It was said that on the night of the wedding, Ao Tu was just about to leave when Qiao’er caught hold of him.
Ao Tu asked, “What is it?”
Hearing this, Qiao’er felt her heart tighten, her mouth dry and her tongue parched.
She had originally wanted to make an excuse, saying that if Ao Tu left, someone might discover him.
But when Ao Tu opened his mouth to ask her, she could not utter a single lie or pretext.
She could only look at Ao Tu with eyes full of hope, speaking with genuine feeling:
“I… I want you to stay.”
Ao Tu said, “Fine. Then put out the lamp and sleep.”
The red candles were blown out, and Qiao’er lay on the bed, nervous and expectant.
Ao Tu lay beside her with his eyes closed, merely circulating qi and preserving his spirit.
Qiao’er was silent for a long while. At last, she mustered her courage and took the initiative to hold Ao Tu’s hand.
Ao Tu opened his eyes and looked over.
He was no ordinary mortal; even at night, he could see clearly.
The young girl had almond eyes and arched brows, her features lovely. Shyly, she said, “My lord, take me.”
Ao Tu said, “You want to make the play real?”
Qiao’er hurriedly nodded. “Mm!”
Ao Tu said, “You are only a mortal. Once this matter is over, I will surely abandon you and leave, without the slightest hesitation. If you cooperate in this act, I will give you a thousand gold pieces and ensure you a lifetime of wealth and honor. If you covet a moment’s pleasure and make the pretense real, I still will not want you, and there will not be the slightest bit of gold or silver. When we meet again, perhaps a hundred years will already have passed, and you will long since have turned into a handful of yellow earth.”
Qiao’er froze, then lowered her head.
Ao Tu said nothing more, continuing to circulate qi and preserve his spirit.
A moment later, a soft, warm body embraced him, snow-white arms carrying a young girl’s gentle fragrance.
There was no more talk that night. A mortal woman, in the end, was delicate and frail, and could scarcely withstand such favor.
At dawn the next day, Qiao’er was still curled in his arms, clinging to that tenderness, not yet awake.
Ao Tu took out two fruits from within the divine light, let her smell them, then put them away.
It was not that Ao Tu was stingy.
Smelling them was already for the best.
If he let her eat them, it would instead be harming her.
The days that followed were peaceful and tranquil, the two of them like a true, ordinary married couple.
Sparse fences and low roofs let in the dawn’s first glow; husband and wife tilled together toward the northern ridge.
At noon they rested in the field beneath the shade of trees; a clay jug held water, and their affection was long.
The wife cooked beans and rice, their fragrance drifting; the husband hunted foxes and hares, his footsteps busy.
At dusk they sent off the slanting sun and returned from the fields; deep into night they sat together as the moon shone like frost.
It was said that after Tang Seng and his disciples left Wanshou Mountain, they traveled for more than a month along level roads. On this day, they saw a tall mountain ahead.
Tang Seng said, “Disciples, the mountain ridges ahead are perilous. Everyone must be careful, very careful.”
Wukong said, “Master, don’t worry.”
He leaped up onto a high cliff, brandished his iron staff, and let out a roar. It frightened the wolves and insects into scattering, and sent tigers and leopards fleeing.
Tang Seng, atop his horse, was alarmed.
After entering the mountain and traveling for a long while, Tang Seng said, “Wukong, I have gone all day and am hungry. Go beg for some vegetarian alms for us to eat.”
Wukong said, “Master, halfway up this mountain there is not a trace of human habitation. Even with money, there is nowhere to buy food. Where am I to find alms?”
Tang Seng was displeased and scolded, “You monkey! Think back to when you were at the Mountain of Two Frontiers, pressed by the Tathagata beneath that stone casket, unable to move your body or walk with your feet. It was thanks to me that your life was saved, that you were tonsured and received the precepts, becoming my disciple. Why are you unwilling to exert yourself, always harboring a lazy heart?”
Wukong said, “This disciple is diligent every day. When have I ever been lazy?”
Tang Seng said, “If you are diligent, why not beg alms for me to eat? How can I walk on with my belly hungry? Don’t say there is nowhere to beg alms. You have the art of soaring on clouds and riding the mist—where could you not find food?”
Wukong said, “Master, do not blame me. The terrain here is steep and dangerous. This disciple fears that if I go too far, a demon may come harm you. For now, dismount and sit steadily. Bajie and Junior Brother Sha will protect Master while I go search.”
Wukong sprang up with a bound, leaping into the clouds. Shading his eyes with his hand, he opened them wide and looked around.
He saw that the mountain was extremely desolate, with no villages, forts, or households anywhere. Only on the western side of the ridge were a few wooden huts, but demonic qi was faintly drifting about them; it was not a good place to go.
After looking for a long time, he saw a tall mountain due south. On the sunny side of that mountain was a patch of bright red dots.
Wukong lowered his cloud and said, “Master, there is food.”
Tang Seng asked what it was.
Wukong said, “There are no households in this mountain to beg meals from. On the southern mountain there is a patch of red. I imagine they must be ripe mountain peaches. I’ll go pick a few to fill your stomach.”
Tang Seng said happily, “For a monk to have peaches to eat is already not bad. Go quickly.”
Wukong rose on his cloud and rushed to the southern mountain to pick peaches.
The White Bone Demon, following Ao Tu’s arrangement, saw that Wukong had left and came out. She took a fake corpse as her incarnation, carrying a basket in her left hand and a clay jar in her right, and headed straight for Tang Seng.
When Tang Seng saw her, he said, “Bajie, Sha Seng, Wukong just said this wilderness was uninhabited. Look over there—hasn’t someone come walking out from the distance?”
Bajie said, “Master, you and Sha Seng sit here. Let Old Pig go take a look.”
Bajie set down his rake, straightened his clothes, and ran over to look.
Seeing that it was a woman, and a beautiful one at that, he lost all caution and asked:
“Female Bodhisattva, where are you going? What are you carrying in your hands?”
Seeing that Bajie was not afraid either, the White Bone Demon said:
“Elder, in this basket are white-flour buns, and in the clay jar is fragrant rice. Originally, they were for my family. Just now I saw several elders here, so I came over specially to offer food to monks.”
When Bajie heard this, his heart filled with joy. He quickly turned and ran back to report to Tang Seng:
“Master! Auspicious people naturally receive heaven’s favor! Master was hungry and told Senior Brother to go beg for alms, but that monkey ran off somewhere to pick peaches. If you eat too many peaches, won’t your stomach turn sour? Look, a female Bodhisattva has come to offer food to monks!”
Tang Seng saw the woman carrying the basket and walking over from the distance. He quickly rose, pressed his palms together before his chest, and said:
“Female Bodhisattva, where does your family live? How is it that you have come here to offer food to monks?”
The White Bone Demon replied, “Master, this mountain is called White Tiger Ridge. My home lies below, due west. My parents have passed away, and I live with my elder brother and his wife. My brother’s father-in-law and mother-in-law are still alive, and he also has a younger brother. Now my brother and sister-in-law are farming on the northern mountain. This is the midday meal I cooked to bring them. Encountering the three elders on the road, I have therefore offered this food to monks. If you do not disdain it, please accept this small show of sincerity.”
Tang Seng said, “Good, good! I already have a disciple who has gone to pick fruit. This food, I dare not eat. If I were to eat your food and your brother and sister-in-law scolded you, would not the sin fall upon this monk?”
The White Bone Demon said, “Master, you do not know. My brother and sister-in-law are wholly devoted to Buddhism and often give alms. They have vowed to feed monks. If they knew this food had been given to Master, they would surely be delighted.”
Tang Seng still refused to eat.
Bajie complained, “Master, you really are far too lacking in decisiveness. There is ready-made food and you won’t eat it. If we eat it now, it will only be divided into three portions. When that monkey comes back, it will have to be divided into four.”
As he spoke, he picked up the basket and was about to start eating.
Wukong had picked several peaches from the summit of the southern mountain and returned on his cloud. Seeing the woman, he opened his fiery eyes and golden pupils to look, recognized her as a demon, drew his iron staff, and struck straight at her head.
Seeing this, the White Bone Demon used a “Corpse-Shedding Art.” When she saw Wukong strike, her true body departed in advance, leaving that fake corpse behind, which Wukong smashed to pieces on the ground.
Tang Seng was so frightened he trembled and said, “You wretched monkey! How could you take a human life without cause?”
Wukong said, “Master, this woman was a demon. She came to deceive you!”
Tang Seng said, “She was plainly a woman from a decent family, kindheartedly wishing to feed us. How could she be a demon?”
Yet the corpse on the ground was a real corpse, only smashed to pieces.
The basket had fallen to the ground, and inside were steaming white buns.
The clay jar had shattered, spilling fragrant rice.
This time, Wukong could not explain himself clearly.