“I remember that when we came in the monsters put the luggage to the left of the throne hall,” said the Tang Priest. “The loads must still be there.”
“Understood,” said Monkey, who sprang off at once to search for it by the throne hall. When he suddenly saw shimmering lights of many colours Brother Monkey knew that they came from the luggage. How did he know? Because the light came from the night-shining pearl on the Tang Priest's cassock. He rushed towards it and found that their load was unopened, so he took it out and gave it to Friar Sand to carry. While Pig guided the horse, the Great Sage took the lead.
They were hurrying to go straight out through the main Southern gate when they heard the noise of watchmen's clappers and bells. They found the gates locked and paper seals over the locks.
“How are we going to get out if the place is so closely guarded?” Monkey wondered.
“Let's get out the back door,” said Pig. With Monkey leading the way they rushed straight to the back gates.
“I can hear clappers and bells outside the back gates as well, and they're sealed too,” Monkey said. “What are we to do? If it weren't for the Tang Priest's mortal body it wouldn't bother us three: we could get away by cloud and wind. But the Tang Priest hasn't escaped from the Three Worlds and is still confined within the Five Elements. All his bones are the unclean ones he got from his mother and father. He can't lift himself into the air and he'll never get away.”
“No time for talking now, brother,” said Pig: “Let's go somewhere where there aren't any bells, clappers or guards, lift the master up and climb over the wall.”
“That won't do,” said Monkey. “We could lift him over now because we've got to, but you've got such a big mouth you'd tell people everywhere when we're taking the scriptures back that we're the sort of monks who sneak over people's walls.”
“But we can't bother about behaving properly now,” replied Pig. “We've got to save our skins.” Monkey had no choice but to do as he suggested, so they went up to wall and worked out how to climb over.
Oh dear! Things would have to work out this way: Sanzang was not yet free of his unlucky star. The three demon chiefs who had been fast asleep in their living quarters suddenly awoke and, fearing that the Tang Priest had escaped, got up, threw on their clothes and hurried to the throne hall of the palace.
“How many times has the Tang Priest been steamed?” they asked. The junior devils who were looking after the fires were all so soundly asleep because the sleep insects were in them that not even blows could wake them up.
The chiefs woke up some others who were not on duty, who answered rashly, “Ss…ss…seven times.” Then they rushed over to the steamer to see the steamer trays lying scattered on the floor and the cooks still asleep.
In their alarm they rushed back to report, “Your Majesties, th…th…they've escaped.”
The three demon chiefs came out of the throne hall to take a close look around the cauldron. They saw that the steamer trays were indeed scattered on the floor, the water was stonecold and the fire completely out. The cooks supposed to be tending the fire were still so fast asleep that they were snoring noisily.
The fiends were all so shocked that they all shouted, “Catch the Tang Priest! At once! Catch the Tang Priest!” Their yells woke up the demons senior and junior all around. They rushed in a crowd to the main front gates carrying their swords and spears.
Seeing that the sealed locks had not been touched and that the night watchmen were still sounding their clappers and bells they asked the watchman, “Which way did the Tang Priest go?”
“Nobody's come out,” the watchmen all replied. They hurried to the back gates of the palace, only to find that the seals, locks, clappers and bells were the same as at the front. With a great commotion they grabbed lanterns and torches, making the sky red and the place as bright as day. The four of them were clearly lit up as they climbed over the wall.
“Where do you think you're going?” the senior demon chief shouted, running towards them and so terrifying the reverend gentleman that the muscles in his legs turned soft and numb and he fell off the wall to be captured by the senior demon. The second demon chief seized Friar Sand and the third knocked Pig over and captured him. The other demons took the luggage and the white horse. Only Monkey escaped.
“May Heaven kill him,” Pig grumbled under his breath about Monkey. “I said that if he was going to rescue us he ought to do a thorough job of it. As it is we're going to be put back in the steamer for another steaming.”
The monsters took the Tang Priest into the throne hall but did not steam him again. The second demon chief ordered that Pig was to be tied to one of the columns supporting the eaves in front of the hall and the third chief had Friar Sand tied to one of the columns holding up the eaves at the back. The senior chief clung to the Tang Priest and would not let go of him.
“What are you holding him for, elder brother?” the third demon asked. “Surely you're not going to eat him alive. That wouldn't be at all interesting. He's no ordinary idiot to be gobbled up just to fill your stomach. He's a rare delicacy from a superior country. We should keep him till we have some free time one rainy day, then bring him out to be carefully cooked and enjoyed with drinking games and fine music.”
“A very good suggestion, brother,” replied the senior demon with a smile, “but Sun the Novice would come and steal him again.”
“In our palace we have a Brocade Fragrance Pavilion,” said the third demon, “and in the pavilion is an iron chest. I think we should put the Tang Priest into the chest, shut up the pavilion, put out a rumour that we have already eaten him half raw and get all the junior devils in the city talking about it. That Sun the Novice is bound to come back to find out what's happening, and when he hears this he'll be so miserably disappointed that he'll go away. If he doesn't come to make trouble for another four or five days we can bring the Tang Priest out to enjoy at our leisure. What do you think?”
The senior and second demon chiefs were both delighted. “Yes, yes, you're right, brother,” they said. That very night the poor Tang Priest was taken inside the palace, put into the chest and locked up in the pavilion. We will not tell how the rumour was spread and became the talk of the town.
Instead the story tells how Monkey escaped that night by cloud, unable to look after the Tang Priest. He went straight to Lion Cave where he wiped out all the tens of thousands of junior demons with his cudgel to his complete satisfaction. By the time he had hurried back to the city the sun was rising in the East. He did not dare challenge the demons to battle because
No thread can be spun from a single strand;
Nobody can clap with a single hand.
So he brought his cloud down, shook himself, turned himself into a junior demon and slipped in through the gates to collect news in the streets and back alleys. “The Tang Priest was eaten raw by the senior king during the night,” was what all the people in the city were saying wherever he went. This made Brother Monkey really anxious. When he went to look at the throne hall in the palace he saw that there were many spirits constantly coming and going. They were wearing leather and metal helmets and yellow cotton tunics. In their hands they held red lacquered staves, and ivory passes hung at their waists.
“These must be evil spirits who are allowed in the inner quarters of the palace,” thought Monkey. “I'll turn myself into one, go in and see what I can find out.”