Upon hearing Su Qing's voice transmission, the woman's face broke into a slight smile.
Seeing that Su Qing had truly seen through her disguise, Guanyin Bodhisattva stopped pretending and replied directly via voice transmission:
"I didn't expect you to actually see through all of this..."
"It was just a coincidence," Su Qing said. "I got lucky and guessed."
"I don't think it was a coincidence. Without real ability, how could you see through our disguises? Besides, little friend, you've forgotten that saying—excessive humility can become a form of pride."
Guanyin Bodhisattva continued her transmission:
"However, even though you've seen through us, I must trouble you to endure it for a while longer and play along with this scene. After all, if I only targeted my disciple, it would be far too obvious."
Su Qing rolled her eyes inwardly at those words...
Though speechless, Su Qing still agreed.
"Continuing the act with you is no problem, Senior... but I'm only responsible for pretending I haven't recognized you. As for the rest, please handle the deceiving of Chen Chaoyan yourself... after all, there are some things I wouldn't dare to promise recklessly."
Guanyin Bodhisattva naturally understood Su Qing's meaning and said, "I'm counting on you, then."
Su Qing smiled helplessly in her heart, then asked:
"But... I have one more thing I'm curious about. Since you, Senior Guanyin, are playing the mother, who are the ones playing your three children?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying with a hint of helplessness in her voice:
"It is Taishang Laojun, Li Shan Lao Mu, and my disciple, the Pearl-Bearing Dragon Girl."
In truth, she hadn't originally sought out the Old Mother or the Old Lord for this play. She had simply mentioned this scene in passing while discussing a future matter with Li Shan Lao Mu.
As it turned out, once the Old Lord and the Old Mother learned that Su Qing would be there, they decided to join in for the fun.
They had intended to tease Su Qing.
But clearly, now that Su Qing had seen through the disguises, their plan had completely fallen through.
Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this. "Aren't there two sons and one daughter? How..."
"Li Shan Lao Mu... is quite free-spirited." Guanyin Bodhisattva didn't give a direct answer, yet she seemed to have explained everything.
Su Qing chuckled inwardly at this and said:
"So that means Taishang Laojun and Li Shan Lao Mu are playing your two sons, while your disciple, the Pearl-Bearing Dragon Girl, is playing the only daughter?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva gave a soft 'mm' and then added, "Even though I'm asking you to play along, you rascal better not start getting ideas about my disciple."
Su Qing was stunned for a moment, her mind going blank with speechlessness. She quickly transmitted back: "Senior... am I that kind of person?"
Hearing Su Qing's words, Guanyin Bodhisattva gave her a thoughtful look, recalled a few things, and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Then, she said against her better judgment, "Naturally, I believe you, little friend. But my Dragon Girl disciple is quite beautiful and many have designs on her, so I mentioned it out of habit."
Su Qing, of course, didn't believe a word of that.
Guanyin Bodhisattva clearly thought she might actually try to abduct her disciple, which was why she had said it.
However, Su Qing couldn't be bothered to argue with the senior. She simply said, "Senior... rest assured. I am already married; how could I be so fickle?"
At this, Guanyin Bodhisattva glanced at Su Qing and stopped the voice transmission.
Only...
For some reason, Su Qing felt that Guanyin Bodhisattva's glance contained a massive amount of distrust.
Su Qing couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped overthinking it. Instead, she continued to pretend nothing was wrong and followed the woman into the house.
Their telepathic exchange had happened in the blink of an eye.
Thus, Chen Chaoyan had noticed nothing unusual.
She only saw the woman fall silent for a brief moment after her previous words, as if waiting for her answer.
Seeing that Chen Chaoyan hadn't replied, the woman couldn't help but continue:
"It seems, Master, that you also do not know what benefits lie in the Western Heaven... so why not stay? Staying here means a lifetime of wealth and glory. You wouldn't have to walk that difficult path, endure the elements, or worry about the demons in the distance."
Chen Chaoyan remained silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Madam, I am a monastic... Since I promised my Master that I would obtain the True Scriptures, I cannot break my word. My Master raised me, and I must repay that kindness. Therefore, I must respectfully decline."
Seeing this, the woman shook her head and said, "Very well. Make your decision after you have met my children!"
Chen Chaoyan helplessly said nothing more...
She simply followed the woman into the living room.
Inside the living room.
The woman's two sons and daughter happened to be there.
It had to be said that the two sons were indeed dignified and incredibly handsome. The daughter also possessed an ethereal temperament, looking like a celestial maiden.
Su Qing didn't know how Chen Chaoyan saw them... but she was certain that this level of trial held no difficulty for Chen Chaoyan.
As for Su Qing...
If she hadn't known that these were all old acquaintances in disguise, she might have offered a few sincere compliments. But knowing their identities... words of praise were hard to voice.
Even if she were to speak, she could only praise how well they had transformed themselves.
Meeting these seniors, Su Qing didn't hide the fact that she knew who they were.
She simply greeted them upon meeting.
Li Shan Lao Mu and Taishang Laojun didn't show any surprise; they merely smiled at Su Qing.
Then they transmitted: "I truly didn't expect our transformations to be seen through by you."
Su Qing replied honestly: "I only happened to guess Senior Guanyin's identity, and then she informed me about the rest of you..."
Neither of them was surprised by this answer.
"I see... then please continue to pretend you don't know," the Old Mother said. "After all, the play isn't over yet... it would be embarrassing to be exposed now."
"I naturally understand this. Since Guanyin Bodhisattva wants to test her disciple, I'll just accompany her through the test..." Su Qing smiled helplessly.
"Compared to that, I find it quite a pity! I wanted to tease you properly, but you already know my identity. Sigh, this is quite boring now. It feels like a wasted trip." The resentment in Taishang Laojun's voice transmission was not hidden at all.
"Then I have disappointed you, Senior Old Lord!" Su Qing laughed in her heart, then teased, "But Senior Old Lord... you really are quite leisurely in your daily life!"
"I wouldn't call it leisurely... just stealing a bit of time from a busy schedule," the Old Lord replied.
Su Qing's mouth twitched; she couldn't be bothered to roast this senior who was constantly 'stealing time' from his supposedly busy life.
After chatting briefly with the two seniors, Su Qing quickly refocused her mind and continued to play the role of the ignorant victim.
The two seniors weren't too surprised by Su Qing's transmissions...
However, the Pearl-Bearing Dragon Girl was startled, nearly dropping a porcelain vessel.
Fortunately, Senior Guanyin saved the situation in time, preventing a performance accident.
"How could you be so careless..." The woman walked to her daughter's side and patted her back, saying, "It would be bad if you hurt yourself!"
The Dragon Girl forced a smile. "I was just a bit startled by the sudden arrival of guests."
"You girl, still so shy around strangers," the woman laughed and said. "But being shy won't do. One of these people might be your husband in the future. Go and greet them! Don't be shy; they are all good people."
Hearing this, the Dragon Girl hurriedly went to greet Su Qing and the others.
Then the other two 'young masters' also introduced themselves.
Su Qing didn't pay much attention to their self-introductions; she simply played along with Guanyin Bodhisattva with a beaming smile.
Seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva said no more to her and instead turned to Chen Chaoyan:
"Well? Have you all considered it clearly? Will you stay and be my daughters-in-law and son-in-law?"
Su Qing shook her head and smiled. "My apologies, but I naturally cannot. Besides, like my daughter, I no longer have an interest in men."
Su Qing was too lazy to find more excuses, so she simply used the same one Yudie had used.
As for Yudie, since her reason for refusing had already been voiced by Su Qing, she naturally had nothing left to say.
Chen Chaoyan, on the other hand, repeated her previous reasoning.
However, having her invitation rejected several times with the same excuse seemed to make the woman a bit annoyed.
She said, "The scriptures, the scriptures—why are you constantly obsessing over those scriptures? Even if you don't go to the Western Heaven, your master in the Eastern Land won't know about it. Why care so much? What if you are a monastic? You can always return to secular life. You still have your hair, so returning to secular life would even save you the trouble of regrowing it."
"I cannot!"
"Why not?"
"I simply cannot!"
Chen Chaoyan was never good at arguing...
Being forced to debate with the woman was truly difficult for her.
Su Qing, watching Chen Chaoyan's troubled expression, simply sipped the tea the Dragon Girl had brought and sat aside to watch the play silently.
Senior Guanyin was really something...
She said she didn't want to target her own disciple, yet in the end, wasn't she doing exactly that?
However, Su Qing wasn't worried about Chen Chaoyan. She had faith in her and understood her personality, which was why she was so relaxed.
Time passed quickly.
Chen Chaoyan's stubbornness and her refusal to yield no matter what truly left the woman helpless.
In the end, she simply left her two sons and daughter there to talk with Su Qing's group while she departed alone.
Seeing this, Su Qing smiled faintly, thinking that Guanyin Bodhisattva's acting was truly excellent. She was indeed an old fox who had lived for countless years.
But...
In Su Qing's view, this trial was essentially over.
Leaving the sons and daughter to talk with them was likely just to give the two seniors and the Dragon Girl a bit more screen time.
After all...
Su Qing felt that Guanyin's trial was only meant to test Chen Chaoyan's Dao heart and her determination for the pilgrimage. Beyond that, it was mostly just the seniors' mischievous streaks.
To the side, the Dragon Girl brought Su Qing another cup of strong tea.
Then she transmitted: "Thank you for your hard work, Senior."
Hearing the word 'Senior,' Su Qing was slightly surprised...
Had she unknowingly become a senior herself?
And besides...
The Dragon Girl was likely much older than her, wasn't she?
Thinking this, Su Qing didn't bother to explain. She nodded slightly and transmitted back: "It's fine... but can you stop bringing tea? I've already had three cups; I'm a bit full."
"..." The Dragon Girl was speechless and silently retreated to the side.
Nothing worth mentioning happened after that.
Chen Chaoyan was an airtight vessel; no matter how others tempted her, it had no effect.
Su Qing wasn't surprised by this at all...
An entire night passed.
The next morning, Su Qing and the others woke up early.
However, when they awoke...
The surroundings had turned into a forest, and everything from the previous night had completely vanished.
Su Qing wasn't surprised by this; it was exactly as she had expected.
Chen Chaoyan had also woken up. Seeing the surrounding scenery, she found it incredibly strange...
Yesterday, Chen Chaoyan had naturally not realized that everything was a test from her master, as her strength wasn't enough to see through their disguises.
"Where is the house from yesterday?" Chen Chaoyan rubbed her head, looking confused.
Su Qing smiled faintly and said, "It has vanished, of course."
"I know... I'm just curious why it vanished," Chen Chaoyan said, exasperated by her godmother's words.
Su Qing pointed to her side. "Isn't there a letter there? Read it, and you'll probably know."
Chen Chaoyan glanced at Su Qing, feeling suspicious, but she didn't think too much of it and picked up the letter to read.
However, as she read, her expression became stranger and stranger... until finally, her cheeks puffed out in a look of resentment.
Seeing her like this, Su Qing asked curiously, "What does the letter say?"
"Sigh... Godmother, take a look for yourself!" With that, Chen Chaoyan handed the letter to Su Qing.
Su Qing took a quick look. Well, she had thought it was something else! It was just about yesterday's events.
However, Su Qing hadn't expected that after the trial ended, Guanyin Bodhisattva would make no secret of the fact that she was the one testing Chen Chaoyan.
Of course, Guanyin didn't use her own title, but rather spoke in the name of Chen Chaoyan's master.
No wonder Chen Chaoyan was so resentful.
Su Qing couldn't help but laugh. "But it looks like you've passed your master's test."
"I passed, but I'm still so annoyed! Master actually didn't trust me! Do I look like the kind of woman who would marry someone for wealth?" Chen Chaoyan rolled her eyes. "Once I bring back the True Scriptures, I'm definitely going to have a proper talk with Master."
Su Qing found Chen Chaoyan's words quite amusing...
This girl was never good at arguing.
If she went back to argue with Guanyin Bodhisattva... would she even be able to win?
Furthermore... wouldn't she see her master anyway when she went to get the True Scriptures?
Why wait until she returned to have that talk?
"I wonder if Guanyin will tell this girl her true identity when she reaches Spirit Mountain," Su Qing thought, shaking her head slightly before pulling her focus back.
Now that it was dawn, it was time to set out.
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