Personally, I feel that Zhu Bajie is the most successfully designed character in Black Myth.
His feelings for Zi Zhur (Purple Spider) are deeply hidden, yet they reveal a lot about his character.
In Zhu Bajie’s Shadow Spirit chart, there’s a passage:
“If the guess is correct, this fairy maiden clad in a purple gauze dress should be the yet-to-descend Zi Zhur.”
Later, after Zhu Bajie descends to the mortal realm, she follows as well.
If you understand this past-life connection, many details in the game suddenly make sense.
For instance, there’s a scene in the game where Zhu Bajie is caught and forced into marriage in a courtyard filled with peach blossoms:
In his Shadow Spirit chart, when introducing Zhu’s eldest sister, peach blossoms are mentioned again:
It’s likely that the peach blossoms remind Zi Zhur of the day she met Tianpeng Marshal.
Another detail is the recurring appearance of the Bronze Mirror of Bones in the game.
The first instance is during a conversation among small demons in Wushan:
When Zi Zhur looks into the mirror and becomes distracted, eventually discarding it, two possible reasons come to mind:
1. She sees that her beauty has faded and cannot accept the idea of her youth slipping away.
2. She sees a spider in the reflection, which reminds her that she and Zhu Bajie are now worlds apart—one a demon, the other a celestial, destined never to be together.
This interpretation aligns with a cutscene where Zi Zhur’s face begins morphing into her demonic form, while Zhu Bajie’s appearance gradually becomes more human.
There’s another scene in the fourth level where Zhu Bajie also looks into a mirror.
In the reflection, he sees a handsome young man.
For a moment, he’s stunned, and then angrily smashes the mirror.
I suspect that in that fleeting moment, Zhu Bajie recalled many memories with Zi Zhur.
To cover up his emotions, he discarded the mirror in anger.
In truth, Zhu Bajie has always carefully guarded his feelings for her.
In the game, when Zhu Bajie is poisoned by a venomous needle and loses his sanity, fighting the Chosen One, he says:
"I’d rather be free than endure all this. I’ve had enough of pretending!"
At that moment, it feels like he’s drunk and spilling his heart out during a game of truth or dare.
Deep within his heart resides a “Dark Bajie,” a version of himself who doesn’t care about the pilgrimage but simply wants to stay with the one he loves and live a carefree life.
There’s another scene where Zhu Bajie transforms into a black boar and plays in the mud with the Chosen One. Doesn’t the setting look a lot like the pond where Zi Zhur once bathed?
Could it be that the pond has turned into a muddy swamp after all these years?
In this level, after Zi Zhur dies, a Pearl of Youth appears at her grave.
In the original Journey to the West, this magical pearl appears in the story of Wujing Kingdom.
When the king of Wujing was pushed into a well by a demon, the Dragon King used the Pearl of Youth and the Water Avoidance Pearl to preserve the king’s body.
Later, Sun Wukong tricked Zhu Bajie into retrieving the body from the well by claiming there was treasure inside.
It’s likely that the Pearl of Youth at Zi Zhur’s grave was left by Zhu Bajie himself—or perhaps he always carried it with the intention of giving it to her.
Additionally, this level also introduces the Nine-Turn Resurrection Pill.
In the original story, this pill was also used to revive the king of Wujing.
Looking at it this way, could it be that Zhu Bajie secretly prepared a way to bring Zi Zhur back to life?
There’s another extremely subtle detail.
In this level, the Celestial Root stored in the Great Sage’s lotus seed pod initially contains seven seeds.
However, by the time it reaches the Chosen One, there are only six seeds left.
Could it be that Zhu Bajie secretly took one of the seeds?
Why would he do that?
Most likely, it was also for reviving Zi Zhur.
This level is packed with intricate details!
If you think deeper, Zhu Bajie’s eagerness to lead the Chosen One on this mission is probably motivated by his desire to protect Zi Zhur’s family.
According to the storyline, the entire spider clan was supposed to be wiped out by the end of this mission.
However, thanks to Zhu Bajie’s subtle interventions, only Zi Zhur and Hundred-Eyed Demon King perish.
Doesn’t this show how much effort Zhu Bajie put into protecting them?
In conclusion, Zhu Bajie’s character is layered with subtlety, regret, and unspoken devotion, making him one of the most thoughtfully crafted characters in Black Myth: Wukong.
