Swept Out!

After some more time passed.

Spring departed, summer arrived.

Everyone had been discussing under the pine tree for a long time.

Suddenly, someone said, "Wukong, do you remember a few days ago when Master whispered in your ear and taught you the transformation methods to avoid the Three Calamities? Have you mastered them all?"

Wukong smiled upon hearing this, a hint of arrogance in his voice, saying:

"To tell you the truth, elder brothers, firstly, Master personally taught me, and secondly, I diligently practiced day and night. Now, I have mastered all those transformations!"

The person chuckled upon seeing this and said, "Look, the weather is perfect today, and it's a good time. We also happen to be free. Why don't you perform for everyone, so we can all witness the profound mysteries of these transformation methods!"

Wukong, knowing he was the only one who knew them, couldn't help but perk up, eager to show off his skills.

"Hehe, alright, alright! Senior brothers, give me a challenge, what do you want me to transform into?"

Everyone knew a good show was coming and began chattering amongst themselves.

Suddenly, one person said, "How about you transform into a flower?"

"Hehe, that's easy!"

Wukong chuckled, then chanted a spell, shook his body, and indeed transformed into a flower.

This flower abruptly grew on the stone steps, yet it was no different from an ordinary flower.

What a splendid transformation.

Seeing this transformation art, another busybody said, "How about transforming into a pine tree next?"

Wukong listened, thinking, 'What's difficult about that?'

Immediately, he transformed into the likeness of a pine tree.

This pine tree still stood on the stone steps, but when compared to the surrounding pine trees, it was indistinguishable, as if this pine tree was real and had grown there naturally.

Upon seeing this transformation, everyone clapped and praised, "Good monkey, good monkey! Truly, his transformations are endless!"

Amidst their frolicking, they somehow alerted Patriarch Bodhi.

Patriarch Bodhi came out with a ruler, asking, "Who is making such a racket here!"

Everyone heard him and quickly tidied their clothes, lined up, and bowed their heads in apology.

Wukong also quickly revealed his true form, stood with them, and apologized.

Patriarch Bodhi snorted coldly and said, "You all are shouting and yelling, completely unlike practitioners! For cultivators, an open mouth disperses vital energy, and a wagging tongue creates trouble! You truly are the worst generation I've ever taught! Tell me, why are you laughing so loudly here?"

Naturally, no one dared to conceal anything, and they quickly recounted what had just happened:

"We dare not hide anything from Master, just now Wukong was performing transformation techniques. We asked him to turn into a flower, and he could turn into a flower; we asked him to turn into a pine tree, and he could turn into a pine tree! We found it spectacular and marveled at its wonder, which is why we praised and cheered! We didn't mean to disturb Master with our loud voices, we beg Master's forgiveness."

Patriarch Bodhi nodded slightly, waved his hand to dismiss the others, and said, "Wukong, come here! Let me ask you, what are you showing off? What kind of pine tree are you transforming into? Is this kind of skill something you can just show off in front of others?"

"If you saw someone with this ability, wouldn't you ask them to teach you? And if others see you have this skill, they will certainly ask you to teach them! If you fear trouble, you must teach them. If you don't pass it on, you will surely be harmed by them! Your life will be in danger! How can you be so ignorant?"

"Alas! Compared to your senior sister, you are truly far behind! How annoying! If only you had half your senior sister's composure, why would I waste my breath like this!?"

Patriarch Bodhi scolded Wukong several times in a row, clearly quite angered.

Wukong heard this, and an ominous feeling rose in his heart. He quickly kowtowed and said:

"Your disciple knows his mistake, I only beg Master's forgiveness!!"

Patriarch Bodhi shook his head slightly and said, "I won't punish you for this, but you can't stay in this Daoist academy anymore. You may leave."

Upon hearing Patriarch Bodhi's words, Wukong was stunned, tears welled up, and he said, "Master, are you driving your disciple away? But where do you want me to go?"

"You came from there, so go back there."

Wukong suddenly realized, "I came from the Eastern Purvavideha Continent, Aolai Kingdom, Flower-Fruit Mountain."

"Then return to your Flower-Fruit Mountain!"

"No, no, Master's great kindness has not been repaid, how can I leave?"

"Hmph, what kindness is there between you and me? Just don't cause trouble or implicate me, and that will be enough." Patriarch Bodhi snorted coldly, flicking his sleeve to shake off the monkey.

Wukong felt dejected upon hearing this.

He knew that he definitely couldn't stay.

Master was determined to send him away!

Helpless, Wukong could only bow to Master, then bid farewell to everyone.

As he left, Patriarch Bodhi said, "Your departure this time will surely cause trouble."

"But no matter what trouble you cause or evil you commit, you must not tell outsiders that you are my disciple! If you dare utter even half a word, I will know. At that time, I will surely flay and dismember you, that monkey, and condemn your soul to the Nine Nether Regions, so you can never rise again through countless eons!"

Wukong heard this, his heart filled with dread, and he said, "I would never dare mention Master's name, I will only say I learned it myself."

"Hmph, that's good."

Patriarch Bodhi turned and said:

"Remember, you absolutely must not mention a single word about me to outsiders!"

Wukong nodded repeatedly, bowing to Master as he left.

He knew that although Master was annoyed with him, he still cared for him.

Driving him away like this was also for his own good.

Stepping out, Wukong looked at the Cave of the Slanted Moon and Three Stars, his mind filled with many thoughts.

A moment later.

Wukong shot up, formed a hand seal, chanted an incantation, and leaped.

He then performed the Somersault Cloud, like a windmill, heading towards the East Sea.

This monkey's Somersault Cloud truly was a rapid somersault.

After Wukong left, Bodhi shook his head slightly.

Although this monkey had extremely high innate talent and was a spiritual being born of heaven and earth, his temperament was ultimately lacking a bit...

Even after seven years of chores and tempering, it was still difficult for him to have the calm cultivation mindset like Su Qing.

Thinking this, Patriarch Bodhi couldn't help but look at the string of Kuhuanzi Prayer Beads on his wrist, missing his disciple again.

After a long while, Bodhi shook his head again.

"Alas..."

Then, with a flick of his whisk, the Cave of the Slanted Moon and Three Stars disappeared... leaving only mountain wilderness and forests, with no trace of human habitation.

In Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Su Qing was currently admiring butterflies in the peach grove.

Butterflies fluttered everywhere, like a dance.

Su Qing extended her hand, and a pale pink butterfly landed on her fingertip, quite still, not flying away.

The scene was utterly beautiful, and Su Qing was quite leisurely.

"This kind of leisurely life is truly wonderful." Su Qing smiled, murmuring to herself.

Unfortunately, a leisurely life cannot last forever.

She still had many things to do that she hadn't done yet!

She might have transcended, but what about those around her... they were still under the control of King Yama!

Especially the few little ones.

Although they were lazy, fat, and always stubborn, they had been with her the longest, and their foolishness made them endearing.

How could she watch them grow old and then die?

She didn't want to experience something like Su Qianxue's situation again.

As she pondered, Su Qing suddenly felt something.

She raised an eyebrow, then quickly returned to the courtyard.

Leng Xiang in the courtyard saw Su Qing return and asked curiously, "Is Master hungry?"

"Uh... no. Speaking of which, Leng Xiang, am I usually very greedy?"

"..." Leng Xiang merely smiled and didn't answer.

Su Qing couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth, then too lazy to think further, as long as she didn't think she was greedy, it was fine.

Although Leng Xiang interrupted her for a moment, she still didn't forget what she was doing.

Su Qing took out her tools and began calculating on the stone table in the courtyard.

With the help of tools, she could naturally get results faster and more accurately than by direct finger calculations.

She calculated that Wukong had indeed been swept out and was already halfway back to Flower-Fruit Mountain.

However, although the calculation showed him halfway at that moment, given the speed of the Somersault Cloud,

it would only take a short while to reach Flower-Fruit Mountain.

As she pondered, Su Qing suddenly looked up.

She saw a fiery red windmill flying towards them in the sky...

"Why is this monkey's Somersault Cloud different from mine?"

"Never mind, that's not the point..."

Su Qing shook her head, bringing her focus back, and thought:

"It seems that the important node of the monkey being swept out has not been changed by my presence."

"Although the timing seems a bit later... it doesn't matter."

"But next, I need him to go kill the Chaos Demon King, after all, this is considered the monkey's first kill."

"But how should I bring it up to him?"

Su Qing stroked her smooth chin, pondering.

Soon, Su Qing already had a plan in mind.

Although the Stone Monkey would be harder to fool after leaving his master, with her ability to persuade, plus the Stone Monkey's trust in her, convincing him to kill the Chaos Demon King wouldn't be a problem.

Gongsun Zhixue sat on a ginkgo tree nearby, watching. Seeing Su Qing's strange smile, she couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Was she trying to tease her again?

Thinking of this, Gongsun Zhixue couldn't help but feel nervous, also pondering countermeasures in her heart.

Su Qing shook her head slightly; since she had reached a conclusion, there was no need to worry too much.

"Speaking of which, Zhixue, why are you so nervous?"

As soon as Su Qing turned around, she saw a very nervous Gongsun Zhixue, and couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Who, who's nervous!" Gongsun Zhixue wouldn't admit that she was scared of Su Qing's tricks.

If she admitted it, it would be too embarrassing.

Su Qing tilted her head, glanced at her, then smiled and said, "Alright, I'm not trying to tease you! If I wanted to tease you, could you even find out? When was it not when you were crying out from being bullied that you realized you'd been tricked?"

At these words, Gongsun Zhixue's cheeks instantly flushed red. She stomped her foot in anger, then disappeared.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Su Qing smiled helplessly at this; this little girl was still the same.

But had she really bullied her too much recently?

It seemed she had developed a bit of a psychological shadow.

"Master still loves to tease Gongsun Zhixue so much."

"Uh... no, I was just stating facts." Su Qing smiled upon hearing this, "Leng Xiang, come with me, an old friend is returning today."

"Is it that monkey?"

"Leng Xiang is quite clever, isn't she!"

"To provide better assistance to Master, I naturally need to understand more about Master and the things around Master." Leng Xiang smiled gently.

Su Qing looked at her and couldn't help but think that if this girl wore a maid outfit, it would be very fitting.

Thinking this, Su Qing quickly shook her head, shaking out the strange thoughts in her mind, and said:

"Alright, let's go!"

Leng Xiang nodded slightly upon hearing this and followed.

After the two left, the Little Sparrows flew back and landed on the ginkgo tree.

The plump Little Sparrows all stood on one branch, bending it down.

This greatly annoyed Gongsun Zhixue, so she started arguing with the Little Sparrows again...

As for what happened with Su Qing just now, she seemed to have forgotten it.

Before Su Qing even reached outside the Water Curtain Cave, she heard chirping sounds from afar, like a monkey meeting, so noisy it gave her a headache.

Arriving outside the Water Curtain Cave, she happened to see Wukong animatedly talking to the monkey group.

However, after Su Qing appeared, the monkey group quickly quieted down...

After all, Su Qing, among other things, held no small amount of prestige among the monkey group.

Wukong saw Su Qing and immediately shouted:

"Big Sister!"

Saying this, he was about to rush over to give Su Qing a hug.

However, Su Qing deftly dodged him again...

Wukong, having been dodged, wasn't annoyed. Instead, he cupped his hands and bowed to Su Qing.

"Big Sister, thank you for your guidance!!"

Wukong knew that Su Qing had played a role in him being able to apprentice under Bodhi.

His journey out to sea was also entirely due to Su Qing's advice.

As for why Su Qing didn't directly tell him about Bodhi... he had already understood it in his heart when Bodhi drove him away this time.

However, what the monkey might not know is...

Even without Su Qing's intervention, with his fortune and the world's trajectory, he would eventually apprentice under Bodhi one day.

Su Qing heard this, shook her head slightly, and said, "What did I guide you on?"

"Hehe, without Big Sister's guidance, how could I have gone out to sea? And how could I be who I am today?"

"Your current abilities are due to your own fortune, what does it have to do with me?"

"Even if it truly has nothing to do with Big Sister, Big Sister is worthy of this bow! No matter what, Big Sister is my elder!"

Sun Wukong respected Su Qing not just because she guided him to sea to find a master.

More so, he inherently respected and admired her greatly, viewing her as his elder.

If he had to choose between his master and Big Sister as to who was more important, he would undoubtedly answer Big Sister.

Although both helped him unconditionally, the earlier appearance of Su Qing made her a more important elder in his heart.

Su Qing merely shook her head at this, saying nothing more.

Wukong just chuckled and added, "Oh, right, Big Sister! I have a name now!"

Although Su Qing knew his name, she still pretended to ask.

"My name is Sun Wukong now! Doesn't it sound good?"

"Not bad." Su Qing nodded slightly, casually praising him a few times.

Wukong was quite happy to hear this.

After all, in the Puti Daoist Academy, Master rarely praised him, focusing mostly on education.

Now, receiving praise from Big Sister naturally made him very happy.

Only Big Sister was so benevolent.

Su Qing didn't know she had already been labeled 'benevolent', she just said:

"Wukong, let's put reminiscing aside for now. I have something I need you to do."

"Big Sister, please command!" Wukong was startled upon hearing this, then said.

Su Qing briefly explained the matter of the Chaos Demon King, and also said:

"If you can defeat that Chaos Demon King, I will give you the Water Curtain Cave!"