Tang Sanzang thought to himself: as a mere mortal with a flesh-and-blood body, even if he went back, he wouldn’t be able to save his disciples. Better to run and call for reinforcements!
He fled like a startled hare, disappearing deep into the dense forest.
The lesser demon turned back, hearing only the rustling wind in the woods—the monk was long gone.
He picked up the half-dead Li Miaoci from the ground and threw her before the Yellow Robe Monster.
“Father, Tang Sanzang escaped!”
“Your son only managed to capture this one.”
He whimpered and sobbed. Despite his burly, imposing appearance, his speech and actions were childlike.
The Yellow Robe Monster’s round eyes widened. “What use is catching this trash?!”
“Father, when you brought them back, they were tied up tight. Yet they still escaped—someone among us must have set them free.”
Li Miaoci tasted something metallic and sweet in her mouth. Before she could speak, two coughs escaped her lips, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
The Yellow Robe Monster seemed lost in thought. With a wave of his hand, he bound her and lifted her into the air.
She floated helplessly, rootless and adrift, as if she might be dashed to death at any moment.
“Speak. Who set you free? Tell me, and I might spare your life.”
Li Miaoci glanced around the cave, her peripheral vision catching sight of Bai Huaxiu trembling in fear.
“Underestimating me, are you? What if I broke free myself?”
She forced a light laugh, though inwardly she was terrified.
The demon snorted coldly. “Little ones, go out and capture Tang Sanzang for me!”
“Yes, Great King!” A large crowd of demons clamored as they rushed out.
The Yellow Robe Monster wiggled his fingers, causing Li Miaoci to bob up and down in mid-air. Terrified, she blurted out in panic, “Kui Mulang, you can’t kill me!”
“Oh?” The Yellow Robe Monster smirked, his already hideous face growing even more frightening. “You actually know my origins?”
“Of course I do. My eldest senior brother is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, my second senior brother is God Erlang, and my third senior brother is Third Prince Nezha. If you kill me, they won’t let you off.”
Li Miaoci feigned calm as she recited their titles.
The Yellow Robe Monster threw her to the ground, sneering disdainfully. “A mere mortal—oh, no, you seem to carry some immortal energy, but you’re still a useless waste who can’t even use magic. Do you really think the Venerable Deities who shake the world would spare you a second glance?”
“Or perhaps you’ve never been to the underworld? Since your senior brothers are so powerful, why don’t I send you to hell and let them rescue you from there?”
The Yellow Robe Monster flicked his finger, and a brown mist coiled around his fingertip. As he chanted an incantation, the dark mist gathered sharp stone spikes from the cave walls and shot them straight at Li Miaoci.
With nowhere to run, Li Miaoci could only close her eyes and await death.
She was wrong. She shouldn’t have watched so many dramas and tried to intimidate others by dropping big names.
Her senior brothers were all notorious rebels in the Celestial Court—fighting from Flower and Fruit Mountain to the Thirty-Third Heaven, from Chentang Pass straight to the Heavenly King’s Hall, with one even splitting the Golden Crow with an axe and leading a rebellion…
Who knew how many enemies they had made behind the scenes?
Now, instead of just taking a beating, she was sentenced to death.
Wah, Mama, I want to go home!
In an instant, Li Miaoci’s life began flashing before her eyes.
But the expected pain never came. Instead, she felt a brilliant light flash before her eyes, followed by something cloud-like and misty enveloping her.
Li Miaoci opened her eyes to see Yang Jian standing there, his expression indifferent, a folding fan in hand.
The once gloomy cave was suddenly awash with shimmering light.
“Second Senior Brother,” Li Miaoci said with tear-filled eyes, “why did it take you so long to come?”
Yang Jian appeared out of thin air but refused to set foot on the cave floor.
It wasn’t that he despised the filth and squalor of the demon’s dwelling; he simply felt that this place had wrongfully taken too many mortal lives, tainting it with impurity.
He gently touched Li Miaoci’s wrist—her bones and tendons were shattered, her soul unstable.
Had it not been for the Immortal Elixirs she had regularly consumed, sustaining her last breath, she would have already met the King of Hell.
Yang Jian raised his hand and channeled some Immortal Energy into her to heal her wounds.
Once she had recovered, he formed a hand seal and changed her into a simple, clean set of clothes.
One moment, Li Miaoci was in such agony she wished for death; the next, her body felt as if it were soaking in a warm spring, comfortable and at ease.
“Feeling better?” Yang Jian asked as if no one else were present.
Li Miaoci shook her head pitifully, “Still… hurts.”
“Who are you? How dare you barge into Wave Moon Cave and act so brazenly before our Great King? Are you tired of living?”
The Lesser Demon standing beside the Yellow Robe Monster failed to notice his king’s stunned expression, only seeing this suddenly appearing, fair-skinned and delicate-looking pretty boy daring to openly rescue someone right in front of the Great King!
Their Great King was the most formidable ruler within hundreds of miles, someone even the Mountain Deity and Earth God had to bow to with utmost respect.
This man, just like that useless mortal, must be tired of living!
“Oh?” Yang Jian raised an eyebrow, glancing at the Yellow Robe Monster with a light laugh. “Yellow Robe Monster, do you not recognize me either?”
“I do, I do,” the Yellow Robe Monster nodded repeatedly, then suddenly shook his head frantically. “No, I don’t.”
“To be a demon to this extent is truly a failure.”
Yang Jian slowly extended his hand, and the gleaming silver Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade appeared in his grasp.
The Yellow Robe Monster instinctively wanted to flee, but he knew his own limitations all too well—escape was impossible.
“True Lord, this is a misunderstanding! I didn’t know this woman was under your protection, or I would never have dared to capture her.”
“Bah! You not only captured me, but you also took our master.”
Li Miaoci fanned the flames, “I told you, my eldest senior brother is the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, and my second senior brother is True Lord Yang Jian. But what did you say? You said Sun Wukong causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace showed some skill, but Yang Jian—his reputation far exceeds his actual ability!”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” the Yellow Robe Monster hurriedly explained. “I don’t even know how to write that idiom you mentioned; how could I possibly use it to insult someone!”
“Second Brother, you heard him—he admitted to insulting you.”
The Yellow Robe Monster stumbled and fell to the ground. “You can’t kill me. I am a celestial star deity from the heavens. I only descended to the mortal realm for love. You cannot kill me.”
“For love? A deity moved by emotion? Neglecting duties? Descending to the mortal realm without permission?”
Yang Jian sighed softly. “Originally, I was considering letting you go.”
“But you’ve forgotten—I am the Judicial Celestial God of the Upper Realm! For such negligence and dereliction of duty…”
“He also forcibly took the princess of Precious Elephant Kingdom and forced her to bear his child,” Li Miaoci added.
“Deserves death.”
“You can’t kill me. If I die, the star position will be vacant…” he continued to plead.
But Yang Jian replied, “Rest assured, there are many cultivators in the mortal realm. Without you, another Star of Kuí will take your place!”
The Yellow Robe Monster scrambled to flee, but the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Blade was faster. With just a flash of cold light, he felt no pain before his soul scattered to the winds.
None of the Lesser Demons in the cave were spared.
Bai Huaxiu stumbled out, finally free.
With the Yellow Robe Monster dead, she could return home.
At that moment, her two children clung tightly to her legs, crying, “Mother, Mother, save us! My brother and I are your children. Please take us home.”
“Home? Of course, I’ll send you home.”
A red light flashed inside the cave, and Nezha appeared, riding his Wind Fire Wheels and holding the Cosmic Ring in his arms.
“Who… who are you?” Bai Huaxiu asked, looking at him fearfully.