Monkey said in a drawn-out tone, "Keep going!"
"And then... then I thought, since all had come to pass, it must truly have been Buddha who sent the dream. Master Tripitaka, you said your quest was for the Universal Salvation Path, to help all beings escape the Sea of Suffering... Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that what the scriptures say? To escape suffering is to become a Buddha, to attain ultimate bliss—that is the shared wish of everyone in Faithbreaker. So, no matter what, I had to keep you here. But... but Master Tripitaka, you refused."
"Go on, continue."
The king nodded toward Monkey, blinking nervously as he said, "Last night, after leaving the grand hall, I went straight to sleep, hoping that deity would return to my dreams and teach me how to keep Master Tripitaka. Sure enough, the deity appeared again. He told me this was Buddha testing my resolve to seek Dharma, that I must use every possible method, every means—even death threats if necessary. So... so..."
The king's words faltered, his head sinking lower and lower.
After a long silence, Prince Adrian quietly asked from the side, "What did that deity look like?"
Monkey interjected, "No need to ask. I've already inquired—he saw nothing clearly, so there's no way to investigate."
At once, the entire room grew silent.
A commotion drifted in from afar.
Within the inner palace, the atmosphere was bustling—clearly, they had discovered the king's disappearance and were searching everywhere.
Monkey dragged out his voice and said, "Keep going!"
"And then... then I thought, since everything had come true, it must really have been Buddha who sent the dream. Master Tripitaka, you said your quest was for universal salvation, to help all beings escape suffering... Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that what the scriptures say? To escape suffering is to become a Buddha, to attain bliss—it's the wish of everyone in Faithseeker. So, no matter what, I had to keep you here. But... but Master Tripitaka, you refused."
"Go on, go on."
The king nodded toward Monkey, blinking nervously as he continued, "Last night, after leaving the grand hall, I went straight to sleep, hoping that deity would return to my dreams and teach me how to keep Master Tripitaka. Sure enough, the deity appeared again. He told me this was Buddha testing my resolve to seek Dharma, that I must use every method, every means—even death threats if necessary. So... so..."
The king's words trailed off, his head sinking lower and lower.
After a long silence, White Dragon quietly asked from the side, "What did that deity look like?"
Monkey interrupted, "No need to ask. I've already asked—he didn't see anything clearly, so there's no way to investigate."
Suddenly, the whole room fell silent.
A commotion echoed from far away.
Inside the inner palace, it was already bustling—clearly, they had discovered the king was missing and were searching everywhere.
In the palace, countless guards and servants, clutching torches and lanterns, searched every corner, leaving no stone unturned.
The sudden disappearance of the king and the queen’s collapse had already thrown the entire palace into chaos. Every corner was lit by torchlight, yet no one had thought to search the separate courtyard where Tripitaka and his party stayed.
Inside, Tripitaka sat quietly on the edge of the bed.
The king had shrunk to the ground, nearly kneeling, his eyes darting anxiously toward Monkey.
Footsteps approached, and torchlight briefly illuminated the window lattice—only to fade away moments later.
The king glanced around nervously, filled with unease.
At this moment, he desperately wished someone would find him here and come to his rescue.
But even if the entire palace guard were mobilized, could they truly contend with Monkey?
He did not know.
To him, this felt like a dead end.
On the other side, Tripitaka watched the king in silence, his face calm, though his mind was a tangled mess.
He had made a great vow to journey west and attain enlightenment, all to save sentient beings. Those who do not seek Dharma must be saved, and those who do seek Dharma must be saved even more.
Before him now stood a king who genuinely wished to seek Dharma, but had chosen a twisted path and created a deadlock Tripitaka had never imagined.
How was he to save someone who desired Dharma yet could not find the door, even drifting further away?
Wait—maybe…
After a long silence, Tripitaka smiled faintly and asked, “Your Majesty wishes to keep this humble monk—why?”
The king, trembling, replied, “Because… because Master Tripitaka, you are a Living Buddha.”
“And then?”
“You can enlighten me.”
“What if I cannot?”
The king faltered, suddenly flustered and unable to answer.
Tripitaka let out a gentle sigh and softly asked, “Does Your Majesty wish to attain the Great Way?”
"I do."
“Then why did you not attain it before meeting me?”
Blinking, the king replied helplessly, “To be honest, Master Tripitaka, I am slow-witted and cannot comprehend the sutras. So… so I hoped to keep you here by any means.”
With that, the king closed his eyes deeply.
After a long silence, Tripitaka softly said, “Then, shall I help Your Majesty attain the Way right now?”
“Really?” The king’s head shot up, his eyes fixed eagerly on Tripitaka.
“Really.” Tripitaka nodded slightly. “But first, Your Majesty must listen to a story.”
“Wh—what story? No, as many stories as you wish! If it means attaining the Way, I would listen for a year, for ten years—anything you say, Master Tripitaka!”
“Very well.” Tripitaka smiled faintly, straightened his robe, and slowly stood up.
“This is a story my master told me when I was young.” He walked step by step to the window, gazing at the flickering torchlight outside. In a gentle voice, he began, “Once, there was a monastery with a single Bodhi seed, passed down from abbot to abbot. Each dying abbot would grip the seed and tell his successor: ‘Water it daily. When the Bodhi tree grows, you will become a Buddha.’”
So each abbot would plant it in the courtyard and water it daily, yet it never sprouted. In the end, it was dug up before each abbot’s death and passed to his successor once more.
Gradually, the abbots lost faith in that promise and kept the Bodhi seed only as a token. No one watered it anymore; sometimes it was not even planted, though the legend continued to be passed down.
Eventually, it ceased to be even a token and was given away as a mere object to ordinary disciples. For all its difference, the seed did not rot, but was otherwise unremarkable.
At last, one day, the Bodhi seed came into the hands of a young novice monk. He was not gifted; among his peers, he was considered somewhat dull. Where others could memorize the sutras after ten readings, he needed a hundred.
Yet precisely because of this, he had no clever doubts or shortcuts. He did not know how to question or shirk his duties. Everything he did followed the scriptures to the letter. So, as his master instructed, he watered the Bodhi seed every day.
At this point, Tripitaka smiled and said, “Finally, a miracle occurred. After forty-nine years of unbroken watering, the Bodhi seed not only sprouted but grew into a great tree overnight. The humble novice, as the legend promised, attained Buddhahood.”
By now, the king was stunned, his mouth agape. He stammered, "Master Tripitaka, does this mean… you possess such a Bodhi seed?"
Tripitaka slowly shook his head and replied, “That Bodhi seed was a rare gift from Lord Buddha, able to sprout only after forty-nine years of care by a single person. The problem was never that it could not sprout, but that no one knew the required duration. Only after centuries did it finally meet a ‘fool’ patient enough to complete the unseen term. I told Your Majesty this story to share a line: ‘The wise awaken to the Way; the foolish trust the Way.’”
Lowering his head, the king kept murmuring, “The wise awaken to the Way; the foolish trust the Way. The wise awaken to the Way; the foolish trust the Way…”
Tripitaka bowed, reached out and gently touched the king’s cheek. “If you cannot comprehend the Way, then simply believe in it, and carry out the right actions to the end. As long as you trust in a true path, one day you will attain the Great Way.”
“Th—then…”
"I ask only one thing, Your Majesty—are you willing to believe in me?"
At this moment, the king’s mouth hung open, his eyes wide, staring dazedly at the face so close to his own, at the unwavering gaze in Tripitaka’s eyes.
After a long moment, he quietly said, "I am willing."