In Buddhist cosmology, the upper three of the six realms are the realm of the gods, the realm of the Asuras, and the human realm; the lower three are the realm of animals, the realm of hungry ghosts, and the realm of the hells. Before the Tang dynasty, the hells were mostly translated as “Ni Li” — the Ni Li Prison that Cui Jue spoke of. All sentient beings cycle endlessly through birth and death, revolving like a wheel without end — thus called reincarnation. Only Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Arhats can transcend the three realms and escape the cycle.

According to folk belief, after death people become ghosts — but in truth this is not so. Whether one is reborn in the upper three or the lower three realms depends on the weight of one’s own karmic merit. If in this life one was good and accumulated much merit, one will be reborn in the upper three realms. If one committed many evil deeds and accumulated little merit, one will be reborn as an animal, a hungry ghost, or even enter the Ni Li Prison to suffer endless pain. The pain of the hungry ghost realm is less than that of the Ni Li Prison but greater than that of the animal realm — entering the Ni Li Prison is the most terrible fate of all.

As for whether one’s merit is great or little — that, naturally, was for Judge Cui to determine according to the Book of Life and Death. Xuanzang had cultivated Chan his entire life, kept to a vegetarian diet, and recited the sutras. Even if he could not attain the state of an Arhat in this life and could not escape the six realms of reincarnation, he would at the very least be reborn in the upper three realms. Yet now Cui Jue was saying that after death, Xuanzang would enter the Ni Li Prison!

Yet Xuanzang’s face showed not the slightest surprise. He said calmly: “Why is the Magistrate so certain this poor monk will enter the Ni Li Prison?”

“Because you have an evil karma yet to be expiated!” said the Judge Cui.

“Oh? What evil karma does this poor monk have?” Xuanzang asked.

“Hmph—” Judge Cui suddenly gave a cold laugh. “Xuanzang — has your attendant discovered anything? It seems you still do not believe this Lord has truly manifested!”

Xuanzang looked over — and saw that Boluoye was crouching beside the Cui Jue divine image, his backside in the air, and had lifted the great red cape to feel around underneath. Hearing the Judge Cui’s words, Boluoye’s rear end gave a twitch, and he hastily jumped back down, his face paper-white, and shook his head at Xuanzang to indicate he had found nothing.

“Everyone has a heart of curiosity,” Xuanzang said calmly. “Then please speak of this poor monk’s evil karma.”

“Hmph—” Judge Cui gave a cold laugh. “Your evil karma does not lie in yourself — it lies in Changjie!”

Xuanzang pressed his palms together: “Please speak in detail, Magistrate.”

“Do you truly not understand?” said Judge Cui. “Changjie merely bore the weight of sins on your behalf! You have come to Huoyi in such haste to search for him — is there not guilt in your heart?”

Xuanzang said nothing. Judge Cui burst into loud laughter: “You truly want to know Changjie’s whereabouts?”

Xuanzang trembled inwardly, and quickly pressed his palms together in a bow: “Please, Magistrate — tell me.”

“Very well. This Lord has appeared this time precisely in order to arrange a meeting between you and Changjie, so that matters can be made clear face to face. There are a few things in the Book of Life and Death that are not entirely clear — this Lord should record them in more detail.” Judge Cui laughed. “Walk twenty steps out of the main hall, then thirty steps to the left, stand in silence and do not move. Changjie will naturally appear.”

“Many thanks, Magistrate.” Xuanzang bowed deeply, without a moment’s hesitation turned and left the main hall. Behind him, Judge Cui’s rolling laughter continued on and on.

“Changjie — will he really — appear?” Boluoye came chasing after, and asked urgently.

“At any rate, it’s only a few steps — let’s go and see.” Xuanzang’s expression was composed, as if free of any doubt whatsoever.

He walked out of the temple gate. The night had grown even thicker with darkness — only by borrowing the candlelight from inside the main hall could he barely make out the path below his feet. The mountain was quite cold, the night wind howling, and the skin chilled. Following Cui Jue’s directions, he walked twenty steps forward, then turned left and walked thirty steps, and then found that he had arrived at the edge of a cliff.

This cliff — who knew how high it was; the bottom was not visible, and a cold wind rose from below, making his monk’s robe billow and flap. Boluoye came to stand beside him and peered out into the distance, muttering: “Nothing to see at all!”

“Watch behind us,” Xuanzang said in a low voice.

Boluoye was startled — only then did he realize: the two of them were standing at the cliff’s edge. If someone came up silently from behind and gave them a push, they would be turned into pulp at the bottom. He broke out in a cold sweat, and turned around to keep watch on the area behind them. The main hall loomed tall and lit, its flames burning bright. In the open space before the hall there was not the slightest abnormality.

Suddenly, out of the dark night came a quiet laugh: “Xuanzang — see you again in the Ni Li Prison!”

Xuanzang’s heart gave a violent lurch. Before he could react, his feet gave out with a crack beneath him — and then nothing — and he plunged downward off the cliff, Boluoye’s wild roar ringing in his ears as Boluoye came falling too…

In that instant of plummeting, a flash of regret passed through Xuanzang’s mind — he had been careless. He had only been watching behind them — not thinking that the real trap was beneath their feet. Though they had been standing at the cliff’s edge, what they were standing on was not mountain rock at all — but planks of wood fitted together!

“Venerable master — grab me—!” Boluoye’s bellow rang out beside him.

At the same instant, there was a sharp ding sound, and a light flashed before Xuanzang’s eyes. In the darkness, this sudden glint was blindingly bright — he saw that in Boluoye’s hand there was a short blade, which he drove with all his force into a crack in the rock. Somehow, Boluoye had tremendous strength — the short blade actually penetrated deep into the stone, and then began to slide. Boluoye drove it in again, with all his might — the scraping of metal against rock and the ear-splitting screech produced a trail of sparks…

The two had fallen almost pressed together; in his panic, Xuanzang had grabbed at Boluoye’s clothing — there was a tearing sound — and his hand continued to scrabble, and grabbed hold of Boluoye’s belt. With a jolt, Xuanzang’s downward fall was suddenly, forcibly, brought to a halt.

Xuanzang gripped Boluoye’s belt with one hand and wrapped both arms around Boluoye’s thigh with the other. Every muscle in Boluoye’s body was bulging, his whole frame trembling. Xuanzang kicked his two feet left and right, trying to find a foothold. His left foot suddenly struck something hard and protruding — Xuanzang was elated. He extended his leg further to probe, and found it was a jutting piece of rock — just about the size of the sole of his foot. Even better: his right foot found a crevice in the rock too, and squeezed half his foot in. He pressed himself flat against the cliff face, his whole body clinging to it.

With this, Boluoye’s burden was greatly reduced. He kicked left and right as well and found a few more points to push against. The two finally let out a long breath together: “Amitabha Buddha.”

Both raised their heads to look — the top of the cliff was not that far above them, about one zhang. And it was fortunate it was so short — Boluoye had been fast enough and sharp enough to drive the short blade into the rock in time. A few more zhang of falling, and the short blade would not have been able to hold under the force of the drop.

“Venerable master — can you hold on?” Boluoye asked.

“No problem,” Xuanzang drew a breath. “There’s something under my feet.”

“Good — I’ll go up and find a rope to pull you up.” Boluoye said.

Xuanzang nodded and watched as Boluoye, wedging his fingers and toes into rock crevices and using the short blade for extra holds, climbed like a gecko upward along the cliff face. His whole body at times, using the force of the stone, would curl into a ball-shape, shifting his backside to where his hands were. Was this Tianzhu yoga? Xuanzang’s mind wandered in all directions.

One zhang of distance — yet it took Boluoye a full half-hour of incense-stick-burning time to nearly reach the top. His fingers clapped down onto the rock at the cliff’s edge — Boluoye’s heart eased — finally, here.

At this very moment, from below came Xuanzang’s startled cry: “Careful—!”

Boluoye’s heart sank with dread — and he raised his head. There, on the cliff’s edge, stood a human silhouette, utterly still. This figure was wrapped entirely in a dark robe, a fierce and hideous demon mask covering the face, staring down at him with cold eyes.

“Hey, hello… ah!” Boluoye’s expression was truly dreadful. He managed a feeble attempt at a greeting.

The masked figure stared at him with cold eyes and said nothing. A foot shifted forward, and the sole pressed down onto the back of Boluoye’s hand, grinding in hard. Boluoye felt his hand in agony — as if his fingers were being crushed — but his other hand gripped the short blade wedged in the rock, leaving him no way to retaliate; he could only grit his teeth and endure. The figure, seeing that even after all this grinding Boluoye’s cold-sweating hand still refused to let go, grew furious — raised the foot — and kicked viciously at his hand.

Despair flashed in Boluoye’s eyes. Watching that foot kick toward him, he suddenly let out a tiger’s roar — his palm released the cliff face — and with a crackle-crackle-crackle of bone, his arm suddenly lengthened three inches. His wrist flipped and seized that person’s ankle.

That person let out a startled cry — never expecting such an uncanny thing to happen. Before they could react, Boluoye gave a mighty yell and wrenched hard. The person’s footing was lost; with a scream, they slid downward past Boluoye’s body…

“Venerable master — press against the cliff—!” Boluoye feared the person would fall and strike Xuanzang, and shouted out urgently.

Xuanzang had already watched the events above clearly. Seeing the figure plunge downward toward him, rather than dodging he reached out both hands and threw himself toward that person — thump — the figure was struck by Xuanzang, and flattened against the cliff face, sliding down. Xuanzang’s left foot had the steadiest purchase — he immediately bent his knee and thrust upward. The person let out a muffled grunt, and the whole of their body was pressed fast against the cliff by Xuanzang.

“Venerable master—!” Boluoye cried out in shock.

“Go up quickly — find a rope and pull us up!” Xuanzang said in a steady voice.

Boluoye dared not delay. He grabbed the top of the cliff with both hands, used all his strength, and flipped himself up over the edge, then ran at full speed to the main hall.

“Could you try to use some effort of your own?” Xuanzang was holding this person up with all his strength, drenched in sweat, and murmured: “This poor monk… is running out of strength.”

The person in his arms, whose heart-stopping alarm had by now passed, was scrabbling hands and feet wildly, and managed to find a few footholds, bracing their weight with Xuanzang’s knee under their buttocks to stabilize themselves. This person, barely escaping death, and with the shock receding, stared cold-eyed at Xuanzang and said: “Why did you save me?”

The voice was crisp and delicate — the voice of a young woman. Xuanzang was not surprised. He had this woman almost enclosed in his arms, her bodily fragrance filling his nostrils; every surface they touched was soft and yielding. He naturally knew she was a young woman.

“My Buddha is merciful — moths and earthworms are all sentient beings. How could I witness someone dying and not act?” Xuanzang said.

“Hmph.” The young woman gave a heavy sniff. “Even if this worm tried to take your life — you would still save it?”

“Amitabha Buddha,” Xuanzang said with equanimity. “Good and evil alike come back as their shadows — the cause and effect of three lifetimes cycle without cease. What can this poor monk resist? Saving you is naturally the arrangement of the Buddha… young lady — could I trouble you to put in some effort? This poor monk’s knee is going numb from you sitting on it.”

“I will sit on it exactly as I please!” The young woman said in a venomous voice. “I’d be happy to sit this wicked monk right off this cliff!” So saying, she actually raised herself up a little.

Xuanzang smiled ruefully: “At this moment this poor monk is entirely at your mercy. You need only exert yourself and this poor monk will truly tumble into the Ni Li Prison. If you want to kill me, young lady, why not go ahead?”

The young woman was stumped, and after a long pause, sniffed: “You think I don’t want to kick you off? You wicked monk — so crafty — knowing that your attendant is above, that if I kill you he will certainly not let me go, so you argue with me over it. “

Xuanzang was utterly speechless.

At this point, Boluoye’s head appeared from above: “Venerable master — are you — still there?”

“Here, here.” Xuanzang said urgently. “Did you find a rope?”

“No.” Boluoye said. “But I found — a few zhang of curtain cloth — twisted into a cord — I’ll lower it now — Venerable master, hold tight. This thing — is nothing like hemp rope — slippery.” He paused, then bellowed at the figure below: “You there below — the venerable master — saved you — out of compassion. Let the venerable master — come up first. If you dare fight him for the rope — I’ll shake you off.”

The young woman gave a sniff and ignored him.

The curtain cloth was slowly lowered down. True to her word, the young woman made no move to grab it. Xuanzang thought for a moment — worried that if the girl went up first she might cause more trouble — and so wrapped the cloth around his own waist, gave her the foothold he’d had on the rock, and had her stand steady before he let Boluoye haul him up.

Reaching the top of the cliff, Xuanzang finally felt his hands and feet give out — he sat down hard on the ground, his body shaking uncontrollably.

“Venerable master — should we save her?” Boluoye said.

“Save her! Of course we save her — quickly, quickly—!” Xuanzang heaved several great breaths and waved his hand urgently.

Boluoye dared not delay, immediately threw the cloth rope back down. The girl was actually quite sensible on her own, and wrapped it around her waist. Boluoye pulled with all his force to haul her up. The moment she was up, Boluoye also sank to the ground in exhaustion, breathing hard — and only then noticed he was soaked in sweat, as if he could wring water from his clothes.

The girl was also utterly spent, sitting on the ground with limp hands and feet, the three of them looking at each other wide-eyed. For a moment, no one had the energy to get up, and no one had the energy to speak. Only the mountain wind passed by in silence, filtering through the leaves and the holes and gaps in the mountain, sending up the sounds of ten thousand things.

“Lv Luo, young miss — why are you still wearing that mask? Take it off,” Xuanzang looked at the horrifying demon mask on the young woman’s face, and could not help but sigh.

The young woman’s body instantly went rigid.

“Lv Luo?” Boluoye was also stunned. This chatterbox knew full well that Lv Luo was Cui Jue’s biological daughter and Guo Zai’s stepdaughter — how was it that this girl who had tried to kill them was Lv Luo?

The young woman glared at Xuanzang for a long moment, then removed the mask, and with a flick of her wrist sent it into the cliff below. In the candlelight of the main hall, a face of rare and exquisite beauty appeared before the two men’s eyes. This young woman was like a dewdrop on a lotus leaf — crystalline and translucent, pure beyond compare. Her eyes, her jade complexion, her fine nose, her snow-white neck — all luminous and flawless. She seemed like a pearl of jade, whole.

Perhaps because she was still young, her figure was slightly shorter than Lady Li’s, but slender and gentle, perfectly proportioned in every particular. Even sitting there in this exhausted state, she inspired in those who saw her an overwhelming sensation. But the gaze she turned on Xuanzang at this moment was like a small and fierce little beast — ready at any moment to spring and bite.

“How did you know my identity?” Lv Luo fixed Xuanzang with her gaze, her eyes cold.

“A guess,” Xuanzang said, and closed his mouth.

Lv Luo’s curiosity was piqued, and she pressed him repeatedly, but Xuanzang only went on catching his breath, entirely ignoring her. She grew frantic: “Wicked monk — are you going to tell me or not?”

“Amitabha Buddha.” Xuanzang said mildly. “This poor monk will tell you — but you must first wake up the people in the main hall. These are all elderly and frail people; too long and they may come to harm.”

“Good — you said so yourself!” Lv Luo struggled to her feet. Her body lurched to one side — she had twisted her ankle, and it was only now that she realized it, blazing with sudden fury: “You tricked me! How did you know the people in the main hall were put under by me?”

“Why would this poor monk trick you?” Xuanzang said. “If you had accomplices, they would naturally have come to save you. Since there are none, the people in the main hall were naturally your doing.”

Lv Luo fumed and seethed, then limped, furious, off to the main hall. Xuanzang and Boluoye followed behind, but did not go in. Lv Luo turned her head to glare at him: “Why won’t you come in?”

“Amitabha Buddha — this poor monk is afraid of walking into another trap,” Xuanzang said with complete honesty. “Your sedating incense is too powerful. When this poor monk arrived earlier, if I hadn’t recognized the scent as familiar and rushed in without thinking, I would likely have ended up like them — at your mercy.”

Lv Luo was so angry her eyes were nearly spitting fire. This seemingly slow-witted monk appeared to her to be a precise and calculating demon, filling her with fury and terror in equal measure. She had no choice but to go in alone, and relit a stick of incense.

“Venerable master — what on earth — is going on?” Boluoye could no longer contain his curiosity. How had the venerable master recognized this young woman as Lv Luo? It had to be noted that though they had spent several days at Guo Zai’s home, they had never laid eyes on Cui Lv Luo. What was more, Lv Luo had been wearing a mask just now — even Guo Zai coming in person might not have recognized his own daughter.

Xuanzang had not yet had the chance to answer when Lv Luo came limping out again, her face taut and cold. “In a moment, they’ll wake up. When they wake, they’ll have no memory of what happened, and there will be no lasting harm.”

“Amitabha Buddha.” Xuanzang nodded. “This is not your first time using this incense. You are confident of its effects.”

Lv Luo looked about to breathe fire again, and Xuanzang quickly raised a hand: “Young miss — please, let us move somewhere else to talk.”

The three went to the cliff’s edge — this time, Xuanzang took precautions, carefully examining the ground to make sure it was solid rock and not wooden planks. Lv Luo let out an indignant sniff. Xuanzang paid no attention, checked thoroughly, then carefully sat down on a smooth stone.

“Out with it — how did you know it was me?” Lv Luo said impatiently.

“You have tried to kill this poor monk multiple times. If this poor monk did not know it was you, would this not be an unjust death?” Xuanzang said mildly with a smile.

Boluoye leaped to his feet and stared at Lv Luo, yelling: “So — it was you?!”

“You—” Lv Luo’s face instantly changed. She ignored Boluoye and stared only at Xuanzang, her face full of fear. “You know it was me who tried to kill you?”

“At first I did not know. Later, naturally, I came to know.” Xuanzang looked at this pearl-like little girl with compassion. She was what — sixteen or seventeen years old? And already possessed of such cunning and capability, trying to take a person’s life. Truly formidable. Truly frightening.

“Ever since the arrow in the pavilion, I have been considering one question,” Xuanzang said with a thoughtful expression. “Why does someone want to kill me? Thinking it over, I could only come up with two possible reasons. One — I have come seeking Changjie, and have touched upon certain people’s interests, triggering their alarm. Two — someone has a particular grievance against me, and has come to take revenge. For the first reason — to this day I have not the slightest lead, so set that aside. But for the second reason — there is some very concrete basis. Throughout this poor monk’s travels, I have never made an enemy of anyone. Therefore, the resentment could only be redirected — aimed at me on account of a grievance with someone else.”

Lv Luo pursed her lips, but said not a word, and listened very attentively.

“The most likely source of this redirected resentment is naturally my second elder brother Changjie. Changjie drove your father to his death, brought sorrow to your mother who was young and widowed, left you fatherless in childhood. Your family had been comfortable and carefree — and suddenly you were cast into a wretched situation. The depth of hatred you must feel for Changjie, this poor monk can well imagine.” The words “fatherless in childhood” immediately brought tears brimming to Lv Luo’s eyes. But this young woman was too stubborn and proud — she rolled her eyes and forcibly blinked the tears back, her mournful and forlorn appearance all the more heartrendingly lovely.

Xuanzang continued: “This poor monk also asked Lady Li whether she resented me. Lady Li replied: ‘Each drink, each morsel — all is the decree of fate.’ It was Cui Jue himself who wanted to die — of his own will, he chose to abandon your mother and daughter and hang himself. If he had not wanted to die, could a single monk’s few words really have forced him? And besides, this poor monk is not Changjie in person — she would not take it out on me. I believe what she said was sincere. A woman who has lived through chaos, seen the rise and fall of the world, the parting of life and death — she naturally knows how to distinguish right and wrong. But what of her daughter? You were barely ten years old at the time, isn’t that so? Too young to know the world, with a deep bond to your father, pampered like a little princess — and then, because of one abominable monk, everything changed. Father dead, mother remarried — and you had to call a huge unfamiliar man who looked like a bear or a tiger your father. The damage done to you was immense. To say that in your heart you harbor a hatred for Changjie a hundred times more fierce than Lady Li’s — that would not be an exaggeration.”

At these words, Lv Luo completely broke down. She could no longer hold back, and the tears came streaming down her face; her emotions erupted entirely. She screamed: “You wicked monk — dead monk — rotten monk — bald thief — I hate you to death, I hate that demon brother of yours to death! Sob sob sob—”

As she wept, she grabbed stones from the ground and hurled them one after another at Xuanzang’s head. Boluoye moved to stop her; Xuanzang restrained him. He looked on this pitiful young woman with compassion, letting the stones strike his face and body — thunk thunk thunk — and in a moment his face was covered in blood and bruised and lacerated.

Xuanzang only lowered his gaze and sat still, pressing his palms together, reciting the sutra: “…The holy maiden further asked the Ghost King Wudu: ‘Where are the Ni Li prisons?’ Wudu replied: ‘Within the three seas are the great earthly prisons — their number is in the hundreds of thousands, each differing from the next. The largest of these number eighteen, and possess countless torments. The next tier numbers five hundred — torments beyond reckoning. The next again numbers a thousand — also with boundless suffering.’ The holy maiden again asked the great Ghost King: ‘My mother died not long ago — I do not know to which realm her soul has gone.’ The Ghost King asked the holy maiden: ‘What were the practices of the bodhisattva’s mother in life?’ The holy maiden replied: ‘My mother held wrong views, and mocked and belittled the Three Jewels. Sometimes she briefly believed, but then quickly lost her reverence. Though she has only just died, I do not know where she has been born.’ Wudu asked: ‘What is the bodhisattva’s mother’s name?’ The holy maiden replied: ‘Both my father and mother were of Brahmin lineage. My father was called Shilabhadra, and my mother was called Yuedili.’ Wudu pressed his palms together and addressed the bodhisattva: ‘I pray the holy one return to her native place — do not give way to sorrow and longing. The sinful woman Yuedili has been reborn in heaven, where she has already been for three days. It is said that her filial child performed offerings and meritorious deeds in her name, endowing the tower and temple of the Tathagata of Awakening Flower Meditative Sovereignty. Not only has the bodhisattva’s mother escaped the earthly prison — all those guilty of the sins of the Avici Hell have on this day received the joy of release, and been simultaneously reborn.’…”

This was a passage from the Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. There was a Brahmin woman whose mother “held wrong views and habitually disparaged the Three Jewels,” and who after death fell into the Avici Hell. The Brahmin woman learned that her mother was suffering in the earthly prison and sold all her family’s possessions, donating the money in offerings to a Buddhist temple. Guided then by the Tathagata of Awakening Flower Meditative Sovereignty, she dreamed she traveled through the earthly prison and met the Ghost King Wudu, and begged him to let her mother escape the prison. When the Brahmin woman woke, she knew it had been a dream journey, and before the image of the Tathagata of Meditative Sovereignty, she made a great vow: “May I through all future kalpas, for all sentient beings suffering in sin and pain, by every expedient means, cause them to be liberated.” The Shakyamuni Buddha then told Manjushri: “The Brahmin woman — that is Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.”

This passage circulated very widely; popular legend had made it even more well-known. Both Boluoye and Lv Luo had heard it naturally, and Xuanzang’s meaning was plain: Lv Luo was only fulfilling the duty of a filial child toward her departed father, which was perfectly in accord with the Dharma of Ksitigarbha. How could he take offense at her cursing and throwing stones?

Lv Luo finished listening to the sutra and sat in a daze for a moment, then flung herself on the ground and began to sob. Xuanzang gave a quiet sigh. Boluoye came over without a word and carefully wiped the bloodstains from his face, taking some wound powder from his pocket and applying it.

By this time, a commotion had arisen in the temple. Figures were moving back and forth behind the latticed windows, and presently someone, hearing voices outside, opened the door and came out. Seeing a monk sitting cross-legged at the cliff’s edge, they gave a startled cry. These worshippers were innocent victims. Having inhaled cannabis and floated in a dreamy haze through a sensation of bliss, and then been awakened by Lv Luo, they were still in an aura of confused awe — convinced it must have been Judge Cui who had manifested in person. They immediately began to bow profusely, and hearing noise outside, came to investigate.

“Venerable master—” Seeing Xuanzang’s face covered in blood yet sitting upright on the rock with an expression of serene dignity, like a divine being, they grew alarmed. “Venerable master — why are you sitting here — and you’re hurt?”

Boluoye said lazily: “Just now — Judge Cui — manifested in person — and led you — to tour the spirit world. Our venerable master — was out here — protecting the Dharma for you.”

This fellow’s lies came off his tongue with no effort at all — yet they happened to land exactly in the lap of what the worshippers’ hearts most wanted to believe. They had inhaled cannabis and experienced something like a divine floating journey to paradise, and had still been in a state of confused wondering — and lo and behold, it had truly been Judge Cui manifesting in person, and they had been given a holy monk guarding the Dharma at their very door.

What a tremendous blessing — the worshippers were overcome with gratitude, and respectfully invited the three to come into the main hall. Lv Luo still had questions for Xuanzang, and was impatient with this string of worshippers; she told them all to be gone, saying the monk needed to give a lecture and it could not be heard by a third ear, or the divine beings would be angered. The worshippers were overcome with reverence, and seeing the hour was also late, all retired to rest. The temple keeper personally brought out a pot of fragrant tea and several plain cakes and placed them in the main hall for the holy monk’s use during his lecture.

Boluoye had long been hungry. After their breakfast that morning, they had been surviving on flatbread the whole time. He had hoped to get a hot meal at the Judge’s Temple, and instead ran into Lv Luo and nearly plunged into a bottomless abyss — he was both frightened and exhausted, both terrified and starving. He opened his mouth and started eating right away.

“Monk — continue,” Lv Luo had regained her composure, and said in a cool voice. “How could you be certain that the one who tried to kill me at the county office was me?”

“This poor monk could not be certain,” Xuanzang said openly. “Had all that followed not happened, this poor monk would never have suspected that a young woman barely sixteen years old could do something so shocking. On the first day this poor monk came to your home, you were watching from behind the screen when your father and I talked at night, weren’t you?”

Lv Luo gave a small sniff: “Of course it was me. I had come back late from the Zhou house, heard there was a monk in the reception hall, and thought nothing of it — just went to the inner quarters. Later, you and the others were talking so late into the night that Mother had Mo Lan bring a night snack. I was curious and followed Mo Lan to take a look at the monk from Chang’an. What I hadn’t expected was…” She drew a long, deep breath, and glared at Xuanzang with hatred. “I looked at you, and your face — I will never forget it for my entire life! It is like a blade carved into my heart. Like a thorn stabbed into my flesh. Like a demon, appearing before me every moment, every hour.”

Xuanzang sighed: “You are speaking of Changjie, are you not?”

“Yes — that demon monk!” Lv Luo gritted her teeth, and a flash of fear crossed her eyes. “The year he came to Huoyi, I was not yet ten. When Mother heard that a strange monk had forced his way into the county office and was with Father, she was curious and brought me to watch secretly from the second hall. That monk’s face was burned into my heart from that moment. I only saw him once — barely a glimpse — yet in all the years since, no other person’s face has been so clear in my heart, and no other face has given me such unending, ceaseless terror.”

Xuanzang’s heart ached with pity. One night of conversation had taken a little girl’s father away. That little girl had imprinted that monk’s face deep in her heart, and resentment grew in the terror of her sleepless nights over the years. This little girl — as delicate and clear as a pearl, so easily shattered — how on earth had she endured so many terrifying days and nights?

“When you saw this poor monk, you dropped a teacup on purpose, didn’t you?” Xuanzang asked with a sigh.

“Not dropped — I did it on purpose.” Lv Luo raised her smooth chin and said coldly. “Seven years ago, a demon monk came to see my father and took his life. Seven years later, another monk with an identical face came to see my new father… Hmph. I could not allow it to happen again, not the same way as before. But this one… is truly infuriating. I smashed everything precious he owned, and he still wouldn’t come back — not until I deliberately hit my own head, and only then did he come rushing home.”

Lv Luo said this with great vexation. The “he” in her mouth was naturally that titan-like county magistrate, Guo Zai.

This little girl was remarkably sharp-witted. Xuanzang could not help but smile: “I have heard you have never called Magistrate Guo ‘Father’ — why then do you care so much about him?”

Lv Luo’s face went red, and she cried out: “That is my own family’s business — what concern is it of yours? Hmph — this clumsy, rough-mannered man… why should I call him Father?”

Xuanzang nodded. So this girl looked down on Guo Zai for his military background and lack of literary polish. No wonder Guo Zai had been making such efforts to cultivate an air of refinement — collecting antiques, studying Chan and Buddhism — it seemed that besides Lady Li’s influence, it was also to win this little girl’s heart. This iron-forged county magistrate had a surprisingly subtle and tender inner world.

“You refuse to change your surname for the same reason?” Xuanzang said.

“Why should I change my surname?” Lv Luo blazed with anger. “My father is Cui Jue — not that Guo Zai! No matter how he curries favor with me, in this life and the next, I have only one father — Cui Jue!” She turned her head to look at the Cui Jue image, and her eyes reddened again involuntarily.

Xuanzang dared not provoke her further, and quickly said: “Very well — this poor monk will ask no more about your family matters. After you threw your tantrums that night — although at the time I didn’t know what was going on — after suffering two assassination attempts, I couldn’t help but start to have suspicions about you.”

“Oh?” Lv Luo became attentive. “Go on.”

“The first attempt — using a bow and arrow — you were very clever, and successfully directed suspicion elsewhere. A composite horn bow, standard military arrows — even Magistrate Guo thought there might be a military connection. He mentioned in passing that his own residence also had such a bow and arrows. At the time, even this poor monk himself suspected that Changjie had become involved in some military secret, and that was what had drawn an assassin to deal with me.”

“That’s right.” Lv Luo nodded. “I took it from his room. That day when you and my mother were talking in the garden, I was already furious — this wicked monk, first you bewitch… Magistrate Guo, now you come to bewitch my mother — I cannot let it stand. I saw the scholar tree just beyond the wall, and the thought came to me — I went to Guo Zai’s room and took that bow, and then found an arrow in the storeroom, went out, climbed the scholar tree, and shot you. What a pity — I don’t practice often enough — I didn’t shoot you dead.”

Xuanzang smiled ruefully: “Were you not afraid Magistrate Guo might notice an arrow was missing and suspect you? Attempted murder is a serious crime too.”

“Hmph—” Lv Luo said dismissively. “He’s inattentive and scatterbrained — he might not even be able to find the bow on a moment’s notice, let alone arrows that have been sitting in a storeroom for years.”

“It is true that at the time, no one suspected you.” Xuanzang had to admit that Lv Luo had done the first matter with great secrecy. Who could have thought that a little girl had climbed a tree with a bow and arrows to attempt murder? “But by the second attempt, this poor monk had begun to suspect you.”

“Why?” Lv Luo was full of puzzlement. “I didn’t make a move myself that time — I used that foolish Young Master Zhou. How could you think it was me?”

“First — if it were an outsider — with six runners on guard and crossbows mounted on the yamen watchtower — why take the risk of attempting the kill? And on that very same night? Everyone knew that the night immediately after an attempt in broad daylight would have the tightest guard of all. This poor monk is a monk — I could not possibly live indefinitely in the county office. There would always come a day I would leave. Since they had a bow and arrows, they need only have the patience to wait for this poor monk to leave the county office and walk out onto the main street — from a distance, a single shot would finish the job cleanly. Why take the risk of storming the county office with its heavy crossbow defenses?”

“That makes sense.” Lv Luo nodded earnestly. At this moment, the pretty young woman’s expression was one of extreme seriousness — as if she were not discussing something as terrifying as murder, but learning from a teacher.

“Then — who would be in such desperate haste that they’d take the risk of an attempt that very same night?” Xuanzang said mildly. “Naturally, someone inside the county office — more precisely, someone in the Guo residence. Because for that person, this poor monk being at the Guo residence was the best opportunity. The moment I left, their opportunity would be even more remote.”

Lv Luo was stunned. Her large eyes turned Xuanzang over and over, and she thought to herself: “This monk looks as slow and stupid as Guo Zai, yet is actually sharp as a blade. If I’m not careful, I’ll come to grief at his hands. I’ll have to be more guarded in the future.” And then, thinking of how she had been outwitted and exposed, she sank into deep dejection.

“And using Young Master Zhou as the assassin was a mistake,” Xuanzang said. “It was during the daytime that you concealed Young Master Zhou in the household, wasn’t it?”

Lv Luo nodded, and said dejectedly: “You’re quite formidably perceptive, this wicked monk. Nothing escapes you. That Young Master Zhou liked me, and because I gave him no encouragement, he was nearly going mad. That day, when the first attempt failed, I went to his home to practice music, and he saw I was unhappy and kept asking. I told him there was a detestable person staying in my home whom I wanted dead. Young Master Zhou asked in detail, and I told him the whole story — after all, everyone in Huoyi knows my father was driven to his death by a monk, so there was no need to hide it. Young Master Zhou heard all this, and got foolishly worked up — said: let me get your revenge. I’ll hide under his bed and stab him to death tonight while he’s asleep!”

Xuanzang could not help but feel his scalp prickle. He had never expected this aristocratic young gentleman to be so cavalier with human life — for the sake of making a girl smile, he was willing to kill. Had this fellow truly hidden under his bed, and stabbed him in the night — he truly would have cycled back into reincarnation.

“At the time I was stirred up by Young Master Zhou’s talk, and my heart grew hot too. But I thought his idea was not quite right, and so I made better arrangements — I brought Young Master Zhou home quietly and hid him in a room. That night I gave him a stick of incense and told him to first knock you unconscious, then drag you to the pond and drown you.” Lv Luo spoke with the same bland equanimity as if she were describing how to slaughter a chicken. “This way, even if someone had suspicions, since there were no signs of struggle on your body, it would likely be mistaken for someone walking in the garden at night and accidentally falling into the pond and drowning. Who would have thought…” She shot a venomous glare at Boluoye, who was busily eating and drinking. “That this fellow would ruin everything.”

Xuanzang sighed inwardly. Young Master Zhou had lost his life because of her, yet her words held not a trace of regret or self-reproach. This young woman was truly heartless… or rather, toward those she loved she was deeply devoted and caring, and toward those she did not love she was cold and indifferent to the point of mercilessness. Her nature was truly extreme.

He had long had one question in mind, and now seized the opportunity to ask it: “Where did you get that incense? It was made with cannabis and datura?”

Lv Luo glanced at him sharply, and said coolly: “I bought it.”

“Where did you buy it?”

“On the main street.”

Xuanzang was speechless.

Lv Luo still watched him guardedly, and when she saw he was not going to ask more, she let out a small breath, and said: “Continue.”

Xuanzang shook his head and went on: “For this poor monk, the reasoning was quite simple — especially once I learned of your relationship with Young Master Zhou. One: the killer was someone inside the Guo residence. Two: someone with close ties to Young Master Zhou. Three: someone with a fierce hatred toward this poor monk. Four: a death in the household, and you still did not show your face. Who else could it be but you?”

Lv Luo was filled with irritation — apparently she had exposed herself so easily. But it was not really her fault; had Young Master Zhou succeeded and fled undetected, the whole case would likely have been an unresolved cold case — and Xuanzang would have had to go to the Buddha with his eyes still uncomprehending. But Young Master Zhou had failed unexpectedly and been exposed — and for Xuanzang, that was as clear as broad daylight.

“Then why… did you not report me?” Lv Luo now felt a wave of cold sweat and a fit of delayed terror.

“Amitabha Buddha—” Xuanzang pressed his palms together and looked at her with a complex expression. “The law of the world is strict. Under Tang law, to conspire to murder someone incurs three years of forced labor; if the victim is wounded, it becomes hanging. My Buddha is merciful — grass, trees, earthworms, and insects all have what is deserving of respect. The purpose of the Dharma is to save people. How could this poor monk send you to a murderous execution ground?”

Lv Luo let out a breath of relief, but was still quite displeased at constantly being compared to worms and insects. She let out a sniff: “Are you not afraid I’ll try to kill you again?”

“I am. How could this poor monk not be afraid?” Xuanzang found this young woman quite a headache, and smiled wryly. “That is precisely why this poor monk hurried out of the Guo residence and hid in Xingtang Temple. Who would have thought I still couldn’t shake you off.”

Lv Luo bit her lip and said: “You wicked monk — so your eyes see through everything — did you see through the trap I set this time as well?”

“No,” Xuanzang said helplessly. “What happened on the cliff a moment ago was genuinely a brush with death — even with the heart to offer my flesh to feed a tiger, I still don’t wish to become pulp for no reason. Still — when this poor monk arrived at the Judge’s Temple, you had already lit the incense, hoping to put me under, hadn’t you?”

“Seen through again,” Lv Luo said with a feeling of helplessness. She simply could not understand how this supposedly slow-witted monk could be so impossibly sharp.

“Alas. This poor monk has already been ambushed by your incense once. Though the scent was sweet, for this poor monk it was no different from poison or arsenic — how could I walk into it again?” He glanced at Boluoye. “Though Boluoye was also put under by it once, he had come out of that experience in his sleep, and his nose was already accustomed to the smell — so he had not noticed it this time. For this poor monk, the memory was all too fresh. I had no choice but to open the doors to air out the hall before daring to enter. But… I didn’t expect your real trap to be at the cliff’s edge.”

Lv Luo glared at him furiously, murmuring: “What method can I use to kill you in the future…”

Xuanzang’s scalp went cold with sweat all over. He had been targeted by this fierce and clever little demoness — there would be no peace for him for the rest of his life. He thought for a moment, and said in a serious tone: “Lv Luo, young miss — this poor monk advises you: do not kill anyone in the future, or the consequences will be severe.”

“Is that so?” Lv Luo smiled at him, a glint in her eye.

“It is.” Xuanzang had no intention of using Buddhist teachings to transform her — with this young woman, concrete consequences and personal stakes were the way to make her afraid. “Have you thought about the consequences of Young Master Zhou dying in your scheme to harm this poor monk?”

Lv Luo glanced at Boluoye: “He wasn’t killed by me.”

Boluoye instantly froze.

“He was not killed by you — yet he died because of you,” Xuanzang said in a stern voice. “He broke into the Guo residence at night to commit murder; Boluoye killed him in self-defense. The Zhou family cannot touch Boluoye — but they will investigate why their son went to kill a monk. If they discover it was your instigation that cost him his life — what do you think they will do to you?”

Lv Luo’s face gradually changed, and after a hesitation she said: “They … wouldn’t know, would they? We did this extremely secretly…”

Xuanzang shook his head: “No matter how secretly it is done, it will eventually be found out. Especially given your relationship with Young Master Zhou — the Zhou family knows it perfectly well. This poor monk has no grievance with him — the only person who could have made Young Master Zhou try to kill me is you. With the Zhou family’s influence, once they have investigated and know the truth — what will they do to you? To your mother? Even to County Magistrate Guo?”

Lv Luo was stunned. Her exquisite face filled with alarm: “Then… then what am I to do? I…” She looked at Xuanzang, and a brilliance suddenly lit up in her eyes. “I won’t go back — I’ll stay with you and live at Xingtang Temple. The Zhou family is powerful, but would they dare come to Xingtang Temple to take me?”

This time it was Xuanzang’s turn to be stunned. This little demoness… she wanted to follow him?