Lancer is Xiēzijīng, the Scorpion Demoness from the famous 16th-century novel Journey to the West, chapters 54-55, as one of the 81 trials the monk Sanzang must face in her quest to obtain the holy scriptures for the Great Tang. Born a few centuries before the famous journey, Xiēzijīng knew her nature from the beginning: to oppose Buddhism as an embodiment of one of the vices preventing one from reaching Nirvana. Yet, unknown to her, she has a second nature as one of the trials the monk Sanzang must suffer through and surpass to bring back the scriptures to the Central Plains, arranged before even the end of the Age of the Gods.
Because of her nature, Xiēzijīng rose in power and attained a human form faster than even a natural Yāoguài could, enough for her to begin fulfilling her life's purpose. However, while other Yāoguàis might just start slaughtering any nearby humans indiscriminately, that will just draw unnecessary attention from the forces of heaven, who even now could affect the world, albeit more limitedly and subtly. Xiēzijīng is wiser than that, so she instead sought to learn about the religion she was born to oppose instead. Yet, the monks and bhikkhunis she seduced or threatened are not enough for her, too limited by their mortality for her to fully comprehend her destined enemies. So she made a risky choice, sneaking into Vulture Peak, the place where the Buddhas and bodhisattvas are said to reside as a group, and observe them. Incredibly risky, but as the saying goes, the most dangerous place is also the safest place, and there is her poison as well.
The plan went off surprisingly well, too well, Xiēzijīng thought at times. She got into Thunderclap Monastery easily; none of the bodhisattvas, Arhats, wisdom kings, or even the Buddhas noticed her. And what she saw was... boring."They seriously abandoned every positive thing about living for this?! Just... sitting around to do sermons every day?!" But her life observing the Buddhist pantheon would come to an end when one day, she got too lax and got too close to the Buddha. As he moved his hand, that action frightened Xiēzijīng into stinging him. Normally, her stinger would just bounce back from the potent protections Buddha had obtained since he had achieved enlightenment; the times he had been injured since then could be counted on one hand alone. The stinger ripped through those protections and into the Buddha's left middle finger, injecting the poisons of lust into him. And so, to the shock of everyone present, the Buddha flinched in pain. The shock brought enough time for her to escape the monastery and the mountain, for not even she could take on the entirety of the pantheon and live afterwards. The Buddha ordered Xiēzijīng to be caught, but she was able to avoid capture and escaped to
near the Women's Country in Western Liang, ignorant of how her pursuers seemed to be herding her there.
Deciding to remain at Venom Mountain after confirming she was safe for the entire nation of delectable women nearby, Xiēzijīng settled within a cave in the mountain she would name Pipa Cave. For the rest of her life, she would remain in Pipa Cave, where she would frequently host debaucheries with the nearby Yāoguàis and the women she kidnapped from the Women's Country to be her handmaidens. The debaucheries would continue until one day, she heard about a farce of a group of monks entering the nation and half of them becoming impregnated from drinking the Child-and-Mother River. She'll admit, she laughed long and hard that day. With her interest piqued, she scried on the monks and immediately knew that this was the holy monk Xuánzàng Sānzàng and her 3 disciples, whose flesh was said to grant immortality if eaten. Which other monk could be accompanied by a monkey, a pig, and a massive man with skulls for a necklace after all? And when she saw Sānzàng herself, her heart skipped a beat. That gorgeous face, that killer body bare to the world in that scandalous outfit yet contrasted by that air of innocence and holiness... Just seeing the monk was enough for the scorpion to feel more lust than she ever felt throughout her life, yet there was another emotion mixed in as well... An entirely alien and powerful one Xiēzijīng has never felt before. Yet, before she could get another look at Sanzang, the monkey realized they were being scried at and dispelled it.
Throughout the next few days, Xiēzijīng periodically watched the group as they tried to get the Royal Seal and leave the country, trying to find an opportunity to kidnap Sānzàng. Yet, she was unable to scry for long every time, as either Wùkōng would dispel her again, or she was forced to stop when the nation's queen tried to make Sānzàng her consort. While every attempt failed pathetically, she still couldn't bear to watch it, or else she would be overwhelmed by another new, intense, and painful emotion whose name she could not remember. Finally, Xiēzijīng saw an opportunity as the group is outside of the country and finally told that bitch that Sānzàng was not interested in her, only the giant man was guarding her and seized upon it. Summoning a strong gust of wind, she kidnapped Sānzàng and brought her back to her cave.
With Sānzàng finally in her hands, Xiēzijīng wasted no time in trying to seduce her to no avail, like every other Yāoguài before and after who attempted it. However, before she could attempt again, Wùkōng interrupted her, observing the entire time as a bee. The two's clash quickly took them to the outside of the cave, where Zhū Bājiè quickly joined in. Seeing that she was outnumbered, she countered by transforming into her hybrid form.
By 孩哥儿
In a matter of only a few minutes, hundreds, if not thousands, of clangs sounded out between the three combatants as trident and pincers clashed against staff and rake repeatedly, all the while Xiēzijīng was spewing out flames and smoke, setting the entire battlefield ablaze. Finally, after what felt like hours, Xiēzijīng jumped back and stung Wùkōng in his forehead. Confident in his adamant skin that had stumped even the gods themselves when they tried to execute him, he did not bother dodging, but once again, the impossible occurred as the stinger phased right past the skin and injected the poison. Despite no marks left behind, Wùkōng's confidence is immediately replaced by an unbearable headache rivalled only by Sānzàng's chants from a combination of his chasteness and his current status as a Buddhist ascetic. Unable to fight anymore, he quickly retreated, followed by Bājiè.
With the pests gone, Xiēzijīng returned to her cave in her human form and sought to seduce Sānzàng again, but no matter how sultry her words and promises were or how much tantalizing skin she exposed throughout the night, Sānzàng did not even blush. Suffering more challenges than she has in centuries, Xiēzijīng has finally lost her patience, yet still unwilling to and cannot do anything forceful, she had Sānzàng tied up and put in the hallway for the night.
The next day, the disciples returned after Wùkōng had mostly recovered from the poison, thanks to his absurd constitution and had confirmed Sānzàng is still safe and chaste, by smashing the doors in. Outraged and still looking for something to vent her frustrations, Xiēzijīng erupts out of her cave already in her hybrid form. This time, the fight only lasted 5 rounds as the disciples were forced to retreat again after Bājiè got stung in the lips. Fortunately for him, his lustful nature managed to reduce the venom's potency to allow him to survive with some agony and a swollen lip.
Finally, seeing as they are not getting anywhere, a old woman who was actually Guānyīn or Avalokiteśvara in disguise suddenly greeted the disciples. Easily seeing the woman's holiness and already familiar with how this plot tends to go from experience, Wùkōng asked her the identity of the scorpion demoness and how to beat her. Guanyin explained to the disciples Xiēzijīng's origin and that she is conceptually weak to Maorì Xīngguān, one of the 28 manors personified, because roosters are natural predators of vermin like scorpions, and his abundant amount of Yáng is the counter to her Yīn. Plus, he's also not a Buddhist. So Wùkōng went off to get Maorì's help.
Meanwhile, Xiēzijīng was still having no success with seducing Sānzàng, frustrating her even further. Yet, another emotion is also building alongside the frustration; the more time she spends with Sānzàng, the very same emotion when she first saw the monk, which she still cannot name. So, despite her constant failures, she, for some reason, does not mind them. But before she could investigate her feelings further, her handmaidens reported that the disciples were back again, and this time, they smashed even more of a cave. Wrath immediately surged forth as Xiēzijīng answered to the provocation.
Yet this time, the monkey and pig had a plan and a secret weapon against her. Retreating as they fought, they lured the scorpion to below a hill where Maorì was waiting. Seeing his prey had arrived, he revealed his true form of a giant golden rooster with two combs flaring with the light of the great Yáng itself. With one crow, Xiēzijīng was forcibly reverted back to her original scorpion form, to her horror. With a second crow, she felt herself lose control of her entire body, and her mind went dark. Within the last few moments of her life, she tries everything possible to resist the encroaching death and fails. Humiliation, rage, and denial and more flash through her mind, but the one that stands above all would be sadness for not being able to be with Sānzàng anymore. So dies the Scorpion Demoness, who has ravaged the world for centuries, who has delivered pain to even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and the Buddha. After her death, her corpse would remain as Bājiè would smash it into paste for revenge, her cave would be burned down, and her handmaidens rescued and allowed to return to the Women's Country.