Honghuang: Creation of the Green Lotus, the beginning of the Three Pure Ones

With the events in the Western Sea concluded, everything returned to calm. All forces awaited the true beginning of the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West.

Decades passed in the blink of an eye, and Chang'an City, Zhuque Avenue, remained as bustling as ever. The cries of vendors and the rumble of carriages blended into a noisy torrent.

In the heart of this raging torrent, a strangely cleared area stood. In the center stood a monk with an odd appearance.

The monk wore a tattered gray robe, stained and caked with grease, its original color unrecognizable. His bald head, covered in sores and scabs, stood out starkly in the sunlight.

He leaned on a dark, heavy staff that was neither bamboo nor wood in one hand, and held a neatly folded brocade robe with subtle gold thread patterns in the other.

The robe was beautifully colored, creating a stark contrast with the monk's own disheveled appearance.

"Those who are destined to be with us will not be charged a penny. Those who are not destined to be with us will be worth more than a fortune."

The bald-headed monk's voice was not loud, and even a little hoarse, yet it strangely pierced through the surrounding noise and clearly reached the ears of every onlooker, carrying an indescribable seductive power.

The crowd buzzed with discussion, pointing and whispering. Some scoffed, some were curious, and others were eager to try it out.

"Hey, this bald-headed monk, what a boastful tone. Not taking a single penny? Or is it just a scam?"

A burly butcher spoke in a rough voice, his face twitching with suspicion.

An elderly man who looked like a scholar stroked his beard and squinted at the robe, saying, "This thing has a restrained luster, and the gold threads conceal a mystery. It is no ordinary item. But this monk is really strange."

A middle-aged man dressed in fine silk and who looked like a wealthy merchant pushed his way to the front, a smile plastered on his face, and pulled out a gleaming gold ingot.

"Great monk, do you think I am destined for you? Consider this ingot of gold as offering money. Could you sell me this robe and staff?"

The bald-headed monk didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he hadn't seen the tempting gold, and only repeated, "No chance, no chance."

The wealthy merchant was rebuffed and, feeling somewhat embarrassed, reluctantly took back the gold, muttering under his breath that the man didn't know what was good for him.

Just then, a majestic shout came from the street corner, accompanied by the sound of heavy, uniform footsteps.

The noisy crowd seemed to be parted by an invisible giant hand, quickly retreating to both sides to make way for a wide passage.

The bright yellow canopy, like a moving cloud, shimmered with a noble light under the autumn sun. The Imperial Guards, clad in gleaming armor and wielding long halberds, escorted a massive imperial carriage pulled by eight snow-white steeds as it slowly approached.

The imperial carriage was adorned with dragons and phoenixes, exuding a magnificent aura. Seated atop the carriage were two figures: Emperor Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun Wugou.

Li Shimin, dressed in ochre-yellow casual clothes, with a handsome face and a calm, deep gaze, surveyed his prostrate subjects with the imposing presence of an emperor.

Empress Zhangsun nestled beside him, adorned in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robes. Her beauty was exquisite and refined, and her demeanor exuded a gentle and dignified grace befitting an empress.

As the imperial carriage passed through the empty space in the crowd, the bald-headed monk's hawking voice rang out again: "Those with affinity, I will not take a penny. Those without affinity, even ten thousand pieces of gold cannot buy them."

The voice entered Li Shimin's ears like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. An irresistible surge of emotion suddenly exploded from the deepest part of his soul.

That wasn't an unfamiliar voice; it was more like a call from a distant past, almost forgotten. His hands, resting on his knees, tightened involuntarily, his knuckles turning slightly white.

Almost simultaneously, he subconsciously turned his head, his gaze falling on Empress Changsun beside him. Empress Changsun was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and time seemed to freeze for a moment.

Although the two did not know the reason, they knew very clearly who the bald-headed monk was and why he had come. Deep within their souls, the mark personally imprinted by Houtu, the representative of the Earthly Path, was being completely activated by the presence of this bald-headed monk.

Countless blurry fragments churned and collided in his sea of ​​consciousness. A deep-seated obsession had quietly awakened: to make this Journey to the West lively and exciting.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the turbulent tremors in his soul and the chaotic fragments of memory in his mind.

"Stationing".

Li Shimin's voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable penetrating power, clearly resounding throughout the entire street.

The imperial carriage came to a smooth stop, and the bustling street instantly fell into a breathless silence. Countless eyes, filled with awe and curiosity, focused on the imperial carriage.

Li Shimin's gaze swept past the prostrate subjects and landed on the bald-headed monk in the center of the field. "He summoned the monk to his presence."

Others might not know who this bald-headed monk was, but Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun knew perfectly well.

He knew that she was Guanyin Bodhisattva of the Western Buddhist sect, who had come in disguise to enlighten him, the human king, on the orders of the Buddha, and to begin the great journey to the West.

The bald-headed monk, an incarnation of Guanyin Bodhisattva, still had a disheveled and foolish appearance. He followed the guards to the imperial carriage, put his palms together in a gesture of respect, and said, "This humble monk greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty the Empress."

Li Shimin sat upright on his palanquin, looking down at the seemingly down-on-his-luck monk, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Monk, you say that those with affinity will not be charged a single penny. I would like to ask, what is affinity? Do the Empress and I have such affinity?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva raised her head, her turbid gaze sweeping over the faces of Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, making a gesture of careful scrutiny.

In fact, Guanyin Bodhisattva also knew who Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were in their previous lives. Now she was simply proceeding with the Journey to the West step by step.

So at this moment, a silly smile had already spread across his face: "Your Majesty is the current emperor, with purple aura soaring to the sky, and your nobility is beyond words. Your Majesty is naturally graceful and has the virtue of being a mother to the world."

"But these two treasures in my possession are not meant for His Majesty or the Empress."

Li Shimin frowned. "Even I and the Empress are destined to be without these two treasures. I wonder who in the Tang Dynasty is destined to possess them?"

Guanyin Bodhisattva pointed towards Huasheng Temple, saying, "The monks who preach there seem to have some affinity with these two treasures in my hands."

Guanyin Bodhisattva didn't beat around the bush; she went straight to Chen Xuanzang, the tenth reincarnation of Jin Chanzi.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin burst into laughter. "I am preparing to choose an auspicious day to have the Venerable Xuanzang hold a Water and Land Dharma Assembly at Huasheng Temple to deliver the souls of the deceased and pray for peace and prosperity for the country."

"Since you say that these two treasures are destined for Master Xuanzang, then I will order someone to bring him to the Taiji Hall, and you can test this destiny with him in person."

After speaking, Li Shimin immediately ordered his men to return to the palace. At the same time, he also instructed someone to take Guanyin Bodhisattva to the Taiji Hall, and naturally, someone else went to Huasheng Temple to invite Chen Xuanzang.

……

Inside the Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin, with a thoughtful look in his eyes, spoke to Empress Zhangsun beside him: "Guanyinbi, what do you think we can do to make the Journey to the West more lively?"

Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Making it lively is easy! Second Brother, just use your strengths, and this Journey to the West will be anything but exciting!" (End of Chapter)