Chapter 28: Quicksand Hard To Cross
However, Ba Jie rested for two days and then went to subdue the demon again.
On Ao Tu’s side, every day he scattered a handful of Red Sand, suppressing Sun Wukong’s physical body and soul, preventing him from escaping.
Ba Jie came over, and Ao Tu had Tiger Vanguard temporarily guard the Formation, while he transformed into Tiger Vanguard’s appearance and went out to meet the battle.
Ba Jie wielded the Plum Blossom Pitchfork and shouted:
“You vicious Fierce Tiger who harms people, you have committed so many sins, today your Pig Grandpa will come to eliminate you this monster!”
Ao Tu said: “You good Pig Demon, last time I beat you until you pissed your pants in terror, today you come to court death again, do you intend to stuff Great King to death?”
Ba Jie said: “Don’t boast, last time I was caught off guard, take this pitchfork!”
With that, he thrust the pitchfork forward.
Ao Tu raised his blade to meet it, gold and iron clashed, sparks flying everywhere.
Ba Jie said in surprise: “How did you, this beast, gain so much strength?”
Ao Tu laughed: “It’s that your Pig Demon lacks strength, watch me chop off your pig trotters to stew and eat!”
Ba Jie flew into a rage and once again raised the pitchfork to strike.
Ao Tu fought with him, holding back, for over thirty rounds, neither gaining the upper hand.
Ba Jie went all out, swinging the pitchfork wildly in all directions.
Ao Tu sheathed his blade, took out the Long Spear, and unleashed a sharp Golden Light.
Seeing this, Ba Jie hurriedly raised the pitchfork to block.
Who would have thought that Golden Light was much more powerful than before; even though Ba Jie raised the pitchfork to block, he was still shaken flying by the Golden Light, his limbs going numb.
Ba Jie said: “You sly Fierce Tiger, you were holding back earlier! As the saying goes, pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger, but today you instead want to eat this old pig of mine!”
Ao Tu said: “You Pig Demon also have some strength, to actually block my Golden Light!”
Ba Jie said: “You haven’t seen your Pig Grandpa’s skills yet!”
With that, he once again raised the pitchfork and charged.
They fought for dozens more rounds; Ba Jie felt this Fierce Tiger’s martial arts were on par with his own, only that Golden Light was somewhat formidable, so he transformed into his true form, charging and crashing about, trampling the earth in the Mountain Forest until it collapsed, uprooting great trees.
Ao Tu angrily said: “You Pig Demon, how dare you damage my Mountain Forest!”
He raised the Long Spear, unleashing over a hundred sharp Golden Lights.
Ba Jie dodged some, took some hits, sustaining many wounds, and was forced to revert from his true form.
Seeing this, Ao Tu pretended to be gasping for breath and said:
“You Pig Demon, you actually didn’t die, you have some skill! Today we shall temporarily withdraw troops; wait until I have my meal, then fight you again.”
Ba Jie knew the Tiger Demon had no strength left and wanted to fight him again, but feared his cunning and hidden reserves, so in the end they each withdrew.
After returning, Ba Jie rested for two days, then came back to fight again.
Ao Tu came out once more to engage.
Every time, Ba Jie felt he was just a little short of defeating Ao Tu, but just couldn’t win.
After more than ten days in a row, Tang Sanzang saw Ba Jie still hadn’t subdued the monster and grew anxious, unable to hold back: “Ba Jie, since you can’t subdue that monster, why not go invite the Bodhisattva.”
Ba Jie said: “That’s fine, but Master, my old pig’s cloud isn’t as fast as Senior Brother’s; you wait here without worrying.”
Tang Sanzang said: “This master is not anxious, go quickly!”
Ba Jie thus rode the cloud, hurrying toward the South Sea.
Tiger Vanguard saw Ba Jie ride the cloud away and immediately reported to Ao Tu; Ao Tu guessed Ba Jie had gone to find help, so he rode the cloud to catch up, shook his body, and transformed into Sun Wukong’s appearance.
Wearing the Phoenix-Wing Purple Gold Crown, clad in the Chain Golden Armor, stepping in Lotus Silk Cloud-Walking Boots, holding a package of exquisite gifts in hand, he overtook Ba Jie on the cloud.
Ba Jie saw this, rubbed his eyes, and hurriedly said: “Senior Brother, Senior Brother!”
Ao Tu stopped his cloud, looked at Ba Jie and said: “Virtuous Younger Brother, why are you here?”
Ba Jie said: “Senior Brother, where have you been? You don’t know, after you left I’ve had it so rough!”
Ao Tu said: “Didn’t I leave Written Silk saying I was going home for a trip?”
Ba Jie said: “Then why didn’t you tell Master face to face?”
Ao Tu laughed: “If I said it face to face, would Master grant me leave?”
Ba Jie said: “Then where are you going now?”
Ao Tu said: “To attend my nephew’s birthday banquet.”
Ba Jie said: “When did you get a nephew?”
Ao Tu said: “It’s the son of Great Power Bull Demon King, with whom I became sworn brothers that year!”
Ba Jie then understood and grumbled:
“You get to go feast! While I’ve been bullied by that monster!”
Ao Tu asked: “What’s going on, tell me quickly?”
Ba Jie then recounted the fierce battles with the Fierce Tiger these past days, lifted his Clothes to reveal many wounds, his Clothes also badly torn.
Ao Tu said: “Virtuous Younger Brother, you’ve suffered; this time it’s this brother’s fault, making you endure so much hardship. Like this, don’t go find the Bodhisattva anymore; the road to South Sea is far and arduous, what if Master is left alone and captured by the monster? Go back and protect Master; wait until I return from the banquet, then I’ll go eliminate that Fierce Tiger.”
Ba Jie pouted and muttered: “Senior Brother, if we can avoid begging others ourselves, that’s good! Just don’t know when you’ll return from this trip?”
Ao Tu said: “A few six or seven days at least, over ten days at most.”
Ba Jie said: “Just attending a banquet, why so long?”
Ao Tu said: “I was suppressed under Five Elements Mountain for five hundred years, long out of touch; catching up shouldn’t take a few extra days?”
Ao Tu took the box of gifts and patted Ba Jie’s shoulder, saying:
“This is the gift I prepared for Bull Demon King; you take it to Master, tell him not to be angry, allow me a few more days’ leave.”
Ba Jie took the gift, felt it had some weight, and showed a bit of delight.
Ao Tu took out a Pearl from his bosom and said:
“This is what I grabbed on the way when I went to East Sea Dragon Palace for tea the day before yesterday; Virtuous Younger Brother, you’ve worked hard subduing demons, your Clothes are ruined, take this as pocket money to buy new Clothes, consider it this brother making amends to you!”
Ba Jie took the Pearl and said delightedly:
“Senior Brother, why are you so good to me, this old pig is a bit unaccustomed!”
Ao Tu said: “When have I ever not been good to you? When I return from the banquet, I’ll bring back a feast for you; just put in good words for me with Master, so he doesn’t chant the Golden Fillet Spell.”
Ba Jie patted his chest: “Senior Brother, rest assured, with your old pig here, you’re safe!”
Ba Jie carried the gift, stuffed the Pearl into his ear to hide it, and returned joyfully.
Seeing Tang Sanzang, Ba Jie told him the whole story, not daring to say Sun Wukong went to Bull Demon King, only that Sun Wukong had a sworn brother he hadn’t contacted in years, now visiting kin, back in over ten days.
He also took out Sun Wukong’s gift and said many good words.
Though Tang Sanzang felt some resentment, he was coaxed over by Ba Jie.
He just still felt over ten days was too long, delaying the Journey for Sutras.
Ba Jie then persuaded that even going to the Bodhisattva would take time round trip, and always seeking the Bodhisattva made them seem useless.
Tang Sanzang listened and found it reasonable, so had to wait patiently.
At that time, Sun Wukong was still trapped in the Formation, with Ao Tu throwing a handful of Red Sand every day, leaving Sun Wukong unable to move.
Thus passed seven or eight days; Tang Sanzang gazed outward every day, watching for Sun Wukong’s return, gradually growing impatient.
Ba Jie said many more good words, and Tang Sanzang barely held back.
Another seven or eight days passed; now it had reached the one-month deadline Sun Wukong left with the Cloth, and Sun Wukong still hadn’t returned.
Tang Sanzang could no longer hold back and said:
“That Evil Beast must have untamable wild nature and doesn’t want to return!”
With that, he began to chant the Golden Fillet Spell.
Ba Jie hurriedly persuaded with kind words, saying Senior Brother might have run into something delaying him a couple days; after much coaxing, Tang Sanzang granted two more days.
Another two days passed, and Sun Wukong still hadn’t returned.
Tang Sanzang would hear no more persuasion and directly chanted the Golden Fillet Spell.
In the Red Sand Formation, Ao Tu as usual grabbed a handful of Red Sand to scatter; at this moment, Golden Light suddenly burst from Sun Wukong’s head, the Golden Fillet Spell activating.
Sun Wukong’s soul, originally dazed by the Red Sand, instantly awoke in pain.
Ao Tu had bombarded Sun Wukong with Red Sand for over thirty days without breaking his steel muscles and iron bones; now with Tang Sanzang chanting the spell, Sun Wukong was instantly squeezed until his ears reddened, face flushed, eyes bulging, head dizzy.
Sun Wukong flipped somersaults, tugged at the Golden Fillet, eyes bloodshot, pain unbearable, even a hundred times worse than the Red Sand in the Red Sand Formation.
Outside, Tang Sanzang chanted five times, then stopped: “If that Evil Beast doesn’t return tomorrow, I’ll chant it twenty times more!”
In the Red Sand Formation, Sun Wukong finally returned to normal; with no sense of time in the Formation, he didn’t know why Tang Sanzang chanted the Golden Fillet Spell, but he knew he must escape this Formation quickly.
It was just that this Formation, he truly couldn’t break through.
In utter helplessness, he suddenly remembered the three Save Life hairs the Bodhisattva had once given him at Eagle Sorrow Gorge of Snake Coil Mountain.
