In a little while, where the bell and drum sounded, sure enough the three other Dragon Kings were roused, and in a moment they arrived and all gathered together outside.

The drum has done its work. 少時 is "presently," 少 read shǎo; 須臾 (xū yú) is "in a moment"; 一齊 takes yì before the rising tone of 齊; 會著 is "met together," with 著 as zhe marking the meeting as accomplished.

Ao Qin said, 'Eldest brother, what urgent matter is it, that you beat the drum and strike the bell?'

大哥 is "eldest brother," the dragons' fraternal address; 緊事 is "urgent matter"; 擂 is léi, "to beat a drum."

The old Dragon said, 'Worthy brothers, it's hard to tell. There's some heaven-born sage from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit who came this morning and claimed me for a neighbor.

"It's hard to tell" is exactly the tone of a man who has been robbed in his own house and must now explain it to his family. 賢弟 is "worthy younger brother"; 不好說 takes bù before the dipping tone of 好; 一個 takes yí; 甚麼 is the usual 什麼; 早間 is "this morning"; and 認我做鄰居 is "claimed me for a neighbor" — the claim that started everything.

Then he demanded a weapon: I offered a steel fork — he scorned it as small; I presented a painted halberd — he scorned it as light; and that piece of divine iron that fixes the bed of the River of Heaven, he took up himself and ran through a few passes with it.

The summary recaps the audience scene from the victim's side, in matched clauses: 獻鋼叉嫌小, 奉畫戟嫌輕, where 嫌 (xián) is "to find fault with, to scorn as." 一件 and 一塊 both take yí; 將 is the object-marking jiāng; 解數 (jiě shù) is "martial passes."

Now he sits in the palace and demands armor besides. I have none here, so I sounded the bell and rang the drum to summon you, worthy brothers.

要索 is "demands"; 我處無有 is "I have none here," 處 read chù; 響鐘鳴鼓 is "sounded bell and rang drum"; 甚麼披掛 is "what armor," 披掛 (pī guà) being a full set of accoutrements.

Have any of you a suit of armor? Give him one, and let us pack him off out the gate, and there's an end of it.'

The proposal is simply to pay him off. 一副 takes yí; 打發 is "to send off, to dispatch"; and 罷了 — 罷 bà, 了 le — is the weary "and that's that."

Ao Qin, hearing this, flew into a rage: 'Brothers, shall we not muster our troops and seize him?'

One brother, at least, wants a fight. 大怒 is "flew into a rage"; 點起兵 is "muster troops"; 拿他不是 is "seize him, shall we not?", with 不 as bú before the falling tone of 是.

The old Dragon said, 'Don't speak of seizing him, don't speak of it. That piece of iron — grasp it the least bit and you die; knock against it the least bit and you perish; brush it and your skin splits; rub it and your very sinews are hurt.'

The old Dragon's answer is a connoisseur's catalogue of terror, four matched warnings each pairing a touch with its result: 挽著 (grasp it, 挽 wǎn), 磕著 (knock against it, 磕 kē), 挨挨兒 (brush it, 挨 āi) and 擦擦兒 (rub it, 擦 cā). 著 is the state-marking zhe, and 些兒, 挨挨兒 and 擦擦兒 all carry the er ending. 莫說拿 is "do not speak of seizing"; 那塊鐵 has 那 as nà and 塊 as kuài; and 觔 (= 筋) is jīn, "sinew."

Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea, said, 'Second brother must not come to blows with him. Just scrape together a suit of armor for him, pack him off out the gate, and then send up a memorial to High Heaven — Heaven will punish him itself.'

This is the seed of the dragons' petition, and so of the whole second half of the chapter: do not fight him, pay him, then report him upstairs. 二哥 is "second brother"; 不可 takes bù before the dipping tone of 可; 動手 is "to come to blows"; 湊副披掛 is "scrape together a suit of armor," 湊 read còu. 啟表奏上上天 is "send up a memorial," the doubled 上上天 meaning "up to High Heaven"; 天自誅也 is "Heaven will punish him itself," 誅 read zhū.

Ao Shun, Dragon King of the Northern Sea, said, 'Rightly said. I have here a pair of lotus-fiber cloud-stepping shoes.'

說的是 is "what you say is right," 的 read de. 一雙 takes yì before the level tone of 雙. 藕絲步雲履 is "lotus-fiber cloud-stepping shoes" — 藕 ǒu, 絲 sī, 履 lǚ; 哩 is the sentence-final li.

Ao Run, Dragon King of the Western Sea, said, 'I have brought along a suit of golden chain-mail.'

一副 takes yí. 鎖子黃金甲 is golden chain-mail (鎖子甲 being chain-link armor), with 子 as the unstressed zi.

Ao Qin, Dragon King of the Southern Sea, said, 'And I have a phoenix-winged cap of purple gold.'

Shoes, mail, cap: three brothers, three pieces, and Wukong's first suit of regalia is complete. 一頂 takes yì before the dipping tone of 頂. 鳳翅紫金冠 is the phoenix-winged cap of purple gold, 冠 read guān, the noun "cap," not guàn.

The old Dragon was overjoyed, led them in to meet Wukong in the Crystal Palace, and presented these to him.

大喜 is "overjoyed" — the joy of a man watching someone else pay the bill. 引入 is "led in"; 以此奉上 is "presented these."

Wukong donned the gold cap, the golden armor, and the cloud-shoes, all properly arranged, set the As-You-Will Rod in motion, and fought his way out, calling to the assembled dragons: 'Sorry to trouble you, sorry to trouble you!'

And out he goes, fighting, with a cheerful word of thanks. 聒噪 (guō zào) literally means "a clamor" and is used as a brash parting formula, roughly "pardon the trouble!" — said by a guest who has just stripped the house. 將 is the object-marking jiāng; 金冠 has 冠 as guān; 穿戴停當 is "donned and properly arranged," with 停當 (tíng dàng) taking 當 as dàng, "settled, in order"; and 一路打出去, "fought his way straight out," takes yí before the falling tone of 路.

The four Dragon Kings were deeply aggrieved, and went off to confer about submitting a memorial — but of that, no more for now.

The complaint is now in motion, and the chapter files it away for later. 甚是不平 is "much aggrieved," 不 taking bù before the rising tone of 平; 一邊 takes yì before the level tone of 邊; 進表上奏 is "submit a memorial." 不題, "no more of this for now," is a storyteller's formula for parking a thread, with 不 as bù before the rising tone of 題.