If all else fails, let the Victorious Fighting Buddha take the blame

"Of course, this humble official was asking on behalf of a friend from an immortal sect," Yang Niansan added, only making her attempted cover-up more obvious.

Chen Wei did not expose her. "Should I encounter such circumstances, I would refuse decisively, without the slightest hesitation," he said firmly. "Minor immortals like us tread on thin ice every day we serve. How could we dare indulge in romance and love..."

"Do you mean that once one becomes a great immortal, it would be permissible, Chief Official?" Yang Niansan interrupted eagerly before he could finish.

Chen Wei considered for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "That should be so. Immortals at the bottom must cast aside distracting thoughts and treat the duties assigned by their superiors as sacred rules. Only once their cultivation bears its full fruit and they rise high among the ranks of immortals will they have leisure to discuss anything else."

"If you truly became a great immortal, sir..." Yang Niansan blinked, then abruptly changed tack. "And a certain female immortal happened to harbor feelings for you, but she had a formidable elder brother who was overbearing and never showed anyone mercy, what would you do?"

Chen Wei's brows lifted slightly, his gaze turning peculiar.

His stare made Yang Niansan's skin crawl. She hurriedly hid half her face behind her paper fan. "This humble official is asking purely on behalf of a friend."

Conjuring a friend out of thin air.

A favorite trick for telling lies in the Heavenly Court of the Three Realms.

Chen Wei's thoughts raced, and he understood in an instant.

The friend Yang Niansan spoke of was clearly herself. Apparently, she had been so stifled in her everyday life that she had resorted to this probing conversation?

Within the Heavenly Court, the towering power behind a colleague was an invaluable political bargaining chip.

To secure his backing, Chen Wei naturally had to offer some reassurance.

He raised a hand and patted Yang Niansan's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Try every possible way to win over her brother! The Great Dao numbers fifty, while Heaven unfolds forty-nine. There are always more solutions than difficulties. A way can always be found!"

Yang Niansan had clearly taken his meaning the wrong way.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Resting her folding fan against her chin, she nodded. "Well said! Deal with her brother!"

Chen Wei nodded in satisfaction and turned his gaze back toward the center of the hall. He froze for a moment, then blurted, "That bold?"

There, in the very center of the hall, the Sandalwood Merit Buddha, who had always professed a love of purity and an aversion to even a speck of dust, had actually broken his vows and gathered the Queen of West Liang into his arms.

And he had not merely embraced her.

He had even leaned close to the mortal woman's ear, seemingly soothing her in soft, gentle whispers.

Yang Niansan looked over at his exclamation, her lovely eyes widening into circles. "No way. That fast?"

The most astonished of all was Zhu Bajie!

Bajie sucked in a cold breath, his eyes darting about. "Is this for real? Has Master finally wised up?"

In truth, his Buddhist heart had experienced no such awakening.

Trapped in desperate straits, unable to advance or retreat, Xuanzang had been forced to resort to this inferior solution.

Buddhism taught cutting flesh from one's own body to feed an eagle. He would simply treat this act as exchanging a small, personal love for a greater love for all living beings.

Yulin nestled against the Brocade Kasaya, sobbing too hard to speak, her arms wrapped around Xuanzang's waist. "Royal Younger Brother..."

"Little Sister Lin." Xuanzang kept his eyes tightly shut, his face filled with compassion for the suffering world. "The illusory dreams of the mortal world are like dew, like lightning. That we once belonged to each other, even for a moment, already surpassed countless earthly joys. The Buddha once said, 'Love passes through the gut, while the Buddha remains within the heart.'"

"Of course, those words are not important."

"What matters now is that you must rally yourself, Little Sister Lin. Western Liang cannot be left without a ruler, nor can its countless women be allowed to suffer calamity. For the sake of all living beings beneath heaven, this humble monk is willing to leave a little of his true heart in Western Liang forever."

"Royal Younger Brother." Yulin nodded, burying her face deep against Xuanzang's chest.

"Did the Buddha ever say that?" Bajie scratched his head as he listened.

Behind a red pillar in the hall.

Seeing Yulin's emotional knot gradually unravel, Yang Niansan nudged Chen Wei with her elbow. "Judging by how things are going, our office should be able to close this case smoothly."

"Not quite." Chen Wei narrowed his eyes, studying Yulin's Three Souls and Seven Spirits, and slowly shook his head. "The tribulation aura inside her mortal body is like a festering sore clinging to the bone. A few tender words treat the symptoms, not the root. As long as the tribulation aura remains, Western Liang's old grievance cannot reach a peaceful end. Unless..."

How keen Yang Niansan's mind was. She picked up where he left off. "Unless we let the queen go along to Spirit Mountain in the Western Heaven?"

Have a mortal body cross a hundred and eight thousand li and ascend straight to the Great Thunderclap Monastery?

Who would dare lightly entangle themselves in such unprecedented karma? They would have to find someone with shoulders broad enough to take the blame.

There was no need to coordinate their words.

They exchanged a glance, then fixed their eyes on Zhu Bajie. Marshal Tianpeng was the perfect person to shoulder this mortal karma.

Just then, Zhu Bajie, who had been enjoying the spectacle, gave a violent shudder. He looked around, his eyes full of wariness. "Strange. Why did I suddenly get a premonition of disaster and tribulation?"

"Marshal!" Chen Wei approached Bajie and cupped his hands. "We cannot leave things at this impasse. Why don't we devise a way to dispel the queen's tribulation aura?"

Yang Niansan understood at once and circled around to the envoy's other side. "Exactly! Your mighty reputation reaches far and wide, Marshal. We must rely entirely on you to turn conflict into peace!"

One on the left and one on the right, the two immortal officials sealed off his escape routes.

Zhu Bajie cautiously retreated half a step, suspicion written all over his face. "Why do I feel like you two have bellies full of dirty tricks and no good intentions whatsoever?"

"You worry too much, Marshal!"

Without a change in expression, Chen Wei delivered flattery loud enough to shake the heavens. "When I used to read the histories in the Bright Hall, you were the one I admired most, Marshal! You are a great hero, a mighty champion rarely seen in the Three Realms. Ordinary immortals and Buddhas cannot flee fast enough from this old grievance of Western Liang, but with you stepping forward, resolving it would be as easy as reaching out your hand. No one but you can accomplish this!"

A thousand things might pierce through, but flattery never failed to slip through unscathed.

None of the immortals were above such worldly weaknesses, much less the Altar-Cleansing Envoy.

Hearing glittering phrases like "great hero," Zhu Bajie thrust out his round belly proudly. "Naturally! Back in my days on the Celestial River, what great winds and waves hadn't I weathered? Well, tell me what brilliant plan you've come up with."

The fish had taken the bait.

Chen Wei bowed deeply again, his tone sincere. "This humble official ventures to suggest... why not display your mighty Buddhist powers, Marshal, guide the queen into the Buddhist fold, and take her back to the Great Thunderclap Monastery on Spirit Mountain while you're at it?"

At those words.

Zhu Bajie froze for half a moment. Once he understood, he waved his hands repeatedly. "No! Absolutely not! Spirit Mountain is a pure Buddhist sanctuary. If I took a mortal woman up to the Thunderclap Monastery, wouldn't all those Buddhas skin me alive? Absolutely out of the question!"

"It is entirely possible!"

Yang Niansan snapped her paper fan shut and smoothly picked up the argument. "Marshal, you are famous throughout the Heavenly Court as the timely rain that comes to the rescue. Now that your honored master is in trouble, this is the perfect chance to show your prowess and relieve his worries. If you cannot shoulder even a little responsibility, wouldn't your mighty reputation lose its luster once word got out?"

"Exactly!" Chen Wei added fuel to the fire at just the right moment. "Taking the queen to Spirit Mountain and dispelling her tribulation aura would be a great meritorious deed, bringing blessings to all the people of Western Liang! Why wouldn't you gladly do it, Marshal?"

Zhu Bajie shook his head over and over, refusing to agree no matter what they said.

Yang Niansan's lovely eyes shifted. She pulled Zhu Bajie into a corner of the hall and whispered a few words to him.

A moment later.

Fanning herself, Yang Niansan strolled leisurely back to her original spot.

Zhu Bajie gritted his teeth and gave a loud shout, brimming with heroic spirit. "Fine!" "I'll just take a little loss this time. It's settled-we'll bring the mortal back to Spirit Mountain!"

"If all else fails, let the Victorious Fighting Buddha take the blame."

"The monkey knows this sort of thing inside out anyway!"