Deception, and More Deception

Therefore, at this moment, Wukong naturally behaved in a polite and refined manner.

After all, if he were to speak harshly even to someone who had helped him, it would be a disgrace to his titles as the Handsome Monkey King and the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

Thus, he naturally could not do such a thing.

Seeing Wukong apologize, the old man let out a long sigh of relief and said, "That is good, that is good!"

Wukong scratched his head, gave a cheeky grin, and asked, "By the way, old sir, what is the date today?"

Wukong didn't know how long he had been asleep, so he hurriedly asked for the date.

He was not like Su Qing; as he followed his master to the West to seek scriptures, he counted every single day on his fingers. He knew exactly what the date was before he had fallen asleep.

The old man replied, "It is currently the ninth day of the tenth month!"

"The ninth of the tenth month? That means I haven't even slept for a full day... Master can still be saved!" Wukong was overjoyed and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, he continued to ask, "Speaking of which, old sir, how were you able to neutralize that sleeping potion?"

"How would an old man like me know how to neutralize a sleeping potion? I simply saw you lying on the ground, mumbling incoherently in a daze. I thought you had fainted from hunger, so I came up to give you a drink of water." The old man spoke as if it were the absolute truth, as if he really had helped Wukong for that reason alone.

Wukong's brow twitched upon hearing this, but he didn't care much about the truth of the matter. Seeing that the man hadn't mentioned a demon, he asked:

"Then, old sir, do you know if there are any demons nearby... especially one skilled in using sleeping potions?"

The old man frowned slightly and, after a moment of silence, said, "No wonder you asked me about sleeping potions. It turns out you've fallen victim to the tricks of Great King Black Wind."

Seeing this, Wukong hurriedly pressed for more, "Old sir, do you know what that Great King Black Wind looks like?"

The old man nodded and said, "The appearance of Great King Black Wind is known to everyone in the surrounding villages..."

The old man then proceeded to describe the appearance of Great King Black Wind in detail.

Wukong nodded repeatedly as he listened.

"It's him! It's that fellow who kidnapped my master!" Wukong gnashed his teeth and said with a look of resentment, "Then, old sir, do you know where that Great King Black Wind's cave dwelling is?"

The old man stroked his beard and said, "It is thirty miles to the east from here... However, young man, do not act recklessly. That Great King Black Wind is highly powerful and is no simple demon."

"Hmph, he is but a coward who uses sleeping potions," Wukong snorted coldly. "I thank you for telling me all this, old sir. May I ask which immortal you have transformed from?"

Wukong had grown clever over such a long time.

He knew that those immortals would always appear at critical moments to remind him, help him, or pass along a bit of information.

Therefore, the fact that this old man had arrived here so opportunely and woken him up meant he was clearly an immortal in disguise.

As for who it was?

He didn't know yet.

After all, his Fiery Golden Eyes could not see through the other party.

And even if he had guessed wrong, Wukong wouldn't feel particularly embarrassed.

After all, everyone makes mistakes and guesses wrong sometimes. If others were allowed to make mistakes, was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong not allowed to make one?

So, even if he truly had guessed wrong, he wouldn't feel anything about it.

However, it was clear that he had guessed correctly this time.

For as soon as he spoke those words, the old man before him suddenly shifted, transforming into the form of Taishang Laojun.

Seeing that it was his old acquaintance Taishang Laojun, Wukong immediately changed his demeanor, saying with a grin, "So it's you, you old fellow Taishang Laojun! You really hoodwinked me good! I almost really thought you were just an ordinary mountain villager!"

Hearing this, Taishang Laojun knew that Wukong wasn't angry, just simply a bit frustrated at being deceived.

So, he laughed and said, "Do not be troubled, Great Sage. We immortals must follow rules in our work! We have to beat around the bush a bit and put on a show for certain people, don't we? Aside from that, take this antidote and use it to wake your junior brothers! Additionally, you must be careful. That Great King Black Wind is no longer the original Great King Black Wind... the new Great King Black Wind is many times stronger than the old one!"

"Laojun, what do you mean by that?" Wukong's brow twitched, and he was instantly confused, his brow furrowing.

"Hahaha, Great Sage, what else could I mean? Just the literal meaning! Alright, I have delivered the words I needed to deliver; my mission is complete. Great Sage, you should hurry and save your master! If you are too late, your master might truly become immortality meat in someone's mouth."

Laojun clearly had no intention of explaining further.

After all, a lie is something that must never be explained.

The more one explains, the more loopholes appear.

Only by not explaining and letting the other party guess for themselves can one truly disturb their mind.

Moreover, it was indeed difficult for him to explain too much.

After all, they were the ones orchestrating this entire tribulation.

Sun Wukong's furrowed brow did not relax upon hearing this.

However, he did not make things difficult for Laojun.

He simply said, "In that case, I will say no more... Safe travels, Laojun!"

"Heh, the way you put it..." Laojun chuckled, then turned and departed.

After Laojun left, Wukong woke up his two junior brothers.

Once Sha Wujing awoke, he rubbed his groggy head and asked, "Eldest Senior Brother, where is Master?"

"Master was taken by a demon! Fortunately, Laojun came to bail us out, otherwise we wouldn't have known how much longer we'd be asleep!" Wukong shook his head and said, "There's no time to lose, let's hurry and save Master!"

"Eldest Senior Brother..." Bajie had just woken up and hadn't even managed to get a word out before Sun Wukong grabbed him by the ear.

"You pig-head, what kind of alms did you beg for?"

Bajie was stunned, and for a moment, he had a grievance he couldn't voice. How was he to know there was something wrong with the food?

If he had known, he wouldn't have eaten the most.

Seeing this, Sha Wujing said, "Eldest Senior Brother, don't blame Second Senior Brother. Didn't you say we should save Master first?"

Wukong gave a light snort and said no more.

He simply instructed the White Dragon Horse nearby, "White Dragon Horse, stay here and recover from your injuries. We are going to save Master!"

Hearing this, the White Dragon Horse let out a whinny and then nodded.

Seeing this, Wukong said no more, simply chanting an incantation and forming a hand seal as he sped toward Black Wind Cave.

Wukong and the others were extremely fast.

In just a few moments, they arrived at the entrance of Black Wind Cave.

Black Wind Cave looked plain and ordinary, with nothing special about it. Even at the entrance, there were only a few weak small demons standing guard. It was truly impossible to see anything powerful about this place.

However, since it was Laojun's warning, there had to be some reason behind it. There was surely something different about this place.

Wukong thought for a moment, then said no more, swinging his staff once against the main gate.

He killed those two small demons and simultaneously knocked on the door.

No matter how powerful that Great King Black Wind was, he would give him a beating first. If he could win, he would rescue his master directly; if not, he would find another way.

Inside the cave, Su Qing, who was resting, heard the booming sound from outside and slowly opened her eyes.

"They've finally arrived..." Su Qing thought with a chuckle. "They really made me wait quite a while... Although I want to end this quickly, this is a great opportunity to bully that monkey head, and I can't let it pass. This stupid monkey comes to me and causes me trouble every time he's in a bind; I have to get some proper revenge."

Thinking this, Su Qing stood up and walked out without waiting for the small demon to finish reporting.

"Who is making such a racket outside?" Su Qing arrived at the cave entrance, looked up at Wukong, and said coldly, "Oh, so it's my defeated opponent!"

Looking at the fierce demon, Wukong also snorted coldly and said, "Nothing but treacherous schemes. To think you'd be so arrogant! If there hadn't been a sleeping potion back then, could you have defeated me?"

Although Wukong knew of Laojun's warning, he still felt that the demon before him had won unfairly.

Su Qing chuckled upon hearing this and said, "Do you know why I didn't kill you after drugging you? It's because I'm not afraid of you coming back! Alright, enough nonsense, take this!"

Su Qing didn't want to waste words with him. Since she could give him a sound thrashing today, she naturally didn't want to waste too much time.

Su Qing formed a hand seal, and a brilliant white light shot toward Wukong.

Seeing this, Wukong could only hurriedly cover his eyes and dodge, not daring to face the glare directly.

Wukong's Fiery Golden Eyes were both his ability and his weakness. His eyes were afraid of smoke and intense light. So when Su Qing used this technique, he had to avoid its brilliance.

Seeing this, Wukong's two junior brothers did not hesitate to attack Su Qing.

After all, if Wukong lost his combat ability, it would be even harder for the two of them to deal with the demon before them.

Su Qing gave a light laugh, then flipped her palm and produced a peach wood sword.

This peach wood sword had no edge or blade; it looked like an ordinary wooden sword. However, when Su Qing swung it, the strike could split mountains and crack stones, carrying an irresistible force.

Whether it was Bajie or Sha Wujing, they had no way to counter this strike as it came toward them, and both were sent flying several hundred meters away.

In truth, Su Qing was holding back her strength. If she had gone all out, with their current strength, they wouldn't have been able to withstand it at all—they would have likely died in the line of duty on the spot.

At this moment, after taking Su Qing's blow, it was impossible for them to be dead, but they were now completely without the strength to fight again.

After Su Qing got rid of those two meddlesome fellows, she went after Wukong.

Su Qing didn't intend to kill Wukong, only to give him a beating. So, aside from the initial blinding attack, she didn't do that again in the subsequent battle.

She just... unilaterally beat him up.

However, it had to be said that Wukong had always been thick-skinned and tough. Even after taking such a beating from Su Qing, it wasn't a big deal; at most, it just hurt terribly.

After giving Wukong a beating, Su Qing stopped fighting. After all, she still had to let Wukong rescue his master. So, she intentionally left a slight opening, allowing Wukong to escape.

Su Qing then sent out small demons to bind Wukong's two junior brothers, preparing to 'cook' them all together tomorrow.

The small demons were incredibly excited to see Su Qing return in victory. They had witnessed Su Qing's battle just now, and she had been in an invincible state. Who wouldn't admire and be excited by such a King?

Returning to the cave, Su Qing closed her eyes to rest again.

Then she thought, "I wonder who that fellow Wukong will go to next."

Su Qing didn't know and couldn't be bothered to know; she would just pretend to lose when the time came.

After Wukong escaped from Black Wind Cave, his heart was filled with endless misery.

His master's luck was simply too poor. How could another tribulation come right after one had just passed? And every time, they encountered such a powerful demon.

As Wukong lamented in his heart, he was also thinking of how to save his master.

After thinking for a long time, Wukong decided to seek help from his Big Sister.

His Big Sister knew all the affairs of the world and was familiar with all kinds of demons. Moreover, her relationship with the Heavenly Court was quite good, so she should know some inside information.

Even if she didn't know any inside information, her formidable strength was enough to be relied upon.

If he could get his Big Sister to act, this demon would be unable to withstand a single strike.

Thinking of this, Wukong did not dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly sped toward the Northern Continent.

His Big Sister was in the Northern Continent, so he could only go there to find her.

Before long, Wukong finally arrived at the Northern Continent, at Great Emperor Zhenwu's Domain.

When the Great Sage arrived, someone naturally came to receive him. And the person receiving him was Liu Xixi.

Liu Xixi was dressed in a pale blue gown, her expression exceptionally cold. However, the small, fleshy dragon horns on her head made her cold expression seem less so, but rather stubbornly cute.

Seeing Wukong, she gave a slight bow and said, "May I ask what business the Great Sage has in coming here?"

Wukong didn't want to waste time with Liu Xixi, but since she was Su Qing's subordinate, he couldn't easily lose his temper. He could only say urgently, "I've come to find my Big Sister! I have urgent business with her, please let me go find her."

"You're looking for the Sovereign?" Liu Xixi shook her head upon hearing this and said, "Great Sage, the Sovereign is not at home right now. She left a while ago... and hasn't returned yet!"

"What? Big Sister isn't home?" Wukong was startled, clearly not expecting such a result.

Liu Xixi nodded slightly and said, "Yes, the Sovereign went out on business... she is temporarily not at home."

"Then do you know where Big Sister went? If you know, tell me quickly, I really have urgent business with her." Wukong was anxious and asked hurriedly.

Liu Xixi shook her head and said, "I'm truly sorry, Great Sage, I don't know where the Sovereign went either. The Sovereign is my superior, after all... she wouldn't possibly tell me where she was going."