Within the palace atop the Jade Emperor Peak of Mount Tai.
In the courtyard, Shaodian Qingnu stoked the fire. The leaping flames illuminated her face and the face of Tian. She glanced at him, but his features remained as still as a statue. She couldn't help but feel a sense of unease stir within her.
Finally, she asked, "Why are you telling me this? Do you want me to do something? To stop the eastward spread of Buddhism?"
"It is already too late."
Tian shook his head, dismissing her guess.
While she looked on in confusion, he continued, "The eastward momentum of the Buddhist teachings cannot be stopped!"
"Then why..."
Before she could finish, Tian spoke again. "The Buddha has thousands upon thousands of worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Have you ever heard of... the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World?"
Shaodian Qingnu shook her head.
Tian said, "As I told you years ago, there are gods and buddhas across the heavens. The Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World is the domain of the Medicine Master Lapis Lazuli Radiance Tathagata. Beneath him are countless bodhisattvas and arhats, serving as a counterpart to the Western Paradise. Within that realm, the dharma is vast, filled with pure lapis lazuli light."
Shaodian Qingnu tilted her head. "And?"
"As the teachings spread east, the myths and legends will inevitably undergo a great transformation. The Medicine Master Buddha is compassionate; you may adopt the name of the Medicine-Offering Pure Light Bodhisattva of Lapis Lazuli under his seat."
Tian spoke slowly, his voice steady.
Shaodian Qingnu frowned, looking up at the sky.
After a long silence, she asked, "I have never heard the name of such a bodhisattva. Does one truly exist?"
"This was prepared specifically for you, Qingnu."
Tian looked at her, pausing before he continued. "Do you wish to wait for the teachings to spread and be written into their sutras by others? By then, your providence will be difficult to determine."
"And if I act as a bodhisattva under the Medicine Master Buddha, will my providence remain unaffected?"
Shaodian Qingnu countered.
Tian shook his head. "No. Whether you truly become a bodhisattva depends entirely on you. The Medicine Master Buddha has merely granted you an opportunity!"
An opportunity?
Such a massive karmic debt would surely have to be repaid in the future!
Shaodian Qingnu felt an instinctive resistance.
Yet Tian was not wrong. If she intended to continue gathering providence after the arrival of Buddhism, she would inevitably come into contact with it. Rather than being passively stained by a fate forced upon her, it was better to actively integrate and clarify her path beforehand.
Still, the feeling of her actions being manipulated made her unhappy.
Seeing her dark expression, Tian sighed.
He rose and walked over to her, gently patting her head. "Qingnu, do not worry. The gods are not a single entity, nor are the buddhas."
By the time Chunyu Tiying woke up and opened her door, Tian had vanished. Only Shaodian Qingnu remained, sitting by the dying fire.
Tiying blinked. "My Lady, are we roasting meat so early?"
Shaodian Qingnu turned to look at her. After a moment of silence, she said, "Tiying, wake everyone up!"
Everyone...
Chunyu Tiying felt that whether the residents here could still be considered 'people' was a matter for debate.
Nevertheless, she went and woke up the soundly sleeping Jingang and Sun Huowang one by one. Hongluan flapped her wings and asked, "Why call everyone so suddenly? What happened?"
"I am going on a long journey. Look after our home well!"
Shaodian Qingnu gave her instructions to the group.
Sun Huowang and Jingang looked up, their faces about to brighten with joy, when they heard Shaodian Qingnu say to Chunyu Tiying, "If anyone gets restless, just beat them!"
Chunyu Tiying nodded in agreement. "Yes, My Lady!"
Hongluan asked, "Where are you going?"
Shaodian Qingnu shook her head and said, "This time... I will go alone. I won't trouble you to accompany me, Bird Sister."
Hongluan found this strange. "Why?"
"This journey may be dangerous. I cannot bear to let you get involved."
Shaodian Qingnu sighed and stood up. "Alright! That is all. I am leaving. Wait for me here at Mount Tai."
Leaving those words behind, Shaodian Qingnu soared into the air, flying toward the west.
Hongluan watched her depart. After a moment's hesitation, she chased after her, leaving Chunyu Tiying, Jingang, and Sun Huowang staring blankly.
Jingang leaned toward Chunyu Tiying and asked, "Medicine-Dispensing Fairy, what should we..."
"Just go about your business."
Chunyu Tiying sighed, answering him.
Sun Huowang raised his staff, about to cause a ruckus, when Chunyu Tiying glared at him. "Are you getting bold just because My Lady left? I might not be able to beat you, but I will report you. Careful that she doesn't thrash you when she returns."
"Expecting a monkey to stay quiet and behave... there's no logic in that!"
Sun Huowang grumbled with a face full of dissatisfaction. Shouldering his staff, he walked to the side and crouched down.
Hongluan caught up with Shaodian Qingnu. When the jiao saw the bird flying toward her, she was startled. "Bird Sister, why are you being so disobedient? I said this trip might be dangerous."
"If there is danger, I must go even more!"
Hongluan clung to Shaodian Qingnu's jiao-horn. "What if you get struck by lightning again like last time?"
Shaodian Qingnu: "..."
"I suspect that won't happen this time."
Hongluan shook her head. "That won't do either!"
"Fine, fine. Let's go together."
Shaodian Qingnu sighed and said no more, carrying Hongluan as she flew westward.
After crossing Luoyang and Chang'an, the vast Hexi region lay below. The Western Regions were just ahead, but for this trip, Shaodian Qingnu was heading even further west, into the territory of the Kushan Empire.
At this time, the Kushan Empire was no longer as powerful as it had been during the Western Han period; its providence was clearly in decline.
Shaodian Qingnu stopped at a small city within the Kushan Empire.
She had Hongluan fly through every corner of the city, recording the situation and reporting back. After the bird diligently completed her task, she asked, "So... what exactly are we doing here?"
"Bird Sister, do you know how to write books?"
Shaodian Qingnu suddenly asked such a question.
Hongluan tilted her head, her tiny bead-like eyes filled with massive confusion.
Write books?
How novel!
She was a bird who hadn't read much in a thousand years. Wasn't it a bit too much to ask her to write a book?
Seeing her reaction, Shaodian Qingnu sighed. "Fine, I'll do it myself..."
"What are you going to write?"
Hongluan asked.
Shaodian Qingnu smiled. "Sutras, of course!"
Hongluan didn't know what kind of sutra it was, but Shaodian Qingnu hadn't lived these thousands of years for nothing. If her scholarship was ranked third in the mortal world, it would take a sage appearing once every thousand years to find a first or second.
In just a month, Shaodian Qingnu completed a text, which she called the Lapis Lazuli Sutra.
"'Thus have I heard, in the pure lapis lazuli world, there exists an awakened one...'"
Hongluan muttered the opening line of the Lapis Lazuli Sutra, shocked. "Isn't this a Buddhist sutra? Stupid snake, why are you writing a Buddhist sutra..."
"You know of Buddhist sutras?"
Shaodian Qingnu gave her a strange look.
"Ahem—"
Hongluan coughed and explained, "I am a Qingniao; of course I know."
Shaodian Qingnu didn't doubt her. "This is my purpose for coming here. I will use this sutra to spread my dharma name!"
"The Medicine-Offering Pure Light Bodhisattva of Lapis Lazuli? How did you become a bodhisattva?"
Hongluan was completely baffled.
But Shaodian Qingnu did not explain, and Hongluan stopped asking. She helped her play the role of a deity within the Kushan Empire.
Wait, no!
She was an immortal to begin with; how could it be called playing a role?
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