"Aren't you worried about Sun Wukong?" The God of Wealth picked up his teacup and took a sip, asking casually.
"I'm very worried, but this short separation is good for both of us. Because of me, his situation has become even more difficult." Without noticing the God of Wealth's expression, she said anxiously, "Maybe it's best for us to lie low for now and make a decision after we've grown stronger."
"Yeah." He nodded slightly, then asked with a smile, "Why don't you ask how I knew you were here?"
"What's the use of asking if you don't want to tell me?" Yang Xue looked at him. Suddenly, she frowned and leaned closer, scrutinizing his expression carefully. "Are you injured?"
"How do you know?" Looking at Yang Xue so close, his heart skipped a beat. His rather pale lips parted slightly as he quickly averted his eyes from hers. "What's wrong?"
"I have a bold idea." She gave a sly smile and sized him up meaningfully, from head to toe, left to right. Her meticulous gaze made him feel a bit uneasy. "What's your relationship with Yang Jian like?"
Zhao Gongming was puzzled and raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean? I've known him for thousands of years, but we haven't really had a deep friendship."
"Oh~" Her bright and clear eyes were now filled with calculation and a mischievous smile. "So there's still room for improvement."
"What do you mean by that?" The God of Wealth felt a bit creeped out by her gaze and quickly checked his attire to make sure there were no flaws.
"Never mind. What has Yang Jian been up to lately? Is he very busy?" She rolled her eyes and said casually, "To be honest, I used to admire True Lord Erlang very much. He is really good-looking. I'd love to see him."
"..." The God of Wealth was helpless. He looked at her inquisitively and then tentatively asked after a while, "Have you fallen for someone else so soon?"
"No, no. Admiring beauty is an instinct, isn't it? It has nothing to do with falling for someone else." Yang Xue turned away helplessly, thinking to herself, Oh, you gods just don't understand. As a girl from the 21st century, she just loves to see some bromance.
Especially the doting and tender look in Yang Jian's eyes when he mentioned the God of Wealth last time made her eager to ship them.
...
Just like that, the God of Wealth really stayed with her in the Nameless Cave and went to have tea with her every day.
Patriarch Bodhi saw the God of Wealth going in and out of Yang Xue's room every day. He couldn't help but turn to his own immortal page and ask, "Why does Zhao Gongming keep going to see her? Doesn't he know she belongs to Sun Wukong?"
"I don't know, Master. But I saw clearly that every time Zhao Gongming went to see that female demon, the smile on his lips was very intriguing. It was as if he was going to see his sweetheart." The immortal page recalled the scene. "Moreover, he even changes his clothes every day. You'd think that as a god, he wouldn't care about such things. Gods don't get dirty easily and might not change their clothes for half a year."
Patriarch Bodhi threw away the chess piece in his hand, frowned, and loudly ordered, "Go and invite him here to play chess with me!"
"Yes, Master. I'll go right away!" For some reason, the little immortal page had a big smile on his face, as if he really enjoyed this task.
"Wait!" Patriarch Bodhi thought for a moment. "Tell Miss Yang to practice hard so that she won't be a burden in the future."
"Yes!"
Watching the immortal page run out quickly, Patriarch Bodhi's frown finally relaxed. "These days, even gods are trying to steal someone's girl. How interesting, how interesting."
...
Sun Wukong returned to the Flower-Fruit Mountain and saw Xuan You and Yue Bai who had come from the Green Hill.
"What's going on with you? Why did you claim to submit to our Flower-Fruit Mountain and bring so many demons here? Don't you know that I, the Great Sage, will soon go on a pilgrimage to the West?" Sun Wukong looked at Xuan You with dissatisfaction. "Why don't you become the king yourself? Why do you have to drag me into this?"
"Great Sage, you're so heartless. You've wasted my good intentions." The black leopard sat leisurely on the chair, cracking melon seeds. "Think about it. If you become the king of demons now and then go on the pilgrimage to the West, wouldn't it be a win-win situation? When you return from the pilgrimage, who would dare to look down on you?"
"What do you mean?" He keenly caught the hidden meaning in his words.
"Didn't you and Yang Xue go looking for the Six-Eared Macaque?"
"How do you know?" Sun Wukong was extremely shocked. He flashed in front of him and angrily questioned, "Are you a spy sent by the Tathagata?"
"What spy would openly gather the demon world and make you, the spiritual monkey, the king?"
"That's exactly why your motives are so suspicious." He then turned to look at Yue Bai. "Wasn't she spirit - bonded by Yang Xue? Why did you send her here? Aren't you afraid she'll become a burden to you?"
"Great Sage, if you don't believe me, that's fine. I don't have any other way to convince you for now. But there's one thing. I hope that when you become a god in the future, you can give me a hand." There was an unfathomable look on Xuan You's paper - white face.
"What do you want?" Sun Wukong was extremely puzzled and didn't want to believe him easily. "If you can show some sincerity, I might believe you a bit."
"No need. One day in the future, you'll understand my choice." Xuan You put his arm around the cold and aloof Yue Bai. "I'm getting married on the eighth day of next month. I hope you and Yang Xue can come to attend the wedding."
"..." Sun Wukong turned away angrily. "You know she won't come. Black leopard, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Then where is she?" Xuan You asked casually. "Could it be that she's gone back to her family?"
Sun Wukong raised his eyes and scrutinized Xuan You carefully. "You want to know?"
"I'm just asking casually. Why are you so on guard against me?" Xuan You smiled faintly. "You're really like a dog biting the Taoist Lu Dongbin. You don't recognize a good deed."
"I don't believe you're being so kind." As he said this, he looked at Yue Bai. "Take your Qingqing and Dongzhu back. I, the Great Sage, want some peace and quiet."
"I'm afraid I can't. They've received orders that if they can't invite you back to the Green Hill, they can't go home." She got up gently and gracefully, no longer as cold and aloof as before. "Great Sage, you might as well wait for her to come back in peace. Miss Yang will be back soon."
Sun Wukong didn't want to listen to their riddles anymore. No matter what their motives were, he had been feeling restless these days without Yang Xue by his side.
When he entered Yang Xue's room, he saw a crude secret cultivation manual on the bedside.
"This is..." Sun Wukong suddenly sat up straight. "Good stuff, really good stuff!"
He happily sat cross - legged. Since reaching the level of the Great Luo Golden Immortal, it had been very difficult for him to make progress. Although Patriarch Bodhi had taught him the 72 Transformations, it still wasn't enough.
He noticed that Yang Jian had become much stronger than before, but he just didn't want to fight him during the havoc in Heaven.
Yang Xue was right. For now, they'd better focus on cultivation to face all kinds of unknown challenges.
Surprisingly, after three days of seclusion, Sun Wukong was promoted from the Great Luo Golden Immortal to the Mysterious Immortal level!
Sun Wukong was overjoyed. Ignoring the people outside, he continued to cultivate in seclusion because he found the feeling he had when he was cultivating in the Cave of the Seven - Star Slanting Moon. The cultivation was unexpectedly smooth.
After another three days, he successfully advanced to the middle stage of the Mysterious Immortal level!
"How on earth did you do it?" Xuan You was extremely shocked. "Sun Wukong, who gave you guidance? How could you achieve in three days what others take hundreds of years to accomplish?"
Sun Wukong didn't say a word. It was his wife who did it!
He wondered if Yang Xue was being bullied by that immortal page at the master's place.