"It's fine if you don't understand now,"
"But I still hope you'll grasp it one day."
Su Mu waved his fan again, and a water curtain cave appeared before them.
Deidara, bewildered, patted Obito's shoulder. "What did he mean by that?"
"Obito, are you hiding something from me?"
"As your senior, I have a duty to educate you. Confession leads to leniency; good children confess!"
Obito shook his head vigorously. "Senior, absolutely not!"
Deidara remained somewhat skeptical, but considering Obito's usual dimwittedness, he let it go.
Everyone looked at the Supreme Treasure before them.
He knelt before a golden circlet, hands clasped, his eyes filled with a profound reluctance to part with the mortal world.
"I must remind you once more: once you don the golden circlet, you must not indulge in worldly desires. Otherwise, it will tighten its grip, causing unbearable suffering."
A majestic female voice suddenly echoed from nowhere.
They looked around, but saw no one.
"No need to be surprised. This voice belongs to Guanyin Bodhisattva."
"Beginning with Guanyin, ending with Guanyin. The karmic threads of five hundred years are reaching their conclusion here," Su Mu said slowly, fanning himself.
Supreme Treasure gave a bitter smile. "Understood!"
Guanyin: "Before you don the golden circlet, do you have anything else to say?"
Supreme Treasure: "...Once, a sincere love lay before me, and I did not cherish it."
"Only after losing it did I regret it deeply. Nothing in this world is more painful than this."
"If heaven were to give me another chance."
"I would say three words to that girl: I love you."
Tears streamed down Supreme Treasure's face as he spoke.
He wiped his tears, his voice choked, and continued: "If heaven insists on placing a time limit on this love."
"I hope it would be... ten thousand years!"
Beneath his mask, Obito was weeping uncontrollably. His nails dug into his flesh, his fingertips stained with blood.
"If... if I could have confessed to Rin..."
"I wouldn't ask for ten thousand years..."
"It would be now... right now... but Rin... I'm sorry..."
Obito poured out his heart in his inner world, the regret suffocating him.
The complexities of love and hate in the mortal realm were immeasurable; how could there ever be a second chance?
Deidara, unaware of Obito's past, mistook his sorrow for being moved by the story.
Everyone raised their cups and downed the liquor.
The strong alcohol made them shed tears during the story's climax.
"So the Great Sage had such a heartbreaking past!"
"How could the Monkey King who once wreaked havoc in heaven be so downcast!"
"I can't take it anymore, I need to cry..."
Su Mu sighed helplessly, "Clear breeze dances with the bright moon, secluded dreams fall among the flowers."
"Waking from a dream, it's like another lifetime. Between the brows, longing is deeply etched."
The scene shifted again.
On an execution platform in Niuzhuang, Tang Sanzang was bound to a cross.
From the moment it was established that humans are born of human mothers and demons of demon mothers, the sky suddenly crackled with lightning.
Bull Demon King, dragging Zixia to force a wedding, angered the audience.
"Such a beautiful woman, how can he not show her tenderness?"
"I wish I could turn this bull into stewed beef!"
Zixia's words spoken in the room before the wedding had deeply pained everyone.
"My destined one is a heroic figure, and one day he will ride a colorful cloud to marry me."
But why hadn't Supreme Treasure appeared yet?
Suddenly, a colorful cloud rapidly gathered in the sky.
The pitch-black night sky became blindingly bright as a monkey stood upon the seven-colored cloud, swiftly flying towards Niuzhuang.
"It's Sun Wukong!"
"Good heavens, Supreme Treasure has finally transformed into Sun Wukong!"
"Now Zixia is saved!"
Seeing Sun Wukong arrive on the colorful cloud, Zixia excitedly broke free from Bull Demon King's grasp and ran towards him.
But Obito couldn't understand why Supreme Treasure, after becoming Sun Wukong, would avoid Zixia.
Now they could truly be together; what hesitations could there be?
Sun Wukong's emotions towards Zixia changed drastically. Not only Obito, but everyone was confused.
"Do you remember what Supreme Treasure said before donning the golden circlet?"
"They say you must give up something to gain something. Without the golden circlet, how could a mere mortal save Zixia?"
"By donning the circlet, he must abandon worldly desires and follow Tang Sanzang to the West. He had to make a choice..."
Obito suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Does Sun Wukong really like Zixia?"
Su Mu remained silent, his gaze fixed on the sky over Niuzhuang.
Sun Wukong, wielding his Ruyi Jingu Bang, was locked in an intense battle with Bull Demon King.
Suddenly, Bull Demon King, finding himself outmatched, pulled out his芭蕉扇 (Banana Leaf Fan) and blew Niuzhuang towards the sun.
Seeing this, Sun Wukong quickly flew beneath Niuzhuang, propping it up with his Ruyi Jingu Bang to slow its ascent.
At this critical moment, Zixia suddenly flew over and grabbed Sun Wukong's clothes.
"You clearly love me, so why won't you admit it!"
Sun Wukong looked at Zixia impatiently. "Get lost!"
"It's because you're a woman that I won't kill you. Don't think I'm afraid of you."
"You scoundrel!" Zixia looked at Sun Wukong, tears welling in her eyes.
Suddenly, Bull Demon King flew from behind Sun Wukong.
Zixia cried out, "Be careful!" and shielded Sun Wukong.
As Bull Demon King's attack pierced Zixia's body, everyone burst into tears.
Even someone like Deidara couldn't hold back, tears and snot streaming.
Obito's heart bled.
"My destined one is a heroic figure, and one day he will ride a colorful cloud to marry me. I guessed the beginning, but not the end..."
Finally, Zixia died in Sun Wukong's arms.
Because he had fallen in love, the golden circlet tightened, and Sun Wukong clutched his head in pain.
"The deeper the love, the greater the pain. Sun Wukong loved Zixia, but he had no choice. With the golden circlet, he could no longer choose love."
"What joy is there in life, what suffering in death? This is the ending of 'A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella'."
Su Mu waved his fan, and the surroundings returned to their original state.
Everyone's eyes were red-rimmed, lost in the lingering emotions of the scene.
Everyone wanted to be Sun Wukong, yet no one considered the pain he endured on his journey.
A monkey, naturally unruly, was destined to become a Buddha, to sit solemnly on the Spirit Mountain and recite scriptures. Was this truly the outcome he desired?
Su Mu looked at Obito and asked softly, "Does loving someone require a reason?"
Obito paused. "Doesn't it?"
Su Mu: "Does it?"
Obito: Doesn't it not?
Su Mu chuckled. "Look at you now."
"You look like a dog..."