Moonlight Bodhisattva

Moonlight Bodhisattva saw Su Qing was so direct and could not help but nod slightly.

Then she abandoned the words she had originally prepared.

She pressed her palms together, recited a Buddhist name, and then said:

"I have come to find you, little friend, because I was entrusted by Buddha to ask for a small favor."

Hearing this, Su Qing's eyebrows rose slightly, and she was quite puzzled. What did Buddha want her to do now?

However, Su Qing could not easily refuse. After thinking for a moment, she replied:

"I see. Since it is a matter entrusted by Buddha, please speak plainly, Bodhisattva. If it is something this junior can do, I will try my best to help."

She was still her old self, not speaking too definitively... leaving herself plenty of room.

Moonlight Bodhisattva was not surprised by Su Qing's answer.

She simply shook her head slowly and said in a peaceful tone: "Little friend, do not worry. This favor is not difficult, nor is it troublesome."

"This matter does not require you to do anything, nor does it require any effort. What you need to do is simply stay in the Moon Palace."

Hearing this, Su Qing could not help but feel a bit confused.

Doing nothing and just staying there counts as helping?

Then what kind of help is this?

It was truly a bit perplexing.

However, after a bit of thought, Su Qing had some guesses in her heart.

Since this matter was entrusted by Buddha, it naturally had to do with what would happen in the future.

And among the future events Su Qing knew that were related to Buddha and had some connection to her, there were only two things.

Although Su Qing had ideas, she was not in a hurry to reach a conclusion. She still had to see what the Bodhisattva would say.

She had to ask clearly what the matter was.

At the very least, she needed to know the general idea...

Otherwise, it would be like that matter with the Osmanthus Tree back then, leaving her confused and quite depressed.

Su Qing thought for a moment and then said:

"This junior is foolish and truly does not understand the reason. I ask senior to speak more clearly so that I can have an idea in my heart."

Moonlight Bodhisattva thought for a moment and finally decided to reveal more.

Buddha's decision to send her to handle this matter was naturally a sign of trust in her.

She naturally had to try her best to do it well...

Moonlight Bodhisattva weighed her words and then said calmly:

"In the near future, there will be a great calamity. This matter is related to you, little friend, and involves many things. Therefore, Buddha hopes that you will not interfere in this matter. Stay peacefully within the Moon Palace and remain an outsider to avoid trouble and misfortune."

After Moonlight Bodhisattva finished speaking, she recited a Buddhist name and then looked at Su Qing, waiting for her answer.

After hearing this paragraph from the Bodhisattva, Su Qing had reached a conclusion about this matter.

Although the Bodhisattva spoke vaguely and did not go too deep, Su Qing knew the future after all. She could be very certain that the other party was talking about Buddha suppressing Sun Wukong.

But knowing was one thing; she still could not help but feel a bit speechless.

Why were all these seniors like this... they could never speak clearly about anything and always had to let others guess.

Was there some kind of restriction involved?

Su Qing shook her head inwardly, deciding not to think about it further to save herself from frustration.

She looked at the Bodhisattva, nodded slightly, and said:

"Bodhisattva, please rest assured. In the future, I will be staying in the Moon Palace most of the time. As for that calamity, since I already know it is a calamity, why would I interfere?"

"Amitabha. With these words from you, little friend, I am at ease. It is enough as long as you do not interfere in that calamity..."

Moonlight Bodhisattva nodded, recited a Buddhist name, and said:

"Since you already know of this matter, I will not disturb you further."

Hearing this, Su Qing also nodded and said: "Safe travels, senior."

Moonlight Bodhisattva did not respond but simply smiled faintly. Then she turned into a patch of moonlight and vanished, likely going back to report to Buddha.

Seeing Moonlight Bodhisattva vanish, Su Qing stretched her limbs and then turned to go back.

In fact, regarding the series of events of the Havoc in Heaven, Su Qing had no intention of interfering. Even without Moonlight Bodhisattva's reminder, she did not plan to get involved.

After after all, the Journey to the West itself was a fixed destiny...

And someone had to go on the journey.

If she interfered and the monkey could not go on the journey...

Then... she did not know if she would be tricked into going on the journey instead.

In short, there was absolutely no benefit for her to interfere in the Havoc in Heaven, so naturally, it was impossible for her to do so.

Su Qing returned to the courtyard and saw Leng Xiang sweeping fallen leaves.

Those were the leaves of the ginkgo tree. Whenever late autumn arrived, Gongsun Zhixue would always drop many leaves.

So much so that they had to be swept every day.

Otherwise, the ground would be covered in her leaves.

Watching this scene, Su Qing smiled, feeling that it was quite tranquil.

"Then let's continue living like this for a while!" Su Qing thought as she looked up at the distant Osmanthus Tree.

Then she picked up another broom and said to Leng Xiang: "I'll help too!"

This leisurely life continued day after day, free and relaxed.

She did not know how long such days passed...

One day.

Wukong, who had stayed in the Peach Garden for a long time, saw that the peaches on the old branches had ripened quite a bit. He thought about having a taste for freshness.

After all, in his view, this place was under his management, so it was naturally his territory. What could be wrong with wanting to eat a peach?

However, the Earth God and the strongmen in the garden watched closely, making it inconvenient...

So he devised a plan and said: "You all wait outside for a while. Let me have a good rest!"

Hearing this, the several immortals did not think too much. After all, this was at the residence, not inside the Peach Garden.

So they withdrew.

As the several immortals withdrew, Wukong quickly took off his official robes, performed a hand seal to transform, and flew in by a detour.

He climbed the big tree, picked many of the fully ripened large peaches, held them in his arms, and enjoyed them leisurely on the branches.

"Good peaches, good peaches! This flavor is truly not bad!"

After eating his fill, he jumped down from the tree and flew back to his residence.

In the middle of the night, Wukong's stomach was hungry again. His eyes rolled, he performed a hand seal to transform, and flew into the garden again to steal and enjoy peaches.

He did not know how many times he had stolen like this, but the ripe peaches in the garden were almost gone, leaving only some half-ripe peaches or green, astringent peaches hanging on the trees.

One morning, the Queen Mother prepared a banquet, opened the treasure pavilion, and held the Peaches of Immortality Banquet at the Jade Pool to reward the immortals.

On this day, the Seven Fairies carried flower baskets and went to the Peach Garden to pick peaches for the banquet.

When the fairies reached the garden gate, they saw the Peach Garden Earth God, strongmen, and others all guarding the entrance.

The Seven Fairies said: "We are following the Queen Mother's imperial decree to pick peaches for the banquet. Please let us pass."

Seeing this, the Earth God quickly bowed, saying that the Peach Garden was no longer under their management but was now managed by the Great Sage Equal to Heaven... to let them in, they had to ask the Great Sage.

The fairies did not pressure them but only asked where the person was, then followed the Earth God to find him.

But after searching for a while, they did not see where he was.

Seeing this, the Earth God and the others no longer stopped them. After all, rules are dead while people are alive. If the Peaches of Immortality Banquet was delayed, it would likely make the Queen Mother unhappy, so they simply let them in.

The fairies entered, but only picked some peaches from the first few trees.

Going further back, they saw only a few small, green-skinned peaches on the trees...

The fairies were all stunned. They looked left and right, only to find that in this Peach Garden, there were hardly any ripe peaches left.

The several of them did not know what had happened to the Peach Garden. They could only try their best to pick the ripe ones. No matter what, they had to find a way to gather enough peaches for the Peaches of Immortality Banquet.

The fairies looked around, searching everywhere. Suddenly, they saw a peach that was half red and half white, and they quickly went to pick it.

But as soon as the peach was picked, it transformed into the form of a monkey head.

That monkey head revealed the Golden-Hooped Rod and said angrily:

"Dastardly! What kind of monsters are you to dare steal my peaches?!"

"Great Sage, please calm your anger. We are following the Queen Mother's imperial decree to pick peaches here." The Seven Fairies were startled and quickly informed him of their purpose.

"I see, I see. Celestial Maidens, please rise." Hearing that they were sent by the Queen Mother, the Great Sage also smiled and said: "I have a question. When the Queen Mother sets the banquet, who is she inviting?"

The fairies did not hide it and roughly listed the invited guests: the Five Elders of the Five Regions, the Star Lords of the Five Dippers, the Three Pure Ones of the Upper Eight Caves, the Four Emperors, and the Taiyi Immortals, the Jade Emperor of the Middle Eight Caves, the Nine Earthly Foundations, and the Sea and Mountain Immortals, the Lord of the Netherworld of the Lower Eight Caves, the Earthly Immortals of the Mortal World, and the various great and small deities of each hall and palace.

After hearing this, the Great Sage scratched behind his ear. Some of these names he recognized, and some he did not, but after listening to them all, it seemed he did not hear his own name.

So he could not help but ask: "Are myself and my big sister invited?"

The Seven Fairies looked at each other. After thinking for a moment, they said: "We have never heard of it..."

The Seven Fairies also knew who the Great Sage's big sister was. After thinking about the list for a long time, they likewise could not recall any invitation for her.

Hearing this, the Great Sage could not help but say: "It must be that the Queen Mother is not familiar with me and forgot me! I shall go find her and have a word!"

After Wukong finished speaking, he did not stay any longer. He performed a hand seal and flew directly away.

It was also on this day.

Many immortals from the Moon Palace went to attend the Peaches of Immortality Banquet.

Chang'e, Taiyin, Yuer, and others all ran off to the banquet.

Only Su Qing did not leave the Moon Palace but stayed behind.

Firstly, it was because Su Qing knew what was about to happen, and secondly, it was because a guest had come to her home.

As for who this guest was?

It was naturally that white snake, Bai Suzhen.

The reason Bai Suzhen came to the Moon Palace was actually because of Li Shan Lao Mu.

Li Shan Lao Mu was going to attend the Peaches of Immortality Banquet, but the Old Mother likely also knew what would happen at the banquet.

So she dropped Bai Suzhen, whom she had originally planned to bring along, here with Su Qing.

This both avoided that trouble and allowed the two snakes to reunite.

"Sister Xiao Qing is truly too much! You went to the Moon Palace but never came to tell me... you made me wait so long. If the Old Mother hadn't told me that you were serving in the Moon Palace and couldn't leave, I would have thought you had forgotten me again, Sister."

Bai Suzhen hugged Su Qing's arm and rested her head on Su Qing's shoulder, speaking.

Bai Suzhen truly lived up to being a snake spirit; she coiled around Su Qing, and Su Qing could not even get her off.

In the end, she simply ignored it and let her hug her.

Anyway, being hugged like this, besides being inconvenient, there was nothing else bad about it.

It was soft and gentle... and not unpleasant.

She would just treat it as compensating her.

Yes, exactly, as compensating her!

After all, after she went up to the Moon Palace, she had not returned to the mortal world for a long time.

Nor had she been able to go to Mount Li to see this girl.

However, hearing Bai Suzhen's words, Su Qing still felt a bit embarrassed.

After all, she wasn't exactly busy...

The main reason she didn't return to the mortal world was that Chang'e loved to find her so much that she rarely had time to wander around outside.

Of course, that was only the primary reason...

"Don't worry, I won't forget you," Su Qing said helplessly upon hearing this.

"It's good that you won't forget!" Bai Suzhen said with a smile, then hugged Su Qing even tighter as if afraid she would run away.

Su Qing was helpless, but she didn't say anything, only chatting with Bai Suzhen about past events.

Rarely did interesting things happen in the Moon Palace; what Su Qing could talk about was only some small matters of daily life.

On the contrary, Bai Suzhen had quite a bit to say, though most of it was about cultivation and the Old Mother.

However, the Li Shan Lao Mu in Bai Suzhen's mouth was somewhat different from the Li Shan Lao Mu in Su Qing's memory.

The specific difference was mainly reflected in her personality. In Bai Suzhen's eyes, Li Shan Lao Mu was somewhat mischievous.

Although it was rare, she would still occasionally show such a side.

To this, Su Qing found it interesting but not strange...

After all, everyone has a side unknown to others.

The two did not chat indefinitely. Later, they decided to walk around the Moon Palace, and Leng Xiang followed by their side.

The Moon Palace was a bit cold and quiet; after some people left, it seemed even more cold and quiet.

Su Qing thus led the two of them, walking aimlessly in the Moon Palace.

At the same time, she said whatever came to mind.

They walked like this for a long time when suddenly Bai Suzhen stopped.

Su Qing could not help but be slightly confused and asked: "What is it?"

Bai Suzhen shook her head slightly and said: "It's nothing, I just suddenly have something I want to do."

Hearing this, Su Qing was slightly puzzled.

"What is it?"

Bai Suzhen looked at Su Qing with a mischievous smile on her face. Then, under Su Qing's surprised gaze, she pounced toward her like a snake pouncing on its prey and bit her ear.

This bite from Bai Suzhen left Su Qing a bit dazed.

Naturally, it did not hurt; she was simply a bit confused.

Then, she heard Bai Suzhen say: "As expected, I am still very dissatisfied that Sister never came to find me! So, this is the punishment. However..."

After saying that, she kissed Su Qing's cheek again and said giggling: "But I forgive you, Sister! Who told you to be my favorite sister?"

After hearing these words, Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then could not help but smile.

Indeed, even Bai Suzhen can hold a grudge!

"Next time, you're not allowed to be like this again. If it happens again..." Bai Suzhen made a fierce look and said: "I won't just bite your ear!"