Sun Wukong flew across the vast East Sea, heading straight for Flower and Fruit Mountain.
He had originally thought of seeking some connections in the heavens to heal the Ginseng Fruit Tree, so that Zhenyuan Great Immortal would release Tang Sanzang.
But upon second thought, both Yang Jian and Nezha were figures of the Celestial Court. When it came to connections and understanding the abilities of various deities, he was certainly no match for them.
With them around, why should he worry?
Instead, ever since he caused havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago and was suppressed under the Five-Finger Mountain, he had never returned home.
He wondered how the monkeys of Flower and Fruit Mountain were doing now.
Passing over the East Sea, he paused in mid-air.
Since he was going home, he couldn’t not visit his old neighbor.
And perhaps grab a cup of wine while he was at it.
He was leisurely on his way home.
Meanwhile, Nezha, who had returned to the Celestial Court, quietly slipped back into the Heavenly King’s Hall.
The guards inside and outside the hall were not surprised to see him return.
Entering the inner hall, Li Tianwang was chatting with his colleagues, holding a teacup in his hand, while the Exquisite Pagoda was placed on the table beside him.
Nezha’s eyes lit up as if he had stumbled upon a treasure while out and about.
When Li Tianwang held the pagoda, he was called the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. What should he be called without the pagoda?
Hehe! Call for help!
Li Tianwang was speaking and didn’t notice him.
Only when he caught a glimpse of a red-glowing figure in the corner of his eye did his body react before his mind could. He swiftly stood up, and in a flash, the Exquisite Pagoda was once again firmly held in his hand.
“Weren’t you sent to the mortal realm to protect Tang Sanzang on his journey to the west for scripture retrieval? Why have you suddenly returned?”
Nezha chuckled dryly, suppressing his killing intent. “Father, I was just about to ask. I remember when the Journey to the Western Heaven was arranged, my name wasn’t on the list, was it?”
“Besides, I’ve already become a deity and attained sainthood. Why should I still seek enlightenment through Buddhism?”
Li Tianwang looked at him with some disdain. “Sending you on the scripture retrieval mission is the arrangement of Divine Will. Don’t make a fuss over nothing.”
Nezha remained puzzled. As the esteemed Third Prince, he had heard plenty of inside information about the Celestial Court.
He distinctly remembered that the ones originally arranged for the journey were Tang Sanzang, the monkey, the Marshal of Heavenly Canopies who got drunk and harassed Chang’e, and the Curtain-Lifting General who shattered the crystal goblet.
So how did it end up being the monkey, him, and Yang Jian?
“But…”
“No buts. Where is Tang Sanzang? Did you abandon him again and come back here to avoid work?”
Li Tianwang grew more displeased the longer he looked at him.
Nezha scoffed and corrected him, “It wasn’t me abandoning Tang Sanzang. It was all four of us together.”
He had wanted to find an opportunity to cause trouble… but since his father and the pagoda seemed inseparable, he couldn’t find a chance.
Nezha could only leave in frustration.
He still needed to ask around the Celestial Court to find out what was going on. How did he end up as a Scripture Seeker?
Leaving the hall, he wandered aimlessly until he reached the South Heavenly Gate, where he saw Yang Jian arriving with Li Miaoci.
“I’ve already made a trip back home, and you two are only just arriving in the heavens?” Nezha said.
Li Miaoci kept her head bowed, looking as if she had done something wrong, but she couldn’t help stealing glances at the vast, magnificent, and grand Celestial Palace.
“She fell off the cloud three times,” Yang Jian said flatly.
He had originally intended to send her home, but she said she couldn’t return and could only follow him.
So the two of them had planned to return to the True Lord’s Hall at Guankou River Mouth. Halfway there, they began to feel that something was off about the scripture retrieval mission and decided to come to the heavens to investigate the truth.
“Perfect timing. I was just about to look for the Marshal of Heavenly Canopies. Shall we go together?”
“Yes.”
Li Miaoci nodded eagerly.
Yang Jian naturally had no objections.
“However,” Nezha said with difficulty, “Marshal Tianpeng isn’t at the Celestial River. I’ve searched all the places where he usually visits colleagues and friends, and he’s nowhere to be found. I even went to the Palace of Eternal Cold to look around.”
“Speaking of which, the Jade Rabbit in the Palace of Eternal Cold is much braver than the little white rabbit you saved,” Li Miaoci reminded him. “Little Bai is a demon who hasn’t cultivated for long, while that Jade Rabbit has a proper official position and a boundless future.”
“Then let’s go find General Curtain-Roller first,” Yang Jian said.
“Alright.”
Li Miaoci wore a dull, plant-colored robe, her whole body exuding the faint fragrance of orchids and fragrant grasses. Yet she seemed utterly out of place in the Celestial Court, bathed in golden auspicious clouds.
Here, one could see everywhere immortals dressed in colorful rosy-cloud garments, floating in the distance, as dazzling as the clouds at the horizon.
Li Miaoci was completely enchanted.
“Beautiful, this one is beautiful too, and the one who just passed by is also beautiful.”
Only, many immortals merely bowed in greeting upon seeing Yang Jian and Nezha before hurriedly departing.
When they arrived at General Curtain-Roller’s residence, they unexpectedly found Marshal Tianpeng there as well.
The two of them were drinking.
“Oh, God Erlang? The Third Prince is here too?” Marshal Tianpeng asked with a smile.
“Weren’t you two accompanying Tang Sanzang on his westward journey for scripture retrieval? What brings you to my humble abode?” General Curtain-Roller said.
“Didn’t you accidentally shatter the Jade Emperor’s crystal cup at the Peach of Immortality banquet before?” Li Miaoci asked quietly.
General Curtain-Roller glanced at her, finding her unfamiliar, yet curious how such an unfamiliar Immortal Maiden would know about the Peach of Immortality banquet.
“Yes, I had too much to drink,” he said sheepishly.
“And the Jade Emperor didn’t say anything about it?”
“He did, telling me to be more careful next time.”
Li Miaoci felt a wave of exasperation—how had the plot become so strange?
“But at the last banquet, I accidentally broke four more cups,” General Curtain-Roller said, smiling even more sheepishly. Somehow, whenever his hand touched a cup, it just seemed to slip toward the ground.
Beside him, the drunken Marshal Tianpeng poured himself another cup of wine. “Last time, last time I also drank too much and flirted…”
“Flirted with Chang’e Fairy!” Li Miaoci finished his sentence.
“Yes,” he nodded.
“Such a grave offense, and you weren’t punished?” she asked in shock.
Marshal Tianpeng sobered up for a moment, a hint of fear in his eyes.
“At the time, I had just stopped Chang’e Fairy and hadn’t even attempted anything improper when the Jade Rabbit came up and bit me. Then the fairy slapped me twice and kicked me all the way outside the Southern Heavenly Gate.”
Recalling the scene from that day, he still felt a lingering fear.
“At the time, the fairy kept muttering something like, ‘Practicing dance is not as good as practicing martial arts…'”
“Uh…”
Li Miaoci fell silent.
Marshal Tianpeng slapped his thigh, stood up, and walked over to Yang Jian. He reached out to pat Yang Jian’s shoulder, but Yang Jian dodged.
He then walked toward Nezha, and upon seeing Nezha, a lecherous glint suddenly flashed in his eyes.
Nezha frowned, placed his hands on his hips, and his Fire-Tipped Spear shot through the air.
Marshal Tianpeng instantly sobered up.
“Drinking too much wine is prone to causing trouble, as you can see…”
“As you can see, wine is not a good thing.”
He staggered back to his original seat.
General Curtain-Roller looked at the group with their varied expressions. “May I ask what brings you all here to see me?”
“Nothing,” Yang Jian said, standing in the distance as a gentle breeze lifted his cloak.
His silver-gray armor gleamed coldly.
“Yes, nothing. It’s just that our little junior sister said she wanted to see the world of the Celestial Court and pay a visit along the way.”
After Nezha finished speaking, he turned and walked out.
Yang Jian also took his leave, and Li Miaoci jogged to catch up with them.
Just as their figures disappeared, Marshal Tianpeng seemed to remember something. “It’s been five hundred years—why haven’t we seen that monkey?”
“To be honest, I kind of miss him.”
He rubbed his temples and murmured, “Oh, right, I forgot to mention… recently, it seems something big is about to happen at the Celestial Court…”