ENG
Three Yangs converge, life springs forth anew,
The celestial stone holds sun and moon's hue.
From an egg, a monkey's path is laid,
A future arises with his form made.
Within, no form to recognize,
Without, a shape before everyone's eyes.
Talented ones emerged through ages,
How few achieved the Dao among kings and sages!
The table was a mess, and after three rounds of drinks, the two sitting across from each other were completely hammered.
"Bajie, my brother, I'm done being the Victorious Fighting Buddha. Whoever wants the darn title can have it," Wukong said, his face red and blood boiling. It was unclear whether he was truly drunk or just pretending.
Bajie, straightforward as always, replied, "Brother, enlightenment we've attained. Being free, we can drink to our hearts' content. Shouldn't we be happy?"
Wukong sneered, "Yes, attaining Buddhahood for the removal of my headband was indeed a good deal."
"Exactly. With the headband gone, you don't have to fear Master chanting anymore. Doesn't call for two more toast?" Bajie said, still trying to persuade Wukong to drink more, despite his own muddled state.
"Bajie, you enjoy drinking, but if someone wanted to have you served as their side dish for drinking, would you still be this happy?"
"Who wants to eat me? My nine-toothed rake won't allow it," Bajie said, slamming the table.
"Well, that would be much more difficult than you think," Wukong waved his hand dismissively, his face disdainful. "If they wanted to eat you, there wouldn't even be bones left."
"They? Who are you talking about?"
"Let me ask you, on our journey, how many yaoguais did we encounter? And how many did we kill?"
"Too many! Lost count. Remember? Whenever you get bored or lazy, you'd send me to clear out those caves and lairs."
"Not counting the lesser ones, how many of the powerful ones did we kill?"
"I don't remember...probably killed them all."
"Setting aside the tree guais from the Wood Immortal Hut and those seven spiders, we killed less than half of the ones we fought."
"Seven...seven spiders? Oh, I remember now."
"The other half, we didn't kill. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because we mustn't kill them."
"Hmph, that was before. Now we're celestial beings ourselves. If it pleases us, we can go kill them now!"
Wukong sighed, "Bajie, why don't we resign from our positions and retire? I'll go back to my mountain, and you can return to your village."
Bajie was stunned, not understanding why Wukong suddenly changed the topic.
"I’m not going back. If you want to leave, go ahead. Now, I don't have to lift a finger, and there’s an endless supply of tributes and all kinds of delicacies. If I go back, I'll have to work the fields. I can't bear the toil!"
"These tributes should go to those who need them more. If we eat them, those people will have less to eat."
"What happened to you? Weren't all our struggle just for this? Don't tell me you wish to go begging for alms with our master like before!"
"Forget it, forget it. Let's drink."...
Bajie couldn't remember when Wukong left the table.
Before he blacked out from drinking, the last thing he remembered his brother said was—
"Immortality? It's not for me."
The poem at the top is the backstory in a few lines: a monkey is born from a celestial stone after three Yangs converge, which sets his life on a special path. It says the monkey comes from an egg inside the stone, grows into a remarkable being, and that some rare people become truly enlightened or achieve the Dao, but very few ever do among rulers and sages.
The scene that follows takes place at a messy table after three rounds of drinking. Wukong and Bajie are sitting across from each other and are very drunk. Wukong suddenly declares he is done being the "Victorious Fighting Buddha" and seems fed up. It isn’t clear if he’s just pretending to be drunk or actually drunk. Bajie answers practically: they’ve already attained enlightenment, so now they can relax and drink freely. Wukong also mentions that getting rid of his headband and no longer having to fear the Master’s chanting was a big part of his decision.
The conversation turns to their past battles with yaoguai (demons). Wukong asks how many of the powerful opponents they actually killed and points out that, excluding minor ones, they killed less than half. He specifically mentions not counting the tree demons at the Wood Immortal Hut and the seven spiders. Wukong reminds Bajie that there were many powerful enemies they didn’t kill, and Bajie had assumed they’d killed most of them. Wukong explains the reason they left many alive before was that they were not supposed to kill those targets.
Bajie reacts by saying that now they are celestial beings they could kill those remaining enemies if they wanted. Wukong instead proposes that they should resign their positions and retire: Wukong would return to his mountain and Bajie to his village. Bajie is shocked. He’s comfortable with tributes and food and doesn’t want to go back to farming, and he worries that giving up this life would mean begging for alms again with their Master. Wukong argues the tributes should go to people who need them more and that he does not want the obligations tied to his title.
Bajie blacks out from drinking and can’t remember exactly when Wukong left. The last thing he hears before passing out is Wukong’s final line: "Immortality? It's not for me." That leaves a clear implication: Wukong is rejecting his celestial title and the trappings of immortality and is reconsidering his path and responsibilities, creating tension between his desire for freedom and the role he has been given.