Within the magnificent palace.
Upon an enormous, luxurious table.
Were all manner of carefully prepared delicacies.
Rare treasures of the mountains and seas, all of them were there.
And the portions were especially generous.
There were two whole roasted bulls alone.
Even a hundred people might not have been able to finish them.
Yet at this moment, no one cared about that issue...
"...Imperial Brother..."
After pondering for a long while, Emperor Taizong of Tang finally decided to speak. "I heard that you are very interested in Buddhist scriptures, and you have already collected nearly all the Buddhist scriptures of our Great Tang. I myself also hold all manner of profound Buddhist principles in the highest regard... Not long ago, I heard that India, as the Origin of Buddhism, possesses even more profound Buddhist scriptures, so I wished to send someone there to seek them out... But if someone of insufficient status were sent to request scriptures, it would seem rather disrespectful to them, and they might very well make things difficult... Now, Imperial Brother is the foremost Buddhist master of the Great Tang of the East and comes from an orthodox Buddhist lineage. Would you be willing to make the journey on my behalf?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang, who had been wolfing down food, frowned slightly.
His eating motion came to an abrupt halt.
He casually snapped off a horn from the roasted bull and picked his teeth with it. Without saying a word, he simply sat there with furrowed brows, as though deeply contemplating something.
Emperor Taizong of Tang—Li Shimin—watched as a few beads of clear sweat slowly trickled down his forehead.
Even the palace maids serving the two of them trembled with fear beneath the heavy atmosphere...
At last, after a long while, Tang Sanzang finished