The Journey to the West, Revised Edition, Volume 2 (76 page)

They thus said farewell and the pilgrims went to the river, but when the horse stepped onto the ice, it began to slip and slide and Tripitaka was almost thrown off its back. “Master,” shouted Sha Monk, “we can’t go!” “Stop for a moment,” said Eight Rules, “and let’s ask Mr. Chen for some straw.” “What for?” asked Pilgrim. Eight Rules replied, “You wouldn’t have any idea about this! The straw will be used to wrap up the hoofs of the horse, so that Master won’t fall down.” When the elder Chen heard on the shore what Eight Rules said, he told someone to fetch the straw at once. After the Tang Monk returned to the bank and dismounted, Eight Rules wrapped all four hoofs of the horse with straw and that enabled it to step on the ice without slipping.

Having taken leave of the Chen clan at the edge of the river, they proceeded for no more than three or four miles when Eight Rules handed the nine-ringed priestly staff to the Tang Monk, saying, “Master, put this across your saddle.” “Idiot,” said Pilgrim, “don’t be so sly! You’re supposed to carry this priestly staff. Why are you asking Master to do it?” “Since you have no experience in walking on ice,” said Eight Rules, “you will not think of this. Even the thickest of ice has holes; step on one of them and you will
plunge
into the water. Without something like this held crosswise, you will sink rapidly while the ice above closes in like a huge wok cover. You can never crawl out again unless you have something like this to stop your fall.” Snickering, Pilgrim said to himself, “This Idiot must have walked on ice for years!” So, all of them followed what Eight Rules told them to do: the elder held the staff crosswise across his saddle; Pilgrim and Sha Monk each carried his iron rod and his fiend-routing treasure staff across his shoulders. Eight Rules, who was poling the luggage, tied the rake sideways at his waist. Master and disciples then felt perfectly safe to proceed.

They journeyed until evening; after eating some dried goods, they dared not stop at all. As the stars and the moon lighted up the ice, turning it into brilliant patches of white, they pressed forward. Indeed, the horse never stopped trotting for the entire night; master and disciples never once closed their eyes. By morning, they ate some more of their provisions and again set out toward the West. As they journeyed, a rending sound came from the bottom of the ice, so frightening the white horse that it almost fell. Greatly astonished, Tripitaka said, “O Disciples, why was there such a sound?” “This river is so solidly frozen,” said Eight Rules, “that the ice formed from top to bottom must be grating the river bed. That may be the sound we heard.” Astonished but pleased by what he was told, Tripitaka urged his horse on and they started out once more.

We now tell you about that fiend, who led various spirits from the water residence and sat waiting for a long time beneath the ice. Finally, when the sound of the horse’s hoofs became audible, he at once exercised his magic power and caused the ice to break open. The Great Holy Sun managed to leap at once into the air, but his three companions and the white horse all plunged into the water.

After catching hold of Tripitaka, the fiend led the spirits back to the water residence, where he shouted aloud, “Where are you, perch-sister?” The old perch-mother met him at the door, bowing, and said, “Great King, I’m not worthy of it!” “Worthy Sister, why do you say that?” said the fiend. “For ‘Even a team of horses cannot overtake the word that has left my mouth!’ I promised you that if your plan could enable me to catch the Tang Monk, I would become your bond-brother. Today your marvelous plan did materialize, and the Tang Monk had been caught. You think I would retract my promise?” He then gave the order, “Little ones, bring out the tables and the sharp knives. Cut up this monk: take out his heart, skin him, and debone him. Meanwhile, start the music. I’m going to share him with my worthy Sister, so that both of us will gain longevity.” “Great King,” said the perch-mother, “let’s not eat him yet, for I fear that his disciples may spoil our party should they come here to search for him. Wait a couple of days, and if
no
one appears, we can then cut him up. Great King can take your honored seat, while the watery kinsfolk can surround you with singing and dancing. His flesh will be presented to you, and you can take your time to enjoy your feast. Isn’t that much better?” The fiend agreed; the Tang Monk was placed in a lidded stone box about six feet long which was then hidden in the rear of the palace, and we shall speak no more of him for the moment.

We tell you now about Eight Rules and Sha Monk, who managed to recover the luggage in the water. After they had placed it on the white horse, they opened up a path in the water and trod on the waves to rise to the surface. Pilgrim saw them from midair and asked at once, “Where is Master?” “He changed his family name to Sink,”
¹⁵
said Eight Rules, “and his given name is To-the-Bottom. We don’t know where to look for him. Let’s get to shore before we decide what to do.” Eight Rules, you see, happened to be the incarnation of the Marshal of Heavenly Reeds, who in past years was a commander of eighty thousand marines stationed in the Heavenly River. Sha Monk came from the Flowing-Sand River, and the white horse, too, was the descendant of Dragon King of the Western Ocean. That was why all of them felt so comfortable in the water. Led by the Great Sage in the air, they soon returned to the eastern shore, where they brushed down the horse and stripped themselves of their wet garments. After the Great Sage dropped down from the clouds, they went together to the Chen Village. At once someone went to make this report to the two old men: “Four Fathers went to seek the scriptures, but only three have come back.” The two brothers went quickly out the door to receive them, and they found the clothing of the pilgrims still dripping wet.

“Venerable Fathers,” they said, “we pleaded with you to stay and you refused. You would stop only when you came to this! Now, where is Father Tripitaka?” Eight Rules said, “He’s no longer named Tripitaka, for he has changed it to Sink To-the-Bottom.” As tears fell, the two old men said, “How pitiful! How pitiful! We said we would prepare a boat for him to cross the river, but he absolutely refused and that cost him his life.” “Old fellow,” said Pilgrim, “it’s no use worrying for the dead. But I have a hunch that Master is going to live for a long time yet. Old Monkey knows! It has to be that Great King of Numinous Power, who has planned all this and abducted him. Don’t worry now. Wash our clothes for us and dry our rescript. Make sure our white horse is fed, and let us brothers go and find that fellow. We will not only rescue our master, but we will root out also this evil for your entire village, so that you will be able to live peacefully forever.” When the two brothers heard these words, they were delighted and asked for food for the pilgrims at once.

After the three brothers had a big meal, they gave the horse and the luggage
to the Chen family to look after. Each wielding his own weapon, they went straight to the river to search for their master and seize the fiend. Truly

    
Wrong to walk on thick ice, nature is hurt.

    
What’s perfection when great elixir leaks?

We do not know in what way they succeeded in rescuing the Tang Monk, and you must listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

FORTY-
NINE

Tripitaka meets disaster and sinks to a water home;

To bring salvation, Guanyin reveals a fish basket.

We were telling you about the Great Sage Sun, Eight Rules, and Sha Monk, who took leave of the elder Chen and went to the edge of the river. “Brothers,” said Pilgrim, “the two of you must decide which one will go first into the water.” Eight Rules said, “Elder Brother, neither of us is particularly capable. You are the one who should enter the water first.” “To tell you the truth, Worthy Brother,” said Pilgrim, “if this were a monster-spirit in a mountain, there would be no need for both of you to exert yourselves. But I can’t quite do business in water. If I were to go into the ocean or walk in a river, I would have to make the water-repelling sign with my fingers, or else I would have to change into a fish or a crab before I could go in. Since I had to make the sign, I would not be able to use my iron rod properly to attack the fiend. But both of you are used to water, and that’s why I am asking you to go.” “Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “we can go in all right, but we don’t know what to expect once we reach the river bottom. I think we should all go in; you can change into some kind of creature, and I can carry you along as I open up a path in the water. Once we find the lair of the fiend, you can then go inside and scout the place. If Master is still there unharmed, we can begin our assault at once with all our might. But if it were not this fiend who used the magic, or if Master had been drowned or eaten already by him, then there would be no need for us to engage in this bitter quest. We might as well go off in another direction as quickly as possible. How about that?” “What you said, Worthy Brother,” said Pilgrim, “is most reasonable. Which one of you will carry me?” Secretly pleased, Eight Rules thought to himself, “I don’t know how many times this ape has made a fool of me! So he doesn’t know how to handle himself in water. Let old Hog carry him and give him a taste of his tricks!” Laughing amiably, Idiot said, “Elder Brother, I’ll carry you.” At once perceiving his intentions, Pilgrim nonetheless played along with him, saying, “All right, that’s fine. Your arms might be even a bit stronger than Wujing’s.” Thus Eight Rules carried Pilgrim on his back.

As Sha Monk divided the water to make a path, the three brothers all plunged into the Heaven-Reaching River. After journeying for over a hundred miles toward the bottom, that Idiot was about to play a trick on Pilgrim, who at once pulled off a piece of hair, which he changed into a spurious form of himself clinging to the back of Eight Rules. His true self was
changed
into a hog louse securely lodged in one of Eight Rules’s ears. As Eight Rules walked along, he suddenly and deliberately stumbled so that Pilgrim was sent flying over his head. The spurious form, however, was only a transformed piece of hair; once it left the back of Eight Rules, it drifted away with the current and soon vanished. “Second Elder Brother,” said Sha Monk, “how would you explain this? Why didn’t you walk more carefully? It would have been all right if you had fallen in the mud. Now the jolt has sent Big Brother off to who knows where!” Eight Rules said, “That monkey can’t even stand a fall: just once and he’s melted already. Brother, don’t worry whether he’s dead or alive. You and I can go search for Master.” “It’s no good,” said Sha Monk, “for we must have him. Though he may not feel at home in water, he is far more agile than we. If he’s not around, I shall not go with you.” Unable to contain himself any longer, Pilgrim inside Eight Rules’s ear shouted with a loud voice, “Wujing, old Monkey’s right here!” On hearing this, Sha Monk laughed and said, “O dear! This Idiot is as good as dead! How dared you try to play a trick on him? Now you can hear him but you can’t see him. What are you going to do?” Eight Rules became so frightened that he went to his knees in the mud and kowtowed, saying, “Elder Brother, it’s my fault! Wait till we rescue Master, and I shall apologize to you once more on the shore. Where are you making all this noise from? I’m scared to death! Please reveal your original form. I’ll carry you, and I’ll never dare offend you again.” Pilgrim said, “You are still carrying me, all right! I won’t trick you. Let’s get going quickly!” Still muttering his apologies, Idiot scrambled up and proceeded with Sha Monk.

They journeyed for another hundred miles or so when they came upon a towered building all at once, on which there was, in large letters, the inscription: “Sea-Turtle House.” “This must be the residence of the monster-spirit,” said Sha Monk, “but we don’t know that for sure. How could we go up to the door to provoke battle?” “Wujing,” said Pilgrim, “is there any water around the gate?” Sha Monk said, “No.” “In that case,” said Pilgrim, “the two of you go and hide on both sides of the door. Let Old Monkey go and scout around.”

Dear Great Sage! Crawling free of Eight Rules’s ear, he shook his body once and changed again into a shrimp-mother with long legs. With two or three leaps, he bounded right inside the gate. As he looked around, he saw the fiend sitting up there while his watery kinsfolk stood in two rows beneath him. There was also a striped-coated perch-mother sitting by his side. They were all having a discussion on how to eat the Tang Monk. Pilgrim looked left and right with great care, but he could not find his master at all. Just then he saw a large-bellied shrimp-mother come out and stand still in the western corridor. Pilgrim leaped up to her and greeted her, saying,
“Mama,
the Great King is discussing with the others how to eat the Tang Monk. But where
is
the Tang Monk?” “He was captured yesterday,” said the shrimp-mother, “after the Great King brought down the snow and created the ice. He is now imprisoned in a stone box at the rear of the palace. If by tomorrow his disciples do not show up to cause any trouble, we will make music and feast on him.”

After he heard this, Pilgrim chatted further with her for awhile before moving toward the rear of the palace. He looked, and sure enough there was a stone box, somewhat like a pigsty that people use in a pigpen or a stone coffin. Measuring it, he found it to be approximately six feet in length. He crawled on top of it and soon heard the pitiful sound of Tripitaka’s weeping coming from inside. Not uttering a word, Pilgrim cocked his ear to listen. Grinding his teeth in sheer frustration, the master said:

    
I loathe River Float, a life plagued by woes!

    
How many water perils bound me at birth!

    
I left my mother’s womb to be tossed by waves;