Subhuti finished speaking.
The lamplight in the hall dimmed.
He raised his eyes to everyone and smiled.
"Though I call it a story, it is really only an account of who I am, where I came from, and where I am going."
Xuanzang pressed his palms together and listened quietly.
Sanzang lowered his gaze.
Subhuti turned his gaze back to Wukong and said gently:
"Wukong, have you ever wondered why I am named Subhuti?"
"What does Subhuti mean?"
Wukong froze at the question.
His eyes flickered, and for a moment, he was back in the days when he had studied under his master.
For a long time, he said nothing.
Subhuti shook his head.
The Ruler in his hand lightly tapped Wukong's forehead. Yet he addressed him:
"You monkey, it has been so long since we last met. Why have you grown so dull? Or were you not listening to me?"
It did not hurt, but Wukong snapped awake at once and lowered his head.
"Your disciple is listening."
Luminous dust appeared around them.
Within it, an ancient city seemed to emerge slowly.
Houses stretched in unbroken rows through the city.
Their gateways were tall and broad.
Night dew clung to the tiled eaves.
Suddenly, an infant's cry rang out from one household.
The cry was piercing.
So piercing that it carried down the long street and startled the birds roosting beneath the eaves.
Several birds fluttered into the air.
The shadows of their wings swept over the walls.
Subhuti lowered his eyes to the luminous dust.
"I was born into the household of the Brahmin Fuli in the Shravasti Kingdom. On the day of my birth, everything in our home vanished."
"My parents were astonished and invited a diviner to read the signs."
Within the luminous dust.
Servants