Xuanzang was startled by the sight and did not understand why Li Shimin was doing this.
"Brother Li, what is this for?" Xuanzang asked.
Li Shimin smiled. "Brother Xuanzang, once we part this time, we do not know when we will meet again. The road to Western Heaven is exceedingly long. I put this small pinch of soil into your cup to convey this meaning: Better cherish a pinch of soil from one's homeland than ten thousand taels of gold from a foreign land."
Xuanzang immediately understood and nodded. "Rest assured, Brother Li. In this life, I, Xuanzang, will surely obtain the true scriptures. Until I do, I swear I will never turn back."
Li Shimin nodded. He believed in Xuanzang.
"Brother Xuanzang, I will give you a Purple-Gold Alms Bowl this time." As Li Shimin spoke, he took out a Purple-Gold Alms Bowl and handed it to Xuanzang. It was a treasure as well.
"Thank you, Brother Li."
Li Shimin and Xuanzang finally parted reluctantly.
Riding the white horse Li Shimin had given him, Xuanzang headed west.
Li Shimin stood atop Chang'an's city walls, watching Xuanzang vanish into the distance without speaking for a long time.
Even after Xuanzang had traveled far away, Li Shimin remained standing there, utterly still.
With this parting, he truly did not know whether he would still be alive to see Xuanzang again.
Though Li Shimin did not know just how dangerous the westward journey would be, he knew it would be extraordinarily perilous—dangerous in ways beyond his imagination. Through his interactions with Uchiha Shin over the years, he had also sensed that Xuanzang's decision to travel to Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek the scriptures would surely become an internal struggle among the great powers of the Three Realms.
That was why