揭諦識聖 The Guardian Knows the Sage
早驚了山神、土地與五方揭諦神眾，會金頭揭諦道：「這山是誰的？」土地道：「是我們的。」「你山下壓的是誰？」土地道：「不知是誰。」揭諦道：「你等原來不知。這壓的是五百年前大鬧天宮的齊天大聖孫悟空行者。如今皈依正果，跟唐僧做了徒弟。你怎麼把山借與妖魔壓他？你們是死了，他若有一日脫身出來，他肯饒你？就是從輕，土地也問個擺站，山神也問個充軍，我們也領個大不應是。」早惊了山神、土地与五方揭谛神众，会金头揭谛道：「这山是谁的？」土地道：「是我们的。」「你山下压的是谁？」土地道：「不知是谁。」揭谛道：「你等原来不知。这压的是五百年前大闹天宫的齐天大圣孙悟空行者。如今皈依正果，跟唐僧做了徒弟。你怎么把山借与妖魔压他？你们是死了，他若有一日脱身出来，他肯饶你？就是从轻，土地也问个摆站，山神也问个充军，我们也领个大不应是。」
逐句解 Line by line
By now the mountain-god, the local earth-god, and the host of Guardians of the Five Quarters were all startled, and the Gold-Headed Guardian asked: “Whose mountain is this?”
山神、土地 (shān shén, tǔ dì), “the mountain-god and the local earth-god.” 五方揭諦 (wǔ fāng jiē dì), the “Guardians of the Five Quarters,” protective deities; 金頭揭諦, the “Gold-Headed Guardian.”
The earth-god said: “It's ours.” “And who is it pinned beneath your mountain?” The earth-god said: “We don't know who.”
A quick exchange: the guardians question the local gods, who confess they do not know whom they have helped to crush.
The Guardian said: “So you truly don't know. The one pinned here is the Great Sage Equal to Heaven — Sun Wukong the Pilgrim, who five hundred years ago threw Heaven into uproar.
大鬧天宮 (dà nào tiān gōng), “made great havoc in the Palace of Heaven.” 齊天大聖 (qí tiān dà shèng), “the Great Sage Equal to Heaven,” Monkey's self-given title from his rebellion.
“Now he has turned to the true fruit and become Tripitaka's disciple. How could you lend your mountain to a demon to crush him?
皈依正果 (guī yī zhèng guǒ), “taken refuge in the true attainment,” i.e. converted to the Buddhist path. The Guardian's rebuke: the local gods have abetted a demon against a reformed immortal.
“You're as good as dead — if one day he works himself free, do you think he'll spare you?
脫身出來 (tuō shēn chū lái), “to get free, work oneself loose.” 肯饒 (kěn ráo), “be willing to pardon.” The threat of Pilgrim's vengeance is the lever that moves the gods to act.
“Even judged leniently, the earth-god would draw post-station duty, the mountain-god banishment to the frontier, and we'd be charged with grave dereliction.”
擺站 (bǎi zhàn), “sentenced to courier-station labor”; 充軍 (chōng jūn), “banished to military exile.” 大不應 (dà bù yīng), “grave impropriety,” a legal charge; 應 read yīng, “ought.”
The rescue machinery begins with a bureaucratic panic among the local deities. The Guardians of the Five Quarters, alarmed, discover that the mountain-god and earth-god have unwittingly lent their peak to crush none other than the Great Sage Equal to Heaven — the reformed rebel now serving as Tripitaka's disciple. The scene draws its comedy from treating the celestial order as a chain of officials liable to punishment for misfiled paperwork.
The Gold-Headed Guardian's argument is pure self-interest dressed as law: forget justice, consider the penalties — courier-duty, banishment, a charge of grave dereliction — and, worse, Pilgrim's certain vengeance should he break free. It is the same logic the demon-elder used in reverse, both sides reckoning with the Monkey King's power and wrath. The passage turns the terror of Pilgrim's reputation into the very force that will spring him loose.