Tathagata sat cross-legged atop a bluestone.
Today, he wore no kasaya blazing with golden light, only plain monk's robes. A faint radiance flowed around the ushnisha atop his head. His hands rested on his knees, palms upturned, as though receiving the night breeze.
Guanyin bowed.
"Buddha."
Tathagata opened his eyes. His voice was gentle, yet carried an unquestionable stillness.
"Guanyin, you have come at an unfortunate time."
Guanyin smiled faintly.
"This disciple knows that the matter of the White Bone Demoness has stirred up trouble, and came specifically to seek your guidance."
Tathagata's gaze passed over her and settled in the direction of a distant cave.
"Trouble?"
"Chu Yang has interfered," Guanyin said calmly. "He did not directly kill Lady Bai Gu, but kept her at his side, forcing her to keep 'acting' again and again. Now Lady Bai Gu's inner demon has arisen, and she can no longer bring herself to strike ruthlessly. This disciple fears... this tribulation may be forcibly resolved by him."
Tathagata fell silent for a moment.
"The Eighty-One Tribulations were originally the number of Golden Cicada's trials."
"To undergo trials is to Prove the Way."
"If someone breaks a trial through clever means, then though it is breaking the trial, is it not another kind of proof?"
Guanyin's brow furrowed slightly.
"Buddha, do you mean... this tribulation does not count?"
Tathagata shook his head gently.
"The tribulation lies not in demons causing mischief, but in the wavering of the Human Heart."
"Lady Bai Gu's three transformations were intended to make Xuanzang doubt Sun Wukong, to drive a wedge between master and disciples, and to bring twists and turns to the journey for scriptures. This was a trial of the heart."
"Now, Chu Yang has kept her by his side, plunging Lady Bai Gu herself into