The old man came out again with a young man who was carrying a tray with three cups of tea on it, and when it had been drunk he gave instructions for a vegetarian meal to be prepared. The young man then brought out an old, dented, and unlacquered table, as well as a pair of benches with chipped tops and broken legs, which he put in a cool spot before asking the three of them to sit down. Sanzang then asked the old man his surname, and was told, “Your humble servant's surname is Wang.”
“How many descendants have you?”
“Two sons and three grandchildren.”
“Congratulations, congratulations,” said Sanzang; then he asked the old man how old he was.
“I have lived in my stupidity to sixty-one.”
“Splendid, splendid, you have begun a new cycle,” said Sanzang. “Benefactor,” he continued, “why did you say at first that it would be impossible to fetch the scriptures from the Western Heaven?”
“There is no problem about actually getting the scriptures,” the old man replied, “it's just that the journey will be very difficult. Only some twelve miles to the West of here is a mountain called the three-hundred mile Yellow Wind Ridge, and it's full of evil monsters. That's why I said it would be impossible to get the scriptures. But as this younger gentleman says he has so many magic powers, you will be able to get there.”
“Certainly, certainly,” said Monkey. “With me, my master and my fellow-disciple, no devils, however fierce, will dare to provoke us.”
As he spoke the youth came in with food, which he put on the table with the words, “Please eat.” Sanzang put his hands together and started to recite the grace. By then Pig had already swallowed a bowlful, and the moron finished three more before the short prayer was over.
“What a chaff-guzzler,” said Monkey. “We do seem to have run into a hungry ghost.”
Old Wang, however, found the speed at which Pig ate very amusing, and said, “This reverend gentleman must be very hungry. Give him more rice at once.” The stupid creature indeed had a large stomach. Look at him, keeping his head down as he devours at least a dozen bowls. Sanzang and Monkey had not been able to finish two bowls, but the idiot would not stop and was still eating. “As this is far from being haute cuisine, I cannot press you too hard, but please take another mouthful.”
“We have eaten enough,” said Sanzang and Monkey; but Pig said, “What are you going on about, old fellow? Who's been telling your fortune? Is that why you're going on about quizzing? Anyhow, as long as there's rice, give me some more.” In a single meal the idiot ate all the rice in the house, and still said that he was only half-full. Then the table was cleared away, bamboo beds were set out for them in the gatehouse, and they went to sleep.
At dawn the next morning Monkey went to saddle the horse while Pig packed the luggage. Old Wang told his wife to prepare some pastries and hot water for then, after which the three of them thanked him and said good-bye. “If anything goes wrong on your journey,” the old man said, “you must come to our place.”
“Don't be so discouraging, old fellow,” said Monkey. “We're dedicated, and there's no turning back for us.”
With that they whipped the horse, picked up the carrying-pole, and headed West.
Alas! On their journey there was no good path to the West, and there were undoubtedly demons and great disasters in store for them. Before they had been going for half a day, they reached the mountain. It was most precipitous. Sanzang rode as far as the edge of a cliff, then dismounted to have a look.
High was the mountain,
Craggy the ridge;
Steep the cliffs,
Deep the valleys.
Springs could be heard,
And sweet smelt the flowers.
Was that mountain high?
Its summit touched the azure heavens.
Were the gorges deep?
At their bottom you could see the Underworld.
In front of the mountain
Were rolling white clouds,
And towering crags.
There were no end of myriad-fathom, soul-snatching cliffs,
In which were twisting caves for dragons,
Caves full of stalactites dripping with water.
He saw deer with branching antlers,
And river-deer gazing with fixed stare,
Coiled, red-scaled pythons,
And mischievous, white-faced apes.
At evening tigers climbed the hills to find their dens;
Dragons emerged from the waves at dawn,
To enter their caves with thunderous roars.
Birds flying in the grass
Rose in a flurry;
Beasts walking in the woods
Hurried helter-skelter.
Suddenly a pack of wolves ran past,
Making the heart pound hard with fear.
This is a place where caves are linked with caves,
And mountains stand with mountains.
The green of the peak made it like ten thousand feet of jade,
As a myriad clouds were piled above it like a cover of bluish gauze.
While Sanzang urged his silvery steed slowly forward, Monkey strolled ahead on his cloud and Pig ambled along with the carrying-pole. As they looked at the mountain they heard a whirlwind blowing up, and Sanzang was alarmed.
“Wukong,” he said, “there's a whirlwind coming.”
“What's there to be afraid of about a wind?” said Monkey. “It's only weather, after all, and nothing to be scared of.”
“But this is a very evil wind, not like a natural wind at all,” Sanzang replied.
“How can you tell?” Monkey asked.
“Just look at it,” said Sanzang:
“Mighty and majestic it howls and roars,
Coming out of the distant heavens.
As it crosses the ridge the trees moan,
The trunks bend when it enters the wood.
“The willow on the bank is shaken to its roots,
And flowers and leaves go swirling round the garden.
On the fishing boats gathering in nets, they pull hard on the cables;
Ships lower their sails, and all cast anchor.
“The traveler loses his way in mid-journey,
The woodcutter in the hills cannot carry his load.
The monkeys scatter in the orchards of fairy fruit,
The deer flee from the clumps of rare flowers.
“Locust trees and cedars collapse before the cliff,
While pine and bamboo in the valley are stripped of leaves.
There are stinging blasts of dirt and sand,
And waves boil on rivers and seas.”
Pig went up to Monkey and grabbed hold of him. “Brother,” he said, “this is a terrific storm. Let's take shelter.”
“You're useless, brother,” replied Monkey with a mocking laugh. “If a big wind makes you want to hide, what are you going to do when you meet an evil spirit?”
“Elder brother, have you never heard the saying, 'Avoid a pretty girl as you would an enemy, avoid a wind as you would an arrow?'“ Pig replied. “There's no reason why we shouldn't take shelter.”
“Stop talking, will you, while I get a hold on that wind and take a sniff at it,” said Monkey.
“You're talking through your hat again,” said Pig with a grin. “As if you could get a hold on a wind. Besides, even if you did, your hand would go through it.”
“What you don't know, brother, is that I have a magic way of catching winds,” Monkey replied. Letting the head of the wind pass, the splendid Monkey grabbed the tail and sniffed at it. It had rather a foul stench. “It certainly isn't a good wind,” he remarked. “It smells like either a tiger wind or a monster wind. There's definitely something suspicious about it.”