After all, it was the Dragon King's birthday, and there were mermaids performing dances, clam spirits singing, and slender fish spirits playing the pipa and moon lute. Before long, the atmosphere of the banquet warmed up, and there were also dragon princes offering birthday wishes and hundreds of demons presenting treasures. It was quite a lively occasion.
"To celebrate the Dragon King's birthday, the Hundred-Eyed True Lord presents a pair of fire-repelling pearls, a pair of immortal mushrooms, and a pair of white cranes—"
"To celebrate the Dragon King's birthday, the Azure Serpent Queen presents a thousand-year-old Yellow Essence and ten pairs of Jadeite—"
"To celebrate the Dragon King's birthday, Xiaoyaozi hereby presents one Golden Crystal Pill, one zhang of Hundred-Stroke Silk, and a pair of Lingzhi Mushrooms—"
"To celebrate the Dragon King's birthday, Prime Minister Turtle presents a pair of fish maidens, ten bushels of pearls, and a pair of strange stones—"
A dazzling array of congratulatory gifts were delivered into the old Dragon King's treasure vault like a flowing stream. Ao Run was beaming with joy, his two dragon whiskers swaying gently, clearly showing that he was extremely satisfied.
When it came time to celebrate the Dragon Prince's birthday, Moang, as the Dragon Prince, took the lead, lifted the hem of his robe, and solemnly said:
"Your subject congratulates Your Majesty on your long life, may your blessings be as vast as the Western Sea, as bright as the sun and moon, as evergreen as the pine and crane, and may you never grow old. Your subject presents you with an evergreen pine from the Southern Mountain, a pair of longevity cranes from the Northern Sea, a handful of immortal lotus roots, a pair of glass screens symbolizing longevity and prosperity, a pair of gilded treasure cauldrons, a pair of jade vases for peace and prosperity, a natural lingzhi and peach-shaped immortal plate, two jade cups for offering longevity with a hundred sons, a pair of rare herbs and flowers, and a handful of immortal dates from Penglai—"
Ao Run heard the two dragons' eyes light up, and his red hair trembled with joy. He quickly stepped forward and helped Prince Moang up.
"Good! Good! My son is so thoughtful!"
Moang stood up and bowed to the four Dragon Kings before saying:
"Father, today is your birthday celebration. The arrival of the Great Sage to the banquet is a double celebration. Why don't we ask this fairy Xu to paint a picture for us, so that the myriad aquatic creatures of the Western Sea can also admire your heroic figure and share in the joy?"
As he spoke, he began to praise Xu Milu's painting skills to Ao Run:
"Xu Xiaoxianzi is young, but she has excellent painting skills. Every picture she paints is incredibly detailed. Just now in the outer hall, she used a little magic to create an exquisite masterpiece. She even clearly saw the fur on the head of the water-avoiding golden-eyed beast guarding the Crystal Palace!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned their attention to Xu Milu, who was eating a pear next to Sun Wukong.
Today, when Sun Wukong introduced her to people, he didn't mention her background or identity, only saying that she was a junior in her family. This led many people to speculate. Upon hearing Moang's suggestion, a bold wandering immortal laughed:
"Indeed, heroes have emerged from among the young since ancient times. If she possesses such painting skills, why not invite this little fairy Xu to demonstrate her techniques, so that we can all have a good look at the miraculous painting skills that the Crown Prince speaks of!"
"Yes, yes... Today is the Dragon King's birthday, such a grand occasion, wouldn't it be wonderful to record it with a painting!"
"Such a beautiful scene, if it could be captured in a painting, that would be a truly wonderful thing—"
"Indeed, indeed... I've heard that the Great Sage has entered the Western Paradise and attained enlightenment. Isn't it a joyous occasion to attend this banquet today?"
The guests chimed in, and Ao Run was naturally tempted as well. Hesitantly glancing at Sun Wukong, who seemed to be drunk, he cautiously said:
"The Great Sage? The Great Sage!"
Sun Wukong propped his head up with one hand, his fiery eyes half-closed, already showing signs of drunkenness. He fanned himself with his hairy hand and mumbled indistinctly:
"Go then, just go—"
Despite being stared at by so many eyes, Xu Milu wasn't intimidated at all; instead, she confidently sang a greeting:
"Today is the Dragon King's birthday banquet. As a junior, it is only right for me to paint a picture to celebrate his birthday. I will take a painting back to Chang'an so that the world can see the grandeur of the Crystal Palace and the majesty of the Dragon King."
These words made Ao Run beam with joy; he clearly enjoyed the flattery immensely, nodding repeatedly.
"Then please, Fairy Xu, use your magic! Let us feast our eyes on this spectacle!"
Xu Mi showed her phone, adjusted her position, and stood at the entrance of the main hall, looking up to take a picture. The scene of hundreds of demons celebrating a birthday and dragon princes vying for glory was captured in the lens.
"Painting requires some effort, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Xu Milu turned and left the main hall, leaving a group of people completely bewildered.
"Hiss—this painting is done without any brush, ink, paper, or inkstone, and without any on-site observation. This painting is interesting, very interesting."
Ao Run stroked his beard, and Prince Moang immediately chimed in:
"Just now I saw that Fairy Xu did it casually, and I thought it would be very easy, but I didn't expect that it would take some effort. I suppose it's because the figures in this painting are complex, unlike a painting done casually."
Ao Chun, the fourth prince of the South Sea who had never gotten along with Moang, couldn't help but interject:
"Why are you so sure, cousin? Perhaps that little fairy couldn't finish the painting and found an excuse to run away!"
He had barely finished speaking when a half-eaten peach pit was thrown at his head. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Sun Wukong, who was fast asleep with a wine jar in his arms.
"I'll beat you to death, you little rascal!"
I don't know if he was talking in his sleep or talking nonsense.
No one dared to speak up now. The person was brought by the Great Sage, so even if the painting was just a mess when it was brought up later, they would still have to hold their noses and praise it as "well painted, wonderfully painted."
...
...
Fortunately, Xu Milu returned after only about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. She excused herself to change, found a secluded spot, and returned to the modern world. There, she meticulously retouched, cropped, and printed out a high-resolution copy of the photo. She even went to a shop specializing in framing antique paintings and had it mounted in the same way as a traditional painting.
A hundred demons fawned over them, immortals offered their congratulations, the venue was filled with celestial fruits and fine wines, rare treasures and exotic items, and the backdrop was a magnificent and dreamlike crystal palace. The framer smiled upon seeing it:
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