To show her sincerity, Yang Xue took out the treasure she always carried with her - the night pearl, the most precious treasure of the White Bone Demon.
"I'll take you to see the king," said a small and cute golden - haired monkey, carrying a small flag. It bent down and extended its hand. "Fairy sister, this way, please."
"Miss White, you're being unfair. I'm also a marshal..." Zhu Bajie was stunned by Yang Xue's actions and raised his hand, wanting to go with her.
"Still calling yourself a marshal? You're clearly just a pig demon, yet so arrogant." An experienced monkey blocked him menacingly. "You must be Zhu Bajie."
"That's him! Grab him!"
"Bind him up! Bind him up!"
"Take him to see the king!"
More than twenty monkeys surrounded Zhu Bajie. They were very excited and clearly didn't like him.
"Marshal Tianpeng, sorry, I'll go first." Yang Xue waved with a smile.
Yang Xue was led into the Water Curtain Cave by the monkeys and was treated as a VIP.
The Water Curtain Cave of the Flower - Fruit Mountain lived up to its reputation. It was a place of wonder inside.
After being inhabited for hundreds of years and with the dexterous hands of the monkeys, it looked like a palace inside the cave.
The winding corridors were built over the water. At the end of the row of pavilions stood a tall and spacious hall.
The delicate and unique furnishings in the hall were no different from the buildings in a bustling city, and even more charming.
The ingenious rock - cut skylights, combined with the lanterns in the hall, made it very bright.
"Please have some tea, fairy sister. Our king will be here soon." An older monkey poured her a cup of tea and served all kinds of fruits and snacks.
"Thank you," she said with a smile. "Just call me Miss White."
"You look like a fairy. We must call you fairy sister." The small monkey jumped onto a nearby stool and examined her carefully. "It's been a long time since such a beautiful woman came to the Flower - Fruit Mountain. Are you familiar with our king?"
"I've just known him for a short time." To be exact, they weren't very familiar. She had just cooked two vegetarian meals for him.
"Do you have a sweetheart, sister? Are you married? What do you think of our king?" The little monkey, sensing an opportunity, quickly jumped in front of her.
With eyes as crescent - shaped as if smiling, it whispered in her ear, "We're short of a mistress on the Flower - Fruit Mountain. Seeing that you're as beautiful as a celestial being, would you like to stay and be our Great Sage's wife?"
"Ah?" Yang Xue found it funny and a bit surprised. She couldn't help but want to tease the monkey. "I heard that your king doesn't have an interest in women. If he really wants to find a beautiful girl as his wife, it shouldn't be difficult, right?"
"Well... Our king has been unhappy recently. According to the old monkeys' experience, he might be in love."
"Cough, cough, cough..." How innocent the little monkey was! It looked so small and cute, but the words it said were really amusing.
"Your king..." Just as Yang Xue was about to ask the little monkey something else about Sun Wukong, she saw the little monkey suddenly stand up as if seeing a teacher.
"King!"
Yang Xue turned her head and saw Sun Wukong standing not far away, with a rather strange expression.
She quickly stood up. "Great Sage."
Suddenly, she wondered if it was too abrupt for her to come with Zhu Bajie.
What if Sun Wukong got angry and drove her out?
"Why are you here?" He frowned and looked her up and down. "Dressed so formally and bringing Zhu Bajie with you. What's your plan?"
"Great Sage, I..."
"Oh~ Did the master send you here?" He smiled, but his tone was cold and sarcastic. "He's in trouble again. Why did he even send you as a persuader?"
"Great Sage, listen to me. I just went to the Kingdom of Precious Elephant and accidentally overheard the conversation between Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng. I didn't expect to be caught on the spot. It was Sha Seng who insisted that I come with Zhu Bajie. I..." The more she spoke, the less confident she became. She must have been out of her mind at that time.
Why was she so naive? She actually believed Sha Seng's nonsense. How could her words be more effective than Zhu Bajie's?
In fact, she was just an insignificant female demon, yet she came to the Flower - Fruit Mountain to ask Sun Wukong to go back...
At this moment, she just wanted to find a hole to hide in!
"They told you to come and you just came. Don't you have any opinion of your own?" Unexpectedly, he sat down on a nearby stool, looking disappointed in her.
"Ah?"
"That black - bear demon came looking for you, which means the entire Western Heaven is looking for you. Instead of finding a safe place to hide, why did you come to the Flower - Fruit Mountain? Do you think you've lived too long?" He threw a peach at her impatiently. "Hurry up and leave. It's not safe here either."
Warmth filled her heart. This man clearly had a sharp tongue but a kind heart. He was concerned about her.
For some reason, Yang Xue suddenly had a bold idea.
"Great Sage, can I join you on the pilgrimage to the west?"
"What?" Sun Wukong jumped up from his chair. "You look smart, but why are you saying such stupid things? Joining us on the pilgrimage to the west? You're just asking for death!"
"Great Sage, don't worry. They won't find me. Isn't there a saying that 'danger is often overlooked right under one's nose'?" Thinking of the reactions of the two old immortals before, she continued, "If they knew where I was, they wouldn't have come to ask you."
"Really?" He suddenly calmed down and thought seriously. "You're playing tricks with the Tathagata?"
"Great Sage, aren't you curious why a little demon like me suddenly stopped wanting to eat Tang Seng's flesh?" Yang Xue knew that Sun Wukong had long been suspicious of her, so she presented credible evidence. "Because I know that there are eighty - one hardships on the journey to the west. Any demon who wants to harm you won't succeed. And you and your disciples were hand - picked for the pilgrimage. There's no way it won't succeed. Once you retrieve the scriptures, the believers of the Western Buddhas will spread across the Central Plains. It'll be hard for Buddhism not to prosper."
Sun Wukong threw away the peach pit and squinted slightly. "Go on."
"You can't escape the Tathagata's palm. First, you were tricked by him. Second, you're not beyond the five elements. The essence of heaven and earth you've received belongs to this three - realm universe, so he can control you. But I'm different."
With a firm look in her eyes, she met Sun Wukong's gaze calmly and smiled. "Others laugh at me for being crazy; I laugh at others for not seeing through. But those five hundred years of loneliness made you realize that even if you see through things, what's the use of fighting with them endlessly? Life like that is too tiring. Anyway, the result is just another Wuzhi Mountain. It's better to play dumb."
Sun Wukong clenched his fists tightly. His eyes were like torches as he stared directly at her, as if he wanted to see through her true form.
A strong wind blew around. The cloak behind Sun Wukong fluttered in the wind. He took out his golden cudgel from his ear. His powerful aura was like a mountain pressing down on Yang Xue!
She felt as if her internal organs were about to be crushed, but she still pretended to be calm and unaffected.
"Who the hell are you? Why do you expose others' disguises? Does it make you happy to make me unhappy?" Sun Wukong walked up to Yang Xue, looking down at her. "Little demon, don't think you're so great just because you cooked two meals for me!"
"..." Frightened by the god - like rage, Yang Xue shrank her neck and closed her eyes tightly.
She was afraid that if she was a bit careless, he would hit her with his cudgel and everything would go back to the way it was.