Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

The orange-red sunlight smoked the room yellow, dyeing the silk curtains of pine crane orchids into bright amber. Wen Jiao lay in the center of the amber, her eyelids moving slightly.

This sleep was really sweet.

She breathed a sigh of relief, opened her eyes, and wanted to rub them out of habit, but suddenly her pupils trembled violently.

What appeared before my eyes was a slender, long, beautiful... black hand.

It’s so black, you can tell at first glance that it’s the hand of a pure-blooded Dinka.

In modern times, her half-immortal senior brother once taught her that if she encountered something extremely shocking that she could not understand, she should take three deep breaths before deciding how to respond. Wen Jiao took a deep breath and exhaled three times, finally calming her heart that was about to jump out of her throat. She slowly rolled up her sleeves, and they were black; she lifted the quilt to look at her legs, and they were still black; she looked in the mirror again, and they were also black. To be precise, a layer of grease that looked like gray but not gray, like oil but not oil, had formed on her hands, face, feet, and even her body. It was so black that it reflected light and was shiny black.

Wenzhou rubbed a patch of skin on the back of his hand vigorously for several times, and when he saw the white skin coming back, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Not bad, it can be removed." He shouted to the outside, "Quickly fetch some water, I want to take a bath." Remembering that the Xiangfu often used bath beans made of soapberry, white beans, angelica dahurica and chicken bone incense to clean the body, he added, "Bring more bath beans."

The bathtub and hot water were ready in no time. Mingxin and Suxin had waited on her for two days. They knew that she didn't like to have someone wait on her closely when she changed clothes or took a bath. After testing the water temperature, they consciously put away the clothes and clean towels and left. Wen Jiao hid in the tent and slipped out only after making sure that the two of them had left. She looked like she had been exposed to the sun in the Maldives in midsummer for a month. If someone saw her, the effect would be no worse than seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

She used up a whole box of bath beans, and washed herself until her whole body was marinated with the aroma of chicken bones, and then she washed off the grease on her body. She didn't dare to look at the color of the water in the tub. After washing, she changed into dry underwear by herself, and then Wen Jiao dared to ask someone to come in and help her comb her hair. Ming Xin smiled when he saw her: "It seems that the young lady had a good sleep. She looks radiant. At first glance, she is not much different from a young lady in her early twenties." Seeing that Wen Jiao didn't believe it, Ming Xin pointed to the direction of the phoenix mirror and said, "Well, if you don't believe it, look for yourself."

Wen Jiao looked over. The yellowish bronze mirror had a warm and beautiful color like the afterglow of the setting sun. The woman in the mirror had skin as white as ivory and clear eyes. Not only did the fine lines at the corners of her eyes disappear without a trace after a good sleep, but her entire face seemed to have suddenly become five or six years younger. Although not as exaggerated as Ming Xin said, she looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Not only that, but she also felt much lighter.

Clean away all the dust and dirt and be reborn.

Wen Jiao realized something: "Su Xin, bring me the box next to my pillow."

Su Xin looked over and said, "Isn't this the box that contained the Ruyi Pearl?"

Wen Jiao took it and opened it: "Take another look, what's in here?"

The two maids took a closer look and cheered in unison: "What a bright pearl! We have seen many pearls with the young lady, but we have never seen one as transparent and bright as this one!"

Sure enough, this wish-fulfilling pearl finally revealed its true form to people other than me. This change in my body might be caused by this. The comfortable and refreshing air appeared after the blood dripped on the wish-fulfilling pearl. Maybe my drop of blood played a big role. I just don't know what the effect is? Recognize the master? Break the seal above? Catalyst? Wen Jiao thought. Just as she was thinking, she heard Mingxin asked in confusion: "So where is the wish-fulfilling pearl in this box?" Mingxin was in charge of Wen Jiao's hairpins and rings, which was within his duties, so he asked this question.

Wen Jiao came back to her senses and said vaguely, "What Chen Guangrui gave me was just a broken stone, what's called a Ruyi Pearl? He just threw it away when he passed by Qinshui Creek in the west. But this shell box is a bit interesting, it's nice to keep it for fun. As for the one inside now, I found it from somewhere at that time, and I saw that it matched this box elegantly, so I specially took it to put it in."

Su Xin thought: "This box does look like an object, but the lady let Chen Guangrui go just because of it. Why is that..."

Wen Jiao saw her sympathetic eyes in the mirror and knew that this girl had imagined countless sad stories. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, but she couldn't find a more reasonable excuse, so she could only sigh and said, "After all, he is Jiang Liuer's biological father. I can't make things difficult for him."

Mingxin quietly nudged Suxin with her elbow, signaling her not to mention the young lady's sad story, and hurriedly changed the subject: "It's rare that the young lady found such a beautiful pearl, she should make a hairpin out of it."

This Ruyi Pearl is really good at beautifying and rejuvenating. If it can be worn close to the body, day and night, it may be even more effective. Wen Jiao was moved by the words: "Then find a good goldsmith to make one. Fine beads, gemstones and gold are all available. Just take as much as you want. Just make it unique and not vulgar. What shape do you think it should be made into?"

Girls have different aesthetic views on jewelry. When they heard that Wen Jiao wanted to make jewelry, the maids in the room couldn't help but get excited. One said, "I think it would be better to make a phoenix hairpin. It would be so elegant to hold the pearl in its mouth."

The other said, "The phoenix hairpin must at least hold a string of beads. These precious beads are truly dazzling. Where can you find beads of the same color?"

Someone else suggested: "How about making it into a flower hairpin? I think the peony flower is the most gorgeous, and embedding the beads into the pistil would be the most suitable."

Someone else retorted: "The peony flower hairpin is beautiful, but the streets are full of this style, which is not suitable for a lady."

Someone else suggested: "Why not make a flower tree hairpin, use gold foil to make a moth on it, and use a pearl to make the moth's body..."

"Wait, grass insects won't work. I feel creepy just looking at insects." Wen Jiao quickly rejected the suggestion.

After several discussions and the collective efforts of the maids, the pearl hairpin was finally shaped like a double-petaled lotus flower. The goldsmith who made the jewelry for the prime minister's mansion had superb skills. He received the materials during dinner, and after listening to Wen Jiao's request, he made the hairpin and sent it over early the next morning.

Wen Jiao was washing her face when she heard the maid say, "We have got the gold hairpin that the young lady wanted." She was slightly surprised: "So soon?"

Ming Xin said: "How dare he neglect the young lady's order? He must have prepared it overnight."

The first sentence, the next one stayed up late and ran his legs off, what a damn privilege! Wen Jiao sighed: "Reward him."

Su Xin said, "Miss Dongxi hasn't seen it yet. If you are satisfied, you can appreciate it later. If not, send it back and ask for revisions."

This evil Party A! Wen Jiao sighed again.