That day, Xuanzang lit the lamps in the temple but did not wait for the wandering knight to return.

The next day, the wandering knight came to Ci'en Temple and never stepped into the palace again.

"I'll stay here with you and settle things."

Later, they even left the completed Ci'en Temple and came to the more remote and secluded Yuhua Temple, where Xuanzang combined his enlightened Buddhist teachings with what he had learned in Tianzhu, transforming them into an unprecedented classic.

Chen Yuan couldn't help but laugh loudly.

Xuanzang coughed a few times and said, "A'Yuan, come here for a moment."

"Hm? What's the matter?"

The wandering knight turned around and walked to the monk who was lying ill in bed.

The monk withdrew his gaze from the window, paused, and suddenly asked:

"How many years ago did we set off from Chang'an..."

The wandering knight sat down cross-legged, counting on his fingers, and said, "It's been nineteen years since we returned."

"It took a full nineteen years on the road, so that's thirty-eight years."

"...Thirty-eight years."

The monk murmured softly and suddenly smiled:

"So fast."

"Speaking of which, when I was a child, I wanted to be a Confucian scholar. At that time, my parents were still alive, and I had older brothers and sisters. My father was very strict, but he also had a soft heart. I remember when I couldn't recite the Confucian classics, he would hit my palm, but when I woke up at night, I would see him mending my clothes. At that time, no matter what happened, I couldn't bring myself to be angry."

"But when I went back to Luoyang two years ago, I couldn't find our house anymore."

"I only found my older sister, and her hair was all white. I looked at her in surprise, 'Is this gray-haired old woman my older sister?' She would always save the good food for me when she was young. In my memory, she was a gentle and beautiful woman, but then I realized that I was already old too."

"My parents' graves could no longer be found. It was very difficult to tidy them up."

"At that time, I realized that I was already so old, even older than when my parents passed away. So life is something that feels long when you're young, but when you've finished it, you realize it's very short. When I think about your future, having to experience life again and again, gaining and losing, I feel worried. Constantly forgetting, how bitter that must be."

"We've already done everything we can do about that great tribulation, so we can only leave it to fate."

"But I suddenly thought of one more gift I can give you."

"Come here."

The monk reached out and pressed his hand on Chen Yuan's forehead.

As the wandering knight was stunned, a vast Buddhist power was transmitted from the monk's palm to his brow, hidden in his true spirit. This was another enlightened one in the human world after Gautama Siddhartha. Such power was enough for the wandering knight to unravel the mystery of the womb in his next reincarnation.

The wandering knight's pupils contracted, and he finally reacted, struggling violently, but he couldn't move as the Buddhist power was being灌体(guanti, body empowerment).

The monk looked tired and said softly, "The Buddhist scriptures have been completely translated, and my life has come to an end."

"You may still suffer a lot during the future great tribulation."

"But I think you should be able to overcome it."

"Speaking of which, being able to walk this path side by side with you in this life, this poor monk really finds this world quite interesting."

The monk finally reached out and ruffled the wandering knight's hair, smiling:

"I've wanted to do this for a long time."

"There were too many people along the way, and I was too embarrassed."

"I wonder if A'Yuan has been happy on this journey..."

Chen Yuan's eyes widened, and for some reason, his vision suddenly blurred.

In the blur, he seemed to see Chang'an again, the deserts beyond the Great Wall, the young and handsome monk leading his horse forward, still with that spirited look between his brows, still so young, turning back to wave at him, laughing and shouting for him to catch up, and then walking farther and farther away, no matter how hard he tried, he could never catch up with him again.

The old monk closed his eyes and whispered, "I've lived enough in this life."

"I won't live another life..."

One life for one lifetime's karma.

I won't live another life...

Leaving knowledge to his disciples, leaving hope to the future.

And he himself, chose to enter nirvana in this era.

Shi Pantuo got up in panic. He dreamed of countless Buddhist pagodas collapsing, and the wind from Chang'an was blowing, and the dharma bells hanging under the pagodas were ringing constantly, and the hand pressing on Chen Yuan's forehead gently fell.

Tang Xuanzang.

Has passed away.

ps: Today's third update... Three thousand four hundred words. I thought about it for a long time and didn't know how to refine it, so I just wrote it down in a straightforward way.

True Buddhist practitioners do not seek the next life.

This was mentioned a long time ago.