Although Leng Xiang also hoped that she would be the only one by her master's side, and that her master would only marry her,
She also knew that her master did not belong to her, nor did her master belong to anyone... she could not imprison her master.
So... she changed the words that had originally reached her throat again and again.
In the end, she only revealed to her master... her smallest wish.
And after Su Qing heard these words from Leng Xiang.
She couldn't help but be a bit surprised, stunned in place for a moment.
She had never imagined that Leng Xiang held such a feeling for her, nor had she expected that Leng Xiang would say these words to her at this time...
And because of this, Su Qing was caught off guard by these words.
She looked up at Leng Xiang...
Seeing her ears turned beet red, her hands fidgeting restlessly, and her nervous yet slightly expectant gaze... Su Qing couldn't help but let out a long breath.
She knew... she could not avoid this question.
Thus, she slightly closed her eyes, and after about two seconds, she opened them, looked at Leng Xiang, and nodded seriously.
"Mm... of course there is no problem! I promise you!"
Su Qing actually didn't put too much thought into it...
Closing her eyes for two seconds was merely to search for the thoughts within her own heart.
Therefore, there was no particular reason for agreeing to Leng Xiang.
It was simply following her own heart.
Similarly, she also felt that if she were to refuse this time...
She might miss out on many things.
She didn't know what she would lose... but she felt that if she did lose it, she would be very sad and would feel regretful for it.
So, she chose to agree.
Besides... Leng Xiang hadn't made any excessive demands in this request.
What harm was there in agreeing?
She looked at Leng Xiang, her hands behind her back, and asked with a beaming smile: "Is this answer satisfactory?"
Hearing this, Leng Xiang, who had been nervous, suddenly froze.
As if a pause button had been pressed, she stared blankly at Su Qing... not coming back to her senses for a long time.
Su Qing didn't disturb her either, just watched her quietly.
After a long while... Leng Xiang finally came back to her senses.
She looked at her master with a face full of happy smiles, laughing like a child.
"Thank you, Master!" Leng Xiang said.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing shook her head slightly and asked, "Why are you thanking me?"
"Because I'm too happy... I don't know what else to say." Leng Xiang thought for a moment, then answered truthfully.
Su Qing couldn't help but smile at these words.
She shook her head slightly, then reached out and pinched her cheek as she had in the past.
Leng Xiang, whose cheek was pinched, didn't get angry; she just grabbed Su Qing's hand with a smile, then threw herself into her embrace, burying her face against her broad chest.
At this time, Leng Xiang was naturally much bolder... and much more proactive.
"What's wrong?" Su Qing was a bit dazed by this and couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing, I just... simply want to hold Master. Just for a moment, just for a moment!"
Su Qing said helplessly, "Well, alright then."
Leng Xiang just held Su Qing tightly like that, doing nothing and saying nothing, just taking a few deep breaths, seemingly to calm her emotions.
After a long time, Leng Xiang finally let go of Su Qing, hiding her joy deep in her heart.
She seemed to return to the usual Leng Xiang, but a trace of joyful emotion still lingered in her eyes.
"Is that enough?"
"Mm!"
"Then let's go back!"
Hearing this, Leng Xiang nodded 'calmly' and said, "Alright, Master!"
Su Qing glanced at Leng Xiang and in the end said nothing, just pulled Leng Xiang onto the Somersault Cloud and flew toward the Moon Palace.
Leng Xiang didn't intend to tell anyone about today's events...
She just kept them deeply in her heart, like her own secret.
Soon, the two returned to the Moon Palace and back to the small courtyard.
In the courtyard, Yuer was lying prone on the stone table. Seeing Leng Xiang and Su Qing return, she couldn't help but say:
"You've finally returned! I thought I was going to have to wait for you here all day!"
Su Qing was slightly confused upon hearing this and asked, "Yuer, why are you here?"
"Master told me to wait for you here! And to keep an eye on these lazy fellows for you." Yuer puffed out her cheeks and poked the Little Sparrows who were eating snacks on the stone table.
Su Qing smiled, then reached out and patted the head of Yuer, who was much shorter than her, saying, "I see, thank you for your hard work."
"How many times have I said it? You're not allowed to touch my head, and don't take the opportunity to touch my ears!" Yuer curled her lip and looked at Su Qing with a face full of dissatisfaction, saying, "And don't use that tone like you're coaxing a child! I'm much more capable than you!"
At the same time, she didn't forget to swat away Su Qing's hand...
"Pfft..." Su Qing laughed and reached out to pat her head again, saying, "It feels comfortable to touch, so why not? Besides... when you say 'capable', which sense of 'capable' are you referring to?"
Hearing this, Yuer was stunned for a moment, then looked at Su Qing with a look of frustration and said, "You fellow... hmph, if I couldn't beat you, I would really want to teach you a lesson!"
"Forget it, don't let this Moon Rabbit catch an opportunity in the future, or I'll take a fierce revenge on you!" Yuer threatened with a 'ferocious' yet cute expression.
Su Qing just smiled at this and didn't take it to heart, because that threatening look truly lacked any deterrent power.
Yuer curled her lip and continued, "It's all your fault for touching me randomly; I almost forgot the task Master entrusted to me."
Su Qing asked, "What task did Sister Chang'e entrust to you?"
"Master said that after you return, you should go find her to drink. Yesterday, Master spent the whole day pretending to be prim and proper and couldn't drink properly; she's probably bursting with the urge, right?"
Even though Yuer was angry, she still seriously conveyed the words her master required her to pass on.
After all, it was a task given to her by her master, so she had to do it well.
Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this; she was somewhat helpless when it came to Chang'e.
This fellow was truly beyond saving...
However, Su Qing eventually agreed.
As for the reason, it was also very simple. On one hand, she was naturally embarrassed to refuse, and on the other hand, she also enjoyed the thing in the cup.
So why not agree?
Anyway, free wine from a 'lily', it would be a waste not to drink it.
Seeing Su Qing agree, Yuer also said, "Alright, since I've finished saying what I needed to say, it's time for me to go."
After conveying Chang'e's words, Yuer naturally left. She still had many things to be busy with, so she didn't have much spare time to chat with Su Qing.
Moreover, she always felt that Su Qing was very irritating.
"I have to find an opportunity to kick her butt hard!" On the way, Yuer couldn't help but think to herself.
After Yuer left.
Su Qing was in no hurry to see Chang'e...
Instead, she first chatted with Gongsun Zhixue for a while and cleaned the courtyard with Leng Xiang before setting off to find Chang'e for a drink.
Chang'e had likely been waiting for a long time and was currently playing with a ceramic wine cup in her hand out of boredom.
Seeing Su Qing's arrival, her originally listless appearance immediately transformed into a spirited one.
She strode two steps to Su Qing's side, pulled her down to sit, and said with a beaming smile:
"You girl have finally come; this Palace Mistress has been waiting for you for a long time! Tell me, how should you compensate me?"
Su Qing smiled slightly upon hearing this and only said, "Then how does Sister Chang'e want me to compensate you?"
Seeing this, Chang'e smilingly put her arm around Su Qing and said, "Naturally, by drinking with this Palace Mistress! Today, we won't stop until we're drunk!"
"You say that every time, Sister Chang'e, but every time, you are the first to fall," Su Qing said.
"Then... how about this? Since you're unwilling to drink until drunk, just repay me with your body!"
"Eek, Sister Chang'e, can I report you for harassment?"
"No~ you~ can't! Besides, aren't you also harassing my rabbit?"
"Am I?"
"Yuer complained to me."
"I truly wouldn't have thought."
"So you admit it?"
"Wasn't I led astray by you, Sister Chang'e?"
"Alright~ I admit I indeed led you astray~"
Chang'e smiled slightly, poured her a cup of wine, and said:
"Alright, alright, just play with me for a while! Today I want to have a good time~"
"I know, I know. I truly have no way with you!" Su Qing said helplessly.
Seeing this, Chang'e didn't care at all, just as always pulling Su Qing into small talk, drinking... and chatting about everything under the sun.
Chang'e spoke a lot, like a problematic big sister who had forgotten to take her medicine today...
But Su Qing didn't dislike it.
A cheerful and broad-minded big sister—who would dislike her? At most, one would just find her a bit noisy.
On this day, Su Qing's mood was also quite good.
But she didn't drink too much wine.
Although she enjoyed the thing in the cup, she also knew that good wine shouldn't be over-consumed.
Life after returning to the Moon Palace remained the same as always.
Not much had changed...
Including Leng Xiang, who still maintained her past attitude and continued to manage everything in the household.
However, what Su Qing could feel was...
After this incident, Leng Xiang seemed to have become even more cheerful than before.
This was clearly something worth being happy about.
In the following years of life, there were no major waves, just like the surface of a windless lake.
Although occasionally fallen leaves would drift onto the water, splashing small circles of ripples, the lake surface would ultimately remain calm.
Perhaps because she had been cultivating for a long time, Su Qing's sense of time became even more blurred than before.
Before she knew it, Su Qing wasn't even sure how many years had passed.
Perhaps it was three years, perhaps five, or perhaps seven.
Su Qing couldn't remember very clearly...
She only felt that time truly wasn't meant to be spent; while it seemingly appeared to be a lot, it always disappeared inadvertently.
She knew not what year it was, nor what night this night was.
Su Qing was sitting in the courtyard, comprehending the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra on the Purple Bamboo Plaque given to her by Guanyin Bodhisattva back then.
This Great Bright Mantra contained the supreme wisdom of Buddhism. After so many years, she had only glimpsed a few spots of it, not even one-tenth...
Yet even this less than one-tenth of the content still made her feel that she had benefited immensely.
One could only say it was truly worthy of being the foundation of Guanyin Bodhisattva's attainment of Buddhahood... its depth was indeed extraordinary.
After comprehending for a long time, Su Qing felt that it would be difficult to make any further progress today, so she stopped her meditation...
Then she flipped her palm, stored the Purple Bamboo Plaque into her Sleeve Universe, exhaled a mouthful of Clear Qi, and slowly opened her eyes.
But as soon as she opened her eyes this time, she was nearly startled.
Because upon opening them, Su Qing saw a small face pressed close in front of her, staring intently at her.
Su Qing looked at the small face before her and then asked, "Zhixue... why are you looking at me from so close?"
"It's nothing, I was just seeing how long you would stay in a daze with your eyes closed before you woke up."
Gongsun Zhixue sat back in her own seat, propping up her small face, and said calmly:
"Besides... I also wanted to tell you something after you woke up."
Hearing this, Su Qing looked at Gongsun Zhixue. She didn't see too much emotion on her face, only a trace of worry.
"Oh? What is it? You seem to look very worried?"
"......"
Gongsun Zhixue was silent for two seconds, then looked up at Su Qing and answered:
"Mm... I am indeed a bit worried. I am about to undergo my tribulation... but I feel like I don't have enough strength to resist the Lightning Tribulation."
"So, I am very worried that I won't be able to pass this Transformation Tribulation..."
This time, Gongsun Zhixue didn't bicker with Su Qing...
She only confided her worries to her.
Although she also felt that saying such unconfident words would surely be very embarrassing and had already prepared herself mentally to be mocked by Su Qing.
But... sometimes if worries aren't spoken...
Keeping them bottled up inside is also extremely uncomfortable.
Being mocked is still better than keeping it in...
At least she could hear someone else's opinion.
Of course, what Gongsun Zhixue desired most was still encouragement and comfort.
"Why do you have no confidence? The Transformation Tribulation is not a particularly difficult Lightning Tribulation... as long as you grit your teeth, you will surely be able to pass it."
Hearing Gongsun Zhixue's concern, Su Qing looked at her and spoke in a calm tone.
Su Qing knew when to say what words and knew what kind of comfort Gongsun Zhixue needed now.
Even if she wasn't actually good at comforting others...
At least she wasn't so clumsy-tongued that she didn't know how to speak.
Gongsun Zhixue shook her head slightly upon hearing this and said:
"But, I... I've seen your Lightning Tribulation; it was truly terrifying."
"And in the past, I also experienced a Transformation Tribulation together with you! Do you still remember? I was blasted by you until only branches remained, and all my leaves fell off."
"That was only because you were affected by the aftershocks..."
Su Qing heard Gongsun Zhixue mention the matter of her own tribulation affecting her... and her mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly. She hadn't expected this girl to remember it so clearly.
However, now was clearly not the time to talk about that.
She smiled, reached out and lightly pressed down on Gongsun Zhixue's head a few times, and said:
"Alright, don't worry too much. If you can't pass the Transformation Tribulation, at worst, just avoid it!"
"As long as you can transform a mouth, I will have a way to let you successfully pass the Transformation Tribulation."
"But... I still hope even more that you can pass the Lightning Tribulation through your own strength."
"The Transformation Tribulation is both difficult and not difficult."
"As long as you believe you can pass it, then this tribulation is not hard."
"Of course, if you truly cannot hold on... fleeing at the last moment is also permitted. I have remedial measures for you here."
The remedial measures Su Qing spoke of naturally referred to the Transformation Pill.
The Transformation Pill her master had left for her back then was still sitting there even now!
Although many years had passed, this Transformation Pill was, after all, no ordinary pill, and its shelf life was also surprisingly long... even after so many years, it could still take effect.
So, if Gongsun Zhixue truly failed...
Then she could also use this Transformation Pill to remedy it!
Rate on N.U.
