“Yes, I’m back!” Su Qing nodded slightly, then added, “Yudie is back as well...”
“Eh!? Yudie’s back too? How come I didn’t see her?” Morning Glory put on an expression of utter surprise, looking left and right as if searching for the girl.
“Hey, you’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?! I’m standing right in front of you, yet you’re pretending I’m invisible?”
Seeing Morning Glory’s act, Yudie felt a surge of annoyance.
This girl was definitely pretending not to see her. After all, no matter how blind one was, they couldn’t possibly miss someone standing right there.
Morning Glory tilted her head to look at Yudie and said, “Oh my, I didn’t notice Sister Yudie just now. Maybe it’s because she’s so short that I missed her?”
Morning Glory’s cheerful jab made Yudie grit her teeth in frustration.
However, she wasn’t truly angry; she just felt a bit depressed. She had the feeling that Morning Glory was becoming increasingly sly...
She must have picked up bad habits from Guanyin Bodhisattva and Mother.
“Hmph, you’re the short one! If I wanted to grow taller, wouldn’t it be easy? I just choose not to,” Yudie said with a cold snort, crossing her arms. “And I’m still your elder sister! Stop making fun of my height.”
Because Yudie always maintained her child-like form, her height was naturally limited. When she had accompanied Morning Glory on the pilgrimage to the Western Heaven, she had used transformation spells to make herself look like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old. But upon returning to Changbai Mountain, she had reverted to her true appearance—always a child.
Morning Glory, on the other hand, had grown taller with age, and her figure was becoming increasingly curvaceous. Consequently, she often teased Yudie about this, leading to their frequent bickering.
Seeing Yudie’s completely non-threatening posture, Morning Glory’s smile widened. She reached out and patted Yudie’s head, saying, “Alright, alright. I won’t make fun of Sister Yudie’s height anymore.”
Yudie: “...”
“Can you take your hand off my head before saying that?”
Watching the two friends bicker affectionately, Red Boy couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Don’t you laugh either!” Yudie snapped at Red Boy, dissatisfied. “You don’t understand the benefits! Once you do, you’ll realize exactly why I stay in this form.”
Red Boy put her hands on her hips and said with a grin, “I don’t care about the benefits! I’m not like you, Sister Yudie; I want to grow up as fast as possible!”
Yudie stuck her tongue out and made a face at Red Boy. “That’s why you’re still a child!”
“But doesn’t Sister Yudie look more like a child?”
“I only look like one! In reality, I’m incredibly mature.”
“...”
Watching from the side, Su Qing shook her head with a mix of amusement and helplessness. The relationship between these girls was as good as ever.
“They’re always like this, don’t mind them...” Su Qing said to Bai Rou’er.
Bai Rou’er nodded. “Yes, I can see they get along very well.”
“Indeed! I can’t even get a word in edgewise.” Su Qing spread her hands helplessly. “My main body is almost here... stay here for now. I’m going to find Leng Xiang and the others.”
In truth, Su Qing could have just asked Morning Glory where they were, but seeing how much fun they were having chatting with Yudie, she decided not to interrupt and let them talk.
She would find Leng Xiang and Ao Ying herself. Finding them wouldn’t be difficult; she could more or less guess where they were. Although Changbai Mountain was vast, her manor and its surroundings weren’t that large. Finding people was a simple task for her.
Su Qing turned and left to search for the two women. Thanks to her familiarity with them, she found them shortly after at the temple at the foot of the mountain.
“As I thought, you’re here...” Seeing them busy, Su Qing walked up and asked, “Do you need any help?”
Leng Xiang and Ao Ying turned at the sound of her voice. At first glance, they didn’t recognize her, but a second look reminded them that this was Su Qing’s clone. It had been so long since they had seen it that they had almost forgotten.
“Is your business over there finished?” Ao Ying asked.
They knew Su Qing was returning, just not the exact time.
Su Qing nodded. “Mhm... it should have been over sooner, but I was delayed by some minor matters, so I’m a bit late. Yudie is back too; she’s currently playing with Morning Glory and Red Boy.”
“I see... and is your main body coming back?”
“Of course. I need to hand over some matters and arrange for the demons Guanyin Bodhisattva dumped on me.”
“Those Spider Spirits?” Ao Ying raised an eyebrow. “What? You don’t plan to keep them by your side?”
“I never planned to keep them forever... I just hadn’t found a suitable place for them until now.”
“I see... since you say that, you must have found one. Where?”
“Isn’t there a town at the foot of Changbai Mountain? I plan to have them work there as tailors. Since they’re Spider Spirits and are quite skilled at weaving and dressmaking, it seemed like a good fit.”
Su Qing sat down and briefly explained her plan. Ao Ying, however, didn’t immediately agree. Instead, she asked a few questions.
“They aren’t exactly weak, are they? Is it really safe to put them in that town? The residents there aren’t very powerful! What if they use their strength to escape or start bullying others? Even if this is your territory, demon society is still ruled by the law of the jungle. Do you really have a way to keep them in check?”
Ao Ying had been managing the mountain for Su Qing for a long time, so she cared deeply about the welfare of the mortals and demon-folk living there. Her concerns were well-founded.
Su Qing answered seriously, “Don’t worry. First, my clone is here, so they won’t be able to cause any trouble. Second, the old White Deer Spirit is down there. He has some skill... after all, he was the South Pole Immortal’s mount. Keeping a few Spider Spirits in line is well within his capabilities.”
“But he is the South Pole Immortal’s mount. What if his master takes him back in the future?”
“That is indeed a concern. However, I’ve already spoken with the South Pole Immortal, and he agreed to leave the White Deer Spirit here under my supervision... so he won’t be leaving for at least several decades.”
“And after those decades?”
“After those decades? That’s a problem for the future.”
Su Qing said with a smile, “Decades may not be long for us, but a lot can change in the mortal world during that time. Let’s worry about what happens in fifty years when we get there! Aside from major crises, I don’t want to think that far ahead. There are too many variables...”
Hearing this, Ao Ying nodded helplessly. “You have a point... a lot can change in a few decades. There’s no rush to worry about it now.”
“So, I take it you have no objections?” Su Qing saw that Ao Ying was essentially agreeing.
Ao Ying spread her hands. “Even if I did, what could I do? You’ve already made your decision; my opinion doesn’t matter much, does it?”
“That’s not true. Your opinion is very important,” Su Qing said, shaking her head.
Ao Ying rolled her eyes, clearly not believing her. “Fine. Since you’re back, does that mean that fox spirit is back too?”
Ao Ying’s words were a double entendre. Su Qing caught the meaning but didn’t comment. After all, Bai Rou’er was indeed a fox spirit.
Su Qing nodded. “Yes. Guanyin gave her to me; I couldn’t just abandon her...”
Ao Ying looked at Su Qing with dissatisfaction. “I know that. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you bring her back... but I’m still not happy about it.”
Ao Ying didn’t hide her emotions or make Su Qing guess; she expressed her displeasure clearly. Sometimes, being direct was the best approach.
Su Qing felt a bit helpless. “Then how should I compensate you?”
Ao Ying looked Su Qing in the eye. “Not me. Us.”
“Fine, all of you!” Su Qing spread her hands. “So, what should I do?”
“That? You’ll have to figure that out yourself!” Ao Ying watched her. “After all, I don’t have anything I want at the moment.”
Su Qing gave a helpless laugh. “Alright, looks like I’ll be having a headache over this for a while.”
Ao Ying chuckled at Su Qing’s plight.
“Alright, let’s leave it at that for now... let’s head back. The business here is mostly handled, and the rest isn’t urgent. Since you’re back, we can call it a day.”
Su Qing nodded in agreement. She had come to fetch them so they could go home. Soon, they would all have to move to Great Emperor Zhenwu’s Daoist field together. They needed to start preparing.
Moving was easy for immortals, but it still required some organization.
As for the remaining tasks at the temple...
They weren’t just “not urgent”; they wouldn’t have to worry about them at all soon. They could just leave them and go.
“Then let’s go. We’ve been chatting for a while... my main body is almost home. By the time we get up to the courtyard, she should be arriving.”
Since Su Qing controlled multiple bodies, she knew exactly where her main body was.
Ao Ying and Leng Xiang glanced at each other and nodded.
Su Qing said no more and led the two of them back toward the manor on the mountain.
In the blink of an eye, they were back in the courtyard.
At that exact moment, a red figure descended from the sky.
It was none other than Su Qing herself, carrying a flower basket in her hand. However, the basket didn’t contain any flowers; it was empty, which looked a bit strange.
“Perfect timing.”
Seeing Su Qing land, Ao Ying chuckled. “You timed that perfectly on purpose, didn’t you?”
Su Qing and her clone spoke in unison, “Yes! It’s quite fun, isn’t it?”
Su Qing then performed a hand seal, sending the clone into the house and cutting off her control, allowing it to rest.
Once the connection was severed, Su Qing felt her mental burden lighten significantly. Controlling three bodies at once and thinking about three different things simultaneously was exhausting. Letting go of one made things much easier.
“Sorry about that. It’s a bit weird having the main body and clone in the same place, and I’m not used to the feeling of staring at myself while talking, so I let the clone sleep,” Su Qing explained with a smile.
Ao Ying nodded, not particularly bothered. She looked at Bai Rou’er and said, “So, this is the fox spirit you mentioned, Bai Rou’er?”
Ao Ying’s tone wasn’t exactly warm. Although she had agreed to let the matter go for now, she found it hard to be happy about Bai Rou’er’s presence, so her voice lacked friendliness.
Bai Rou’er nodded and said, “Bai Rou’er greets the Elder Sister~”
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