Tathagata sat in the front hall with a dark face. He watched the hot tea being replaced again and again before finally waiting for the tardy Sun Wukong.
Moreover, he immediately noticed that Sun Wukong was beaming, with slightly red corners of his eyes, clearly showing the satisfaction after making love.
"Smack!" The cup in his hand cracked on cue.
Sun Wukong suddenly looked up. Seeing Tathagata's face so dark that it seemed to drip water, he felt greatly pleased. He smiled and asked, "Your coming here really adds luster to my Flower - Fruit Mountain."
Tathagata was in simple clothes, a blue - gray long gown, with his black hair tied up by a white jade hair crown. His handsome features were somewhat similar to Xuan You's.
He held a string of Buddhist beads in his hand and flicked the beads from time to time, obviously impatient from waiting.
Sun Wukong knew that Tathagata was all - knowing. He must be angry about the noise they had just made.
The pure land of Buddhism most忌讳s affairs between men and women. Presumably, Tathagata would like to destroy him at this moment.
It wasn't that Sun Wukong didn't respect Tathagata enough. It was just that with a beauty in his arms, he couldn't disappoint his wife.
So, let Tathagata be angry. He didn't care.
Thinking this way, Sun Wukong crossed his legs high. He drank three cups of hot tea before stopping.
Looking at Tathagata again, his expression was as calm as water, with no ripples in his eyes, as if it was Sun Wukong who had crushed the teacup just now.
"One doesn't visit the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. Tathagata came to my humble abode early in the morning. Presumably, you have something important to say. Why not tell me?" Times had changed, and he didn't even think about bowing to him.
Tathagata slightly closed his long and narrow phoenix eyes. His thin upper lip parted, and a voice like melting snow in spring came, "Passing by here, I thought that you and your disciples had gone their separate ways and completely abandoned the plan of going to the West. So I came here to express my condolences."
Sun Wukong thought to himself that probably Tathagata wanted to say that he came to see if he could teach them a lesson.
At this moment, Tathagata must hate them extremely, especially Yang Xue who had made Tang Seng return to his original position. He probably wished to expose her to the public and let everyone scold her.
His thousand - year plan had been ruined by a female demon. He would probably have a mental breakdown just thinking about it during his evening meditation.
However, it seemed that the root cause of all things couldn't be blamed on his Xue'er. If anyone was to blame, it was Tathagata himself. In order to achieve his goal, he ignored others' feelings, was overbearing, and couldn't tolerate the slightest resistance from others.
Now, he had just tasted a bit of the feeling of "unattainability" that ordinary people had, and he was so furious. He was really... lacking in empathy.
The word "empathy" was told to him by Xue'er, and it was most appropriate to describe Tathagata.
"Thank you, Buddha, for your kindness. There was a reason for this. Master suddenly returned to his original position. No one expected such a thing." Sun Wukong ignored Tathagata's gloomy face and sighed to himself, "It's all because of that Roc in the Lion - Camel Ridge. He actually killed a hundred ordinary people in front of everyone. Not only that, but he also used the corpses to disgust people..."
Saying this, Sun Wukong slapped the table and stood up, angrily saying, "You also know that Tang Seng has a kind - hearted and compassionate nature. He wouldn't even step on an ant wherever he went. But that Roc, he harvested a hundred living lives like grass. He was really heartless and inhumane. Such a monster had been running amok in the world for so many years!"
"..." Tathagata's face turned ashen. Looking at Sun Wukong's impassioned speech, he opened his mouth but felt as if he had a fishbone in his throat. In the end, he didn't say much.
That was his uncle. Although he had committed murder, his crime wasn't punishable by death...
Seeing that Tathagata didn't stop him, Sun Wukong described it even more vigorously, "That Roc even claimed to be your uncle. He quarreled with my wife and threatened to send Xue'er to hell, to the Avici Hell. It was really hateful. Xue'er has never been the kind of person who would swallow an insult. How could she let such a crazy monster go? After a few moves, she used her trump card and actually destroyed his physical body directly, leaving only a soul..."
"..." Tathagata closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.
"Was that soul later taken away by the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva? Is he really your own uncle, Buddha?" Sun Wukong asked with a fake smile, "It shouldn't be. Shouldn't Tathagata's uncle be kind - hearted, saving all sentient beings, and so kind that he wouldn't even step on an ant?"
At this moment, Tathagata was like a mute who had eaten bitter herbs. He couldn't tell his suffering.
He had originally come to scold them and then fulfill his promise to Yang Xue, promising her a position in the Western Pure Land. Who would have thought that Sun Wukong had such a silver tongue? He pretended to be stupid and filed a complaint against him, blatantly slapping his face!
Fortunately, someone came.
He turned his head and looked at the corner, and said indifferently, "This matter is already in the past. I'll leave it to the Avalokitesvara and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas to handle. He deserves what he got. But for now, if you four disciples break off the journey to the West, except for Tang Seng, the rest of you will have to continue to be demons in the mortal world. You, Sun Wukong, have the Flower - Fruit Mountain, but what about Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing? They have nowhere to go. Are you really willing to let them be small demons here for the rest of their lives?"
Sun Wukong's eyes shifted slightly. So Tathagata was here to coerce him. He wouldn't stop until he achieved his goal.
Thinking carefully, he did feel guilty towards Bajie and Sha Shidi.
Letting them be idle small demons here for the rest of their lives was really a humiliation compared to their previous status in the Heavenly Court.
"Then does Tathagata have a new arrangement?" Sun Wukong really wanted to know what Tathagata's plan was.
"This matter..." Just as Tathagata was about to say the purpose of his visit, someone interrupted him.
Yang Xue walked in from behind and laughed loudly, "It's really an honor for the Buddha to come here. But your plan may finally fall through. Letting them go back to their original places and waiting for Tang Seng to be reincarnated as a mortal to go on a pilgrimage for scriptures will take at least a hundred years. Isn't that unfair to them?"
Tathagata turned his head in surprise. How did she know his plan?
Yang Xue was wearing a dark red dress, which made her lips red and teeth white, and her eyes full of charm. With a smile on her face, she slowly walked towards him.
Tathagata frowned and waved his hand at Yang Xue, intending to cover up her beauty.
Yang Xue raised her hand to block his move and put on her veil by herself, "I'm being rude."
"..." Sun Wukong was puzzled and then looked at Tathagata.
"..." Tathagata turned around, flicked his sleeves, and walked to the chair farthest away and sat down.
"Humph!" Sun Wukong snorted dissatisfiedly, "Still having worldly desires and blaming my wife for being good - looking. It's really..."
Shameless!
Tathagata knew what he was going to say, and his face became even more ugly.
Yang Xue didn't care at all. She said word by word, "Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and the White Dragon Horse. They went through all kinds of hardships and finally reached the Lion - Camel Ridge. They were about to reach the Spirit Mountain. Even if they didn't have any credit, they still suffered a lot. How can we erase their sufferings just because the pilgrimage for scriptures hasn't been successful yet and let them continue to wait for the next pilgrimage? Isn't the Buddha afraid that they will be disappointed and turn to Xuan You's side?"
During this period, Xuan You hadn't given up provoking the Heavenly Court. Now he had occupied half of the world and commanded all the demons to dominate one side.
The heavenly soldiers and generals in the Heavenly Court had all been sent out, but they were unable to deal with him and had to temporarily cease fighting.
Otherwise, the attitude of the Heavenly Court towards Yang Xue and the others wouldn't have changed so quickly.
They were just taking expedients. They were worried that Yang Xue and the others would take the opportunity to cause trouble.