The White Bone Demon Thrice

Wukong’s Banishment

A demon in three disguises fools Tang Sanzang into banishing the monkey who saw through her.

The White Bone Demon, who lives on the road ahead, tries three times to seize Tang Sanzang — as a girl, an old woman and an old man. Each time Sun Wukong sees through her and strikes, and each time the monk, blind to the truth, punishes him with the tightening spell. Finally Wukong is driven away, only to return when the demon nearly kills his master. The story is a lesson in seeing beneath appearances.