He came straight up beneath the tree and called aloud to the Tang Monk: "Elder, this humble Daoist salutes you."

貧道起手了 (píndào qǐshǒu le) "this poor Daoist offers his greeting," 起手 a Daoist salute. 長老 (zhǎnglǎo) "elder, reverend," 長 (zhǎng).

The elder hurriedly returned the courtesy: "Forgive me, forgive me for not seeing you sooner."

失瞻 (shī zhān) "I failed to notice you"—a polite self-deprecation on being greeted first. 那長老 (nà zhǎnglǎo) with 長 (zhǎng).

The Great Immortal asked, "From which quarter has the elder come?

那方來的 (nǎ fāng lái de) "from which direction come," interrogative 那 (nǎ) (= 哪).

"And why do you sit in meditation here on the road?"

為何 (wèi hé) "for what reason, why," coverb 為 (wèi). 在途中打坐 (zài túzhōng dǎzuò) "sitting in meditation on the way."

Sanzang said, "This poor monk is one sent from the Great Tang in the Eastern Land to fetch scriptures in the West; passing through here, I take a makeshift rest."

差往西天取經者 (chāi wǎng Xītiān qǔ jīng zhě) "one dispatched to the Western Heaven for scriptures," 差 (chāi) "to send, dispatch" (not 差 (chà) "to err"). 權為一歇 (quán wèi yì xiē) "as a makeshift, a rest," coverb 為 (wèi).

The Great Immortal feigned surprise: "The elder comes from the east—might you have passed by my poor mountain on the way?"

佯訝 (yáng yà) "to feign surprise," 訝 (yà). 荒山 (huāng shān) "my poor mountain," a humble self-reference to his own abode.

The elder said, "I do not know—which is the immortal officer's treasured mountain?"

仙官 (xiānguān) "immortal officer," a courteous form of address. 寶山 (bǎoshān) "your treasured mountain," politely asking whose domain.

The Great Immortal said, "The Five-Villages Abbey on the Mount of Ten Thousand Years—that is where this poor Daoist dwells."

五莊觀 (Wǔzhuāng Guàn) with the temple reading 觀 (guàn). 棲止處 (qī zhǐ chù) "dwelling-place," 棲 (qī) "to roost, dwell."