What Need Was There for Rescue?

The moon was dark, the wind fierce, and the crows cried blood.

Leading his white horse, Xuanzang trudged along the rugged mountain path, his footing uneven.

Ever since bidding farewell to Emperor Taizong outside Chang'an City that day, he had traveled west without rest, following the map on his Travel Pass.

Today, he had finally crossed the border of the Great Tang.

When he had traveled west in that other world, he had encountered tigers and wolves too.

Eight hundred li of shifting sands, the snowy mountains of the Pamirs-which had not brought him within a hair's breadth of death?

It should be fine.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the ground vanished beneath his feet!

"Hm?"

Xuanzang reacted swiftly, but it was already too late.

He and his horse plunged straight into an enormous pit.

Then a fierce wind rose, carrying a bloody stench into his nostrils.

"Seize him! Seize him!"

Several thunderous roars made Xuanzang's eardrums ache.

Before he could climb to his feet, a pack of grotesquely shaped lesser demons pinned him to the ground, bound him tightly, and dragged him out of the pit.

Jostled along, Xuanzang raised his head and took in the scene before him.

Demons.

Real demons.

A massive figure with a tiger's head and a human body sat above him, sporting a leopard-like head, round eyes, and a mouth like a basin of blood. A thick, bloody aura poured from his body.

The shreds of flesh caught on his fangs were clearly visible.

Xuanzang's heart tightened.

He had seen fierce tigers before, but those had been ordinary beasts.

The creature before him was clearly a demon that had attained supernatural powers.

His aura was a hundred times more savage than that of any wild beast Xuanzang had ever encountered.

"Great King! We caught him! A fair, tender monk!"

The lesser demons shoved and jostled the tightly bound Xuanzang before the tiger demon.

The tiger demon slowly lowered his head, bringing that enormous tiger skull close to sniff Xuanzang. A nauseating stench washed over his face.

Those steel-needle whiskers nearly pierced Xuanzang's skin.

"Such fragrant meat..."

General Yin licked the corner of his mouth, his voice rumbling like thunder.

"Just when my belly was hungry and thirsty. Boys, wash him and skin him clean. Once I..."

"Report-!"

A sudden shout from outside the cave interrupted General Yin's appetite.

"Bear Mountain Lord and Te Chu Shi have come to visit!"

At that moment, two enormous dark figures entered.

They were Bear Mountain Lord, covered in black fur and towering like a sturdy pagoda, and Te Chu Shi, with two horns atop his head and a bulging belly.

"General Yin, you're in fine spirits today! Have you room for guests?" Bear Mountain Lord's voice boomed like a great bell, shaking dust from the cave ceiling.

General Yin hurried to rise and greet them. "Of course, of course! My worthy brothers, you've come at just the right time! I've just caught a tender-skinned monk and was fretting over having no one to share him with."

Te Chu Shi swept his bovine eyes over Xuanzang, then frowned and said in a muffled, rumbling voice:

"Just this one? Skin and debone this monk, and even with his heart, liver, and entrails thrown in, he wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."

General Yin rubbed his hands awkwardly. "That white horse looks nice and plump. How about this? The three of us split the monk, and we chop up the horse to give the boys a feast."

"Good!" Bear Mountain Lord licked his lips, exposing a mouthful of yellowed fangs.

"In that case, boys, get to work! Cut open his belly and dig out his heart first. Bring his heart and liver to go with our wine!"

"Yes!"

The two lesser demons dared not defy the Great King's command. They advanced with raised knives and thrust straight at Xuanzang's chest.

At that very moment-

Xuanzang closed his eyes.

He did not struggle, beg for mercy, or feel afraid.

He simply settled into a cross-legged position and softly chanted:

"When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva practiced the profound perfection of wisdom..."

This was the Heart Sutra.

A scripture he had translated with his own hands.

Back at Nalanda Temple, he had recited this sutra countless times. Every word was carved into his marrow.

The instant the first word left his lips-

"Humm-!"

A ring of golden ripples seemed to spread through the air, visible to the naked eye.

"Aaargh!!!"

The two knife-wielding demons bore the brunt of it. With agonized screams, their steel knives clattered to the ground. They clapped their hands over their ears and rolled wildly across the floor, as though they had heard the most terrifying sound in the world.

"He perceived that all five aggregates were empty, and passed beyond all suffering and distress..."

Xuanzang spoke unhurriedly, but every word struck like a heavy hammer.

A faint golden glow rose around him, and a luminous white, glassy Buddhist wheel appeared behind his head.

Within that golden light, nectar could faintly be seen falling-the Nectar Buddha Wheel bestowed by the Heavenly Dao was turning.

The Buddhist chanting intertwined with the nectar, forming an invisible barrier.

For living beings, this was a wondrous means of soothing the mind.

But for these demons, burdened with grievous karmic sins...

It was the most terrifying torture.

"What... what sorcery is this?!"

General Yin had just raised his wine cup when the Buddhist chanting struck him. His hand shook, and the cup fell and shattered.

He felt as though countless needles were stabbing into his brain. That monk sitting cross-legged on the floor was clearly a menace!

Clutching his head, Bear Mountain Lord staggered backward again and again. His massive body slammed into the stone wall, sending loose rocks tumbling.

"My head! Stop chanting! Stop chanting, you damned monk!"

Te Chu Shi fared even worse. He was already on his knees, dry-heaving. "...This monk! We can't eat him! We can't eat him!"

"Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness does not differ from form..."

The golden light around Xuanzang grew ever brighter.

The lesser demons were already foaming at the mouth, and most had passed out.

The three demon kings-General Yin, Bear Mountain Lord, and Te Chu Shi-were driven into a corner by the vast, surging Buddhist chanting. They huddled there, trembling, the greed in their eyes long since replaced by terror.

"Go... get out!"

Unable to endure the mental torment any longer, General Yin roared and transformed into a gale, rushing out of the cave.

Bear Mountain Lord and Te Chu Shi no longer cared about etiquette either. They scrambled after him, stumbling and crawling as they fled.

"Rotten luck! What rotten luck!!"

Xuanzang continued chanting, neither hurried nor slow.

When he had lost his way in the shifting sands, with neither water nor food, this very Heart Sutra had sustained him through his darkest hour.

Now, reciting it again, he had found it possessed such power.

When the final syllable fell silent.

Not a sound remained in the cave.

Apart from the wreckage strewn across the floor and a few unconscious lesser demons, not a single demon remained standing.

Xuanzang slowly opened his eyes.

As he had suspected, the rules of this world were vastly different from those of his own.

Just then, an auspicious white light suddenly shone at the cave entrance.

An old man entered, holding a walking stick, his white beard flowing.

It was none other than Taibai Jinxing.

With a kindly expression, the old man had come prepared to rescue the holy monk according to Guanyin's instructions.

But as soon as he entered, he saw the lesser demons rolling across the floor and Xuanzang sitting unharmed in their midst, his body still suffused with a faint golden glow...

Taibai Jinxing stopped in his tracks.

His expression froze.

This... this isn't right, is it?

Am I here to rescue someone, or to clean up the mess?

Looking at Taibai Jinxing, Xuanzang slowly rose, pressed his palms together, and bowed slightly to the old man, his tone calm:

"Amitabha Buddha."

"This humble monk greets you, elder."

The corner of Taibai Jinxing's mouth twitched. Awkwardly waving his whisk, he breathed out a wisp of immortal qi, dissolving the ropes around Xuanzang completely.

"Holy monk... have you suffered a fright?" Taibai Jinxing asked tentatively.

Xuanzang lowered his eyes, his voice cool and clear. "Demonic obstacles arise from the heart. When the heart knows no fear, demons have no power."

"Though these few demons were vicious, they failed to frighten this humble monk."

Taibai Jinxing: "..."

Well now, with you saying that, hasn't this whole trip been for nothing?

I came to earn a favor and scrape together a little merit. What is going on now?!

"Ahem."

An old immortal after all, Taibai Jinxing reacted swiftly, immediately adopting an admiring expression.

"Indeed, holy monk, your Buddhist heart is steadfast, and your true nature is radiant."

"This old man came expressly to... ahem, expressly to show you the way."

He had meant to say "expressly to rescue you," but now he simply could not get the words out.

Taibai Jinxing pointed outside the cave. "Once you leave this ridge, Two Realms Mountain lies not far ahead. Holy monk, the road before you is long. Take good care of yourself."

With that, as though afraid the monk might spring another surprise on him, the old man transformed into a light breeze and flew away astride a white crane, looking for all the world as though he were fleeing.

Perhaps he had departed too hastily, for a small note fluttered down.

Xuanzang picked it up and found four lines of verse:

"I am Taibai Star of the Western Heaven, come expressly to save your life; ahead, a divine disciple shall aid you, so do not blame the scriptures for hardship and strife."

Above the clouds.

Taibai Jinxing turned into a streak of light. Casting dignity aside, he stormed off to demand an explanation from Guanyin:

"How does your Buddhist order conduct its affairs? Why did you toy with this old Daoist and make such a fool of me?"