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Do no soldiers burn incense to honour your memory?
The sight is enough to make one sigh deeply:
Alas for the man who once was a conqueror.”
As pig was sighing with grief there was a flicker of fire behind the curtain, “I suppose there must be attendants at the back to offer him incense,” the idiot thought. When he rushed round the bed-curtain to look he saw that it was the daylight shining through the windows, beside which stood a coloured lacquer table. On it were thrown some padded clothes in brocade and embroidery. When the idiot picked them up to look at them he saw that they were three quilted brocade waistcoats. Not worrying about whether it was right to do so the idiot took them downstairs and went out through the main hall and the gates.
“Master,” he shouted, “there's no sign of life here-it's a house of the dead. I went inside and went upstairs, where I found a pile of bones behind a yellow bed-curtain. On one side of the upper floor were three quilted brocade waistcoats, look-I've brought them back with me. We're really in luck as they're just what we need now that the weather has turned cold. Take your habit off, Master, and put one of these on underneath. You'll be a lot more comfortable: it'll keep the cold out.”
“No,” said Sanzang, “it's forbidden. The law says, 'Taking, whether openly or in secret, is always theft.' If anyone found out, came after us and handed us over to the authorities we would definitely be found guilty of theft. You had better take them back in and put them where you found them. We shall just sit here for a while to shelter from the wind and carry on along our way as soon as Wukong is back. Monks should not be looking out for easy pickings like that.”
“But there's nobody around who could know,” said Pig, “not even a chicken or a dog. The only people who know are ourselves. Who's going to sue us? There's no evidence. It's just the same as if we'd picked it up. Taking or stealing just doesn't come into it.”
“Nonsense,” said the Tang Priest. “Even if nobody else knew about it Heaven ca
The idiot was having none of this. “Master,” he said to the Tang Priest with a grin, “I've worn several waistcoats in my life, but never have I seen quilted brocade ones like this before. Even if you don't want to wear one, please let me just try one on to warm my back up. When Monkey comes back I'll take it off and we can be on our way again.”
“In that cast,” said Friar Sand, “I'd like to try one too.” The two of them took off their outer tunics and put the waistcoats on instead. As soon as they had tightened the belts they collapsed, unable to stay on their feet. The waistcoats were even worse than bonds. In an instant both of them had their hands tied together behind their backs. Sanzang stamped his foot in despair and indignation and rushed forward to untie them, but to no avail. The three of them set up endless yells that soon disturbed a demon king.
Now these buildings had indeed been created by the magic of an evil spirit who spent all his life lying in wait there to catch people. Hearing the howls of anger as he sat in his cave he rushed out to find that he had several victims tied up. The monster called for his little demons to go there with him as he made all the enchanted buildings vanish. They returned to the cave holding the Tang Priest, leading the horse, and dragging Pig and Friar Sand. The old demon took his seat on his throne while the little devils pushed Sanzang to the foot of the steps and forced him to kneel on the floor.
“Where are you from, monk,” the demon asked, “and how can you have the effrontery to steal my clothes in broad daylight?”
“I have been sent to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven by the emperor of Great Tang in the East,” replied Sanzang. “As I was hungry I sent my senior disciple to beg for food. He has not come back yet, and it was because I ignored his good advice that I blundered into your immortal hall to shelter from the wind, never imagining that my disciples would be so grasping as to steal your clothes. As I have no such wicked thoughts I told them to take the clothes straight back, but they paid no attention and insisted on putting them on to warm their backs. Never did I imagine that we would fall into Your Majesty's trap and be captured. I beg you in your mercy to spare our lives so that we can fetch the scriptures. We will be eternally indebted to Your Majesty and your praises will be sung for ever after we return to the East.”
“But I'm always hearing people say that if you eat the flesh of the Tang Priest, white hair can be turned black, and teeth that have fallen out will grow again,” said the demon with a grin. “You've come along today without even having been asked, and now you expect me to spare you! What's your senior disciple called, and where has he gone begging?”
This question started Pig bragging: “My elder brother is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who made havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago.”
This news shocked the demon speechless. “I've long heard of that damned ape's enormous powers,” he thought, “and now I'm meeting him when I least expected to. Little ones,” he ordered, “tie the Tang Priest up, take my precious coats off the other two, and fetch a couple of ropes to bind them. Take them to the back, and when I've caught the senior disciple we can scrub them all clean, put them in the steamer and cook them.” The little demons acknowledged his orders then bound the three of them together and carried them to the back. They tethered the white horse by the trough, took the luggage indoors, and sharpened their weapons ready to capture Monkey.
Monkey, meanwhile, who had filled his begging bowl with rice in the farmhouse to the South, rode his cloud back and landed it on a stretch of level ground on the mountainside to find the Tang Priest gone he knew not where. The circle he had drawn with his cudgel was still there, but travelers and horse had disappeared. When he looked towards where the buildings had been they had vanished too: all that could be seen were mountains and grotesquely shaped rocks.
“Don't tell me!” he thought with horror. “They've been caught.” He rushed after them, following the horse's prints Westwards.
About two miles later, when he was feeling thoroughly gloomy, he heard voices on the other side of the slope to the North of him. When he looked he saw an old man in felt clothes, a warm hat and a pair of worn oiled cloth boots holding a dragon-headed stick and followed by a slave boy. The old man had broken off a sprig of plum blossom and was singing a song as he came down the slope. Monkey put down his begging bowl and looked the old man in the face as he put his hands together and said, “Greetings, grandfather.”
“Where are you from, reverend sir?” replied the old man, returning his bow.
“We are monks from the East going to the Western Heaven to worship the Buddha and fetch the scriptures,” said Monkey. “There are four of us altogether, a master and three disciples. I went off to beg for some food as my master was hungry, so I told the other three to wait for me at a stretch of level ground on that mountainside. When I came back they had gone, and I don't know which way they went. May I ask you if you have seen them, grandfather?”
The question made the old man chortle. “Did one of the three have a long snout and big ears?” he asked.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Monkey replied.
“And was there another with an evil-looking mug leading a white horse, and a fat monk with a white face?”
“That's right, that's right,” said Monkey.
“Then you've all lost your way,” said the old man. “Don't bother looking for them: It's every man for himself.”