Now Wukong and Bajie entered the thatched cottage.
The old man brought out a vegetarian meal and gave it to the two of them.
When they had finished eating, Wukong said, “May I ask, venerable elder, is there anyone hereabouts who sells eye medicine?”
The old man said, “Which elder is suffering from an eye ailment?”
Wukong said, “It is not an ailment. Today, at the mouth of Yellow Wind Cave, we were rescuing my master when that fiend sprayed a mouthful of yellow wind straight at us. It blew until my eyeballs ached; tears streamed down and I could hardly see. That is why I seek eye medicine.”
The old man said, “Blessed be! Blessed be! That Yellow Wind Great Sage’s wind is the fiercest of all. His wind cannot be compared to any spring or autumn breeze, pine or bamboo wind, nor to the winds of east, west, south, and north…”
Bajie joked, “Then it must be a brain-splitting wind, sheep-ear wind, leprosy wind, or one-sided and full-head headache wind?”
The old man said, “No, no. His is called the ‘Samadhi Divine Wind.’ It can blow strange things through heaven and earth, and scrape grief into ghosts and gods. It splits stones and collapses cliffs; once it blows upon a man, his life is done.
“You were struck by that wind, yet merely suffered aching eyes. It seems you must have some background as well.
“When I was young, I once encountered an extraordinary person who passed me a prescription called ‘Three-Flower Nine-Seed Ointment.’ It can indeed treat wind-stricken eyes.”
Hearing this, Wukong lowered his head and bowed, saying, “I beg for a little, to try it.”
The old man agreed at once. He took out a small agate jar, dipped out a little with a jade hairpin, and applied it to Wukong’s eyes, instructing him not to open them, but to calm his mind and sleep; by morning, he would be well.
After applying the medicine, the old man withdrew.
Bajie spread out the bedding and helped Wukong lie down on the bed to sleep.
Wukong, eyes shut, groped about blindly.
Bajie laughed and said, “Sir, have you lost your blind man’s staff?”
Wukong cursed, “You clod! Do you take me for a blind man?”
Bajie chuckled to himself and lay down to sleep.
When the fifth watch was nearly dawn, Wukong wiped his face, opened his eyes, and said, “Good medicine! I really am healed!”
He turned his head to look, but where were any houses, windows, or doors? There were only old locust trees and tall willows; the two of them had been sleeping on a green sward.
He raised a hand and woke Bajie.
Seeing the house gone, Bajie was so startled he scrambled up in one roll and cried,
“Eh! This family moved without making a sound, and even moved the house away with them. They must be tax evaders, which is why they moved out overnight.”
Wukong laughed and said,
“You fool, this was a divine being helping us. What tax evaders? This place is not far from Yellow Wind Cave. You stay here and guard the luggage while Old Sun goes into the cave to scout around and see what has become of Master.”
Bajie said,
“Good! Good! First get a firm word on whether he’s alive or dead. If Master is dead, then we can each go our own way; if he is not dead, we’ll put our hearts into rescuing him.”
Wukong said, “Don’t talk nonsense. I’m off!”
Wukong leapt up and landed before Yellow Wind Cave. He changed into a speckled-legged mosquito and flew inside.
The little tiger guarding the gate was snoring away. Seeing that he was a tiger, Wukong felt somewhat annoyed and bit him on the face. The little tiger turned over and woke with a start. “Father! What a huge mosquito! One bite raised such a big lump!”
Wukong flew farther in, passed through the hall, and went straight to the rear. There he saw a door, tightly shut. He slipped through the crack, and it turned out to be an empty garden. Tang Seng was bound to the Wind-Stilling Stake by the side wall.
Beside him was a tiger monster standing guard—the very tiger demon from yesterday who knew how to flay skins.
Wukong flew over and landed on Tang Seng’s bald head. He was just about to cast a spell and knock the tiger monster down when someone came walking over.
Looking at that person’s appearance, he had a tall, straight bearing, dragon horns, and golden scales; he seemed to be a demon dragon in human form.
Ao Tu walked up to Tiger Vanguard and asked, “How is Tang Seng?”
Tiger Vanguard said respectfully, “Reporting to Second King, Tang Seng is perfectly well.”
Wukong listened from the side. Only now did he learn that within Yellow Wind Cave, besides the Yellow Wind Monster, there was also a Second King.
Suddenly, for some reason, that demon dragon looked over. A slap came down, striking Tang Seng’s bald head, flattening the mosquito Sun Wukong had transformed into. Then, with a flick of his finger, he sent him flying.
“Why are there mosquitoes here? Guard him properly. Don’t let this monk grow thin from hunger!”
Tiger Vanguard repeatedly assented.
Sun Wukong landed on the ground, furious in his heart. That damned demon dragon had actually treated the grand Great Sage Equal to Heaven like a mere mosquito and flicked him away.
He turned and transformed into an eagle, with jade talons and golden eyes. Soaring up, he was about to seize Ao Tu at his vital seven-inch point.
Ao Tu had expected this. He dodged aside and laughed loudly. “Sun the Monkey, I knew that mosquito was you.” He immediately raised his dragon claws and fought Sun Wukong for three to five exchanges without falling into disadvantage.
Sun Wukong did not dare linger, fearing that the Yellow Wind Monster would hurry over and trap him here, so he broke away and fled.
Escaping Yellow Wind Cave, he returned to the previous place and rejoined Bajie.
Seeing Wukong return, Bajie asked,
“Senior Brother, how was it? Did you find out where Master is?”
Wukong said, “Troublesome! Troublesome! Old Sun transformed into a mosquito and went into the cave to look for Master. It turns out Master has been tied to the Wind-Stilling Stake in the rear garden by that fiend. His mouth is stuffed with a rag, so he cannot speak, and the tiger monster from before is guarding him.
“I had meant to use a sleepy bug to make that tiger monster fall asleep, but who would have thought there was a second demon in the cave who saw through my transformation? He fought me for a few rounds. Fearing that the Yellow Wind Monster would block me in, I escaped.”
After listening, Bajie said, “Senior Brother, this scripture quest cannot be completed! One Yellow Wind Monster is already terribly hard to deal with, and now there is another demon besides. How can we rescue Master? In my opinion, we should each go our own way.
“Master has a brocade cassock and a nine-ringed monk’s staff. That cassock is valuable; you are the senior brother, so take the greater share. This younger brother is willing to accept the monk’s staff. We can find a place with people and sell that white horse. You go back to your Flower-Fruit Mountain, and I’ll return to my Gao Village.”
Hearing this, Wukong angrily seized Bajie by the ear and said,
“I’ll beat you, you clod! Master isn’t even dead yet, and you’re already thinking of splitting up and dividing the luggage!”
Bajie said, “Even if he isn’t dead, he won’t live much longer. Back when I was a monster, I heard that fastidious demons who eat people first tie them to a stake and leave them there for three to five days. Once their stomach and intestines are clean, they swallow them whole.”
Wukong said, “Then there is still a chance to save him. Let Old Sun go up to heaven and invite a divine general capable of stilling wind. He will certainly be able to subdue that demon!”
Bajie said, “Senior Brother, you don’t even know that demon’s origins. Which divine general will you invite down? If you invite the right one, fine; but if you invite the wrong one and have to go back to invite another, I fear Master will already have turned into demon dung!”
As they were discussing this, they saw an old gentleman walk out from beside the main road.
His icy beard and snowy temples billowed; golden flowers dazzled the eyes in a haze. With bent back and lowered head he walked slowly; his broad brows and ruddy face were like a child’s.
When the old gentleman saw Wukong and Bajie, he was not afraid. Instead, he came forward and asked, “Where have you two monk brothers come from? Why are you quarrelling here in the wilderness?”
Wukong said, “We are monks on a pilgrimage for scriptures. Yesterday we lost our master here; he was taken by that Yellow Wind Monster. We do not know whom we should invite to subdue him.”
The old man said, “Would that be the Yellow Wind Great Sage?”
Wukong said, “It is indeed.”
The old man said, “I do know about this. This Yellow Wind Great Sage is skilled in the divine power of the Samadhi Divine Wind. Even all the divine generals in heaven would find it hard to subdue him. Only one person can still his wind.”
Wukong hurriedly said, “Please enlighten us, venerable sir.”
The old man said, “Two thousand li straight south from here, there is a mountain called Little Sumeru Mountain. Within the mountain is a sacred site, the sutra-preaching Chan monastery of Lingji Bodhisattva. If you can invite him here, you will be able to rescue your master.”
Wukong quickly offered his thanks.
But the old man had already transformed into a clear breeze and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a couplet:
“Report this to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven:
This old man is Li Changgeng.
On Mount Sumeru there is the Flying Dragon Staff;
Lingji received the Buddha’s weapon in years past.”