A Bodhisattva's Resolve

Deep within the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the Netherworld.

Diting lay beneath the desk, then abruptly pricked up both ears and exclaimed, "Bodhisattva, in the mortal world... a sage seems about to fall. How strange-no soul has entered the Netherworld."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva slowly opened his eyes as he sat upon the Lotus Pedestal.

He looked into the void, his gaze piercing the Eighteen Levels of Hell. He saw the land of the Sihali Kingdom drenched in bloody rain, and the young monk lying in his disciple's arms, almost entirely drained of blood.

"It is him..."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva sighed softly, boundless admiration filling his eyes.

"He recites my Sutra of Original Vows and carries out the work I have yet to finish."

"If I do not enter hell, who will?"

"Golden Cicada Child, even I can no longer see through you in this lifetime."

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva extended a hand. A radiant jewel shone in his palm.

With that, the Bodhisattva tossed the jewel into the void.

"Go."

The jewel became a streak of light, instantly breaking through the barrier between Yin-Yang as it shot straight toward the Sihali Kingdom.

Sun Wukong held Xuanzang's steadily cooling body. The ever-lawless Great Sage Equal to Heaven now had eyes filled with terror and despair.

Had this been an ordinary death-even if a demon had eaten him-as long as his soul remained, Sun Wukong could search the azure heavens above and the Yellow Springs below, storm the Netherworld, and wreak havoc in the celestial palace to save his master.

But now...

He stared fixedly at Xuanzang's body, yet saw not the slightest sign of a soul leaving it.

His master's three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls had dissolved, little by little, into heaven and earth with that bloody rain.

"Gone... how can they be gone..."

The magical power Sun Wukong poured into him vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea. Xuanzang's body was like a funnel, unable to retain vitality, much less his soul.

Sun Wukong's voice shook with sobs.

"Master, wait for me! I'll go beg Taishang Laojun! I'll beg the Buddha! Even if I have to turn the Three Realms upside down, I'll gather your soul back together!"

Zhu Bajie and Little White Dragon stood nearby, sobbing so hard that their entire bodies trembled. Great King Yellow Wind knelt beside them, his eyes full of self-reproach as he looked at the fallen Xuanzang.

"I did this to him... I did this to the holy monk..."

Just then, the void trembled.

A softly lustrous jewel appeared out of thin air and hovered three inches above Xuanzang's brow, radiating gentle Buddhist power.

Humm-

The jewel did not infuse him with vitality. Instead, it released a gentle yet overwhelming power, forcibly gathering the scattered sparks of Xuanzang's true spirit that were about to dissipate completely into heaven and earth, and locking them tightly within his sea of consciousness.

Guanyin Bodhisattva looked down without another word, merely giving the Willow Branch in her hand a gentle sweep.

"Rise."

Immediately, Buddhist chants thundered across the sky.

Lingji Bodhisattva shuddered at the sight. The turbid bewilderment in his eyes seemed to be dispelled somewhat by those chants.

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Mani Jewel... Xuanzang actually has his protection?"

Then Lingji Bodhisattva cried out in alarm, "Great Being! That is calamity-karma baleful qi! Once it touches you, it will damage your golden body!"

Guanyin Bodhisattva remained calm as she interrupted Lingji.

"If he dares perform a Bodhisattva's deeds in a mortal body, why should I begrudge this mere Lotus Pedestal and golden body?"

With that, Guanyin lowered her cloud, stepped off the Lotus Pedestal, and descended into the dust.

"Bodhisattva! Save my master!"

At the sight of her, Sun Wukong seemed to have found a straw to clutch at for salvation and moved to kowtow.

Guanyin nodded slightly, dipped the Willow Branch into the Jade Pure Water Vase, and drew it out laden with sweet dew.

Ssssss-

A teeth-grating hiss of corrosion rang out.

Guanyin's face paled slightly, but she did not move, allowing wisps of black calamity-karma baleful qi to follow the threads of karma back and coil around her arm.

Several shocking black streaks instantly appeared on her jade-white dharma body.

As Guanyin drew away the baleful qi, Xuanzang's shriveled, exhausted body began to regain its vitality.

His wounds healed, and his heartbeat returned.

Humm-!!

The two shattered Buddhist wheels, [Sweet Dew] and [Crimson Blood], actually reformed of their own accord at that moment!

Xuanzang slowly opened his eyes.

In that instant, it was as though all the darkness of night had receded.

He struggled upright, pushed away Sun Wukong's supporting hands, straightened his monk's robes, and bowed deeply to Guanyin Bodhisattva, whose arm had been stained black.

"This humble monk thanks you, Bodhisattva, for saving my life."

Guanyin Bodhisattva did not accept his bow. Instead, she stepped half a pace aside, then pressed her palms together and inclined slightly toward Xuanzang, returning his bow.

The sight shook Lingji Bodhisattva to his core atop the clouds and nearly sent Taibai Jinxing's jaw dropping to the ground.

"Xuanzang, you need not thank me."

"To deliver others before attaining deliverance oneself-that is a Bodhisattva's resolve."

"Today, you sacrificed yourself to save a kingdom. You already bear the bearing of a true Buddha."

He glanced at the black streak that had yet to fade from Guanyin Bodhisattva's arm and said softly:

"Bodhisattva, your golden body was damaged because you saved this humble monk. The fault is mine."

Guanyin Bodhisattva smiled faintly and glanced at her arm without concern.

"All beings suffer. Since I receive their incense offerings, I ought to bear this karma. Compared with what you suffered, this little injury is hardly worth mentioning."

With that, Guanyin turned toward Great King Yellow Wind, who knelt nearby.

"Ruler of the Sihali Kingdom."

Guanyin Bodhisattva's tone was complicated. "The karma of these past hundred years must, at last, be brought to a close."

Great King Yellow Wind rose shakily and glanced at the people around him, cheering and embracing their loved ones. He knew he no longer belonged here.

He walked up to Xuanzang and kowtowed heavily. "Thank you, holy monk... thank you for granting me a new life."

Then he turned to Lingji Bodhisattva and held out both hands, his expression composed.

"I am willing to return with you to Lesser Mount Sumeru, Bodhisattva. Whether I am imprisoned or made to perform hard labor, I ask only for the chance to atone for all my sins."

Meanwhile, Lingji Bodhisattva stood nearby, staring blankly at it all.

He looked at the people restored to human form, at Guanyin willingly suffering harm to save another, and at Xuanzang returned from death.

Suddenly, his somewhat insubstantial dharma form began to tremble violently.

"I... what have I done?"

Lingji Bodhisattva clutched the neck that had once been "severed." The haze of delusion in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by boundless remorse and clarity.

He remembered releasing the marten after Kalpa Fortune had blinded him, remembered looking on coldly after disaster struck, and remembered how he had still been defending himself just moments ago in the name of so-called "karma."

"From emptiness, form is seen, and form breeds calamity; from compassion, desire is born, and desire swells like the sea."

The Flying Dragon Staff in Lingji Bodhisattva's hand slowly drooped, and his voice grew desolate.

"Past pleasure becomes future regret; cleanse the heart, still all thoughts, and await the wind."

"Wrong... it was all wrong."

Lingji Bodhisattva looked at Xuanzang, then at Great King Yellow Wind kneeling on the ground, his eyes filled with shame.

"These so-called tribulations were merely the result of our own inner demons remaining unpurged, allowing this Kalpa Qi to slip through the cracks. Yet it was the common people who suffered."

He swept his sleeve and took Great King Yellow Wind into it. This time, however, it was no longer a capture, but something closer to protection.

"Xuanzang, this humble monk was wrong."

Lingji Bodhisattva held one palm upright before Xuanzang, his expression solemn.

"I will first take this marten and the king's soul back to Lesser Mount Sumeru and handle them properly. As for the affairs of the Sihali Kingdom, I will personally confess my sins before the Buddha before proceeding further."

With that, Lingji Bodhisattva bowed to everyone, mounted a cloud, and slowly departed southward.

The wind and sand dispersed completely.

Above the Sihali Kingdom, sunlight poured down for the first time in far too long.

The people in the square all kowtowed to Guanyin Bodhisattva and Xuanzang.

Watching it all, Xuanzang finally showed a faint smile.

He turned toward his disciples, who were drenched in tears behind him, and patted each of their heads in turn.

"Why are you crying?"

"Your master is still here!"