"Idiot."
Sun Wukong suddenly leaned over and patted Bajie's rolls of fat, his voice teasing:
"Isn't this exactly what you've dreamed of day and night? Aren't you always whining about being hungry and how hard the road is?"
"Just nod, and you'll be the 'head of the household.' Even Old Sun will have to kowtow to you and call you 'Grand Master'!"
But before he finished, Sun Wukong put away his mischievous grin. He leaned close to Bajie's ear, lowered his voice, and said gravely, "But think this through, idiot. You spent years as a son-in-law at Gao Village. How did that end?"
Little White Dragon Wuji stood beside them. He gently nudged Bajie's heel with his foot and said quietly, "Don't be foolish. The splendor before you may not be real. Don't forget your vow."
Wujing opened his mouth but could find nothing to say. He could only look anxiously at his senior brother, afraid he would stay.
Zhu Bajie said nothing.
He slowly stood up.
Dried snow stains still clung to his black monk's robe.
He looked at the steaming pastries on the table, at the three women with their lovely, beguiling smiles, then at the pitch-black night beyond the door, where the icy wind howled.
Those were two different worlds.
On one side lay utter bliss; on the other, utter suffering.
Xuanzang did not hurry him.
He merely watched Bajie quietly, his gaze holding neither disappointment nor reproach, only calm.
He trusted his disciple.
And he trusted that the scriptures he had explained along the way had not been taught in vain.
Zhu Bajie rubbed his hands, expressions shifting unpredictably across his broad face.
Greed, struggle, reluctance to part-all finally gave way to clarity.
"Well... lady Bodhisattva..."
Zhu Bajie finally spoke, his voice a little dry, carrying