Visiting the Dragon Mother

Su Qing watched Liu Jingyue smile again. She couldn't help but offer a slight smile in return... she knew that Liu Jingyue had likely come to terms with things. So, she said with a grin, "Alright, let's go say goodbye to Wukong, then we'll head to the Dragon Palace! It's not far from here; we'll be there in no time."

Liu Jingyue simply nodded with a smile, not particularly concerned. "Let's go!"

Su Qing, Liu Jingyue, and Yudie set off together, soon finding Wukong outside the Water Curtain Cave, bragging to the other monkeys. She didn't waste words and clearly explained that she was leaving.

Upon hearing this, Wukong didn't feel much sorrow... After all, his Somersault Cloud was incredibly fast. If he wanted to find Su Qing, it was only a somersault away. There was no need for a tearful goodbye. Such a display would only annoy his Big Sister.

Wukong bid Su Qing farewell and gave her some of the Flower-Fruit Mountain's monkey wine. Su Qing accepted it without ceremony. The wine from this mountain was indeed excellent... Taking some back to enjoy was perfectly fine.

Having received the wine, Su Qing said her final goodbyes and rode a cloud over the East Sea. Su Qing knew exactly where the Dragon Palace was. She paused above the waves, performed a water-repelling spell, and led Liu Jingyue and Yudie into the water.

Once submerged, Su Qing pushed through the currents. Before long, the magnificent, jewel-encrusted Crystal Palace came into view... This wasn't Su Qing's first visit, yet she still found the palace's luxury striking.

Two Water Yaksas stood guard at the gate. Seeing Su Qing, they hurried inside to inform the Old Dragon King. Su Qing wasn't in a rush and waited outside for a moment.

Inside the Dragon Palace, the Old Dragon King was leisurely sipping tea while palace maids massaged his feet—a picture of pure enjoyment. Just then, a yaksa rushed in frantically and slid into a kneel before the Old Dragon King.

Seeing the yaksa's panic, the Old Dragon King frowned. "Why the rush? Has Sun Wukong come back again?"

He didn't actually think it was Wukong... If it were, would a yaksa even have time to notify him? That monkey would have barged straight in, treating the place like his own home.

The Water Yaksa didn't dare delay and hurriedly said, "Great King, the Sovereign has arrived!"

"The Sovereign? Which one?" the Old Dragon King asked, standing up. Although many in the Heavenly Court held the title of Sovereign, their power and status were never ordinary... No matter which one it was, he didn't dare be negligent.

The Water Yaksa quickly replied, "It's the Mountain God of the Changbai Mountains, the Azure Spirit Sovereign!"

Hearing it was Su Qing, the Old Dragon King breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, so it's my son-in-law..."

A moment later, he added, "What are you standing there for? Go invite her in! Forget it, I'll go with you."

After some thought, he decided to greet her personally. Although Su Qing was his son-in-law, she was still a Taiyi Heavenly Immortal and someone truly worthy of the title Sovereign. The proper etiquette had to be maintained. He couldn't let his image in his son-in-law's eyes get any worse.

The Old Dragon King possessed a modicum of self-awareness... He knew that some of his past actions had displeased Su Qing. Therefore, he didn't dare repeat them... After all, she was a powerhouse who had achieved the rank of Taiyi Heavenly Immortal. If he truly provoked her, the trouble would be immense.

Soon, the Old Dragon King emerged with the yaksa. Seeing Su Qing, he greeted her warmly, "If it isn't Son-in-law Su! What wind blew you here? Come, come inside, don't just stand out here."

Without waiting for Su Qing to speak, he turned and scolded the two yaksas, blaming them for not letting her in immediately. The two yaksas didn't dare talk back, standing aside and trembling under their leader's rebuke.

Su Qing raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. She simply said calmly, "I'm passing by on my way back to the Changbai Mountains, so I came to see my mother-in-law."

The Old Dragon King wasn't surprised. He laughed and said, "So that's it! How thoughtful of you. Come, I'll take you to her!"

He was exceptionally enthusiastic, showing no resentment that Su Qing had only mentioned the Dragon Mother and not him. If nothing else, he had some self-awareness. Moreover, his skin was thick enough that he could remain unbothered.

Seeing his warmth, Su Qing couldn't maintain a cold face, and her attitude softened slightly. As the Old Dragon King chatted along the way, Su Qing offered occasional responses—not exactly cold, but not warm either.

Yudie and Liu Jingyue remained silent. Influenced by Su Qing, Yudie didn't have much of an opinion of the Old Dragon King, while Liu Jingyue simply didn't know him.

The walk was peaceful, and they soon reached the Dragon Palace's Imperial Garden. The Dragon Mother often spent her time there tending to flowers, making her easy to find. Indeed, as soon as Su Qing arrived, she saw the Dragon Mother pruning the branches of an unknown flower.

"Old wife, your son-in-law is here to see you. Stop fussing with those flowers," the Old Dragon King called out when he saw she hadn't noticed them.

The Dragon Mother started slightly, then turned around. When she saw Su Qing, Yudie, and the others, a look of surprise crossed her face.

"Ah~" She set down her shears and walked over quickly, taking Su Qing's hand. "My dear son-in-law, it's been so long! I've missed you dearly."

Su Qing smiled brightly. "I've been busy with other matters these past few years, so I couldn't visit. Since I was passing by today, I thought I'd come pay my respects."

Su Qing held a great deal of respect for the Dragon Mother... Compared to the Old Dragon King, she certainly liked the Dragon Mother more. Well, it helped that the Dragon Mother was much easier on the eyes.

"Grandma~" Yudie chimed in, afraid of being forgotten.

Hearing Yudie's voice, the Dragon Mother rubbed the girl's head. "Yudie is such a good girl! Grandma will make some fish for you to eat later~"

Yudie's smile grew even wider. Su Qing watched the girl's expression with a hint of helplessness... Did this little one have any hobbies other than eating?

"By the way, did your sister not come with you?" the Dragon Mother asked, referring to Su Ying'er.

"Ying'er is at home; she didn't come out with us this time."

"I see... what a pity." The Dragon Mother nodded, patted Yudie's head again, and said, "My dear son-in-law, let's sit and chat!"

Su Qing saw no reason to refuse. She followed the Dragon Mother to a nearby pavilion. Seeing this, the Old Dragon King chuckled, shook his head, and left on his own, having no intention of being a third wheel. He knew Su Qing didn't like him, but he didn't particularly care. As long as Su Qing was still his son-in-law and treated the Dragon Mother well, his goal was achieved.

After the Old Dragon King left, Su Qing and the Dragon Mother began their casual chat.

"Sigh, it's been years. Why does my dear son-in-law look thinner? Was the journey to the west too hard? Did you go hungry?" the Dragon Mother asked, looking at Su Qing.

Su Qing shook her head with a smile. "It's likely just an illusion. Given my current realm, how could I starve? Besides, I didn't go hungry on the journey."

"That's good, that's good," the Dragon Mother said with a grin. "It looks like your business with the journey to the west is finally over?"

"Yes, my part in it is finished," Su Qing nodded, not hiding anything. "Now I can stay peacefully at the Changbai Mountains."

"I see... speaking of which, why didn't you bring that brat Ao Ying with you? I haven't seen her in ages. Also, she hasn't been causing you any trouble lately, has she?"

"Ying'er is fine; how could she cause trouble? She helps out with many things at home. As for not bringing her and the others, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit. Next time, I'll bring Ao Ying and Su Ying'er back to pay their respects."

"It's fine, it's fine, as long as she isn't a burden to you. On second thought, there's no need to bring them back. That girl still holds a grudge against the old man, so I'll just visit the Changbai Mountains when I have time. It's been a while since I've been there... I do miss the scenery."

Su Qing didn't say much more, though she still insisted she would bring Ao Ying back. Having her mother-in-law travel to the Changbai Mountains was less proper than bringing Ao Ying back to the Dragon Palace.

"By the way, I'm curious about something..."

"Please, ask anything."

"When are you and Ao Ying planning to have another one?"

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? I'm talking about a second child, of course!"

"We... don't have any plans for that yet," Su Qing replied, her lip twitching slightly.

The Dragon Mother was true to her nature, asking questions without any filter or hesitation... It was just that her questions were a bit difficult for Su Qing to answer. Fortunately, Jingyue was off playing with Yudie elsewhere in the garden. Otherwise, Jingyue would have certainly blushed. Although she wasn't the subject, the girl was quite thin-skinned; it would be strange if she didn't turn red.

Luckily, the Dragon Mother was good at reading the room. Seeing that Su Qing wasn't keen on the topic, she steered the conversation elsewhere. The talk proceeded more smoothly after that, and Su Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Time passed slowly as they talked about many things. As they chatted, Su Qing found herself just nodding along to whatever the Dragon Mother brought up... The woman was incredibly talkative.

"Speaking of which... the seas haven't been very peaceful lately," the Dragon Mother suddenly remarked.

This caught Su Qing's interest. "Not peaceful? Why is that?"

"I'm not sure... but there have been frequent earthquakes in the sea lately, which has made many demons restless... Fortunately, the Dragon Palace's forces are sufficient, and we suppressed them quickly. It's just that these earthquakes are annoying; they've been keeping me from getting a good night's sleep."

The Dragon Mother complained to Su Qing with some frustration.

Su Qing's brow furrowed. "Frequent earthquakes? That is indeed quite bothersome. I wonder what's happening at the bottom of the sea."

"It's probably just the movement of the earth," the Dragon Mother said, seemingly unconcerned, only annoyed by her lack of sleep. But then she changed the subject. "Well~ we don't need to worry about the affairs of heaven and earth. The Heavenly Court is there to hold things up. If anything major happens, they'll handle it."

Su Qing nodded. "That is true."

"It's about time. The Imperial Kitchen should have lunch ready. Let's go eat. Sigh, I was planning to personally prepare some fish for Yudie, but we got so caught up in our chat that I completely forgot." The Dragon Mother seemed to have a bit of a headache. "I wonder how I should compensate that girl."

"There's no need to worry about that... I doubt she'll mind. As long as there's food, she's happy," Su Qing said with a laugh.

"But since I promised, I must give her some compensation."

Su Qing didn't argue further, letting her mother-in-law decide. However, regarding the undersea earthquakes... Su Qing had her own suspicions.

"Come to think of it, the old Earth God's report also mentioned earthquakes." Su Qing's thoughts raced. "Could it be related to the Ancestral Vein? Or is it just a normal earthquake?"

Su Qing shook her head... While she had many theories, they were just theories. It would be an overreaction to lose sleep over a mere suspicion. "Whatever, I'll ask the Buddha about it if I get the chance," she thought.

She then followed along for lunch. The lunch at the Dragon Palace was, of course, incredibly lavish... And having eaten her fill, Yudie had long since forgotten the Dragon Mother's earlier promise. Even so, the Dragon Mother ended up giving the girl plenty of snacks, which made her overjoyed.

Su Qing didn't say much about it. After lunch, it was time for Su Qing to continue her journey back to the Changbai Mountains. Just as she was leaving, the Dragon Mother gave her several more secret manuals. Su Qing didn't even need to look to guess what was inside. Aside from "in-depth yet accessible methods of interaction," what else could they be? After all, it wasn't the first time the Dragon Mother had given her such things. Su Qing felt incredibly helpless and frustrated.