave, home to seven female monsters.
• The Land God said the monsters had taken over the Seven Fairies' hot spring and bathed there three times a day.

Sun Wukong discovered that the seven demons of Webbed Silk Cave had captured Tang Sanzang and planned to eat him, so he stole their clothes while they bathed. Zhu Bajie went to confront the demons, escaped their beating by turning into a fish, and prepared to fight them.

• Sun Wukong transformed into a fly and overheard the seven demons discussing how they would boil and eat Tang Sanzang.
• Sun Wukong stole the demons' clothes and told Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing that their master was in danger at Webbed Silk Cave.
• Zhu Bajie urged Sun Wukong to kill the demons before rescuing Tang Sanzang, but Sun Wukong refused and told him to go fight them himself.
• Zhu Bajie approached the bathing demons, jumped into the pond, and transformed into a fish to evade their attack.
• Zhu Bajie returned to shore, resumed his true form, and raised his Nine-Toothed Rake against the demons.

Zhu Bajie fought the female monsters of Webbed Silk Cave but was poisoned and forced to retreat. Sun Wukong rescued Tang Xuanzang, burned the cave, and led the group west until they spotted a temple.

• Zhu Bajie confronted the monsters, who trapped him in a silk net and poisoned him before he escaped.
• Zhu Bajie returned to Sun Wukong and Sha Wujing, and the three hurried to Webbed Silk Cave to rescue Tang Xuanzang.
• Sun Wukong defeated the bug monsters with birds and beasts created from one of his hairs.
• Zhu Bajie freed Tang Xuanzang, and Sun Wukong burned Webbed Silk Cave before leading the group west.
• Sun Wukong spotted a temple among the mountains, and Tang Xuanzang urged his horse toward it.

Tang Xuanzang and his disciples stopped at Yellow Flower Temple, where its Daoist host welcomed them while the monsters from Webbed Silk Cave asked him to avenge their defeat. After hearing their account, the Daoist prepared poisoned red dates for the monks, leaving them in danger as the servants carried the food to Tang Xuanzang.

• Tang Xuanzang and his disciples entered Yellow Flower Temple, where the Daoist greeted them and offered tea.
• A female monster summoned the Daoist and told him that Tang Xuanzang and Zhu Bajie had defeated the monsters at their cave.
• The monsters asked the Daoist to avenge them and said their nephews were fighting the monks.
• The Daoist promised to help and chose to poison the monks’ food rather than attack them directly.
• The Daoist concealed deadly pills inside red dates and ordered his servants to take them to Tang Xuanzang and his disciples.

The Daoist welcomed Tang Xuanzang and his companions with dates and promised them a meal, while secretly intending to poison or overfeed them. After a servant brought the food, the Daoist struck him for asking where to put it, making Sun Wukong suspect that the host was hiding something.

• The Daoist offered Tang Xuanzang and his companions red dates, and Zhu Bajie eagerly asked for more.
• Sun Wukong scolded Zhu Bajie for focusing on food, and Tang Xuanzang ordered them both to stop quarreling.
• The Daoist told his servants to prepare a meal and fruit for the travelers while privately plotting to kill them with food.
• Tang Xuanzang explained that he was traveling from the Great Tang to the Western Heaven to seek scriptures, and he and the Daoist chatted cordially.
• A servant brought the food and fruit, and the Daoist angrily struck him for asking where to set them.
• Sun Wukong grew suspicious of the Daoist as he urged Tang Xuanzang and the others to eat.