“...” The Goddess of Mercy hesitated to speak. She opened her mouth but finally said nothing.
“You tell me, why can't lovers stay together for a lifetime? I thought that after I sent him on the journey to fetch scriptures, when he came back, we would be together as we wished...” Yang Xue couldn't hold back her emotions as she spoke and covered her face with her hands, sobbing.
The Goddess of Mercy was puzzled. What had the Tathagata told her?
“Goddess, have you ever fallen in love with someone?” Yang Xue slowly walked down the steps. “Have you ever doubted your own life?”
“Never.” The Goddess of Mercy slowly walked down the steps with her. “People experience joys and sorrows, partings and reunions. But I was born not understanding these things. I won't indulge in worldly desires like ordinary mortals, so naturally I won't have the emotions you mentioned.”
Yang Xue wiped away her tears and looked carefully at the transcendent Goddess of Mercy.
The Goddess of Mercy also looked at her. Looking at the woman with tear - streaked face in front of her, she couldn't associate her with the word “sage” at all.
She was clearly an impulsive mortal woman. Why had she become a sage?
“Goddess, can you tell me how to get the Great Sage to go to the Heavenly Court instead of staying in the West?”
“...” Now she understood why Yang Xue was crying so sadly.
The Goddess of Mercy shook her head secretly in her heart. In the past, when she looked at Yang Xue, she always thought she was transcendent and extremely intelligent. How could she be blinded by a few words from the Tathagata after meeting him?
However, she wanted to know how the Tathagata had deceived her.
“If you don't want to answer, it's okay. But why did you suddenly turn into a man again?” Yang Xue looked at his heroic face. Although it was pleasing to the eye, there was always something strange about it.
The Goddess of Mercy looked down. Was it because he had just passed through the tribulation and still needed to consolidate his power?
“Yang Xue, I still have important matters to report to the Tathagata, so I won't see you off.” He nodded slightly in a hurry, and the next moment he disappeared from the spot.
Yang Xue was unhappy. Frowning, she thought to herself, “Was he laughing at me with that look in his eyes just now?”
She quickly left the Spirit Mountain and found a deserted place to summon the Heavenly Book.
“Is what the Tathagata said true?” She looked at the blank pages of the Heavenly Book expectantly.
“NO!”
A big black character appeared on the paper. The stone in Yang Xue's heart finally dropped.
Fine! Not only did the Tathagata not show his real self to her, but he also tried to deceive her and make her give up the idea of a happy union with Sun Wukong.
She put away the Heavenly Book, thinking that she was too easy to be deceived.
After looking at her deeply for a while, the Tathagata said some heartfelt words. The general idea was that if she continued to be with Sun Wukong, it would bring him a disaster.
When she was just an ordinary human in her previous life, Yang Xue liked to believe in such metaphysics. Unexpectedly, even now as a demon, she was still fooled by the Tathagata!
No, she was not to be bullied.
She turned around and went back to the Thunder Sound Temple. She directly came to the outside of the Tathagata's meditation room.
Just as she was thinking about how to play a trick on him to avenge his deception, she heard someone talking inside. It seemed that her name was mentioned.
She concealed her figure and turned into a leaf, attaching herself to the bodhi tree outside the window. She eavesdropped on the Tathagata's conversation openly.
However, when she saw through the leaves the man sitting cross - legged by the window, with a jade - like face, sword - shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, as bright as the stars, and the male - form Goddess of Mercy sitting opposite him, she felt a strange uneasiness in her heart.
It turned out that the real Tathagata was so handsome. Although he couldn't be said to be as handsome as Pan An, compared with ordinary people, he was definitely extremely good - looking.
She gritted her teeth and slandered secretly: Was the Tathagata worried that she would take a fancy to him and flirt with him, so he had to make himself look ugly in front of her? Or did he need to keep this face for other purposes?
“Send someone to the Great Green Mountain immediately and bring the real White Bone Demon here. I will interrogate her personally.” The Tathagata didn't notice Yang Xue's presence at all. He gave the order with a solemn expression.
The Goddess of Mercy stood up. “Yes.”
“Have you been staying by her side for these three years?” Just as the Goddess of Mercy was about to turn around, the Tathagata suddenly spoke. His tone was gentle, but it clearly showed his imposing manner.
The Goddess of Mercy hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.
“Have you noticed any abnormalities about her?” He picked up the teacup and asked casually.
“She seems to carry an ancient magical weapon. It's very difficult to get close to her. With my power, it's hard for me to match her.” He replied respectfully with his hands hanging down.
Yang Xue was extremely surprised. Did the Goddess of Mercy discover the existence of the Heavenly Book now?
Moreover, how come she didn't know that her strength could now compete with the Goddess of Mercy?
“It is said that the God of Wealth, Zhao Gongming, treats her differently. I wonder if we can ask him to intervene and separate her from Sun Wukong?” He twirled the Buddhist beads with one hand, his eyebrows slightly frowned. It seemed to be a tricky problem. “She must not be with Sun Wukong. Even dealing with Tang Sanzang was not this difficult.”
“...” What was going on?
Yang Xue was completely confused. Why did her being with Sun Wukong cause so much trouble for the Tathagata?
Moreover, even the Buddha thought that she should fall in love with Tang Sanzang at first sight. Did the Buddha like to play matchmaker too?
Full of doubts, she couldn't help but move forward a bit. Accidentally, she fell from the treetop and gently landed on the transom window beside the window.
“!!!!” She looked in horror at the suddenly enlarged hand. What was the Tathagata going to do?
Please don't! What's so good about picking up a leaf!
Yang Xue's scalp went numb. She regretted her actions today.
If she had known, she should have turned into a butterfly. She could have flown away with a turn.
She was just too over - confident, thinking that with the Heavenly Book in hand, even if she turned into gold, the Tathagata wouldn't notice anything strange.
But now...
She was just asking for trouble!
“Is it autumn already?” He gently picked up the leaf and carefully examined it in his palm. He sighed with a touch of sadness, “Time flies like an arrow. Some things can't be delayed any longer.”
“Buddha, why don't you be straightforward with her? She has a simple mortal woman's heart. Maybe you can teach her to abandon love and devote herself to Buddhism...”
“It's difficult.” He casually put the leaf into the Buddhist scriptures and walked towards the door. “Go and bring the White Bone Demon here.”
“Yes.” The Goddess of Mercy followed behind him. “When will Tang Sanzang take action?”
Yang Xue squeezed out of the book. She casually picked a leaf from outside the window and left it in the book as a substitute for herself. She was going to follow them and continue eavesdropping.
Who was Tang Sanzang going to take action against?
Had he already sided with the Tathagata? Then wasn't the Great Sage in danger?
It seemed that she was indeed the simplest one.
Yang Xue was about to continue following them when suddenly a golden light came towards her. She quickly turned around and flew out of the window, turning into a wisp of white smoke and soaring into the sky.
She had been discovered. The Tathagata was not to be underestimated.
Fortunately, he didn't chase after her. She then went directly in the direction of the Great Green Mountain.
Yang Xue wanted to figure out what the Tathagata's intention was in seeing the White Bone Demon, Bai Xue.
In the past three years, she had received the true teachings of the bodhi tree and learned to transform into all things.
After entering the barrier of the Great Green Mountain, she transformed into an unremarkable little butterfly and came to the cave on the mountain.
Thinking of the cat and Xiaorou who used to follow her here, she missed them very much after three years.
But all the demons on and around the mountain were fully armed. Just as the rumor said, they were ready to attack the Southern Heavenly Gate at any time.
It took her a lot of effort to reach the front of the main hall.
Unfortunately, as soon as her feet touched the ground, a woman who looked very much like her walked towards her. She had exaggerated makeup and gorgeous clothes.