The solemn and majestic Buddhist chanting echoed in the hall.

Fragrant flowers piled up like a mountain, and a bodhisattva made of gold and silver held a lotus branch in one hand and a lotus flower in the other, looking down with a sad expression.

On the treasure couch, Tanmarajiva was wearing a cassock at an angle. His face was gaunt, his eyes were deep, and there seemed to be a faint Buddha's light around him. He looked more like a meditating Buddha than the golden statue on the table.

He looked at Yaoying with calm eyes, as if he was overlooking the common people from the clouds.

"The royal court is not a safe place for the princess. Mundadeva will leave the royal court tomorrow morning. The princess can go with him. My personal guard Yuanjue will escort the princess to India."

Yaoying's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her slender and charming eyes looked at Tanmarajiva steadily.

Beirong was defeated by Tanmarajya three times, and Wakhan Khan and Haidu Aling dared not attack the royal court for a while. She fled to the royal court and was protected by Tanmarajya, so she could breathe a sigh of relief for the time being. However, Tanmarajya was seriously ill, and there was no news from Prajna. If Tanmarajya died, the royal court would be in danger, and Haidu Aling would not let her go.

Yao Ying had considered it over the past few days. If Tanmarajiva still could not escape the tragedy of death from illness, she would go to India with Mundadeva, and then return to the Central Plains by sea.

As long as Haidu Aling was alive, she would never be able to return to her homeland via the Hexian route, and could only take a detour to India, otherwise she would fall into Haidu Aling's hands.

These were decisions she made after careful consideration.

Therefore, she was not idle during the time she was imprisoned. Every day she took her personal soldiers to study Sanskrit with the monks.

Unexpectedly, Tanmarajiva also thought of this idea.

He is the monarch of the royal court and has no relationship with her. Why would he consider her so carefully?

Moreover, arrangements have been made to escort her to India.

He will not live long, yet he still thinks about her, a stranger.

Yao Ying's gaze fell on Tanmarajiva's legs.

His wide cassock covered his swollen legs, and from the outside he seemed to be just sitting cross-legged in meditation.

This person was worshipped and revered by the people during his lifetime, guarded the royal court all his life, and remained in a cross-legged sitting position even after his death.

When the Northern Rong people captured the holy city and rushed into the Buddhist temple, when they saw his corpse, no one dared to step forward. Even Haidu Aling showed mercy for once and led his troops out of the Buddhist temple.

The people of the Western Regions said that Tanmaragha was indeed the incarnation of Ananda, which was why his body remained intact and he attained enlightenment through meditation.

Yaoying had never seen a monk who had passed away in meditation. Looking at Tanmarajiva's calm and handsome face, she imagined that this man had concealed his illness, becoming weaker and more haggard day by day, working hard for the royal court until he died alone. A faint sadness arose in her heart.

When he was young, his people were brutally massacred by the Zhang family. Princess Chima hated the Han people because of this, but he did not vent his anger on the innocent and always showed mercy.

Yao Ying and her brother Li Zhongqian had lived cautiously for more than a decade because of the anger of Li De and Li Xuanzhen, father and son. It was hard not to be moved when they met a monarch like Tanmarajiva who had experienced many ups and downs but remained kind and gentle in the chaotic times.

She admires such people.

It's a pity that she couldn't do anything to help him.

Yao Ying was absent-minded for a moment, then she took a step forward, knelt beside the couch, picked up the wooden tray containing flowers on the table beside her, wrapped it in a gauze, folded it into the shape of a gold ingot, and gently stuffed it next to Tanmarajiva's cassock, placing it next to his legs.

The guards around her were all surprised and didn't know what she was going to do, so they were unable to move for a moment.

Tanmarajiva was slightly startled.

Yaoying leaned half of her body forward and carefully adjusted the position of the wooden tray. A few flickering candlelight fell on the crow's hair. Her skin was snow-white, and the red ribbon that tied her hair hung around her neck. The ribbon was deep red, and her snow-white skin exuded a creamy luster.

Amid the strong fragrance that filled the room, she had a light, sweet scent.

"Master, try it. It will make you feel better."

Yao Ying raised her head and smiled at Tanmarajiva, her bright eyes curved into two crescents.

When she was young, she couldn't walk and could only lie down and lean on something every day. This was the method the doctor taught her.

There was a trace of astonishment in Tanmarajaka's eyes - but it was still faint, like a cloud passing through the clear sky, without a ripple.

He understood and clasped his hands together.

Yao Ying returned the greeting and left.

She couldn't do anything for him, she just hoped that the man would suffer less before his death.

Yuanjue escorted Yaoying out of the main hall.

As the two were walking down the corridor, two grumbling sounds suddenly came from the corner.

The guarding soldiers retreated one after another.

The grumbles became deeper, with a warning tone.

Yaoying raised her head and a chill ran down her body.

A leopard with an ancient coin pattern stood in the shadow of the wall, looking down at everyone from above, its light yellow eyes emitting an enticing phosphorescent glow in the dim night.

Yuanjue stood in front of Yaoying and swallowed nervously.

"This is a leopard raised by the Regent. It is still wild and only listens to the Regent... Princess, please don't move or look at it!"

Yao Ying looked away and did not move - seeing the leopard lurking in the dark, her legs felt weak and she could not move even if she wanted to.

The man and the leopard confronted each other for a moment, then footsteps were heard from deep in the corridor and a tall figure flashed by.

Yuan Jue hurriedly whispered, "Regent, Ah Li is here!"

The figure swayed twice, the sword on his waist flashed coldly, and he turned to another direction. Leopard jumped down the high wall and followed him.

Yao Ying breathed a sigh of relief.

The Taiji Palace in Chang'an raised many rare birds and animals. Li Zhongqian often took her to play with them in his spare time. Among them were leopards. However, those exotic animals were presented as tributes and were raised very tamely. She had never seen such a ferocious leopard.

That night, Prajna and Ashina Bisha did not rush back to the holy city.

The candles in the main hall burned all night long. The cavalrymen from the central army who stayed behind in the holy city hurried back to the palace, which was heavily guarded.

In less than two hours, the news that the Regent had abolished Xue Yan's hand spread throughout the Holy City. The ministers in the court temporarily stopped their movements and quietly recalled the spies hovering outside the palace. The timid ones even prepared generous gifts to send to the palace.

While the monks in the temple were praying for Tanmaragha, Mundadeva returned to his own courtyard to pack his luggage, summoned his disciples and followers, and prepared to set off.

Yaoying had packed her bags long ago and left with Monda Deva and her disciples.

After leaving the palace, Mundadeva looked back at the palace behind him and sighed: "Poor monks are incompetent and cannot save the Buddha's son."

Yao Ying rode up to catch up with him and asked, "Why don't you wait a few more days?"

Mundadeva turned around and put his hands together, saying, "Only a few days."

Yao Ying was silent.

Mondadeva continued, "The Buddha is kind-hearted and worried that the ministers of the royal court would embarrass the poor monk and the princess. When the poor monk first came to the royal court, he debated with the Buddha and lost to him. The poor monk and the Buddha made an agreement to stay and treat him. Today is the day when the agreement expires. If he leaves today, the ministers of the royal court will have no reason to detain him."

He lost to Tanmarajya, and according to the rules of the debate, he should have taken Tanmarajya as his teacher. However, Tanmarajya said that they studied different Buddhist scriptures and pursued different liberations, so he did not dare to be his teacher. He only asked him to stay as the palace physician and leave when his term was up.

Yao Ying knew that Buddhism originated in India, and after spreading to the Western Regions and the Central Plains, it mixed with local beliefs. After hundreds of years of development, it gradually differentiated and evolved, giving rise to different sects.

In the Western Regions, Buddhism occupied a dominant position. There were many eminent monks and pagodas and temples everywhere. From kings to slaves, all were the most devout believers. A large number of Buddhist temples were built in various countries in the Western Regions, a large number of Buddhist scriptures were circulated, and grand Buddhist ceremonies were held every year. It was called "Little Western Paradise" by monks from the Central Plains.

In India, the hometown of Mundadeva, Buddhism was already in decline.

Yao Ying remembered that Mengda Deva came to the Western Regions despite all the difficulties. Why did he leave after staying in the Western Regions for less than a year?

She asked her question.

Monda Deva smiled and said, "I have seen the Buddha and know that what I have been seeking in my life is not in vain. The Buddha saves all living beings, each with their own causes and conditions. He will save them in whatever form is appropriate. The Western Regions are not the place for me to go."

Yao Ying thought of Tanmarajiva's green eyes that were like lotus flowers, and asked, "What kind of salvation do Buddhists seek through practice?"

Mondadeva hesitated for a moment, as if he could not find the words to describe it. He was silent for a long time and then said, "Buddhist has chosen a very difficult path of practice."

Yao Ying sighed in her heart.

She thought that Tanmaraka might have believed in Mahayana teachings.

Buddhism is divided into Hinayana Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. In simple terms, Hinayana Buddhism believes that ordinary people cannot become Buddhas, and emphasizes self-cultivation in order to seek self-realization and liberation, which is otherworldly. Mahayana Buddhism believes that there are countless Buddhas in the three periods of time and ten directions, and Sakyamuni is just one of them. Everyone has Buddha nature, and in addition to self-salvation, it also seeks to save all sentient beings.

Tanmaraka guards the royal court and cares about the people, and is clearly a Mahayana sect member.

They left the palace, walked through stone walls, climbed up plank roads, and passed through a long, narrow, dark cave. Suddenly, the front opened up, with hot light shining in and noisy voices carried in the wind.

It was late at night when Yaoying arrived at the Holy City. She had stayed in the palace ever since then. She had never seen the Holy City during the day before. She heard voices and looked around curiously.

Seeing this, she couldn't help but hold her breath.

The morning light is dim, the sky is vast, there are no clouds in the clear blue sky.

The mountains stacked on top of each other in the sky rise and fall majestically, towering into the clouds. The first rays of morning light slant down, giving the snow on the mountaintops that never melts all year round a layer of brilliant golden light, which is indescribably magnificent and majestic.

On the hillside, there are large tracts of deep green, shrouded in clouds and mist, beautiful and charming, and you can vaguely see the ancient cave temples hidden deep in the mountains and forests. At the foot of the mountain, the canyon is deep and the river valley is crisscrossed. Large and small lakes are inlaid like pieces of blue-green gems, reflecting the blue sky. The lakeside is covered with green grass and the terrain is flat.

Yaoying looked to the south, and saw endless fertile fields with surging wheat fields.

At the end of the fertile plain is the holy city guarded by Tanmarajiva.

It was a magnificent and prosperous capital city. A broad river flowed from west to east, winding around the towering city walls. The towering towers on the four corners of the city walls were majestic. The layout of the city was as neat and uniform as that of Chang'an. There were bustling markets in the south, and the houses in the north were getting denser and denser as the terrain undulated. At the northernmost end, there were more than a thousand monasteries standing high on the high ground surrounded by layers of palaces, steps and arches. At a glance, there were temples and Buddhist halls next to each other, and hundreds of pagodas several feet high stood among them. They were magnificent, solemn and majestic, indicating its lofty and sacred status in the royal court.

That is the Buddhist temple of Tanmaraka.

The streets of the city were crowded with cars and horses, and people from different tribes in different clothes were walking in the streets and alleys. The avenue outside the city was covered with rolling dust. Merchants drove camels, elephants, horses, long-haired cattle and sheep into the city. The sound of pipa music was mixed with joyful laughter, creating a scene of prosperity and splendor.

Yao Ying stopped his horse and looked at the holy city at his feet. His heart was filled with emotion and he remained silent for a long time.

Majestic peaks, green valleys, a prosperous capital, densely packed houses, undulating pagodas, towering mountains, beautiful lakes and mountains, and the peaceful and happy world are like magnificent paintings that slowly unfold before your eyes.

In this desert eight thousand miles away from the Central Plains, she actually saw the magnificent scene of peach and plum trees in full bloom and mulberry and hemp everywhere.

If it weren't for the distant snow-capped peaks reaching into the sky, the endless yellow sand outside the long river, and the houses and Buddhist temples in the city that were very different from those in the Central Plains reminding her, Yao Ying almost thought that the plank road she had just passed through had taken her back to Jingnan.

This oasis country in the desert is so prosperous and wealthy.

No wonder the Northern Rong have always been determined to seize the royal court, and no wonder Tanmarajiva has struggled to support and protect this capital city for many years...

Yao Ying gazed at the bustling holy city in the morning light, as if she saw the lonely life of Tanmarajiva.

Mundadeva and his companions had already gone far away, but she still stopped at the entrance of the cave, staring at the scene in front of her in a daze.

The guards were as shocked as she was by what they saw and could not recover for a long time.

Yao Ying looked down and found that they were standing on a high earth cliff. Below the cliff was a steep rock wall. A river with sparkling waves meandered under the cliff, making a howling sound in the wind.

That night, Tanmarajika led her people back to the city after dark, still taking a hidden path, climbing the high stone steps from the back mountain to enter the palace. She only saw a high earth cliff and a river that was dozens of feet wide, nothing else, and thought the holy city was just an ordinary oasis town.

It turns out that the Holy City is located deep in a canyon, surrounded by towering earth cliffs that form a natural barrier. This unique terrain is probably one of the reasons why the Northern Rong were unable to capture the Holy City despite their several attacks.

Unfortunately, after Tanmarajiva's death, this prosperous country was destined to fall under the iron hoof of the Northern Rong.

Yao Ying pulled her horse back and turned around.

The guards followed her one after another.

They went down the hillside and walked a long way through the deep mountain valley. When they looked back, they could no longer see the towering pagodas in the holy city.

The group stopped to rest. Yaoying fed her horse two pieces of straw cakes. Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves like raindrops was heard in the front.

Dust filled the sky as a man and a horse came galloping like lightning, the sound of horse hooves echoing between the steep cliffs.

Yuan Jue, who was escorting Yao Ying to Tianzhu, suddenly jumped up and pointed at the rider on the horse with a look of ecstasy on his face: "It's General Ashina! General Ashina is back!"

Yao Ying followed his line of sight and saw the young general on horseback approaching her. He was a young man in his twenties, with blond hair, blue eyes, deep brows and a snow-white robe fluttering in the wind.

The two men's eyes met. Ashina Bisa was distracted for a moment, and without stopping, he rode past them.

Yao Ying was stunned, and suddenly felt that the other person's eyes looked familiar.

He also has a pair of emerald green eyes.

…

Ashina Bisha returned in time, and Mengda Deva immediately turned back to the palace.

Tanmaragha was saved.

Yao Ying did not hesitate and returned to the holy city with Mundadeva.

Taking the sea route from Tianzhu back to the Central Plains could certainly avoid the sea king Aling, but the journey was long and the risks were extremely high. Unless it was absolutely necessary, she still hoped to return to the Central Plains via Helan.

Because she was afraid of missing Li Zhongqian.

She had been away for so long, Li Zhongqian would definitely come to find her - no matter whether his injury had healed or not, no matter whether the news of the demise of the Yelu tribe had reached Chang'an or not, Yao Ying was sure that as long as her brother was alive, he would come to find her.

Since Tanmarajiva could still be saved, she should stay and look for a chance to return to the Central Plains from Helan.

Haidu Aling will turn around and attack the Central Plains sooner or later. Instead of being trembling with fear every day, it is better to prepare early. Now he is just a shaky, irritable and gloomy prince of Beirong. He is far less shrewd and calculating than he will be a few decades later. Since we are already enemies with him, we should cut off his wings before his power grows!

The author has something to say: Wait until I work hard to fix the update time...