Wukong’s motive for freezing the Seven Fairy Maidens

In Journey to the West (Chapter 5), why did Sun Wukong immobilize the Seven Fairy Maidens sent to pick peaches and rush to the Jade Pool? Was he suspicious they lacked the Queen Mother’s authorization?

Encounter with the Barefoot Immortal

After leaving the Peach Orchard, Wukong met the Barefoot Immortal en route to the Peach Banquet. The immortal’s revelation confirmed the banquet’s imminence — prompting Wukong to deceive him, assume his form, and head to the Jade Pool alone.

Now get back to the original question. Why would Wukong immobilize the maidens before leaving the Peach Orchard?

Core Motive: Preventing Intelligence Leakage

The Seven Fairy Maidens arrived under the Queen Mother’s orders to harvest peaches for the banquet. Upon entering the orchard, they discovered:

• Most large peaches had vanished.
• Wukong himself was present.

Fearing they would report his theft to the Jade Emperor or Queen Mother, risking his title as “Great Sage Equalling Heaven” and exile to Flower-Fruit Mountain, Wukong used the immobilization spell(Body-freezing spell) on them.

A Tactical Delay for Defiant Acts

This was instinctive emergency avoidance:

• Severing the information chain bought him critical time.
• He exploited this window to raid the banquet — stealing celestial wine and elixirs — before fleeing Heaven.