The two people and one horse traveled a long distance and crossed another mountain.
As night fell, they rested temporarily in the woods at the foot of the mountain.
When traveling far from home, enduring wind and water, sleeping under the moon and frost were common occurrences.
Tang Sanzang was somewhat hungry, having finished the dry rations in his pack by noon.
Those few were probably still arguing on the other side of the Flowing Sands River, and in any case, they hadn’t caught up yet.
Li Miaoci couldn’t ride clouds and mist, so she couldn’t go far to beg for alms, but she couldn’t bear to watch the monk endure hunger either.
Fortunately, it was midsummer, and the woods were full of wild fruits.
“Stay here and watch over the master. I’ll go pick some wild fruits,” Li Miaoci said to the White Dragon Horse.
The misty moonlight couldn’t penetrate the dense forest, leaving the woods pitch black.
“You? Are you sure you’re not afraid of encountering some mountain spirits or ghostly apparitions?” Little White Dragon’s voice came from the tree.
“I’ll go instead.”
Little White Dragon sighed. As a dignified dragon, he was both a mount and a servant—busy, but busy was good.
Li Miaoci eyed him suspiciously, but to Tang Sanzang, it looked like she was staring blankly into the air.
“Are you sure you recognize the edible fruits in the mountains?”
Little White Dragon was puzzled, his shimmering silver robes accentuating his striking beauty.
He asked in confusion, “Is there anything that isn’t edible?”
In the sea, fish, shrimp, crabs, and even seaweed—nothing was inedible.
Some just tasted better, while others were bitter and astringent.
Li Miaoci took a deep breath. “I’ll go. You keep an eye on the master.”
“Fine.”
Little White Dragon reluctantly agreed and casually tossed her a night pearl the size of a chicken egg.
The pearl emitted a soft glow, enough to illuminate an area about one meter square.
Holding the night pearl, Li Miaoci walked deeper into the dense forest.
There were many kinds of wild fruits in the woods, but she didn’t recognize most of them.
So, after walking for a while, she only picked some wild peaches, dogwood, and some red berries.
There were also mushrooms growing in the forest, brightly colored and varied in shape.
Some looked like little fairies holding up tiny umbrellas.
Li Miaoci bent down to admire them for a moment but ultimately gave up on picking them. She didn’t recognize mushrooms, and if she accidentally poisoned Tang Sanzang, she wouldn’t be able to return home.
Sigh.
She sighed, using her sleeves to carry a large pile of wild fruits as she made her way back.
The path through the woods was difficult, requiring her to climb over scattered rocks and fallen trees from time to time.
“Human.”
“Can you fill your stomach with this?”
Li Miaoci was walking intently when suddenly, a stiff and awkward voice sounded beside her ear.
The voice sounded like a mountain spirit trying to mimic human speech.
Startled, her legs went weak, and she stumbled and fell to the ground.
Great!
The berries she had painstakingly picked all fell to the ground, smashing into a pulpy mess.
The night pearl also flew far away.
Instinctively, she wanted to scream for help, but a ghostly apparition flashed before her eyes. Soon, a small, thin figure picked up the night pearl and handed it to her.
“Human, don’t be afraid.”
Li Miaoci looked closely and saw a delicate, pitiful little face, except for the two long rabbit ears on her head.
“You… you’re a rabbit?” Li Miaoci trembled as she took the night pearl from her.
“Wow!”
The rabbit spirit’s face lit up with excitement, her bright red eyes filled with admiration. “Mother said humans are the smartest. It’s really true!”
“You knew I was a rabbit as soon as you saw me.”
Ignoring Li Miaoci’s trembling, she affectionately stepped forward to help her up.
Li Miaoci breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was a rabbit, not a meat-eating tiger, leopard, or wolf.
“Hehe.”
Li Miaoci forced a dry laugh.
With those long ears, anyone who didn’t recognize it must have skipped kindergarten.
By the light of the luminous pearl, the rabbit looked at the scattered fruit on the ground. Only a few peaches remained intact, but they were already covered in mud.
“Human, can you fill your stomach with this?”
“I… I’m not hungry.”
The rabbit grabbed her hand. “Human, come with me. I’ll give you…”
“No, thanks,” she refused. Who knew where the rabbit would take her?
Besides, wasn’t she not exactly human? At least, her senior brother said she was an Immortal Herb descended to the mortal realm…
Oh, right—her senior brother said she was an Immortal Herb that had cultivated into human form.
No wonder she knew nothing and didn’t have even a trace of magical ability.
“Then wait here for me. I’ll go get you some food. You must wait for me!”
The rabbit dashed away.
The surroundings grew quiet, but it felt as though eyes were still watching her from the darkness.
She didn’t dwell on it and quickly picked a few more wild fruits, preparing to head back.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard a crisp snap—a branch fell, blocking her path.
“Don’t go. Little Bai will be back soon.”
“Who are you?” Li Miaoci was startled.
No one answered.
At that moment, a gust of wind swept through the forest.
The rabbit spirit, called Little Bai, hurried over, carrying fragrant, soft rice wrapped in a banana leaf.
“Human, this is for you,” Little Bai said, panting.
“Rice?” Li Miaoci widened her eyes. “Where did you get rice?”
“I bought rice from a town far, far away and cooked it. Here, for you.”
“Thank you,” Li Miaoci said, touched.
“You’re welcome,” Little Bai replied shyly. “Human, if you’re hungry, come find me. My mother says humans can’t fill their stomachs with just fruit.”
Unlike animals like them, who could eat anything to satisfy their hunger.
Li Miaoci patted herself down but found nothing to offer as thanks.
“Um, do you like this shiny stone?” She raised the luminous pearl in her hand.
Little Bai shook her head. She didn’t like it; she only enjoyed talking to humans.
“When I leave the forest, I’ll throw this stone in as a thank-you for the rice,”
Li Miaoci said.
Little Bai smiled, her eyes curving. “Alright.”
After leaving the forest, Li Miaoci first brought the rice to Tang Sanzang, then eagerly told Little White Dragon she wanted to give the luminous pearl away.
Little White Dragon didn’t even lift an eyelid. That thing was everywhere on the ocean floor.
“As you wish.”
Li Miaoci excitedly threw the luminous pearl deep into the forest. Soon, a gust of wind swept by, and the forest returned to its calm.
“There’s white rice in this deep, remote forest?”
Little White Dragon asked casually.
Li Miaoci nodded. “Yes.”
And she had tasted the rice—it wasn’t poisoned.
Late at night.
Sun Wukong and Yang Jian finally caught up.
Tang Sanzang asked, “Where’s Nezha?”
“On the way here, Nezha spotted a sneaky wolf spirit and went to deal with it,”
Sun Wukong replied.
Not long after, Nezha flew back from deep within the dense forest on his Wind-Fire Wheels.
On his spear, he carried a wolf, and in his hand, he held a rabbit.
“With such a low cultivation base, it still plotted to eat Tang… Master.”
As he spoke, he tossed the wolf spirit’s corpse onto the ground.
“Killing demons and hunting on the side?” Yang Jian glanced at the rabbit with fiery red eyes.
I overturned the den of the jackal demon, and all the mountain spirits fled. Yet this rabbit not only didn’t run away but even charged in the opposite direction.
Before Nezha could explain, Li Miaoci let out a cry and lunged forward.
“You! You killed Little Bai?”