Chapter 26 026 What on earth are you?! ...
I knew Tang Sanzang and his companions would face the White Bone Demon, a classic scene undoubtedly recreated. I just didn't expect that before twelve hours had passed, the plot had already advanced to the point where they were "directly enjoying Tang Sanzang's flesh."
He is really crying. He is really fulfilling his "capital mission" of descending to the mortal world as a demon and causing trouble.
"But doesn't Tang Seng have a Sun Wukong by his side? How could he be caught so easily?" I was puzzled.
"Grandma, you don't know, that Monkey King was chased away by his master!"
I:"……"
Oh, so this scene wasn't cut. Seeing how kind and filial the master and the students were yesterday, I thought they had skipped this part.
After sending the deer demon away, I asked Little Lotus, "Did you see that? The crane has taken over the mountain and is now king. Now he wants to eat Tang Monk's flesh. Do you want to go?"
Little Lotus seemed to have a brain freeze, and it took her a while to find her voice again: "Why did he...eat Tang Monk's flesh?"
"Immortality."
“…”
He folded his arms and looked up at the sky.
Little Lotus didn't know much about the inside story of the Journey to the West, but that didn't mean he was slow-witted. He quickly guessed the key, poking his finger upwards. "Is that so?"
I shrugged.
He laughed: "No wonder."
"What about you?" he asked, his tone probing. "You were so kind as to clear the way for them yesterday."
As for me, I naturally can't touch Tang Sanzang's flesh. On this journey west, which monster could really bite off a finger of Tang Sanzang? But I can join in the fun.
"My good brother invited you and me, so of course we have to go and show our support. I wonder what expressions Tang Seng and his companions will have when they see us." It's exciting just thinking about it.
"Good brother? You acknowledge him as your brother?" Little Lotus's expression suddenly turned strange. He tugged at my headband and poked my cheek. "Accepting a crane as your brother? How's that any different than a mouse acknowledging a cat as its sister?"
I pushed his hand away and chuckled, "A mouse may not necessarily accept a cat as its sister, but it will definitely accept a lotus as its brother."
"What lotus? What sister?"
Little Lotus doesn't know yet that Nezha in this world has a sister who is a rat spirit - perhaps even Nezha himself has forgotten.
Seeing that I was about to leave, Little Lotus twitched her wrist, and the Hun Tian Ling wrapped around my wrist like a spirit snake: "You haven't explained clearly yet, what do you mean by brother and sister?"
I glanced at the red silk on my wrist, then looked at the young man on the shore who was smiling triumphantly.
"Guess." After saying that, he dived into the river without looking back.
The Hun Tian Ling didn't retract, but instead extended along with me. Not long after, he followed me down.
"I knew that Nezha here had a sister named Li Zhenying, but I didn't know that he also had a sister named Rat Spirit." His mind worked quickly, and he figured out the relationship with just a few words.
"It's my stepsister." I corrected her.
Upon hearing this, Little Lotus lowered her brows and spoke with displeasure, "Where does he find the leisure to take a rat spirit as his sister?"
I explained briefly: "Actually, he didn't admit it voluntarily..."
Three hundred years ago, a golden-nosed, white-haired rat demon stole incense, flowers, and candles from the Tathagata Buddha. The Tathagata sent Li Jing and Nezha to lead heavenly soldiers to capture the demon, but later spared his life. In gratitude, the rat demon worshipped Li Jing as his father and Nezha as his brother, and even offered incense to the Li father and son when he descended to the mortal realm as a demon.
After hearing this, Little Lotus was speechless. Thinking about it now, I too find this matter rather odd. This rat demon is clearly a pawn in the scheme, like a link specially crafted by Tathagata to embarrass the Westward Journey.
"It seems that becoming an immortal... may not be a good thing." Little Lotus murmured.
…
Arriving at the shore of White Tiger Ridge, I found a bamboo sedan waiting. Seeing me emerge from the Cloud and Water River, the two waiting demons were about to kneel down in worship. But when their eyes caught sight of the small lotus behind me, they began to tremble like a sieve and screamed, "Third Prince, spare my life!"
I glanced at Xiao Lianhua. His brows were furrowed, and he was obviously very unhappy with the name.
I said to the two little demons, "He is not the Third Prince, you can just call him 'Third Young Master'." As soon as I said it, I realized that it was inappropriate. There didn't seem to be much difference between "Third Young Master" and "Third Prince".
"Okay, okay! Third Young Master!"
As we sat in the bamboo sedan, Xiao Yao lifted it up steadily. Little Lotus touched the bamboo armrests on both sides of the sedan and said curiously, "The cranes are doing really well. By the way, why are they so afraid of me?"
I raised my hand and pointed toward the sky again, recounting to him the story He had told me about how Nezha nearly wiped out the entire White Tiger Ridge. With his intelligence, he pieced together the entire story in an instant.
I lowered my voice and said, "The smell on you is too strong. I guess it can be smelled for dozens of miles around." In fact, this range was just something I made up. He wouldn't care anyway.
As expected, Little Lotus said nonchalantly, "Then there's nothing I can do."
Two little demons, one in front and one behind, carried the bamboo sedan along the winding mountain path. White Tiger Ridge was perpetually shrouded in mist, wisps of it entwined around the sedan. The air was thick and cold, a heavy earthy odor mingled with a faint, almost decaying scent, permeating the mountain. I had never smelled such a strong, strange odor in my previous visits.
Little Lotus's fingers had been clasped around my shoulder in a protective gesture. Her other hand, knuckles bent, tapped unconsciously on the bamboo sedan's armrest.
Tick, tick, tick.
The subtle knocking sounds were unusually clear in the dead silence of the mountains.
I asked the little demon carrying the sedan in front of me, "Who else is attending this banquet? An earthworm spirit or a pangolin? Otherwise, why is there such a strong earthy smell?"
The little demon laughed heartily and replied, "To answer Grandma Yunshui's question, there were no earthworm spirits or pangolins at this banquet. The king specifically ordered the addition of that earthy smell, saying it was to... mask the lotus scent."
The moment the little demon uttered the word "Lotus", I quickly covered the little Lotus' ears.
He glanced over at me, questioning me. I smiled and laughed it off, "Don't listen to it, it's just badmouthing."
God knows, he has so many "bad reviews".
In order to cover up the lotus fragrance, they even went so far as to marinate the entire Baihu Ridge in the smell of earth and decay.
Ah He, you really made me cry. Baihuling is so lucky to have such a considerate leader like you.
"Do you think I can't hear anything if you cover your ears?" Little Lotus asked expressionlessly.
I blinked innocently: "I covered it up, you just pretend you didn't hear it, okay?"
Little Lotus twitched the corners of her mouth, but ultimately gave up helplessly, saying bitterly, "That crane... I'll stew it sooner or later!"
I chuckled, "When I first saw it, it was very fierce, and you said it was your friend and had no ill intentions."
"Really?" Little Lotus seemed to have no recollection. "I just remember blowing it away."
That was my second encounter with the crane. When it teased me, the little lotus simply wrapped itself around its stem and flung it far away. I remember the crane also saying it hated Nezha. It seemed this friend was incredibly tricky.
Little Lotus suddenly looked at me intently, and said word by word, "My master has many cranes under his wing. How do you know that the crane you see now is the same one you first saw?"
I:?
The problem I had never imagined made me stuck in an instant.
Just as I was struggling, the bamboo sedan had arrived at He's cave.
The little demon lowered the sedan chair. The Bone Goddess, waiting at the cave entrance, saw Little Lotus, her skeletal face contorted in terror. Fortunately, she still remembered her duty and ushered us in with a forced smile. As she moved, her joints made a teeth-grinding crunching sound, evidently indicating she had been severely injured by Sun Wukong.
The voice is heard before the person arrives. From within the cave, the White Tiger Spirit's resounding laughter echoes, boasting about the "scandal" Sun Wukong's expulsion by Tang Sanzang, mocking Tang Sanzang's blindness and heartlessness. Its smugness is like that of the vicious female supporting character in an old, melodramatic romance, who reveals herself before the end, waiting to see the protagonist's family and lover regret their past actions and cry out for mercy.
There are some pleasant moments, but not much. For that tiny bit of pleasure, am I supposed to endure the 95% of frustration and heartbreak that preceded it? Am I some kind of cheapskate?
Seeing us come in, the White Tiger Demon and the White Bone Demon retreated tactfully.
He's eyes flickered between me and Little Lotus, and he grinned, "I was just saying you two are going to be good!"
I rolled my eyes and got straight to the point: "Did you really capture Tang Seng?"
"What a joke! It couldn't be more real!" He pointed carelessly at the corner where Tang Sanzang lay unconscious.
I took a deep breath and said, "Brother, this isn't our hometown. The connections here might not be enough to protect us."
He came over, patted Xiao Lianhua and me on the shoulders, and said earnestly: "How could I not know? It's just that, little sister, there are some things that you can't get rid of just because you say you don't want to do them." He looked forced and helpless, but I always felt that he was enjoying himself in his words.
Sure enough, the crane that came before me knew more.
Little Lotus, who had been silent since entering the cave, suddenly grabbed the "crane claw" on his shoulder with her backhand.
"Claws, boy?" asked the Crane.
Little Lotus's voice was so cold it could crack the cave wall: "You are not it. Who are you?"
My heart skipped a beat.
What? Not it? What do you mean?
I looked at He in surprise. His eyes suddenly changed.
"Why not just turn a blind eye?" He said as he suddenly soared into the air! At the same time, my waist tightened, and the Hun Tian Ling had already rolled me away from where I was, bringing me to the safe area beside Xiao Lianhua.
"Cri—!" A piercing shriek exploded within the cave! The sound waves shook the stalactites from the ceiling to the ground. The crane's massive wings flapped violently, and a fierce wind swept the cold pool water into the sky! In an instant, the entire cave was filled with flying sand and rocks, and chaos. The only light source from the cave ceiling—the straight ray of sunlight—was instantly swallowed by the swirling smoke and the huge shadow cast by the giant crane.
"What on earth are you!" Little Lotus shouted angrily, pointing her flaming spear at the giant shadow tumbling in the air.
What the hell happened?! My mind was in turmoil.
"Little Lotus, what's going on?" The bad premonition in my heart grew rapidly.
Little Lotus pointed her gun at the giant crane, her face terribly gloomy. "Ask him! What on earth is this thing?"
I:"……"
You should tell me first!
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the cave, and a little demon crawled in to report, "My lord! It's bad! A monk with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth is breaking in!"
Then, Sun Wukong's iconic roar pierced through the cave wall: "You beast! Hurry up and send my Master Sun out! Your Grandfather Sun will spare your life!"
"Big Brother is right! Let my master go! Otherwise, I, the old pig, will beat you to death with a rake!" Zhu Bajie's voice also came.
There were deafening cries of killing outside the cave, but inside the cave there was a dead silence.
I pursed my lips and looked at the swirling shadow in the air: "You..." Who is it? The second half of the sentence got stuck in my throat.
Even before I finished asking, the crane seemed to read my mind. It laughed amidst the chaotic storm, its blood-red eyes filled with a complex emotion I couldn't fathom.
"My dear sister, I really like you. What a pity..."
I:"……"
I really don't know when the crane that called me brother and sister was replaced? Speaking of which, because it spoke Sichuan dialect when it was in Qianyuan Mountain, and it still spoke Sichuan dialect when it arrived at Baihu Ridge... I never doubted that this crane was not that crane!
What is going on?
"Goodbye, dear sister!"
The crane let out a long cry and instantly transformed into a swift shadow, dashing towards the single beam-of-light gap at the cave ceiling! Flames erupted from the Wind-Fire Wheel beneath Little Lotus's feet, and the Heaven-Centering Silken Ribbon swept me along, chasing the fleeing shadow...
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The author has something to say: The next chapter will open the Shanhe Shejitu copy, and there are many private settings for the reading experience.
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