Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

As the fragrance of the breath dissipated, before one knew it, milky white mist had engulfed the surroundings.

Wen Jiao put away the Tianfang Treasure Mirror, bent down to pick up the bone flute at her feet, and blocked the sound hole with her true Qi. Sure enough, the fog dissipated instantly. She fiddled with it for a few more times and found that the Yaksha bone flute had the ability to call the mist, and the range depended on her cultivation. With her current level of cultivation, it was no problem for her to cover a mountain for ten days and ten nights.

"Madam, you are so lucky with magic weapons." Sun Wukong blinked, his tone full of envy.

Even though he was once the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, he actually had nothing except the golden hoop stick he extorted from the Dragon King of the East China Sea - oh, except for the Wind-Fixing Pearl he obtained from Lingji Pusa in order to subdue the Yellow Wind Monster the year before last - he was a notoriously poor man among the gods.

Not only that, after that, he got the Immortal Binding Rope, but found out that it had an owner; got the Banana Fan, but had to return it; got the Purple Gold Bell, but also took it back... In short, he went to the West to obtain the scriptures and ran his legs off, but he didn't get any magic weapons except the Wind-Fixing Bead and the rhino horn. The rhino horn was even the trophy he got from beating the goblin himself. Wen Jiao thought of Wukong's poor luck with magic weapons in the future and fell silent.

When the man and the monkey returned to the camp, it was still dark. A waning moon was set on the edge of the sky, and was about to sink beneath the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Princess Wencheng's dowry team included a large number of craftsmen, musicians, and scholars, as well as a large army to escort the bride, totaling more than 10,000 people. Torches were burning in front of every tent in the camp, and the intersection of the flames seemed to sink the Milky Way into the ground. Wisps of light smoke were curling around, as the firemen who had woken up early had already started preparing meals for everyone.

Wukong was in mid-air, and seeing the fireworks below, a stunned look appeared on his usually smiling face. He muttered to himself, "I don't know how Master survives, sleeping in the open air. Bajie is lazy, and Sha Seng is cold. Can you please take the trouble to make Master some hot soup..."

What a sin! Wen Jiao felt guilty for her adopted son in her heart and patted Wukong on the back: "Everyone has his own fate. No matter what kind of life he lives, it is his own choice."

Wukong said, "I know that, too. But the old monk is destined to be doomed to disaster. Pigsy and Sha Seng are two of those idiots. They can fight with their own family members, but they are hard to rely on when they encounter monsters. Whenever I think of this, I can't help but feel anxious. I guess this is my fate of hard work."

Wen Jiao said, "Great Sage, you also know that he is in trouble at every step, and the remaining disciples are unreliable. If he really reaches a point where he is helpless, I am not afraid that he will not ask you to go back."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything. Once she did, Wukong became even more depressed. He sniffed and said, "Master has made a solemn vow that if I see him again, he will fall into the Avici Hell. How could I dare to ask him to fulfill this vow? Even when Master's spirit left her body and entered the ghost fog created by the Yaksha for a month, Master still wrote to me every night. Because Master couldn't answer, I was afraid that he would worry, and I was also afraid that he would recognize my voice. I was angry and became estranged from Master, so I had to change my voice to Master to deal with it casually."

Wen Jiao rushed to the Demon Tower as soon as she woke up. She had really forgotten about her adopted son. Upon hearing this, she asked, "Is Jiang Liu'er safe these days?"

Wukong rubbed his eyes and said, "Nothing, nothing. Even if we encounter wolves, insects, tigers and leopards, Bajie and Sha Seng can still handle it. It's just that they can't serve as well as when I was here. It's inevitable that the three meals a day are one or two hours late, and one or half a bowl is missing. Every day, I have to mediate for those two idiots. Now we have just passed the White Tiger Ridge and arrived at the territory of the Precious Elephant Kingdom."

Wen Jiao blinked slowly and smiled: "It seems that the day when the Great Sage returns is not far away."

Wukong: “Huh?”

Wen Jiao smiled in a mysterious manner: "Great Sage, there is no need to ask. Anyway, I will ask him to compensate you with a big gift when the time comes."

If she let Wukong go back to Huaguo Mountain, Bajie would have to coax him back with a few words. With him by her side, she didn't believe Bajie could get around her and call the monkey away. This time, she had to teach Xuanzang a lesson, otherwise he would not learn his lesson again and again and become a laughing stock.

If a child is not taught well, it is the fault of the father. Chen Guangrui's biological father is as good as non-existent, so she, as a mother, has to take on the responsibility of educating her son well!

Wukong was a smart monkey, so he stopped asking questions after hearing this. He just thought that Xuanzang must have encountered some disaster again, and Bajie and Sha Seng were unable to deal with it, so they called him back. If he was still by his side, why would he have to suffer like this? Thinking of this, he felt sad and speechless again.

Back at the camp, Wen Jiao asked Wukong to rest in his tent. For the past month, Wukong had been in charge of the escort group. To show his respect, the King of Jiangxia had prepared a special tent for him. The decoration was gorgeous and comfortable, even better than his own. But Wukong was upset, so how could he sleep? He went outside the camp and asked the nearby mountain gods to play guessing games, and won a lot of snow lotus and cordyceps.

When Wen Jiao returned to her tent, she saw Huo Ling'er, who had returned to her original form, lazily lying on the soft wool carpet. When she saw her come in, she just raised her head slightly and said, "Mingcheng was called by the princess, and she also called you. I told the person who called them that you went out with the Great Sage and will be back soon." She yawned, "Wen Jiao, what did you see during the thirty days you slept?"

"I'll tell you in detail when I have time. I'm going to see the princess first." Wen Jiao said. Huo Ling'er immediately stood up and said, "The princess's milk cakes are the most delicious. I'll go get a couple of them too."

When he entered the princess's tent, Wen Cheng was talking to Wu Meiniang, and there were some light and delicious snacks on the table next to them. Wen Cheng was not as good as Wu Meiniang, who had practiced breathing techniques with Wen Jiao, and a month of coma had a great impact on her. Although the palace maids tried their best to feed her every day, her spleen and stomach were still damaged, and she could only nourish herself slowly.

Seeing Huo Ling'er also following, Wen Cheng immediately asked the palace maid to order the kitchen to add a few more fragrant and sweet porridge and snacks, and then greeted Wen Jiao: "Master is back, I have something to discuss with you."

She told him about the rebellion in Ling Country and how Jiacha was the first to return to the royal city to quell the rebellion, and asked, "Does the Master think we should wait here?"

Wen Jiao asked back: "What do you think, Princess? Just give us your orders and we will do it."

This was no longer the dispute in the Manzagang royal court as in the dream. The marriage was the beginning and the end of Wencheng, so naturally she should make the decision herself. She came here to be a thug, and it was better for a thug not to take over the reins.

Wu Meiniang also said: "Master's opinion is my opinion. It is entirely up to the princess to decide."

She was still frightened by Meng Wencheng's threat to abolish her status as a princess. A person who dares to abandon his own flesh and blood for the greater good is always intimidating.

Wen Cheng looked at them, his eyes as tender as spring water flashing with determination: "To be honest, during the thirty days of coma, I had a big dream, and when I woke up, I felt a lot."

Wen Jiao resisted the urge to look away and stared at her with a smile: "Oh?"

Wen Cheng said, "I'd rather be a tree in the forest than a flower in a vase." Her fingertips, like jade onions, thoughtfully brushed across the luxuriant embroidery on her clothes. Her voice contained a kind of prophetic awareness, "The flower in the vase, even if it is admired by thousands of people, is ultimately a thing without roots. If it encounters a violent wind, a rainstorm, or a tyrannical person who doesn't care about the flower, it will just fall to the ground and no one will pick it up."

She raised her eyes and said, "After much thought, I think it's better to be a tree in the forest. It's safer. But there are so many trees there that they won't allow outsiders to sow seeds. If you want them to take root, you have to find a reason."

"It seems that the princess has made up her mind." Wen Jiao said.

Wen Cheng nodded slightly, his jade-like face gleaming brightly in the light: "The entire army will march out to help Lingguo."

Wen Jiao bowed slightly and was about to speak when she heard a loud shout from afar: "Who are you, you evil monster? Take this stick from me, Sun!"