Chapter 58. Chapter 58. Covering the Sky.
Pigsy came to Flower Fruit Mountain again to beg for food, and the monkeys were used to it. Jiang Huaisu handed him a large package full of food. The dry rations inside were enough for the master and his disciples to eat for ten days or half a month, so they shouldn't go hungry for a while.
Pigsy clutched the package to his chest, staring at Jiang Huaisu with undisguised emotion in his eyes. Sure enough, Huaisu was the best; she never complained about how much he ate, and always provided plenty of food whenever he came.
Monkey King is truly oblivious to his good fortune. With such a sweet and beautiful sister by his side, instead of hurrying back to Flower Fruit Mountain to enjoy a better life, he obediently accompanies his master on the journey to the West. Every day, he eats nothing but wild vegetables and thin porridge, making his old pig face turn green with envy.
"Otherwise, I won't go back to Gao Family Village. I can come to Flower Fruit Mountain and become a live-in son-in-law, becoming Brother Monkey's brother-in-law, making our family even closer."
He uttered these words with a silly grin, but before he could get a reply from Susu, a long spear came flying through the air, thankfully not piercing a hole in him.
"The Third Prince is here too?" Pigsy was shocked and tried to slip away as fast as he could. He had just asked the monkey cub, who had assured him that Nezha was going back to Heaven for a court meeting and wouldn't be back for at least ten days or half a month.
"I was just kidding!" Seeing Nezha's expression as if he wanted to roast him as a snack, Pigsy quickly made it clear that he had absolutely no improper thoughts about Susu.
Jiang Huaisu was also somewhat surprised: "How come you replied so quickly? Is there no problem with the Heavenly Court?"
"Just showing up for the roll, what could be wrong with that?" Nezha sneered, facing Zhu Bajie, weighing the gold brick in his hand as if calculating the distance to throw it. This pig's boasting wasn't new; he even wanted to be Sun Wukong's brother-in-law—how dare he say such a thing!
“I’ll teach this audacious junior brother a lesson on behalf of the monkey.”
Jiang Huaisu pondered for a moment: "That's fine. It'll save me from being so sarcastic in the future."
Pigsy shouted as he ran, "Susu, I was just joking!"
Nezha wouldn't soften his stance just because the other party quickly backed down; he was determined to teach this pig a lesson for his lecherous habits. Did he think his legitimate husband, Jiang Huaisu, was dead?
Riding his Wind-Fire Wheels, Nezha chased after the boar for dozens of miles, striking hard and using it as a punching bag. However, the boar, though seemingly tough, was not as resilient as he had imagined. In just a few breaths, it revealed its true form as a black-faced, short-haired wild boar, its eyes rolling back as it fainted.
Jiang Huaisu was shocked. Nezha had clearly held back, and there was no bloodshed after the whole attack. How could Bajie be beaten into such a pig-like state, looking like he had completely lost consciousness?
Nezha lifted his eyelids and looked at him. "Perhaps he's faking death to fool me."
Jiang Huaisu: "It seems like she's not breathing."
He used the magic ribbon to tie the pig up and started building a fire. "Let's roast it first, we can't waste pork. It's a pity I didn't bring any side dishes to cut the grease when I left."
“Bajie exercises regularly, and he looks like he’s a good mix of fat and lean, so he shouldn’t be too greasy.” Jiang Huaisu patted the pig’s ear. “It’s a real shame we didn’t bring any sauce.”
Pigsy immediately opened his eyes wide: "I'm not dead!" He flapped his ears a little aggrievedly: "Susu, you've become bad."
His immediate priority was to protect his own flesh and blood from this deadly pair of lovers; he dared not try to be clever again. "Third Prince, please let me go! I still need to go on my journey to the West with my master!"
Nezha feigned confusion: "Aren't you going to be a live-in son-in-law anymore?"
"I'm not going to do it anymore!"
"You don't even miss your Gao Family Village anymore?"
"I don't care anymore!" Pigsy said resolutely.
"Want to go back to your senior brother's place?"
"think!"
Every word came from the bottom of his heart, and he seemed to have completely obeyed. Nezha was satisfied with the result of this education, nodded, and tossed Pigsy onto a cloud. "Alright, I'll take you back."
Pigsy hesitated, then said, "...Actually, I can walk by myself."
Hearing this, Nezha did not loosen the Hun Tian Ling binding Zhu Bajie; instead, he tightened it even more. "I know, but I really feel bad about beating you up, so I wanted to see you off and catch up with your senior brother."
After mentally translating the words, Pigsy knew very well that the other party's true meaning was probably, "Beating you up isn't enough, I have to tie you up like a pork dumpling and send you back to make a fool of yourself, and while I'm at it, I'll go and complain to your senior brother."
Pigsy thought to himself, he wasn't afraid of making a fool of himself. But his master would probably feel ashamed and wouldn't let him come to Flower Fruit Mountain to beg for food again. He looked at Jiang Huaisu with pleading eyes, only to see her picking up the package full of food: "I heard from Pigsy that Monkey and the others have reached the vicinity of Pingding Mountain."
Nezha thought for a moment: "It's not very far from here."
“Yes, I’ll go with you.” Jiang Huaisu recalled the plot of the original novel. Pingdingshan… was it the ordeal of the Golden Horn and Silver Horn Kings?
Seeing that Jiang Huaisu showed no sign of trying to plead for him, Zhu Bajie knew there was no way to get help and that he would surely get a scolding from his master when he got back.
He was dejected all the way, secretly pondering how to explain himself to his master. Suddenly, he heard Jiang Huaisu say, "Is that Wukong down there?"
Nezha looked down in the direction she pointed and saw that it was indeed Sun Wukong and his group, with a very recognizable white horse beside them.
After taking the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon), he descended from the clouds and threw Pigsy to the ground.
Sun Wukong cast a completely indifferent glance at his second junior brother: "Where did this black pig come from?"
Pigsy: "..." He didn't believe that his senior brother hadn't recognized him; he clearly had fiery eyes.
"What are you doing here?" Sun Wukong turned his attention to Jiang Huaisu.
"I brought you some food."
Sha Wujing chimed in at the opportune moment, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Jiang, but my master does not eat meat."
Sun Wukong sneered, "Since you don't have a master anymore, you can roast this pig and eat it yourself."
Sha Wujing nodded: "I'll go start a fire."
As he spoke, he actually got up to gather firewood, but after taking two steps, he turned back and said, "Let's pluck the pig's hair first."
Pigsy was so angry he almost rolled his eyes: "Are you serious?"
"...Ah." Upon hearing the voice, Sha Wujing showed a clear expression of regret. "Second Brother, it's you. How did you turn into a pig?"
"Go to hell, I'm a pig anyway." Muttering curses, Pigsy stood up, looked around, and finally realized something was wrong. "Hey, where's Master?"
Sun Wukong then explained what had happened, saying that after returning from begging for alms, he found that his master had been captured. After inquiring with the local earth god, he discovered that the murderers were the Silver Horn King and the Golden Horn King of Lotus Cave. It was said that the two of them possessed several very powerful treasures, one of which, a gourd, was particularly malevolent. If a person responded to a name called, they would immediately be trapped inside the gourd and turned into pus.
"My brother Sha and I were just discussing our strategy when you arrived," Sun Wukong said with a grin as he approached Nezha. "Third Prince, why don't you come and help us too?"
Nezha refused: "Your junior brother just offended me, I'm not going to repay evil with kindness."
At this critical moment when Tang Sanzang was about to be cooked, he still didn't forget to complain about Zhu Bajie. As a result, Zhu Bajie received another mixed double beating, and Sun Wukong strictly forbade his second brother from going to Flower Fruit Mountain to beg for alms again. Nezha, on the other hand, repeatedly emphasized that Jiang Huaisu had no pig fetish.
Pigsy, clutching his bumps, quickly tried to distract the two gods by mentioning their master: "Eldest Brother, Third Prince, stop hitting him! If we don't go save Master, he'll be eaten by the monster!"
“We can’t eat him right away.” Sun Wukong was quite philosophical about it, as if he had already figured out a pattern. “Every time those monsters capture Master, they always take the time to wash him thoroughly, inside and out. They never eat him raw. They might even go to some cave to invite their parents to a feast to share Tang Sanzang’s flesh, which would take a few more days. We should take this opportunity to come up with a plan.”
Jiang Huaisu was even less flustered, having already known the ending of the story; Tang Sanzang wouldn't even break through a layer of skin.
The group sat around under the tree, discussing how to steal the magical artifact, but they were at a loss for what to do. Jiang Huaisu sat on a high branch, munching on a flatbread and keeping watch.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of two strangely shaped little demons walking along the path at the foot of the mountain. One held a jade bottle, and the other a red gourd. With such obvious characteristics of treasures, it would be hard for Jiang Huaisu not to recognize them.
She climbed down from the tree and said to Sun Wukong, "Look at the path to the east. The demons under the Golden Horn and Silver Horn have come to capture you. They're carrying a gourd, which they're definitely going to use to trap you."
Sun Wukong curled his tail and hung upside down on the highest branch of the tree. Looking east, he indeed spotted the two little demons.
He stared at the red gourd in the little demon's arms for a long time, then his eyes lit up with an idea. "How about I conjure up a fake one and swap it for the real treasure in his hands?"
Jiang Huaisu promptly affirmed, "I think it's feasible."
"However, this matter requires the cooperation of the Third Prince..."
Nezha glanced at him: "Tell me about it."
Sun Wukong's idea was to coax them, saying that his fake gourd could hold the heavens, even better than a human. That way, he might be able to get the real treasure in return. However, for the "holding the heavens" part, he needed Nezha's help and cooperation.
Nezha's expression was rather conflicted. He couldn't pretend to be the heavens, but he could cover them up. Using this to trick and fool the other side... that was somewhat interesting. To be honest, he didn't really want to get involved in this troublesome matter, but Sun Wukong's plan to play tricks on people was too tempting. It was a wonder he could come up with such a wicked scheme.
"I'll help you this once." Nezha nodded seemingly reluctantly, then pulled Jiang Huaisu away.
Sun Wukong: "Where are you going?"
“Go ask the True Martial Emperor for a black flag to help you cover the sky.” Nezha placed his hand above his brow bone, gazing up at the clear blue sky; the sun was quite bright today. “When the time comes, throw your gourd into the clouds and give me a signal, then I’ll unfurl the black flag and close the sky. How about that?”
Sun Wukong exclaimed happily, "This is a good idea!"
Jiang Huaisu's hand was held tightly by Nezha. She tried to pull away, but couldn't. "You go borrow the flag, so I don't need to go. I'll just stay here and wait for you."
“No.” Nezha naturally divided the camp. “Their fellow disciples can stay together, but the two of us will stay together.”
The naive little demon, carrying the treasure given to him by his king, confidently set off to take Sun Wukong's treasure. Little did he know that Sun Wukong and Nezha had concocted a flawless scam, all to trick them into exchanging the treasure for a fake.
The gourd, transformed from monkey hair, was as light as dust. When tossed into the sky, the black flag instantly blotted out the sun, turning the originally bright weather into pitch black, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
The little demons had never seen anything like this before, and they marveled at it. They hurriedly offered their jade bottles and red gourds in exchange for the fake gourd in Sun Wukong's hands, thinking they had made a profit by exchanging two for one.
Hearing the conversation below, Jiang Huaisu felt that these two monsters really needed to improve their anti-fraud awareness. In just a few words, they were completely fooled by Sun Wukong, losing two treasures. When they got back, they would surely get a good beating from their own king.
Nezha was laughing so hard he was about to roll around on the clouds. Jiang Huaisu was also being rocked back and forth in his arms, and unconsciously smiled as well. "Is lying so fun?"
"It's fun to trick monsters."
Jiang Huaisu saw through him. He said that saving Tang Sanzang was too troublesome, but he didn't show any dissatisfaction in his actions. When he successfully conspired with the monkey to set up a trap, his heartfelt laughter was not faked.
Since Sun Wukong had not yet given the signal to put down the flag, the sky had no choice but to remain dark.
The sun, moon, and stars had all vanished. Jiang Huaisu sat atop a cloud, relying solely on touch to locate those around her—a rather novel experience. Surrounded by complete darkness, watching the spectacle below felt like watching a movie with only sound and no visuals in a midnight theater.
"Jiang Huaisu".
"Um?"
Nezha groped in the darkness, his fingers tracing her forehead, between her brows, the tip of her nose, finally resting on her lips. As if anticipating what he was about to do, Jiang Huaisu held her breath nervously.
Sure enough, she felt his warm breath gradually approaching. Perhaps sensing the perfect atmosphere, Nezha pleaded with her in a cloying voice, "I want a kiss."
Damn it, how come he can be so naturally charming? I never noticed this talent when we first met. If we were at home, Jiang Huaisu really wanted to give this guy a good beating. He's so shameless in his seduction; he deserves a lesson in bed... Unable to hear her arrogant thoughts, Nezha just kept urging, "Kiss me."
They were clearly only a hair's breadth apart, yet he insisted on waiting for her to take the initiative—what a spoiled brat!
With a determined heart, Jiang Huaisu tilted her head back and kissed him, their lips meeting. Although she couldn't see anything at that moment, she still instinctively closed her eyes.
We've been married for so long, we're quite adept at this kind of thing. After a not-too-long kiss, the fragrance lingered on her lips and teeth, like a mouthful of lotus seed soup. Savoring the lotus-scented taste in her mouth, Jiang Huaisu sighed, "If I kiss you a few more times, I'll almost be pickled in your flavor."
"What's wrong with that?" Nezha was not ashamed but proud.
At this moment, Sun Wukong finally gave the signal, and Nezha quickly put away the black flag. As dawn broke, Jiang Huaisu sprang out of Nezha's arms like a spring and tidied her messy hair.
Nezha complained, "They can't see us from down there."
Jiang Huaisu coughed lightly, feigning seriousness: "In short, we should still be mindful of our behavior in public! We can deal with the rest when we get back."
"How about using the Universe Ring this time?"
"No, my hand hurts."
"The Universe Ring?"
“Sure, sure…” Jiang Huaisu had a mischievous idea pop into her head. She grabbed his arm and shook it. “Let me control the Hun Tian Ling once, how about it? Give me full control, and you’re not allowed to interfere.”
Nezha understood what she meant, and his eye twitched: "You're going to use my magic weapon to bind me?"
"Yes, I want to try it on top." Jiang Huaisu softened her tone. "Is that okay? Is that okay?"
He had originally intended to firmly refuse. How could Jiang Huaisu possibly enjoy herself on top? She would definitely get tired in no time, leaving him alone, stuck in a limbo. But when he saw the girl's expectant eyes, he couldn't help but change his mind and say, "...we'll talk about it when we get back."
Jiang Huaisu revealed a triumphant smile: "Alright...we'll talk about it when we get back." The long night is almost over; she'll see if she doesn't get her revenge and make Nezha beg for mercy under her!
However, we can't just leave now. After all, we've come all this way, so we have to wait for a result. We can leave after Sun Wukong rescues Tang Sanzang.
Nezha was only responsible for helping with the task of setting up the heavens; he didn't care about anything else. In his view, Sun Wukong could handle the opponent. Even if he couldn't, he could still go elsewhere to get reinforcements. So he contentedly became a bystander, sitting on a cloud and watching Sun Wukong fight with Golden Horn and Silver Horn.
The following plot follows little differently from the original story; naturally, the demons are subdued and Tang Sanzang is rescued. At the last moment, Laozi arrives and takes away Golden Horn and Silver Horn, stating that these two demons were originally his furnace-guarding boys who stole treasures and descended to the mortal realm without permission, and must return to Heaven to be punished.
"Prince Nezha is here too?" Laozi turned his head and saw the two people watching the commotion on the clouds. He smiled kindly and said, "That's quite timely. There must still be remnants of demons in the cave. I'll have to trouble Prince Nezha to clean up the mess."
Suddenly burdened with work, Nezha: "..."
He hinted with a half-smile, "Laojun, this trouble was caused by one of your servants."
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it... In short, it won't do you and the Great Sage any harm by gaining merit."
A sly glint appeared in the old man's expression as he grabbed the two children who had reverted to their original forms and vanished into the clouds in a flash.
Nezha, carrying his Fire-Tipped Spear, leaped down from the clouds, sighed, and prepared to work overtime. There was no way around it; he was in a position to fulfill his duties, and when it came to exterminating demons, there was no reason to shirk responsibility.
Sun Wukong pointed out the direction of the monster's cave to him, wanting to go and help. Nezha waved his hand: "Go and protect your master on his journey to the West. We don't need you for the rest."
"Are you sure you don't need me to come along?"
"Go on, you can. I'm a professional at exorcising demons."
Thinking that there weren't any formidable figures left in that cave, and that Nezha could certainly handle it alone, especially with Jiang Huaisu there as well, Sun Wukong stopped arguing with him. After waving goodbye to Jiang Huaisu, he patted his horse's rump, signaling Ao Lie that they could set off.
The white horse kicked out with its hind legs, but Sun Wukong skillfully turned and dodged the powerful kick. The horse pretended nothing had happened and carried Tang Sanzang away at a trot.
Sun Wukong looked at Sha Wujing and gave the succinct command: "Strike him."
Sha Wujing nodded, holding the load with one hand and the small whip in the other, and hurried after them.
Pigsy wanted to come over and say a few more words to Jiang Huaisu, but Sun Wukong grabbed him and dragged him away.
"Brother Monkey, what are you doing! Can't I even say hello?" Pigsy complained.
Sun Wukong said expressionlessly, "Don't you remember being beaten? Go ahead and get sliced into pork rolls by Nezha."
"It's not that serious! Besides, isn't there Senior Brother here? He'll have to get past you first if he wants to lay a hand on me." Pigsy chuckled and tried to get close, but was pushed away by Monkey King with a look of disgust.
"Don't talk about him, I want to beat you up too."
The four of them walked away noisily. Jiang Huaisu watched Sun Wukong's back as he went, thinking to herself that it was indeed very difficult for Brother Monkey to obtain the scriptures.
Nezha snapped his fingers across her face: "Snap out of it."
Jiang Huaisu withdrew her gaze, smiled at Nezha, and affectionately took his arm: "Let's go, let's go, let's go subdue the demon."
"You can wait for me outside."
"Let's work together, it's easier for a couple to work together."
Nezha hummed twice, pleased to hear the words "husband and wife," and didn't argue further.
As Jiang Huaisu entered the cave, the sheer number of overlapping demonic figures made her eyes widen in surprise; the sheer number was beyond her imagination. Laozi's two attendants were truly cunning; they hadn't been in the mortal realm for more than a few years, yet they had already amassed so many subordinates.
Nezha shielded her with his spear, expecting a fierce battle. However, before they could even make a move, the little demons in the cave faced Nezha and knelt down in unison, crying out, "Third Prince, spare our lives!"
This sudden turn of events stunned Jiang Huaisu; it must have been rehearsed beforehand, given how uniformly they were shouting.
Nezha looked around: "?"
These lesser demons indeed showed no fighting spirit whatsoever, preventing him from making a direct attack. What could have been resolved with a few shots had now become more complicated.
After checking them one by one, they were all demons who had never eaten humans and did not carry any foul aura.
Nezha: "Did you know I was coming?"
The little demons nodded: "The clever ghost and the quick-witted bug were keeping watch at the door just now, and they saw you from afar!"
"Why don't you run away?" Nezha offered them a suggestion. "If you scatter, I might not be able to kill you all."
The little demons looked at each other in bewilderment. This plan sounded very feasible. Why didn't anyone think of it before?
Nezha observed their reactions and thought to himself that these little demons didn't seem very bright; they were easily swayed by his words. Come to think of it, if they had any brains at all, they wouldn't have been so easily tricked out of their treasure by Sun Wukong.
Their combat ability is even lower than their intelligence; they are just a bunch of old, weak, sick, and disabled people who have gathered here to make a living. They would even be considered too much of a burden to put in a hydrangea.
Seeing that Nezha hadn't moved for a long time, a little demon in the corner mustered up its courage and asked, "Aren't you going to take us in?"
"Hmm," Nezha said lazily, "Your leader has fallen, so go cool off somewhere else."
A chorus of cheers and screams of relief erupted from the cave, so loud that Nezha wanted to cover his ears. But a small number of demons remained silent, seemingly contemplating their future.
The lesser demons moved swiftly, packing their belongings, seemingly preparing to disperse on the spot. Without the protection of Golden Horn and Silver Horn, the spiritual energy here was barren, and powerful demons who loved to seize territory often appeared, making it unwise to stay for long.
Nezha added, "Don't eat people after you get out."
Jiang Huaisu promptly delivered a threat: "Otherwise, the Third Prince will skin you alive."
The little demons below nodded vigorously, all swearing that they had no interest in human flesh and would never touch it.
Having followed Sun Wukong to become a disciple of Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Jiang Huaisu traveled to many places across the country, thus learning about some good places with abundant spiritual energy suitable for cultivation. As a reference, she pointed out the directions to the lesser demons who didn't know where to go, providing several locations.
I wonder if the ecological environment of those places has changed over the centuries. It's worth going to take a look anyway.
The little demons listened attentively and nodded repeatedly.
As a result, Jiang Huaisu was forced to accept a bunch of miscellaneous trinkets, which were gifts from the little demons in gratitude for the information she provided.
One fox was the slowest to pack and lagged behind. Seeing that most of the monsters in the cave had already left, it boldly approached Jiang Huaisu: "Have you been to Mount Hao? What was it like there?"
“I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard a little about it. There…” Jiang Huaisu thought of Red Boy, “There are already demons who have occupied the mountain and become kings. Their subordinates are all brave and they haven’t taken in any new recruits for a long time.” After all, they are demon soldiers who were taken from the Bull Demon King, so their strength is guaranteed.
The fox muttered with a worried look on its face, "That's what I'm worried about too. What if he looks down on me because of my low cultivation level?"
Jiang Huaisu scratched her head: "Why did you decide to go to Haoshan? It seems quite far from here."
"Hehe, naturally it's because the Holy Infant King is handsome, powerful, and has a Demon King father behind him. If we join him, wouldn't life be much easier in the future!"
The little fox had completely let down its guard against Jiang Huaisu, and looked excited to share the secrets. "Besides, I heard that he intends to find a wife and is looking for someone in the demon realm..." At this point, the little fox paused and corrected itself, "No, he is looking for two beauties to cultivate with him."
Jiang Huaisu's jaw nearly dropped to the floor: "What?"
A marriage proposal? Fellow cultivators? Two of them? This news is too wild! She suspected it was just a rumor; the actual situation couldn't be this outrageous. Red Boy didn't seem like someone with romantic feelings at all. He'd been in the Flaming Mountains for hundreds of years, his mind always on cultivation. How could he suddenly want to marry two? Did he want to learn his father's bad habits perfectly?
The little fox wagged its tail. "He declared he would marry two wives, but the candidates are yet to be decided. However, several months have passed since I heard the news, so perhaps he already has someone he likes." It sighed and said wistfully, "I can't even transform into human form, so the Holy Infant King probably won't accept me. But I still want to try my luck; even staying as a handyman would be fine."
"Regardless of his abilities..." Jiang Huaisu revealed to it, "As far as I know, he hates foxes. Why don't you go somewhere else to seek refuge? Head east, the borders of Aolai are rich and prosperous, much better than Haoshan."
Just look at the relationship between Red Boy and Bai Yuan; there's no way he could possibly have feelings for a fox. Besides, this whole thing seems suspicious, like a trap, and Jiang Huaisu strongly advises against the little fox jumping in.
Judging from Red Boy's personality, Jiang Huaisu even suspected that he had found some secret method of replenishing yang with yin energy, otherwise it would be hard to explain his sudden decision to marry two wives.
The little fox believed Jiang Huaisu's words. After all, the other party was on the same side as the Third Prince, and her connections were definitely wider than hers. Since she said that the Holy Infant King disliked foxes, it was most likely true.
In the end, it gave up the idea of going to Mount Hao. After saying goodbye to Jiang Huaisu, it left the cave dejectedly, preparing to go to the eastern mountain range to see if it could find any unclaimed land rich in spiritual energy.
Nezha looked at Jiang Huaisu: "Why the expression?"
"I feel something's not right," she admitted. "There's no story about Red Boy getting married in Journey to the West." Could it be that the Eighty-One Tribulations Mountain Challenge has been upgraded?
"If you're curious, why don't we go to Mount Hao and take a look?" Nezha sneered sarcastically. "But I don't think it's surprising that this kid did something like this; he wasn't exactly a good person to begin with."
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