Journey to the West 05

Ah Cui shook her head and said, "Although they are yaoguai, they are all very good."

Little Hua let out a laugh, raising her voice, "Oh my, marrying a yaoguai must be nice. Look at you, dressed up like a young lady from a wealthy family. Probably stolen goods, right?"

Her words attracted the people around, and many looked over.

Ah Cui was taken aback, suddenly remembering what Fang Zhiyi had said about "jealousy." She had only heard about it from him, but now she felt it firsthand—a strange fire surged from the depths of her heart.

"Oh dear, sorry, I accidentally let it slip. Look at my mouth..." Little Hua quickly covered her mouth.

Ah Cui frowned. "I did not marry a yaoguai, and they have never stolen anything."

Little Hua pinched her nose. "Ew, you have a stench of yaoguai on you."

Ah Cui was very direct. Having been with the yaoguai for so long, she hadn't learned any tact at all. "Are you jealous of me?"

Her directness made Little Hua somewhat awkward, who then forced a smile. "What nonsense! Why would I be jealous of you marrying a yaoguai? I just think you shouldn't follow those monsters and do things that harm heaven and reason..."

Finally, Granny Chen, who couldn't bear to listen any longer, spoke up, rapping her cane. "Huanir, you mustn't talk nonsense! My granddaughter will marry a proper man someday. How can you slander her innocence without proof?"

Little Hua gave a hollow, insincere smile. She had heard the villagers say several times that Ah Cui had become a yaoguai's concubine.

"What does a blind old woman know!" She planted her hands on her hips. "She is a yaoguai's concubine! Otherwise, why would the yaoguai treat her so well?"

Ah Cui's face flushed crimson. She never imagined that someone she considered a friend would see her this way.

"You're talking nonsense!" Granny Chen was furious, repeatedly striking the ground with her cane.

"Hmph! A cheap woman who consorts with yaoguai, and an old fool with no respect for her age!" Chen Xiaohua planted her hands on her hips again. She didn't believe they could do anything to her here in the city, especially Chen Ah Cui, who had been bullied by other children since she was young. A few insults were nothing—who told her she had no parents?

Ah Cui comforted her grandmother and sniffled. "My teacher once said."

Little Hua was confused by her words. "Teacher? What's that?"

"If you don't understand my reasoning, I am also somewhat skilled in martial arts."

Little Hua didn't see clearly how Ah Cui moved. She only felt a sharp pain on her face—left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek again!

The crisp sound of slaps made the onlookers cover their own faces, gasping in unison.

Having slapped her fill, Ah Cui stepped back a few paces and pointed at Little Hua. "Are you hurt? If I injured you, I am also somewhat knowledgeable in medicine. Of course, if I accidentally treat you to death, my teacher also taught me feng shui. And if you won't rest even after death, I can also learn ghost-catching."

Little Hua covered her face, her head buzzing. She never expected that dull, lonely girl to become so fierce now. "You... you!"

Ah Cui felt an incredible sense of relief in her heart. Fang Zhiyi was right! When you encounter someone who makes you uncomfortable, you have to vent your anger first, otherwise it's not worth getting yourself sick with rage!

Several people pushed through the crowd.

"Little Hua, Little Hua, what happened?" A woman rushed over.

Seeing her parents, Chen Xiaohua burst into loud sobs. "This stinky woman who married a yaoguai hit me!"

Hearing this, several villagers from Chen Family Village turned their heads. When they clearly saw the grandmother and granddaughter pair before them, their expressions changed.

"How are you still alive?"

"Yaoguai!"

They began shouting and yelling. Ah Cui sensed trouble. She shot a hateful glare at the group, supported her grandmother, and tried to leave. But a squad of city patrol guards arrived. "Where are the yaoguai?"

Recently, word had it that a eminent monk from the Great Tang in the East was coming. The authorities had even doubled the patrol strength. It would be a disgrace if there were yaoguai now.

Seeing the soldiers, the Chen Family Village folks seemed to gain courage and pointed at Chen Ah Cui's retreating back. "It's her! She married a man-eating yaoguai! She's a yaoguai woman!"

Ah Cui sensed the danger. She shielded her grandmother behind her and said word by word, "I am not a yaoguai woman." Finally, she added, "And the yaoguai I know do not eat people."

The squad leader narrowed his eyes.

"You're saying you don't dare go out by yourself?" Fang Zhiyi looked at Little Hei, somewhat amused.

Little Hei pretended to wipe sweat. "I don't know why, but if I go just a bit farther, I feel a very strong sense of oppression."

"Useless."

"You too!"

"Pah!"

"Pah! Pah!"

Fang Zhiyi looked at the moon, feeling uneasy.

By rights, Ah Cui and the others should have returned by now.

"Great King! Great King! Something terrible has happened, Great King!" Following a series of shouts, the wolf yaoguai—no, Da Huang—scrambled in, looking utterly panicked.

"You're the one something terrible happened to! What is it?" Fang Zhiyi, for once, felt a sense of foreboding.

"The brothers who went to the city are in trouble!"

"What?"

Fang Zhiyi immediately stood up and rushed out of the cave dwelling at top speed. This wasn't right!

Da Huang explained briefly: Ah Cui had gotten into a conflict with someone in the city, the matter had escalated, the little yaoguai waiting outside the city tried to enter to rescue them but were also surrounded inside. Rumor had it many monks and Taoists had also appeared.

But just as Fang Zhiyi stood on the mountain path, his vision blurred, and a hunched figure blocked his way.

"You must be the Black Bear Great King? This humble one is called Yalong Taoist. I've come specifically to pay my respects." A strange tone, a stooped figure.

But every hair on Fang Zhiyi's body stood on end. This thing was powerful!

"Please move aside. I have urgent business!" Fang Zhiyi was desperate to be on his way.

Yalong Taoist, however, waved unhurriedly, and five more figures in Taoist robes emerged from behind him.

"Taoists?" Fang Zhiyi frowned, but the next moment, he saw five weasels that had transformed into human form.

"Nothing is more important than this humble one's business, is it? I have long heard this is the territory of you, the Black Bear Yao. Today I've come specifically to pay my respects." As Yalong Taoist spoke, his words were full of ill intent.

The yaoli within Fang Zhiyi surged violently. He suddenly threw a punch. He was confident that with this punch, this Yalong Taoist would be smashed into the ground. But the reality was, the hunched figure merely raised the tobacco pipe in his hand and blocked the punch.

Fang Zhiyi also saw Yalong Taoist's true form—an old fox.

Even uglier than Hu Lai.

The old fox narrowed its eyes at him, a trace of disdain in its gaze.

Behind him, dozens of torches quickly approached, followed by the shouts of his subordinates. They had finally caught up, with the wolf yaoguai at the front.

"Who dares to cause trouble at the Facing Sun Cave Dwelling?"

"Brothers, seize them!"

"Great King! We're here! Great King!"

Yalong Taoist seemed somewhat disdainful, then narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "Just as I wished."