At thirty-seven, I first heard the name Jingjing, famed for her white bones.

As the saying goes, "Where mountains rise high, monsters dwell; where ridges stand steep, spirits are born." Now, after leaving the Longevity Mountain, Tang Sanzang and his four disciples journeyed west for another half month, passing through desolate mountains and wild terrain, with scarcely a soul in sight.

Though their time at the Five Villages Temple had cleansed their mortal bodies with the fruit of ginseng, each day they could only fill their stomachs with dried food and wild berries, leaving them quietly lamenting their hardship.

On such a day, after traveling for half a day, they encountered yet another towering, perilous mountain to the west. Its peaks overlapped, ravines twisted and deep. Tigers and wolves marched in formation, roe and deer gathered in herds. Countless wild boar clustered together, foxes and hares crowded the hillsides. Giant pythons, a thousand feet long, and serpents stretching ten thousand yards slithered. The pythons spewed mist, the serpents exhaled strange winds. Brambles sprawled beside the path, pines and firs flourished on the ridges, vines and creepers blanketed the landscape, and everywhere, between leaves and branches, lingered an eerie sense.

"Wukong, look at these high mountains and treacherous waters—is it possible that monsters lurk here?" Tang Sanzang, riding his dragon horse, asked fearfully.

"Master, even if monsters are here, they wouldn't dare appear. Don't worry!"

Sun Wukong replied, then had Bear Rice carry the load, took out the last piece of flatbread, and handed it to Tang Sanzang: "Master, you must be hungry? Why not eat this bread to stave off your hunger?"

"Wukong," Tang Sanzang replied, displeased at seeing only flatbread again, "Though monks pay little mind to the pleasures of taste, subsisting each day on dry bread and wild fruit is not a long-term solution."

"Master, you're right! But here there is neither village ahead nor shop behind. If you wish for vegetarian rice and dishes, where could I beg for them?"

Tang Sanzang set down the bread and asked, "You often speak of riding clouds for thousands of miles—why not find a place to fetch some cooked rice and vegetables? How hard could it be?"

Sun Wukong, sensing Tang Sanzang's frustration, dared not argue further and laughed awkwardly, "All right, all right, Master, sit down and rest. I'll go see if there are any households nearby where I might beg for food!"

With that, Sun Wukong leapt into the clouds, shading his eyes to look around. Yet the road west was barren, desolate—no sign of human habitation. To the south, atop a high mountain, he spotted a patch of bright red peach trees, but he was reluctant to go there. He searched in other directions but found nothing, so he descended and said, "Master, there's a grove of ripe mountain peaches on the southern mountain. I'll pick some for you to eat."

Hearing there were peaches, Tang Sanzang's mouth watered with joy. "Even wild peaches are a thousand times better than this bread. Wukong, hurry and pick some for me to try!"

"Yes, sir! You all watch over Master, I'll be back soon!" Sun Wukong hopped away, but before leaving, he circled Tang Sanzang with his golden staff, drawing a ring, and ushered Pigsy, Sandy, and Bear Rice inside.

"Hehe, Monkey Brother, are you cursing us by drawing circles on the ground?" Pigsy asked cheerfully.

"This is the demon-banishing ring I learned at Mount Fangcun. If any monster approaches, it will trigger a glow," Sun Wukong explained, then pulled Pigsy aside: "Pigsy, I used the Wind-grabbing method to scout around. Deep in these woods, it seems a great demon is hiding."

"What? A monster?!" Pigsy instantly became alert, grabbed his rake, and retreated into the ring, standing guard behind Tang Sanzang, eyes scanning the surroundings.

"If that's so, old Sun will go now!" Seeing Pigsy ready, Sun Wukong felt reassured and soared toward the southern mountain to pick peaches…

…

Meanwhile, deep within the mountain forest in White Bone Cave, a graceful and beautiful woman was applying powder to her face before a bronze mirror when a whistle sounded. A tiger demon entered to report, "Madam, a group of monks has been spotted passing below the mountain. Shall we capture them or not?"

"Monks?" The woman hesitated, then asked, "What do they look like?"

The tiger demon replied, "The one riding a white horse, his lips red and teeth white, skin tender—seems to be an accomplished monk. But his four followers—a pig-headed monster with a long snout and big ears, a giant brute over twelve feet tall, a burly black bear spirit—all look fierce and uncouth, hardly like proper people."

"Oh? Is there a monk among them with a hairy face and thunderbolt mouth?" the woman asked urgently.

"There is, but he just flew south, no idea for what purpose! Do you know him, Madam?" the tiger demon asked curiously.

"He is Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven who caused havoc in heaven five hundred years ago. Now he escorts Tang Sanzang to the West to fetch scriptures," the woman's eyes flickered with a subtle tenderness as she spoke softly.

"Ah? He is the demon king Sun Wukong? How did he become a monk?" the tiger demon exclaimed.

"I imagine he was forced by the Buddha of the West through great means…" the woman sighed. "No matter the reason, I must save him, whether for public or private reasons!"

"How will you save him?"

"Tiger Yifan, gather all the little demons in the cave and head west along the road. Spread word that the monk Tang Sanzang from the East is the reincarnation of Golden Cicada from Spirit Mountain. Whoever eats a piece of his flesh will gain immortality!"

"Yes, Madam, I'll go at once!" The tiger demon was about to leave, then turned back and asked, "What about you, Madam?"

"I will stay and find a way to rescue Sun Wukong from the grasp of the Buddhist order!" the woman replied.

"Madam, the Western Heaven is powerful. Please don't provoke them!" the tiger demon urged.

"Hmph! Five hundred years ago, he sacrificed himself to feed the Buddha, just to save my master, the Fairy of the Silk Cave. Today, as her disciple, I must risk my life to rescue him from suffering!"

"Madam, think carefully! I saw Sun Wukong earlier—he's already entranced, no longer the demon king of old!"

"Hmph, whether he is or isn't, I, Bai Jingjing, must try regardless! Tiger Yifan, go now. Leave this place to me!"

The graceful woman named Bai Jingjing transformed herself into a maiden of exquisite beauty, her brows slender, lips red and teeth white. She carried a blue sand jar in her left hand and a green ceramic bottle in her right, left the cave, and headed east toward Tang Sanzang.

Tang Sanzang spotted her from afar and exclaimed in surprise, "Disciples, Wukong said there were no people here, yet look—a person approaches!"

Pigsy sat up, took a closer look, and saw a young maiden approaching. Delighted, he said, "Master, you all sit tight. Let me go see what’s what."

He dropped his nine-toothed rake, straightened his robe, put on an air of refined manners, and shyly approached: "Lady Bodhisattva, where are you headed? What do you carry in your hands?"

Bai Jingjing disliked the pig, but smiled and replied, "Elder, in this blue jar is fragrant rice, and in the green bottle is stir-fried gluten. I left home to offer them to a traveler, to comfort my mother's devotion to Buddha."

Pigsy was overjoyed, patted his belly, and hurried back to Tang Sanzang: "Master, good news, good news!"

Sandy asked, "Second Brother, what’s the good news?"

"As the saying goes, 'The virtuous are favored by Heaven.' Master just said he was hungry, and now a kind lady Bodhisattva brings vegetarian meals—isn't that good news?"

Tang Sanzang was hesitant, "Pigsy, we've traveled so long without seeing a soul. How could a lady Bodhisattva suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

"Master, she was far as the horizon, now close at hand!" Pigsy laughed, helping Tang Sanzang up and pointing behind him, "Look, she's already here!"