The Heavenly Court.
The Palace of the Supreme Lord.
The Patriarch Bodhi and the Supreme Lord Laozi were sitting in front of the chessboard. Through the Heaven - Peeping Mirror, they saw the strange sights on Flower - Fruit Mountain. For a moment, they were silent.
The Supreme Lord Laozi threw away the chess piece in his hand, got up and paced back and forth in the room, his face full of sorrow.
Bodhi raised his hand to stop him. "The Moral Lord invited me here just to let me watch you pacing around aimlessly in the room?"
"Since you've already met Yang Xue, I won't hide it from you. I invited you here to confirm. Have you seen clearly her fate?" Ignoring Bodhi's teasing, the Supreme Lord Laozi asked seriously with a worried look on his face.
"No." Bodhi leaned over and asked, "Is she the Saint in the legend?"
"Yes and no." Saying this, he waved his whisk and sat cross - legged on the cushion again. "The problem is, your disciple now..."
The Supreme Lord Laozi hesitated to speak, his face full of regret. He looked at Bodhi with some resentment.
"What's wrong?" Bodhi sat up straight involuntarily. "What trouble has Sun Wukong caused this time?"
"Don't you know?" The Supreme Lord Laozi gave him an angry glance, picked up a chess piece and casually dropped it, then let out a long sigh. "Forget it. That stone monkey is really lucky. Since it's a predestined fate, no one can stop it."
"Don't beat around the bush with me. Make it clear!" Bodhi disliked people like him who always pretended to be profound and half - concealed things.
"A young man and a young woman were alone in a room. Everything that should have happened has happened. Now even the Bodhisattva knows about it. Are you pretending to be stupid with me?" Saying this, he threw the chess piece away impatiently, no longer maintaining his image. He blew his beard and stared in anger, pointing his finger and scolding, "That monkey doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. He got what he wanted so quickly. It's really..."
Bodhi was a bit confused at first, but when he heard this, he burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "Really? It seems my disciple isn't stupid. He got what he wanted so quickly. I thought that stupid monkey of mine would still need me, his master, to find some Yin - Yang scriptures for him to learn the dual - cultivation method after he came back from the pilgrimage!"
"You..." The Supreme Lord Laozi was so choked that he couldn't speak. "I shouldn't have given him those pills in the first place!"
Bodhi mercilessly mocked, "What were you doing earlier? You knew they were in love. Why are you so tangled now? She's not your daughter. I think you should even congratulate them."
"You're just standing there talking!" Hearing this, the Supreme Lord Laozi angrily flicked his sleeve and got up. "She's a great Saint who rarely appears in ten thousand years, and she's been taken by your monkey. If I don't feel heart - ache, who will?"
"Okay, okay. Don't be angry. This is a great happy event. Why trouble yourself? I've brought the aged vintage you like. Want some?" Bodhi got up, grabbed him and quickly comforted him.
"That's more like it!" Seeing the fine wine in Bodhi's hand, he didn't care anymore.
He was just being pedantic.
...
At night, as the lanterns were first lit, after a full meal, Sun Wukong, regardless of what others thought, took Yang Xue to rest.
The old monkey master took care of the others, arranging everything properly according to each immortal's preferences and habits.
Guanyin, Tang Seng and their party were all arranged to stay in the stone cave on the top of the mountain, where it was quiet.
The others each chose a room on the mountainside.
To be honest, after returning to the room, just thinking that there were so many immortals nearby, Yang Xue felt uncomfortable.
Sun Wukong thought she was hungry because she hadn't eaten meat and couldn't sleep. So he brought a roasted chicken into the room from outside.
"Hey, how did you know I wasn't full!" Seeing the oil - paper bag in Sun Wukong's hand, Yang Xue smelled the smell of meat. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately jumped up and kissed him on the face. "The Great Sage is the best. He knows I can't live without meat!"
"It must have been hard for you to make such a big table of vegetarian dishes." Sun Wukong sat down. Seeing her eat so happily, his eyes were full of doting and tenderness. He poured her a glass of water and said, "Slow down. I won't grab it from you."
Yang Xue raised her head sharply. "You have something on your mind?"
"Yeah." Sun Wukong didn't hide it. He lay on the table with a heavy heart, resting his chin on the back of his hand. Rarely, he showed a worried look. "The Bodhisattva Guanyin came here in person and is staying in my humble temple. It's really strange."
"Yeah, I feel the same way." Although she said so, it didn't affect her from eating meat happily at all.
"Or, let's go out to avoid the limelight. I always feel that everyone is coming with bad intentions." Sun Wukong frowned. He always felt that the hustle and bustle on Flower - Fruit Mountain wasn't a good thing.
"Sure." Yang Xue took a sip of wine. "Where does the Great Sage want to take me? There are still so many guests on the mountain. Is it okay for us to leave?"
"Anyway, our master has never been so idle. He'll be chanting scriptures wherever he is. With Bajie accompanying him, it won't be a big problem. As for the others, there'll be even fewer problems..."
"Knock, knock, knock!"
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation in the room.
Yang Xue raised her eyebrows. She had a hunch that the person outside should be Guanyin.
"Who is it?" Sun Wukong turned around to open the door. At a glance, he saw Guanyin in white clothes as white as snow. He always felt something was strange. "Bodhisattva?"
"Is Miss Yang here? I'd like to talk to her." The smell of wine and meat floating out of the room made Guanyin frown. "It's something important. Please don't stop me, Wukong."
"If you change back to your female form, I'll agree to let her talk to you alone." Sun Wukong looked at his ethereal and elegant appearance in disgust. "You deliberately transformed into a male form. Do you have other motives?"
"Does Wukong not trust me?" Guanyin smiled slightly. His clear, watery eyes seemed to see through people's hearts. "In the eyes of the Bodhisattva, all sentient beings are equal. Please rest assured."
"..." Sun Wukong felt uncomfortable being stared at by those eyes. His ears turned red, and he turned to look at Yang Xue. He said sullenly, "Come back early."
On the top of Flower - Fruit Mountain, the gentle breeze caressed their faces, and the night view was beautiful.
Yang Xue and Guanyin were standing on the treetop, quietly looking at the scenery in front of them. They were silent for a long time.
"Thank you, Bodhisattva Guanyin, for condescending to visit Flower - Fruit Mountain. I'm sure you didn't come here voluntarily." Yang Xue was the first to speak, breaking the silent atmosphere between them.
Although staying like this, the aura of the Bodhisattva Guanyin could make people's minds clear and empty, which wasn't a bad thing. But if they stayed a little longer, the Great Sage might worry.
"If Wukong doesn't go on the westward journey, the Tathagata will surely not let him go. Although you've now reached the Celestial Immortal realm, you're still no match for the Tathagata." Guanyin turned his head. His eyes were as calm as water, with a trace of compassion.
Yang Xue smiled slightly and reached out her hand to catch the white butterfly flying with the wind. "Then why did you come?"
"..." It was the first time he was asked speechless, and it was also the first time he saw such a scene.
The white butterfly landed on her finger and slightly flapped its wings. In a moment, countless fireflies, like starlight, flew from the forest to the high treetop and surrounded Yang Xue.
"Bodhisattva, please ask the Tathagata for me. Why can't he tolerate me?" She raised her hand and let the butterfly fly away. Then she turned to meet Guanyin's gaze. "No matter what happens in the future, I, Yang Xue, can guarantee that I won't pose the slightest threat to the Buddha. I just beg him to let us go."
"..." Looking at the dreamy smile on her flawless face, Guanyin fell silent again.
She turned to look at the night sky and still didn't answer her question. "I heard that the King of Hell invited you to the Underworld. Why didn't you go?"
"It seems you can't change his decision." Yang Xue put away her smile and said coldly, "Well, after some time, I'll go to the Spirit Mountain myself and have a fight with him."