Dim firelight flickered in the gloom.
Clara Heart knelt quietly, gazing upward.
Master Sage Subhuti stepped slowly from the window to his seat, his shadow sweeping across nearly the entire Hall of Silent Meditation.
He braced himself on his knees and sat down slowly, reaching out to tap the side of the Go board, then sighed softly: "The Three Realms are like a game of chess. But unlike chess, it is not as simple as black and white."
Clara Heart looked at Master Sage Subhuti, her face puzzled.
Stroking his long beard, Master Sage Subhuti gently moved a piece on the board and said, "In the Three Realms, it is not only the mighty—humans, demons, beasts, all things—who can be players. Every living being evolves under the rules of the Heavenly Dao: they thrive, they battle, waxing and waning, vying for brilliance, embroiled in chaos. Each player has their own desires, their own past, their own troubles, their own standpoint, their own suffering... Each chases what they want in this mortal world—be it fame, fortune, or perhaps simply the Dao. Every being is independent, belonging to no other."
After a pause, Master Sage Subhuti personally poured Clara a cup of tea and smiled slowly: "Elias Tongtian is quick to anger; Victor Yuanshi is excessively cautious but lacks boldness; Zhenyuan acts on impulse; Lord Lao is indecisive. As for me, I am too detached. In truth, so-called mighty beings are just one among countless players. The Three Realms have evolved to this day, and those of us old fellows who have survived from ancient times only seem special because we have lived longer, witnessed the changes of Heaven and Earth, and possess a bit more experience than ordinary beings."
Clara Heart continued to watch Master Sage Subhuti in silence.
"Setting aside those extra years we've lived, the so-called mighty are actually of little importance." Master Sage Subhuti pushed the teacup toward Clara, crossed his hands over his dust-whisk, and turned to gaze at the faintly swaying shadow on the bamboo curtain, sighing softly: "In fact, I always believed this was right. The Three Realms must develop in this way; right and wrong, good and evil, should be decided on this chessboard."
Slowly closing his eyes, Master Sage Subhuti said, "But one day, Lord Lao suddenly attained the Heavenly Dao and mastered Non-Action. In that instant... heh, the Three Realms remained, but there was only one player left—the Old Lord. Right and wrong, good and evil, all became his to decide. Whatever anyone did, none could escape his gaze. With such a judge in place, what meaning is left in right and wrong?"
"That is why the Daoists gradually withdrew from the mortal world, focusing solely on cultivation. The Buddhists finally emerged, but they too preached withdrawal; and the Buddha himself directly attained the Heavenly Dao of No-Self... Gradually, the Three Realms seemed to enter a dead end, turning stagnant, unable to move forward even half a step."
Clara Heart lowered her head slightly, picked up the teacup, and took a sip.
Opening his eyes, Master Sage Subhuti spoke softly: "Ten thousand years have passed; the strong remain strong, the weak remain weak. The Heavenly Court suppresses demons, rivers of blood flow, yet mortals still drown in suffering. Cultivators seek only immortality, forgetting the original 'Dao.' Life and death cycle endlessly, and even immortals live in a different kind of pain. Right and wrong, good and evil, are indistinguishable. Every inch of land in the Three Realms is stained with blood, yet that blood is not shed to change anything—only to maintain it. To maintain this... unsatisfactory world of suffering, and that brittle peace that could shatter at a touch. In the end, living is only for the sake of staying alive."
At this, Master Sage Subhuti suddenly gave a dry laugh and said, "You've seen the memories of your past two lives. What do you think of Wukong, Marshal Silver, Anna Yang, Belle, and Birdie?"
Clara listened in a daze, saying nothing.
Master Sage Subhuti stroked his long beard and said, "They are all just a corner of this world. All their efforts are only to cover their own pain. But even if their pain is hidden, what about the pain of others?"
"Did the Jade Emperor err in maintaining balance in the Three Realms? Did the Buddha err in pursuing the highest doctrine? Did the heavenly generals err in enforcing the law? Even that evil flood-dragon, who betrayed his kin just to survive in the chaos—was he wrong?"
Clara listened, still dazed.
"No one is wrong." Master Sage Subhuti slowly shook his head. "In the end, the fault does not lie with them, nor with any individual in this world, but with the world itself. As long as the world cannot move forward, all old pains will endlessly replay, only appearing in different people each time."
"Back then, I chose seclusion—partly because I could not bear to watch, partly because I was powerless." Raising his head, Master Sage Subhuti sighed softly. "Until one day, a monkey arrived at my door three hundred years ahead of schedule, reminding me that the unbreakable Heavenly Dao had begun to crack. Then a young man came to me, saying that if all beings' suffering was the fault of the world itself, he was willing to endure ten lifetimes of reincarnation, even if it meant near-certain death, just to save the Three Realms."
At this point, Master Sage Subhuti paused, quietly watching Clara Heart.
Clara Heart lifted her head slightly, gazing at her master.
"If you were me, what would you do? Would you risk everything, even if it meant plunging the Three Realms into calamity, just to open a new path? Or would you keep your eyes closed, your ears shut, and seek the Dao alone?"
"So, Master... you chose to risk everything?"
Master Sage Subhuti nodded slightly.
"But... but..." Clara suddenly stood up, flustered. "Master, you put everyone on the gambling table. Nine senior brothers died, and Belle, and Senior Brother Wukong. You say it was for all living beings, but countless lives in the Three Realms were lost in that calamity! This..."
"That disaster freed the Three Realms from Lord Lao's control." Master Sage Subhuti sipped his tea, lowering his head. "Only then did Golden Cicada's path of universal salvation have a chance to succeed. This is what it means to break, and then to build. Everyone pays a price, but everyone also gains new hope. Only this way can the world, which had come to a standstill, move forward again. Only then is blood not shed in vain."
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Master Sage Subhuti's tone was calm, yet carried an incomparable firmness, brooking no argument.
Clara Heart was left utterly stunned.
After a long while, she slowly began to smile.
"Master, was this price worth it?"
"Wasn't it worth it?"
"Was it truly worth it?"
The two stared at each other.
Clara Heart gazed blankly at her master.
In that moment, a strange bitterness welled up in her heart—a sorrow not only her own, but also Belle's.
This grand righteousness, Clara could not refute. Yet in the face of such righteousness, was the love between master and disciple truly so fragile?
But wasn't this something she had already known clearly when she received those memories? Now, it was only being spoken aloud by her master.
The candlelight flickered gently.
"Master, after saying all this, what do you want me to do?"
"I wish to fulfill the wish you've always held in your heart."
"Which wish?"
"That... you and Wukong, two lovers united at last."
"Master, are you sure that's Clara's wish?"
"Isn't it?"
"No!" Clara answered firmly. "Maybe that was Birdie's wish, or Belle's wish, but it was never Clara's wish. Besides, it has no value at all."
"Why not?"
Taking a deep breath, Clara Heart spoke slowly: "Birdie and Belle are gone. Everything from the past is over, so please, Master, don't mention it again. Now, all I wish for is to find closure for what has happened."
Master Sage Subhuti looked at Clara Heart for a long time before sighing softly: "I understand."
After a brief silence, Master Sage Subhuti asked, "But what if the Three Realms needed you to fulfill that original wish?"
...
In the courtyard, Yuxuan sat quietly on a stone bench.
Dim candlelight spilled from the window behind her, illuminating the courtyard's grass and trees.
Chenxiang wandered back and forth nearby. Officially, Yuxuan was watching over Chenxiang for Clara Heart, but her mind was entirely focused on the Hall of Silent Meditation behind her.
She couldn't hear what was being discussed inside, but she sensed it was something very important.
Returning this time, her uncle gave her a vague sense that something indescribable had changed, and Master Sage Subhuti was clearly different as well.
Ever since Crescent Star Cave moved to its new location, Master Sage Subhuti had seemed like a stone statue—always waiting for others to come to him, deciding whether to meet them or not. She had never heard of her master wanting to see anyone himself.
"What could it be?"
Yuxuan truly couldn't figure it out.
From afar, Chenxiang, who had been wandering alone for a long time, walked over and asked softly, "Big Sister, can you do magic?"
"I can." Yuxuan nodded absentmindedly.
"Then, can you make a ladder for me?"
"A ladder?"
Chenxiang pointed to a nearby tree and said, "I want to climb up and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Yuxuan shot Chenxiang a glare, pulled him to her side, and said coldly, "Stay put."
"Okay."
Chenxiang shrank his head and obediently stood aside.
Time trickled by, moment by moment.
After a short while, Yuxuan saw Clara Heart emerge from the Hall of Silent Meditation.
Before Yuxuan could say anything, Chenxiang had already grabbed the hem of his robe and rushed over, throwing himself into Clara Heart's arms. Then, he looked back at Yuxuan, cautiously.
Yuxuan slowly walked to Clara Heart's side and bowed. "Aunt Master."
Clara Heart nodded silently, then lowered her head and patted Chenxiang's head. "Let's go home."
With that, she took Chenxiang's hand and started walking back.
Yuxuan hurried to catch up.
"What did Aunt Master and Master talk about?"
"Nothing much, just some trivial matters."
"Trivial? Would trivial matters need you to come over in the middle of the night?"
Clara Heart did not answer.
Behind them, in the Hall of Silent Meditation, Master Sage Subhuti lifted a corner of the bamboo curtain and watched from afar.