Chapter 225

"Do you still remember when the thirteen warrior monks saved the Emperor of Tang?" Rulai asked, looking at Manjushri. Manjushri seemed not to have expected Rulai's train of thought to jump all the way back to the Tang Dynasty. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Does the World-Honored One mean that the rescue of the Emperor of Tang by the thirteen warrior monks back then was deliberately arranged by our Western Paradise as a pavement for Xuanzang's journey to the West?" Rulai nodded. "Indeed. This matter was originally handled by Bodhisattva Guanyin, so it is forgivable that you are not clear about it. In the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty, heroes vied for supremacy across Jambudvipa. Bodhisattva Guanyin and I observed the fortunes of all those heroes and saw that the Li Tang dynasty had the momentum of a rainbow and was bound to win the empire. Therefore, we arranged the episode of the thirteen warrior monks saving the Emperor of Tang precisely to make the Emperor of Tang develop a favorable impression of our Western Paradise, laying the foundation for the Water and Land Dharma Assembly and Xuanzang's journey to the West."