Chapter 36 You are more important.
Fortunately, they eventually found Miaolian's grave.
The tombstone that Jiang Huaisu ordered at a high price has withstood decades of wind and rain, its base still sturdy and its structure intact. Only the surface is covered with a layer of moss, and the inscription has become somewhat mottled.
"So this is what it looks like." Nezha's curiosity was satisfied, and he commented, "It's pretty good, much more impressive than I imagined."
Jiang Huaisu breathed a sigh of relief; as long as the tomb owner was satisfied.
Have you ever burned paper money for me?
"You won't receive it even if it's burned."
How do you know I won't receive it?
"You're not dead."
"I am dead."
"Then who is standing in front of me now?"
"It's a ghost."
"It's not a ghost."
"It's a ghost."
The conversation gradually became pointless, but Jiang Huaisu persisted in arguing with him, presenting her most authoritative argument: "Ghosts don't have shadows, but you do."
As she spoke, she looked down. It was dusk, and the ground was adorned with crisscrossing shadows of trees. Her shadow was among them, stretched long by the setting sun.
“Look…” She was about to point out where Nezha’s shadow was when she suddenly realized that there was nothing beneath Nezha’s feet. He stood there like a floating portrait that did not exist in reality, out of place with the surrounding light and shadow.
"What are you looking at?" Nezha looked at her with a half-smile.
Upon closer inspection, that androgynous face was strangely beautiful, quite different from usual.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Nezha smiled at her, a hint of wickedness in his eyes.
The sound... was so eerie too.
Jiang Huaisu's heart pounded even faster. She dared not look at him anymore and mumbled a perfunctory reply, "It's nothing, I must have been mistaken."
Could it be that the Nezha in front of us is not Nezha at all, but an evil spirit impersonating him?
There are countless graves on this mountain, and with nightfall approaching, the air is naturally thick with yin energy and malevolent spirits. It wouldn't be surprising if she weren't careful and fell prey to some evil spirit by the roadside. These wandering ghosts are particularly fond of mental attacks.
Her already rich imagination was fully unleashed at this moment; she could scare herself to the point of goosebumps just by filling in the blanks in her mind.
Mist rose beneath Jiang Huaisu's feet, and without a word, she was about to ride the clouds and escape. Nezha, realizing what she was about to do, reacted swiftly and grabbed her hand: "No, I was just kidding!"
Jiang Huaisu was even more shocked by this grab. She struggled twice but failed to break free, so she simply transformed into a bird and nimbly slipped out of his grasp.
Nezha then grabbed her wings: "Jiang Huaisu, I am human... no, I am a god, I can't die! I was just teasing you!"
Jiang Huaisu was furious that Nezha had plucked two of her feathers, and she wanted to fly to a higher place as soon as possible to get rid of his entanglement. But when she heard Nezha's words, she hesitated. This time, his tone was normal and did not sound like an evil spirit.
“I have a shadow, look.” He gestured for Jiang Huaisu to look at the spot where he was standing, and there was indeed a shadow.
"Then what happened just now...?"
"It's just a trick." Nezha held onto her wings tightly and said quickly, "I just wanted to scare you. If you looked at it more closely, you would have noticed the flaw. Really. Get down first."
"......"
Jiang Huaisu pecked his hand hard. In her anger, she didn't control her strength and left a shallow bloody mark. Tasting the sweet fragrance of lotus seeds, she unconsciously smacked her lips.
Nezha seemed oblivious to the pain, refusing to let go. This time, he even used the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon) to bind Jiang Huaisu into a red rice dumpling, preventing her from flying no matter what.
"There's no need for this," Jiang Huaisu stopped struggling. "I'm not running anymore."
She was so focused on escaping that she overlooked many details, but now that she's calmed down, she realizes she overreacted. She can't be blamed; Nezha is truly skilled at pretending to be a ghost.
"Third Prince, did you experience some terrifying fun from Tang Hu, and are you still not satisfied?"
Nezha nodded.
"You think it's funny to scare me?"
"Even if it's just for fun, I won't scare you anymore." Nezha readily admitted his mistake, "I'm sorry."
He looked at her with a sincere expression, his eyelashes lowered, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes instantly became non-aggressive, carrying a hint of annoyance, as if he truly felt guilty towards her.
Jiang Huaisu's remaining anger dissipated. Damn it, she's the kind of person who instinctively wants to reply "It's okay" whenever she hears "I'm sorry."
"...Hmph." She also regretted not seeing through Nezha's trick. "I'm not usually this easily frightened. Your prank succeeded mainly because of perfect timing, location, and people."
Nezha readily agreed: "Yes."
After confirming that Jiang Huaisu would not run away again, Nezha removed the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon). The bird regained its freedom and perched on his shoulder. Looking down, he saw that the shallow wound on the back of his hand had healed, and now he was absolutely certain that it was definitely Nezha himself.
“Third Prince, do you know that the more blank spaces a ghost story leaves, the scarier it is?” Jiang Huaisu reminisced. “Because you have to fill in the rest with your own imagination. If you use the same trick you used to scare Tang Hu, I might not fall for it.”
"Aren't you afraid of an evil spirit with a festering face and glowing green eyes?"
“It’s different. That was a visual shock,” Jiang Huaisu explained. “Think about it, we’ve been together the whole way, inseparable, and then a ghost quietly takes your place…that’s much scarier, isn’t it!”
"Don't worry, that won't happen," Nezha assured him. "If a ghost really dares to do that, I can make it die again."
"......"
She believes that.
As soon as the sun set, darkness fell quickly. Although she knew that with Nezha around, the probability of danger was small, Jiang Huaisu still felt a little apprehensive being in the deep mountain graveyard. It wasn't her fault; the place had the atmosphere of a horror movie.
She solemnly stated, "There are many graves nearby; this place is not suitable for lingering."
Still feeling guilty about what happened before, Nezha wisely offered a way out: "Then let's go back to Flower Fruit Mountain."
Should we offer something at your grave before we leave?
"No need, I can go directly to the temple to receive the offerings."
Jiang Huaisu jumped off Nezha's shoulder, landed, and transformed back into human form. "Speaking of which, I haven't been to the Third Prince Temple yet."
"You want to go?"
"I'd like to see your idol."
"I'm right here in front of you, going to the temple would be pointless. Do you want to worship me?"
"Praying is fine too, just for peace of mind." Jiang Huaisu cupped her hands to her chest and said devoutly, "May the gods bless me, may the gods bless me."
Nezha nodded slightly in agreement: "The immortals heard you."
*
In the end, we didn't go to the Third Prince Temple. It was already too late, and if we delayed any longer, we would probably have to spend the night in the city.
Nezha and Jiang Huaisu returned to Flower Fruit Mountain together.
Most of the monkeys had seen Miaolian before and knew that Nezha was the reincarnation of Miaolian, so they were not resistant to his arrival; in fact, they welcomed him. Although Nezha had once come to attack Flower Fruit Mountain, the monkeys consciously blamed the Heavenly Court for it and did not hold a grudge against him.
After a simple farewell ceremony, Jiang Huaisu gave the monkeys a few more instructions, emphasizing again the importance of maintaining good relationships with the monsters around them.
Sun Wukong will inevitably turn against the Heavenly Court sooner or later, so before that happens, it's best to make as many friends as possible. I don't expect them to offer help in times of need, I just hope they won't kick me when I'm down.
"That's all I wanted to say. Please don't ignore it," Jiang Huaisu said, holding the little monkey with a worried expression. "When the King is not around, if there is any conflict, self-preservation is the best policy."
The monkeys nodded repeatedly: "We understand!"
"I'm leaving." Jiang Huaisu said goodbye to them with reluctance.
On the way back to Heaven, Nezha noticed that she was distracted and took the initiative to strike up a conversation, saying, "I thought you would stay on Flower Fruit Mountain for a few more days."
"I originally planned to stay until the end of spring, but I thought better of it. After spring comes summer, and after summer comes autumn. Each has its own merits, and the longer I stay, the less I want to leave."
"Isn't the Heavenly Court good enough?"
"Okay, so I was just reluctant to leave, but I didn't really stay on Flower Fruit Mountain."
The main reason is that we can return to Flower Fruit Mountain, but our days in Heaven are numbered. After the Peach Banquet, we'll probably have to say goodbye to Heaven forever.
“It seems we’re almost home.” Jiang Huaisu pointed to the buildings that were faintly visible in the sea of clouds ahead. “That must be Yunlou Palace.”
"Um."
There was still some distance to Qitian Mansion. Jiang Huaisu said goodbye to Nezha: "See you later."
She continued forward on her auspicious cloud, and after a while, she turned back to look in the direction of the Cloud Tower Palace, wondering what Nezha would do after he returned.
His private entertainment activities seem quite rich; the bathing area in Lianxin Residence is so large, which shows that Nezha does not skimp on his enjoyment.
From afar, Jiang Huaisu saw a beautifully dressed young woman holding a child standing in front of the Yunlou Palace gate, seemingly talking to Nezha. The atmosphere between the two was very harmonious.
Is it Lady Yin?
They were too far away for Jiang Huaisu, even with her excellent eyesight, to make out a clear outline. But she could guess that the woman living in Yunlou Palace, besides a fairy maiden, could only be Nezha's mother. As for the child she was holding, it must be her younger sister, Li Zhenying.
Jiang Huaisu regretted not greeting Madam Yin when she passed by Yunlou Palace earlier.
Admittedly, that was merely an avatar of the three of them in the mortal realm, but wasn't it also a reflection of the Li family's real-life situation? The real Madam Yin must have had many helpless feelings as well.
After a long while, Jiang Huaisu finally looked away. She remembered that when she lived in the Zhen residence, she had always disguised herself as a magpie. If she went over to greet her now, Madam Yin would definitely not recognize her!
What will she say then? Will she say, "I'm the bird your son used to keep?"
"Never mind," Jiang Huaisu thought to herself. "When I run into Madam Yin another day, I'll pretend it's our first meeting and reintroduce myself."
Back at Qitian Mansion, Jiang Huaisu wandered around the deserted courtyard, but couldn't find the monkey. She asked a fairy maid and learned that Sun Wukong was currently guarding the fairy fruits in the Peach Garden.
"How can you talk about watching over him? It's good enough that he didn't steal any food." Jiang Huaisu thought to herself as she hurried to the peach orchard. After searching for a long time, she finally found Sun Wukong's figure on a tall peach tree.
He was lying asleep on a branch, with a bare peach pit in his palm, clearly indicating that he hadn't had time to destroy the evidence.
Jiang Huaisu leaped onto a branch and slowly approached Sun Wukong, intending to startle him when he wasn't paying attention.
Perhaps having been caught in the rain by Nezha, she wanted to tear someone else's umbrella in return. However, compared to Nezha's frightening methods, Jiang Huaisu's approach was much simpler and more direct: she leaned close to Sun Wukong's ear and whispered:
Before she could finish speaking, Jiang Huaisu was grabbed by the wrist by Sun Wukong, which startled her so much that she flipped over and the two of them fell off the peach tree.
Jiang Huaisu, who was below, was unlucky enough to become a human cushion. It took her a lot of effort to push Sun Wukong off her. Rubbing her sore bottom, she thought to herself that she would never imitate Nezha to scare people again. In the end, she was the one who suffered!
"Who!" Sun Wukong was startled awake from his dream.
His earlier grabbing of Jiang Huaisu's wrist was merely an instinctive reaction to a threat; this fall, however, signifies that he has truly come to his senses.
Upon recognizing Jiang Huaisu as the person before him, Sun Wukong's wariness vanished instantly, and he returned to his previous relaxed demeanor, laughing, "What, it's you? Did you hurt yourself? You came over so quietly; I thought you were some blind celestial official."
Jiang Huaisu smelled a faint scent of alcohol in the air. "You've been drinking?"
"Let's have a drink."
"He was so drunk that I didn't even recognize him."
"No way, I was just half asleep."
Sun Wukong threw the peach pit into the air. After rising to a certain height, it plummeted down, crashing into the ground like a small cannonball, leaving a deep crater the size of the peach pit. Sun Wukong dug up a few handfuls of soil, filled the crater, and muttered, "Plant a pit, and next year you'll get a tree back."
After burying the peach pits, he started thinking about the monkeys and their offspring on Flower Fruit Mountain, and asked Jiang Huaisu, "Was your trip down to the mortal realm smooth? Did you deliver the peaches? How is Flower Fruit Mountain now?"
"Everything is going well, Huaguo Mountain is doing great too."
Jiang Huaisu recounted her experiences along the way, and Sun Wukong listened with great interest. He learned that she had helped Nezha and Erlang Shen destroy a demon's lair, and he exclaimed in amazement, "It sounds like you've had a much more interesting time than my days of napping in the Peach Garden."
"I worked as a loading and unloading worker for many days, and I'm so tired that my back aches."
"That little bit of activity is just a good workout," Sun Wukong chuckled. "But speaking of which, how come you and Nezha always seem to run into each other? It's quite a coincidence."
"Not only Nezha, but Yang Jian and Xiaotian are also here."
“Then you four are destined to meet.” Sun Wukong leaned lazily against the tree trunk. “That’s good too. You’ve done a good job helping them subdue the demon. When Nezha reports back to the Jade Emperor, he will definitely speak well of you.”
Jiang Huaisu thought to herself: If I am lucky enough to make a good impression on the Jade Emperor, I wonder if I, as an accomplice, will be spared when Sun Wukong wreaks havoc in the Heavenly Palace in the future?
She was somewhat uneasy about the upcoming main storyline involving Sun Wukong, but Sun Wukong, as the person involved, was completely unaware, eating well, sleeping well, and playing well. It was a case of the emperor not being worried, but the eunuch being anxious.
Sorrow is sorrow, but life goes on. It feels like there's a landmine buried in the road ahead, but you can only grit your teeth and move forward. Jiang Huaisu thought somewhat resignedly, "Oh well, things will work themselves out."
Anyway, Sun Wukong won't die. At most, the process will be difficult and the sentence will be long, but in the end, he will still have a happy ending. As for herself, at least she has a resurrection armor, so she's not completely without any trump cards.
Even if her physical body is destroyed, as long as her soul remains, she can be brought back to life through the vessel that Sun Wukong created for her.
But this doesn't mean she can recklessly abuse her body. Changing the shell of a soul isn't as simple as changing a battery; it inevitably involves some loss of soul power. In other words, the number of times she can change containers isn't unlimited. How many times her soul can withstand "resurrection" remains unknown.
After all, there were no previous samples to refer to, so she was essentially the first clinical trial participant in this study. When it came time to change the container, some unexpected situations might arise.
So it's best to stay alive.
For the next while, Jiang Huaisu relaxed comfortably in Qitian Palace, enjoying a life of ease where everything was done for her. She didn't know when she would have to say goodbye to Heaven, so she had to cherish every moment.
On this day, a haggard-looking distinguished guest arrived at the mansion.
The distinguished guest looked like he hadn't slept for three days; there were faint dark circles under his eyes, and the resentment emanating from him was so heavy it was almost tangible. As soon as he entered the mansion, he saw Jiang Huaisu reading a storybook in the courtyard. He immediately sat down next to her as if they were old friends, and took a sip of cold tea from his teacup.
Jiang Huaisu was startled: "Nezha?"
"Um."
"What happened here..." she paused, "...went to get into a fight?"
"No, I've been taking care of my sister at Yunlou Palace these past few days," Nezha said weakly. "Let's not talk about that. Last time, you helped in the extermination of the demons, and the Jade Emperor rewarded you with Golden Flower Imperial Wine."
With a wave of his hand, the heavenly soldiers who had been waiting outside the door immediately lined up and respectfully carried a dozen or so large boxes into the mansion.
Jiang Huaisu stood up, her eyes shining, but mindful of the presence of outsiders, she refrained from immediately rushing to the treasure chest to feel the weight of the imperial gift. "So much?"
“I added five boxes, and Yang Jian added three. Check them yourself, and if you’re missing anything, just let me know.” Nezha waved his hand again, and the heavenly soldiers withdrew.
Jiang Huaisu asked in surprise, "Why are you two giving me these?"
"Isn't it only right that Yang Jian gives you things? You've helped his dog several times. As for me... I'm very satisfied with the cenotaph you erected for me, so I'd like to reward you as well. Is there any problem?"
“No problem, no problem.” Jiang Huaisu was overjoyed. How could she have too many good things? “The True Lord and the Third Prince are both generous immortals. I’ll accept them without being impolite.”
A fleeting smile appeared on Nezha's lips as he put down his teacup and said, "I have something else I'd like to ask you. For the sake of these boxes of things, you must answer me seriously."
Jiang Huaisu was puzzled. Her knowledge should not be above Nezha's. What problem could she have encountered that she couldn't solve and had to come to her for advice?
"Of course I'll tell you everything I know." Jiang Huaisu poured him more tea. "Tell me, what happened?"
"It's nothing major, it's just that... my mother went to the South China Sea to visit my second brother, and she left Zhenying in my care during that time, and she also ordered the fairy maid not to interfere or help."
"Is Madam Yin trying to strengthen the bond between you siblings in this way?"
“I knew that, so I didn’t refuse her.”
Lady Yin was indeed the type who valued family relationships very much; otherwise, she wouldn't have followed Nezha down to the mortal realm. Unfortunately, the members of this family were all too extraordinary. Jinzha was far away in Lingshan serving as a protector before the Buddha, Muzha lived in the South Sea with Guanyin, and the only two serving in the Heavenly Court, Nezha and Li Jing, were known to be at odds.
The family rarely had moments to reunite, except for Zhenying, who was still young and was personally cared for by Madam Yin. On this trip to the South China Sea, she specifically left her youngest daughter behind, hoping that Nezha could grow closer to his younger sister.
Nezha continued, "These past few days, I've brought Zhenying to Lianxin Residence."
"Is Zhenying difficult to take care of?"
"She is very well-behaved."
"Why do you look so haggard? I was wondering if your sister was too naughty and kept you awake."
"No, it's because I don't sleep. My mother wants me to take care of my younger sister myself, so I've never let Zhenying out of my sight."
"......"
Jiang Huaisu didn't have much experience taking care of children herself, but compared to Nezha, she felt she was more experienced. Kids, you just soothe them when they cry, feed them when they're hungry, and toss them a twig—they can play happily on their own. As long as the child isn't overly emotionally demanding, they're quite easy to manage.
Like Nezha, this is clearly going too far.
"I wanted to ask, do you have any insights on taking care of your younger sister?" Nezha twirled his teacup as he posed his concern to Jiang Huaisu. "Zhenying seems rather unhappy these past few days at Lianxin Residence."
She thought for a moment and suggested, "Why don't you let Zhenying play by herself? If she gets bored or has any needs, she'll naturally let you know."
"She won't."
"ah?"
“She won’t ask anything of me. I can tell she’s afraid of me.”
“This…” Jiang Huaisu wasn’t very knowledgeable about child psychology either, and fell silent for a moment.
Her parents separated early and remarried, each having children of their own. She had previously helped take care of her younger brother at her father's house. At first, the boy wasn't afraid of her at all and made a lot of noise, ordering her around and threatening that if she didn't listen to him, her father would kick her out.
Children are indeed innocent and naive, but they are also very perceptive. They know perfectly well who has a lower and higher status in the family.
Later, Jiang Huaisu gave her younger brother a severe beating. When he complained, she beat him again. After several such incidents, the little brat finally behaved and dared not deliberately cause her any more trouble. Therefore, in Jiang Huaisu's view, children who were afraid of her were the easiest to manage.
But Nezha was annoyed by this.
Jiang Huaisu thought that if her younger brother could genuinely respect her, she would definitely take the opportunity to treat him like a slave. After all, that's the kind of wicked older sister she was, hehehehe...
Seeing her lost in thought, Nezha snapped his fingers in front of her face: "What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing," Jiang Huaisu said seriously. "I just suddenly thought of my brother and regretted not beating him more when we were at home. Now that I don't have the chance, it's a bit of a pity."
Nezha wanted to ask why, if he wanted to beat up his younger brother, he didn't just go home, but then he remembered that Jiang Huaisu had once said that she and her parents were not close, not the kind of people who would care about each other.
Considering that her family situation might be complicated, Nezha suppressed his curiosity and did not ask any further questions.
Jiang Huaisu has already steered the conversation back to Li Zhenying:
“Your sister is still young, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to build a close relationship with her from scratch. How about I go to Yunlou Palace with you? We’ll need to see the situation in person to analyze it properly.”
She understood the principle of being obligated to help others, and since she had received several boxes of treasures, all she needed to do was mediate the sibling relationship. She accepted the job!
Nezha hesitated for a moment, then nodded, got up, and went to Yunlou Palace with Jiang Huaisu.
On the way, he said again, "I don't want to build any intimate relationship with my little sister. I just want her not to be so afraid of me. If she doesn't say anything, how can I know if I've taken good care of her?"
"Children don't open up to people they don't know well easily. Don't worry, maybe after a while she gets used to living in Lianxin, she won't be as reserved as she is now."
After saying that, Jiang Huaisu regretted her choice of words. She had just pointed out that Zhenying and Nezha were "not familiar" with each other. Wouldn't the older brother feel bad about that?
She carefully observed Nezha's expression and saw that he seemed normal and not disappointed.
"That's not necessarily true. You lived in the Zhen residence for so long, but you didn't open up to me and just left without a word."
Why did this suddenly involve her? Jiang Huaisu guiltily looked away and gave a dry laugh: "It's different. She's your sister, your blood relative..."
“Using blood ties to determine closeness isn’t always appropriate.” Nezha’s gaze swept across her face, and he suddenly said, “Actually, in my heart, you are more important than my little sister.”
Jiang Huaisu was startled, opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.
Should one say he was flattered? But Nezha was extremely calm when he said this; he was simply stating a fact without any emotional expression.
Nezha: "Do you believe me?"
Automatically interpreting the tone as sarcastic, Jiang Huaisu thought to herself that she was glad she hadn't fallen for it. She immediately suppressed her feelings of gratitude and said firmly, "I don't believe you!"
“...It’s true, you’re more important to me.” But Nezha didn’t follow the script. Instead, he continued to explain, “I haven’t spent much time with Zhenying, so it’s normal that our relationship isn’t very deep. I know she’s my sister, and she knows I’m her brother, that’s all.”
Jiang Huaisu's emotions were thrown into turmoil by his breathless conversation, but when she heard the last sentence, she suddenly understood. Nezha probably didn't mean to express her importance, but rather that he didn't really... care about his sister that much.
He simply viewed it as a responsibility, or rather, an obligation.
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