The Cautious Leopard Spirit

Su Qing and her group traveled slowly up the mountain.

As they walked, they admired the mountain scenery. As they traversed the mountain path, they suddenly felt a warm breeze blowing toward them.

The wind was brisk, yet comfortable.

Su Qing looked up. She noticed that a thick fog had unknowingly begun to rise within the mountain.

The mist was dense. Within a few steps, everything became obscured. Looking up, the sun was gone, and the surrounding scenery was a chaotic blur. It felt as if they had walked into a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, Su Qing was not surprised. She simply said calmly, "The fog is rising."

The mist had come quite suddenly. Although Morning Glory had not yet detected any demonic Qi, she instinctively felt that the fog was unnatural. After all, she had gained a fair amount of experience on this journey. She was no longer some sheltered young lady of a noble house; she possessed the necessary vigilance.

Morning Glory looked up at the pervasive mist and couldn't help but say, "Godmother, this fog is eerie. I suspect it's a demon's trick."

Su Qing turned to look at Morning Glory beside her, then nodded slightly. "Most likely! Stay close to me. This fog is too thick; if we wander too far apart, we might get lost in these mountains."

Morning Glory nodded quickly. "By the way, Godmother... should we go and deal with those demons?"

Su Qing shook her head. "As you wish."

"I see..."

Seeing Su Qing’s indifferent attitude, Morning Glory didn't say anything more. She simply stayed by Su Qing's side as they continued up the mountain.

Yudie didn't care much about any of this. She followed Su Qing, chirping away like a little sparrow. Jingyue, on the other hand, was quiet—so quiet she seemed almost dazed.

The group advanced peacefully.

Before long, Su Qing and the others reached a clearing. Seeing this, Yudie looked up at the sky, but the colors were obscured by the fog, making it impossible to tell the time. However, even though she couldn't see the sky, Yudie could accurately sense that it was almost time to eat.

So, she hurriedly called for Su Qing to rest for a while, suggesting they eat lunch before continuing.

Su Qing felt a bit helpless. This girl was truly proactive about nothing except eating!

Su Qing looked around and said with a sigh, "Very well, we shall rest here for a bit! However, stopping here might make it easy to encounter demons."

Yudie said dismissively, "No fear, no fear! If we really meet a demon, I'll just handle it."

Morning Glory smiled helplessly at this. "If we do meet a demon, I'll go with Sister Yudie to deal with it. After all, if they come looking for us, they must be man-eating demons. It's better if Sister Yudie and I handle them together."

Yudie nodded in strong agreement. "Sister Morning Glory is right!"

Su Qing rolled her eyes, unable to do anything with the girl. She nodded slightly and said, "Fine, as you wish. But remember what you said—Jingyue and I will not step in to help you."

"I don't need your help, Mother! My current strength is very reliable," Yudie said, hands on her hips with a face full of confidence.

Su Qing naturally knew exactly how strong the girl was, and she also knew the strength of that leopard demon, so she wasn't particularly worried. If she knew the girl couldn't handle those demons, she certainly wouldn't have agreed.

And so, Su Qing and the others rested on the spot for a while, intending to set off again after lunch.

While Su Qing and the others were eating, a minor demon peeked at them secretly. Then, he scurried back to his king's side.

At Mount Wuyin, in the Cave of Linked Peaks, a minor demon ran hurriedly into the cavern and bowed before the Great King of the South Ridge, the Mugwort-Spotted Leopard Spirit.

"Great King! Great King!"

"Why the panic?"

The minor demon cried out, "People have come to the mountain! They are all tender-skinned girls and a nun. Great King, should we go and capture them? We haven't tasted meat in a long time."

The leopard spirit’s brow twitched slightly. "How many?"

"Four, all women! One is dressed like a nun, but she has hair, so she doesn't quite look like one!" The minor demon chuckled. "But that doesn't matter. They're all women, and being so tender-skinned, they must be delicious when cooked."

The leopard spirit nodded. "Hmm, not bad! Where are they?"

"In that clearing in the forest."

"Good. Go ahead and set up an ambush. Don't delay... we must capture these people for a feast today!" the leopard spirit said, stroking the fur on his chin.

Having received the king's order, the minor demon moved quickly, hurriedly gathering the others. They prepared to set up an array in front of Su Qing and her group to capture them.

Watching his busy subordinates, the leopard spirit sat in his chair, stroking his chin with some concern. For some reason, after making this decision, he felt a sense of unease. It was as if something bad was about to happen.

"Strange, strange!"

The leopard spirit shook his head, unable to figure out what he was worried about or what bad thing might occur. However, since he couldn't figure it out, he decided not to overthink it after a moment's reflection. He wouldn't get an answer anyway.

He stood up and said to a subordinate, "Someone, bring me my war-gear!"

"Great King? You're coming with us to catch them?"

"Yes... it's more prudent this way," the leopard spirit said.

Hearing this, the minor demons said no more. They nodded and went to fetch their king's armor and weapons.

Once dressed and armed, the leopard spirit led a group of minor demons out. As demons of this mountain, they were naturally intimately familiar with the terrain. They knew which paths travelers had to take. Thus, after confirming Su Qing’s position, they set up an array on the mandatory path.

As long as they entered this array, they would surely be captured in one fell swoop!

But the problem was, the leopard spirit still felt that something was wrong, which kept him from being fully at ease.

"No, I must make this fog even thicker," the leopard spirit thought.

This fog was a spell he cast by utilizing the unique nature of Mount Wuyin. Making the mountain mist denser was no difficult task for him.

While they were casting the spell, Su Qing and the others finally finished their lunch and were ready to set off again.

"Eh? Why has the fog become even thicker?" Just as they were about to start, Morning Glory suddenly noticed the surrounding mist had intensified, making the road even harder to see.

Su Qing’s brow twitched slightly. "With fog this thick, I hope we don't take a wrong turn."

Compared to meeting demons, Su Qing was more afraid of getting lost. After all, if they took a wrong turn, it would take time to circle back.

"It must be those demons' doing," Morning Glory said with a helpless smile.

Su Qing nodded. "Never mind, let's just keep going. I'll lead the way!"

While chatting with Morning Glory, Su Qing had performed a brief divination. She quickly understood the general situation and knew which way to go.

Su Qing didn't plan to avoid the demons; instead, she intended to walk directly into the array they had set up. There was no special reason for this—she simply wanted to train Morning Glory.

Originally, she had planned to ignore the demons if they didn't come looking for trouble, but since they had already come to her, she might as well make use of them.

As for whether to kill the leopard spirit and disrupt that tribulation, Su Qing was still considering it. But after a moment's thought, she decided to leave it to fate.

If Morning Glory and Yudie killed him, then so be it. If the demon was fast enough to escape and survive... she wouldn't bother chasing him.

Morning Glory looked up at Su Qing. Seeing Su Qing’s calm expression, she felt a bit more at ease. Regardless of the situation, as long as Su Qing remained calm, she could stay calm as well.

She, Yudie, and Jingyue followed closely behind Su Qing, not daring to stray too far. The fog was so thick that one could easily get separated in the forest without careful attention.

The group walked slowly. Before long, Su Qing noticed the presence of demonic Qi nearby. She knew she was likely already within the demons' encirclement.

Sure enough, just as Su Qing was thinking this, arrows flew from the shadows. Unfortunately, these were just ordinary arrows and posed no threat to Su Qing and the others. They couldn't even wound Morning Glory.

"Godmother!?"

"We must have accidentally walked into the demons' ambush... be careful. Although the demons around us aren't strong, they are hiding in the dark," Su Qing said calmly. "Watch out for sneak attacks."

However, she clearly didn't intend to act. Since this was meant to train Morning Glory and Yudie, it would be meaningless if she stepped in.

At the same time, Su Qing sent a telepathic message to Jingyue: "You don't act either... just let these two girls handle it."

Hearing this, Jingyue looked up at Su Qing and nodded silently. For Jingyue, not having to act was actually a good thing. It saved her a lot of trouble. Wasn't it better to just watch the show by her sister's side?

In the shadows, the leopard spirit saw that the arrows were ineffective. He frowned and said, "Be careful. Those people likely have some cultivation. If we can't catch them, we retreat! Don't get into a prolonged fight with them. Letting them go just means missing a meal, but if we lose our lives in a head-on clash, that's the end of everything."

The leopard spirit was extremely cautious. Upon seeing Su Qing, he had identified the source of his unease. So, he quickly ordered his subordinates to be careful. If they couldn't win, they were to flee immediately. After all, where there's life, there's hope. If you lose your life, it's truly over.

The minor demons had low strength and even less insight than the leopard spirit. They had no idea why their king was being so cautious. Though they didn't understand, their king's words surely had merit, so they didn't completely ignore them.

"Go!" After a moment's thought, the leopard spirit gave the command, signaling his subordinates to attack together.

Meanwhile, Morning Glory and Yudie were alert to their surroundings, ready to fight at any moment.

Suddenly, Morning Glory saw demons attacking from the mist. She hurriedly recited the Heart Sutra in her mind while swinging the Buddhist staff in her hand toward the demons.

Morning Glory’s current cultivation meant her casting speed wasn't very fast; in a fight, it was more convenient and direct to just swing her weapon. She wasn't like Su Qing, who could resolve most battles with a simple hand seal or an incantation.

Su Qing sat on her horse, quietly watching Morning Glory and Yudie deal with the demons without a hint of panic. She even spared some attention to soothe the startled horse.

"Don't be afraid, these are just minor demons. But if you run off, you won't be getting any of your pills for the next few days." Su Qing’s comfort carried a slight threat. However, the effect was significant. Upon hearing Su Qing’s words, the previously startled horse immediately became much better behaved.

Morning Glory and Yudie's battle wasn't particularly intense. It was just that the demons occupied the shadows, making the two of them somewhat passive. However, even in a passive position, those demons were no match for Morning Glory and Yudie.

Ultimately, they were just minor demons. Setting aside their cultivation levels, they couldn't even perform a few spells. Trying to defeat Morning Glory and Yudie was little more than a pipe dream.

As for the leopard spirit, Su Qing had been keeping an eye on him. She noticed that he had no intention of making a move at all. He was merely staring at her warily.

"This leopard spirit sensed my threat?" Su Qing’s brow rose slightly, a bit surprised. She hadn't expected this leopard spirit to be so perceptive as to detect the threat she posed.

Thinking of this, Su Qing couldn't help but chuckle. "No wonder he doesn't dare to act personally... I suspect this fellow has already prepared to run."

Su Qing shook her head slightly. She began to find it a bit dull. So, she formed a hand seal... just to scare the leopard spirit.

As expected, seeing Su Qing about to act, the leopard spirit hurriedly gathered his subordinates and fled. Before Morning Glory could even react, the group of demons had mostly vanished.

Su Qing couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "These fellows..." She shook her head with a helpless smile. "Fine, since you've fled, you can remain as a tribulation in the Journey to the West."

However, whether he fled or stayed to fight to the death, the final result was an inescapable death. It was merely a matter of dying sooner or later.

"Alright, those demons have fled. Let's not chase them," Su Qing said hurriedly as she saw Morning Glory about to pursue. "The fog is thick here... be careful not to walk into a trap. Since they've run, let's spare their lives for now."

Morning Glory paused and abandoned the idea of chasing them.