Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

After Huo Linger's jokes, Wen Jiao felt a lot more relaxed.

Perhaps it was because of her good health and the sweating that she felt refreshed the next morning. Huo Ling'er saw this and proudly showed off her medical experience. Jia Quan only then knew that Wen Jiao had been ill last night and hurried to ask a doctor to see her. Wen Jiao couldn't stop him. She watched him rush out like this and was pushed back into the two quilts by Huo Ling'er. She was helpless: "I swear to God, I am really well. Good Ling'er, my sister Huo, can you move your quilt away?"

"No way." Huo Ling'er was shaking her head and preparing to read out her medical experience when she was suddenly interrupted by another female voice: "Who sold this hairpin to this old man?"

The man and the lion both shuddered and went to ask for the source of the sound. They saw an old woman pulling the Han River Dragon King's ear into the room, holding a pearl hairpin in her other hand. The pearls on the top of the hairpin were as shimmering as water. If it wasn't the Wish-fulfilling Pearl, what else could it be?

It is not accurate to say that this woman is an old woman. Although her hair is white, her face is as rosy as spring flowers, her skin is as tight and delicate as a baby's, and her appearance is extremely beautiful, like a blue lotus blooming in the snow. She wears a black dress, the color is so black that it seems to attract people's attention. She wears three strings of gems on her neck, which are rubies, turquoises and cat's eyes. Each bead is the size of a thumb, round and smooth, and full of jewels.

As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was pleasant but also cold as a spring: "Tell me, who sold this hairpin to you?"

This sentence was directed at the Dragon King of Han River who was dragged in by her ears. The latter was as majestic as he was when he turned into a dragon and flew into the sky to make rain, but now he was hesitant and stumbling, "It's the one lying there. I, I saw that the hairpin on her head was beautiful, so I thought maybe you would like it..."

"So this hairpin wasn't made by her, but she wears it herself? You want me to use a second-hand hairpin that has been worn by another woman?" The woman's voice immediately became higher.

The Dragon King of Hanshui felt pain and said, "Be gentle, my ears are about to be pulled off. You said a while ago that you couldn't find a satisfactory wish-fulfilling pearl in the store. I think the quality of the wish-fulfilling pearl on this hairpin is top-grade..."

"Am I just missing a wish-fulfilling pearl?" The woman's voice suddenly rose higher, making Wen Jiao's eardrums buzz.

Huo Ling'er shook her dizzy head and muttered, "You don't need it, but we do. We don't have any other hobbies, we just like to look at beautiful beads, and we don't have any more. We are so thirsty..." Wen Jiao pinched her, and Huo Ling'er pursed her lips and stopped talking.

The Dragon King of Han River smiled and said, "Of course there is no shortage of them. You can't string all the Ruyi beads in the storehouse together with ten hands, but this is my gift to you. I put in a lot of effort to exchange for this hairpin." As he spoke, he winked at Wen Jiao secretly behind the woman.

Wen Jiao understood and sat up, hugging the quilt: "In exchange for this wish-fulfilling pearl hairpin, this old man even agreed to make it rain for the entire Shangyong County to relieve the drought. He really put in a lot of effort."

The woman glanced at her coldly for a few times, and seeing that she was neither humble nor arrogant, her expression softened a bit: "You old thing, you have paid attention - why is there a drought in Shangyong County?"

"After you went back to your parents' home, I lost my appetite and all I could think about was how to apologize to you and invite you back to the Dragon Palace. A few times when I was making it rain, I missed Shangyong County." The old Dragon King hesitantly said.

The woman's face darkened immediately, and she looked like she wanted to curse, but she was concerned about Wen Jiao and Huo Ling'er being around, and she had to save some face for the Dragon King of Hanshui. She gritted her teeth in anger and said in a cold voice, "So I have to thank you for your kindness?"

The old Dragon King wanted to nod, but when he heard her tone was wrong, he couldn't help shrinking his neck and tentatively said, "No need to thank me, can you pull my ears less?"

"Dream on! I'm going to tear off both of your ears and eat them with wine!" the woman said angrily, rolling up her sleeves.

After all, it is your own room. It is not nice to let other couples fight, especially when the couple is a non-human species. If they really fight, it will be bad if some flowers and plants are damaged.

Wen Jiao thought about it, and came up with an idea. She also said angrily: "Father-in-law, I am not a junior to you. You are old, and you are not very thoughtful. How can you let your beloved wife use second-hand jewelry? I thought you would at least dismantle it after taking it back, and ask a skilled craftsman to make something new, and then give it to your wife. I didn't expect you to change it at all?"

"Besides, for mortals like us, a wish-fulfilling pearl is certainly a priceless treasure. For you two, it is just an ordinary jewel. Even if it is really made with exquisite craftsmanship, it is nothing special. You can't see how much thought was put into it."

"That's exactly the truth." The woman said angrily, "This old man has lived to such an old age, but he is not as sensible as a little girl."

Wen Jiao added: "Yesterday I lost my pearl hairpin, and my hair was in trouble, so I thought of buying a hairpin from a roadside stall." She pointed to the hairpin she was wearing in her hair. The hairpin was made of ox horn, smooth and shiny, with an amber color. There was a cluster of auspicious clouds carved on the head of the hairpin, and the arc of the hairpin was extremely smooth, with a simple and ancient beauty.

"At that time, I thought that the roadside stalls didn't have any good stuff, but the jewelry there was not worth much, but the styles were quite beautiful. After asking carefully, I found out that the stall owner's wife drew the patterns and made them by himself. The most beautiful ones were kept for his wife to wear, and the rest were sold."

Wen Jiao looked at the Hanshui Dragon King who seemed to be thinking deeply: "Because of the love, even the most ordinary materials and crude craftsmanship can be made into something extraordinary. Since you want to express your love to your wife, what can be better than a hairpin carved by your own hands?"

Hanshui Dragon King suddenly understood and clapped his hands, "What a coincidence! I just found a piece of beautiful jade four days ago. The jade is so smooth that it seems to melt with a breath. I wanted to give it to my wife as an apology, but then I thought that you don't like playing with jade, so I put it aside. If I had known this ingenious idea earlier, I would have ground it into jewelry and given it to my wife, and there would be no such a quarrel."

"What?" The woman glared.

The Dragon King of Hanshui quickly covered his ears: "Care, this is a caress."

The woman snorted, "I'll settle with you when I get back." After that, she looked at Wen Jiao carefully, waved her hand, and Wen Jiao saw a flash of light, and her hair bun sank slightly. It turned out that she had inserted the Ruyi Pearl Hairpin back into her hair.

"You are a girl with a good conscience and a smart mind. You will have a promising future." The woman said, "I, Zhu Fangsi, do not accept other people's things. This hairpin is returned to its original owner." She took off the turquoise beads from her neck and threw them to Huo Ling'er, "You like beautiful beads? I like the same thing. Keep it for fun."

After saying this, she turned around and looked at the Dragon King of Han River. The latter covered his ears and refused to let go. The woman snorted coldly, grabbed his beard, and scolded, "You old fool, why don't you follow me to the emperor to receive punishment?" Then she turned into a gust of wind and left.