True Immortal Ruyi lowered his head.
He withdrew the right hand he had just slapped against the bluestone into his sleeve.
He did not answer.
Xuanzang waited a moment, then asked again, "How long have you been on Mount Jieyang, True Immortal?"
True Immortal Ruyi stared at the patch of grass before him, his lips pressed shut.
Wukong frowned.
"My master asked you a question."
True Immortal Ruyi kept his head bowed.
The wind swept between them, blowing his loose strands of hair across his cheeks.
Only after a while did he speak.
"What exactly are you trying to ask?"
Xuanzang said, "There is merely something I do not understand, benefactor, and I would like to ask you about it."
"Since you call yourself a True Immortal, what does the name Immortals-Gathering Convent mean?"
The words fell.
True Immortal Ruyi jerked his head up and stared fixedly at Xuanzang, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.
"You know?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Wukong's eyes.
Bajie and Little White Dragon also turned toward Xuanzang.
Xuanzang did not answer.
He remained standing before True Immortal Ruyi, the hem of his monk's robe stirring in the wind and brushing the tips of the grass beside the road.
A scarlet wheel of light appeared behind his head.
Its rim turned soundlessly, and what seemed to be Buddha light shone in Xuanzang's eyes as his gaze fell upon True Immortal Ruyi's face.
At the sight, True Immortal Ruyi froze for an instant.
The next moment, he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, and blood welled between his teeth.
Then he raised both hands at once and thrust them upward.
Behind Xuanzang, Wukong's expression changed abruptly. "Master!"
He seized Xuanzang by the shoulder and pulled him a step back.
Silver light