Yet Tang Seng ignored Wukong’s attempts to stop him and went to call out to the fisherman.
“Fisherman, fisherman! Please come over here!”
That fisherman was none other than Sha Seng in disguise. Hearing him, he poled his boat over.
“Master, what have you called me over for?”
Wukong hurried after him, his eyes fixed on Sha Seng.
What puzzled Wukong, however, was that although Sha Seng carried a somewhat baleful aura, there was no demonic qi about him, as if he truly had not been transformed from a monster.
Tang Seng said, “This humble monk is headed west and would like to ask you to ferry me across the river.”
Sha Seng said, “No, no, I cannot take you across.”
Tang Seng said, “Why is that?”
Sha Seng looked around, as if on guard against something, and said, “Masters, this is no place to talk. Please go to my humble dwelling first. Once I have cast this net, I will come.”
Tang Seng said, “May I ask where your honorable home is?”
Sha Seng pointed south and said, “Over there. It is about five li away.”
After hearing this, Tang Seng took Wukong and the others to Sha Seng’s residence.
Before long, Sha Seng also came over by boat.
“Masters, please,” Sha Seng said.
Tang Seng returned the courtesy and followed Sha Seng inside. Wukong and Bajie went in as well.
Sha Seng set down his straw raincoat and bamboo-leaf hat, revealing a bald head.
Tang Seng said, “Could it be that you, fisherman, are a man of religion like this humble monk?”
Sha Seng said, “Though I delight in monks and revere the Buddha, I am no ordained man.”
Bajie laughed and said, “Then you must have had scabies on your scalp and suffered from ringworm. Otherwise, why would no hair grow?”
Sha Seng said, “No, no. This was burned by fire!”
Tang Seng said, “Burned by fire?”
Sha Seng said, “Masters, you may not know this, but there was once a village here, with a hundred or so households living in it. It was only because a monster started making trouble and eating people that the villagers all fled in terror. With no people left to eat, that monster flew into a rage and set a demonic fire, burning the village clean to the ground. I escaped a little too late and was burned in the fire along with it by that monster, leaving me in this state.”
Tang Seng exclaimed in alarm, “Could you be a wronged ghost?”
Sha Seng said, “I am not a wronged ghost.”
Tang Seng said, “Then how did you survive?”
Sha Seng poured tea for the three of them and began to explain:
“I was fortunate enough to be saved by the Bodhisattva, and only then did I live. She told me to wait here, saying that a holy monk from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land would pass through this place and would eradicate the monster for me, avenging my great hatred. Then I was to ferry him across the river. Masters, you have come from afar—have you ever seen a holy monk from the Eastern Land?”
Tang Seng was overjoyed and said, “Amitabha. This humble monk is precisely from the Great Tang of the Eastern Land, journeying to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and seek scriptures.”
Hearing this, Sha Seng hurriedly said,
“So the holy monk is before me! At last, I have waited until you came. Please accept my bow! I beg the holy monk to subdue the monster for me!”
Tang Seng quickly helped Sha Seng up and said,
“Fisherman, there is no need for this. These two disciples of mine are well accustomed to subduing demons. Whatever monster it is, you may simply tell them.”
At this point, Wukong also believed Sha Seng’s identity a little more. After all, there truly was no demonic qi about Sha Seng, and his words were reasonable and well-founded.
However, Wukong did not fully trust him. Still wary in his heart, he said, “Whatever monster it is, speak of it first.”
Sha Seng said, “This river of ours is called the Blackwater River. Near its waters, there are three evil beings, also called the Three Scourges. If you go south from here, there is a stretch of woods. The vicious tiger in those woods is one scourge.”
Wukong said, “And the others?”
Sha Seng said, “The venomous dragon in the river is the second scourge. It eats travelers crossing the river, which is why I dare not venture too far when I fish, nor dare I ferry the holy monk across right now.”
Wukong said, “What is the third scourge?”
Sha Seng said, “Little master, do not aim too high. With your small and skinny body, I fear you would find even removing one scourge difficult, so why speak of the third?”
Wukong said angrily,
“You fellow still do not know the abilities of my old Sun. I am Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who wreaked havoc in the Celestial Palace five hundred years ago. Not even a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals were my match. A mere vicious tiger can be destroyed with the flick of a finger!”
Sha Seng said, “You little monk are quite good at boasting and wagging your tongue. When that vicious tiger opens its mouth, it is bigger than your whole body. It will swallow you in one bite. By the time I prepare a vegetarian meal for the holy monk in the afternoon, I fear you will already have become the monster’s dung.”
Bajie laughed and said, “Brother Monkey, he doesn’t believe in your abilities!”
Wukong said furiously, “My old Sun will go capture that vicious tiger right now and bring it back for you to see!”
Sha Seng said, “Little master, do not force yourself. I see this Elder Zhu has some strength. You should go together!”
Bajie laughed and said, “Brother Monkey, he’s afraid you’ll be eaten by the vicious tiger, so he’s telling old pig me to go help you!”
Wukong glanced at Sha Seng, still guarded in his heart, and said, “Bajie, stay behind to protect Master. My old Sun will go and return at once.”
With that, Wukong leapt outside and rode a cloud away.
When he reached the southern woods and looked down, he indeed saw an enormous vicious tiger lying in the forest.
Wukong jumped down from the cloud and brandished his staff to strike.
With a boom, a great pit was smashed into the ground.
It turned out to be a tiger skin.
Wukong cried in alarm, “Not good, I’ve fallen into a trap!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the surroundings changed. Red sand filled the sky, and black fog spread everywhere. Above, the heavens could not be seen; below, the earth could not be seen. Yin, yang, and the Five Elements could not shift or transform, trapping Sun Wukong within.
Sun Wukong tried to escape on his somersault cloud, but Ao Tu grabbed a handful of red sand from the formation altar and flung it at Sun Wukong, knocking him straight down and sending him falling back into the formation.
Struck by the red sand, Sun Wukong felt as if thousands of blades were slicing through his entire body. Pressed down by the red sand filling the sky, he could no longer move even half an inch. Worried for his master’s safety, he sent out his primordial spirit, intending to flee.
Seeing this, Ao Tu scattered three more handfuls of red sand, striking down Sun Wukong’s primordial spirit, bewildering his soul and spirit, and sending him crashing back into the formation once more, unable to escape again.
As the saying goes:
Few are those who understand what the Jie Sect passed down; within the mysteries lies Heaven’s design.
First is formed the golden powder within the furnace; then is refined the endless fall of white jade.
A few flakes of red sand make the human heart sink; black fog spreads, and courage and bone take flight.
If today one encounters the land of dragon and tiger, even an immortal’s severed soul shall return.
Sun Wukong was trapped in the Red Sand Formation. Ao Tu took out a piece of cloth, used a transformation art, and made Sun Wukong’s handwriting appear upon it, writing:
The road to fetch the scriptures is long, through wind and frost I roam;
Long parted from my native pass, I yearn for my old home.
I now ask my master to wait here for a time;
I shall return to my homeland and make a brief visit.
In a month or so I will return to follow horse and saddle,
And guard the westward journey again, breaking evil obstacles.
Do not fear demons and monsters causing trouble;
At your side, there is still Bajie to help!
He handed it to Tiger Vanguard and said, “If that Zhu Bajie comes looking for Sun Wukong, give this to him.”
Tiger Vanguard received the order, took the cloth, and walked out.
Meanwhile, Bajie and Tang Seng had waited for a long time in Sha Seng’s home without seeing Wukong return. Tang Seng said,
“Bajie, why has Wukong still not returned? Go and take a look.”
Bajie said, “Senior Brother has abilities as vast as the heavens. What could happen to him?”
Tang Seng said, “Your master is uneasy. Go and look!”
Bajie said, “Fine, fine, I’ll go.”
Bajie went out the door and headed south.
Before long, he arrived in the woods and called out, “Senior Brother, Senior Brother?”
He called for a long while, but saw no one.
Just then, a vicious tiger leapt down.
It wore black-gold armor, a black-gold helmet on its head, and held a tiger-headed broadsword in its hand, with a dark-gold spear on its back.
Because it had changed its outfit, Bajie did not recognize Tiger Vanguard. He said, “Could you be that vicious tiger among the Three Scourges? Where is my senior brother?”
Tiger Vanguard burst into loud laughter and said,
“What vicious tiger? I am the Great King of this Southern Mountain! That senior brother you speak of is that monkey with the hairy face and thunder-god mouth, isn’t he? He saw how carefree and happy I was here in this Southern Mountain and grew envious. After I advised him with a few words, he has already left!”
Bajie said in shock, “Where did he go?”
Tiger Vanguard said, “Naturally, he went back to wherever he came from!”
Bajie said, “I don’t believe it. My senior brother is not someone with a divided heart!”
Tiger Vanguard laughed and said, “If you do not believe it, he left a letter here. He said that if a monk with a long snout and big ears came looking for him, I should hand this letter over to him!”