Chapter 48: Thrice Beating The White Bone Spirit
However, on the wedding night, as Ao Tu was about to leave, he was pulled back by Qiao Er.
Ao Tu asked: “What’s wrong?”
Hearing this, Qiao Er felt nervous and her mouth went dry.
She originally wanted to make an excuse that if Ao Tu left, they might be discovered by others.
But when Ao Tu asked her, she couldn’t utter a single lie or excuse.
She could only look at Ao Tu with expectant eyes and say sincerely:
“I, I want you to stay.”
Ao Tu said: “Alright, then let’s blow out the light and sleep!”
He blew out the red candle, and Qiao Er lay tensely and expectantly on the bed.
Ao Tu closed his eyes and lay beside her, merely cultivating Qi and preserving spirit.
After a long silence, Qiao Er finally mustered her courage and took the initiative to hold Ao Tu’s hand.
Ao Tu opened his eyes and looked over.
He was not a mortal, so even at night, he could see clearly.
The young woman had almond eyes and arched brows, a pretty appearance, and she shyly said: “Sir, take me!”
Ao Tu said: “Do you want to treat a play as reality?”
Qiao Er quickly nodded: “Yes!”
Ao Tu said: “You are just a mortal. After this, I will definitely abandon you without the slightest hesitation. If you cooperate in acting, I will give you a thousand gold and ensure your lifelong wealth and honor; if you seek momentary pleasure and treat a play as reality, I won’t want you, nor give you any gold and silver. When we meet again, it may be a hundred years later, and you will have already turned into a handful of yellow earth.”
Qiao Er was stunned and lowered her head.
Ao Tu said no more and continued cultivating Qi and preserving spirit.
Moments later, a warm and soft body embraced him, with snow-white arms carrying the young woman’s warm fragrance.
That night passed without words; the mortal woman was ultimately delicate and could not withstand the favor.
The next day at dawn, Qiao Er was still curled in his arms, greedily clinging to the gentleness, not yet awake.
Ao Tu took out two fruits from his divine light, let her smell them, then put them away.
It was not that Ao Tu was stingy.
Just smelling them was already the best.
Giving them to her to eat would instead harm her.
In the following days, life was peaceful and serene, the two like a real ordinary husband and wife.
Sparse fence and low house let in the dawn light, husband and wife tilling together toward the north hill.
At noon by the field resting in tree shade, earthenware pot holding water with deep affection.
Wife cooking beans and rice with fragrant steam, husband hunting fox and rabbit with busy steps.
At dusk sending the setting sun back to the fields, late at night sitting around with frost-like moon.
Now, after Tang Sanzang and his disciples left Longevity Mountain, they traveled more than a month on flat roads. This day, they saw a high mountain ahead.
Tang Sanzang said: “Disciples, the mountain ridge ahead is dangerous; everyone must be very careful.”
Wukong said: “Master, rest assured.”
He leaped onto a high cliff, twirled the iron rod, and roared. The wolves and insects scattered in fright, tigers and leopards fled.
Tang Sanzang was startled on horseback.
Entering the mountains, after walking a long time, Tang Sanzang said: “Wukong, I’m hungry today. Go beg for some food.”
Wukong said: “Master, in this halfway up the mountain, there is no sign of people. Even with money, there’s nowhere to buy; where to find food?”
Tang Sanzang was displeased and scolded: “You monkey! Remember when you were in the Two Realms Mountain, pressed under a stone chest by Tathagata, unable to move body or feet. It was I who saved your life, ordained you with the tonsure and precepts, making you my disciple. How can you refuse to exert yourself and always harbor laziness!”
Wukong said: “This disciple is diligent every day; when have I ever been lazy?”
Tang Sanzang said: “If you are diligent, why not beg for food for me to eat? How can I walk with a hungry belly? Don’t say there’s nowhere to beg. You have the ability to soar cloud and ride mist; what place can’t you find food?”
Wukong said: “Master, don’t blame me. This place has treacherous mountains; this disciple fears going too far and a demon coming to harm you. You dismount and sit steadily; Ba Jie and Junior Brother Sha protect Master while I go look.”
Wukong somersaulted up to the clouds, shaded his eyes with his hand, and looked around.
He saw the mountains very desolate, no villages or houses, only a few wooden houses on the west side of the mountain ridge, with some demonic aura permeating—not a good place.
After looking a long time, he saw a high mountain directly on South Mountain. On its sunny side, there was a patch of bright red dots.
Wukong landed and said: “Master, there’s food.”
Tang Sanzang asked what it was.
Wukong said: “No houses in these mountains to beg rice from. That South Mountain has a patch of red, surely ripe wild peaches. I’ll pick a few to tide you over.”
Tang Sanzang happily said: “For monks, peaches are not bad. Go quickly.”
Wukong rode the clouds to South Mountain to pick peaches.
The White Bone Spirit, following Ao Tu’s arrangement, saw Wukong leave, then came out, using a fake corpse as incarnation, left hand carrying a basket, right hand holding an earthenware pot, heading straight for Tang Sanzang.
Seeing her, Tang Sanzang said: “Ba Jie, Sha Seng, Wukong just said this is a desolate wild with no one. Look, isn’t there a person coming from afar?”
Ba Jie said: “Master, you and Sha Seng sit; let old pig go see.”
Ba Jie set down the plum blossom pitchfork, straightened his clothes, and ran over to look.
Seeing it was a woman, beautiful, he dropped his guard and asked:
“Female Bodhisattva, where are you going? What’s in your hand?”
Seeing Ba Jie unafraid, White Bone Spirit said:
“Elder, in this basket are steamed buns of white flour, in the earthenware pot fragrant rice. Originally for my family, but seeing several elders here, I came specially to offer food to monks.”
Hearing this, Ba Jie was overjoyed. He hurried back and reported to Tang Sanzang:
“Master! Good people are blessed by heaven! Master is hungry, sent senior brother to beg food, that monkey doesn’t know where to pick peaches. Too many peaches would make you sour. Look, a female Bodhisattva offering food to monks has come?”
Tang Sanzang saw the woman carrying the basket coming from afar, quickly stood, put palms together at chest, and said:
“Female Bodhisattva, where is your home? Why come here to offer food to monks?”
White Bone Spirit said: “Master, this mountain is called White Tiger Ridge. Below due west is my home. My parents are deceased; I live with elder brother and sister-in-law. Brother has father-in-law and mother-in-law at home, and another brother. Now brother and sister-in-law are farming on North Mountain; this is the lunch I cooked to send them. Meeting three elders on the road, I offer this rice for monks. If not disdainful, it’s a small token of diligence.”
Tang Sanzang said: “Excellent! Excellent! I already have a disciple picking fruit. I dare not eat this rice; if I eat your rice, your brother and sister-in-law would scold you—wouldn’t that put sin on me and the monk?”
White Bone Spirit said: “Master, you don’t know: my brother and sister-in-law are devoted to Buddha, often give alms, vow to offer food to monks. If they knew this rice was given to Master, they would be delighted.”
Tang Sanzang still wouldn’t eat.
Ba Jie complained: “Master, you really have no decision. Ready-made rice you won’t eat; now it’s three shares, but when that monkey comes, it’ll be four.”
Saying this, he picked up the basket to eat.
Wukong, from the top of South Mountain, picked a few peaches, rode clouds back, saw the woman, opened his fiery golden eyes to look, recognized her as a demon, drew the iron rod, and struck at her head.
White Bone Spirit, seeing this, used the “corpse-releasing spell”; as Wukong struck, her true body had already left early, leaving the fake corpse, which Wukong smashed on the ground.
Tang Sanzang was terrified and said: “You brazen monkey! How could you casually take a life!”
Wukong said: “Master, that woman is a demon trying to deceive you!”
Tang Sanzang said: “Clearly a good woman from a respectable family, kindly offering food to us—how is she a demon?”
Yet the corpse on the ground was a real one, just smashed.
The basket fallen on the ground held steaming hot steamed buns.
The earthenware pot shattered, spilling fragrant rice.
Wukong could not explain clearly now.
