Journey to the West: Starting with the Hunting of the Three Demons of Twin Fork Ridge

Chapter 118 Lotus Cave: The Wooden Mother Encounters Demons in the Lotus Cave

Meanwhile, Pigsy went to patrol the mountain, while Monkey King stood by, merely chuckling coldly.

Upon seeing this, Tang Sanzang scolded, "You impudent monkey! You have no brotherly affection whatsoever, only jealousy. You tricked him into going on patrol, and now you're secretly laughing here!"

The pilgrim said, "I'm not laughing at him; there's a hidden meaning in my laughter. You see, Pigsy won't be truly dedicated to patrolling the mountain, nor will he dare to encounter any demons. He'll just hide somewhere and make up a lie to fool us."

Tang Sanzang asked, "How do you know he is like that?"

The pilgrim said, "I was sure he would do this. If you don't believe me, I'll go with him and listen to him. Firstly, I can help him subdue the demon, and secondly, I can see if he truly worships Buddha."

Tang Sanzang said, "Alright, alright, alright! Just don't tease him."

The traveler agreed, caught up with the hillside, transformed himself into an insect, and gently flew close to Pigsy, pinning himself to the base of his mane behind his ear.

The fool, oblivious to everything, walked seven or eight li before dropping his rake. Turning back, he cursed, "That soft-hearted monk! That cunning stable boy! That weak-willed Sand Monk! They're all living carefree lives, but they're making me, this old pig, run this unnecessary journey! We're all going to fetch the scriptures, but they make me patrol the mountain! I'll just find a place to sleep, go back and give a vague answer saying I've patrolled the mountain, and that'll be the end of it!"

The fool found a hollow in the hillside, crawled in, lay down and fell asleep, exclaiming, "How wonderful! Even the stable boy wouldn't be as carefree as me!"

The traveler heard every word clearly behind his ear, and couldn't resist teasing him again. He transformed into a woodpecker and gave him a sharp peck on the lips.

Pigsy panicked and scrambled to his feet, yelling, "Where did this monster come from! Why did you stab me with your spear!"

So he hurriedly looked up, only to see a woodpecker. He angrily cursed, "You wretch! The stable boy bullied me, and now you're bullying me too! You must be mistaking my beak for a dead tree! I'll just tuck my beak into my bosom and sleep!"

Just as he fell asleep, the traveler pecked at his ear again.

Pigsy jumped up in surprise and said, "This dead man is so disturbing! He must have taken over my nest. Never mind, I'm not going to sleep!"

He had no choice but to shoulder his rake and continue deeper into the mountains. The traveler chuckled inwardly, then transformed back into an insect and followed behind him.

After walking another four or five miles, three square blue stones appeared in a mountain hollow. Pigsy put down his rake, bowed deeply to the stones, and sang a deep bow.

The traveler chuckled to himself, "This fool! Even a stone won't answer, so why bother bowing to it?"

It turns out that the fool mistook the stone for the three characters Tang Sanzang, Sha Wujing, and Sun Wukong, and practiced lying to them: "When I go back, my master will ask if there is a monster, so I will say yes."

If you ask what mountain it is, just say it's a rocky mountain; if you ask what cave it is, just say it's a rocky cave; if you ask what door it is, just say it's a nailed iron door; if you ask how far it is inside, just say it's three levels inside.

When asked how many nails were on the door, he replied that the old pig was too busy to remember. Perfect for fooling that stable boy!

Pigsy fabricated a lie and dragged his rake back the way he came.

Unexpectedly, the traveler had already flown back and revealed his true form to his master.

Tang Sanzang said, "Wukong, you're back. Where is Wuneng?"

The traveler laughed and said, "He's making up lies there; he'll be there in no time."

Tang Sanzang said, "He's so foolish and clumsy, what lies could he possibly make up? You must be wronging him."

The pilgrim said, "Master is just protecting his own; I have proof."

He then recounted how Pigsy slept in the grass, was awakened by the woodpecker, and told the stone a lie.

Sure enough, Pigsy returned shortly afterward, muttering something under his breath.

The traveler quickly shouted, "Fool! What are you chanting?"

Pigsy exclaimed in surprise, "I've arrived!"

He immediately stepped forward and knelt down.

Tang Sanzang helped him up, saying, "Disciple, you've worked hard."

Bajie said, "That's right, walking and climbing mountains is the most arduous."

Tang Sanzang asked, "Are there any monsters?"

Pigsy exclaimed, "Yes! Yes! A whole bunch of monsters! They even called me their Pig Ancestor and Pig Grandfather, and they're preparing a vegetarian feast for me, and they're going to send us over the mountain with gongs and drums!"

The traveler laughed and said, "He must be sleeping in the grass, talking in his sleep, right?"

Upon hearing this, the simpleton shrank back three inches in fright and exclaimed, "Grandpa! How did he know I was sleeping?"

The traveler stepped forward, grabbed him, and said, "Come here, let me ask you something."

The fool panicked again, stammering, "Asking is fine, but why are you grabbing me?"

The traveler asked, "What mountain is that?"

Pigsy said, "Stone Mountain."

"What kind of cave?"

"Stone Cave".

"What door?"

"Dingding Iron Leaf Gate".

How far inside is it?

"Enter the third floor."

The traveler laughed and said, "You don't need to say anything more. I remember the second half of the line too: 'How many nails are on the door? I can't remember them properly, even though I'm so busy.' Isn't that right?"

Pigsy hurriedly knelt down.

The pilgrim then said, "You still bow and scrape to the stone, as if the three of us were rehearsing a lie to fool the stable boy, is that it?"

Pigsy simply kowtowed: "Brother, did you perhaps go and listen to that?"

The traveler cursed, "You nauseous good-for-nothing! I sent you to patrol this crucial place, and you went to sleep! And you made up such a big lie, aren't you going to ruin everything? Quickly stretch out your crutch, and I'll give you five whacks to teach you a lesson!"

Pigsy exclaimed in panic, "Your mourning staff is too heavy! It can't withstand even half a blow!"

Having no other choice, the fool grabbed his master and said, "Please do me a favor."

Tang Sanzang said, "He deserves to be beaten. But since there are few people to serve him when we cross the mountain, let's forgive him this time and punish him again when we cross the mountain."

The pilgrim said, "Since Master has pleaded for you, I'll spare you this time. But if you lie and cause trouble again while patrolling the mountain, I won't let you off easily!"

Pigsy had no choice but to get up and run back to the main road.

This time, his suspicions grew, and he followed the pilgrim at every turn, thinking that he was the pilgrim in disguise. He saw a tiger and thought it was the pilgrim, he saw a fallen tree and thought it was the pilgrim, he saw a crow cawing and thought it was the pilgrim. He was constantly surprised and confused, and we will not go into details about that for now.

Meanwhile, it was said that King Golden Horn and King Silver Horn had already drawn portraits of Tang Sanzang and his disciples. Today happened to be the day when King Silver Horn led a group of lesser monsters on a patrol of the mountain.

Unfortunately for Pigsy, he ran into a patrolling demon as he was walking. The demon saw him and quickly stopped him, asking, "Who goes there?"

The fool raised his head, lifted his ears, and saw that they were demons. He panicked and thought to himself, "If I had said that I was a monk on a pilgrimage, he would have taken me. But I said I was just a passerby."

So the little demon quickly reported to Silver Horn, saying, "Your Majesty, they are just passing by."

Upon seeing him, Silver Horn felt a sense of familiarity and hurriedly opened the Shadow God Map to see if he was there.

He said, "The one riding the white horse is Tang Sanzang, the one with the hairy face is Sun Wukong, the one with the long black hair is Sha Wujing, and the one with the long snout and big ears is Zhu Bajie."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy knew something was wrong and quickly shrank his snout into his arms.

Seeing his appearance, Silver Horn called out, "Monk, stick out your mouth!"

Pigsy said, "It's a disease from the womb; I can't stretch it out."

Silver Horn chuckled and said, "Men, use the hooks to pull his mouth out."

Upon hearing this, Pigsy trembled with fear and quickly stuck out his mouth, saying, "If you want to see, then look! What are you going to do about it!"

Upon seeing this, Silver Horn exclaimed with delight, "It really is Pigsy! Men, capture him!"

Upon hearing this, the fool pressed down with his rake, cursing, "My son, how dare you be so rude! Take this!"

Silver Horn laughed and said, "You're a monk who became a monk halfway through his life."

Pigsy said, "Good son! You're quite clever! How did you know your master was a latecomer to the world of martial arts?"

Silver Horn said, "If you can use this rake, you must have stolen it from someone's garden while building a house."

Bajie said, "My son, how could you recognize my rake? It's not like that earth-blocking rake that can remove obstacles for Tang Sanzang and capture demons on the journey to the West."

"If I could topple Mount Tai, even a tiger would be terrified; if I could overturn the ocean, even an old dragon would be horrified. Even if you, a demon, possess some skill, one strike of your rake will leave nine bloody holes!"

Upon hearing this, Silver Horn flew into a rage, wielding the Seven Star Sword and abandoning all his skills, engaging in a fierce duel with Pigsy in the mountains. They fought for twenty rounds without a clear victor.

Pigsy, enraged, charged forward with all his might. Seeing his ferocity, Silver Horn became somewhat afraid. He quickly turned back to call upon the lesser monsters, and together they attacked.

When Pigsy saw all the lesser demons attacking at once, he panicked, couldn't defend himself, and was defeated. He turned and ran away.

Unexpectedly, he tripped over a vine and stumbled. As he struggled to his feet and tried to walk, a group of little demons caught up with him, grabbed his mane, pulled his ears, dragged him by his feet and tail, and carried him into the cave.