Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The poem says:

In dealing with the world, keep a blade upon the heart;

In cultivating oneself, remember what lies beside an inch.

They say the word "blade" is the stuff of life,

But think thrice and guard against wrath and deceit.

The superior man contends not—this has been passed down through the ages;

The sage embraces virtue and carries it into the present.

For every man of strength, there is one stronger still;

In the end, all returns to emptiness and wrong.

Now, the Great Immortal Zhenyuan supported the Pilgrim with his hand and said, "I know your abilities, and I have heard your fame. But this time you have overstepped all reason and deceived your heart. However much you may struggle, you cannot escape my grasp. Even if I were with you all the way to the Western Heaven and we saw your Buddha himself, he would still have to return my ginseng fruit tree to me. Do not try your magic."

The Pilgrim laughed and said, "Sir, you are being too small-minded. What difficulty is there in reviving a tree? If you had said this earlier, we could have avoided this whole dispute."

The Great Immortal said, "If there were no dispute, would I have been willing to let you off so easily?"

The Pilgrim said, "Release my master, and I will give you back a living tree. How about that?"

The Great Immortal said, "If you have such divine power that you can heal the tree and bring it back to life, I will bow to you eight times and we shall become sworn brothers."

The Pilgrim said, "No problem. Release them, and this old Sun will see to it that you get your living tree back."

The Great Immortal reckoned that he could not escape, so he ordered that Tripitaka, Bajie, and Sha Wujing be released. Sha Wujing said, "Master, I wonder what trick Brother Monkey is up to." Bajie said, "What trick? This is what they call a 'face-to-face favor ghost.' The tree is dead—how can it be revived? He puts on a fine show, pretending he wants to heal the tree, just so he can slip away and save himself, without a thought for you or me." Tripitaka said, "He would not dare abandon us. Let us ask him where he is going to seek the cure." So he called out, "Wukong, how did you trick the immortal into releasing us?"

The Pilgrim said, "This old Sun spoke nothing but the truth. How did I trick him?"

Tripitaka said, "Where are you going to seek the remedy?"

The Pilgrim said, "The ancients said, 'Remedies come from the sea.' I shall now go to the Eastern Ocean and travel to the Three Islands and the Ten Continents, visiting the venerable immortals and holy sages, seeking a method to raise the dead and restore life. I will see to it that the tree is healed and lives again."

Tripitaka said, "How long will you be gone?"

The Pilgrim said, "Only three days at most."

Tripitala said, "Very well, then. I will grant you three days as you say. If you return within three days, all is well. If you do not return after three days, I will recite that sutra."

The Pilgrim said, "I obey, I obey."

Then you see him quickly adjust his tiger-skin skirt, come out, and say to the Great Immortal, "Sir, rest assured—I shall leave and return at once. You must take good care of my master. Every day, three teas and six meals must not be lacking. If anything is missing, when this old Sun returns I will settle accounts with you—first I will smash the bottom of your pots. If his clothes are soiled, wash and starch them for him. If his face looks a bit sallow, I will not accept it. If he has grown a bit thin, I will not go out."

The Great Immortal said, "Go, go. I will certainly not let him go hungry."

The good Monkey King swiftly somersaulted on his cloud, left the Wuzhuang Temple, and headed straight for the Eastern Ocean. In midair, swift as lightning and fast as a shooting star, he soon arrived at the immortal realm of Penglai. He pressed down his cloud and looked carefully below—truly a wondrous place. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

The immortal realm of the great earth, where the assembled sages dwell,

Penglai stands united, calming the surging waves.

The jade terrace's reflection chills the heart of heaven,

The giant gate's radiance floats above the high sea.

Five-colored mist and rosy clouds hold jade-like music,

The ninefold heavens' stars and moon shine upon the golden tortoise.

The Queen Mother of the Western Pool often comes here,

To present peaches to the Three Immortals several times over.

The Pilgrim could not take in all the immortal scenery, so he went straight into Penglai. As he walked along, he saw three old men playing weiqi beneath the shade of pines outside the White Cloud Cave. Watching the game was the Star of Longevity; playing against each other were the Star of Blessing and the Star of Prosperity. The Pilgrim stepped forward and said, "Greetings, old brothers!" When the three stars saw him, they pushed aside the chessboard and returned his greeting. "Where has the Great Sage come from?" they asked.

The Pilgrim said, "I have come especially to have some fun with you."

The Star of Longevity said, "I heard that the Great Sage abandoned the Way for the Buddha, and that you are protecting your master Tang on his journey to the Western Heaven to obtain the scriptures. You are busy on the mountain roads every day—how do you find the leisure to come and have fun?"

The Pilgrim said, "I will not hide it from you all. This old Sun is traveling to the West, and along the way I have run into some trouble. I have come on a small matter—I wonder if you will help me."

The Star of Blessing said, "What place? What trouble? Please make it clear so that we may judge what to do."

The Pilgrim said, "I ran into trouble at the Wuzhuang Temple on Wanshou Mountain."

The three elders were astonished. "The Wuzhuang Temple is the immortal palace of the Great Immortal Zhenyuan. Could it be that you stole and ate his ginseng fruit?"

The Pilgrim laughed and said, "What is so important about stealing and eating it?"

The three stars said, "You monkey, you do not know what is good and what is bad. If you merely smell that fruit, you live three hundred and sixty years. If you eat one, you live forty-seven thousand years. It is called the Elixir of Everlasting Life that bestows longevity. Our own Way cannot compare with his. He obtains it with ease and can live as long as Heaven itself. We, on the other hand, must cultivate our essence, refine our breath, preserve our spirit, harmonize the dragon and tiger, grasp the kan and fill the li—who knows how much effort we must expend? How can you say his fruit is not worth much? There is no other such spiritual root in all the world."

The Pilgrim said, "Spiritual root, spiritual root—I have already cut his root off completely!"

The three elders were alarmed. "How did you cut it off?"

The Pilgrim said, "The day before yesterday we were at his temple. The Great Immortal was not at home, and only two young attendants received our master. They offered our master two ginseng fruits, but he did not recognize them, thinking they were infants not yet three days old, and refused them again and again. The attendants then took them and ate them, offering none to us. This old Sun went and stole three of them, and my two brothers and I ate them. The attendants, not knowing their place, cursed us ceaselessly, calling us thieves before and after. This old Sun grew angry, struck the tree with a blow of his staff, and knocked it to the ground. The fruits were all gone, the branches opened, the leaves fell, the roots were exposed, the limbs wounded—it had withered and died. Then the attendants locked us in, but this old Sun broke the lock and escaped. The next morning at dawn, the master returned home and came after us. In the exchange of words, our speech did not agree, and so we wagered blows with him. He gave a flick of his sleeve, spread it wide, and in one sleeve swept us all away. We were bound with ropes and cords, interrogated under the lash, and beaten for a full day. That night we escaped again, but he caught up with us and once more swept us into his sleeve. He himself had no weapon of any kind, only using his fly-whisk to ward us off. With our three kinds of weapons among my brothers, we could not land a single blow on him. He arranged things once again as before, wrapping our master and two brothers in cloth soaked in lacquer, while he put me down into the oil cauldron. I performed an art of escape and got away, smashing his cauldron to pieces. Seeing that he could not hold me, he bore me some grudge. Then I spoke with him in good terms, telling him to release my master and my brothers, and that I would cure his tree and bring it back to life, so that both sides might have peace. I thought of the line 'coming from across the sea,' and so I have specially roamed through fairylands to visit the three of you, my worthy brothers. If you have any prescription for curing a tree, teach it to me, so that I may swiftly rescue Tang Seng from his suffering."

When the Three Stars heard this, they were troubled in thought and said, "You monkey, you truly do not know your man. That Zhenyuanzi is the Patriarch of Earthly Immortals; we are the Ancestral Lords of the Celestial Immortals. Though you have attained the status of a Celestial Immortal, you are still of the Lesser Vehicle rank, not yet entered into the true current—how could you ever escape his grasp? If the Great Sage had killed beasts, birds, insects, or creatures of scale and fin, you could revive them with a single grain of millet from my elixir. But that ginseng fruit is the root of an immortal tree—how could it be cured? There is no prescription, no prescription." When the Pilgrim heard that there was no prescription, his brows knotted in a double lock, and a thousand furrows creased his forehead. The Star of Blessings said, "Great Sage, if there is no prescription here, there may be elsewhere—why let烦恼 arise so quickly?" The Pilgrim said, "If there is no prescription and I must seek elsewhere, that would indeed be easy—I could roam to the corners of the sea and sky and pass through all thirty-six heavens, and that would still be a small matter. But my Master Tang is strict and narrow-minded in the Law. He gave me only a limit of three days. If I do not return after three days, he will recite that Tightening-Crown Incantation." The Three Stars laughed and said, "Good, good, good! If it were not for this method restraining you, you would have bored your way into the heavens." The Star of Longevity said, "Great Sage, set your mind at ease and do not trouble yourself. Although that Great Immortal is of the senior generation, he is still known to us. First, it has been long since we have visited and paid our respects; second, it is a matter of the Great Sage's goodwill. Now we three shall go together to call upon him and plead this matter before him, telling that monk Tang not to recite the Tightening-Crown Incantation—never mind three days or five days—only wait until you have obtained the prescription, and then we shall take our leave." The Pilgrim said, "I am grateful, most grateful. I ask the three of you, my worthy brothers, to go at once—and I shall depart." The Great Sage took leave of the Three Stars; let us speak no more of that.

Now the Three Stars mounted their auspicious light and went straight to the Wuzhuang Temple. All those in the temple suddenly heard a crane crying in the long sky—it was the Three Elders arriving. They saw:

Auspicious light clustered thick in the abundant air,

Fragrance wafted richly through the Milky Way's expanse.

A thousand colored mists guarded their feathered robes,

A single light cloud supported their immortal feet.

Green simurghs flew, crimson phoenixes soared,

Their sleeves drew fragrant winds that swept the ground.

Dragon staffs hung at their sips, joy and smiles bloomed,

White jade beards flowed down before their chests.

Their youthful faces delighted, free of all care,

Their vigorous bodies mighty, rich in blessings.

They held star tallies, added years to the sea-house,

Gourds and precious registers hung at their waists.

A thousand ages, ten thousand ages of fortune and longevity,

They lodged as they wished in the ten isles and three islands.

They often brought a thousand blessings to the world,

They always added a hundred fortunes to the mortals.

They encompassed the universe, glorifying fortune and blessings,

Boundless fortune and longevity—now joyfully attained.

The Three Elders rode their auspicious light to pay homage on the Great Immortal,

The hall of blessings brimmed with harmony, without end.

The young attendant saw them and hurriedly announced, "Master, the Three Elders from the sea have arrived." Zhenyuanzi was just chatting idly with Tang Seng and his disciples. Hearing the report, he descended the steps to welcome them. When Bajie saw the Star of Longevity, he stepped forward and seized him, laughing, "You old meat-headed fellow, we haven't seen you for ages, and you're still as carefree as ever—you didn't even bring a hat!" Then he took his own monk's cap and slapped it onto the Star's head, clapping his hands and laughing loudly. "Good, good, good! Truly this is 'adding a crown and advancing in blessings'!" The Star of Longevity threw off the cap and cursed, "You blockhead—you great fool who knows no place!" Bajie said, "I'm not a blockhead—you are the real servants!" The Star of Blessings said, "You are the blockhead, and you dare call us servants?" Bajie laughed again and said, "If you are not other people's servants, then you ought to be called 'Adding Longevity,' 'Adding Blessings,' and 'Adding Prosperity'!" Tang Seng scolded Bajie back and hastily straightened his robes to pay respects to the Three Stars.

The Three Stars greeted the Great Immortal with the ceremony due to a junior, and only then were they seated. When they were settled, the Star of Prosperity said, "We have long been separated from your honored countenance and have been remiss in our respect. Now because Sun the Great Sage has disturbed your immortal mountain, we have come to pay our respects." The Great Immortal said, "Has Sun the Pilgrim gone to Penglai?" The Star of Longevity said, "Yes, because he damaged the Great Immortal's elixir tree, he came to us seeking a prescription to cure it. We had no prescription, and he went elsewhere to seek one, but we feared he would exceed the three-day limit set by the holy monk and that the Tightening-Crown Incantation would be recited. We have come first to pay our respects, and second to ask for an extension." When Tang Seng heard this, he responded repeatedly, "I dare not recite it, I dare not recite it."

While they were talking, Bajie came running in again, grabbed hold of Fu Xing, and demanded fruit to eat. He rummaged about in his sleeves, dug at his waist, and kept pulling open his clothes to search him. Sanzang laughed and said, "What manners does that Bajie have!" Bajie replied, "It's not that I have no manners—this is called 'blessing upon blessing.'" Sanzang again ordered him to leave. The fool stepped out the door, glared at Fu Xing, and stared without blinking, working himself into a fury. Fu Xing said, "You lout, what have I done to offend you that you glare at me like that?" Bajie said, "I don't hate you—this is called 'looking back for blessings.'" Once the fool had gone outside, he saw a young lad carrying four teaspoons, just about to go find cups to fetch fruit and serve tea. Bajie snatched them away, ran up into the hall, grabbed a small chime, and began striking it wildly, amusing himself at both ends of the hall. The Great Immortal said, "This monk is becoming even more disrespectful." Bajie laughed and said, "It's not disrespect—this is called 'auspiciousness in all four seasons.'"

But let us leave aside Bajie's clowning and meddling. We tell instead of the Pilgrim, who rode his auspicious cloud away from Penglai and soon arrived at the Immortal Mountain of Fangzhang. This mountain was truly a wondrous place. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

Fangzhang stands lofty, a heaven apart,

The palace of Grand Primal meets immortals of art.

Purple terraces illuminate the Three Pure Ways,

Flowers and trees waft five-colored haze.

Golden phoenixes abound in the palace of coiled jade,

Who forces jade paste to irrigate the fields of herb-peach laid?

Green peaches and purple plums ripen anew,

And immortals exchange their vows for ten thousand years true.

The Pilgrim lowered his cloud and had no heart for sightseeing. As he walked along, he caught a fragrant breeze and the cry of a dark crane. Beyond that wall was an immortal. He saw:

Ten thousand rays of radiance filled the air,

Colored mist drifted and shimmered without cease.

Crimson phoenixes bore flowers, fresher still,

Green simurghs danced with tender trills.

Fortune as vast as the Eastern Sea, longevity like a mountain,

His appearance that of a young boy, his body robust and sound.

His gourd concealed the ageless pill of the cave-heaven's space,

At his waist hung the talisman of everlasting life's grace.

Several times to the mortal world he sent auspicious signs,

Several times in the world he dispelled calamities and designs.

Emperor Wu once summoned him to extend his years,

To the Jasper Lake he often went to the Peach Banquet's cheers.

He taught monks to break from worldly ties,

He pointed out the Great Way, bright as lightning's eyes.

He once crossed the sea to bless a thousand autumns' span,

He often went to Spirit Mountain to visit the Buddha's plan.

His holy title: Great Emperor Lord of the Eastern Florescence,

The foremost immortal of mist and radiance.

Sun Xingzi approached with an awkward face and called out, "Lord, I greet you." The Lord hastily returned the salute and said, "Great Sage, I have failed to welcome you. Please come to my humble abode for tea." He then took the Pilgrim by the hand and led him in. It was indeed a jade palace of immortal abodes—one could not take in all the Jasper Pool and algal halls. They had just sat down to await tea when a young boy emerged from behind a screen of emerald. How was he dressed?

He wore a Daoist robe that shimmered with rosy glow,

At his waist a silk sash with light set aglow.

On his head a gauze scarf patterned with stars of the Dipper's might,

On his feet straw sandals for roaming immortal heights.

He refined the primal true, shed his mortal shell,

When merit was achieved, his heart knew well.

He recognized the source of essence, spirit, and breath,

His master knew him without error or death.

He fled fame and now rejoiced in boundless age,

The cycle of sixty years could not his years engage.

He turned through corridors, ascended the heavenly tower,

Three times he had touched the heavenly peaches' power.

From the misty fragrant clouds behind the emerald screen came he—

This little immortal was Dongfang Shuo, the Pilgrim's old adversary.

The Pilgrim saw him and laughed, "So this little thief is here! There are no peaches at the Lord's place for you to steal!" Dongfang Shuo advanced and bowed, saying, "You old thief, what are you doing here? My master has no immortality pills for you to steal."

The Lord called out, "Manqian, stop your nonsense and bring tea." Manqian was Dongfang Shuo's Daoist name. He hurried inside to fetch two cups of tea. After they had drunk, the Pilgrim said, "Old Sun has come here with a request. I don't know if you will grant it." The Lord said, "What is it? I shall certainly hear you." The Pilgrim said, "Recently, while protecting Tang Sanzang on his journey west, we passed the Wuzhuang Temple on Wanshou Mountain. Because of the insolence of that temple's young attendants, I flew into a rage and pushed over their ginseng fruit tree. We are now detained—Sanzang cannot proceed. I have come to your honored place to beg for a prescription to cure it. I earnestly hope you will generously oblige."

The Lord said, "You monkey, you have no sense of propriety and cause trouble everywhere. That Zhenyuanzi of the Wuzhuang Temple, whose holy title is 'Lord Coeval with the World,' is the ancestor of all earthly immortals—how could you have provoked him? That ginseng fruit tree of his is the Restorative Elixir of herbs. You stole and ate the fruit—that was already a crime—and then you went and pushed over the entire tree as well. How could he let that go?" The Pilgrim said, "Exactly. We escaped, but he caught up with us and gathered us up just like a handkerchief—all of us in his sleeve. So we were frustrated. We had no choice but to promise to seek a cure, and that is why I have come to beg you."

The Lord said, "I have a Nine-Cycled Grand Primal Restorative Elixir, but it can only cure living creatures of the world—it cannot heal a tree. A tree is the spirit of earth and wood, nourished by heaven and moistened by earth. If it were an ordinary fruit tree of the mortal world, it might be curable. But Wanshou Mountain is a primal blessed land, the Wuzhuang Temple is a cave-heaven of Hezhou, and the ginseng fruit is a spiritual root created when heaven and earth first opened. How can it be cured? There is no prescription. There is no prescription."

The Pilgrim said, "Since there is no prescription, old Sun takes his leave." The Lord still wished to keep him for a cup of jade liquid, but the Pilgrim said, "The matter is urgent—I dare not linger." He then rode his cloud to the Yingzhou Isles, also a wondrous place. There is a poem to prove it. The poem says:

Pearl trees of jade gleam in purple mist,

Yingzhou's palaces reach to the heavens' list.

Green mountains and clear waters, exotic flowers bright,

Jade liquid, tempered steel, and iron stones' might.

Five-colored blue roosters cry at the sea's sun,

Thousand-year crimson phoenixes inhale the cinnabar's run.

The world cannot fathom the scenery within the gourd,

Beyond form, spring light endures ten thousand years unbound.

When the Great Sage arrived at Yingzhou, he saw beneath the red cliffs and pearl trees several immortals with white hair and flowing beards, with youthful faces and crane-like hair, playing chess, drinking wine, talking, laughing, and singing. Truly:

Auspicious clouds filled with radiant light, and auspicious mists floated with fragrance. Bright simurghs sang at the cave mouths, and dark cranes danced atop the mountain. Lotus roots and water peaches served as accompaniments to wine; cross pears and fire dates conferred a thousand autumns of longevity. Each of them held no earthly edicts, yet their names were registered in the ledgers of the immortals. Unfettered, they wandered as they pleased; carefree, they indulged in serenity. The cycles of heaven could not constrain them; the vast earth and the universe granted them only freedom. Dark apes bearing tribute fruits followed in pairs, displaying great affection; white deer carrying flowers in their mouths bowed in twines, showing deep devotion.

The old ones were just then enjoying themselves merrily. The Pilgrim cried out in a stern, loud voice: "What harm is there in letting me join the fun?" The immortals, upon seeing him, hurried forward with quick steps to greet him. A poem attests to this. The poem says:

The ginseng fruit tree's sacred root was broken;

The Great Sage sought immortals for a wondrous cure.

Winding crimson mists emerged from the precious grove;

The Nine Elders of Yingzhou came to meet him.

The Pilgrim recognized them as the Nine Elders and laughed, saying: "My old brothers, you are at ease!" The Nine Elders said: "Great Sage, if you had kept to the proper path back then and not caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace, you would be even more at ease than we are. But now it is well—we hear you have returned to the true path and are worshipping the Buddha to the west. How did you find the time to come here?" The Pilgrim recounted in full the matter of seeking a cure for the tree. The Nine Elders were also greatly alarmed and said: "You have truly courted disaster, courted disaster! We truly have no remedy."

The Pilgrim said: "Since you have no remedy, I shall take my leave." The Nine Elders then urged him to stay and drink celestial nectar and eat lotus roots. The Pilgrim absolutely refused to sit; he stood and drank only one cup of nectar and ate one piece of lotus root, then hastily departed Yingzhou and made straight for the Eastern Sea. Soon he saw Mount Luojia not far off, and so he descended the cloud-tops and went straight to Putuo Cliff, where he saw Guanyin Bodhisattva expounding the sutras and preaching the dharma in the Purple Bamboo Grove together with the celestial lords, Muhou, and the Dragon Maiden. A poem attests to this. The poem says:

The sea lord's city looms high with auspicious qi;

Observe further, wondrous events are without end.

Know that beyond the hidden and subtle thousandfold,

All emerge from the singular essence within.

The four sages received the moment and attained proper fruit;

The six ordinary realms, upon hearing, escaped their cages.

Shaolin holds a special true flavor;

Flowers and fruit, fragrant, fill the trees in crimson.

The Bodhisattva had already seen the Pilgrim approaching and ordered the Great Spirit guarding the mountain to go and welcome him. That Great Spirit came out of the grove and called out: "Sun Wukong, where are you going?" The Pilgrim raised his head and shouted: "You black bear—is 'Wukong' a name for you to call? If not for this old fellow sparing you back then, you would have been a corpse ghost of Black Wind Mountain long ago. Today you have followed the Bodhisattva, received the good fruit, and dwell on this immortal mountain, constantly hearing the dharma taught. Shouldn't you call me 'Old Master'?" That Black Bear had truly attained proper fruit; he guarded Putuo at the Bodhisattva's abode and was called the Great Spirit—and indeed he owed it to the Pilgrim. He could only say with an apologetic smile: "Great Sage, the ancients said, 'A gentleman does not dwell on old grievances.' Why keep bringing it up? The Bodhisattva sent me to welcome you." Thereupon the Pilgrim composed himself with reverence and respect, and went with the Great Spirit into the Purple Bamboo Grove to pay his respects to the Bodhisattva.

The Bodhisattva said: "Wukong, where has Tripitaka reached?" The Pilgrim said: "He has reached Longevity Mountain in Western Cattle-Gift Continent." The Bodhisattva said: "On that Longevity Mountain stands the Wuzhuang Temple. Have you met the Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi?" The Pilgrim bowed his head and said: "It was at the Wuzhuang Temple. This disciple did not recognize the Great Immortal Zhenyuanzi and damaged his ginseng fruit tree, offending him. He then detained my master, preventing us from advancing." The Bodhisattva, knowing the circumstances, said reproachfully: "You reckless monkey, you know no better! That ginseng fruit tree is a sacred root opened at the creation of heaven and earth. Zhenyuanzi is the Patriarch of the Earthly Immortals—even I yield him three parts. How could you strike and injure his tree?" The Pilgrim bowed again and said: "This disciple truly did not know. That day he was not at home; only two immortal lads were attending to us. It was Zhu Wunao who knew he had fruits and wanted one to taste something new. This disciple stole three, and the brothers divided and ate them. The lads discovered it and cursed us without end. This disciple flew into a rage and pushed his tree over. He returned the next day and caught up with us, sweeping us all up in one sleeve, binding us with ropes and whipping us, interrogating us for a full day. We escaped that night, but he caught up with us again and swept us up once more. Time and again, truly we could hardly escape. We have already promised to cure his tree, and so I have been seeking remedies on the sea, visiting the three islands in turn, but none of the immortals had the skill. This disciple therefore directed his heart in sincere worship and specially bowed to report to the Bodhisattva, humbly hoping for your compassion and mercy, that you might bestow a remedy to save Tripitaka so he may soon journey west." The Bodhisattva said: "Why did you not come to me sooner, instead of going to the islands to search?"

Hearing these words, the Pilgrim secretly rejoiced in his heart: "Fortune, fortune! The Bodhisattva must certainly have a remedy." He stepped forward and earnestly implored her. The Bodhisattva said: "The sweet dew water at the bottom of my purification vase can cure sacred trees and immortal seedlings." The Pilgrim said: "Has it been tested?" The Bodhisattva said: "It has been tested." The Pilgrim asked: "What was the test?" The Bodhisattva said: "In the past, the Supreme Lord Lao Zi made a wager with me: he took my willow branch and placed it in his elixir-refining furnace, scorching it until it was withered and dry, then returned it to me. I took it and placed it in my vase, and in one day and night it regained its green branches and green leaves, exactly as before." The Pilgrim laughed and said: "Truly fortune, truly fortune! If even a scorched and withered branch can be healed, how much easier must it be to cure one that was merely pushed over?" The Bodhisattva instructed the assembly: "Guard the grove. I shall go and return." Thereupon she held the purification vase in her hand, the white parrot warbling cleverly ahead, and the Great Sage Sun following behind. A poem attests to this. The poem says:

The golden image of the jade-tipped hair is hard to discuss in this world;

She is truly the Venerable One of Compassion who saves the suffering.

In past kalpas she met the Immaculate Buddha;

To this day she has attained an active body.

For many lifetimes she calmed the waves of the sea of desire;

A single field of the heart, free from the slightest dust.

The sweet dew has long passed through the true wondrous dharma;

It will ensure the precious tree enjoys eternal spring.

Now, inside the abbey, the Great Immortal and the Three Elders were engaged in quiet conversation when suddenly the Great Sage Sun descended on a cloud and cried out, "The Bodhisattva has arrived! Quick, go out to receive her!" Startled, the Three Stars, Zhenyuanzi, and the Tang Monk with his disciples all rushed out of the treasure hall to greet her. The Bodhisattva settled her auspicious cloud and first exchanged courtesies with Zhenyuanzi, then bowed to the Three Elders. When the greetings were finished, she took her seat above. Below the steps, Pilgrim led Tripitaka, Eight Rules, and Sandy in bowing to her. The various immortals of the abbey also came to pay their respects. The Pilgrim said, "Great Immortal, do not hesitate any longer. Set up the incense table quickly and ask the Bodhisattva to cure that tree of yours." The Great Immortal bowed deeply and thanked the Bodhisattva, saying, "How could one so insignificant as myself presume to trouble the Bodhisattva to descend from on high?" The Bodhisattva said, "Tripitatha is my disciple, and Sun Wukong has offended you, Master. It is only right that the precious tree be restored." The Three Elders said, "Since that is the case, let us not stand on ceremony any longer. Please, Bodhisattva, come to the garden and have a look."

The Great Immortal then ordered that an incense table be set up and the rear garden swept clean. He invited the Bodhisattva to go first, followed by the Three Elders. When Tripitatha and his disciples, along with the immortals of the abbey, all arrived in the garden to look, they saw the tree lying on the ground, its soil torn open and roots exposed, its leaves fallen and branches withered. The Bodhisattva called out, "Wukong, give me your hand." The Pilgrim extended his left hand. The Bodhisattva dipped her willow branch into the sweet dew in the vase and drew on the palm of his hand a talisman for raising the dead back to life, instructing him to place it beneath the roots of the tree and watch for water to seep out. The Pilgrim made a fist and pressed it against the roots of the tree. In a moment, a clear spring welled up. The Bodhisattva said, "That water must not be touched by any vessel of the Five Phases. You must use a ladle made of jade to scoop it out, raise the tree back up, and pour the water over it from the top down. Naturally the roots and bark will knit together, leaves will grow, branches will turn green, and fruit will appear." The Pilgrim said, "Little Taoist lads, bring me a jade ladle at once!" Zhenyuanzi said, "This poor immortal's deserted mountain has no jade ladle, only jade tea cups and jade wine cups. Would those do?" The Bodhisattva said, "Any jade vessel that can scoop water will do. Bring them and let me see." The Great Immortal then ordered his young pages to bring out some twenty or thirty tea cups and forty or fifty wine cups, and they scooped up the clear spring from beneath the roots. The Pilgrim, Eight Rules, and Sandy hoisted the tree, set it upright, packed earth around it, and one by one carried the sweet water in the jade vessels and presented it to the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva sprinkled the water carefully with her willow branch, chanting incantations as she did so. In no time at all, she had sprinkled all the water that had been scooped out, and the tree was indeed restored, lush and green with dark, dense foliage, bearing upon it twenty-three ginseng fruits. The two pages, Qingfeng and Mingyue, said, "The other day when the fruits went missing, we counted only twenty-two, try as we might. Now that the tree has been revived, why is there one more?" The Pilgrim said, "As the saying goes, 'Only time reveals a person's heart.' The other day I stole only three. The one extra fell to the ground, and the local spirit told me that this treasure sinks into earth upon touching soil. Eight Rules kept complaining that I had cheated him, and so the news leaked and the confusion has persisted until now, when the truth is finally clear." The Bodhisattva said, "The reason I would not allow vessels of the Five Phases just now is that I knew this treasure is hostile to the Five Phases."

The Great Immortal was overjoyed. He immediately ordered that the golden striking mallet be brought and knocked down ten fruits. He invited the Bodhisattva and the Three Elders to return to the treasure hall, both to express his gratitude and to hold a ginseng fruit banquet. The lesser immortals then arranged tables and chairs, set out cinnabar plates, and invited the Bodhisattva to sit in the seat of honor above, the Three Elders on the left, Tripitatha on the right, and Zhenyuanzi in the front seat as host. Each ate one fruit. A poem bears witness:

In the ancient cave-heaven of Longevity Mountain,

The ginseng fruit ripens once in nine thousand years.

The sacred root was laid bare, its shoots and branches damaged,

But sweet dew revived it, restoring fruit and leaves entire.

The Three Elders rejoiced, all old friends meeting again;

The Four Monks were blessed, their fates from lives before.

From this day, all who partake of the ginseng fruit

Shall be immortals of unending life.

At this time, the Bodhisattva and the Three Elders each ate one fruit. Tripitatha then learned for the first time that it was a treasure of the immortals, and he ate one as well. Wukong and his two fellow disciples each ate one, Zhenyuanzi ate one as host, and the immortals of the abbey shared one among them. The Pilgrim then thanked the Bodhisattva and returned to the Potuo Rocks, and saw the Three Elders off to their island of Penglai. Zhenyuanzi then prepared a vegetarian feast and wine, and swore brotherhood with the Pilgrim. Truly, it was a case of "no acquaintance made without a fight," and the two households became one. The master and his three disciples were filled with joy, and as night fell they rested. The elder monk had now:

By fate tasted the elixir of revival,

And through long life endured the trials of demons.

As for how they parted the next day, listen to the explanation in the next chapter.