Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Although Huo Ling'er ran very fast, she had no destination to stop at, and just ran around aimlessly with Wen Jiao on her back. Feng Ji followed Yuan Tiangang and shouted, "Let's go to Xuanji Pavilion, that's our territory!" Then he led the way. Huo Ling'er didn't have time to think about it, and followed him.

As soon as they arrived at Xuanji Pavilion, Feng Ji ordered the flower demon to make tea and cook. He still remembered Wen Jiao's preferences, so he specifically ordered that only tea leaves be put into the tea, without adding other seasonings. Wen Jiao got the tea, took two sips, and felt a lingering fear.

Yuan Tiangang pushed a small bowl of Sophora japonica leaf cold noodles towards him: "A few sips to calm your nerves, this is Fengchun's most proud craft."

Wen Jiao took a bite and it left a lingering fragrance on her cheeks and teeth, refreshing and pleasant: "Fengchun is the flower demon you mentioned?"

"Plum blossoms." Yuan Tiangang added, turning to the farce just now, "Why are you unwilling to accept the summons to the palace to meet the emperor?"

Wen Jiao was hesitant. Although the disciples of the Demon-Dangling Heavenly Venerable had the responsibility of slaying demons and exorcising monsters, they did not have the ability to save the world and bring the dead back to life. Although the Dragon King of Jinghe had been forced to retreat by her, if Li Shimin was still destined to go to the Yama Palace and experience the six reincarnations, she really did not have the ability to do so. If she responded to the call now, and Li Shimin became seriously ill someday, would she, as an "expert", save him or not?

If she saves him, she doesn't have the ability to go against the will of heaven; if she doesn't save him, it will damage the reputation of "Lei Feng Zhenren".

Wait, how come even she herself is following Master Lei Feng?

With a helpless smile, Wen Jiao said, "Don't worry, I'd better find an inn with Sister Huo first and wait and see what happens."

Yuan Tiangang said as if nothing had happened: "Why don't we just stay at Xuanji Pavilion?"

Staring at Wen Jiao's gaze, he maintained a calm appearance with great willpower: "I know the place well."

At his side, Fengji turned his back, raised his sleeves to cover his face, and laughed silently.

In the mansion of Duke Yun, Yin Yuan looked at the portrait copied by his family and fell into deep thought. The face of the person in the painting was as bright as the pure moon, and her green clothes were as tranquil as willow leaves in mid-spring. Her demeanor was clean and extraordinary. Although she was a beauty, she looked familiar.

His eyes fell on the clothes of the person in the painting, and he suddenly realized.

Wasn't this the woman who he had invited back home yesterday and claimed she was not feeling well and refused to attend the banquet? Thinking about it carefully, he had never seen her full face from beginning to end, but he was quite impressed by her extremely light and soft green dress.

Thinking about it this way, wasn't the time when she couldn't avoid coming the time when the emperor was in danger in his dream?

It was not until the maid came to call him to go to his wife's place for dinner that Yin Yuan came back to his senses. Just as he was about to put down the portrait, he suddenly froze. His wife, Chen, was always jealous, and this maid was her confidant. If she saw that there was a woman in the painting and he was staring at her in a daze, it would be difficult to explain if he went back and was reported. So he quickly crumpled the portrait into a ball and stuffed it into his sleeve.

Unexpectedly, the maid had good eyesight. Not only did she see him staring at a portrait of a woman in a daze, but she also saw him dodging and dodging, which made her more certain that there must be something fishy going on. After returning home, she secretly told Mrs. Chen. When Mrs. Chen heard that, she was immediately jealous. She didn't even eat, but grabbed his sleeve and rummaged through it. When she took out the portrait, she saw that the woman in the painting had black hair like clouds and a graceful figure. Even the crumpled paper could not hide her clear and flowing charm. She was indeed a rare beauty. She couldn't help but be jealous again, pointing at him with a trembling finger: "You!"

Yin Yuan was shocked: "Madam, please listen to my explanation!"

Mrs. Chen had no time to listen to his quibbling. She clutched the portrait and cried as she rushed to her mother-in-law to seek justice. Yin Yuan was so scared that he stretched out his hand to stop her, but he didn't dare to pull her hard. He was forced to rush in front of Mrs. Yin and Yin Kaishan, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Madam Chen cried and threw herself at Madam Yin's feet: "Mother, you are the one who decides for me. I raised his children and took care of the household chores. I don't think I have done anything wrong to him. But he has been bewitched by some little fairy and has been carrying her portrait with him all the time."

The Yin family tradition is that men over 35 who have no children will take concubines and maids to continue their bloodline. Yin Yuan and Madam Chen now have a son and a daughter, so naturally they will not take concubines. Therefore, Yin Kaishan was furious when he heard this: "You useless boy, are you worthy of your wife?"

Yin Yuan cried out in injustice: "Father, mother, madam, you have misunderstood. What I saw was a portrait sent from the palace. It was a portrait of a female master that the emperor dreamed of last night and asked everyone to look for her."

Mrs. Chen's eyes were full of disbelief: "I told you to find someone, not to be in a daze. You obviously dislike me now that I am old and ugly, and you are attracted by the beauty of other girls. Otherwise, why are you hiding from my girl?"

"I was just afraid that you would think too much, but I didn't expect that you would think even more." Yin Yuan said aggrievedly.

Madam Yin grabbed the wrinkled portrait and snorted, "I want to see what kind of beauty can be so fascinating to you?"

Once her eyes fell on the portrait, they were as if firmly drawn to it, unable to move away. After a long while, she woke up as if from a dream, pushed Yin Kaishan, and said in a trembling voice: "Who do you think is in this painting?"

"A room full of beauties!" Yin Kaishan blurted out.

Yin Yuan was stunned. He was born to Yin Kaishan and his wife in their middle age, and was ten years younger than his sister Yin Wen. So when his sister was sixteen or seventeen, he was still too young to remember anything, and naturally he couldn't remember what his sister looked like when she was a girl. But how could Yin Kaishan and his wife not remember? That was the best look of their first child. Not long after, she insisted on choosing a son-in-law in the embroidery building because she wanted to marry a scholar with a lot of knowledge. She married Chen Guangrui, the top scholar in the imperial examination, and started her rough first half of life.

Madam Yin said excitedly: "Mantangjiao said in the letter that she would return to Chang'an in twelve years, and now it is twelve years later!"

Yin Yuan was stunned and said, "But the age doesn't match." If it was really my sister, she would be forty-four years old. Even if she took good care of herself, the traces of age would be visible. How could she still be so young? Unless the emperor who described her appearance was short-sighted and misread it, or the painter who painted the picture was too poor to paint it so finely.

But the emperor is a famous archer, and the most foolproof thing about him is his eyes. The painter is Wu Daozi, the most famous painter of the time. If he can't even draw the state of a man in his forties and a man in his teens clearly, then there is no point in his career.

Before she got married, Mrs. Chen had heard that the Yin family had a daughter who had left home to practice Buddhism. After she got married, she also saw the handwriting of Wen Jiao that Mrs. Yin had carefully collected. She was very familiar with this past. Seeing her husband's silly look, she couldn't help but remind him, "Have you forgotten? My sister was enlightened by the Devil-Subduing Heavenly Venerable before she entered the world to practice Buddhism. Isn't it common for practitioners to have some magical powers to return to youth?"

Yin Yuan knocked his head: "That's right, but..." He looked a little confused, "I met her yesterday. My sister was with Yuan Tiangang at that time. I even invited them to stay in my house for one night..."

Mrs. Chen interrupted: "Could it be that this is the lady you asked me to serve the tonic soup to?"

"It's her, but why didn't she recognize me and my parents at that time?" Yin Yuan was puzzled.

"Why don't you find your elder sister and ask her directly?" Mrs. Chen said.

Yin Yuan had an idea: "My sister's whereabouts are unknown, but Yuan Tiangang can escape, so I will go find him tomorrow and ask where my sister is.

Yin Yuan's plan did not come to fruition, because before dawn the next day, the entire court waited outside the Chaotian Gate for a long time, only to receive an imperial decree: "I am unhappy, and all officials are excused from court."

Before daybreak in the east, there is a faint Milky Way in the sky, deep and far away, like countless tiny grains of sand in a bottomless ocean.

Wen Jiao put on her coat and pushed open the window. She saw, as expected, that the Purple Star, which should have been extremely bright, was covered by dark clouds. The clouds were sometimes thick and sometimes thin, and the starlight was also bright and dark, like a candlelight flickering in the wind, which could go out at any time.

At the same time, Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng seemed to have sensed something and also walked to the courtyard to look up at the sky.

Clouds cover the imperial star, which is not good for the emperor.

For the next six days, Li Shimin, who had always been diligent in his work, did not attend court.

On the seventh day, the sun was eclipsed by the heavenly dog.