When they reached the stone bridge they stopped and said the words of a spell. In an instant the silk canopy had been put away, and they all rushed stark naked into the cave, covering their private parts with their hands as they ran giggling past the Tang Priest.
Once inside their bedrooms carved out of the rock they put on old clothes and went straight to the back door of the cave, where they stood and called, “Where are you, children?”
Now each she-devil had a child, not one that she had borne, but an adopted child who had taken her as a mother. They were called Bee, Hornet, Cockroach, Spanish-fly, Grasshopper, Wax-insect and Dragonfly, for such they were. The evil spirits had spread their nets across the sky, caught these seven insects and been on the point of eating them. But as the old saying goes, “Birds have bird language and beasts have beast language.”
The insects had pleaded for their lives and volunteered to take the spirits as their own mothers. Ever since then they had gathered blossoms in the spring and summer flowers for the evil spirits, and as soon as they heard the shouts they appeared and asked, “What orders do you have for us, mothers?”
“Sons,” the demons replied, “this morning we made a mistake and provoked the monk from Tang. His disciples trapped us in the pool and disgraced us. We were almost killed. You must do your utmost. Go outside and drive them away. When you've beaten them come to your uncle's to meet us.” The she-devils then fled for their lives and went to the home of their teacher's senior disciple, where their wicked tongues were to give rise to more disasters, but of that we shall not now speak. Watch while the insects rub their fists in their hands and go out to confront their enemies.
Pig, meanwhile, whose head was spinning after falling over so often, looked up and suddenly saw that the silken canopy and ropes had all disappeared. Groping around he picked himself up, and despite his pain he made his way back the way he had come. As soon as he saw Monkey he grabbed him and said, “Brother, is my head bulging? Is my face all blue?”
“What happened to you?” Monkey asked.
“Those damned creatures caught me under a silken net and tripped me up goodness knows how many times with silk ropes,” Pig replied. “My waist was twisted, my back felt broken and I couldn't move an inch. Then the silk canopy and the ropes all disappeared, so I could escape and come back.”
“Forget about it,” said Friar Sand when he saw him, “forget about it. You asked for trouble. I'm sure the demons have all gone back to the cave to harm the master. We must go and rescue him straight away.”
When Monkey heard this he set out at once as fast as he could and rushed back to the farm while Pig led the horse. Here the seven little devils could be seen standing on the bridge, blocking their way and saying, “Not so fast, not so fast. We're here.”
“What a joke!” said Pig when he saw them. “They're just a bunch of kids. They're only two foot five or six, well under three foot, and they can only weigh eight or nine pounds, not even ten.”
“Who are you?” he shouted.
“We're the sons of the seven immortal ladies,” the little devils replied. “You've insulted our mothers, and now you've got the effrontery to attack us, you ignorant fools. Stay where you are, and watch out.” The splendid monsters then launched a wild onslaught on Pig, who was in a flaming temper after falling over so often. Seeing how tiny the insects were he lifted his rake to strike furious blows at them.
When the little devils saw how ferocious the idiot was they all reverted to their original forms, flew into the air and shouted, “Change!” In an instant each of them became ten, each ten became a hundred, each hundred became a thousand, and each thousand became ten thousand. Every one became a countless number. This is what could be seen:
The sky was full of wax-flies,
Dragonflies danced all over the land.
Bees and hornets went for the head,
Cockroaches jobbed at the eyes.
Spanish-flies bit before and behind,
While grasshoppers stung above and below.
His face was black and crawling with insects:
Even devils or deities would have been scared by their speed.
“Brother,” said Pig in alarm, “you can say what you like about it being easy to fetch the scriptures, but on this road to the West even the insects give you a bad time.”
“Don't be afraid, brother,” said Monkey. “Go for them.”
“But they're flying into my head and my face and all over my body,” replied Pig. “They're at least ten layers deep and all stinging me. How can I go for them?”
“No problem,” said Monkey, “no problem. I know a trick.”
“Whatever it is, brother,” said Friar Sand, “use it right now. His shaven head has swollen up with those bites in no time at all.” The splendid Great Sage pulled out a handful of hairs, chewed them into little bits and blew them out, telling them to turn to golden eagles, falcons, hawks, white eagles, vultures, ospreys and sparrowhawks. “Brother,” said Pig, “what's that jargon about goldens and all that?”
“Something you don't know about,” Monkey replied. “Golden eagles, falcons, hawks, white eagles, vultures, ospreys and sparrowhawks are the seven birds of prey that my hairs turned into. That's because the she-devils' children are insects.” Because the birds were so good at catching insects they got one every time they opened their beaks, grabbed at them with their claws or struck them with their wings. They wiped all the insects out in an instant, leaving no trace of them in the sky. The ground was piled over a foot deep with their bodies.
Only then could the three brothers charge across the bridge and into the cave, where they found their master hanging groaning and sobbing in mid-air. “Master,” said Pig, going up to him, “are you hanging around here for fun? I don't know how many times I've had to fall over on your account.”
“Untie the master before we take this conversation any further,” said Friar Sand. Brother Monkey then snapped the ropes and set the master free, asking, “Where did the evil spirits go?”
“All seven of them ran stark naked through to the back,” the Tang Priest replied. “They were calling for their sons.”
“After them, brothers!” said Monkey. “Follow me!”
The three of them, each holding his weapon, went searching in the back garden, but no sign of them could be found. They looked for them without success under all the peach and plum trees. “They've gone,” said Pig, “they've gone.”
“We can stop looking for them,” said Friar Sand. “I'm going to help the master away from here.” The three brothers then went back to the front, where they asked the Tang Priest to mount up. “You two help the master along the way,” said Pig. “I'm going to smash these buildings to the ground with my rake. Then they'll have nowhere to live when they come back.”
“Smashing the place would be too much effort,” said Monkey. “The best way to cut off their roots would be to find some firewood.” The splendid idiot then gathered some dead pine, broken-off bamboo, dried-out willow and withered creepers that he set alight. The roaring blaze destroyed everything. Only then did master and disciples feel easy enough to be on their way.