After bidding farewell to the sovereign of the Purple Kingdom, Tripitaka continued his westward journey riding on his horse.
Having left behind countless mountains and crossed numerous rivers and streams, autumn came to an end, winter gradually lost its severity, and once again the bright charm of spring returned.
A Suspicious Village
One day, while the master and his disciples paused to admire the beautiful scenery, they noticed through the trees a large group of houses hidden among them.
Tripitaka dismounted and stood in the middle of the road, gazing at the dwellings.
Sun Wukong asked:
“Master, why have we stopped when the path ahead is flat and there are no rocks or obstacles in our way?”
Zhu Bajie exclaimed:
“How insensitive you are! The Master must be tired from riding so long. Isn’t it natural that he has dismounted to catch his breath?”
Tang Monk corrected him:
“Actually, I’m not as tired as you think. The truth is, I saw a cluster of houses over there and thought it would be good if we went to ask for something to eat.”
The Monkey King asked again:
“Don’t say that, Master. If you’re really hungry, I can go and get food for you. Why should you have to do it yourself? It’s not right for us to sit here while you go knocking on someone’s door.”
Tang Monk defended his decision:
“I think you misunderstood me. Normally, it’s indeed you who go far away to find food when we’re in remote and uninhabited areas. Now that there is a village within reach, it’s very convenient, and I’d like to personally go knock on their doors to beg for alms.”
The Ill-Fated Decision
Bajie agreed with this point of view and handed him the alms bowl. Tripitaka then changed into his ceremonial hat and robe and, in just a few steps, made his way toward the village.
It was truly a charming place, with a stone bridge beneath which flowed a singing stream. On the other side of the bridge stood a group of houses, so curious and elegant they looked like the dwelling of immortals.
There were four beautiful young girls sewing and embroidering phoenixes. Upon realizing there were no men around, Tang Monk hesitated to move forward and remained standing by the trees.
He thought anxiously:
“If I return empty-handed, my disciples will laugh at me and say it’s pointless to follow a master who, though determined to pay homage to Buddha, can’t even manage to obtain some food.”
The Trap Unveiled
With no other choice, he forced himself to continue. Although aware that perhaps he shouldn’t, he finally crossed the bridge. After taking a few more steps, he saw that exactly in the center of the courtyard stood a pavilion made of sandalwood. Inside it, three young women were playing, kicking a ball.
Tang Monk watched them, absorbed in thought, until he realized he couldn’t waste time any longer. Raising his voice slightly, he said:
“Pardon me, Bodhisattvas, but would you kindly give this poor monk something to eat?”
Upon hearing this, the girls stopped what they were doing and came out to meet him, smiling sweetly and saying:
“We apologize for not welcoming you sooner. Please come inside and take a seat. It would not be proper to offer anyone food outdoors in our village.”
One girl leading the way turned two stone doors and invited Tang Monk to enter and regain his strength.
With no choice but to obey, the monk stepped inside. The furniture consisted only of a few stone benches and tables, but what felt most unsettling was that the interior was very dark, and suddenly the air became extremely cold. Alarmed, Tripitaka immediately thought to himself:
“This isn’t such a good place after all. Here, evil rather than virtue seems to be present.”
“Please sit down, Master,” urged the girls, still smiling.
So he did as instructed. But the chill kept growing more intense, and soon he began to shiver violently, as if he were in the middle of winter.
One of the girls asked:
“To which monastery do you belong, and for what purpose are you collecting alms? What do you intend to use the money for—repairing bridges and roads, building a new monastery or pagoda, or carving a statue of Buddha and printing scriptures?”
“I am not that kind of monk,” replied Tang Monk.
The girl retorted:
“If that’s true, then why have you come knocking on our door?”
Tang Monk answered:
“In fact, I am a messenger sent by the Great Emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the Eastern Lands to the Thunder Monastery in the Western Paradise, to retrieve sacred scriptures. If I dared disturb the peace of your honorable home, it was only because, while passing through, I was suddenly overcome by hunger and had nowhere else to turn. I promise that once I’ve eaten something, I shall resume my journey immediately.”
“That’s wonderful!” the girls exclaimed in unison.
The Deadly Feast
While three of the girls were enthusiastically discussing the concept of karma with the master, the remaining four rolled up their sleeves and hurried to the kitchen.
They took some salted human flesh and fried it with human butter. Then they took some human brains and stir-fried them with tofu cubes.
They placed these two dishes on the stone table and said to the master:
“Please eat whatever you like. We were in a hurry and couldn’t prepare a proper vegetarian meal for you, but we hope this will be enough to satisfy your hunger for now. If you need anything else, just let us know.”
Monk Tang had barely caught the smell of the food when his stomach began to churn. Nevertheless, he joined his hands at chest level and bowed slightly as he said:
“Pardon this humble monk, but since the day of my birth I have followed a strictly vegetarian diet.”
“Do you not think that, for someone who has renounced family life, you are being rather particular?” replied the girl who had served him.
Monk Tang responded:
“I dare not eat this food for fear of breaking the Buddhist precepts. If you don’t mind, I would like to take my leave now.”
Before he had even finished speaking, he had already turned toward the door. But the girls refused to let him go, saying:
“Where do you think you’re rushing off to? Now that you’re here, you can’t escape. No one lets a good opportunity slip away.”
All the maidens were perfectly skilled in martial arts and possessed astonishing agility.
After pushing him around without any care, as if he were a sheep, they threw him to the ground, tied him up with ropes, and hung him from the highest beam they could find.
The Spider’s Web
Once he was hanging there, they began to undress. Deeply worried, the monk thought to himself again:
“They must be taking off their clothes so they can beat me more easily, and then devour me sooner.”
However, the girls only removed their upper garments. With bare stomachs, they began to unleash their magical powers. Threads began to emerge from their navels, and soon completely covered and concealed the entrance to the cave.
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