“How many times has the Tang Priest been steamed?” they asked. The junior devils who were looking after the fires were all so soundly asleep because the sleep insects were in them that not even blows could wake them up.
The chiefs woke up some others who were not on duty, who answered rashly, “Ss…ss…seven times.” Then they rushed over to the steamer to see the steamer trays lying scattered on the floor and the cooks still asleep.
In their alarm they rushed back to report, “Your Majesties, th…th…they've escaped.”
The three demon chiefs came out of the throne hall to take a close look around the cauldron. They saw that the steamer trays were indeed scattered on the floor, the water was stonecold and the fire completely out. The cooks supposed to be tending the fire were still so fast asleep that they were snoring noisily.
The fiends were all so shocked that they all shouted, “Catch the Tang Priest! At once! Catch the Tang Priest!” Their yells woke up the demons senior and junior all around. They rushed in a crowd to the main front gates carrying their swords and spears.
Seeing that the sealed locks had not been touched and that the night watchmen were still sounding their clappers and bells they asked the watchman, “Which way did the Tang Priest go?”
“Nobody's come out,” the watchmen all replied. They hurried to the back gates of the palace, only to find that the seals, locks, clappers and bells were the same as at the front. With a great commotion they grabbed lanterns and torches, making the sky red and the place as bright as day. The four of them were clearly lit up as they climbed over the wall.
“Where do you think you're going?” the senior demon chief shouted, running towards them and so terrifying the reverend gentleman that the muscles in his legs turned soft and numb and he fell off the wall to be captured by the senior demon. The second demon chief seized Friar Sand and the third knocked Pig over and captured him. The other demons took the luggage and the white horse. Only Monkey escaped.
“May Heaven kill him,” Pig grumbled under his breath about Monkey. “I said that if he was going to rescue us he ought to do a thorough job of it. As it is we're going to be put back in the steamer for another steaming.”
The monsters took the Tang Priest into the throne hall but did not steam him again. The second demon chief ordered that Pig was to be tied to one of the columns supporting the eaves in front of the hall and the third chief had Friar Sand tied to one of the columns holding up the eaves at the back. The senior chief clung to the Tang Priest and would not let go of him.
“What are you holding him for, elder brother?” the third demon asked. “Surely you're not going to eat him alive. That wouldn't be at all interesting. He's no ordinary idiot to be gobbled up just to fill your stomach. He's a rare delicacy from a superior country. We should keep him till we have some free time one rainy day, then bring him out to be carefully cooked and enjoyed with drinking games and fine music.”
“A very good suggestion, brother,” replied the senior demon with a smile, “but Sun the Novice would come and steal him again.”
“In our palace we have a Brocade Fragrance Pavilion,” said the third demon, “and in the pavilion is an iron chest. I think we should put the Tang Priest into the chest, shut up the pavilion, put out a rumour that we have already eaten him half raw and get all the junior devils in the city talking about it. That Sun the Novice is bound to come back to find out what's happening, and when he hears this he'll be so miserably disappointed that he'll go away. If he doesn't come to make trouble for another four or five days we can bring the Tang Priest out to enjoy at our leisure. What do you think?”
The senior and second demon chiefs were both delighted. “Yes, yes, you're right, brother,” they said. That very night the poor Tang Priest was taken inside the palace, put into the chest and locked up in the pavilion. We will not tell how the rumour was spread and became the talk of the town.
Instead the story tells how Monkey escaped that night by cloud, unable to look after the Tang Priest. He went straight to Lion Cave where he wiped out all the tens of thousands of junior demons with his cudgel to his complete satisfaction. By the time he had hurried back to the city the sun was rising in the East. He did not dare challenge the demons to battle because
No thread can be spun from a single strand;
Nobody can clap with a single hand.
So he brought his cloud down, shook himself, turned himself into a junior demon and slipped in through the gates to collect news in the streets and back alleys. “The Tang Priest was eaten raw by the senior king during the night,” was what all the people in the city were saying wherever he went. This made Brother Monkey really anxious. When he went to look at the throne hall in the palace he saw that there were many spirits constantly coming and going. They were wearing leather and metal helmets and yellow cotton tunics. In their hands they held red lacquered staves, and ivory passes hung at their waists.
“These must be evil spirits who are allowed in the inner quarters of the palace,” thought Monkey. “I'll turn myself into one, go in and see what I can find out.”
The splendid Great Sage then made himself identical to the demons and slipped in through the inner gates of the palace. As he was walking along he saw Pig tied to one of the columns of the throne hall, groaning.
“Wuneng,” Monkey said, going up to him.
“Is that you, brother?” asked the idiot, recognizing his voice. “Save me!”
“I'll save you,” said Monkey. “Do you know where the master is?”
“He's done for,” Pig replied. “The evil spirits ate him raw last night.” At this Monkey burst into sobs and the tears gushed out like water from a spring.
“Don't cry, brother,” said Pig. “I've only heard the junior devils gossiping. I didn't see it with my own eyes. Don't waste any more time. Go on and find out more.” Only then did Monkey dry his tears and go to search in the inner part of the palace.
Noticing Friar Sand tied to a column at the back of the palace he went up to him, felt his chest and said, “Wujing.”
Friar Sand also recognized his voice and said, “Brother, is that you here in disguise? Save me! Save me!”
“Saving you will be easy,” said Monkey, “but do you know where the master is?”
“Brother!” said Friar Sand in tears. “The evil spirits couldn't even wait to steam the master. They've eaten him raw.”
Now that both of them had told him the same story the Great Sage was cut to the heart. Instead of rescuing Pig and Friar Sand he sprang straight up into the sky and went to the mountain East of the city, where he landed his cloud and let himself weep aloud.
“Poor Master,” he said:
“I fought against heaven, was caught in its net,
Till you came along and delivered me, Master.
It became my ambition to worship the Buddha;
I strove to eliminate fiendish disaster.
“I never imagined that now you'd be murdered
And I would have failed on your journey to keep you.
The lands of the West were too good for your fate.
Your life's at an end: in what way can I help you?”
Deep in misery, Monkey said to himself, “It's all the fault of our Buddha, the Tathagata, who had nothing better to do in his paradise than make the three stores of scriptures. If he really wanted to convert people to be good he ought to have sent them to the East himself. Then they would have been passed on for ever. But he couldn't bring himself to part with them. He had to make us go to fetch them. Who'd ever have thought that after all the trouble of crossing a thousand mountains the master would lose his life here today? Oh well! I'll ride my somersault cloud to see the Tathagata Buddha and tell him what's happened. If he's willing to give me the scriptures to deliver to the East then the good achievement will be propagated and we'll be able to fulfil our vow. If he won't give me them I'll get him to recite the Band-loosening Spell. Then I can take the band off, return it to him and go back to my own cave to play the king and enjoy myself again.”