賺入洞中 Carried Inside
妖王笑道:「那包袱也無甚麼值錢之物,左右是和尚的破褊衫、舊帽子,背進來拆洗做補襯。」一個小妖果將包袱背進,不知是行者變的。行者道:「好了,這個銷金包袱背著了。」那妖精不以為事,丟在門內。妖王笑道:「那包袱也无甚么值钱之物,左右是和尚的破褊衫、旧帽子,背进来拆洗做补衬。」一个小妖果将包袱背进,不知是行者变的。行者道:「好了,这个销金包袱背着了。」那妖精不以为事,丢在门内。
逐句解 Line by line
The demon king laughed: ‘That bundle has nothing of value in it — no doubt it's some monk's tattered robe and old cap; carry it in, and unpick and wash it for patching-cloth.’
The demon inspects the prize and dismisses it: some monk's worn-out robe and old hat, fit for cutting up into patching-cloth. 背 is read bēi here, to carry on the back, not the bèi that means the back itself. His contempt is what carries Wukong through the gate.
One little imp did carry the bundle in on his back, not knowing it was the Pilgrim transformed.
An imp shoulders the bundle and walks it in, not knowing what he is carrying. The novel states the fact plainly rather than milking it, which is the right choice.
The Pilgrim said to himself: ‘Good — this gold-embroidered bundle has been carried in.’
Wukong, being a bundle, congratulates himself. It is a small line and it is the first time since the fire that anything has gone his way.
The demon, thinking nothing of it, tossed it down inside the gate.
不以為事, thought nothing of it, and tosses him down inside the gate. The demon who out-thought the pilgrims at every turn for ten passages has just carried his enemy indoors and dropped him on the floor.
The ruse works completely, and it works through the demon's own contempt. He looks at the bundle, decides it is a poor monk's rags, and orders it brought in to be unpicked for patching-cloth. His imp then carries the Great Sage across the threshold that fire and smoke had twice defended.
This is the chapter's turn, and it is a quiet one. Everything Wukong tried by force failed -- the cudgel, the borrowed ocean, the charge into the flames. What gets him in is a shape-change and an enemy who could not be bothered to look properly.