The Old Fox

As for letting Guanyin speak first...

This was because Su Qing couldn't find a place to start her questions, plus she wanted to slack off and save some brainpower.

After all, she still had to fulfill the prayers of those commoners later!

There would be plenty of times to strain her mind!

So, naturally, she would slack off whenever possible.

When Guanyin heard Su Qing's words, her lips quirked slightly.

However, she didn't say much. She simply gave a chuckle, nodded, and began to speak with Su Qing.

She didn't start by bringing up Chen Nianxin's past behavior.

Instead, she first expressed concern about Chen Nianxin's current situation and discussed a few other matters.

As they talked, the conversation naturally drifted toward why Chen Nianxin had been placed with Su Qing in the first place.

Although Su Qing knew that Guanyin Bodhisattva was perfectly aware of the reasons, the character Guanyin was currently playing was supposed to be ignorant of the matter.

Therefore, Su Qing explained the situation once more.

"I see... I originally thought she had simply been captured by you. I didn't expect this to be the Buddha's decree," Guanyin said, her brow arching imperceptibly.

Seeing this, Su Qing followed Guanyin's lead and said, "Why would I bother capturing her? Bringing her here brings me no benefit... aside from having another mouth to feed and one more person to talk back to me, it's utterly meaningless."

As she spoke, Su Qing shot an annoyed look at Guanyin.

On this point, she was actually lying.

After all, if Su Qing were the one to decide, she would most likely have sent the Six-Eared Macaque to be reincarnated rather than keeping her around to cause trouble.

The reason Su Qing chose to lie was because of the promise she had just made to Guanyin.

Since she had agreed to improve their relationship, she certainly couldn't start a feud right away.

Guanyin ignored Su Qing's disgruntled gaze.

After a moment of silence, she shook her head and said, "Since it is the Buddha's decree, even if I were to take her away, the Buddha would likely catch up to us very quickly."

Su Qing spread her hands and nodded with a smile. "Since the Buddha placed her here, he naturally left some safeguards on her. Besides sealing her magic and innate divine abilities, he also left behind measures to prevent her from escaping! So, your guess is correct. Even if you did take her away... it would be meaningless. After all, while your strength is quite impressive, you're likely no match for the Buddha, right?"

Su Qing's words were logically sound.

In truth, even if Guanyin Bodhisattva were here in her own identity rather than this persona, she wouldn't dare claim her strength surpassed the Buddha's.

The Buddha was the Buddha not only because of his virtue but also because of his power.

If he didn't have that power, how could he suppress all those other Buddhas?

After all, not every Buddha was indifferent to worldly struggles.

If they truly were, they wouldn't have sought to become Buddhas in the first place!

Upon hearing Su Qing's words, Guanyin Bodhisattva fell silent for a moment and let out a soft sigh, appearing somewhat troubled.

She said, "In that case, it's no wonder she told me not to take her away. It seems she fears not only you but also the Buddha behind you... she doesn't want me to take her and end up being targeted by the Buddha."

After saying this, Guanyin Bodhisattva turned to look at Chen Nianxin again and added, "You are quite thoughtful..."

Chen Nianxin was slightly stunned by those words.

She actually wanted to say that she hadn't considered the Buddha's side at all and had only been thinking about Su Qing... but since her master had put it that way, it would be a bit heart-wrenching to correct her.

So, even though the thought hadn't crossed her mind, she couldn't say it.

She simply gave a slight nod and smiled at her master.

She remained silent, however.

After all, the more one says, the more mistakes one makes; it was better to say nothing at all.

Seeing this, Su Qing rolled her eyes internally, thinking that Guanyin was truly Guanyin—she was even better at hoodwinking people than she was.

Perhaps this was what a genuine old fox looked like!

An old fox of goodness knows how many years.

However, even though Su Qing was complaining about Guanyin in her head, she still played along. "What deep devotion between master and disciple! But since that's the case, it looks like you won't be able to take her away, will you?"

"......"

"Don't worry, I haven't mistreated her. Just look at how she's being raised—fair and plump—and you'll know I haven't been unkind. At most, she's just lost her freedom," Su Qing said with a chuckle.

At this, Guanyin nodded in silence.

Chen Nianxin, however, curled her lip and grumbled internally, 'Losing freedom is the greatest mistreatment of all.'

But as much as she thought it, she certainly couldn't say it out loud.

After all, if she did, she would undoubtedly be remembered by Su Qing.

Who knew what she would do once she held a grudge?

She was a very devious person.

So, she kept her thoughts to herself.

After a brief silence, Guanyin spoke again... but this time, she began to talk about Chen Nianxin's past.

Chen Nianxin didn't know why her master was suddenly bringing up her history.

Although she didn't particularly enjoy dwelling on the past, this was her master speaking... she couldn't exactly tell her to stop.

Thus, she could only listen in silence, sitting quietly to the side as her master recounted the events of her life.

And so, time ticked away.

Guanyin Bodhisattva told Su Qing a great deal.

Chen Nianxin's past was filled with many tragedies, which gave Su Qing much to think about.

However, despite those thoughts, Su Qing didn't feel pity for Chen Nianxin.

In fact, she felt that Chen Nianxin didn't need pity.

Soon, Guanyin had said all she wanted to say and came to a temporary halt.

Once Guanyin stopped, Su Qing glanced at Chen Nianxin.

Noticing Su Qing's gaze, Chen Nianxin said, "What is it? After hearing about my past, are you starting to feel sorry for me?"

Su Qing chuckled and shook her head. "Feel sorry for you? I have no reason to feel sorry for you! I've seen more than enough miserable people... your story is nothing special. Besides, you don't look like someone who needs my pity."

Su Qing was telling the truth.

She had seen countless tragic figures.

Chen Nianxin's past certainly had its share of sorrow, but compared to the tragedies Su Qing had witnessed during her years as an immortal, it was hardly worth mentioning.

At the very least, Chen Nianxin was still alive and well.

Chen Nianxin didn't know what Su Qing was thinking.

She simply gave a light snort, turned her head away in satisfaction, and said, "That's for the best."

She truly didn't need anyone's pity.

She didn't even consider herself a tragic figure.

Seeing this, Su Qing chuckled and said nothing more to her.

After resting for a moment, Guanyin looked up at the sky.

The light snow had long since stopped.

The sky was now clear for ten thousand miles.

Only the slight chill that follows the first snow remained.

"It's getting late, and I've said most of what I wanted to say... it's time for me to go." Guanyin looked at Su Qing and said, "From now on, I'll leave my disciple in your hands. I hope you truly won't harm her..."

Su Qing curled her lip internally, feeling more than a little speechless. The person who had harmed her the most was you, Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Now you're telling me not to harm her?

Isn't that a bit too strange?

However, despite her internal complaints, she couldn't say it directly.

She replied, "I have no reason to harm her; doing so brings me no benefit. Besides, if I really wanted to harm her, I would have done it long ago. Otherwise, do you think she would have lived this long?"

That was the truth.

Su Qing could hardly be bothered to manage her, let alone harm her.

When Guanyin Bodhisattva heard this, she fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I believe in Sovereign Su's character... you are not the type of person to do such a thing."

Su Qing chuckled. "You don't seem to have much of a choice but to believe me, do you?"

At this, Guanyin let out a timely, bitter smile. "That is true enough."

"Alright then~ you can rest easy regarding Chen Nianxin. I truly won't harm her..." Su Qing didn't intend to waste any more time with Guanyin; they had already been chatting for quite a while. She added, "So, if you wish to leave, then go! I still have other matters to attend to."

Guanyin Bodhisattva continued her performance, giving a shallow nod. "Take care of yourself."

These words weren't for Su Qing, but for Chen Nianxin.

After all, she couldn't tell Su Qing to take care of herself in this persona.

Chen Nianxin nodded to Guanyin in return. "Don't worry, Master, I will definitely protect myself. Actually, she really hasn't harmed me... isn't your disciple still perfectly fine?"

Su Qing: "......"

Why does everyone have a different interpretation of things?

But Su Qing was too lazy to complain anymore.

She just wanted to see Guanyin Bodhisattva off as quickly as possible.

Hearing this, Guanyin looked at Chen Nianxin and said, "That is for the best..."

Chen Nianxin smiled and nodded. "Safe travels, Master."

Guanyin said no more, simply nodding.

Then, she performed a hand seal and departed on a cloud.

In a few moments, she had vanished from sight.

Once Guanyin had left, Su Qing let out a sigh of relief. After performing for so long, it was finally over.

Su Qing glanced at Chen Nianxin, then looked away and turned to go into the house to get her wine gourd.

Even though she had been delayed for so long, she hadn't forgotten her original purpose for returning.

Wasn't it to get her wine?

So, she still had to do it.

After grabbing the wine gourd, Su Qing saw that Chen Nianxin was still standing in the courtyard, staring at her.

Seeing this, Su Qing chuckled. "What is it? You don't actually think that because your master visited, I'll treat you any differently, do you?"

Chen Nianxin tilted her head and looked at Su Qing, then shook her head. "No, you won't."

"Yeah, I won't..." Su Qing stretched, holding her wine gourd. "So?"

"Nothing... go do whatever you need to do!" Chen Nianxin curled her lip, turned around, found a place to sit, and settled down.

Su Qing tilted her head, unable to figure out what was going on in the girl's head.

However, she didn't bother thinking about it too much.

She simply turned and left the courtyard to continue the work she hadn't finished.

After all, she was a very busy person.

Time passed, minute by minute.

After roughly handling the prayers, Su Qing went to deal with some other administrative matters on Changbai Mountain.

Once all that was done, Su Qing arrived at the demon town.

She had said she would come to check on things, so she was definitely going to show up.

Upon arriving at the town, because she was in her clone body, the commoners didn't recognize her. Thus, the demons' attitude toward Su Qing hadn't changed... they were just a bit curious about this newcomer and thought she was quite beautiful.

However, no one came up to strike up a conversation along the way.

While they were curious about Su Qing, they were also wary of her.

Some had even quietly run off to send word, seemingly worried that Su Qing might be some kind of villain.

But of course, such worries were unnecessary.

After all, Su Qing was the master of this place.

Su Qing ignored those people.

She simply arrived outside the house of the Old White Deer and knocked on the door.

Just like before, the Old White Deer quickly came to open it.

Facing Su Qing's clone, his attitude remained unchanged—he was still as respectful as ever.

"The Sovereign's clone is as beautiful as ever!" the Old White Deer said, offering a simple bit of flattery.

Su Qing wasn't particularly interested in such clumsy flattery.

She simply smiled and said, "Well? How are things going?"

"How could I dare neglect anything the Sovereign arranges?" the Old White Deer said with a slight smile. "Everything for those ladies has already been settled... would the Sovereign like to go see them now?"

The Old White Deer always gave top priority to the tasks Su Qing assigned. If something could be resolved quickly, he would do so as fast as possible... after all, only by doing things well could he demonstrate his value.

Su Qing nodded. "I came here specifically for that, so of course I want to see. Let's go, lead the way."

The Old White Deer naturally didn't dare have any objections. He dutifully walked in front, leading the way for Su Qing.

The demon town wasn't particularly large compared to human cities, but it wasn't small either. Demons possessed far more strength than humans, so they had a natural advantage when it came to building infrastructure.

After several expansions, the town had become quite substantial.

The two walked one after the other without much conversation.

Since Su Qing didn't speak, the Old White Deer didn't dare to speak out of turn either.

He could only lead the way in silence.

Before long, the two arrived in front of the spider spirits' tailor shop.

The shop's location was quite good—while not the absolute best, it was certainly not bad. There was plenty of foot traffic, making it a good spot for business.

The tailor shop had clearly just opened, with many bright red decorations still hanging in front of the door.

Judging by how new they looked, it had probably opened just this morning.

It was clear the Old White Deer had moved very quickly.

"Mhm, you moved quite fast, and you chose a good location." Su Qing nodded, offering a slight word of praise to the Old White Deer.

Su Qing was always clear about rewards and punishments, so since the Old White Deer had done well, he deserved to be praised.

Even if there wasn't a material reward, at the very least, a verbal acknowledgment was necessary.

Hearing Su Qing's praise, the Old White Deer gave a chuckle. "How could I possibly neglect the Sovereign's arrangements? Besides, these spider spirits are the Sovereign's people; I could even less afford to be lax."

Su Qing gave a light chuckle but didn't say much more, simply stepping into the shop.

"Welcome!" Seeing a customer arrive, Zhu Xue quickly offered a greeting.

However, once she saw who it was, she froze for a moment.

She didn't recognize Su Qing's clone, but seeing the Old White Deer standing respectfully behind her, she knew the person in front of her was of extraordinary status.

Recalling what Su Qing had said before she left...

She quickly understood.

The person before her was the clone Su Qing had mentioned.

"Greetings, Sovereign!" Zhu Xue hurriedly bowed to Su Qing, calling out respectfully.

The other two spider spirits, seeing Zhu Xue do this, immediately understood as well.

They all stepped forward to bow and greet Su Qing.

Su Qing looked them over. The sisters had already changed out of their highly seductive clothing and into more conservative attire... but instead of looking plain, the change seemed to make their inherent allure even more apparent.

Truly, the saying was right: sensuality isn't about exposure, but about the right amount of concealment.

Su Qing looked at them, nodded, and asked, "How did you recognize me?"

At Su Qing's question, Zhu Xue quickly explained her reasoning.

After hearing the explanation, Su Qing couldn't help but smile. She had underestimated their intelligence.

"I see... you are quite clever!" Su Qing nodded, then naturally found a place to sit. "So, have you adjusted to things these past couple of days?"

Zhu Xue shook her head and replied, "It hasn't been hard to adjust... it just feels a bit strange. I didn't expect that there wouldn't be a single human here, only demons..."

"Is there anything strange about it being all demons?" Su Qing chuckled. "It's just a town built by demons!"

Zhu Xue pursed her lips. "Of course it's amazing... it's the first time we've ever seen a city like this. Especially since the demons in this town don't have a trace of malevolent aura on them, which means they've never eaten a human..."

Zhu Xue knew how to interact with Su Qing, so she didn't act too subservient when answering. Instead, she gathered as much courage as she could to state her thoughts clearly and honestly.

Hearing this, Su Qing chuckled. "There's nothing strange about that... don't forget, this is at the foot of Changbai Mountain, my territory... they are naturally under my discipline."

"......" Zhu Xue was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say, so she simply said, "The Sovereign's ambitions are far-reaching."

"Cough, cough, cough, I wouldn't say far-reaching." Su Qing shook her head. "More importantly, since you've settled here and have your own shop... why don't you help me custom-make a set of clothes for this clone? This time, I'd like a set of purple robes."

Su Qing had come here not only to see how they were doing but also to give them something to do.

And the only work she could give them was making clothes.

Beyond that, they weren't particularly qualified for any other specific tasks.

When the spider spirits heard Su Qing's request, they didn't find it troublesome; instead, they looked relieved.

They quickly nodded and accepted the task.

"Does the Sovereign have any specific requirements? That way, we can better craft the garments for you..." Zhu Xue took a deep breath and said quickly.

Su Qing nodded and briefly stated her requirements.

After hearing them, the spider spirits all nodded, indicating it wouldn't be difficult and they could have them ready for the Sovereign very soon.

Receiving their affirmative answer, Su Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Then she spoke again, "Speaking of which, what materials do you plan to use for making clothes? I mean for your everyday work."

At Su Qing's question, Zhu Xue fell silent for a moment, then said, "Naturally, regular cloth... although the three of us are spider spirits and possess some strength, our spider silk is not an inexhaustible resource... our silk is at most enough to make clothes for the Sovereign; we don't have enough to make clothes for everyone else."

Zhu Xue was actually lying a little bit on this point.

Their spider silk could be created through magic; it didn't necessarily have to be produced by their own bodies.

The reason she lied was to distinguish the materials used for the Sovereign's clothes from those used for others, making them seem more special.

This was their own little scheme.

After all, everyone hopes to be the special one.

When Su Qing heard Zhu Xue's words, she was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Mhm, that's fine too!"

Su Qing didn't take a stance on the matter.

But to Zhu Xue, it seemed Su Qing was satisfied with the result.

"It's good as long as the Sovereign doesn't blame us for being useless," Zhu Xue said softly.

Su Qing chuckled and shook her head. "Not at all... alright, come over and help me take my measurements!"

At this, Zhu Xue quickly nodded and called her sisters over to help.

As for the Old White Deer, he very tactfully stepped out of the shop and waited outside.