Taking up the iron rod, Wukong carved a path through the demons with blows. Bajie had no choice but to follow as best he could.
When they reached the second gate, they saw the rake leaning against the wall. With a shove, Bajie pushed aside the little demons guarding it and began striking left and right. In this way, they managed to pass through three or four gates separating them from the outside, leaving behind a chilling trail of dead demons.
Elephant Demon’s Rage
Upon learning what had happened, the eldest demon (Lion King) said to his second brother (Elephant King):
“See what you’ve accomplished by capturing that monk? Sun Wukong has not only freed Zhu Bajie, but also wiped out the soldiers guarding our gate.”
The second demon (Elephant King) hastily grabbed his spear and rushed outside the cave, shouting wildly:
“Despicable, unprincipled monkey! How dare you shame us like this?”
Hearing this, the Monkey King stopped abruptly. The monster, in turn, charged at him with spear raised. Fortunately, Wukong was an expert fighter and met his opponent head-on with his Golden-hooped rod. Thus began an extraordinary battle right at the entrance of the cave.
Bajie simply stood idly, watching Wukong fight the demon without making the slightest move to assist his brother. He remained standing on the hillside, comfortably leaning on his rake, watching the two combatants clash.
Trunk Gambit
The monster quickly realized that the Monkey King’s bar was extremely heavy and that his martial arts were complete and flawless. He tried to block Wukong’s strikes with his spear while simultaneously restraining the Monkey King with his trunk.
Fortunately, Wukong quickly understood his intentions. Raising the iron bar high above his head with both hands, he allowed the demon to grab him around the waist, yet without losing any of his mobility. The Monkey King wielded the iron bar skillfully before the demon’s face.
Bajie then slapped his own chest and exclaimed in alarm:
“Damn it, what bad luck this monster has! When he captured someone like me, he didn’t even leave my hands untied, but now that he’s caught a slippery fellow like the monkey, he doesn’t bother tying his hands at all. Things won’t go well for him—because all his prisoner has to do is strike him on the trunk with the bar. How can he keep holding on when he feels unbearable pain in his nose?”
At first, the Monkey King hadn’t thought of doing that, but this time he accepted Bajie’s idea.
He swiftly swung the Golden-hooped iron rod, instantly extending it to egg-size thickness, and and struck the trunk.
Terrified, the demon let out a loud scream and immediately released his grip. Wukong then grabbed the demon’s trunk and pulled hard. The pain was so unbearable that the demon had no choice but to yield. Seeing him defeated, Bajie summoned his courage and approached with the intention of raining down blows on the monster.
“Don’t do it!” Wukong shouted, stopping him.
“The teeth of your rake are too sharp. If you wound him, he’ll start bleeding and the Master will scold us for endangering his life. The best thing is to hit him with the handle.”
Captive March
Bajie did as instructed. Each time the demon took a step forward, Bajie struck him with the wooden shaft of the rake, while the Pilgrim continued pulling the trunk with all his strength.
From a distance, they looked like two elephant handlers. So much so that when Tripitaka spotted them hurrying down the mountainside, he couldn’t believe his eyes and asked, surprised, of Sha Wujing:
“Do you know what it is that Wukong is dragging?”
Sha Wujing replied:
“I’m not entirely sure, but it seems to be a trunked monster. What a delightful sight!”
Tripitaka himself exclaimed:
“Heavens! It’s huge! And what an enormous nose! Go tell him that if he promises to carry us safely across the mountain, we will spare his life. Actually, I think we shouldn’t harm him at all.”
Sha Wujing ran toward them, shouting:
“Hey! The Master says that if you agree to lead us safely across the mountain range, you will be treated with more kindness.”
Surrender and Promise
Hearing this, the demon immediately knelt down and spoke respectfully, his voice tinged with a strong nasal tone:
“Venerable Master Tang, if you spare my life, we promise to carry you across in a sedan chair.”
The Monkey King announced:
“We are being merciful and granting you the honor of believing your words. Go prepare that sedan chair immediately. Remember, if you fail to keep your promise, there will be no mercy when we capture you again.”
As soon as he felt free, the demon prostrated himself face-down on the ground, repeatedly bowing before departing.
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