龍王識帥 The Dragon-King Knows the Marshal
八戒正敘話處，早有一個巡水的夜叉開了門，看見他的模樣，急抽身進去報道：「大王，禍事了，井上落一個長嘴大耳的和尚來了，赤淋淋的，衣服全無，還不死，逼法說話哩。」那井龍王忽聞此言，心中大驚道：「這是天蓬元帥來也。昨夜夜遊神奉上敕旨，來取烏雞國王魂靈去拜見唐僧，請齊天大聖降妖。這怕是齊天大聖、天蓬元帥來了，卻不可怠慢他，快接他去也。」八戒正叙话处，早有一个巡水的夜叉开了门，看见他的模样，急抽身进去报道：「大王，祸事了，井上落一个长嘴大耳的和尚来了，赤淋淋的，衣服全无，还不死，逼法说话哩。」那井龙王忽闻此言，心中大惊道：「这是天蓬元帅来也。昨夜夜游神奉上敕旨，来取乌鸡国王魂灵去拜见唐僧，请齐天大圣降妖。这怕是齐天大圣、天蓬元帅来了，却不可怠慢他，快接他去也。」
逐句解 Line by line
While Bajie was still muttering, a water-patrolling yaksha had already opened the gate; catching sight of his shape, it drew back in haste and went in to report: 'Great King, trouble! A long-snouted, big-eared monk has fallen in from the top of the well — stark naked, no clothes at all, still not dead, and jabbering away in some outlandish speech.'
The scene is now being watched from below, which is where the joke lives. 巡水的夜叉 is a water-patrolling yaksha, one of the demon-guards who staff these undersea courts. 敘話處: while he was still talking to himself (處 = chù). What the guard reports is exactly what a guard would report: 長嘴大耳, long snout and big ears (長 = cháng, 'long'); 赤淋淋的, not a stitch on; 還不死, and somehow still alive (還 = hái; 不 = bù); 逼法說話, jabbering away oddly. 禍事了: 'trouble!'
The Well Dragon-King, hearing this, was startled and said to himself: 'This is Marshal Tianpeng come.'
The dragon-king, unlike his doorman, recognizes the visitor at once. 天蓬元帥, Marshal Tianpeng, was Bajie's rank in Heaven before his fall — commander of the Milky Way's naval forces, which is why he swims so well. 那 = nà; 心中: 中 = zhōng.
'Last night the Night-Roaming Spirit, bearing an imperial edict, came to fetch the soul of the king of Wuji to pay court to the Tang Monk and invite the Great Sage Equal to Heaven to subdue the demon.'
夜遊神 is the Night-Roaming Spirit, the celestial officer who works the night shift. 奉上敕旨: acting on an imperial edict from above. 降妖: to subdue the demon (降 = xiáng). He is recalling the machinery of the previous chapter, which conveniently explains to him — and reminds us — exactly why two strangers are dropping into his well.
'This must be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and Marshal Tianpeng arrived — I dare not slight them; go quickly and receive him.'
怠慢: to treat a guest with less courtesy than his rank deserves, the cardinal sin of Chinese hospitality. 快接他去: go and receive him, quickly. 了 = le; 不可 = bù.
The yaksha's report is a small comic gem. It describes the dignified Marshal Tianpeng exactly as a gate-guard would see him: a naked, long-snouted, big-eared creature that has crashed in from above, is somehow still alive, and is jabbering incomprehensibly. The gap between Bajie's celestial pedigree and his present ridiculous state is the joke, and the dragon-king's court gives us the vantage point to enjoy it from.
The Well Dragon-King recognizes his visitor at once, and his recognition doubles as narrative scaffolding. He recalls the previous night's edict — the Night-Roaming Spirit fetching the drowned king's soul to Tripitaka, the summons issued to the Great Sage — so the machinery of the previous chapter is confirmed from a fresh quarter and stitched into the present scene.
His decision to receive the guest with full courtesy sets the tone for everything that follows. This will not be a fight but a diplomatic exchange conducted in the elaborate etiquette of the undersea courts, and it is through that courtesy — his custody of the preserved body, and his willingness to part with it — that the pilgrims' errand will actually be accomplished.