The four travelers came to a river so clear that the stones on the bottom showed through. An old woman ferried them across. Tang Seng was thirsty and told Bajie to fetch a bowl of water. Bajie, thirsty too, plunged his head into the river and drank his fill. Within half an hour, both Tang Seng and Bajie were doubled over with stomach pain.
Wukong looked for a nearby village where he could find hot water or herbs. When an old woman there heard why Tang Seng was suffering, she burst out laughing and ran off shouting that two men had drunk from the Mother-Child River. Soon a crowd of women gathered.
Wukong asked around and learned this was the Kingdom of Women. There were no men. When a woman reached twenty, she drank from the Mother-Child River and three days later gave birth to a daughter. Tang Seng and Bajie groaned at their bad luck. The old woman laughed and told them not to panic: at the Gathering Immortals Hermitage on Jieyang Mountain there was a Falling-Fetus Spring, and its water would cure them.
Wukong found out where the spring was and rode his cloud to Jieyang Mountain. He asked the hermitage's master, Immortal Ruyi Zhenxian, for water. The moment Ruyi Zhenxian heard the name Sun Wukong, he flew into a rage. He was Red Boy's uncle from Fire Cloud Cave, and he blamed Wukong for making his nephew Guanyin's page boy. No explanation from Wukong made any difference. Ruyi Zhenxian refused to give him a drop.
Wukong lost his temper and attacked. After only a few exchanges Ruyi Zhenxian was beaten and withdrew. Wukong did not chase him. He found the spring in the hermitage and was about to fill a bucket when Ruyi Zhenxian slipped up behind him and hooked his leg with a Ruyi hook. He pulled hard, and Wukong went sprawling face-first into the dirt.
Wukong scrambled up, saw that the immortal had already slipped away, and decided not to chase him. He held his golden cudgel in his left hand and reached for water with his right. But Ruyi Zhenxian came back, cut the well rope, and fled again. Wukong had no time for this game. He decided to fetch Sha Seng for help, somersaulted onto his cloud, and left the hermitage.
Wukong brought Sha Seng back. While Wukong kept Ruyi Zhenxian busy, Sha Seng drew water from the spring. Sha Seng filled a whole bucket, rose on his cloud, and called to Wukong that the water was secured and he could spare the immortal's life. Ruyi Zhenxian still would not stop fighting. Wukong had no choice but to knock him down and snap the Ruyi hook. Then he let him go, and he and Sha Seng hurried back to the village.
Tang Seng and Bajie drank the spring water. Their stomachs rumbled, and the pain passed. The next day the party reached the royal city of the Kingdom of Women. The streets were full of women, and the sight of the travelers drew a curious crowd. Bajie, flustered, let his true face show. The women screamed and scattered.
The travelers finally reached an inn. A female official asked who they were, arranged rooms, and went straight to the palace to report to the queen. When the queen heard that Tang Seng was handsome, she decided to make him king and become his queen. The three ugly disciples could go on to fetch the scriptures.
The queen sent the grand tutor to act as matchmaker and propose to Tang Seng at the inn. Tang Seng refused at once. Wukong, however, said that since the queen was sincere, his master might as well stay. As he spoke, he shot Tang Seng a look. The grand tutor saw Tang Seng lower his head and say nothing, took it as consent, and went back to the palace to report to the queen.
Tang Seng scolded Wukong for talking nonsense. Wukong said that if they refused the marriage, the queen would never agree to exchange their travel documents. The only way out was to pretend to accept and slip away afterward. He then explained the plan in detail. Tang Seng understood, and Bajie and Sha Seng kept praising the scheme.
Before long the queen came in person in her dragon carriage to welcome the bridegroom. Tang Seng hurried out with his disciples. The queen helped him into the carriage and rode with him back to the palace for the wedding ceremony. Tang Seng held on to Wukong, who gave him a look and said, Please, master and mistress, hurry back to the palace and have the travel documents exchanged for me and my junior brothers.
The dragon carriage entered the palace. The queen, all smiles, led Tang Seng to the banquet. Bajie seized the chance to eat his fill. When he had eaten and drunk enough, he shouted as Wukong had instructed: The marriages are done, but the scripture seekers still have a road ahead. Please, Queen, exchange our travel documents now.
The queen went to the hall at once, examined the documents, stamped them with the great seal, and handed them to Wukong. Wukong took them and rose to say farewell. Tang Seng told the queen he wished her to accompany them out of the city so that he could say a few last words to his disciples and show a master's concern. The queen ordered the dragon carriage made ready and went to see them off.
At the west gate Tang Seng stepped down from the carriage, turned, raised his hands in farewell, and said, Please go back, Your Majesty. This poor monk is going to fetch the scriptures. The queen was stunned. She caught his sleeve and cried, Royal brother, we have already drunk the wedding wine. How can you change your mind now? Bajie pulled the queen away, and Sha Seng helped Tang Seng onto the horse.
The officials rushed forward to block the road. Wukong was about to recite a spell and freeze them all when a whirlwind rose. A woman dropped out of the sky, seized Tang Seng around the waist, and shot up into the clouds. In an instant they were gone. Wukong knew it was a demon and leaped onto a cloud to chase the trail of smoke and dust.
Bajie and Sha Seng led the white horse through the clouds after him. The three brothers followed the trail to a high mountain. The smoke scattered, and they lowered their clouds to search. At last, below a cliff, they found a pair of stone doors with the words Poison Enemy Mountain, Pipa Cave carved above them. Wukong said he would go first and scout.
Wukong shook himself and turned into a bee. He flew into the cave and saw a female demon sitting in a pavilion, holding a steamed bun and urging Tang Seng to eat. Tang Seng's face was yellow, as if he had been poisoned, and he kept his mouth shut. The demon told him that being husband and wife with her here would be freer and more comfortable than in the Kingdom of Women.
The demon then made a series of indecent gestures to tease Tang Seng. Wukong could not stand it any longer. He showed his true form and struck with his cudgel. The demon spat out a cloud of smoke and fire that covered the pavilion, and Tang Seng vanished at once. She then raised her fork and attacked Wukong. Wukong fought while retreating, drawing her out of the cave.
Outside Pipa Cave, Bajie and Sha Seng joined the fight with their weapons. The demon saw she was outmatched. She spat out thick smoke, turned her body, and thrust out something from her rear that looked like a nine-jointed steel whip. It struck Wukong on the head. Wukong cried out in pain and ran. Bajie and Sha Seng saw that things were going badly and retreated with him.
The demon returned to her cave in triumph. Wukong crouched on a rock, holding his head and complaining of pain. Sha Seng gently moved his hands away. There was no redness, no swelling, and no wound. They could not understand it. That night Wukong complained of a headache again. The three brothers decided to rest in the open until morning and then go after the demon.
Meanwhile, the demon had Pipa Cave lit up like a bridal chamber. With one arm on Tang Seng's shoulder and a wine cup in her other hand, she struck one seductive pose after another, trying to force him to marry her. Tang Seng kept his eyes shut and his palms pressed together, paying no attention. The demon grew angry and ordered her attendants to tie the ungrateful monk to a pillar.
The next day Wukong's head no longer hurt. He turned into a bee again and flew into the cave. The demon was fast asleep. Tang Seng heard Wukong's voice, wept, and begged him to get him out quickly. But the sound woke the demon. She came over and began cursing Tang Seng.
Wukong flew out of the cave and resumed his true form. He told his junior brothers what had happened to their master the night before. When Bajie heard how vicious the demon was, he lost his temper and smashed the stone door with his rake, leaving nine holes in it. The demon grabbed her double forks and leaped out. After only a few rounds she used the same trick as before and stung Bajie on the lip.
Bajie yelled, covered his mouth, and ran. Wukong had already tasted that sting, so he put away his cudgel and retreated. The demon laughed and said, Sun Wukong, never mind you. Even the Tathagata is a little afraid of me. Then she went back into her cave. The three brothers were wondering what to do when an old woman came along the road. Wukong looked closely and recognized Guanyin.
Wukong and his two junior brothers quickly paid their respects. Guanyin told them the demon was a scorpion spirit. Once, when the Tathagata was preaching, she noticed that the scorpion did not join her palms in respect. He pushed her, and she stung him on the middle finger. To this day the Tathagata's middle finger could not be straightened. Guanyin told Wukong to go to the Bright Palace at the East Heaven Gate and ask the Pleiades Star Lord to subdue the demon. Then she turned and returned to the South Sea.
Wukong went up to heaven at once and soon brought back the Pleiades Star Lord. Seeing that Bajie's mouth hurt too much for him to speak, the star lord touched it and blew a breath of immortal air. The pain stopped. As for subduing the demon, the star lord told them to lure her out and watch his magic.
Bajie and Wukong charged into the cave and drew the demon out. The Pleiades Star Lord stood on a high slope, shook his body, and revealed his original form: a great rooster with a double comb. He crowed, and the demon shuddered and turned back into a scorpion. The rooster crowed again, and the scorpion died on the spot.
After seeing the star lord off, Wukong and his brothers went into the cave. All the maids and serving girls fell to their knees and begged for mercy. Wukong looked at them with his fiery eyes and saw no demonic aura. When he questioned them, he learned that they were ordinary women from the Kingdom of Women, captured by the demon and forced to work as slaves. Wukong set them free at once.
Bajie untied Tang Seng from the pillar. Following his master's instructions, Wukong gave the grain stored in the cave to the women as provisions for their journey home. The women were reluctant to leave and parted from them in tears. Once everyone was out of the cave, Tang Seng and his disciples set fire to Pipa Cave and continued west.