Nezha hung his head dejectedly, no longer carrying the carefree spirit he had when he left Wuzhuang Temple that day.
“Such is the Divine Will, no need to speak of it further.”
“Since the journey to the west must be taken, let’s just walk it and see.”
Nezha said to Yang Jian.
Sun Wukong smiled, “Then let’s continue westward.”
He slung his staff horizontally over his shoulder and continued forward to clear the path.
As he passed Tang Sanzang, he called out, “Master.”
Tang Sanzang remained as before, chanting, “Amitabha.”
Like a stubborn automaton.
“Why are you so happy? Is it because you’re glad to see the monkey, or because you’re happy to journey west to retrieve the scriptures?” Nezha asked.
Li Miaoci was in quite a good mood. “Both.”
“What’s there to be happy about?”
“The journey to the west spans thousands of miles, with endless scenery to behold. It’s quite interesting,” Li Miaoci said with genuine sincerity.
“Oh, so you enjoy being a Rogue Immortal who wanders the clouds.”
Li Miaoci sighed softly. “You wouldn’t understand. In my world, a life where one can travel all day is something many envy.”
Besides, this was a journey with breathtaking scenery, countless beauties along the way, and not too much danger.
After traveling for who knows how many days, Tang Sanzang and his companions arrived at White Tiger Ridge.
Li Miaoci remembered from watching TV in the past that Tang Sanzang and his disciples were plagued by disasters at every step. Each episode featured different Demons capturing Tang Sanzang, after which his disciples would search the mountains and wilderness to find and rescue him.
But now that she was actually walking the journey herself, she realized that each day was just about traveling and traveling.
Encounters with Demons were extremely rare.
After all, the scripture retrieval took over a decade, and there were only 81 Tribulations in total, involving just a few dozen Demons.
On average, they would only encounter one every few months.
White Tiger Ridge was a place of towering mountains, dense forests, and shrouding clouds and mist.
They walked all day without encountering a single household. As night fell, they had no choice but to camp in the mountain forest.
However, Tang Sanzang said that for ascetics, enduring wind and dew was a common occurrence.
Late at night.
Li Miaoci tearfully swallowed another Immortal Elixir. She felt a cool sensation inside her body, as if she had eaten a mint candy.
A moment later, her body felt light and agile, her hearing sharp, and her vision clear.
She felt much lighter overall, and her five senses were far more sensitive than before.
Although the Immortal Elixir was miraculous, she believed its effects would likely vanish once she returned to her own world.
But even if it lost its efficacy, it didn’t matter—she could treat it as compressed biscuits to stave off hunger.
The autumn wind was cold.
Sun Wukong slept on a tree, with Nezha sleeping on a nearby tree.
Yang Jian was still admiring the night scenery.
Li Miaoci sat under a tree not far from him, its dense canopy blocking most of the stars.
Xiaotian Quan curled up on the ground, covered by a sunset-colored cloud.
Li Miaoci rested her head on the dog, her gaze fixed on the Sky-Pouncing Eagle standing guard on the highest branch.
Xiaotian Quan whimpered a few times—how could a divine dog like itself be used as a pillow?
But Li Miaoci punched it on the head, and it silently settled down to sleep.
White Tiger Ridge… Li Miaoci pondered in her heart.
She remembered that there seemed to be a Lady White Bone here, who was somewhat cunning.
Lady White Bone had used just a few tricks to make Tang Sanzang drive away the eldest disciple.
Back when she watched this part, she was just a little girl.
Seeing Sun Wukong being driven away, she had cried her heart out in front of the TV, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing repeatedly, begging Tang Sanzang not to send him away.
“What are you laughing at?”
Little White Dragon, who hadn’t appeared for a long time, suddenly appeared beside Li Miaoci.
“Where have you been all this time?”
Li Miaoci sat up and asked.
He sneered coldly, “Where to? When you all ran off at Wuzhuang Temple, I couldn’t stray too far from my Doppelganger, so I simply fell into slumber.”
“Who would have thought that by the time I woke up, you had all returned.”
Li Miaoci gazed at him, recalling how after the eldest disciple was driven away, Tang Sanzang was turned into a tiger by the Yellow Robe Monster in the palace of the Precious Elephant Kingdom.
To rescue their master, the Little White Dragon had transformed into a beautiful palace maid and even performed a sword dance for the Yellow Robe Monster.
Such an elegant nobleman dancing with a sword must have been a truly delightful sight.
“You… your smile is growing more and more mischievous.”
The Little White Dragon shifted away from her.
“I wanted to ask, Dragon Prince, do you know how to dance?” she asked, suppressing a laugh, her face filled with anticipation.
The Little White Dragon looked uncomfortable. “I am a man of honor.”
“Hmm?”
“I know a little.”
Seeing his slightly flushed ears, Li Miaoci praised, “So talented. You must teach me someday.”
“Mhm.”
“Do you not particularly like Nezha?” Li Miaoci whispered.
She felt that the Little White Dragon always avoided Nezha.
“A master at pulling out dragon tendons. When I’m near him, my spine aches,” the Little White Dragon grumbled.
Although Ao Bing had done wrong first, he was still his cousin, so he harbored some grievances toward Nezha.
But not many.
Because… he couldn’t win.
“Then, if I may ask, was Ao Bing handsome?”
Her eyes sparkled with starlight, a faint, sweet, and innocent smile gracing her lips.
The Little White Dragon uncomfortably averted his gaze. “Of course. Are there any among our dragon clan who aren’t good-looking?”
“Annoying!”
Nezha, resting with his eyes closed in the tree, was irritated by the chattering laughter below.
In the distant deep mountains, there seemed to be a demonic presence.
He sat up, lost in thought for a moment, as if recalling something from long ago.
After a while, he leaped into the air, flying toward the silent, deep mountain valley.
Li Miaoci and the Little White Dragon fell silent, each going to rest.
Early the next morning, they resumed their journey.
On the Journey to the West, they often couldn’t ride clouds and mist, relying instead on their own feet to walk.
Climbing mountains, crossing ridges.
At every rest stop, Li Miaoci eagerly anticipated the arrival of Lady White Bone.
But even after they had left White Tiger Ridge, they still hadn’t encountered any demons.
Well, not entirely—at least there were some Lesser Demons by the roadside, exhausted from fleeing for their lives, who fainted in terror upon encountering the Scripture Seekers.
Li Miaoci would kindly move them into the dense forest, while Nezha would “kindly” hang them from the trees.
“Li Miaoci.” Nezha suddenly appeared behind her. “Why do I feel like you’ve been expecting someone to appear all along this journey?”
“Have I?” Li Miaoci touched her face. “Surely not?”
Was the look of missing someone that obvious?
“Really waiting for someone? Do you have a sweetheart on the Journey to the West?” Nezha teased.
Li Miaoci shook her head repeatedly, explaining earnestly, “No, it’s just that ever since I entered White Tiger Ridge, I’ve had a vague sense of demonic aura lingering. I thought we would encounter a demon.”
“Demon?”
Nezha glanced around, his strikingly handsome face making all sorts of odd expressions.
Though he still looked good.
“Nothing here.”
“Strange, how could there be nothing?” Li Miaoci was puzzled.
Yang Jian cleared his throat and pointed at a pale, white leg bone in Xiaotian Quan’s mouth. “Perhaps you mean that?”
Li Miaoci’s lips twitched. Help, that really did seem to be the Lady White Bone she had been waiting for!
“How can you eat anything?!” she scolded.
Xiaotian Quan couldn’t be bothered to respond, still lying on the ground playing with the bone.
Nezha scratched his head and kindly explained, “I just went for a walk in the mountains last night and happened to get Xiaotian Quan a chew toy.”
Li Miaoci: “…”