With the Gu Diao no longer causing trouble, the snow stopped that night. Red Boy, now with a new mount, happily escorted the half-dead Gu Diao back to the South Sea.
"The Gu Diao—is it really the culprit behind the recent snow disaster in Chang'an?!"
After hearing the whole story, Wei Ying couldn't help but feel indignant:
"That demon wreaked havoc in Chang'an in just three or four days, yet no one noticed? It's all thanks to Madam Xu."
Xu Milu was shelling pine nuts when she heard this and looked up at him:
"No, don't flatter me. It wasn't me who captured the Gu Diao, but Sudhana, the disciple of Guanyin Bodhisattva of the South Sea. The Gu Diao stole the Snow God's glass bottle, escaped from Yaochi and descended to the mortal world to cause trouble. Because it was carrying a magic treasure, it fooled the eyes of the Zhi Ri Gong Cao, which is why no deity noticed it."
With remarkable dexterity, she peeled a pine nut and tossed it into the bowl, exclaiming:
"Fortunately, the heavy snow has stopped, and the snow on the official roads has been cleared, so grain can be transported into the city, and the price of grain has stopped rising. By the way, Young Master Cheng, I heard that your family has taken in a group of disaster victims?"
Cheng Chumo sat to one side drinking tea, and nodded upon hearing this:
"Speaking of which, it was thanks to Madam Xu's reminder that my household donated a lot of old clothes and quilts during this disaster relief effort. I also ordered people to cook some ginger soup for the disaster victims to ward off the cold. This act was appreciated by His Majesty. Since we have land at home, we can rent it out to those disaster victims to cultivate. The first three years will be rent-free, and I think they will be able to recover."
Xu Milu calculated it carefully and realized that this was already a very generous offer. With the government's relief and land to cultivate, Niu Dasao's family would have a better future.
"By the way, where's Madam Xu's pet turtle?"
Wei Ying looked around but didn't see the familiar giant tortoise, and couldn't help but ask curiously.
"You're asking about Ah Chou?"
Xu Milu paused, then casually pointed to the large tortoise frolicking in the snow outside:
"I don't know why, but it just loves snow and isn't afraid of the cold. These past few days, it's been trying to make its own nest in the snow."
Through the window, you can see that Ah Chou has grown even bigger and is rolling around in the snow like crazy. His entire thick tortoise shell is covered with snow, and when he lies there motionless, he looks a bit like a stone table.
...
...
When Red Boy left, whether he forgot or did it on purpose, he actually left that glass bottle in Xu Milu's shop.
Xu Milu knew the principle that it was best not to touch things that didn't belong to her, so she placed the treasure bottle on the counter and waited for the people from Yaochi to come and collect it.
Who knew that instead of the people from Yaochi, they were greeted by a monkey they hadn't seen in a long time.
"Great Sage!"
Xu Milu was genuinely pleasantly surprised. It had been a long time since she had seen Sun Wukong, but the Monkey King was still the most handsome monkey in heaven and earth.
"Hehe, you little rascal are quite amusing. I heard you found a unique beast, one of a kind in the world, for my dear nephew, is that true?"
Sun Wukong's entrance was unremarkable; he simply popped in through the window, like a casual visitor, and even shook the snow off his monk's shoes at the end.
"On the way here, Red Boy has already sent a message to me, saying that Gu Diao asked him to send it to Yaochi to be punished. In return for the mount you received, he will give you a favor from Yaochi. The people of Yaochi lost the Glazed Bottle and will definitely come to retrieve it. Yaochi has many treasures, and the Snow Goddess will surely exchange other treasures for this Glazed Bottle."
Xu Milu immediately understood what Sun Wukong meant:
"Does the Great Sage mean that the Gu Diao's wreaking havoc in Chang'an this time was due to the existence of the Glazed Treasure Bottle? If the Snow Goddess doesn't want to be labeled as 'lax in discipline,' she will definitely have to cover it up?"
Sun Wukong squatted on the stool, slowly scratching his face, and a faint smell of alcohol emanated from him.
"It can't be hidden. The Tang King has already filed a complaint with the Heavenly Palace. When a mortal emperor files a complaint, no one can hide it. When I came down from the Thirty-Third Heaven just now, I saw Yang Erlang leading the Five Monsters of Meishan to capture the Snow Goddess. Her bottle will be taken by the people of Yaochi. You can ask for some good treasures."
Xu Milu shook her head:
"This thing was never mine to begin with, so it's only right that it belongs to Yaochi. If Red Boy hadn't run so fast, I would have let him take this bottle back. Although this thing is a treasure, it's also a big problem. If it stays with me, who knows how much trouble it will cause. Let them take it away."
"You live cautiously, unlike the demon race. That's good, so that no one will come after you in the future."
Sun Wukong narrowed his eyes slightly, and then his round, bright eyes closed. The monkey lay on the stool and even started to snore softly.
—She was fast asleep.
Xu Milu's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't expected Sun Wukong to pass out so drunk. She wanted to carry the Monkey King to a side room, but then she thought about it and decided to push the stool aside, treating it as an extra mascot for the shop.
...
...
Meanwhile, Red Boy returned to the South Sea with the Gu Diao. Before long, heavenly soldiers and generals captured the wicked beast and brought it back to the Heavenly Prison. Red Boy, however, did not care and instead focused on cultivating a bond with his newly acquired "mount".
"Sudhana, what are you doing here?"
Amidst the purple bamboo forest, a dragon girl dressed in pink strode out. She was still young, with a pair of curved dragon horns on her head, as clear and white as jade. Despite her young age, she had already blossomed into a very beautiful young woman.
"Shh!"
Red Boy made a "shush" gesture and proudly showed her what he was holding in his hands:
"Look! This is a new mount that someone gave me!"
He was holding a lotus leaf in his hand, with a handful of clear water inside. A tiny fish, no bigger than a thumb, was swimming in the water, but upon closer inspection, it looked rather strange.
The Dragon Girl paused for a moment, suspecting that the other person's brain had probably been burned out by the Samadhi True Fire.
"This is not a fish! This is a unique Pig-Dragon Fish, one of a kind in the world! The little monster who gave me this mount said that this Pig-Dragon Fish will grow as big as an elephant in India and be able to swim freely in the sea. Wouldn't it be even more powerful than my father's Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast?"
Red Boy was overjoyed, but then belatedly patted his head:
"That little demon also said that this pig-dragon-fish has a short lifespan, only about ten years. No way, no way, I'm going to steal some nectar from the Bodhisattva's jade bottle for it to eat. Maybe it will grow up quickly. Then I can ride it and find Laozi's boy to make a saddle. Wouldn't that be incredibly majestic?"
The Dragon Girl fell silent again, carefully examining the so-called "pig-dragon-fish," and couldn't help but frown as she said:
"...You, you're going to use a pig as a mount?"
"This isn't a pig! It's a pig-dragon fish!"
Red Boy retorted somewhat unhappily, his face full of certainty:
"You'll understand once I've recovered. I asked the Bodhisattva, and even she didn't know the origin of that little demon. Her things must be somewhat magical!"
His confident assertions were completely due to being misled by Xu Milu.
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