It is said that Tiger Vanguard tossed the silk letter into which Ao Tu had transformed to Bajie. After Bajie read it, his face changed drastically. He no longer cared about fighting, and dragged his rake as he hurried back, saying,
“Master, this is bad! Eldest Senior Brother has gone back to Flower-Fruit Mountain!”
When he arrived before Tang Seng, Bajie hastily presented the silk letter to him.
Tang Seng read it, first astonished, then growing angry.
Holding his khakkhara staff, he paced back and forth through the room, muttering endlessly—“macaque” this and “monkey” that—his heart full of resentment that Sun Wukong had gone home on his own without even saying a word to him.
Bajie added fuel to the fire from the side:
“Master, Senior Brother must have found it too hard to follow you as a monk, so he went home. Who knows when he’ll come back! Maybe from now on there will only be a monk surnamed Zhu, and no Pilgrim surnamed Sun.”
Tang Seng said, “Didn’t the silk letter he left say he would return in about a month?”
Bajie said, “Master, don’t you understand? This is Senior Brother’s delaying tactic!”
Tang Seng said, “What?”
Bajie said, “Just think about it. Following you as a monk, he has to dine on wind and sleep by streams; if there is vegetarian food, he eats it, and if there is none, he endures. Now that he has returned to Flower-Fruit Mountain, he has flowers and fruit to enjoy in all four seasons, vegetables to cook and fry at every festival, can invite the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas to drink when idle, and summon all the monkeys great and small to roam the mountains when merry. With such an immortal’s life to enjoy, why would he still come back to take on the bitter chore of fetching scriptures with you?”
After Tang Seng heard this, he grew even angrier and said bitterly,
“If he dares not come back, I will recite that spell a few times and he will die!”
Seeing that Tang Seng was truly furious, Bajie immediately dared not say any more.
Sha Seng advised from the side, “Holy Monk, do not be angry. As the saying goes: ‘Though one beyond the world has cast aside worldly affairs, an inch of heart is still tied to kin in the old home.’ Elder Sun has been away from his homeland for a long time. Now that he has gone back to visit, it is only human nature.”
Only then did Tang Seng feel somewhat better.
Bajie asked, “Master, now that Senior Brother has gone home, are we still going on our way?”
Tang Seng said, “Without that monkey, are we not to fetch the scriptures? Bajie, you too are Marshal Tianpeng descended to the mortal world, and you possess the ability to subdue dragons and tame tigers. Go and get rid of that vicious tiger and venomous dragon, so that the fishermen may ferry us across the river.”
When Bajie heard this, his ears drooped, and he was not very willing.
Tang Seng said, “What, you are unwilling to go?”
Bajie said, “Master, it is not that I will not go. It is only that I, Old Zhu, have now been away from home for many days and miss it greatly. I wonder if Master might grant me a leave, so that I, Old Zhu, may also return to Gao Village for a visit.”
When Tang Seng heard this, he said angrily, “You oaf! How long have you been out, and already you are homesick? I will write you a letter of dismissal and send you back, and then you need never return!”
Hearing this, Bajie hurriedly knelt and said,
“Master, I, Old Zhu, spoke some muddled words, but they were absolutely not my true intention. It was only because my belly was hungry and I grew somewhat lazy that I said such things. I have received the precepts from the Bodhisattva and have also been granted Master’s compassion. I am willing to attend upon Master all the way to the Western Heaven, and swear never to retreat or regret it.”
Tang Seng said, “Since that is so, get up. After we have eaten, go subdue the demon.”
Only then did Bajie rise.
There is no need to speak of Sha Seng preparing the vegetarian meal.
At that time, Sun Wukong was still trapped within the Red Sand Formation, wholly unaware of what was happening outside.
This was precisely Ao Tu’s scheme.
In truth, Ao Tu had every opportunity to trap Tang Seng and his three disciples inside the formation.
For example, when Tang Seng and his disciples had entered Sha Seng’s house earlier, if Ao Tu had placed the formation diagram inside in advance and activated the great formation as soon as Tang Seng and his disciples entered, then none of the three master and disciples would have escaped.
However, Ao Tu deliberately did not do so. If he had captured all three of Tang Seng’s group, it would have looked impressive, but the Six Ding and Six Jia and the guardian Jialan secretly protecting them would certainly have gone to Lingshan to seek aid and summoned Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. How long could he withstand them then?
But now, with only Sun Wukong trapped, while Tang Seng and Bajie were safe and sound, those secret protectors would not take action. By slowly dragging out time here with Zhu Bajie, he could obtain the greatest possible reward.
On the other side, after Bajie ate the vegetarian meal, he picked up his rake, took leave of his master, and went again to subdue the demon.
Bajie carried his rake to the edge of the woods and was just about to enter when he suddenly stopped.
Gazing at the deep forest, Bajie worried inwardly:
Who knew how many vicious tigers were in those woods? If there was only one, that would be fine. But if there were also some tiger brothers, tiger cousins, tiger sons, tiger grandsons, seven or eight dens and generations of them all rushing out together, then without Senior Brother to support him, he feared he would not be able to handle them and would instead be carried off by the vicious tigers.
Then he thought of how that vicious tiger had previously called himself the Great King of Southern Mountain. If he were alone, how would he dare call himself a great king? There must certainly be many little demons under him, and only because of that did he call himself the Great King of Southern Mountain.
The more Bajie thought about it, the less he dared go in. He circled outside the woods several times, and when the sun set in the west, he turned back.
Tang Seng asked, “Bajie, have you subdued that vicious tiger?”
Bajie said, “Master, that vicious tiger knows how formidable I, Old Zhu, am. When he saw me coming, he shrank back into his den and did not dare come out. I cursed and challenged him for half the day, but he still would not come out. Seeing that the sky was growing late, I came back to report to Master. Tomorrow I will go demand battle again.”
Hearing this, Tang Seng could only let Bajie go again the next day.
When the second day came and Bajie returned from subduing the demon, Tang Seng asked, “Did you subdue the vicious tiger this time?”
Bajie hemmed and hawed, then said, “That vicious tiger went out to visit relatives and was not at home.”
On the third day, Tang Seng once again urged Bajie to go out and subdue the demon.
Bajie lay on the bed and refused to go out, falsely claiming that after several consecutive days of demon-subduing, he had contracted a head wind ailment.
Tang Seng saw that Bajie was afraid to fight and said angrily,
“If you still will not put forth effort, then go back to Gao Village. Your master will go subdue the demon himself!”
Bajie hurriedly got up and said, “Master, do not be angry. Old Zhu will go, that is all.”
Bajie picked up his rake, went out the door, and walked into the woods. Before long, he encountered Tiger Vanguard and raised his rake to fight.
One was a long-established vicious tiger, the other a pig spirit transformed from Tianpeng.
After fighting for ten exchanges, Tiger Vanguard’s strength weakened, and he gradually could not stand against him. Bajie pressed his advantage and pursued.
Tiger Vanguard suddenly took out the long spear on his back, flashed it over his head, and sent out a burst of golden light.
Bajie, caught off guard, took the blow. Three inches of bristles were shaved from his head, frightening him into fleeing in panic.
Before long, Bajie fled back, exhausted, with drool and snot clinging to him and white foam bubbling at his mouth. Huffing and puffing, he came in and called, “Master!”
When Tang Seng saw him, he was shocked and said, “Bajie, you went to subdue the demon. How did you end up in such a sorry state?”
Bajie said, “Master, it was bitter! Your disciple went into those woods and fought that vicious tiger. We battled for three hundred exchanges, and that monster, unable to match me, transformed into a gust of wind and fled.
“Your disciple gave chase, but who would have thought several hundred little demons would suddenly leap out from the forest and surround me? Some tugged at my legs, others pulled at my feet, and that monster took out some treasure—I know not what it was—and struck me on the head with it. Fortunately, I, Old Zhu, dodged quickly, or else I nearly would have been beaten to death by him. Only then did I return to pay respects to Master.”
Tang Seng was badly frightened by these words and said,
“So many demons! Amitabha, what is to be done?”
Bajie said, “Master, do not panic. Your disciple follows Master and, even unto death, will escort Master to fetch the scriptures. Though there are many demons in those woods, I, Old Zhu, may still be called brave and fierce. Let me rest and recover for a few days, and once I have restored my spirit, I will go fight him to the death again and surely rid Master of that demon!”
After Tang Seng heard this, he was overjoyed, though he was worried for Bajie’s safety.
Bajie, however, said that as long as he could get rid of that demon, even staking his life would be no matter.
But in truth, Bajie had already figured out that monster’s abilities. He was far from being Bajie’s match; he merely had a treasure that possessed a bit of power, and had just caught Bajie off guard with it. Now that Bajie was prepared, if he went to seize that demon again, success was all but assured.