天晚各歸 Nightfall, and Each Withdraws
那魔王與孫大聖戰經三個時辰,不分勝敗,早又見天色將晚。妖魔支著長槍道:「悟空,你住了。天昏地暗,不是個賭鬥之時,且各歇息歇息,明朝再與你比迸。」行者罵道:「潑畜休言!老孫的興頭才來,管甚麼天晚?是必與你定個輸贏。」那怪物喝一聲,虛幌一槍,逃了性命,帥群妖收轉干戈,入洞中將門緊緊閉了。那魔王与孙大圣战经三个时辰,不分胜败,早又见天色将晚。妖魔支着长枪道:「悟空,你住了。天昏地暗,不是个赌斗之时,且各歇息歇息,明朝再与你比迸。」行者骂道:「泼畜休言!老孙的兴头才来,管甚么天晚?是必与你定个输赢。」那怪物喝一声,虚幌一枪,逃了性命,帅群妖收转干戈,入洞中将门紧紧闭了。
逐句解 Line by line
That demon king and the Great Sage Sun fought through three shíchén without a division of victory or defeat, and before long they saw the sky beginning to darken.
Six hours of fighting, and nothing decided. 那魔王 points, so 那 is nà. 時辰 stays in Chinese as shíchén, because English has no word for it: the traditional day was cut into twelve of these rather than twenty-four hours, so one shíchén is two of our hours and 三個時辰 is six. It is worth keeping distinct from the 更 or night-watch that turns up later in the chapter, which is a different unit again. 不分勝敗: 分 is fēn. 天色將晚: 將 is jiāng, "about to."
The fiend held his long spear at rest and said: "Wukong, hold there.
支著: 著 is zhe, for a position simply held — the spear is grounded, at rest. 長槍: 長 is cháng. 你住了: 了 is le, and 住 here means "stop", not "dwell."
"The sky is dim and the earth dark, and this is no hour for a wager of arms. Let each of us rest a while, and in the morning I will have it out with you again."
明朝: 朝 is zhāo, morning — 明朝 is "tomorrow morning", not the cháo of a royal court or a dynasty. 賭鬥 is a contest with something staked on it; 比迸 is the vernacular "to have it out."
Pilgrim cursed him: "Hold your tongue, foul beast! Old Monkey's blood is only now up — what do I care whether it is late?
潑畜: 畜 is chù. 興頭: 興 is xìng, high spirits and enthusiasm, not the xīng of rising up. 管甚麼: 甚 is shén.
"We shall settle which of us wins and which loses, and that is flat."
是必 is "without fail, come what may." 定個輸贏 — to fix a winner and a loser — answers the demon's 賭鬥 word for word: a bet has been laid, and Pilgrim will not let it be adjourned.
The monster gave a shout, made a feint with his spear, escaped with his life, led his band of imps back with their weapons, went into the cave, and shut the gate fast behind him.
那怪物 points, so 那 is nà. 虛幌一槍 is the set phrase for a feint made in order to disengage — a fake thrust and out. 逃了 and 閉了: both 了 are le. 喝一聲: 喝 is hè again, shouting rather than drinking — the automatic reading tool bakes the drinking hē in here, though it gets 喝道 right. 洞中: 中 is zhōng; 將門: 將 is jiāng. 收轉干戈 — "to gather in shield and axe" — means to break off the engagement.
The bout ends by the clock rather than by any decision — three 時辰, six of our hours, with nothing settled — and the demon proposes the adjournment in the courteous formula the genre keeps for evenly matched opponents: night has fallen, this is no hour for a wager of arms, we resume in the morning. It is good manners. It is also a confession. He is the one who wants the night.
Pilgrim's refusal is exactly in character and, for once, sound tactics wearing the costume of bad temper. He will not let the fight be adjourned, because the adjournment is precisely what he means to exploit: within the hour he is back at the cave mouth in the shape of a cricket, hunting for the ring on a sleeping demon's arm. The feint, the flight, the gate shut fast behind — every detail sets up a night raid, and the narrator lets the demon go to bed believing he has bought himself a quiet night.