[On the Journey West, the Buddha’s bones are made of green lotus, and peach blossoms bloom around his robes]
Chen Tangtang scraped the lotus pattern off a Tang dynasty Buddhist shrine. A bead of blood fell from her fingertip, and when she opened her eyes again
A monk’s robe wrapped around a woman’s body, and a lotus-heart pendant bestowed by Guanyin hung around her neck. She had become the most eye-catching “Tang Sanzang” on the Journey West.
The thousand-faced Guanyin who had stood before the shrine was now disguised as a gentle monk. He brushed a white lotus across the back of her hand with his fingertips. “Tangtang, keep your identity hidden. Wait until I remove the pendant for you.”
But how could she stay hidden on the Journey West?
The stone monkey on Five Elements Mountain watched the fingers that repaired his golden headband, his eyes reddening. The blue-robed divine general by the Flowing Sand River pressed a Soul-Calming Pearl into her palm. Even the White Dragon Horse carrying her often turned into a white-clad young man on moonlit nights, the dragon scales behind his ears tinged pink.
And that was nothing compared to the demons blocking the road
The fair-faced fox demon presented her with a piece of uncarved jade. “Little Master, come back to my mountain with me and see my collection?”
The frail young man, Mr. White Bone, clutched her robe. “I’ve remembered the way you looked at me for a lifetime.”
Even the Buddha in the Western Heaven stroked his beard and smiled from atop a cloud. “This mortal heart is more captivating than the true scriptures.”
Chen Tangtang gripped the lotus-heart pendant burning against her neck and looked at the crowd of people and demons closing in. Her face turned cold as she backed away. “Don’t touch me. I haven’t brought my archaeological tools.”
But she bumped into a warm chest behind her. Guanyin chuckled and circled an arm around her waist, pressing a fingertip to the lotus-heart pendant. “No matter. I’ll be your tool.”
She was a cool-headed archaeology expert, transmigrated into the role of Tang Sanzang, a woman disguised as a man.
And this Journey West was never about retrieving the true scriptures. It was about capturing hearts.
