The venerable elder still had no choice but to obey and whip his horse on. “I don't know where that damned monster is,” thought Monkey. “He just keeps on shouting. I'll have to use separating magic to keep him and the master apart.” The splendid Great Sage then called Friar Sand to him and said, “Lead the horse on slowly while I take a piss.” Watch Monkey as he lets the Tang Priest get several paces ahead, says a spell to move mountains and make land shrink, and points behind him with his cudgel. Once master and disciples were over the peak they would have left this demon behind. He then hurried to catch up with the Tang Priest and press on up the mountain. But Sanzang heard another cry of “Help!” from the other side of the mountain.
“Disciple,” he said, “that poor person is very unlucky to have missed us. We've passed him now. Can't you hear him shouting on the other side of the mountain?”
“If he's around he must still be on this side,” said Pig. “It's just that the wind has changed.”
“Never you mind about whether the wind has changed or not,” said Monkey. “Keep moving.” From then on they all stopped talking and wished they could step over the mountain with a single stride.
The story switches back to the evil spirit, whose three or four shouts had found no response. “I've been waiting for the Tang Priest here,” he thought, “and I saw that he was only about a mile away. I wonder why he's still not here after all this time. He must have taken a short cut.” He then braced himself, slipped out of his bonds, and went up into the air again in his red light to take another look. He did not notice when the Great Sage looked up at him, recognized him as an evil spirit, and pushed the Tang Priest by his foot off the horse once more. “Brothers,” said Monkey, “be very careful. The evil spirit's coming back.” Again Pig and Friar Sand placed themselves on either side of the Tang Priest to protect him with their rake and staff.
The spirit was full of praise for all this as he noticed it from mid-air: “What fine monks! I saw the fat, white-faced one on the horse before: why have the other three hidden him? I'd better take a closer look to find out. I'll have to get rid of the sharp-eyed one first before I can catch the Tang Priest. Otherwise I'll have
Wasted my worry without any gain,
Been to that trouble, and yet all in vain.”
Once more he brought the cloud down, made the same transformation that he had the previous time, and waited at the top of a pine tree. This time he was only a few hundred yards away from them.
When the Great Sage Sun looked up yet again and saw that the red cloud had dispersed he once more asked the master to remount and press on. “But you told me the evil spirit was back,” said Sanzang, “so why do you want me to keep going?”
“It was another passing one, and it won't dare try to harm us,” Monkey replied. At this the venerable elder lost his temper.
“Damned monkey. You keep trying to make a fool of me. When there really are evil monsters you say there's no problem, but in a quiet, peaceful place like this you keep giving me terrible frights by shouting about evil spirits. If I were to fall and injure myself I would certainly not forgive you. It's outrageous.”
“Don't be cross with me, Master,” said Monkey. “Even if you did hurt a hand or a foot in a fall it could be cured easy enough. But if an evil spirit got you I wouldn't know where to look for you.” Sanzang, who was by now in a raging fury, was only dissuaded from saying the Band-tightening Spell by Friar Sand's entreaties. Yet again he remounted to carry on with his journey.
He was not even settled in the saddle when he heard another call of “Help, master!” He looked up to see a little boy hanging naked in a tree. Reining in his horse he started to abuse Monkey again: “You damned scoundrel, ape. There's not a shred of kindness in you. All you can think of is wickedness and murder. I told you it was a human voice, but you kept yelling over and over again that it was a monster. Can't you see the boy in the tree?” As the master was so angry Monkey sneaked a glance at him and saw what sort of expression he was wearing. Then he bowed his head and made no reply, firstly because there was nothing he could do, and secondly because he was afraid that the master might say the spell.
When the Tang Priest reached the foot of the tree he pointed at the boy with his riding crop and asked, “Who are your parents? Why are you hanging up there? Tell me and I will save you.” Oh dear! He was truly an evil spirit to make himself look like that, but the master only had mortal, fleshly eyes and could not see what he was.
The evil spirit put on even more of an act on hearing these question. “Master,” he called, tears pouring down, “I live in the village by Withered Pine Ravine to the West of the mountain. My grandfather was known as Millionaire Hong because he had such a huge fortune. He died a long time ago and left everything to my father. Nowadays we throw our money around and we're not nearly as rich any more. That's why my father's called Hundred Thousand Hong. All he likes doing is making friends with all the big shots around and lending his gold and silver out at interest. But they were crooks who swindled him out of the lot, and he lost both capital and interest. My father swore never to lend out another penny. Then the people who borrowed from him became so desperate with poverty that they formed a gang. They attacked us in broad daylight with fire and weapons, stole all our goods, and killed my father. Because my mother is so beautiful they carried her off to be the bandit chief's woman. She couldn't bear to leave me behind, so she hid me in her clothes and went weeping and trembling with the bandits. When they got to this mountain the bandits wanted to kill me. They only spared me from the sword because of my mother's desperate pleas. Instead they tied me to this tree to die of cold and hunger. I don't know where the bandits have taken my mother. I've been hanging up here for three days and nights, and you're the first people to come past. I must have earned merit in a previous life to have met you in this one, Master. If in your great compassion you can rescue me and take me home I'd gladly sell myself into slavery in order to repay you. I won't forget what you've done for me even when I'm buried.”
Taking all this for the truth, Sanzang told Pig to undo the ropes and bring the boy down. The idiot, not realizing who he was, was just about to start doing it. This was more than Monkey could bear.
“Damned beast,” he shouted, “there's someone here who can see what you are. Cut out all that nonsense, and stop trying to fool us. If all your family's goods have been stolen, your father has been murdered and your mother kidnapped, then who are we going to hand you to after we rescue you? What sort of reward will you give us? It doesn't hang together. It's a pack of lies.”
This frightened the evil spirit, who realized now that Monkey was an able opponent and was keeping an eye on him. So he trembled and wept as he continued, “Although I've lost both my parents and all my family's goods I've still got all our land and my other relations.”
“What relations?” Monkey asked.
“My other grandfather lives to the South of the mountain,” the evil spirit replied, “and my aunt's home is North of the ridge. Li the Fourth from the head of the ravine is married to my aunt, and Hong the Third in the woods is a distant uncle. I've also got cousins living around the village. If the venerable master will save me and take me back to the village and my relations I'll tell them all about the venerable master's kindness in rescuing me. I'll mortgage or sell some land, and reward you richly.”