Wukong comforted the two elders and said:
“There’s no need to be sad. Gladly would I trade my life for that of your son. This will allow your family name to endure for generations and generations. I am willing to be offered to that Great King you have spoken of.”
The elders replied, their weeping increasing:
“You don’t understand one thing—this Great King knows everything because he often visits us. He is so perceptive that he knows every family in this village, even remembering the day and hour of our births. This monster only eats children born in our own town. How can we possibly deceive him, when he knows more about us than we do ourselves?”
Transformation and Verification
The Monkey King commented:
“Your situation is indeed complicated. Could you bring out your son? I’d like to meet him.”
Chen Qing went inside the house and soon returned, accompanied by his son, Chen Guanbao.
Upon seeing him, the Monkey King led the boy to the brightest spot in the hall, studied him carefully, then recited a spell and gave a slight shake of his body. In an instant, he transformed into an exact copy of the child.
The old man was so bewildered that he fell to his knees, loudly demanding of Tang Monk:
“Tell me which one of these two is my son! It’s incredible! How could your disciple turn into my son while we were speaking calmly together? Order your disciple to return to his real form—I beg you, a father on the verge of losing his mind asks you!”
Sun Wukong immediately granted the old man’s wish and, smiling, asked:
“Did I look like your son?”
This made the elder exclaim in astonishment:
“You truly are amazing! You were identical to him—same features, same voice, same clothes, even the same height.”
The Monkey King confirmed:
“That’s right. But your observations remained on the surface. Bring out a scale and you’ll see we don’t differ by a single gram.”
The elder exclaimed again, after verifying it was true:
“Extraordinary! Your weight is exactly the same!”
The Monkey King asked once more:
“Do you think I could pass as the sacrificial offering?”
“Without a doubt. No one would notice any difference, that’s certain,” replied the elder.
Bowing repeatedly with his forehead to the ground, Chen Qing added:
“If you do this, I will donate over a thousand pounds of pure silver to Tang Monk, so he may reach the Western Paradise without any trouble.”
“Eh, eh, wait a minute! Aren’t you going to thank me too?” replied Sun Wukong.
“What for? If you take my son’s place, you’ll be completely finished,” answered the elder.
“What do you mean by ‘finished’?” the monkey asked.
“That the Great King will devour you, just like a chicken,” the elder replied.
“Oh well, let’s leave it at that. I’m in God’s hands now,” responded Wukong.
A Daughter’s Fate
Meanwhile, Chen Cheng had retired behind a screen and began to cry bitterly.
Understanding the cause of his sorrow, the Monkey King approached him and tugged his sleeve, saying:
“I see you are not sharing in your brother’s joy. From this, I deduce that you are deeply worried about the fate awaiting your daughter. Isn’t that right?”
Chen Cheng nodded his head, fell to his knees, and replied:
“I cannot give her up, Master. I should be grateful for all you are doing for my nephew, but the truth is she is my only child, and I will die of grief when I lose her. Do you understand my pain now? To give her up is to give up myself.”
The Monkey King urged him:
“Quickly go and prepare five barrels of rice. Add a few vegetarian dishes and offer them all to my brother with the long snout. Once he has eaten his fill, ask him to transform into your daughter. What do you think?”
Sun Wukong then ordered Sha Wujing to take care of Tang Monk, while Bajie and he himself would impersonate Chen Guanbao and Golden Burden(Load of Gold or Cheng Jin).
The Sacrificial Procession
When everything was ready, the Monkey King asked:
“How are you planning to present us to that beast? Bound, boiled, or minced?”
“Please stop joking at my expense. I couldn’t bear a test like that—you know that very well,” Bajie pleaded.
One of the elders replied:
“No, no. You will sit on two red lacquered trays, and servants will carry you to the Temple of the Great King.”
“Excellent. Bring those trays you speak of. The sooner we sit on them, the better,” commented the Monkey King.
As they were discussing these matters, they heard a great commotion outside the door—voices mixed with the beating of drums and gongs. The entire village had gathered before the house, carrying torches and lanterns, and were insistently shouting:
“Bring out the boy and the girl—now!”
While the elders gave way to weeping, four attendants lifted the trays and carried them out of the house.
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