Chapter 20: Bajie Joins the Team—The Cunning Monkey

“Heh, you fool, your original wife isn’t dead? Then why did you go to Gao Village and cause trouble for that Cui Lan?!” Hu Rong, startled by Sister Egg’s dramatic arrival, quickly stopped Zhu Ganglie and asked.

“Can’t I leave because the relationship broke down? Mind your own business, you dead monkey!” Zhu Ganglie, brandishing his nine-toothed rake, snarled, “Today I’ll teach you just how formidable my rake is!”

“Heh, you fool! Even when I raised havoc in Heaven five hundred years ago, the Jade Emperor never called you out. That alone shows how unremarkable your skills are! You dare to shout at me?”

“Bah! Don’t bring up that cowardly old man with more lust than courage! If he hadn’t schemed behind my back, would I have suffered such heavy punishment?” Zhu Ganglie spat to the side, then insisted, “Still, though I’m no match for you in magic, I am a legitimate celestial official, trained in the thirty-six transformations, and wielding the Supreme Golden Rake crafted by the Old Lord himself. Why wouldn’t I dare?”

“Heh, fool, stop bluffing. Your thirty-six transformations of the Heavenly Gang, like my seventy-two Earthly Fiend transformations, are merely arts to escape calamity—not something for you to show off before me.”

“This dead monkey knows too much… Given the situation, I’ll have to join forces with that mad woman!” Zhu Ganglie thought to himself. He swung his nine-toothed rake a few more times and shouted, “Sister Egg, come help me!”

“Hey! You pig-head, you sneaked off last night to see that little tramp again? Are you trying to get me to go to Gao Village and slaughter everyone?” Sister Egg rode a black cloud into the sky, twin swords in hand, and roared fiercely.

“Sister Egg, we have a powerful enemy before us—leave all that for later! Let’s deal with this dead monkey first!” Zhu Ganglie, worried she’d run off to wreak havoc again, quickly tried to dissuade her.

“This skinny, stinking monkey? He’s not even good enough to make a decent soup for me! Pig-head, get out of the way and watch how it’s done!” With that, Sister Egg charged at Hu Rong, swords flashing.

“Foolish creature! Take my brick!” Without even glancing, Hu Rong summoned his invincible brick. With a sharp “whoosh,” a green light struck Sister Egg’s forehead. A shriek rang out as she plummeted from the clouds.

With a heavy thud, Hu Rong’s Ruyi staff instantly extended, striking Sister Egg and dispersing her last trace of vitality. Her true form emerged: a splendid wild pheasant, nearly the size of a goat.

Landing, Hu Rong called to the dumbfounded Zhu Ganglie, “Fool, get down here! Carry your sweetheart back to see our master!”

“Ah… uh… Master? What master…?” Zhu Ganglie stammered.

“How fitting you’re called a fool,” Hu Rong chuckled. “The pilgrim from the Tang Dynasty—wasn’t he appointed by Avalokitesvara as your master? And aren’t you called ‘Pig Wuneng’?”

“Dead… monkey… How do you know that?” Zhu Ganglie, still holding his rake, gave an awkward laugh, put away his weapon, landed, and asked.

“I am the senior disciple of the pilgrim!” Hu Rong, growing impatient, barked, “Enough talk—carry your sweetheart and come with me to Gao Village to meet our master.”

“Alright! Got it!” Zhu Ganglie, convinced by Hu Rong’s serious tone, tidied his clothes, slung the pheasant over his rake, and followed Hu Rong back to Gao Village.

The elders and villagers, seeing Zhu Ganglie subdued, cheered with delight. Soon after, he dropped his rake, fell to his knees before Tang Seng, and kowtowed, exclaiming, “Master, your disciple Zhu Ganglie greets you!”

Tang Seng, surprised to see this human-shaped wild boar, was undaunted—since accepting the monkey, the little dragon, and the black bear, his courage had grown. He simply asked, “Wukong, what’s he doing?”

At this, Hu Rong had Zhu Ganglie recount, in detail, how Avalokitesvara persuaded him to seek virtue.

“Amitabha!” Upon learning that Zhu Ganglie was the second disciple sent by Avalokitesvara, Tang Seng was delighted. He had Lord Gao bring a ceremonial table and formally accepted Zhu Ganglie as his second disciple.

“Master!” Zhu Ganglie respectfully kowtowed three times, calling out.

“Amitabha!” Tang Seng joined his palms, chanting a Buddha’s name in response.

“Heh heh, senior brother!” Zhu Ganglie bowed three times to Hu Rong as well, laughing as he did.

“Fool!” Hu Rong scolded, but returned the salutes, acknowledging Zhu Ganglie as his junior brother.

Tang Seng nodded slightly. “Since you’ve entered my Buddhist sect as my disciple, I should give you a Dharma name for ease of address.”

“Master!” Zhu Ganglie quickly replied, “The Bodhisattva already tonsured me and named me—Pig Wuneng.”

Tang Seng smiled. “Good, good. Your senior brother is called Wukong, you are Wuneng—a true affinity with Buddha!”

Zhu Ganglie snorted, glanced at the vegetarian fare on the table, and asked, “Master, since receiving the Bodhisattva’s precepts, I’ve abstained from the five pungent roots and three forbidden meats. These years at my father-in-law’s, I’ve kept strictly to a vegetarian diet. Now that I’ve acknowledged my master and senior brother, let me indulge and have a feast?”

Tang Seng hurriedly cautioned, “Amitabha! In the Buddha’s fold, we must remember to avoid the five pungent roots and three forbidden meats! How about this? I’ll give you another name—Eight Precepts.”

Zhu Ganglie was not pleased, but his face broke into a broad smile. “Thank you, Master, for the name. From now on, I’ll be called Zhu Bajie!”

Soon after, Tang Seng prepared a razor and gave Zhu Bajie a proper tonsure. Instantly, it was as if bathed in Buddha’s radiance—Bajie seemed completely reborn, all traces of a mountain spirit or wild beast vanished, and even his features took on a monk’s appearance.

The Gao family and villagers rejoiced to see him reform. When Hu Rong explained that the previous man-eating monster was actually a pheasant demon, their hearts were greatly relieved. A grand banquet was arranged to thank Tang Seng and his disciples.

During the feast, Zhu Bajie tried to pull Lord Gao aside to speak privately with Gao Cuilan, but Hu Rong dragged him away. After meeting Xiong Wufan and the little white dragon, they all sat together. With Tang Seng’s consent, they exchanged cups of fine vegetarian wine, drinking merrily.

That evening, Lord Gao had a lacquer tray brought out, piled with two hundred taels of gold and silver, as travel funds for Tang Seng. But the latter firmly refused.

Hu Rong, seeing this, quietly nudged Zhu Bajie and gave him a look, while saying aloud, “Master is right—we monks shun gold and silver, seeking only the Buddha!”

Zhu Bajie, quick-witted, caught Hu Rong’s meaning. As Lord Gao was about to take away the tray, Bajie darted forward, snatched it up, and declared, “A gift from an elder must not be declined! Since father-in-law insists, this son-in-law will gladly accept!”

“You… this…” Lord Gao was only making a show of it, not expecting someone as shameless as Zhu Bajie. But with things as they were, he could only let it go.

Before he could leave, Zhu Bajie sidled up with a grin, “Father-in-law, my clothes and shoes were ruined by my brother monkey—could you spare me a few new ones?”

Lord Gao thought, ‘That silver couldn’t even stop your mouth,’ but dared not show it, lest the monks take offense. He ordered new shoes and a coat, and Zhu Bajie changed out of his old rags.

“Heh heh, Monkey Brother, please accept a little dividend,” Zhu Bajie said, now refreshed and dressed, sneaking some silver to Hu Rong behind Tang Seng’s back.

“Well, you fool, you’re a real pig all right,” Hu Rong laughed, weighing the silver—three hundred taels in all, some from Lord Gao, some from Bajie’s own savings.

“Heh heh, Monkey Brother, I’ll be counting on you from now on!” Zhu Bajie was so naturally sociable that he no longer called Hu Rong “senior brother,” but simply “Monkey Brother,” which sounded much warmer.

“I don’t need so much—keep it for yourself,” Hu Rong tried to return all the silver, but not wanting to offend Bajie, kept a hundred taels and gave two hundred back. The two then found a place to rest, spending a peaceful night.

The next morning, Tang Seng and his disciples packed two loads of luggage, carried by Wufan. Zhu Bajie, eager to please, led the white dragon horse for Tang Seng to ride. Guided by Hu Rong, they bade farewell to the people of Gao Village and set off westward…