Let us leave aside for a moment how Tang Sanzang and his disciples endured the rainy night, huddled miserably in the ruined temple. In the county town of Diling , within the Copper Platform Prefecture , there lived a band of outlaws. Having squandered their family fortunes on whoring, drinking, and gambling, they found themselves with no means of survival. Thus, they gathered a dozen or so men and turned to banditry.
They plotted among themselves: “There’s no need to scout or scheme. The one to target today is Squire Kou, who just sent off those Tang monks . His house is surely overflowing with wealth. Tonight, with the rain pouring down, the streets will be empty, and the night patrols won’t dare to come out. Let’s hit his place, grab some gold and silver to spend, and then go back to our whoring and gambling. Could there be a better plan?”
The thieves were overjoyed. Uniting in purpose, they armed themselves with short swords, caltrops , clubs, cudgels, hempen ropes, and torches , braving the rain to march on the Kou residence. They smashed open the front gate and charged in with loud shouts.
Within the Kou household, everyone, young and old, men and women, fled in terror to hide: the old madam crawled under a bed; the squire himself slipped behind a door; and Kou Liang , Kou Dong , along with several young relatives and servants, scattered in all directions, trembling, just trying to save their own skins.
The gang of bandits, brandishing their blades and lighting their torches, threw open every chest and cabinet in the house. They ransacked everything: gold, silver, jewels, head ornaments, clothing, furniture, and utensils, hauling it all away as plunder.
Squire Kou could not bear to see his family’s wealth stolen. Risking his life, he rushed out the door and fell to his knees before the bandits, pleading: “Noble kings, take what you need! But leave me, an old man, just a few clothes to be buried in!”
The bandits paid him no heed. One of them strode forward and kicked the squire squarely in the groin, knocking him to the ground. Alas for the poor squire! His three souls faded away into the underworld, and his seven spirits drifted off, leaving the world of the living!
Having secured their loot, the bandits left the Kou house. They set up a soft rope ladder against the city wall and, one by one, climbed over it, escaping westward through the night in the pouring rain.
Only after the bandits had gone did the Kou family servants dare to come out. When they saw the squire lying dead on the ground, they could not help but burst into loud wails: “Heavens! The master has been beaten to death!” Everyone knelt by the corpse, weeping in profound grief.
By the fourth watch of the night, Lady Kou , recalling how the four monks from Tang had refused to accept her offerings and how the grand, noisy send-off had brought this disaster upon them, was consumed by a jealous and spiteful thought. Leaning on her son Kou Liang, she said: “Son, stop crying. Your father would host monks one day and feed them the next. Who would have thought that today, when he held his grand completion ceremony , he would be feasting a pack of murderous monks!”
Brother Kou Liang and his sibling asked: “Mother, how can they be murderous monks?”
The old lady replied: “When the bandits burst in so fiercely, I was hiding under the bed, terrified. I stared at the torchlight and saw everything clearly. You want to know who it was? It was Tang Sanzang who lit the fire, Zhu Bajie who wielded the knife, Sha Wujing who carried away the gold and silver, and Sun Wukong who killed your father!”
The two brothers, hearing this, believed it completely. “If Mother saw it so clearly, it must be true. Those four stayed in our house for half a month. They must have learned all the doors, walls, windows, and paths. They saw our wealth and were tempted. Capitalizing on tonight’s rain, they came back to rob us. They took our goods and killed Father. What venomous hearts they have! At dawn, we will go to the prefectural office and file a complaint, naming them directly!”
Kou Dong asked: “What should we write in the complaint?”
Kou Liang said: “Just write what Mother said!”
And so they wrote: “Tang Sanzang lit the fire. Zhu Bajie shouted for murder. Sha Wujing carried off the gold and silver. Sun Wukong beat my father to death.”
The family argued and cried through the night, and before they knew it, dawn had broken. They sent someone to summon relatives and prepare a coffin, while Kou Liang and Kou Dong went to the prefectural office to file their lawsuit.
Now, the governor of Copper Platform Prefecture was a man of lifelong integrity and innate virtue. In his youth, he had studied the classics with great diligence and had passed the imperial examinations early in life. His heart was ever filled with loyalty and righteousness, and he was constantly imbued with benevolence. His reputation would echo through the ages, like the ancient incorruptible officials Gong Sui and Huang Ba reborn; his prestige within the government would be remembered for ten thousand years, as if Zhuo Mao and Lu Gong had returned to life.
At that moment, the governor was holding court. After finishing his current business, he ordered the placard for accepting lawsuits to be brought out. Kou Liang and his brother rushed in, clutching the complaint board , and knelt down before the hall, shouting: “Your Honor! We, humble ones, wish to report a great crime of robbery and murder!”
The governor took the complaint and read it through. Then he asked: “Yesterday, I heard that your family had completed your vow of feeding monks , and you hosted four distinguished monks from the Great Tang in the East. You even sent them off with great fanfare, with drums and music filling the streets. How could such a disaster have occurred?”
Kou Liang and his brother kowtowed and said: “Your Honor, our father, Kou Hong, had been feeding monks for twenty-four years. Because these four eminent monks had come from afar, they happened to complete the count of ten thousand monks. So we held a grand completion ceremony and kept them as guests for half a month. They familiarized themselves with all the paths, doors, and windows of our house. On the very day we sent them off, they returned that very night. Taking advantage of the darkness and the rain, they broke in with torches and weapons, stole our gold, silver, jewels, clothes, and ornaments, and beat our father to death on the floor. We beg Your Honor to seek justice for us!”
Upon hearing this, the governor immediately mustered a force of mounted and foot soldiers , along with civilian constables —one hundred and fifty men in total. Each was armed with sharp weapons, and they were ordered to go out the West Gate and pursue the four monks from Tang without delay.
Meanwhile, the Tang Monk and his disciples had endured the rainy night in the ruined Huaguang Temple . When dawn finally broke, they emerged and continued their journey westward.
As fate would have it, the band of outlaws, after robbing the Kou house the previous night and climbing over the city wall, had also headed west along the main road. After traveling twenty or so miles at daybreak, they hid in a mountain hollow to divide their spoils.
Before they had finished splitting the loot, they saw the four monks walking along the road toward them. The bandits’ greed was insatiable. Pointing at the monks, one of them said: “Isn’t that the monk who was sent off yesterday?”
The other bandits laughed and said: “How convenient! How convenient! We’re in this lawless trade anyway. These monks have been traveling all this way and stayed at the Kou house for so long. They must be carrying a good amount of valuables on them. Let’s just block their path, take their traveling money, and split the white horse among ourselves. Wouldn’t that be satisfying?”
Brandishing their weapons, the bandits shouted loudly and rushed onto the main road, forming a line across it. “Monks! Don’t move! Leave your toll money for the road, and we’ll spare your lives! Dare to say a single ‘no,’ and it’ll be one cut, one corpse, no mercy!”
Tang Sanzang trembled so violently on his horse that he nearly fell off. Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie were also panicked. They said to the Pilgrim: “What do we do! What do we do! We barely survived the night rain, and now we’re facing bandits blocking the road. Truly, ‘misfortunes never come singly’!”
The Pilgrim laughed and said: “Master, don’t be afraid. Brothers, don’t worry. Let Old Monkey go and talk to them.”
Truly a Great Sage, he tightened his tiger-skin kilt, shook his brocade tunic, stepped forward, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “And what might you gentlemen be doing here?” he asked.
The bandits roared: “You fool, you have no idea how close you are to death, and you still dare to ask us that! Are you blind? Can’t you see that I am your grandfather, the King? Hurry up and hand over the toll money, and we’ll let you pass!”
Upon hearing this, the Pilgrim broke into a broad smile. “Oh, so you’re highway robbers, are you?”
One of the bandits, enraged, shouted: “Kill him!”
The Pilgrim pretended to be terrified. “Great King! Great King! I’m just a country monk. I don’t know how to speak properly. Please don’t be offended, please don’t be offended! If you want road money, don’t bother with those three. Just ask me. I’m the one in charge of the accounts. Whether it’s alms we’ve begged or donations from others, it’s all in my bundle, and I’m in charge of it all. That one on the horse is my master. He only knows how to chant scriptures and doesn’t meddle in other affairs. He’s not greedy for money or fond of women. He doesn’t have a single cent. That dark-faced one is a youth I took in halfway; he only knows how to feed the horse. That long-snouted one is a hired hand I employ; he only knows how to carry the load. If you let those three go, I’ll give you all our traveling money, robes, and alms bowls.”
The bandits said: “This monk seems to be an honest fellow. Since that’s the case, we’ll spare your life. Tell those three to drop their luggage and let them go.”
The Pilgrim turned his head and gave a signal with his eyes. Sha Wujing then put down the luggage pole, and together with his master, who led the horse, and Zhu Bajie, they walked westward.
The Pilgrim bent down and opened the bundle. He grabbed a handful of dust and threw it into the air, reciting a spell—this was the Body-Binding Spell. Then he shouted loudly: “Stop!”
The entire gang of over thirty bandits instantly froze. Each one stood rigidly, teeth clenched, eyes wide open, and arms outstretched. They could not speak a word, nor could they move a muscle.
The Pilgrim leaped out onto the road and called out: “Master, come back! Come back!”
Zhu Bajie was alarmed. “No good! No good! The elder brother has betrayed us! He doesn’t have any money on him, and there’s no gold or silver in the bundle. He must be calling the master back to give up the horse, and us to strip off our clothes!”
Sha Wujing laughed and said: “Second Brother, don’t talk nonsense! The elder brother has great magic powers. He subdued even the most fearsome demons in the past. Do you think he’s afraid of a few petty thieves? If he’s calling us back, he must have something to say. Let’s go back and see.”
The elder, hearing this, happily turned his horse around and rode back to the roadside. “Wukong,” he called, “why are you calling us back?”
The Pilgrim said: “Take a look at these bandits. What’s wrong with them?”
Zhu Bajie stepped forward and pushed one of the bandits. “Hey, bandit! Why aren’t you moving?” he shouted. The bandit gave no response at all, neither speaking nor moving. Zhu Bajie said: “They’ve all turned into mutes, just like that!”
The Pilgrim laughed. “Old Monkey has bound them with the Body-Binding Spell.”
Zhu Bajie said: “You bound their bodies, but you didn’t bind their mouths. Why aren’t they even making a sound?”
The Pilgrim said: “Master, please dismount and sit down to watch. As the saying goes, ‘It’s better to arrest the wrong person by mistake than to let the right one go.’ Brothers, let’s turn these bandits over and tie them up. We’ll make them confess and see if they are first-time offenders or hardened criminals.”
Sha Wujing said: “But we don’t have any rope!”
The Pilgrim plucked out a few of his hairs, blew a magical breath on them, and they turned into thirty lengths of rope. Everyone set to work, turning the bandits over and tying them up securely, with their hands and feet bound together. Then the Pilgrim recited the spell to release the binding, and the bandits gradually regained consciousness.
The Pilgrim invited Tang Sanzang to sit in the place of honor. The three disciples each took up their weapons and shouted: “You petty thieves! How many of you are there? How many years have you been in this trade? How many goods have you stolen? Have you ever killed anyone? Is this your first offense, or have you committed many crimes?”
The bandits all cried out together: “Grandfather, spare our lives!”
The Pilgrim said: “Stop shouting! Confess honestly!”
The bandits said: “Honorable sirs, we are not habitual criminals. We are all sons of respectable families. It’s just that we were too worthless, given to drinking, gambling, and whoring, until we squandered the family fortunes our ancestors left us. We’ve been idle ever since, with no money to spend. We heard that Squire Kou of Copper Platform City was very wealthy, so yesterday we banded together and, taking advantage of the dark, rainy night, we robbed his house. We stole some gold, silver, and jewelry, and were just dividing the loot in the mountain hollow north of the road when we saw you, sirs, approaching. Some among us recognized you as the monks Squire Kou had sent off. Thinking you must be carrying valuables, and seeing your heavy luggage and the swift white horse, our greed got the better of us, and we came to block your path. We never imagined that you, sir, would possess such great divine powers and magic, trapping us here. We beg you, in your mercy, to take back the stolen goods and spare our lives!”
When Tang Sanzang heard that this was the loot from the Kou house, he was startled and quickly stood up. “Wukong,” he said, “Squire Kou was such a good and charitable man. How could he have met with such a calamity?”
The Pilgrim laughed and said: “It was all because of the grand send-off they gave us, with all those colored canopies, banners, and music. It attracted attention, and these scoundrels decided to target his house. Now, luckily, we’ve run into them and recovered this gold, silver, and jewelry.”
Tang Sanzang said: “We stayed at his house for half a month and received his great kindness with nothing to repay it. Wouldn’t it be a good deed to return these goods to his family?”
Upon hearing this, the Pilgrim, along with Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing, went to the mountain hollow, gathered up all the stolen goods, and loaded them onto the horse. He also had Zhu Bajie carry a pole of gold and silver, and Sha Wujing carry his own luggage.
The Pilgrim had initially wanted to kill all the bandits with a single blow of his staff, but he feared that his master would rebuke him for taking lives. So he simply shook his body, and the hairs retracted. The bandits, their hands and feet freed, scrambled to their feet and fled one by one into the mountains.
Tang Sanzang then turned around, leading his disciples as they carried the goods back to the Kou residence. This journey, however, was like a moth flying into a flame, and instead of doing good, it brought disaster upon them.
As the poem says: In this world, few repay kindness with kindness; instead, they often turn grace into enmity. Saving a drowning man can lead to your own loss; but if you think thrice before acting, you will have no worries.
As the Tang Monk and his disciples were heading back with the gold, silver, and jewelry, they suddenly saw a large group of people approaching with swords and spears. Tang Sanzang was terrified. “Disciples,” he said, “look at those people coming with weapons. Is this good or bad?”
Zhu Bajie said: “Trouble is here! Trouble is here! It must be the bandits we let go. They’ve found their weapons, gathered more men, and are coming back to fight us to the death!”
Sha Wujing said: “Second Brother, those aren’t bandits coming. Elder Brother, take a closer look.”
The Pilgrim said quietly to Sha Wujing: “Master’s calamity has arrived again. These are definitely government soldiers coming to arrest the bandits.”
Before he had finished speaking, the soldiers had already reached them. They spread out into a circle and surrounded the four masters and disciples. “Well, well, you monks! You steal people’s goods and then you just hang around here!”
The men rushed forward together. First, they pulled Tang Sanzang off his horse and tied him up. Then they bound the Pilgrim, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing as well. They threaded carrying poles through the ropes, two men lifting one prisoner, and drove the horse and seized the luggage. They headed straight back to the prefectural city.
And so it was: Tang Sanzang trembled with fear, tears streaming down his face, unable to speak; Zhu Bajie grumbled incessantly, complaining in his heart; Sha Wujing was dumbfounded, hesitating in his mind; but Sun Wukong smiled, ready to use his skills.
The soldiers crowded around them, and soon they were in the city. They were taken directly to the main hall of the prefectural office, where the soldiers reported: “Your Honor, we have captured the bandits!”
The governor was sitting in the hall. He rewarded the soldiers, examined the stolen goods, and ordered someone to summon the Kou family to claim them. Then he had the four monks brought before him. “You band of monks,” he said, “you claim with every breath that you come from the East and are going to the Western Heaven to pay homage to the Buddha. But it turns out you are just thieves who scout out places to rob!”
Tang Sanzang said: “Your Honor, please hear me out. I, this humble monk, am truly not a bandit. I have never deceived you. I carry with me a travel document that can prove it. Because Squire Kou hosted us for half a month, showing us great kindness and friendship, we encountered some bandits on the road and recovered the goods they had stolen from the Kou house. We were on our way to return them to the Kou family to repay their kindness when we were mistakenly arrested as bandits by the soldiers. We are truly not robbers! I beg Your Honor to look into this carefully.”
The governor said: “You scoundrel! When you see the soldiers coming to arrest you, you make up a story about repaying kindness. If you encountered bandits on the road, why didn’t you capture the bandits and bring them to the authorities? Instead, it’s only the four of you! Look! The complaint submitted by Kou Liang names you specifically. How dare you still try to deny it?”
When Tang Sanzang heard this, it felt as if his boat had capsized in the vast sea. His soul nearly flew away in terror. “Wukong,” he cried, “why don’t you come forward and defend me?”
The Pilgrim said: “The stolen goods are here. What good will defending do?”
The governor said: “Exactly! The stolen goods are right here, and you still dare to deny it? Men! Bring the head-squeezing device and put it on this bald donkey’s shaven head! Then flog him!”
The Pilgrim was alarmed. He thought to himself: “Although this calamity is fated for my master, I can’t let him suffer too much.”
Seeing the yamen runners preparing the ropes for the head-squeezer, he spoke up: “Your Honor, don’t put that thing on that monk. Last night, when we robbed the Kou house, I was the one who lit the fire. I was the one who wielded the knife. I was the one who stole the goods. And I was the one who did the killing. I am the ringleader. If you want to beat someone, beat me. They have nothing to do with it. Just don’t let me go.”
Upon hearing this, the governor said: “Then put it on this one first!”
The yamen runners all rushed forward and slipped the head-squeezer over the Pilgrim’s head. They pulled the ropes tight—but with a loud crack, the ropes snapped. They tied it again and squeezed again, and once more it snapped with a crack. They did this three or four times in a row, but the skin on the Pilgrim’s head wasn’t even wrinkled.
As they were about to change the ropes and tie it again, a messenger suddenly arrived to report: “Your Honor, the Imperial Censor Chen Shaobao has arrived from the capital. Please go outside the city to welcome him.”
The governor immediately ordered the chief clerk of the penal section: “Lock these bandits up in the main prison and guard them carefully. After I have received the high official, I will interrogate them again.”
The chief clerk pushed the four monks into the prison. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing carried their own luggage bundles inside with them.
Tang Sanzang said: “Disciples, what is happening to us?”
The Pilgrim laughed and said: “Master, go in! Go in! There are no dogs in here, so it should be fun!”
Alas for the four of them! They were pushed into the cell and one by one forced onto the torture racks. The jailers locked them into the belly-girth, head-lock, and chest-press restraints. Then the prison guards came and started beating them indiscriminately.
Tang Sanzang could not bear the pain. He cried out: “Wukong! What do we do! What do we do!”
The Pilgrim said: “They are beating you because they want money. As the saying goes, ‘In a good place, you can rest; in a bad place, you must spend money.’ Give them a little money and it will be fine.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Where would I get any money?”
The Pilgrim said: “If you have no money, then give them your clothes. Give them your cassock.”
When Tang Sanzang heard this, it felt like a knife stabbing his heart. But as the beating grew more and more severe, he had no choice. “Wukong,” he said, “do as you see fit.”
The Pilgrim then called out: “Honorable officers, please stop beating him. In the two bundles we brought in, there is a brocade kasaya that is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Untie the bundles and take it.”
Hearing this, the prison guards quickly untied the two bundles. Inside, they found only a few cotton robes and a bag containing the travel document, none of which was worth anything. But then they saw an object wrapped in several layers of oiled paper, which was shimmering with a radiant light. They knew it was something valuable. When they opened it, it was a kasaya: Adorned with cleverly set pearls, a rare treasure of the Buddha. Embroidered with coiling dragons and bordered with flying phoenixes.
Everyone scrambled to look at it, and the commotion attracted the prison warden. The warden came over and shouted: “What are you all arguing about in here?”
The prison guards knelt down and said: “Master, the four monks who were brought in for interrogation are big-time bandits. When we beat them a few times, they offered us these two bundles. We opened them and found this thing. We don’t know what to do with it. If we tear it apart and divide it, it would be a terrible waste. If we give it to one person, the others won’t be happy. Fortunately, you have arrived, Master. Please decide for us.”
The warden looked at the kasaya. He also examined the other clothes and the bag containing the travel document. He opened the bag and looked at the document, seeing the seals of various countries on it. “It’s a good thing I came to look!” he said. “Otherwise, you would all have brought disaster upon yourselves. This monk is not a bandit. Do not touch their belongings. When the governor interrogates them again tomorrow, the truth will come out.”
Upon hearing this, the prison guards returned the bundles to the monks, wrapped them up as before, and gave them to the warden to keep.
Gradually, evening came. They heard the drum being struck on the watchtower, and the night patrols began their rounds. By the time the fourth watch had passed, the Pilgrim noticed that the others had stopped groaning and were all fast asleep.
He thought to himself: “My master was fated to endure this one night in prison. That is why Old Monkey did not argue or use his magic powers. Now the fourth watch is almost over, and his ordeal is nearly complete. I need to make some arrangements so that we can be released tomorrow.”
And so he used his magic, shrinking his body until he slipped out of the torture rack. He shook himself, transformed into a tiny midge, and flew out through a crack in the tiles of the roof.
Outside, the starlight was bright and the moonlight was clear. It was a quiet, peaceful night. He oriented himself and flew straight toward the Kou family’s front gate.
He saw a lamp burning in a house on the west side of the street. Flying closer, he saw it was a tofu shop. An old man was tending the fire, and an old woman was squeezing the soybean milk.
The old man suddenly said: “Old woman, Kou Dakuan may have had sons and money, but he just didn’t have the good fortune to live long. He and I studied together when we were young. I was actually five years older than him. His father was called Kou Ming, and back then the family didn’t even own a thousand acres of land. The rent they collected was never enough. When Kou Dakuan turned twenty, Kou Ming died, and he took over the family business. It was also his good luck that he married the daughter of Zhang Wang, whose childhood name was Chuanzhen’er. She was a very lucky wife. After she married him, the crops always yielded a good harvest, and the loans he made were always repaid. He made money on everything he bought and profited from every business deal. Now he has amassed a fortune of a hundred thousand. When he turned forty, he turned his heart to doing good and fed ten thousand monks. Who would have thought that last night he would be kicked to death by bandits? What a pity! He was only sixty-four this year, just the age to enjoy his leisure. How could it be that because he was so charitable, he died such a violent and unnatural death? What a shame! What a shame!”
The Pilgrim listened to every word. It was now the beginning of the fifth watch. He flew to the Kou house. Inside the main hall, the coffin had already been placed. A lamp was burning at the head of the coffin, with incense, candles, flowers, and fruit laid out. The old lady was weeping beside it. He saw her two sons come in to wail and bow, and their two wives brought in two bowls of rice as offerings.
The Pilgrim landed on the head of the coffin and coughed. The two wives were so startled that they dropped the bowls and ran out in a panic. Kou Liang and his brother lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to move, crying out: “Father! Father!”
The old lady was bolder. She patted the head of the coffin and said: “Old squire, have you come back to life?”
The Pilgrim, imitating Squire Kou’s voice, said: “I am not alive.”
The two sons were even more terrified. They kowtowed without ceasing, their tears flowing, and only cried: “Father! Father!”
The old lady, mustering her courage, asked again: “Squire, if you are not alive, how can you speak?”
The Pilgrim said: “The King of Hell sent a ghostly messenger to escort me back to speak with you. You, Zhang-shi Chuanzhen’er, have been talking nonsense and framing innocent people.”
When the old lady heard him call her by her childhood name, she was so frightened that she fell to her knees and kowtowed. “Good husband! At your age, you still call me by my childhood name! When have I ever talked nonsense and harmed innocent people?”
The Pilgrim roared: “You still dare to pretend you don’t know! What is this about ‘Tang Sanzang lit the fire, Zhu Bajie shouted for murder, Sha Wujing carried off the gold and silver, and Sun Wukong beat my father to death’? Because of your nonsense, good people have been terribly wronged. Those four venerable masters from Tang encountered bandits on the road, recovered our goods, and were bringing them back to thank me. What a kind intention! But you made up a story and had your sons file a complaint with the authorities. The officials, without any careful investigation, threw them into prison. The prison gods, the local spirits, and the city gods were all in a panic, unable to sit still, and reported this to the King of Hell. The King of Hell sent a ghostly messenger to escort me back to tell you to release them immediately. If you don’t, I will haunt this house for a whole month, and I will kill every single person in the family, young and old, even the chickens and dogs, without leaving a single one!”
Kou Liang and his brother kowtowed and pleaded: “Father, please go back. Do not harm the young or the old. At dawn, we will go to the prefectural office and file a petition to withdraw the complaint. We are willing to admit our mistake. We only beg that the living may be safe and the dead may rest in peace.”
Hearing this, the Pilgrim said: “Then burn some paper money, and I will be on my way!” The family hastily began to burn paper offerings.
The Pilgrim spread his wings and flew off, then made his way to the governor’s residence. Looking down, he saw that a lamp was already lit inside, and the governor had already risen. He flew into the main hall and saw a painting hanging on the back wall: an official riding a spotted horse, with several attendants holding an umbrella and carrying a sedan chair. He did not know what story it depicted.
The Pilgrim landed in the middle of the painting. Just then, the governor came out of his room, bending over to wash his face and comb his hair. The Pilgrim suddenly coughed. The governor was so startled that he hurriedly retreated into his room.
After finishing his toilet, the governor put on his official robes and came out to face the painting, burning incense and praying: “Spirit tablet of my uncle, Jiang Gonggan Yi! Your nephew, Jiang Kunsan, relying on the blessings of our ancestors, passed the imperial examinations and is now the governor of Copper Platform Prefecture. I have never ceased my morning and evening offerings of incense. Why have you manifested your spirit and spoken today? Please do not pretend to be a ghost and frighten the members of this household!”
The Pilgrim laughed to himself. “So this is his uncle’s spirit tablet!” Then, imitating the uncle’s voice, he said: “Kunsan, my virtuous nephew, although you became an official by relying on the blessings of our ancestors and have always been incorruptible, why were you so foolish yesterday as to take the four holy monks for bandits and throw them into prison without a proper investigation? The prison gods, the local spirits, and the city gods were all disturbed and reported this to the King of Hell. The King of Hell sent a ghostly messenger to escort me here to tell you to look into the matter clearly and release them immediately. If you don’t, you will be summoned to the underworld to confront the King!”
When the governor heard this, he was terrified. “Uncle, please return. After I hold court, I will release them immediately.”
The Pilgrim said: “Since that is so, burn some paper money, and I will go back to report to the King of Hell.” The governor added more incense, burned some paper money, and kowtowed in thanks.
The Pilgrim flew out again. By now, the east was beginning to grow light. He flew to Diling County and saw that the county officials were all gathered in the main hall. He thought: “If I transform into a midge and speak, people will see me and the game will be up.”
then I will crush all the people in the county to death."