Herbalist Wife's Abacus

An abacus is a way of keeping track of numbers, of organizing groups. In this novel, it is used as a device of judgement by the herbalist's wife. Like the FATES with their yarn, so, too, acts the old woman with her abacus. She is the one that tells Jin that he may have whatever he wants in this life if he's willing to forfeit his soul.

Monkey King's Shoes

At the beginning of the novel, the Monkey King believes that he's been refused entrance to the heavenly realms because he has no shoes. When he goes into seclusion to improve his fighting skills, he also dons shoes as an outward sign of his transformation. Later, when he accepts humility and releases his desire to fight, he is told by Hsuan to leave his shoes behind, as he will have no further need for...