錯拿之責 Rebuke for the Wrong Capture
老魔聞言，大喜道：「拿來我看。」二魔道：「這不是？」老魔道：「賢弟呀，又錯拿來了也。」二魔道：「你說拿唐僧的。」老魔道：「是便就是唐僧，只是還不曾拿住那有手段的孫行者。須是要拿住他，才好吃唐僧哩；若不曾拿得他，切莫動他的人。那猴王神通廣大，變化多般，我們若吃了他師父，他肯甘心？來那門前吵鬧，莫想能得安生。」老魔闻言，大喜道：「拿来我看。」二魔道：「这不是？」老魔道：「贤弟呀，又错拿来了也。」二魔道：「你说拿唐僧的。」老魔道：「是便就是唐僧，只是还不曾拿住那有手段的孙行者。须是要拿住他，才好吃唐僧哩；若不曾拿得他，切莫动他的人。那猴王神通广大，变化多般，我们若吃了他师父，他肯甘心？来那门前吵闹，莫想能得安生。」
逐句解 Line by line
The old fiend, hearing this, rejoiced greatly: “Bring them in for me to see.”
老魔 (lǎo mó), “the old fiend” — the elder brother, the Gold-Horned King. 大喜 (dà xǐ), “greatly delighted.”
The second fiend said: “And here they are — no?”
二魔 (èr mó), “the second fiend,” the younger brother, the Silver-Horned King, who worked the capture. 這不是 (zhè bú shì), “isn't this them?”
The old fiend said: “Worthy brother — you've gone and caught the wrong ones again.”
賢弟 (xián dì), “worthy younger brother,” a courteous address. 又錯拿 (yòu cuò ná), “wrongly caught yet again” — the elder is not satisfied.
The second fiend said: “You said to catch Tripitaka.”
A flat protest: 你說拿唐僧的, “it was you who said to take Tripitaka.” The younger brother thinks he has done exactly as told.
The old fiend said: “Tripitaka he is, right enough — only you've still not caught that resourceful Sun Pilgrim.
是便就是 (shì biàn jiù shì), “he is indeed the one, granted.” 有手段 (yǒu shǒu duàn), “resourceful, full of tricks.” The elder's worry is the one they have left free.
“We must catch him first before it's safe to eat Tripitaka; until he's taken, don't lay a hand on any of his people.
才好 (cái hǎo), “only then is it well to.” 切莫 (qiè mò), “on no account.” The elder counsels prudence: Pilgrim must be secured before the master can be touched.
“That Monkey King's powers are vast and his transformations many — if we eat his master, will he take it lying down?
神通廣大 (shén tōng guǎng dà), “of vast supernatural power.” 肯甘心 (kěn gān xīn), “be willing to accept it, rest content.” The elder rates Pilgrim rightly, where the younger scoffs.
“He'll come brawling at our gate, and we can forget any peace.”
吵鬧 (chǎo nào), “to make an uproar, brawl.” 莫想能得安生 (mò xiǎng néng dé ān shēng), “no hope of a quiet life.” The elder foresees exactly the siege Pilgrim will bring.
The scene shifts to the two demon brothers, and with it the chapter's comedy of miscommunication. The younger, Silver-Horn, is triumphant — he has brought back Tripitaka, exactly as told — but the elder, Gold-Horn, is exasperated: catching the master while leaving Pilgrim free is worse than useless. Their crossed purposes (“you said to catch Tripitaka” / “the wrong ones again”) turn the villains' council into a domestic squabble.
Beneath the bickering, the elder fiend voices the episode's real logic and pays Pilgrim the tribute his own brother withholds. He rates the Monkey King exactly: powers vast, transformations many, certain to bring the roof down on them if his master is harmed. The prudent counsel — secure Pilgrim first, touch no one until then — sets up the plot to come, for it is precisely the attempt to take the buried Great Sage that the following chapters will turn on.