Legend has it that every five hundred years, the phoenix undergoes rebirth in flames. Gathering branches from the parasol tree, it sets itself ablaze and is born anew in the inferno. After its rebirth, its feathers grow fuller, its song clearer, and its spirit more refined. All things are transient in this ever-changing world, and all things are flawed. The human body has six senses and is formed from the four elements. The six senses are delusions: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The four elements are provisional unions of causes and conditions: earth, water, fire, and wind. A karmic debt from tens of thousands of years ago finally finds resolution in this life, as it rises and falls within a mortal body. Xi He lives another lifetime, cultivating the Dao and attaining enlightenment. Mistaking the shadows of the six senses for the mind's true nature, she endures a love that frees her from every shackle. She is often broken, yet often finds meaning in it. At last, she ascends, leaving behind only these words: Bodhi was never a tree, nor was the bright mirror ever a stand.
