The four pilgrims had spent nearly fourteen years going to bed late, rising early, and pressing on without rest. At last they came to Diling County in Tongtai Prefecture. In that county lived a wealthy man named Kou Hong, known to everyone as Squire Kou. He was a charitable man who often gave free meals to monks. When he learned that Tang Sanzang and his disciples had come from the Great Tang in the East, he was overjoyed and insisted that they stay for several days.
Tang Sanzang was eager to fetch the scriptures, and every day at the Squire's house felt like a year. Seeing that he truly could not persuade them to stay longer, Squire Kou invited relatives, friends, neighbors, and villagers, along with monks, Daoists, and musicians, to see the pilgrims off. The send-off was noticed by a band of robbers in the county. They decided to take advantage of the dark, rainy night to rob the Kou household.
That night the robbers came with short knives, clubs, and other weapons. Carrying torches, pine resin, and lanterns, they smashed open the Kou family's gate. They turned out boxes and cabinets, threw tables and chairs aside, and stripped the house of gold, silver, valuables, silk, and clothing. Squire Kou grabbed the robbers' leader and begged him to leave a few garments so the family could keep warm. The leader kicked him dead at the doorway.
After the robbers left, the whole household wept over Squire Kou's body. Lady Kou was furious, convinced that the pilgrims had brought this disaster. She told her two sons, 'Last night I hid under the bed. The one holding the torch was Tang Sanzang, the one holding the knife was Zhu Bajie, the one carrying off the gold and silver was Sha Wujing, and the one who beat your father to death was Sun Wukong.' The two sons wrote a complaint and took it to the authorities.
The same night, the pilgrims sheltered from the rain in a broken-down house and continued west at dawn. It happened that the robbers were also fleeing west. Seeing the pilgrims from a distance, they assumed Squire Kou had given them a great deal of silver, so they decided to seize their goods and horses as well. Weapons in hand, they lined up across the road.
Tang Sanzang was frightened out of his wits. Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie did not know what to do either. Sun Wukong stepped forward with a smile and asked, 'And what might you gentlemen be doing?' The robbers said, 'We are here for the toll.' Wukong pretended to be very scared. 'There are four of us. I keep the accounts. Let the other three go, and I will give you all the money.'
The robbers believed him and opened a gap for Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing to pass. Once they were through, Wukong bent over the bundle, secretly scooped up a handful of dirt, recited a spell, threw it upward, and shouted, 'Stop!' The robbers immediately clenched their teeth, glared, and stood stiff, unable to move. Wukong had used an immobilization spell.
Wukong called his master and junior brothers back, plucked some hairs, turned them into ropes, and gave some to Bajie. Together they bound all the robbers. Then Wukong recited the release spell so the men came to. Holding his weapon, he interrogated them on the spot. The robbers did not dare refuse and confessed everything about the robbery at Squire Kou's house the night before.
Tang Sanzang told his disciples to take the stolen goods and return them to the Kou family. Wukong took charge of the loot, loaded part on the horse, tied the rest into bundles for Bajie to carry, then shook himself and withdrew the transformed hairs. The robbers were instantly freed and ran for their lives. The pilgrims turned back toward the Kou house with the property.
Before they had gone far, a group of soldiers came surging toward them and surrounded the four. 'Monks, you have killed and robbed. Do you know your crime?' Without another word, they dragged Tang Sanzang off his horse, bound him, tied up the others too, and carried them back to the city on poles.
At the county court, the pilgrims learned they had been falsely accused. After a round of beating and questioning, they were thrown into prison. In the middle of the night, Wukong used magic to slip out of the ropes, turned into a gnat, and flew straight to Squire Kou's house. There he found the family gathered around the coffin in the hall, weeping.
Wukong alighted on the head of the coffin and gave a cough, frightening the Kou household out of their wits. Imitating Squire Kou's voice, he said, 'It is because you told lies and framed innocent people. King Yama sent me to tell you to go and save Tang Sanzang and his disciples at once. Otherwise, not one of your family will survive.' Squire Kou's two sons quickly kowtowed and promised to go to the authorities at dawn.
Wukong then flew to the prefect's residence. Seeing the prefect burning incense and praying before a painting, Wukong changed into the rider in the painting and asked, 'Why have you locked up four holy monks on their way to Lingshan to fetch scriptures? Release them at once.' The prefect did not dare refuse.
By the time Wukong reached the Diling County hall, day had broken. He used a growth spell and lowered an enormous foot from the sky onto the court. 'Listen to me,' he said. 'I am the Wandering Deity sent by the Jade Emperor. You have imprisoned holy monks going to the Western Heaven for scriptures. Is that any small matter? Release them, or I will trample this place flat.'
Having done all this, Wukong flew back to the prison, resumed his own form, and slipped back into the ropes. Soon the jailer indeed released them all. The prefect and the county magistrate, along with their officials, came to the prison to receive them and apologized repeatedly. Tang Sanzang explained what had happened. The officials said, 'We wrongly blamed you. Please forgive us.'
Seeing the officials keeping his master busy, Wukong told Bajie and Sha Wujing to protect Tang Sanzang. Then he somersaulted on a cloud to the underworld, asked Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva for Kou Hong's soul, tucked it into his sleeve, and rode the cloud back to the Kou house. He had Bajie pry open the coffin lid, then pushed the soul back into the body. After a short while, Squire Kou came back to life.