The Big Shot

Yellow Brow wasn't surprised by Su Qing's questions. Before Su Qing even arrived, he knew he'd inevitably be questioned, so he was prepared with his answers. Besides, he was acting on Maitreya's direct instructions and could tell Su Qing everything he knew.

Of course, this was limited to what he did know. Things he didn't know, he naturally couldn't tell Su Qing. And Su Qing's second question was precisely something he wasn't privy to.

Yellow Brow said helplessly, "Senior, please forgive this junior for being unable to answer your question. It's not that I want to beat around the bush or am unwilling to tell you.

"It's simply because I don't know the reason myself. My master only told me to wait here... to have you stay for a night after you arrive, and to deliver a few messages to you.

"But he didn't tell me any more reasons."

"However, if you, Yuanjun, are curious why I am waiting here for the Holy Monk, I can certainly clear up that confusion for you."

"My master explained the details of that matter to me."

Su Qing shook her head slightly upon hearing this.

She didn't want to know Yellow Brow's reason for waiting for Tang Sanzang. She knew the reason better than anyone. She was just a little disappointed.

She had hoped to use this opportunity to verify her conjectures, but unexpectedly, Yellow Brow, who usually answered every question, knew nothing about the underlying reasons.

"Never mind. Since you don't know, I won't press you. Just tell me what message Maitreya asked you to deliver to me, then?" Su Qing sighed softly, then continued.

Seeing this, Yellow Brow said nothing more, merely cleared his throat. He then imitated Maitreya's tone and spoke to Su Qing.

"As you journey west, you must have many questions in your heart, feeling that our reason for having you bring Chen Chaoyan to the Western Heaven is not as simple as initially stated."

"In fact, your guess is not wrong."

"As for our ultimate purpose, Sakyamuni Buddha will inform you once you reach the Western Heaven."

"Before that, please proceed with your original plan."

"Just, you can proceed with greater confidence and boldness."

"There's no need to worry about disrupting the Eighty-One Tribulations."

"Both the Western Heaven and the Heavenly Court support your journey west... so, if a tribulation is disrupted, then it's disrupted."

"Sakyamuni Buddha must have also told you to be bolder in your actions."

"The Eighty-One Tribulations will certainly occur... no need to worry about not gathering all Eighty-One Tribulations."

"If one tribulation is lost, another will naturally compensate for it."

"We in the Western Heaven are watching Tang Sanzang's journey."

"You are naturally the same; Guanyin Bodhisattva, Old Mother, and Manjusri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva are all watching you..."

"Also, don't come looking for me! I'm currently traveling outside, and I can't tell you where I've gone!"

"I'm an honest person, the type who answers every question, so there are some things I can't tell you in advance."

After Yellow Brow finished speaking, he coughed twice, then stood up and bowed to Su Qing, saying, "I apologize for my earlier disrespect... those were my master's exact words."

Afterward, Yellow Brow remained silent, waiting for Su Qing to process the information. Although Yellow Brow didn't fully grasp some of the deeper meanings in the words, he knew that Su Qing would undoubtedly understand more from them.

Therefore, she naturally needed some time to digest the information she received. Indeed, Su Qing didn't pay attention to anything else Yellow Brow said at that moment.

She merely touched her chin, a little speechless and silent. Her thoughts were racing, a bit chaotic.

Because the message Maitreya had Yellow Brow deliver to her indeed contained a lot of important information... And it explained some of the doubts in her heart, as well as revealing some other details.

But the most important thing was probably that it incidentally confirmed some of her conjectures. Besides that, Su Qing was also somewhat exasperated...

These seniors... they liked playing guessing games even more than she did. Each one loved being a riddle-teller... Even she was almost being led astray.

After a long while, Su Qing exhaled a turbid breath, temporarily suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind. She smiled helplessly at Yellow Brow, saying, "Maitreya is truly something... he's even hiding because he's worried I'll go question him further."

Yellow Brow shook his head upon hearing this, saying, "My master is like that..."

Su Qing chuckled, about to speak again, when she suddenly heard footsteps and paused. A monk, disguised as a demon, scurried over to Yellow Brow, bowed, and then glanced at Su Qing, saying:

"Great King... ahem, Abbot, we've arranged the bhikkhuni's lodging as you instructed, and food is already being prepared."

Yellow Brow stroked his beard and nodded slightly, saying, "Hmm, well done... you may leave!"

Seeing this, the monk scurried away again. It seemed the monk still had something more to say. After the monk left, Yellow Brow coughed twice and said, "I've kept you waiting, Yuanjun. By the way, do you have any other questions? If I know the answers, I will certainly tell you one by one."

Su Qing shook her head slightly, saying, "You've already answered what I wanted to ask. Besides that, I have nothing more to ask.

I imagine my god-daughter is probably getting impatient by now, so I'll go back and accompany her. Farewell."

Seeing this, Yellow Brow didn't try to stop her, but quickly nodded, saying, "Since you, Yuanjun, need to rest, this junior naturally has no reason to stop you!"

Yellow Brow then called over his subordinates, instructing them to lead Su Qing to the wing rooms where Chaoyan and the others were staying.

After Su Qing left, the monk who had left earlier found Yellow Brow again. Seeing no one around, the monk immediately revealed his true demon form.

He asked Yellow Brow, "Old Ancestor, Old Ancestor, when are we going to make our move? We haven't eaten human flesh yet!"

Yellow Brow raised an eyebrow slightly, then slapped the little demon's head, saying, "Didn't I tell you to treat these travelers well and not to harbor any ill intentions? What? Did you think I was joking?"

The little demon, having been slapped by Yellow Brow, felt dizzy and disoriented. He could only quickly nod, indicating that he understood. Seeing this, Yellow Brow nodded slightly, saying, "I know you haven't had much indulgence yet, but these travelers are not the ones we're supposed to catch! Just keep waiting."

Since Yellow Brow said so, how could the demon dare to disobey? After all, he had only received a slap just now; next time, he might be sent directly to meet the Buddha. So, how could he dare to be dishonest?

However, the little demon still felt it was a pity... The group looked exceptionally wealthy, and their flesh seemed exceptionally delicious, yet they couldn't be eaten. He really couldn't understand what the Great King was thinking.

Meanwhile, Su Qing was walking to find Chaoyan. Her mind was still somewhat chaotic.

"However... since Maitreya also said I can act freely, then I'll be even more unrestrained!" Su Qing thought to herself. "This is good. This way, I can personally resolve some issues. And there are some places I won't have to bypass, unnecessarily lengthening the journey."

Su Qing, knowing the original story, naturally knew that there were indeed some places on the journey west that were extremely troublesome, even the kind of trouble she definitely couldn't stand by and watch. To avoid disrupting a tribulation, she would either turn a blind eye when passing by or simply avoid it entirely, out of sight, out of mind.

But now that Maitreya and the Buddha had both said she could act freely, then even if she disrupted a tribulation, there likely wouldn't be any problems. However, Su Qing also probably understood from Maitreya's earlier words...

Those Buddhas of the West, or rather, the Buddha and the others, already knew that she was aware of the Eighty-One Tribulations. But thinking about it, it made sense... she had almost walked through every single place along the way, only bypassing a few. So, it wasn't strange for them to know. It wasn't even strange if they knew from the very beginning...

Especially beings like Taishang Laojun, the Jade Emperor, Maitreya, Randeng, and the Buddha, who had lived through countless Cosmic Eras. After all, they had experienced so many world resets... Now that an anomaly like herself had appeared, how could they not notice?

Thinking this, Su Qing chuckled and shook her head slightly, "Forget it, don't delve too deeply into this for now; some things only bring more trouble the more you think about them!"

"Sigh, it's true... if I could live as carefree and thoughtless as Jingyue, not worrying about so many things, I would probably be much more relaxed, right?"

Su Qing was just thinking this when she followed the monk to the door of the wing room. The moment she stopped, Jingyue's sneeze came from inside, accompanied by a comment: "I wonder who's talking about me behind my back..."

Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly... Was it really that accurate? She just complained mentally, and the girl sneezed.

Su Qing shook her head, smiled helplessly, then pushed the door open and walked in. Seeing Su Qing return, Yudie was the first to run over, giving her a bear hug, then asked, "Mama~"

Su Qing rubbed the girl's head, saying, "Alright, don't be so informal."

Yudie stuck out her tongue, still shamelessly clinging to Su Qing. Su Qing shook her head and sat back in her chair. Jingyue, rubbing her nose, turned to look at Su Qing and asked, "Sister, what did you talk about with the Abbot?"

"Nothing much... just complained that this temple was too much like the Great Thunder Monastery," Su Qing spread her hands, saying, "And chatted about some other things."

Jingyue nodded, not asking further, just rubbing her nose and saying, "Sigh~ The sandalwood incense here is too strong; it makes my nose so uncomfortable, I keep sneezing."

Su Qing smiled upon hearing this, "Is that so? I thought you really felt someone was cursing you behind your back, and that's why you sneezed."

"Were you cursing me, Sister?"

"No, absolutely not."

Jingyue glanced at Su Qing, her eyes betraying her distrust. Su Qing's mouth twitched. Why did she have to run her mouth?

"Hmph, sometimes Sister really needs a good lesson!" Jingyue pouted. Su Qing chuckled, "Too bad you can't beat me~ so you can't teach me a lesson."

"That's true..." Jingyue nodded helplessly, saying, "But there will be a chance."

Su Qing tilted her head slightly, then felt a bit bewildered... This girl said there would be a chance; what kind of chance would there be in the future? After thinking about it, Su Qing didn't ask further.

She just laughed and changed the subject. Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, night fell. The temple's lights were lit. Under the illumination of the lights, the temple appeared even more sacred.

However, both Jingyue and Su Qing knew that this sacredness was false... Beneath the sanctity lay a rich demonic aura. It was just conveniently concealed by the Buddha's light. But Su Qing and Jingyue both understood without needing to say anything.

Jingyue naturally didn't know Su Qing's plans; all she knew was that she just needed to listen to Su Qing. If Su Qing said it was fine, it was definitely fine. After dinner, Chaoyan stood before the Buddha statue and offered a stick of incense.

She vaguely sensed that there was something amiss with the temple, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. After offering incense to the Buddha statue, Chaoyan didn't linger. Instead, she returned to her room, settling beside Su Qing, and silently recited the Heart Sutra.

Late into the night, everyone had gone to sleep. But the Demon King Yellow Brow was still awake. He had to watch his subordinates, preventing any of them from having a sudden crazy idea and actually attacking Su Qing and the others...

After all, the other party was truly not someone he dared to provoke casually! Even if he knew that with the magical treasures Maitreya had given him, he might actually be able to defeat Su Qing. But what good would winning do? Afterward, he would face the double interrogation of both the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist sect!

Even his own master would probably side with those interrogating him. So, how could he dare to stir up such trouble? Unless he truly didn't want to live. Su Qing's existence was too important... Even if he didn't know the inside story, he knew that Su Qing was an incredibly important figure to both Buddhism and the Heavenly Court.

He couldn't provoke this ultimate weapon. Fortunately...

The night passed exceptionally peacefully, and none of his subordinates did anything to court death. In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning. Morning. The fog was hazy. After Su Qing and her companions had breakfast, they went to bid farewell to Yellow Brow.

It must be said that they had rested quite well that night... Except for Jingyue, who couldn't stand the temple's strange sandalwood incense, the others had rested very well. "Since you all are leaving, this old man won't keep you! By the way, here are some dry rations; please take them with you," Yellow Brow uttered Amitabha, then said.