The Gold Star received the decree, went out beyond the Southern Heaven Gate, brought his auspicious cloud down, and came straight to the Water-Curtain Cave on the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, where he said to the little monkeys: 'I am a heavenly envoy sent from Heaven, with an imperial decree here, inviting your great king to the upper world. Report it at once.'

Heaven sends its most senior diplomat down to a cave-mouth to ask a monkey in for a job interview. 領了旨 is "received the decree"; 南天門 is the Southern Heaven Gate, the threshold of the celestial realm; 按下祥雲 is "brought down his auspicious cloud," 祥 read xiáng; 天差天使 is "a heavenly envoy dispatched," 差 read chāi, "to dispatch," and 使 shǐ; and 快快報知 is "report it at once."

The monkeys outside the cave passed the word layer by layer to the cave's inmost depths: 'Your Majesty, outside there is an old man carrying a roll of documents, who says he is a heavenly envoy sent from Heaven above with a decree inviting you.'

The message travels inward through the cave by relay, monkey to monkey, and arrives as: there is an old man outside with a bundle of paperwork. 一層層 is "layer by layer," 一 taking yì before the rising tone of 層; 洞天, "cave-heaven," is the Daoist term for a grotto-paradise; 一老人 takes yì before the dipping tone of 老; 背著一角文書 is "carrying a roll of documents," 背 read bēi, "to carry on the back," 著 the state-marking zhe, 一 again yì, and 角 (jiǎo) here a measure-word for a packet of documents; 差來 takes 差 as chāi.

The Handsome Monkey King was greatly pleased to hear it, and said, 'These last two days I have been minded to go up to Heaven for a look, and here a heavenly envoy comes to invite me!' He called, 'Quickly, show him in.'

The dramatic irony is complete: he has been meaning to visit Heaven anyway, and takes the summons for a coincidence in his favour. 聽得大喜 is "greatly pleased to hear," 得 read de; 思量 is "to ponder, to be minded," 量 read liáng; and 走走 is "to go for a stroll" — Heaven treated as a day out.

The Monkey King hastily straightened his cap and robe and went out the gate to receive him. The Gold Star walked straight to the center, stood facing south, and said, 'I am the Great White Gold Star of the West; bearing the Jade Emperor's edict of amnesty, I have come down to invite you up to Heaven to receive the immortal rolls.'

The envoy walks in and stands facing south, which is the posture of a superior; Wukong, straightening his cap, does not appear to notice. 急整衣冠 is "hastily straightened cap and robe," 冠 read guān, the noun "cap"; 徑入當中 is "walked straight to the center," 當 read dāng; 面南立定 is "stood facing south," the honored orientation; 太白金星 is the Great White Gold Star, Venus personified; 招安 is "amnesty, a summons to surrender," 招 read zhāo; and 拜受仙籙 is "to receive the immortal rolls," 籙 (lù) being a register that confers celestial rank.

Wukong laughed and said, 'I am much obliged to you, venerable Star, for descending here.' He bade his little ones lay out a banquet to entertain him.

多感老星降臨 is "much obliged for the venerable Star's visit," with 降 as jiàng, "to descend, to condescend," as in 降臨, not xiáng. 教小的們 is "bade his little ones," 教 the causing jiào; and 筵宴款待 is "a banquet to entertain," 款 read kuǎn.

The Gold Star said, 'With the decree upon me, I dare not linger. Let the great king come along with me at once; after your glorious promotion, we may talk at our leisure.'

The envoy declines the banquet and hurries him along — a promotion should be collected promptly. 聖旨在身 is "with the decree upon me"; 不敢久留 is "dare not linger," 不 read bù; 榮遷 is "glorious promotion," 遷 read qiān; and 從容敘 is "talk at leisure," 敘 read xù.

Wukong said, 'Thank you for the honor of your visit — forgive my poor hospitality, forgive it.' He at once called the four Stalwart Generals and charged them: 'Drill the children with care. When I have gone up to Heaven to spy out the road, it will be well for me to bring you all up to dwell there together.' The four Stalwart Generals assented.

Two details land badly on a second reading: he tells the generals to keep drilling the young ones, and promises to bring everybody up to live in Heaven once he has looked over the road. 承光顧 is "thank you for the honor of your visit," 承 read chéng and 顧 gù; 空退空退 is a self-deprecating courtesy, "forgive my poor hospitality," literally an empty leave-taking, 空 read kōng; the 將 of 四健將 is jiàng; 謹慎教演兒孫 is "drill the children with care," 教 read jiào and the 兒 of 兒孫 read ér, the full word "child"; and 領諾 is "assented," 諾 read nuò.

Then the Monkey King and the Gold Star sent up their cloud-heads and rose into the void of the sky. It was just as the verse says:

縱起雲頭 is "sent up their cloud-heads," 縱 read zòng, "to launch"; 昇在空霄之上 is "rose into the void of the sky," 昇 (= 升) read shēng and 霄 xiāo; and 正是那, "it was just thus," is the standard formula that ushers in a closing verse.

Promoted on high to a rank among the celestial immortals,

The chapter ends as it began, in verse — a seven-character couplet (七言). 高遷上品 is "promoted to the highest rank," 遷 read qiān and 品 pǐn; 天仙位 is "a place among the celestial immortals."

his name set down within the cloud-ranks' precious rolls.

And the last image is a name being written into a register — the same administrative act that has driven every quarrel in the chapter. 名列雲班 is "his name ranked among the cloud-companies," the celestial officialdom, 列 read liè and 班 bān; 寶籙 is "the precious rolls" of immortal office, 籙 read lù.

There is no telling, in the end, what office and title he was granted; listen to the explanation in the next chapter.

The oldest cliffhanger in Chinese fiction, and here it is doing real work: the one thing withheld is the size of the job. 畢竟不知 is "there is no telling, in the end," 畢竟 (bì jìng) meaning "after all"; 授個甚麼官爵 is "what office and rank he was granted," 爵 read jué; and 且聽下回分解, "listen to the explanation in the next chapter," is the invariable chapter-closing formula of 章回 fiction.