Tricked Again

Journey to the West 36 Tricked Again

Why won’t Wukong help us?” the horse asked Bajie. The pig sighed. “ He told us not to look for him if we needed help. Plus I kept telling Master to use the Tight Headband spell. I’ll bet the monkey is really mad at me. ” “ That doesn’t matter now, ” said the horse. “ You must get Wukong to come back. ”

Bajie hesitated for a moment and then leaped onto a cloud. He soared through the sky and soon arrived at the Fruit and Flower Mountain. He found Wukong sitting beside the big waterfall. Other monkeys and apes were nearby. They held swords and spears. They stared at Bajie silently. “ Hello, Wukong, ” said the pig. “ This is a lovely mountain. ”

Wukong scowled. “ What are you doing here, Bajie?” The pig looked at the ground. “ The Tang Monk would like you to come back, ” he mumbled. “ Well, that’s too bad, ” said Wukong, standing up. “ He told me to leave. I’ll never help him again. ” “ Please come back, ” said Bajie. “ We all miss you. ”

“ I don’t miss you, ” said Wukong. “ You told Master to use the Tight Headband spell. I should take out my iron bar and clobber you! ” Bajie forced a laugh. “ I was just joking, Wukong. I knew you were really just protecting Master. ” “ It wasn’t funny, ” said Wukong. “ That spell really hurts!

The pig began to cry. “ Please come back. The Tang Monk is in danger—big danger. A monster turned him into a tiger. And Wujing was captured. ” Wukong shrugged. “ Just tell the monster that you’re friends with me, the Monkey King. He’ll be scared and leave all of you alone. ” “ Oh, I did tell him about you, ” Bajie lied.