As far as Chang'e was concerned, while she could have spoken up, if doing so would ruin the mood for drinking, it was better to keep her mouth shut. After all, she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself then either.
And so, some time passed.
The three of them eventually concluded their drinking and chatting.
Once the gathering ended, Su Qing prepared to leave. She had no intention of staying the night. After all, Sister Chang'e still had quite a mountain of work to finish!
Before leaving, Su Qing handed the talisman to Chang'e, saying, "Once you've cleared that backlog of work, call me over for another drink! That’s all for today—I should head off to my next stop."
Chang'e naturally knew how to craft such talismans; in fact, she could probably make them even more exquisite than Su Qing's. She just never had the inclination to do so.
Thus, when Su Qing handed it to her, she simply waved her hand and said, "There's no need for that. Once I'm done, I'll just send someone to your place to fetch you! Besides, with one of us in the heavens and the other on the ground, the talisman's signal strength would be terrible. It’s incredibly annoying when the voice cuts in and out every few words."
Su Qing blinked. Although Chang'e's explanation was a bit wordy, the gist of it was simply that the signal in the Moon Palace was poor and the device wouldn't work well. She couldn't really blame Chang'e; after all, the concept of 'signal' shouldn't even exist in this era.
So, Su Qing simply nodded and said, "Since you put it that way, Sister Chang'e, I have nothing more to say. Just send someone for me once you've settled the matters at hand! I’ll be waiting for you to come play. I'm off!"
Chang'e curled her lip and said, "Hmph, fine, just go already!"
Su Qing chuckled and turned to leave.
On the other side...
After Su Qing left, Chang'e stretched her limbs and began contemplating how to skip work again. Unfortunately for her, she had barely seen Su Qing off when the Bodhisattva appeared behind her, looking at her with a beaming smile.
She said, "Since the Sovereign has departed, would the Palace Mistress please follow this poor monk back to finish the remaining documents? Palace Mistress, you still have quite a few left!"
Moonlight Bodhisattva had been keeping a close eye on them the whole time. The moment Su Qing left, she swooped in. She knew Chang'e was a habitual slacker; if she didn't catch her immediately, it would be much harder to drag her back later. Thus, she had arrived with such haste that she didn't give Chang'e even a single chance to slip away.
When Chang'e turned around and saw Moonlight Bodhisattva, she was utterly speechless—she even looked a bit startled. Clearly, she hadn't expected Moonlight Bodhisattva to predict her move so perfectly. Consequently, she could only follow Moonlight Bodhisattva back to work with a face full of resignation.
At this moment, Su Qing was unaware of the drama unfolding on the moon. Even if she did know, she would likely just say, "Serves her right."
Between friends, there was no need to be overly polite about such things.
After leaving the Moon Palace, Su Qing followed her original plan and headed to the Kingdom of Tianzhu to spend some quality time with Yuer.
Yuer didn't have many close friends in the Kingdom of Tianzhu. Although she was a princess and enjoyed almost all the worldly riches imaginable, it was precisely because of her status that she lacked companionship. Therefore, having Su Qing drop by to vent about the unreliable Moon Palace Mistress was quite a pleasant diversion. Moreover, Yuer seemed to enjoy hearing such things; after all, she missed home too.
Su Qing stayed in Tianzhu for a day and didn't leave until the following morning. Naturally, nothing scandalous happened during the night. The bond between Su Qing and Yuer was one of pure friendship, so nothing beyond that could or would occur.
After her day in Tianzhu, Su Qing departed to find Erlang Shen as planned.
She moved quickly, arriving at the Erlang Temple in less time than it takes for half a stick of incense to burn. The temple was bustling with incense power; it was clear that Erlang Shen’s following among the mortals was exceptionally strong. It was no wonder he had reached the Heavenly Immortal realm so quickly.
'But how should I greet him? I can't exactly just walk in and kowtow to him, can I? That would be far too embarrassing.'
Although Su Qing could be shameless, she still valued her dignity to some extent. Kowtowing to someone for no reason was out of the question, so she found herself in a bit of a dilemma regarding how to summon the True Sovereign.
Just as Su Qing was lost in thought, a familiar voice drifted from behind her. The owner of the voice was none other than the very man she was looking for: the True Sovereign.
"I truly didn't expect the Sovereign to actually come looking for me," the True Sovereign said calmly.
His sudden appearance didn't startle Su Qing; she wasn't that faint-hearted. She turned toward the True Sovereign with a slight smile and said, "I said I would come for a chat, so naturally, I had to come. However, you certainly arrived suddenly, True Sovereign. You gave me quite a surprise; I was just wondering how to greet you when you popped up behind me."
"You don't look like someone who was surprised..." The True Sovereign could naturally tell she wasn't startled and was merely using it as an icebreaker. He shook his head and said, "When someone of your level suddenly appears in my temple, I would have to be quite dull not to notice. After all, I spend most of my time here, so I can naturally sense your arrival."
Su Qing nodded and said, "I see. As someone who is constantly on the move, I rarely notice when people visit my own temple!"
The True Sovereign gave a light chuckle and said, "Alright, let's not chat here. Follow me to a quieter place where we can talk properly. This isn't the right spot for a conversation..."
This was his temple, and the flow of people was significant. Although the mortals couldn't see them, it was indeed not an ideal place for a private talk. Su Qing had no objections to moving elsewhere.
She nodded and said, "I'll follow your lead then! Where shall we go?"
"Just follow me," Yang Jian replied. He turned and led Su Qing away from the temple.
After leaving the temple grounds, the two of them arrived at an immortal cave located underwater. This was clearly one of Yang Jian's domains.
"I didn't expect the True Sovereign's domain to be underwater..." Su Qing remarked with a soft sigh of wonder.
Yang Jian smiled and shook his head. "This is but one of my domains. There are few people here, so we can speak freely."
Su Qing couldn't help but want to laugh at that, as if they couldn't speak freely anywhere else. However, she didn't tease him and instead asked, "True Sovereign... do you know why I've come to find you?"
"I certainly do not..." Yang Jian shook his head. "Furthermore, you may simply call me Yang Jian. We are of equal strength and realm, and our statuses are much the same. Using titles is somewhat inappropriate."
"It doesn't bother me; I'm just used to it..." Su Qing pursed her lips and said, "After all, you've been cultivating much longer than I have, so you're technically my senior. Addressing you by name feels a bit impolite."
"In cultivation, status is determined by ability... you needn't worry about such things." Yang Jian waved his hand, producing a tea set. "So, what exactly is your purpose for coming here?"
Yang Jian seemed unwilling to continue debating the matter of titles. There wasn't much point in dwelling on it; at most, they would just change how they addressed each other. It was better to discuss why Su Qing had sought him out.
Seeing this, Su Qing stopped dwelling on it as well. She nodded and said, "Fine, I won't overthink it. My main reason for coming today is actually to spar with you!"
Upon hearing her answer, Yang Jian was stunned. He had considered many possibilities, but he never expected this seemingly tranquil immortal who enjoyed the finer things in life to suddenly want a spar. It didn't fit the personality she usually displayed at all, nor did it seem like something she would do.
"Why?"
"The thought just suddenly occurred to me." Su Qing didn't feel the least bit embarrassed as she nodded and explained, "Back when you and Wukong came to face me, the idea suddenly popped into my head. So, I've come to make it a reality."
Yang Jian was even more bewildered by this answer. Her words were incredibly whimsical.
His lip couldn't help but twitch as he said, "You really are quite willful... However, if you wish to spar, I naturally won't refuse. I am also curious to see the extent of your strength. But before that, why don't we discuss something else? Since you're here, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
Su Qing nodded, having no objections. Since she had come to ask for a spar and was taking up his time, answering a few questions was only fair. She was just curious about what he would ask.
"Ask away... though I can't guarantee I'll answer everything," Su Qing reminded him.
After all, she wasn't an encyclopedia; she wasn't obligated to answer every single question.
"That is only natural... you certainly have no obligation to tell me everything," Yang Jian replied straightforwardly with a nod.
Seeing how reasonable he was being, Su Qing felt relieved. She nodded and said, "Go ahead then!"
Yang Jian gave a slight nod and then inquired, "Sovereign... why did you disguise yourself as a demon on the journey to the west?"
Su Qing was momentarily stunned. She had always assumed Yang Jian had helped Wukong because he had already anticipated the truth. She hadn't expected him to be completely in the dark. Did this guy never listen to gossip? Or perhaps the rumors simply hadn't reached him?
Su Qing didn't know and didn't care to guess. She simply replied, "On one hand, Guanyin Bodhisattva asked me to, and on the other, I wanted to mess with Wukong a bit... Yes, it's that simple! But I hope you won't go spreading that around!"
"Naturally..." Yang Jian nodded. "I just didn't expect that the demons on the pilgrimage were all arranged by the Buddhist sect."
Yang Jian had been in the Heavenly Court long enough to know what could be said and what couldn't. He simply disliked the rules of officialdom; it wasn't that he didn't understand them, nor was he ignorant of social graces. It was precisely because he understood them so well that he often chose not to follow them.
Su Qing nodded in satisfaction. However, she was a bit speechless at Yang Jian's reaction.
She said, "That's good! But... I always thought it was common knowledge that the demons on the pilgrimage were arranged by the Buddhist sect. I didn't expect you to actually be unaware."
To be honest, Su Qing felt that Sun Wukong likely knew this by now. Yet Yang Jian was clueless.
Yang Jian seemed a bit embarrassed by this. He cleared his throat and said, "I generally do not enjoy interacting with the people of the Heavenly Palace or the Buddhist sect, so I am unaware of most news. Aside from some gossip regarding you, Sovereign, very little reaches me."
In reality, it wasn't just that Yang Jian disliked interacting with the Heavenly Palace; many there actually disliked him as well. However, they were helpless against his immense strength and his powerful subordinates. Furthermore, he was the Jade Emperor's nephew. No matter how much they disliked him, they still had to greet him with a smile.
Su Qing's lip twitched at his answer. She said, "How is it that you know nothing except for my gossip... Sigh, are the rumors about me really that widespread?"
Yang Jian cleared his throat again. "The gossip about you is indeed quite prevalent... However, I do not believe you are the kind of person described in the rumors."
Whether Yang Jian truly felt that way, Su Qing couldn't tell. Perhaps he was just saying it to comfort her, or perhaps he truly meant it. Regardless, it wasn't that important to Su Qing anymore. She had long since given up on caring about her reputation.
If people wanted to believe that, let them. Being true to herself was more than enough.
"Forget it, it's not particularly important," Su Qing said, waving it off. "I stopped caring a long time ago. More importantly, do you have any other questions?"
Su Qing didn't want to dwell on it and pressed him for any further inquiries. Yang Jian nodded decisively.
"Yes, I have one more question." Yang Jian nodded and asked, "Should I stop the Three Sacred Mother..."
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