明知故問 Feigned Ignorance
行者明知故問道：「你二位從那裡來的？」那怪道：「自蓮花洞來的。」「要往那裡去？」那怪道：「奉我大王教命，拿孫行者去的。」行者道：「拿那個？」那怪又道：「拿孫行者。」孫行者道：「可是跟唐僧取經的那個孫行者麼？」那妖道：「正是，正是。你也認得他？」行者道：「那猴子有些無禮。我認得他，我也有些惱他。我與你同拿他去，就當與你助功。」行者明知故问道：「你二位从那里来的？」那怪道：「自莲花洞来的。」「要往那里去？」那怪道：「奉我大王教命，拿孙行者去的。」行者道：「拿那个？」那怪又道：「拿孙行者。」孙行者道：「可是跟唐僧取经的那个孙行者么？」那妖道：「正是，正是。你也认得他？」行者道：「那猴子有些无礼。我认得他，我也有些恼他。我与你同拿他去，就当与你助功。」
逐句解 Line by line
Pilgrim, knowing full well, asked as if he didn't: “Where do you two come from?”
明知故問 (míng zhī gù wèn), “to ask what one already knows, feign ignorance.” 那裡 (nǎ lǐ), “where,” interrogative nǎ.
The imps said: “We come from the Lotus-Flower Cave.” “And where are you bound?”
蓮花洞 (lián huā dòng), the demons' lair. 要往那裡去 (yào wǎng nǎ lǐ qù), “where are you headed,” Pilgrim's next feigned question.
The imps said: “On our king's orders, we're off to catch Sun Pilgrim.”
奉…教命 (fèng…jiào mìng), “in obedience to the command of.” 拿孫行者 (ná sūn xíng zhě), “to catch Sun Pilgrim” — spoken, unknowing, to Pilgrim himself.
Pilgrim said: “Catch whom?” The imps said again: “Catch Sun Pilgrim.”
拿那個 (ná nǎ gè), “catch which one,” the interrogative nǎ — Pilgrim drawing them out, deadpan.
Sun Pilgrim said: “You mean that Sun Pilgrim who's fetching scriptures with Tripitaka?”
取經 (qǔ jīng), “to fetch the scriptures.” 那個孫行者 (nà gè sūn xíng zhě), “that Sun Pilgrim,” here deictic nà. The joke deepens: Pilgrim discusses himself in the third person.
The imps said: “The very one, the very one. Do you know him too?”
認得 (rèn de), “to know, recognize,” the structural 得 (de). The imps, delighted, take the “immortal” for an ally.
Pilgrim said: “That monkey's a rude sort. I know him, and I've a bit of a grudge against him myself.
無禮 (wú lǐ), “rude, ill-mannered.” 惱 (nǎo), “to be vexed with.” Pilgrim slanders himself to win their confidence.
“I'll go catch him with you — count it as my lending a hand.”
就當 (jiù dàng), “just count it as, take it as,” 當 read dàng, “to regard as.” 助功 (zhù gōng), “to help toward the deed.”
The comedy sharpens to its finest point: Pilgrim, “knowing full well, asks as if he didn't,” and the imps announce their errand — to catch Sun Pilgrim — to Sun Pilgrim's own face. His deadpan follow-ups (“Catch whom?” … “that Sun Pilgrim who's fetching scriptures?”) are the timing of a master comedian, drawing the joke out while the imps, all innocence, confirm every detail.
Pilgrim then completes the con by slandering himself — “that monkey's a rude sort … I've a grudge against him myself” — and offering to help catch the very quarry he is. The self-abuse is a small masterpiece of misdirection: by playing the immortal with his own grievance against Monkey, he makes himself the imps' natural ally and earns a place in their scheme. Everything is now in position for him to get his hands on the treasures.