Chapter 52 "Miss Jiang, will you come back to Mount Ling with me...?"
A fairyland on Ling Mountain, nestled beneath twin groves.
Nezha needs to repair his physical body here. According to Buddha, it will take at least five years to return to his former state. The Demotion Platform is to immortals what the Gates of Hell are to mortals. Moreover, Nezha almost fell to the bottom, and the danger involved is self-evident. In terms of the outcome, he was extremely lucky.
Lady Yin brought Zhenying to see him once, repeatedly urging him to take good care of his injuries and not to cause any more trouble. Nezha was in low spirits and gave a perfunctory reply, saying that his elder brother was here at Mount Ling and everything would be alright.
As soon as his mother and younger sister left, he became restless. Although Jiang Huaisu's physical body was preserved, Bai Ya's revenge had not yet been taken; he shouldn't think that reincarnation would allow him to escape.
However, the Buddha stated that during his recovery, his lotus body must remain in this realm; leaving midway would mean all his efforts were in vain. Moreover, in his current state, he feared he would disintegrate after just a few steps.
Nezha, whose freedom has been confined, is always shrouded in worry. He never thought five years would be a long time before, but now he feels that even a single breath is unbearable.
When Jinzha came to inspect the situation under the Twin Trees of Bosuo, this was the scene he saw. A worried Nezha sat side-by-side with Jiang Huaisu under the tree, the boy burying his head in the neck of the corpse, just like when they took a nap together at Lianxin Residence, seeking warmth. Unfortunately, she was cold, and this time huddling together couldn't keep her warm.
The scene of the two teenagers cuddling together is quite heartwarming, if you ignore the fact that one of them is dead.
It was hard to ignore the scene. Jinzha glanced at it again and again, and finally couldn't help but say, "Third brother, this is not appropriate."
“What’s inappropriate?” Nezha played with Jiang Huaisu’s hair and looked up at his older brother.
The Twin Forests of Bodhi Trees could repair his physical body, and naturally, they could also preserve Jiang Huaisu's corpse. Nourished by his continuous spiritual energy, she could even maintain her human form for a long time, quietly closing her eyes and staying by his side, just as she had when she was still alive.
Jinzha sat down next to his younger brother with a headache, wanting to say something but unable to find the words. He knew his brother cherished this girl, but the extent to which his brother had gone was unsettling.
"Put her in the ice coffin..." That was the only suggestion he could make.
Nezha flatly refused: "No."
Knowing that his younger brother was never one to listen to advice, Jinzha sighed resignedly, "Are you sure this girl will come back?"
Nezha nodded, his tone stubborn: "This situation won't last long, I'll be able to see her soon."
It wasn't self-deception; he genuinely believed it. He wouldn't be recovering forever; he would go find her sooner or later.
Before Jiang Huaisu died, she confidently asserted that Sun Wukong could revive her. The monkey's abilities were evident to all the immortals, so he tentatively believed her. Of course, if Sun Wukong couldn't revive her, then he would do it. In any case, he had taken excellent care of Jiang Huaisu's original body, ensuring not a single hair would fall out, and that her soul would have nowhere to rest whenever it returned.
Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
His previous injuries were so severe that even his bones had to grow back, almost equivalent to rebuilding his lotus body. After three years, he had only managed to grow a basic form. Although all the parts were complete, his physical body could not yet fully support his soul, and he needed to recuperate for another two or three years.
However, his range of activities has at least expanded somewhat. Previously, he could only stay near the Twin Forests of Bodhi Trees, but now he can travel freely within the Spirit Mountain Immortal Realm. Buddha even allowed him to take Jiang Huaisu to the Seven Treasure Lotus Pond, where the water can soothe the mind and cleanse the marrow, and soaking in it can do no harm.
Nezha still felt the healing was too slow. If Jinzha hadn't stopped him, he probably would have left Mount Ling long ago to inquire about Jiang Huaisu and Baiya.
The longer time passed, the more uneasy he became. Three years had passed in Ling Mountain, and three days should have gone by in Heaven. Had Sun Wukong still not been released? Was Jiang Huaisu with that monkey? Why hadn't she come to Ling Mountain to find him?
Every time Jinzha came to visit his younger brother, he saw Nezha looking utterly dejected. But knowing his brother well, he always felt that Nezha wouldn't stay so obedient forever. If he got the chance, he would probably just run away. After all, his legs had healed now, which was much better than when he was unable to move three years ago.
Moreover, my third brother has never taken good care of his health and often acts without considering the consequences. Or perhaps he anticipates the consequences, but as long as he thinks he can afford the price, he will do it. He calmly does crazy things, making it impossible for others to tell whether he is confident of victory or simply fearless.
Faced with this hidden danger, Jinzha felt that it would be better to let his third brother go before things got worse, so that he could finish his personal matters and return home to recuperate in peace.
Jinzha's solution was to create an ordinary physical body for Nezha to use for a few days. During this time, Nezha could leave Mount Ling, while his lotus body would remain in this realm for further care.
“There’s something you need to be careful about. The temporary physical body you’ve created can’t withstand your divine power and will collapse in seven days at most. Also, your lotus body can’t be separated from your soul for too long, or it will wither and die, and you’ll have to start all over again. Can you handle everything within seven days?” Jinzha asked his younger brother with concern.
Nezha confidently replied, "Yes."
"Okay, then..."
“However, I don’t want to use that inferior body.” Nezha softened his tone deliberately and narrowed his eyes. “Big brother, in your opinion, can Jiang Huaisu’s body withstand my divine power?”
Jinzha instantly understood what he meant, frowned in disapproval, but still said truthfully, "It should be possible in a short time."
With the nourishment of a living soul, her physical condition would be even better.
"That's fine then, I want her, I don't want anyone else."
"That's not appropriate; she's a young woman."
Nezha, unmoved by reason, clung to Jiang Huaisu: "I won't do anything reckless, big brother, don't you even believe me?"
Jinzha sighed helplessly, "It's not that I don't believe you, but..."
“Alright, big brother,” Nezha said matter-of-factly, “You’re supposed to be a Buddhist disciple, so your understanding of appearances should be more detached. Why are you getting hung up on such details?”
Jinzha was far less eloquent than him. Knowing that this reasoning was wrong, he didn't know how to refute it. After staring at his troublesome younger brother for a long time, he finally sighed in compromise: "When that girl comes back, you must apologize to her properly."
“No problem.” Nezha’s tone became cheerful, and the dejection that had accumulated over the past few days disappeared completely. He stood up with renewed vigor and smiled. “Please tell Buddha that I will return to Mount Ling within two days.”
For three years, he had carefully cared for Jiang Huaisu's body, but it was still just a mortal body, and he was beginning to show signs of weakness. His skin was pale, his muscles were stiff, and even his hair was not as black and shiny as before! These past two days, he had possessed Jiang Huaisu, just in time to use his own life force to replenish her.
Before leaving, he stared at himself in the bronze mirror for a long time, then unconsciously touched his face. He pulled up the corners of his mouth, and the girl in the mirror smiled back.
She then mimicked Jiang Huaisu's tone and repeated her own name. Indeed, her demeanor and tone were almost identical to Jiang Huaisu's; this disguise was flawless.
But soon, the corners of his mouth drooped again. He hadn't seen Jiang Huaisu smile and talk like this in a long time, and he missed her a little. No matter how well he pretended, he was ultimately not her.
Three years later, recalling that scene at the foot of the Immortal Terrace still gives me a suffocating feeling of not being able to breathe.
It was clearly Bai Ya who wanted revenge, but in the end, it was Jiang Huaisu who suffered. Just thinking about it made him want to chop Bai Ya into tiger meat sauce.
He knew that Jiang Huaisu was always cautious and valued her life, but once someone was included in her "one of her own" category, she would do her best to protect them, such as when she protected the monkeys on Huaguo Mountain, or when she protected him on the Zhexiantai.
Being treated as "one of his own" is certainly something to be happy about, but if the price is that she has to work herself to the bone, he would rather not be "one of his own".
Filled with unbearable sorrow, Nezha arrived in the underworld. The first thing he had to do was, of course, investigate Jiang Huaisu. Regardless of how she was reincarnated, there would be a record in the underworld's register, including her place of origin and name in both her past and present lives.
However, if it is a soul from another world, there will be no detailed record of its life unless it has been reincarnated in this world, in which case its name will appear in the Book of Life and Death.
After searching for a long time, Nezha couldn't find Jiang Huaisu's name. He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that she must have been rescued by Sun Wukong, and that what she said when she left wasn't a lie.
He then looked up Bai Ya's name. The paper clearly stated that his lifespan had come to an end. The two characters "Bai Ya" were crossed out with a black line, meaning that the name was invalid. Next to it, written in red, was "Mei Liang," which was his new name.
King Yama was on pins and needles, still haunted by the memory of Sun Wukong crossing his name from the Book of Life and Death. And now, in such a short time, the Hall of Hell had welcomed another capricious and unruly deity. Although he didn't understand why the Third Prince had transformed into a little girl, his approachable face didn't diminish his imposing presence at all. His murderous aura was undisguised, and his deep gaze suggested he was plotting something.
Nezha pointed to Baiya's new name and asked Yama, "Will animals get names when they're reincarnated?"
Eager to get rid of this powerful figure as soon as possible, Yama put on a smiling face and patiently explained, "Even animals have different levels of destiny. If they gain intelligence, they can naturally choose whatever name they want to give themselves."
As he spoke, Yama glanced at the open page in front of him and added, "However... the name doesn't say 'beast' or 'insect,' which means it wasn't reincarnated as an animal or insect, but rather as a human."
Nezha looked as if he had been struck by lightning, momentarily stunned: "...Reincarnated as a human?"
A one-in-a-million chance, and White Fang stumbled upon it? Why? The wicked demon didn't get its just desserts!
With a cold face, Nezha opened another book recording the lives of mortals. After searching for a long time, he indeed saw the name "Mei Liang," which was clearly written: the only son of the Mei family of Pengnan, who was only three years old.
After leaving the underworld, he took his gun and went to Pengnan. No matter what Baiya was reincarnated as, he would kill him without hesitation. It was just a pity that the other party did not get to experience what it was like to be a maggot.
Following the address recorded in the register, he rushed to the Mei family's residence in Pengnan as quickly as possible. It wasn't a grand mansion, but just a small wooden hut that could barely provide shelter from the wind and rain, where Mei Liang lived.
Nezha still preferred to call him White Fang. When they first found this beast, he disguised himself as a real mortal boy, acting as if he didn't recognize him at all. But Nezha knew that the Exile Platform wouldn't erase his memories, and it was impossible for him to live a clean and innocent life in this world.
The Mei family had a simple structure: a farmer and his wife who made a living by farming, barely scraping by, and raising their only son. However, the farmer's wife's lung disease was getting worse, and she had been unable to work in the fields for quite some time, remaining in bed to recuperate.
Nezha waited until Mei Liang finished delivering lunch to his mother and went out alone to fetch water before revealing himself to him.
"Stop pretending." Nezha chuckled. "I saw you poisoning your mother. You thought she was too sick to work, so you wanted to get rid of her? Tsk tsk, you're as vicious as ever."
Bai Ya loosened his grip, and the gourd ladle fell to the ground. Facing imminent death, he could no longer conceal the panic in his eyes, and instinctively turned to flee. Now, he had lost all his cultivation and was no longer the person before him. He thought that falling off the Immortal Ascension Platform would settle all scores... Why, why, even after reincarnation, would they still not let him go?!
Having finally become human, such a great opportunity... is it going to be wasted by Jiang Huaisu?
How spineless! He knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face, and said, "It was wrong of me to possess your body before, but you are so lucky, didn't you come back to life? On the contrary, I am the one who suffered the consequences and fell off the Banishment Platform... Let's call it even, okay?"
Nezha did not respond. With a flick of his finger, the Fire-Tipped Spear materialized in his hand.
"You are..." White Tooth's expression changed drastically.
Nezha thought to himself, "This isn't so bad. First comes hope, then despair; the feeling might not be any better than being a maggot."
What happened next was even simpler. Having come all this way, how could White Fang possibly escape? Naturally, he would be stripped of his heart and lungs, his bones reduced to ashes, his soul burned and his spirit destroyed; this time, he wouldn't even have a chance to meet the King of Hell.
Listening to Bai Ya's dying pleas and curses, Nezha was lost in thought. Why hadn't he done it sooner? If Bai Ya had disappeared sooner, Jiang Huaisu wouldn't have suffered so innocently, nor would she have left him.
It seems that after being a god for so many years, his heart has softened. He sighed, waved away the remaining ashes in the air, turned around and returned to the Mei family home, where the peasant woman was resting with her eyes closed.
White Tooth was quite cautious in using poison; the amount of poison he used in one instance was not lethal. He probably wanted to slowly boil the frog in water, making his mother's death seem more natural.
Nezha gently placed his hand on the peasant woman's wrist, using his spiritual power to unblock her meridians and expel toxins. He then placed a bag of gold ingots beside her pillow. This money was considered as buying her son's life, a way of turning waste into treasure.
Having done all this, he felt much more at ease. Counting the days, the seven-day deadline was approaching, and it was time to return to Mount Ling. Most of his time had been spent traveling, leaving virtually no room for procrastination.
Therefore, the task of inquiring about Sun Wukong's situation in Heaven could only be undertaken by Jinzha.
Jinzha didn't mind making the trip, after all, it wasn't the first time. In the past, whenever he had the chance, Nezha would urge him to go to Heaven to inquire about Sun Wukong and Jiang Huaisu. But usually, he wouldn't find anything. Sun Wukong was always in the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and Jinzha couldn't very well go and lift the lid. As for Jiang Huaisu, there was absolutely no news of her; no one knew her whereabouts.
This time, Nezha appeared much more composed, simply waiting for news in the Seven Treasure Lotus Pond, unlike his usual anxious state. Having confirmed with the Underworld that Jiang Huaisu had not been reincarnated, he felt reassured. He firmly believed that the day they would meet was drawing ever closer.
*
Jiang Huaisu thought she would wake up in some secret place, or perhaps in a very hidden cave, or at the very least in some deep mountain passage, in any remote place far from human habitation.
However, to her utter surprise, when she opened her eyes after being reborn, the first thing she felt was a wave of black smoke and heat that choked her so much that she almost coughed up her bile.
She rubbed her eyes hard, and through her slightly blurry vision, she looked up and met Sun Wukong's gaze.
The monkey, unseen for a long time, had its fur singed black, but still looked quite energetic, its golden eyes bright and piercing. "Jiang Huaisu?!"
He froze for a moment, almost wondering if he was dreaming. He reached out and pinched Jiang Huaisu's cheek; the touch felt incredibly real.
"...What are you doing?" She patted the monkey's paw, signaling him to let go. His face was distorted from being pulled so much.
"You really came in?" Sun Wukong was utterly shocked. He quickly switched their positions, protecting her in the Xun Palace, where there was wind but no fire. He anxiously asked, "What happened? Shouldn't you be in the Cloud Tower Palace? Where is Nezha?"
"It's a long story."
"Then we need to explain the situation, what exactly happened."
Sun Wukong, being quick-witted, immediately realized that Jiang Huaisu hadn't appeared out of thin air, but had been "resurrected." He had always carried Jiang Huaisu's vessel with him; nothing felt as secure as having it on his person. But the timing was terribly wrong—right when he was being thrown into the alchemy furnace...
"In short, I am dead."
Jiang Huaisu coughed softly and briefly explained the situation. It wasn't that she didn't want to elaborate, but the atmosphere here was too smoky, and speaking felt like swallowing knives—very uncomfortable. Although her cultivation hadn't been damaged, her new body and soul still needed a period of adjustment, and she needed to recuperate and rest.
Sun Wukong noticed her exhaustion and didn't ask any more questions. He just looked like he was about to explode with anger and poked her head: "Next time you encounter something like this, don't take the risk onto yourself! Since that demon is going after Nezha, let them fight it out."
“But it has taken over my body, and it’s hard to just stand by and do nothing about it… I also want to get rid of it as soon as possible, so isn’t this the right thing to do?” As she spoke, Jiang Huaisu’s voice lowered, and as if realizing something, the expression on her face suddenly became strange.
While it's true she had a trump card to protect herself, there were a few moments at the Immortal Ascension Terrace where she genuinely prioritized the safety of others over her own. In retrospect, it had a touch of selflessness on it.
Something's not right.
"What's wrong?"
“I’m not usually this selfless.” Jiang Huaisu coughed a few more times from the choking smoke. She wanted to say something more, but Sun Wukong tore off a piece of his clothes and covered her mouth and nose with it, signaling her to talk less so that she wouldn’t inhale more black smoke. Birds are not as resistant to smoke as stone monkeys.
The piece of cloth offered little protection; it had been burned to thin strips and crumbled into dust with the slightest touch. Nevertheless, Jiang Huaisu politely accepted the cloth and nodded.
Sun Wukong knew how potent the smoke was; his own eyes had been damaged by it. Naturally, he didn't want Jiang Huaisu to suffer the same fate. Besides, she had just changed bodies and should find a quiet place to recuperate, not stay in this environment for long.
Jiang Huaisu remained silent in the corner, her brows slightly furrowed, seemingly deep in thought. After several hours of this, she looked at the monkey and said, "I've just discovered something that I must tell you."
"What?"
She clenched her fists, her expression as serious as if she were making an oath.
"I like him."
"he?"
“Nezha.” Jiang Huaisu lowered her voice. It was a little embarrassing to say this, but she still repeated it completely, “I like Nezha.”
"Oh... um?"
“Otherwise, why would I care about him so much?” Jiang Huaisu nodded firmly, as if she were convincing the monkey or herself. “That’s right, it’s definitely because I like him.”
"You like someone just because you care about them? I don't think you can calculate it that way." Sun Wukong practically had the word "doubt" written all over his face, wondering if Jiang Huaisu had been driven mad by the black smoke after suddenly saying that.
“My concern for him is different; I can tell the difference.” Jiang Huaisu pressed her chest. “You might not believe it, but ever since I switched to this new body, I feel like my mind is much clearer. Why didn’t I notice something so obvious before? I just love him.”
With the person in question not present, Jiang Huaisu can speak frankly without restraint. The conclusion that she "likes Nezha" is not without basis. Reflecting on their past interactions, if it weren't for liking Nezha, why would she repeatedly pay attention to him, care about him, and tolerate him?
Furthermore, there's a simple and direct way to ascertain one's own feelings: imagine yourself engaging in intimate behavior with the other person—would you feel uncomfortable? The answer is no; she could accept holding hands, hugging, and even kissing Nezha. This is definitely not just pure friendship, is it?
Sun Wukong touched her forehead: "It seems a little hot."
"I don't have a cold! It's hot because it's hot here!" Jiang Huaisu explained, her face flushed.
Sun Wukong stared at her, observing that her expression was clear and her eyes were bright, indicating that she was indeed awake. After pondering for a while, he narrowed his eyes inscrutably and said, "Hmph, I understand."
Jiang Huaisu asked in confusion, "Know what?"
Sun Wukong reminded him, "Back then, when I was making that physical vessel to help you cultivate, I also helped you get rid of some unnecessary emotions and worries... Do you remember?"
"Remember."
“Those things, along with a wisp of your consciousness, were placed in a container by me. Now that you have a new body, those emotional burdens have returned to you. Alas, this was something I didn't consider. I thought that those waste materials would disappear on their own soon after being extracted from the main body, so I didn't dispose of them separately.”
Jiang Huaisu wasn't too surprised after hearing this, but calmly accepted it and said optimistically, "It's okay. Now I'm not in such a hurry to succeed in cultivation. Having more emotional baggage isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least it can help me see my own heart more clearly."
She finally understood that merely detaching from emotions without eradicating the root of feelings is akin to trying to cut water with a knife; the accumulated emotions will inevitably retaliate in greater force. This artificially created magnanimity isn't true magnanimity; it's merely dullness.
It seems that cultivating one's character still requires personal effort. Relying on such cheating methods won't help one reach a state of equanimity, unaffected by external gains or losses. Of course, she doesn't have such lofty ambitions right now; after all, she's just an ordinary person, so a slightly lower emotional threshold is fine. She still longs for the sweet taste of romance... She just doesn't know how Nezha feels about her.
I really hope it's mutual. If she confesses her feelings to Nezha, will he accept her or stay away?
A jumble of thoughts flooded her mind. Remembering her last meeting with Nezha at the Immortal's Terrace, she felt a pang of worry: she wondered if Nezha had escaped danger. She couldn't even bear the thought of the boy she loved being reborn as a pig after just confirming her feelings.
"What I'm trying to say is that you're currently in a very emotional phase, so it's normal to be impulsive. Why don't you wait a couple of days and see? Once you've fully adapted to this new body, your feelings might change again."
Jiang Huaisu thought for a moment and said, "I don't think so. At most, it might go from liking something to liking it nine-tenths, but there's no reason for it to go from liking it to disliking it."
"That's true. Well, you two young people can handle your own affairs. I won't get involved."
I was amused by Sun Wukong's mature tone, even though he himself wasn't as old as Nezha.
Before she knew it, she had inhaled a few puffs of black smoke. Jiang Huaisu scratched her throat uncomfortably and decided to wait until outside to say anything more; now was not the time to gossip.
While it's impossible to accurately judge the passage of time inside the furnace, Sun Wukong, who was quite experienced in this area, said that Laozi would come twice a day to add fuel to the fire, and that the frequency of the fire's growth could be used to estimate how much time had passed outside.
"almost."
According to the plot of Journey to the West, one can be released after staying in the furnace for forty-nine days. However, while inside the furnace, time moves so slowly that it's almost like a tortoise crawling. In her memory, it had been quite some time since Sun Wukong was captured.
It hasn't been forty-nine days yet?
Imprisonment is truly unbearable; she couldn't stand it for more than three days. How could Sun Wukong possibly endure the centuries of loneliness beneath the Five Fingers Mountain to come?
While he was still fretting about it, light suddenly shone down from above, illuminating the inside of the furnace.
Having spent a long time in the smoky environment, Jiang Huaisu was not used to the change in light, but she still tried her best to open her eyes wide and looked up with joy.
The heavy furnace lid, engraved with the Bagua pattern, was slowly moved aside. It turned out that the celestial boy, seeing that the fire was ready, was preparing to open the furnace and retrieve the elixir.
However, the monkey that was supposed to be refined into an elixir was unharmed. When their eyes met, the fairy boy cried out in alarm. He didn't have time to think about why there was a little girl in the furnace. In his panic, he tried to close the lid with his hands and feet.
Sun Wukong wouldn't give him that chance. He scooped up Jiang Huaisu with his left hand, grabbed his golden cudgel with his right, and leaped out of the furnace. With a sweep of his cudgel, he smashed everything in sight. The earth shook violently, and the celestial boys tending the furnace were terrified and scattered, rushing out of the hall to report the situation to Laozi and the Jade Emperor, hoping to get reinforcements to subdue the demon monkey.
Thinking about how he had developed an eye ailment from the smoke and dust, Sun Wukong grew angrier and angrier. He turned around, kicked over the Eight Trigrams Furnace, and then, along with Jiang Huaisu, stormed out of the Tushita Palace.
Jiang Huaisu watched helplessly as the embers in the furnace fell to the lower realm, knowing that this kick was no small matter; it had directly kicked out the Flaming Mountain instance, adding an obstacle to his own journey to the West.
There was no time to lament the bitter cause and effect; the situation was already in complete chaos. Sun Wukong found a secluded place to put Jiang Huaisu down. The crime of vandalizing the Heavenly Palace was enough for one monkey to bear; he didn't intend to take Jiang Huaisu with him.
“If Nezha were here, I could entrust you to him without worry,” the monkey said dejectedly. “But I’ve been smashing things for ages and he hasn’t shown up, which means he’s not in Heaven.” He scratched his head in frustration and asked Jiang Huaisu for her opinion: “How about we send you to Flower Fruit Mountain?”
Before they could reach a conclusion, a warm voice rang out from the side: "Miss Jiang?"
There was only one person with the surname Jiang present, and she was the only girl there, so of course she was being addressed. Jiang Huaisu naturally turned her head, only to be met with a warm and gentle gaze, and was momentarily stunned.
Across from me was a handsome man I'd never seen before, dressed in a simple, wide robe, with a red dot between his brows and a string of Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist; he exuded an extraordinary air.
Jiang Huaisu was stunned. It wasn't that she was inappropriately infatuated, but rather that this handsome stranger looked very familiar. His features even bore a resemblance to Nezha, and she couldn't help but want to take a second look.
“My third brother told me about you, Miss Jiang.” The handsome man gave Jiang Huaisu a friendly smile, then turned to look at Sun Wukong. “Then, this must be the Great Sage.”
Sun Wukong looked him over: "Your third brother is... Nezha?" It wasn't hard to guess; the two brothers looked quite alike, at least in appearance.
“Not bad.” Jinzha nodded and said calmly, “At first, I didn’t quite believe that the alchemy furnace could do anything to you. It seems he was right; that furnace really can’t hold the Great Sage.”
These words, though seemingly flattering, carried no hint of obsequiousness; they were delivered with the air of a friendly greeting, like "The weather's nice today." Sun Wukong was momentarily confused by this elder brother of the Li family's intentions. He looked at Jiang Huaisu, only to find her expression even more bewildered.
After a moment's thought, Sun Wukong decided to abandon all pretense of social niceties and went straight to the point, asking, "Are you here to help the Heavenly Court take me away?"
"No, I was asked by my third brother to come and find out about the Great Sage and Miss Jiang. I didn't expect to be so lucky as to run into you as soon as I arrived." Jinzha looked at Jiang Huaisu and said, as if there was something more to his words, "My third brother will be very happy to know that you are safe and sound."
Witnessing the escape of a serious criminal from Heaven, he casually attributed it to his "good luck," which surprised Jiang Huaisu. She had originally thought that Jinzha would be an absolutely upright and selfless saint... It was all because his attire was too noble and otherworldly, giving her the wrong first impression.
"Miss Jiang, would you like to return to Mount Ling with me?" Seeing that Jiang Huaisu remained silent, Jinzha took the initiative to speak. "Nezha will be waiting for you there."
"Why is he at Mount Ling?" she asked hesitantly. "Is he... alright now?"
"My third brother jumped off the Immortal Ascension Platform and was seriously injured. He needs to stay in the Spirit Mountain Wonderland to repair his lotus body."
Jiang Huaisu's heart trembled. She had experienced the power of the chaotic gale beneath the Immortal Ascension Platform firsthand; it was simply beyond the physical body's resistance, a sensation comparable to being slowly sliced to death—and that was even with Nezha protecting her with a barrier...
She knew Nezha's personality; he wouldn't take ordinary injuries seriously. Now, his injuries were so severe that even his physical body needed to be sent back to the factory for repairs. She wondered how dangerous his situation must have been back then.
She sighed, looked up at Jinzha, and said earnestly, "Then I'll trouble Prince Jinzha to lead the way to Mount Ling."
Jinzha was somewhat surprised: "So Miss Jiang knows my name?" He remembered that he had not yet given his name.
"Your reputation is quite impressive... I've heard of you." Jiang Huaisu gave a dry laugh, thinking to herself how could she, as a transmigrator, make such a basic mistake? Next time, she absolutely must not call someone by their first name before they introduce themselves! Fortunately, she reacted quickly enough and unintentionally gave a small compliment, perfect.
“Alright, alright.” Sun Wukong agreed with her decision. “You can go to Nezha’s place; the Heavenly Court can’t punish you there. Stop dawdling and hurry up and set off. I need to find another place to smash things. If you stay any longer, the heavenly soldiers will surround you, and then it won’t be so easy for you to escape.”
Still seething with anger, Sun Wukong was unwilling to give up and picked up his golden cudgel, looking eager to try.
Jinzha gave him a meaningful look, hesitated for a moment between advising him to be mindful of his behavior and pretending not to see it, and finally chose the latter.
“Then, Great Sage, please proceed.” He nodded slightly. “Miss Jiang and I will go ahead first.”
Before leaving, Jiang Huaisu hugged the monkey tightly. The thought that their next meeting would be at the foot of Five Fingers Mountain filled her with sadness. But this was the monkey's destined fate, and there was nothing she could do to interfere. She could only whisper, "Be careful."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
