Journey to the West: Part 01

In the Western Continent of Niuhe, there lay a nameless mountain, at the foot of which nestled Chen Family Village. Rumors of mountain spirits had circulated for three generations. Not daring to risk their lives, the villagers had followed a rule established in some long-forgotten era: every year, in early autumn, they would select a girl of twelve or thirteen, wrap her in red cloth, and leave her at the mountain pass as an offering to the spirits. This practice continued year after year.

Most of these girls were carried off by wild beasts; others starved to death.

No one knew that the true "mountain lord" of the nameless mountain was a black-maned bear demon who had cultivated for three hundred years. It occupied a sun-facing cave dwelling, usually keeping to its own territory without disturbing the people below. Even the lesser demons in its cave only dared to forage deep within the mountains.

That year, in early autumn, a young wolf demon on patrol passed the mountain pass and overheard two villagers crouching behind a rock, cursing: "That black-hearted mountain lord! Takes our girls but doesn't protect our village. We even lost two pigs the other day!"

The young wolf demon paused for a moment, then scurried back to the cave dwelling, relaying the words verbatim to the Bear King. The bear demon had been munching on wild fruit. Upon hearing this, it crushed the pit in its paw: "When have I ever taken their girls? To slander my name for nothing!"

The more it thought, the angrier it became. Finally, fueled by rage, it descended the mountain. A dark wind swept through, and the black bear demon manifested its form, blocking the entrance to Chen Family Village. Its roar shook the leaves from the old locust tree at the village entrance: "Bring out your village chief! Explain clearly, when did I ever demand your people?"

The village erupted into chaos. After a long while, the village chief came trembling out. He shivered at the sight of the bear demon—so the legends were true?

He waved his hand, and several villagers hurried out carrying a cloth sack. Seeing the bear demon's fierce blue face and tusks, they hesitated to approach. The bear demon wasn't intentionally trying to look fearsome; it was mainly furious. A vegetarian demon like itself, being falsely accused of eating people—was there no justice?

"Great King, please calm your anger! We have been neglectful. This year's girl... please accept her first. From now on, our village will surely offer tribute every year!" As he spoke, the chief pulled open the sack. Inside cowered a girl in a coarse cloth dress, about thirteen or fourteen, her face pale as paper, yet her eyes were wide open, staring straight at the bear demon.

The bear demon was stunned. It had come for an explanation, so why were they shoving a person at it again? Looking at the girl, he saw no fear in her eyes, only a stubborn defiance. She suddenly spoke: "If you are truly the mountain lord, then don't harm our villagers! Otherwise... otherwise you're just a bully picking on the weak!"

The bear demon was taken aback by her words. Looking again at the chief's fawning, cowardly expression, it suddenly felt disheartened. It waved a paw, sweeping the chief aside, and said to the girl: "I won't kill you, and I don't want your offerings. If you're willing, come with me back to the cave. Better that than being left here as a sacrificial offering." It wasn't stupid; upon careful thought, it understood the gist of the situation. It couldn't inexplicably shoulder this debt. So it continued gruffly, "Otherwise, I'll flatten this wretched village of yours!"

The girl was named Chen A Cui. Her parents were long gone, leaving only a blind grandmother. Earlier, when the chief and villagers had clamored about needing someone to sacrifice herself to protect the village, she had hesitated. But seeing their pleading eyes, she had gritted her teeth and agreed. Hearing the bear demon's words, she clenched her jaw and nodded: "I'll go with you. But you must promise I can return to see my grandmother later."

The bear demon agreed. Before leaving, it left a final statement: "From now on, having her is enough. I don't need you to contribute any more girls. Understood?"

The chief nodded like a pestle pounding garlic.

For the next year, A Cui lived peacefully in the cave dwelling. The bear demon looked fierce but never let her suffer. It even taught her to identify medicinal herbs in the mountains. A Cui gradually lost her fear of it, sometimes even laughing at it for getting fruit juice all over its face while eating wild fruit. The other lesser demons in the cave also got along well with her. Most of these little demons were simple-minded, not nearly as vicious as others claimed.

At the start of the following year, A Cui dreamed her grandmother was ill. Weeping, she begged the bear demon to let her return. Though reluctant, the bear demon escorted her to the mountain pass: "If anyone bullies you, call my name. I will come at once."

A Cui returned to Chen Family Village, only to find her dilapidated hut splattered with black dog's blood. Her grandmother lay on the kang, her face sallow. Neighbors either hid from her or cursed: "You, the mountain lord's little concubine, dare to return! Don't bring your bad luck upon our village!"

Only then did A Cui learn that after she left, the villagers had spread rumors everywhere that she had been taken by the mountain lord to be his fortress wife.

Her grandmother, being blind, couldn't defend them. She endured cold and hunger, often pelted with stones by children. A Cui held her grandmother and cried. She tried to explain to the villagers that the bear demon had never harmed anyone, but no one listened. They only believed what they wanted to believe—that "demons eat people"—and refused to believe a "demon's woman."

As days passed and the villagers saw no bear demon following her, their courage grew. First, they stole the medicinal herbs A Cui gathered. Later, they even threw dung at her doorstep, cursing her for being "shameless" and "involved with a demon." A Cui's grandmother, already ill, hearing such filthy insults, choked on her anger and died.

A Cui buried her grandmother and stayed in the empty house. Watching the villagers who spat as they passed her door, she truly couldn't understand: in this world, which was more terrifying, humans or demons?

Not long after, news suddenly spread through the village: a eminent monk from the Great Tang in the East, on a pilgrimage for scriptures, was passing by. This eminent monk had a senior disciple capable of slaying demons and monsters. Moreover, it was said even the king treated the monk with great respect. The official who delivered the news put on airs: "The king says, behave yourselves! Don't cause any trouble!"

The villagers, fearing demons but fearing officials more, gathered to discuss. Suddenly, someone remembered A Cui: "She lived with a demon, she's half-demon herself! If the eminent monk sees her, he might think our village is an unlucky place, and then..." Once spoken, everyone fell silent.

That night, dozens of villagers surrounded A Cui's hut with torches. When the door was broken down, A Cui was still offering incense at her grandmother's memorial tablet. She watched helplessly as the villagers set her house ablaze. In her mind flashed the memory of her agreeing to go with the bear demon to protect them. As the flames licked at her skirt, the tears in her eyes dried up, leaving only venomous hatred: "If I become a ghost, I will make you pay with your lives!"

When the fire died, the roof beams collapsed. But that very night, Chen Family Village was haunted. First, villagers who had cursed A Cui were choked by a ghost until they gasped for breath. Then, those who burned the house kept hearing a woman weeping at night. Finally, even the village chief's cooking stove was overturned.

In just three days, every household in the village was terrified, and no one dared go out.

It was at this moment that Tang Seng and his disciples arrived. Sun Wukong, seeing the village shrouded in deathly stillness, pulled out his golden-hooped staff and was about to charge in, but was stopped by Tang Seng. Bajie went to knock on a door. The person inside trembled and explained the reason: "There's... a vengeful spirit haunting us! A girl who was burned to death. She wants to kill us all! We beg the eminent monk to save us!"

They knelt in a crowd, kowtowing and pleading incessantly.