The scene suddenly froze, dissolving into a wisp of blue smoke.
The seedling, the high ground, and the fresh grave receded together, and the floor reappeared beneath their feet.
The broken horn still lay in Xuanzang's palm, more than half consumed by the white-gold fire.
Bajie sobbed with his mouth open, tears streaming down his face. He wiped at them haphazardly, but the more he wiped, the more they flowed.
"Oh, my mother! That was so moving."
He sniffled and turned to look at Great King Si.
"To think the Ox Lord had such a past. No wonder, no wonder..."
He repeated those words twice, but could not get the rest out.
Little White Dragon also gazed toward the center of the hall and said earnestly, "He wore himself to the bone for his people, willing to abandon the path of cultivation to find them a path to survival."
"He truly deserved the title of Human Sovereign."
Yet Great King Si kept his head lowered.
Sha Wujing asked urgently, "Master, why did Benefactor Ox become what he is today? And how can we help him?"
Wukong had been crouching at the very front. At those words, he immediately raised his eyes.
"Old Sha's right. I understand the old ox's origins now, but what does that have to do with us coming here?"
Xuanzang looked at the broken horn in his palm and smiled. "Patience, patience. Your master told you, this is a long story."
The white-gold fire burned deeper into the broken horn, and blue smoke once again spread beneath their feet.
"It is not over yet."
The cave gradually darkened.
Xuanzang's voice came through the smoke.
"Fuxi passed away, and Nuwa succeeded him."
The elders and the leaders of every tribe gathered at the royal court.
Five dragon