Neither the wind moved, nor the banner—only the benevolent one's heart moved

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

The East-West Friendly Cultural Exchange Mission was finally established.

Su Yuan was successfully nominated by the Construction Engineering Industry Association as an "Outstanding Young Immortal in Architecture" and listed among the mission members, taking part in this westward exchange.

As for Director Wang, with whom he had once had a dispute, Su Yuan used his "superb connections" to send him to the Believer Reception Center with a single transfer order,

where he was put in charge of handling all sorts of bizarre wishes from believers in the lower realm. Every day, he was run ragged by instant complaint handling and satisfaction ratings, living in utter misery.

I never expected that before the Journey to the West even began, I'd be heading to Western Heaven first.

Su Yuan held the documents, secretly pondering how he could make a little profit during this trip west so it would not be wasted.

The bedroom door was kicked open with a bang.

The Great Sage returned covered in dust, his face gray with exhaustion and laziness written all over him.

There were still several years until the Jade Emperor's true body returned and officially bestowed upon him the title of "Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

With nowhere else to go for the time being, he simply moved in with Su Yuan.

"I'm done! Whoever wants to do it can do it! Damn it!"

He casually tossed aside his armor and collapsed onto the sofa without moving.

Su Yuan poured him a cup of tea and pushed it over, asking,

"What happened, Great Sage? Weren't you taking Red Boy back to the lower realm to visit family?"

"Don't mention it! Don't mention it!"

Wukong repeatedly waved his hands, his furry face filled with bad luck.

"That damned old qilin said Old Sun was born strong and fast on his feet, then actually harnessed me up and made me pull a flying boat down to the lower realm! Once we got there, that old ox loaded it full of tobacco leaves and made me haul it all the way back the same route! It damn near killed me!"

"And that little ox brat Red Boy has been spoiled rotten by Ink Qilin. Whenever he sees a mortal city, he has to go in and buy snacks and toys."

"If you don't buy him anything, he cries, makes a scene, and refuses to walk. Every time, he draws a crowd. Twice, even the constables came over and asked whether I'd kidnapped the kid!"

After saying that, he skillfully fished a slender cigarette from his ear and took a deep drag.

Su Yuan burst out laughing.

"Back then, Ink Qilin pulled twelve flying boats by himself and never once complained."

Hearing that, the Great Sage gave a thumbs-up.

"Then he really is a beast!"

This was the embryonic form of Su Yuan's smuggling network between the two realms.

Over the past year, he had used Red Boy's family visit to the lower realm and communicated back and forth through Sun Wukong.

On one hand, he brought Heavenly Court's embargoed goods to the Six Great Demon Sages for sale. On the other, he hauled shiploads of tobacco up from Accumulated Thunder Mountain.

Including the various profits from his earlier recruitment and anti-corruption efforts, he had gathered over a billion spirit stones, enough to push his cultivation to the late or even peak Yuan Immortal stage.

Yet as he calculated, he discovered that his share of the tobacco profits did not match his projected income curve. The discrepancy was enormous—more than two hundred million spirit stones were missing.

Where was the problem?

Could Ink Qilin have pocketed it all?

That made no sense. The old man could not even understand a financial report.

Trying to cheat him out of money? Go study at Tilanqiao for eighty or a hundred years first.

After taking a few puffs, the Great Sage regained some of his energy and asked,

"I heard you're going to Western Heaven? Is that place fun? Old Sun hasn't dealt with those monks before!"

Great Sage, don't be in such a hurry. You'll have plenty of chances to deal with monks for the rest of your life.

Su Yuan thought to himself, but answered with a smile, "It's only an official business trip. We leave tomorrow."

"Take me with you, will you?"

Wukong became interested and grabbed Su Yuan.

"I'm bored stiff in this Heavenly Court. It's driving me crazy!"

Su Yuan pushed away his furry hand.

"Great Sage, don't joke around. The travel approval has already been finalized, the roster submitted, and even the Thunder Bureau's exit documents have been processed. How can we add or remove people at will?"

"Haha, what's so difficult about that?"

Upon hearing this, Wukong shook his body and turned into a tiny streak of golden light, drilling into Su Yuan's ear again.

Su Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry, but there was nothing he could do.

"What kind of habit is this? Are you addicted to drilling into people's ears?"

The Western Buddhist Realm's Vulture Peak Sacred Realm was indeed utterly different from Heavenly Court.

Auspicious mists filled the sky, while rainbows carpeted the earth.

Spirit peaks stood scattered and clear, grand vajra manifestations rising in rows; the sacred realm was tranquil, filled with sandalwood incense and true words.

White cranes perched upon pines, and green lions crouched at the steps.

It truly was the Western Paradise. Compared with Heavenly Court's majesty, it possessed a different kind of empty and wondrous serenity.

The two venerables, Ananda and Kasyapa, were responsible for receiving the mission from the Eastern Land, leading the immortals on a stroll up Spirit Mountain.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they admired the sacred scenery along the way.

Before the mountain gate of Great Thunderclap Temple, Ananda pressed his palms together and said,

"Distinguished worthies from the Eastern Land, the Buddha is presently traveling through the three thousand Buddhist realms and has yet to return. Please rest in the guest quarters for now and wait quietly until tomorrow to enter the hall and pay your respects."

Su Yuan's heart stirred. This was a fine opportunity. By befriending Ananda, he could first open a path.

Given Ananda's greedy nature, as long as he threw enough spirit stones at him, meeting the Golden-Winged Roc would be as easy as turning his hand.

Everyone settled into the guest quarters, burning incense and bathing in preparation for visiting the Buddha the next day.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the absence of others, Su Yuan secretly knocked on Venerable Ananda's door.

When Venerable Ananda saw that it was Su Yuan, he showed a trace of surprise, but still pressed his palms together in greeting.

"Amitabha Buddha. Layman Su, rather than calming your mind and cultivating your nature in the guest quarters, you have come to visit late at night. Is there some burden in your heart? Do you seek the Buddha Dharma to cleanse away worldly dust?"

Su Yuan could hardly say that he had come to give gifts and build connections, so he followed Ananda's lead.

"This is my first time setting foot in the Buddhist realm. Seeing the boundless grandeur of Spirit Mountain and the solemn splendor of its wondrous teachings, I too have grown quite fond of the Buddha Dharma. I hope Venerable One will not begrudge me some guidance."

Ananda's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly ushered Su Yuan inside.

"Layman, please come in quickly."

Su Yuan secretly thought,

As expected of business-savvy Ananda. He knows it's inconvenient to talk outside with so many eyes and ears around. Going inside will make things easier.

The meditation room was simply furnished, containing only meditation cushions, an incense table, and a single blue lamp.

The two sat facing one another. At that moment, a breeze passed outside the window, stirring the wind chimes beneath the guest quarters' eaves.

Venerable Ananda's gaze was peaceful. He looked out the window, then withdrew his gaze and settled it upon Su Yuan before naturally asking,

"Just now, the breeze passed through, the bells rang, and the banner fluttered. Layman Su, what you saw—was it the wind that moved, or the banner that moved?"

Though Su Yuan had not deeply studied profound Buddhist teachings, he knew this famous Zen koan.

Upon hearing it, he answered almost without thinking,

"Neither the wind moved, nor the banner. It was the benevolent one's heart that moved."

At those words, Venerable Ananda's eyes immediately lit up, and he praised,

"Excellent! I never expected the layman to possess such wisdom. With a single statement, you have pointed directly to the source! This humble monk has been disrespectful."

He leaned forward slightly and asked even more earnestly,

"May I ask whether the layman has any deeper understanding of those words, 'the heart moved'? The myriad forms of the world are ever-changing—how does one subdue one's heart?"

Seeing the other party's enthusiastic reaction and their smooth back-and-forth, Su Yuan thought his chance had come and hurriedly smiled.

"You flatter me, Venerable One. As for this 'heart moving,' in my humble opinion, without a fated opportunity and an external object that resonates with it, the heart would find it difficult to move."

"To be honest, I happen to have some very tangible 'external objects' here, ones especially capable of stirring a person's heart."

The two were talking past each other. Upon hearing "fated external objects" and "stirring one's heart," Venerable Ananda thought Su Yuan meant some Buddhist treasure capable of enlightenment, such as a jeweled banner or scripture cylinder, and hurriedly urged him to take it out.

Su Yuan was completely reassured. He took out a heavy brocade pouch, and in an instant, two million spirit stones poured forth.