When the king saw that Sun the Pilgrim could summon dragons and command gods, he hastily stamped the imperial seal on the travel document and prepared to hand it to Tang Sanzang, allowing them to proceed westward. But the three Taoist priests were thrown into a panic. With a loud thud, they knelt upon the golden throne hall , pleading bitterly. The king quickly descended from his dragon throne and reached out to help them up: " National Teachers , why do you perform such great courtesy today? What is the matter?"
The Taoists replied, "Your Majesty, we came here to assist the state and protect the people, laboring hard for twenty years. Today these monks have used their magic to cause chaos and ruin our reputation. Your Majesty would pardon their crime of killing our disciples just because of one rainstorm? This is too light a regard for us! We beseech Your Majesty to withhold their travel document for now and allow us brothers to gamble with them once more, to see whose arts are truly superior!"
Now this king was a muddle-headed man; if someone said east, he believed east; if someone said west, he believed west. He truly took back the travel document and asked, "National Teachers, what do you wish to gamble on?" The Tiger Strength Great Immortal said, "I will gamble with him on sitting in meditation." The king was taken aback: "National Teacher, you err! That monk is by nature a master of Chan meditation ; he surely excels at sitting in meditation, which is why he dared to accept the imperial decree to fetch the scriptures. How can you gamble with him on this?" The great immortal said, "My sitting in meditation is not ordinary. It has a special name: ' Ascending the Cloud Ladder to Reveal Holiness .'" The king asked, "What is 'Ascending the Cloud Ladder to Reveal Holiness'?" The great immortal replied, "One hundred tables are needed. Fifty are stacked into a meditation platform, one atop the other, without using hands to climb or ladders to ascend. Each person must ride their own cloud to the top, sit down, and remain motionless for several hours."
The king thought this was no small feat and issued a decree: "You monk, my National Teacher wishes to gamble with you on ascending the cloud ladder to sit in meditation. Can you do it?" Upon hearing this, the Pilgrim pondered and remained silent. Bajie asked, "Brother, why aren't you saying anything?" The Pilgrim said, "Brother, to be honest with you, if it were ascending to heaven, diving into the earth, churning up the seas, overturning rivers, carrying mountains, chasing the moon, or shifting the stars—these skills I am well versed in. Even beheading, slicing brains, cutting open bellies, or gouging out hearts, I do not fear. But when it comes to sitting in meditation, I am certain to lose. How could I have the temperament to sit still? Even if you locked me to an iron pillar, I would be bouncing up and down; I simply cannot sit steady."
At that moment, Tang Sanzang suddenly spoke up: "I can sit in meditation." The Pilgrim was overjoyed: "Excellent! Excellent! How long can you sit?" Tang Sanzang said, "In my youth, I studied the Way under a wandering Chan monk. I settled my nature and preserved my spirit at the very root of life and death. Even at the brink of life and death, I could sit for two or three years." The Pilgrim said, "Master, if you could sit for two or three years, we would not need to fetch the scriptures—at most we would sit for two or three hours and then come down." Tang Sanzang added, "Disciple, the problem is that I cannot ascend that high platform." The Pilgrim said, "Step forward and accept the challenge. I will send you up."
The elder indeed pressed his palms together, puffed out his chest, and said, "This humble monk can sit in meditation." The king immediately ordered the meditation platforms to be built. With all the manpower of the nation, in less than half an hour, two platforms were erected on either side of the golden throne hall. The Tiger Strength Great Immortal descended from the hall, stood on the steps, and with a single leap, stepped onto a mat-sized cloud and flew straight to the western platform, where he sat down. The Pilgrim plucked a single hair, transformed it into a double of himself to accompany Bajie and Sha Wujing below, while he himself rode a five-colored auspicious cloud , lifted Tang Sanzang into the air, and set him down on the eastern platform. Then he withdrew his cloud, transformed into a tiny cicada-like insect , and flew to Bajie's ear, saying, "Brother, keep a close watch on Master. Do not speak to my false body." The fool chuckled: "I understand! I understand!"
The Deer Strength Great Immortal watched from his embroidered stool for a long time. Seeing that the two men on the high platforms were evenly matched, he decided to help his senior brother. He plucked a short hair from the back of his head, rolled it into a ball, and flicked it onto Tang Sanzang's head. It turned into a large bedbug that bit the elder. Tang Sanzang first felt an itch, then a pain—but the rules of meditation forbade moving one's hands; to do so was to lose. Unable to bear the pain, he hunched his head and rubbed against his robe to scratch. Bajie shouted, "Bad news! Master is having an epileptic fit!" Sha Wujing said, "No, it's a headache attack."
When the Pilgrim heard this, he said, "My master is a man of honest faith. If he says he can sit in meditation, he can; if he says he cannot, he cannot. A gentleman would never deceive. Do not speak nonsense. Let me go up and see." Good Great Sage! With a buzz, he flew onto Tang Sanzang's head and saw a bedbug as large as a bean biting his master. He quickly pinched it off and also helped his master scratch the spot. The elder no longer felt pain or itch and sat up straight again. The Pilgrim thought to himself, "A monk's head is bald; even a louse cannot stay on it. How could there be a bedbug? This must be the doing of that Taoist priest, trying to harm my master. Hmph! Since we cannot decide a winner, I will go and give him a taste of his own medicine!"
The Pilgrim flew to the animal-head ornament on the golden hall, transformed himself, and became a seven-inch-long centipede . He flew straight to the Taoist's nose and bit him. The Taoist could not sit steady; with a thud, he tumbled off the platform head over heels, nearly killing himself. Fortunately, many officials were present and quickly helped him up. The king was greatly alarmed and ordered the imperial carriage master to take him to Wenhua Hall to wash and groom. The Pilgrim then rode his auspicious cloud and carried his master down the steps. In this round, the elder had won.
Just as the king was about to order their release, the Deer Strength Great Immortal again memorialized: "Your Majesty, my senior brother has always suffered from headaches. When he went up high and caught a draft, his old illness recurred, allowing the monk to win. Please keep them here. I will gamble with him on ' Guessing Objects Through a Screen .'" The king asked, "What is 'Guessing Objects Through a Screen'?" Deer Strength said, "I have the ability to know what is inside a box without seeing it. Let us see if the monk can do the same. If he can guess better than me, let him go. If not, I beg Your Majesty to punish him, to avenge our brothers, and not to waste our twenty years of service to the state."
This king was truly muddle-headed to the extreme. Hearing these words, he issued a decree for the inner court officials to bring in a vermilion-lacquered cabinet . He ordered the empress to place a treasure inside. Soon the cabinet was carried out and set before the white jade steps . The king said to the monk and the Taoist, "Now let each of you display your divine powers and guess what treasure is inside the cabinet." Tang Sanzang said, "Disciple, how can we know what is inside?" The Pilgrim withdrew his auspicious cloud, transformed again into a cicada-like insect, and landed on Tang Sanzang's ear: "Master, do not worry. Let me go and have a look."
The Great Sage gently flew to the cabinet, crawled to its foot, and saw a crack in the boards. He slipped inside. There was a red lacquered tray holding a set of palace robes: a "Mountain and River State Robe" and a "Heaven and Earth Geographic Skirt." He grabbed the clothes, shook them into a mess, bit the tip of his tongue, spat a mouthful of blood onto them, and shouted, "Change!" The palace robes instantly transformed into a tattered, patched "one-bell" cloak. Before leaving, he even urinated on it. Then he slipped out through the crack in the boards and flew back to Tang Sanzang's ear: "Master, just guess that it is a tattered, patched one-bell cloak." Tang Sanzang said, "He said to guess a treasure. What kind of treasure is a 'tattered one-bell'?" The Pilgrim said, "Never mind that. Just guess it, and you will win."
Tang Sanzang stepped forward and was about to guess, but the Deer Strength Great Immortal spoke first: "I will guess first! Inside the cabinet are the Mountain and River State Robe and the Heaven and Earth Geographic Skirt." Tang Sanzang said, "No! No! Inside is a tattered, patched one-bell cloak." The king was furious: "You monk are too insolent! You dare to mock our kingdom for lacking treasures, and you guess a 'tattered one-bell cloak'! Seize him!" The imperial guards were about to act, but Tang Sanzang quickly pressed his palms together and cried out, "Your Majesty, spare this humble monk for a moment! Open the cabinet and look. If it truly is a treasure, I will gladly accept my punishment. But if it is not, would that not be an injustice?" The king ordered the cabinet opened. The imperial carriage master opened it, brought out the tray, and looked—indeed, it was a tattered, patched one-bell cloak.
The king was enraged: "Who put this thing in there?" From behind the dragon throne, three empresses came forward and said, "Your Majesty, it was your consorts who personally placed the Mountain and River State Robe and the Heaven and Earth Geographic Skirt inside. We do not know how it turned into this." The king said, "My beloved consorts, withdraw. I understand. The palace uses only silk and satin; where would such tattered things come from?" He then ordered, "Bring the cabinet up again. I myself will place a treasure inside and test them once more."
The king returned to the rear palace, picked a peach as large as a bowl from the immortal peach tree in the imperial garden, placed it in the cabinet, and had it brought back to the hall for guessing. Tang Sanzang said, "Disciple, we have to guess again." The Pilgrim said, "Do not worry. I will go and look again." With another buzz, he flew over, slipped through the crack, and saw a peach. This suited him perfectly. He immediately transformed back into his true form, sat inside the cabinet, and devoured the peach cleanly, even gnawing the flesh around the pit until nothing was left but the pit itself. He then transformed back into a cicada-like insect, flew out, and landed on Tang Sanzang's ear: "Master, guess that it is a peach pit." The elder said, "Disciple, do not toy with me! Last time, my quick tongue nearly got me punished. This time, I must guess a treasure. What kind of treasure is a peach pit?" The Pilgrim said, "Do not fear. We will certainly win."
Just as Tang Sanzang was about to speak, the Goat Strength Great Immortal spoke first: "I will guess first! It is an immortal peach." Tang Sanzang said, "It is not a peach. It is a bare peach pit." The king shouted, "I myself placed an immortal peach in there. How could it be a pit? The Third National Teacher guessed correctly!" Tang Sanzang said, "Your Majesty, open it and see." The imperial carriage master opened the cabinet, brought out the tray, and indeed there was only a peach pit, not a shred of flesh left. The king was startled: "National Teacher, do not gamble with him anymore. Let him go! I placed the immortal peach with my own hands, and now only a pit remains. There must be spirits and gods helping him!" Bajie and Sha Wujing snickered to themselves: "He is an old hand at eating peaches. What is one little peach to him?"
As they were speaking, the Tiger Strength Great Immortal, having washed and groomed himself in Wenhua Hall, came up the hall and said, "Your Majesty, this monk knows the art of moving objects. Bring the cabinet up again. I will break his spell and gamble with him once more." The king asked, "National Teacher, what will you guess this time?" Tiger Strength said, "Magic can only swap objects, not people. Hide this young acolyte inside, and see if he can swap him!" The young acolyte indeed crawled into the cabinet, the lid was sealed, and it was carried to the hall. Tiger Strength said, "Let the monk guess again what treasure is inside this cabinet." Tang Sanzang said, "We have to guess again!" The Pilgrim said, "Let me go and look once more."
With another buzz, he flew inside and saw a young acolyte. An idea struck him—when it came to tricks and transformations, this was his forte! He transformed into an old Taoist master and said to the acolyte, "Disciple." The acolyte asked, "Master, where did you come from?" The Pilgrim said, "I came by the art of invisibility." The acolyte asked, "Why have you come?" The Pilgrim said, "That monk saw you enter the cabinet. If he guesses 'young acolyte,' we will lose. I have come to discuss this with you. Let us shave your head, and we will make him guess 'monk' instead."
The acolyte said, "I will do whatever you say, Master, as long as we can beat him! If we lose again, not only will our reputation be ruined, but the court will no longer respect us." The Pilgrim said, "Well said. Come here. If we win, I will reward you handsomely."
The Pilgrim turned his Golden-Banded Cudgel into a shaving razor, hugged the acolyte, and said, "Be a good boy. Bear the pain and do not cry out. I will shave your head."
In no time, he had shaved the acolyte's head completely bald, rolled the hair into a ball, and stuffed it into a crack in the cabinet's foot. He then put away the razor, felt the acolyte's smooth head, and said, "Disciple, your head looks like a monk's now, but your clothes are wrong. Take them off, and I will transform them for you." The acolyte took off a crane-feather cloak of onion-white color embroidered with cloud-flowers. The Pilgrim blew a mouthful of immortal breath onto it and shouted, "Change!" The crane-feather cloak instantly transformed into a monk's straight robe of earth-yellow color. He then plucked two hairs, turned them into a wooden fish, and handed it to the acolyte: "Disciple, remember this: if they call for a young acolyte, do not come out. But if they call for a monk, push open the cabinet lid, beat the wooden fish, and recite the sutras as you come out. That way, we will win." The acolyte said, "I only know how to recite the 'Three Officials Sutra,' the 'Big Dipper Sutra,' and the 'Disaster-Averting Sutra.' I do not know any Buddhist sutras." The Pilgrim asked, "Do you know how to recite 'Amitabha'?" The acolyte said, "That I know!" The Pilgrim said, "That will do. Just recite the Buddha's name. That saves me from having to teach you. Remember, I am leaving."
The Pilgrim transformed back into a cicada-like insect, slipped out, and landed on Tang Sanzang's ear: "Master, just guess that it is a monk." Tang Sanzang said, "This time, he will surely win." The Pilgrim asked, "How are you so certain?" Tang Sanzang said, "The sutras say that the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha are the Three Jewels. A monk is also a treasure."
Just as he finished speaking, the Tiger Strength Great Immortal said, "Your Majesty, the third cabinet contains a young acolyte." He called out several times, but the young acolyte did not come out. Tang Sanzang pressed his palms together and said, "It is a monk." Bajie shouted loudly, "Inside the cabinet is a monk!" The young acolyte immediately pushed open the cabinet lid, beat the wooden fish, and recited "Amitabha" as he emerged. All the civil and military officials cheered in unison. The three Taoist priests were struck dumb with fear. The king said, "This monk must have the help of spirits and gods! How can a Taoist acolyte who entered the cabinet turn into a monk? Even if a barber had gone in with him, at most he could have shaved his head. How could his clothes fit so perfectly, and how could he recite Buddhist sutras? National Teacher, let him go!"
The Tiger Strength Great Immortal was unwilling to give up: "Your Majesty, in the end, it is a case of 'a chess match between equals, a general meeting his match.' In my youth, I learned some martial arts at Zhongnan Mountain. Today, I will gamble with him to the very end!" The king asked, "What martial arts?" Tiger Strength said, "All three of us brothers possess divine powers: we can cut off our heads and reattach them, we can slice open our bellies and gouge out our hearts and have them grow back, and we can bathe in a cauldron of boiling oil."
The king was greatly alarmed: "These three things are all ways to seek death!"
Tiger Strength said, "We have these abilities, which is why we dare to speak thus. We must gamble with him to decide victory or defeat!"
The king said to Tang Sanzang, "Monk from the East, my National Teacher refuses to let you go. He still wants to gamble with you on beheading, disembowelment, and bathing in a cauldron of boiling oil."
The Pilgrim, who had just transformed into a cicada-like insect to report back, heard these words. He immediately withdrew his hair, transformed back into his true form, and burst out laughing: "What luck! What luck! Business has come knocking!"
Bajie asked, "These three things are all ways to die. How can you call it business coming knocking?"
The Pilgrim said, "You still do not know my abilities."
Bajie said, "Brother, I know you are good at transformations, but how do you have such skills?"
The Pilgrim said, "As for me: I can speak even with my head cut off, and I can still strike people even if my arms are chopped off. If my legs are severed, I can still walk. If my belly is cut open, it heals perfectly, as if nothing happened. It is like making dumplings—one pinch and it is whole again. Bathing in a cauldron of boiling oil is even easier; it is just like washing off dirt in warm water."
Hearing the Pilgrim say this, Bajie and Sha Wujing both laughed heartily. The Pilgrim stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this humble monk can be beheaded." The king was startled: "How can you be beheaded?" The Pilgrim said, "In my youth, while cultivating in a temple, I met a wandering Chan monk who taught me a method of beheading. I do not know if it is any good, but today I can try it out fresh."
The king laughed: "You young monk are too inexperienced. Beheading is not something to try out fresh! The head is the seat of the six yang organs. Once it is cut off, you die!"
The Tiger Strength Great Immortal quickly said, "Your Majesty, let him try! That way, we can vent our anger." The befuddled king, listening to the Taoist's words, immediately issued a decree to set up an execution ground.
With a single command, three thousand feathered forest guards formed ranks outside the court gate. The king said, "Let the monk be beheaded first." The Pilgrim gladly agreed: "I will go first! I will go first!" He cupped his hands and said to Tiger Strength, "National Teacher, forgive this younger brother for being bold and taking the first turn." Then he turned and walked out.
Tang Sanzang grabbed him: "Disciple, be careful. That is no place for fun!"
The Pilgrim said, "What is there to fear? Let go of me. I will be back soon."
The Great Sage walked straight to the execution ground. The executioners pinned him down, tied him into a bundle, and placed him on a mound of earth. With a shout of "Execute!", the executioner swung his blade and cut off the Pilgrim's head with a swish. He then kicked it away, and the head rolled like a watermelon for thirty or forty paces. But not a single drop of blood came from the Pilgrim's neck. Instead, a voice came from inside his belly: "Head, come back!" When the Deer Strength Great Immortal saw that the Pilgrim had this skill, he quickly recited a spell and summoned the local Earth God: "Hold his head down! Wait until I have beaten the monk, then I will report to the king and have your small shrine turned into a grand temple, and your clay statue replaced with a golden one!"
These Earth Gods, because Deer Strength knew the Five Thunder Magic, dared not disobey. They secretly pressed down on the Pilgrim's head. The Pilgrim called out again, "Head, come back!" But the head seemed rooted to the ground and would not move. The Pilgrim grew anxious. He clenched his fists and strained, snapping all the ropes that bound him. He let out a great shout: "Grow!" With a swish, a new head sprouted from his neck. The executioners were terrified, and the feathered forest guards were all shaken. The supervising execution official hurried into the palace to report: "Your Majesty, that young monk had his head cut off, but he grew a new one!"
Bajie smirked and said to Sha Wujing, "I never knew our elder brother had such skills."
Sha Wujing said, "He has seventy-two transformations, so naturally he has seventy-two heads."
Just as he finished speaking, the Pilgrim walked back and called out, "Master."
Tang Sanzang was overjoyed: "Disciple, you have worked hard?" The Pilgrim said, "Not hard at all. It was quite fun."
Bajie asked, "Brother, do you need some knife-wound ointment?"
The Pilgrim said, "Touch it and see if there is any scar."
The fool reached out and touched it, then laughed in amazement: "Wonderful! Wonderful! It has grown back perfectly, without even a scar!"
While the brothers were rejoicing, the king shouted again, "Give them the travel document. Pardon their crimes and let them leave quickly!"
The Pilgrim said, "We can take the travel document, but the National Teacher must also go to the execution ground, have his head cut off, and try it out fresh."
The king said to Tiger Strength, "Great National Teacher, that monk refuses to let you off. You must gamble with him. Do not frighten me."
Tiger Strength had no choice but to go to the execution ground. The executioners pinned him down, and with a swish, his head was cut off and kicked away, rolling thirty-some paces. No blood came from his neck either, and he also called out, "Head, come back!" The Pilgrim quickly plucked a hair, blew a mouthful of immortal breath onto it, and shouted, "Change!" The hair transformed into a yellow dog. It ran into the execution ground, snatched the Taoist's head in its mouth, and ran straight to the Imperial River, where it dropped it.
The Taoist called out "Head, come back!" three times, but the head never returned. He did not have the Pilgrim's ability to grow a new head. From his neck, red blood gushed forth. Pitiful man! For all his power to summon wind and rain, he was no match for a true immortal of eternal life! Soon, he fell dead to the ground. When the crowd looked, what did they see but a headless yellow-haired tiger!
The supervising execution official again reported: "Your Majesty, the Great National Teacher's head did not grow back, and he died on the ground. It turns out he was a headless yellow-haired tiger." Upon hearing this, the king's face turned pale with shock. He stared blankly at the remaining two Taoist priests. Deer Strength stood up and said, "My senior brother's allotted lifespan has ended. How could he be a yellow tiger? That monk must have used some trick to turn my senior brother into a beast! I will not let him off today. I will gamble with him on disembowelment and heart-gouging!"
The king steadied himself and shouted again, "You monk, the Second National Teacher still wants to gamble with you."
The Pilgrim said, "This humble monk has not eaten cooked food for a long time. A few days ago, on the road westward, a kind donor urged me to eat, and I had a few too many steamed buns. My stomach has been aching these past few days. I suspect I have worms. I would like to borrow Your Majesty's knife to cut open my belly, take out my internal organs, wash my stomach and intestines, and then go to the Western Heaven to see the Buddha."
Upon hearing this, the king ordered, "Take him to the execution ground."
The attendants stepped forward to support and pull him, but the Pilgrim shook them off and said, "I need no support. I will walk myself. But there is one thing: do not tie my hands. I need them to wash my internal organs."
The king decreed, "Do not tie his hands."
The Pilgrim swaggered to the execution ground, leaned against a large wooden stake, untied his belt, and exposed his belly. The executioner slipped a rope around his neck, tied his feet, and took a bull-horn short knife. With a swish, he cut a hole in the Pilgrim's belly. The Pilgrim reached both hands into his belly, pulled out his intestines and internal organs, arranged them one by one, then put them back inside and coiled them neatly. He pressed his belly, blew a mouthful of immortal breath, and shouted, "Grow!" The belly healed instantly. The king was astounded. He quickly picked up the travel document and said, "Holy Monk, do not delay your westward journey. Take the travel document and go."
The Pilgrim laughed: "The travel document is a small matter. But how about asking the Second National Teacher to also cut open his belly and gouge out his heart?"
The king said to Deer Strength, "This has nothing to do with me. You are the one who challenged him. Go ahead."
Deer Strength said, "Do not worry. I will certainly not lose to him."
Watch him imitate Sun the Pilgrim: he swaggered into the execution ground, was tied up by the executioner, and with a swish of the bull-horn short knife, his belly was cut open. He also pulled out his liver and intestines and fiddled with them in his hands. The Pilgrim quickly plucked a hair, blew a mouthful of immortal breath, and shouted, "Change!" The hair transformed into a hungry eagle. It spread its wings, swooped down, snatched up his five viscera and heart in its beak, and flew away without a trace, gone to enjoy its feast somewhere unknown. This Taoist became an empty-bellied corpse, falling to the ground without heart or liver. The executioner pushed over the wooden stake, dragged the body over, and looked—ah! It turned out to be a white-haired horned deer!
The supervising execution official, flustered, reported: "Your Majesty, when the Second National Teacher was disemboweled, a hungry eagle snatched away his internal organs. He died on the ground, and it turned out to be a white-haired horned deer."
The king said fearfully, "How is it another beast?"
The Goat Strength Great Immortal again memorialized: "My senior brother is already dead. How could he manifest the form of a beast? That monk must have used evil magic to harm us! I must avenge my brothers!"
The king asked, "What divine power do you have to defeat him?"
Goat Strength said, "I will gamble with him on bathing in a cauldron of boiling oil."
The king immediately ordered a large cauldron to be brought, filled with sesame oil, for the two of them to gamble. The Pilgrim said, "Thank you for your kindness! This humble monk has not bathed for a long time. My skin has been dry and itchy these past two days. This is just the time for a wash."
The imperial carriage master quickly set up the oil cauldron, piled dry firewood beneath it, and lit a blazing fire. The oil was brought to a rolling boil. The monk was ordered to go first. The Pilgrim pressed his palms together and asked, "I do not know if it is to be a civil bath or a martial bath?"
The king asked, "What is a civil bath? What is a martial bath?"
The Pilgrim said, "In a civil bath, you do not remove your clothes. You jump in with your hands folded, roll over once, and come out. You must not dirty your clothes. If even a single drop of oil touches them, you lose. In a martial bath, you take a clothes rack and a towel, remove your clothes, jump in, and do somersaults, stand on your head—bathe as if playing."
The king said to Goat Strength, "Will you take the civil bath or the martial bath with him?"
Goat Strength said, "I fear his clothes might be treated with medicine to repel oil. Let us take the martial bath."
The Pilgrim stepped forward again and said, "Forgive this younger brother for being bold and taking the first turn." He took off his cloth coat, slipped off his tiger-skin kilt, and with a single leap, jumped into the cauldron of oil. He tumbled and splashed about inside, playing as if he were swimming in water.
Seeing this, Bajie bit his finger and said to Sha Wujing, "We have all misjudged this monkey before! We used to bicker and joke with him, but we never knew he had such great true abilities!" The two of them whispered and kept praising the Pilgrim. The Pilgrim saw them and thought to himself, "This fool is laughing at me! Truly, 'the skillful labor while the clumsy rest.' I am working so hard here, while he is at ease. Let me play a trick on him, tie him up, and see if he is afraid." As he bathed, he suddenly rolled over in the oil cauldron, transformed into a tiny date-pit nail, and sank to the bottom, never to rise again.
The supervising execution official stepped forward and reported: "Your Majesty, the young monk has been boiled to death in the hot oil." The king was overjoyed and ordered his bones to be fished out for examination. The executioner took an iron strainer and tried to scoop in the oil cauldron. But the holes of the strainer were large, and the date-pit nail that the Pilgrim had become was small; it slipped right through the gaps and could not be caught! The executioner reported again: "This monk had a light body and tender bones. He has already been dissolved by the oil."
The king ordered, "Throw the remaining three monks into the cauldron!" The guards on both sides saw that Bajie looked fierce, so they seized him first, pinned him down, and tied his hands behind his back. Tang Sanzang hastily cried out, "Your Majesty, I beg you to spare this humble monk! That disciple of mine, ever since he converted to the Buddhist faith, has protected me on the journey with great merit. Today, he offended the National Teacher and died in the oil cauldron. As the saying goes, 'He who dies first becomes a god.' How dare I cling to life! The officials of all the realm govern the people of all the realm. If Your Majesty wants me dead, I dare not refuse to die. I only beg Your Majesty to show mercy and grant me half a cup of cold rice soup and three sheets of spirit money. Let me go to the edge of the oil cauldron and burn a string of paper money, to express the feelings of master and disciple. Then I will submit to my punishment." The king heard this and said, "That is reasonable. You people of the Central Plains value loyalty and friendship." He ordered the rice soup and yellow paper to be given to Tang Sanzang.
Tang Sanzang told Sha Wujing to come with him. They walked down the steps, while the guards dragged Bajie by the ears to the edge of the cauldron. Tang Sanzang faced the oil cauldron and prayed: "Disciple Sun Wukong! Since you took the precepts and entered the Zen grove, you have protected me westward with deep love and kindness. We hoped to attain enlightenment together, but who would have thought you would return to the shades today! In life, you sought only the scriptures; in death, you still hold the Buddha's name in your heart. Your heroic soul must wait ten thousand miles; as a ghost in the underworld, you shall still journey to the Thunder Monastery!"
When Bajie heard this, he shouted, "Master, do not pray like that! Sha Wujing, you offer the rice soup for me. Let me pray." The fool, tied up on the ground, cursed angrily: "You troublemaking, reckless monkey! You ignorant 'Horse-Warmer'! You damned, reckless monkey! You oil-boiled 'Horse-Warmer'! The monkey is done for! The 'Horse-Warmer' has met his end!"
Sun the Pilgrim, hearing the fool's curses from the bottom of the oil cauldron, could not restrain himself. He transformed back into his true form, stood naked at the bottom of the cauldron, and said, "You stinking, good-for-nothing fool! Who are you cursing?" When Tang Sanzang saw him, he was startled: "Disciple, you scared me to death!" Sha Wujing said, "Elder Brother, you are too used to playing dead!" The civil and military officials quickly stepped forward and reported