Su Qing had initially thought her role in this scene would be quite substantial.
To her surprise, the Buddha had stolen the entire show… She hadn't really done much of anything before the Six-Eared Macaque was saved.
However, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Because of this, the person who chose to spare the Six-Eared Macaque was the Buddha, not her. This effectively avoided any potential rift that might have formed between her and Wukong.
So, in a sense, this actually helped Su Qing.
"Forget it. Being able to settle things easily and avoid friction with Wukong isn't a bad outcome," Su Qing thought to herself, shaking her head slightly.
Beside her, Wukong was quite annoyed to hear the Buddha speak this way.
But since it was the Buddha's will, he had no way to refuse.
After all, while he could hold his own against almost anyone, he was completely powerless against this Buddha.
He couldn't beat him five hundred years ago, and he certainly couldn't beat him now.
Thus, despite his intense irritation, he had no choice but to agree.
"I understand. If you say I shouldn't kill this Six-Eared Macaque, then I won't. But it wounded my Master; if there's no punishment, I won't be satisfied. Besides, making it a gate-keeping monkey for Big Sister is hardly a punishment at all. With Big Sister's personality, how could she possibly be harsh to it? And Big Sister's place is full of women; how could she take in a male monkey?"
Wukong spoke through gritted teeth.
He knew his Big Sister well, so he didn't believe the Six-Eared Macaque would face much hardship under Su Qing's care.
Su Qing remained silent, merely glancing at the Buddha.
Her look signaled: Since you've already stolen my part, you might as well keep talking.
The Buddha gave a helpless smile and said, "That is easily settled. I shall simply seal its cultivation… Furthermore, who told you it was a male monkey? This Six-Eared Macaque is a female!"
Wukong: "..."
Great. Wasn't that even worse?
Did he not know what kind of person his Big Sister was?
"Alright, say no more. Let this matter rest for now. As for you, I will provide some compensation. Come here; I have something to give you." The Buddha knew the monkey wouldn't let things go so easily, so he chose another method to appease him.
After all, the Six-Eared Macaque could not die yet.
This creature still had other uses for the Buddhist Kingdom.
Therefore, it had to be saved at all costs.
Now that the monkey was saved, the remaining task was to find a way to get her safely to Su Qing's side.
Wukong listened to the Buddha, and although he was still somewhat dissatisfied, he approached.
He realized now that the Buddha truly intended to keep the Six-Eared Macaque alive, so rather than continuing to argue, he might as well take some benefits and be done with it.
"I understand. Since you've put it that way, Buddha, I'll give you face this once," Wukong said, scratching the back of his hand with a very unhappy expression.
The Buddha nodded, then beckoned him closer and placed an object into his hand.
Upon receiving the item, Wukong said no more, only adding, "In that case, I won't disturb you further, Buddha. I only ask that you do me one more favor!"
"Rest assured. Guanyin Bodhisattva will accompany you to see your Master," the Buddha nodded, having anticipated what Wukong wanted and answering before he could even ask.
Wukong could only nod. "Then I'm off. As for this Six-Eared Macaque, I'll leave her to the disposal of Big Sister and the Buddha!"
Wukong no longer cared whether the Six-Eared Macaque would face further punishment.
Whether she did or didn't didn't really matter to him anymore.
Since he couldn't kill her anyway.
It was better to leave quickly and save himself the frustration of looking at her.
"Yes, go then, Wukong," the Buddha said with a nod.
Su Qing still didn't speak… she only gave a slight nod.
Wukong cupped his hands toward Su Qing and the Buddha, then rode a cloud away from Spirit Mountain to find Guanyin Bodhisattva.
After Wukong left, Su Qing still didn't release her hold on the Six-Eared Macaque.
She turned to the Buddha and asked, "Senior… don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
The Buddha chuckled and asked, "An explanation for what?"
"What do you think, Senior?" Su Qing countered.
The Buddha only laughed heartily, then addressed the assembly of Bodhisattvas. "Everyone, please excuse us for a moment. I have important matters to discuss with Sovereign Su."
Since the Buddha had spoken, the Bodhisattvas naturally wouldn't refuse. They all nodded and departed from the Hall of Great Might.
Once the Bodhisattvas and monks had left, only Su Qing, the Buddha, and the Six-Eared Macaque remained in the vast hall.
At this point, Su Qing asked again, "So, Buddha, what exactly is your plan? You're not really going to dump her on me, are you? And is this Six-Eared Macaque really female?"
Su Qing fired off several questions in a row, and the Buddha answered them one by one.
"Naturally, it will be as I told Wukong; I am handing this Six-Eared Macaque over to you! Giving you a monkey to guard your gate should be of some use to you, I imagine."
The Buddha said with a smile:
"Furthermore, this Six-Eared Macaque is indeed female! That is no lie. It is just that she is so skilled in transformation that few can see through to her true form, making it impossible to distinguish her gender. After all, if she wishes to be a woman, she can be a woman; if she wishes to be a man, she can be a man. Her methods of transformation are flawless—even you couldn't see through them, could you?"
Su Qing nodded helplessly; that was certainly true.
If not for the secret technique from Guanyin Bodhisattva, even she wouldn't have been able to tell who the Six-Eared Macaque was.
"But no matter how well she transforms, the change is still a facade. Her true body remains what it is… a female monkey."
The Buddha said with a chuckle:
"Speaking of which, you haven't seen what the Six-Eared Macaque actually looks like, have you?"
Su Qing's mouth twitched slightly as she nodded.
The secret technique only allowed her to identify who was the Six-Eared Macaque, but it didn't directly pierce through to her original form.
So, she truly hadn't seen her real appearance.
Seeing Su Qing nod, the Buddha pinched a hand seal.
The Six-Eared Macaque was suddenly brought before him, and her true form was revealed.
The Six-Eared Macaque's true form wasn't large… just about the size of an ordinary monkey.
Her appearance wasn't much different from a common macaque either.
The only thing truly unique was her pair of pointed ears…
While they weren't as strange as having six actual ears, they were certainly different from a normal monkey's.
So the Six-Eared Macaque doesn't actually have six ears. That's a bit surprising, Su Qing thought.
Then she said, "Her true form isn't anything particularly special! But more importantly, Buddha, you still haven't told me what your plan is! Don't tell me I'll find out when the time comes; that's exactly what Guanyin said."
The Buddha laughed. "But don't you already know?"
"..."
Su Qing was momentarily speechless. Although she knew the Buddha would say that, it was still frustrating.
"Fine, if you won't say it, then don't!" Su Qing shook her head helplessly. "But do you plan to just hand her over to me like this? You want her to guard my gate looking like a monkey?"
"Of course not. Besides having her guard your gate, I also hope you can educate this Six-Eared Macaque properly," the Buddha said.
"I don't know how to train monkeys, especially not a lawless one like the Six-Eared Macaque." Su Qing rolled her eyes.
Although she couldn't figure out what was going on in the Buddha's head, she felt it was better to refuse first.
It felt like a very troublesome task…
"This Six-Eared Macaque is a female monkey. I have heard that you are most skilled at dealing with women, so handing her to you will surely be no problem at all." The Buddha looked at Su Qing, his face full of trust. It was clear he truly believed Su Qing could train this Six-Eared Macaque well.
Su Qing: "..."
"Senior, where on earth did you hear such rumors… why do my legends feel more and more ridiculous?"
Su Qing could never have imagined it.
How much time had even passed!
How had the rumors about her become so outrageous?
They were even developing in a very strange direction.
Was it now assumed that as long as a creature was female, it fell within her 'hunting range'?
Why did it feel like she had become some sort of loose woman in the eyes of others? Someone who wouldn't let any female pass by?
Although Su Qing was starting to feel numb to these rumors and almost didn't want to bother with them, thinking about it now, she really should do something! Otherwise, who knew what her legend would turn into.
Su Qing couldn't help but rub her temples and said:
"You need not worry about where I heard it. Even without the rumors, I believe you truly possess such capability."
"Well, I don't believe I have such capability."
"I believe it, Maitreya believes it, and even Randeng believes it. That is enough."
"..." Su Qing was momentarily speechless.
That was a truly shameless thing to say.
"Fine, since you all believe it, I'll help you. But what benefits do I get?" Su Qing spread her hands and asked.
Su Qing wasn't someone who liked to demand rewards, but since she didn't particularly like this task, she figured she might as well get something out of it.
After all, this was quite a hassle.
If she helped without getting anything in return, she would be at a loss.
So, she would take whatever she could get.
"Rest assured. Since I am asking for your help, I naturally won't forget your reward." The Buddha wasn't surprised that Su Qing asked for benefits; it was only right. Why should someone help for nothing?
"Take these items for now. Consider them a partial advance on the reward. The other part is my promise… I will give it to you when the time comes."
The Buddha opened his palm, and several treasures appeared in his hand.
Su Qing recognized all of them; they were exceptionally rare treasures…
And several of them were items that could be used to refine a Body Outside Body clone.
These were much better than the materials Taishang Laojun had given her. Laojun had given her basic materials, so if she used these treasures to refine a clone, she could create a much more powerful one.
Of course, if she didn't use them for a clone, they were still excellent for other purposes.
Even taken individually, each was a treasure of immense value.
It was clear the Buddha was being quite generous this time.
He truly wanted Su Qing to handle this matter.
Su Qing sighed and nodded. "Since you've brought out these things, Buddha, I truly have no reason to refuse. However, I don't want to take this fellow back like this… have her transform first. Looking at this monkey form always reminds me of that rowdy fellow Wukong. It's a bit annoying…"
Seeing that Su Qing was no longer refusing, the Buddha couldn't help but smile…
There was no such thing as a task that couldn't be helped with.
If there was, it just meant the payment wasn't high enough.
See? Su Qing was helping now, wasn't she?
Therefore, the Buddha never intended to let Su Qing help for free… after all, favors are eventually used up, and the proper reward must never be lacking.
The Buddha smiled and said, "That is not difficult at all. It is merely a matter of a small spell."
As he spoke, the Buddha looked down at the Six-Eared Macaque.
With a point of his finger, he caused the Six-Eared Macaque to manifest her transformed appearance.
"The Six-Eared Macaque had long ago achieved transformation, so it is no trouble at all," the Buddha said with a chuckle. "It is only because her magic power was sealed and her voice suppressed that she couldn't maintain her human form."
Su Qing nodded, then looked at the transformed Six-Eared Macaque.
The Six-Eared Macaque's transformed appearance was much more pleasing to the eye…
She was just a bit flat—well, extremely flat.
She was the type where if she had a child, the child would surely go hungry.
However, her face was very cute; she was a very petite girl.
And while she was cute, the collar around her neck added a touch of suggestiveness.
It was just a bit strange.
Su Qing looked up and asked, "Is that thing something she already had?"
"No, it is a Tight-Fillet hoop used to suppress her magic power. I thought you might not like her wearing a hoop on her head, so I changed it to this!"
Su Qing: "..."
"Senior Buddha, you really do think of everything."
"Amitabha. Since I am asking for your help, I must naturally save you some trouble and consider your preferences," the Buddha said with a smile. "How is it?"
"Hmm… it's certainly not bad-looking." Su Qing's mouth twitched as she spoke.
It wasn't ugly, just a bit provocative.
"That is good!" The Buddha nodded. "This is the mantra to control the hoop. Commit it to memory… in the future, if this Six-Eared is disobedient, use it to discipline her. Wearing the hoop on the head only causes pain, but wearing it on the neck… well, it's not as simple as a headache. So, take it easy; don't chant her to death."
At this moment, the restrained Six-Eared Macaque listened to the conversation between Su Qing and the Buddha, staring at Su Qing with indignation.
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