Before Zhou Qin met Li Yundong, her knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism was limited to what she had gleaned from film and television. However, after becoming his disciple, she immersed herself in ancient and contemporary Buddhist and Daoist classics. Since Li Yundong’s specialty was the Mahāmudrā Mantra school of practice, Zhou Qin inevitably delved into materials concerning Tibetan Buddhism.

Though she didn't know the meaning of the Tibetan word Bandarām was Palden Lhamo, she was well aware that Palden Lhamo was an exceptionally important guardian deity in Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the Goddess of Fortune.

Zhou Qin stood frozen, gazing at Meiduo not far away. She never would have imagined that this Tibetan girl, who had been chatting intimately with her just moments ago, was the reincarnation of Palden Lhamo!

After a moment of stunned silence, a wave of doubt washed over Zhou Qin. She turned to Jamba Gyalpo and asked, "That doesn't seem right. When you Tibetans search for reincarnated child lamas, don't you look for newborns? Meiduo must be eighteen; she certainly doesn't look like a child tulku."

Jamba Gyalpo offered a bitter smile. "Only when searching for the reincarnation of other deities or a living Buddha do we seek newborns, and the living Buddhas can calculate exactly where they have been reborn. But Bandarām is an incredibly unique deity; she possesses two faces and two manifestations. One is the serene and beautiful Lhamo, symbolizing purity and kindness; the other is the terrifying and fierce Lhamo, symbolizing wrath and majesty. When the wrathful form, Lhamo, reveals her true visage, anyone who gazes upon her will die along with her. I’ve heard that sometimes, in the quest to find Bandarām, several child vessels have unfortunately glanced at the wrathful form and perished with her."

Zhou Qin asked, puzzled, "So?"

Jamba Gyalpo sighed. "So... finding Bandarām is the most difficult. Especially when she is not manifesting her true form, no one can calculate where she is. Alas, I never expected... that Meiduo is Bandarām!"

Seeing Jamba Gyalpo's worried expression and constant sighing, Zhou Qin couldn't help but ask, "Isn't it a good thing that Meiduo is a divine reincarnation? Why are you so distressed?"

Jamba Gyalpo glanced at Zhou Qin, hesitating before letting out a long sigh. "Alas, it's hard to explain to you. Let's not talk about it; you will understand later. I must hurry and pay homage to Bandarām. If I incur her wrath, it will be terrible!"

With that, Jamba Gyalpo followed his clansmen in kneeling down, prostrating respectfully in the snow toward Meiduo.

Meiduo was completely stunned. She stared blankly at the surrounding crowd bowing to her, unable to utter a word.

After a long while, she stammered out, "Master Erdeni, you... you must be mistaken. How could I possibly be Bandarām? You... you must be joking, right?"

Erdeni pressed his palms together, his expression solemn and grave. "How can one dare to speak falsely before a true deity? Is this a matter one jokes about? The prayer wheel you just spun—its full name is the Great Merit Mani Wheel. Even I would need to expend all my spiritual power just to manage a slight turn, yet you, Bandarām, moved it with such ease. Does this not prove you are the true deity incarnate?"

Meiduo was frozen. She stared blankly at her own hands, white as jade, then looked back at her clansmen prostrate on the ground. Even Dorje Tenzin, who had been laughing and joking with her moments ago, was respectfully bowed low, afraid to even glance up at her.

Meiduo bent down, attempting to pull up Dorje Tenzin, but he reacted as if he had eyes on the back of his head, immediately sinking lower into his prostration, avoiding her grasp.

Meiduo’s hand froze mid-air. Unwilling to accept this, she turned and tried to pull up her kinsmen, pleading, "Everyone, please stand up! I am not Bandarām, I am Meiduo, please don't do this."

When Meiduo touched them, the clansmen panicked, only shaking their hands and continuously nodding their heads, still unwilling to look at her.

Meiduo felt as if her heart had been violently wrenched. She walked up to Jamba Gyalpo and, her voice thick with emotion, asked, "Jamba Gyalpo, are you ignoring me too?"

Jamba Gyalpo remained prone on the ground, motionless, and sighed softly, "Bandarām, what do you mean by that?"

Tears began to stream down Meiduo's face. She said sadly, "Jamba Gyalpo, I am Meiduo, I am not Bandarām. Why do even you believe this?"

Jamba Gyalpo remained silent for a long time before slightly raising his head to look at Meiduo, then sighed heavily. "Meiduo, the Master said you are Bandarām... so you are Bandarām. Whether I believe it or not... it doesn't matter."

With that, he sank even lower into the snow. No matter how Meiduo wept, he never looked up again.

For a moment, silence descended upon everyone on the wind-swept plateau. In the vast, empty highlands, only the sound of Meiduo's cries echoed intermittently with the cold wind, a heartrending sound.

Meiduo looked toward Zhou Qin, who stood alone in the snow while everyone else was prostrate. The Han sister was looking at her with a complex expression.

For some inexplicable reason, the moment Meiduo met Zhou Qin's gaze, her heart ached, and she could hold back no longer. She threw herself into Zhou Qin's embrace and burst into wrenching sobs. "Han Sister, I am Meiduo, I am not Bandarām."

Although Zhou Qin didn't understand why Meiduo was so distraught, hearing the girl's sorrowful cries made her own heart ache. She gently patted Meiduo’s back and murmured, "I know. You are Meiduo, not Bandarām. Whatever deity you may have been reincarnated from, in my eyes, you are Meiduo, aren't you?"

This only made Meiduo cry harder. She sobbed, tears falling like broken strings of pearls, clinging tightly to Zhou Qin. "But they don't believe I am Meiduo!"

Zhou Qin soothed her gently, "Meiduo, what's so bad about being a divine reincarnation? Isn't that a good thing?"

Meiduo shook her head vigorously, weeping. "If I become Bandarām, I’ll never be allowed to leave the Potala Palace! I won't be able to go to Tiannan City, I can't take the exam for the Han Brother’s university, and I’ll never see him again!"

Zhou Qin gasped, feeling as if the softest part of her soul had been struck by Meiduo's words: If it were me, if I couldn't see Li Yundong anymore, couldn't see the one I loved—what would I do?

For a moment, even this resolute and strong-willed girl seemed to empathize completely, tears silently tracing paths down her cheeks. As if possessed, she made a sudden, firm decision. Zhou Qin gently patted Meiduo's shoulder and whispered, "Meiduo, do you want to be this Bandarām? If you don't, I will fight to take you away!"

Meiduo, who had been weeping hysterically, suddenly froze, forgetting how to cry. Erdeni, overhearing Zhou Qin’s words from nearby, snapped his head up, glaring fiercely at Zhou Qin, and roared, "Insolent! How dare you utter such words!"

Erdeni’s shout echoed through the mountains, the very sky resonating with his voice. His imposing might truly suggested that a quiet word could collapse mountains, and a command could shift the winds and clouds!

The monks and lamas prostrate in the snow instantly leaped up, their gazes fixed threateningly on Zhou Qin, malice evident in their eyes.

Even Meiduo's own clansmen lifted their heads, regarding Zhou Qin with ill intent, clearly ready to spring into action.

Jamba Gyalpo looked up in terror and shouted at Meiduo, "Meiduo, are you insane? Do you want to bring ruin upon the little Han sister?"

Meiduo shuddered violently, throwing her arms around Zhou Qin and pleading mournfully, "Han Sister, please don't do anything foolish. I... I was just sad inside, I just needed someone to cry to. After... after I finish crying, I'll be fine..."

Saying this, tears welled up in Meiduo's eyes again, dripping onto the snow from her smooth cheeks.

Zhou Qin’s eyes quickly swept over the surrounding monks before settling back on Meiduo. Her expression unchanged, she said calmly, "Meiduo, I'll ask you one thing: Do you want to be this Bandarām?"

Meiduo stared blankly at Zhou Qin, blankly at this Han sister she had only met once, blankly at this stranger who was actually willing to risk her life to protect her!

Everyone held their breath, not daring to exhale, watching Meiduo, silently awaiting her choice.

After staring at Zhou Qin for a time, Meiduo gave a faint, desolate smile. She quickly wiped her tears away and forced a laugh. "Han Sister, thank you. I... I won't go to Tiannan City anymore. You... you help me tell the Han Brother that I... I won't be able to take his university entrance exam..."

As she spoke, Meiduo couldn't help but choke back a sob. "Han Sister, when you go back, please remember to tell him that there is a girl named Meiduo thinking of him in the Potala Palace. If he has time in the future, he can come visit her..."

Zhou Qin listened, transfixed, tears involuntarily welling up in her own eyes. She herself was a sorrowful woman, deeply in love with Li Yundong yet unable to receive his affection. Now, faced with Meiduo, who seemed even more pitiful, even her ordinarily firm will—tempered like steel on the path of Foundation Establishment—softened like silk. Sharing the same pain, she began to weep alongside Meiduo.

Seeing Zhou Qin cry too, Meiduo thought she was crying out of pity. Meiduo forced a stronger smile and tried to comfort Zhou Qin. "Don't be sad for me. I... I'll be fine. Meiduo is very strong! Actually, being Bandarām is quite good; so many Tibetan girls wish they could be her and can't!"

At this point, seeing that Meiduo had resolved to accept the role of Bandarām, Erdeni withdrew his fierce gaze and resumed his benevolent demeanor. His eyelids lowered, he gently spun his prayer wheel, chanting sutras under his breath.

The monks beside him, however, remained circled around Meiduo, appearing to silently urge her forward.

Meiduo glanced at them, then turned back to her yak, retrieved a woolen padded coat, and ran back to Zhou Qin, pressing it into her hands. Meiduo smiled through her tears and said, "Han Sister, I’m leaving now. You... you must be careful on your journey. The summit of Mount Kailash is very cold; please don't get sick."

Zhou Qin clutched the soft woolen coat, unable to refuse, and simply sighed softly. "Is there anything else you would like me to relay to Master... Li Yundong?"

Meiduo smiled and shook her head. "No. I've thought it through. If fate truly wills it, he and I will meet again. We can talk then!"

Zhou Qin watched Meiduo turn and leave, transfixed. Her delicate figure in the swirling snowstorm appeared exceptionally mournful and poignant. After watching Meiduo mount Dorje Tenzin's yak, Meiduo softly began to sing the song she hadn't finished earlier:

"...The sixth best is never to meet, So that we might never part. The seventh best is never to err, So that we might never fail our vows. The eighth best is never to promise, So that we might never continue. The ninth best is never to rely, So that we might never lean on each other. The tenth best is never to encounter, So that we might never gather. But once we have met and known each other, What is meeting compared to not meeting? How can I utterly sever ties with you, To avoid this longing that lasts beyond life and death."

From a distance, Ziyuan and Ruan Hongling, who had witnessed everything, stared dazedly as Meiduo gradually moved further away with Erdeni and Dorje Tenzin. Then, Jamba Gyalpo led his clansmen off in the opposite direction.

On the snow-covered plateau, only Zhou Qin remained, standing silently in the white expanse, like an ice sculpture.

In that moment, the driving snow across the vast heavens swept away every footprint on the ground, and the snow began to fall even harder...