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.'

領了旨 — "received the decree." 南天門 — the Southern Heaven Gate, the threshold of the celestial realm. 按下祥雲 — "brought down his auspicious cloud"; 祥 xiáng. 天差天使 — "a heavenly envoy dispatched"; 差 chāi ("to dispatch"), 使 shǐ. 快快報知 — "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.'

一層層 — "layer by layer"; 一 yì (before second-tone 層). 洞天 — "cave-heaven," a Daoist term for a grotto-paradise. 一老人 — 一 yì (before third-tone 老). 背著一角文書 — "carrying a roll of documents"; 背 bēi ("to carry on the back"), 著 the durative zhe, 一 yì (before third-tone 角), 角 jiǎo (here a measure for a packet of documents). 差來 — 差 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.'

聽得大喜 — "greatly pleased to hear"; 得 de. 思量 — "to ponder, be minded"; 量 liáng. 走走 — "to go for a stroll."

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.'

急整衣冠 — "hastily straightened cap and robe"; 冠 guān (the noun "cap"). 徑入當中 — "walked straight to the center"; 當 dāng. 面南立定 — "stood facing south" (the honored orientation). 太白金星 — the Great White Gold Star, Venus personified. 招安 — "amnesty, summons to surrender"; 招 zhāo. 拜受仙籙 — "to receive the immortal rolls"; 籙 lù (a register conferring 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 — "much obliged for the venerable Star's visit"; 降 here reads jiàng ("to descend, condescend"), as in 降臨, not xiáng. 教小的們 — "bade his little ones"; 教 the causative jiào. 筵宴款待 — "a banquet to entertain"; 款 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.'

聖旨在身 — "with the decree upon me." 不敢久留 — "dare not linger"; 不 bù. 榮遷 — "glorious promotion"; 遷 qiān. 從容敘 — "talk at leisure"; 敘 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.

承光顧 — "thank you for the honor of your visit"; 承 chéng, 顧 gù. 空退空退 — a self-deprecating courtesy, "forgive my poor hospitality" (lit. "an empty leave-taking"); 空 kōng. 四健將 — 將 jiàng. 謹慎教演兒孫 — "drill the children with care"; 教 jiào, 兒孫 ("children and grandchildren") 兒 ér. 領諾 — "assented"; 諾 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 — "sent up their cloud-heads"; 縱 zòng ("to launch, send up"). 昇在空霄之上 — "rose into the void of the sky"; 昇 shēng (= 升), 霄 xiāo. 正是那 — "it was just thus," the formula introducing a closing verse.

Promoted on high to a rank among the celestial immortals,

The closing couplet (a 七言 pair). 高遷上品 — "promoted to the highest rank"; 遷 qiān, 品 pǐn. 天仙位 — "a place among the celestial immortals."

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

名列雲班 — "his name ranked among the cloud-companies" (the celestial officialdom); 列 liè, 班 bān. 寶籙 — "the precious rolls" of immortal office; 籙 lù. The couplet announces the apparent triumph — Wukong elevated and enrolled in Heaven — that the next chapter will turn to disaster.

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

畢竟不知 — "there is no telling, in the end"; 畢竟 (bì-jìng) "after all." 授個甚麼官爵 — "what office and rank he was granted"; 爵 jué. 且聽下回分解 — "listen to the explanation in the next chapter," the storyteller's invariable chapter-closing formula (章回 convention).