Seeking Allies

Wukong's sudden appearance did indeed give Su Qing a start.

Imagine for a moment: you're lost in thought, and the second you snap back to reality, a monkey head with a hairy face and thunder-god beak is right in front of your eyes. That scene would be startling for anyone.

In fact, it's safe to say that regardless of who it was, they would have jumped.

Wukong, unaware that he had startled Su Qing, was simply overjoyed to see her.

After all, Su Qing hadn't visited in a long time, and he missed her dearly. Seeing her now naturally made him very happy.

Of course, Sun Wukong was happy to see Su Qing no matter when she arrived... who else could she be but his Big Sister?

"Big Sister! You haven't been to Flower-Fruit Mountain in ages. What brings you here so suddenly today? Oh, never mind the reason, come quickly with me to the mountain and have a seat. It's not convenient to chat while floating up here in the sky," Sun Wukong said with a beaming smile.

Su Qing looked at Sun Wukong. She had originally thought that since she had found Wukong, she wouldn't waste time going inside the mountain.

But then she realized she could take Jingyue along as well, so she nodded slightly and asked with a smile, "Where is Jingyue?"

Whether it was Sun Wukong or Jingyue, she intended to bring everyone she could...

After all, neither of them was weak. They would be a great help in suppressing the earth fire spirit veins.

Besides... she needed as many people as possible; the more, the better!

As she spoke, Su Qing lowered her cloud and headed toward the plum blossom tree outside the Water Curtain Cave of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

That was the place Su Qing visited every time she came to the mountain...

First, it was a familiar spot; second, it was quiet and rarely disturbed by others; and third... naturally, because there was a place to sit!

Seeing Su Qing head toward the stone table by the plum blossom tree, Sun Wukong followed her closely, flying toward the spot alongside her.

At the same time, he didn't forget to answer her question.

He said, "You mean Sister Jingyue? She's busy with affairs in the city! I'm mainly responsible for official documents, while Sister Jingyue and the Earth God help handle the practical matters within the city. I'm doing alright, not too busy, but Sister Jingyue and the Earth God are quite swamped!"

He scratched his cheek and looked at Su Qing. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does Big Sister wish to see Sister Jingyue? Should I go and call her over?"

Sun Wukong knew that since Su Qing had mentioned Jingyue, she likely needed to see her...

Therefore, he proactively offered to fetch her.

Seeing Sun Wukong ask, Su Qing nodded and said:

"Yes, since I'm here, I naturally want to see her. Otherwise, if she finds out later that I came and didn't see her, she'll surely throw a tantrum. Besides, I've come to ask for your help with something. So, please go ahead and bring her here..."

Su Qing wanted to resolve the matter quickly, so her speech was more direct than usual, without the typical long pleasantries.

Sun Wukong didn't mind this at all... his Big Sister was his Big Sister, no matter how she acted.

"I understand. I'll go call her right now. Just wait here for a moment, Big Sister," Sun Wukong said with a chuckle. He nodded and left immediately without any hesitation.

Watching Wukong leave, Su Qing couldn't help but marvel at how much he had grown over the years... and he seemed even more obedient to her than before.

'This monkey is becoming more and more reliable,' Su Qing thought, then shook her head and pulled her mind back to the present.

As she sat there waiting, Su Qing looked up at the plum blossoms that bloomed all year round.

These plum blossoms were planted by Su Qing years ago. They were just the most common variety. Normally, ordinary plum blossoms couldn't bloom through all four seasons.

The reason they bloomed year-round here was simple: there was an array buried beneath them to keep them in perpetual bloom.

Thanks to that, this spot had become a unique landmark of Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Looking at the plum blossoms, Su Qing couldn't help but recall things from the past, losing herself in thought for a moment.

When she finally snapped back to reality, she couldn't help but sigh and murmur to herself, "Thinking back, I realize I've been away from Flower-Fruit Mountain for so many years without even noticing!"

Just as Su Qing was feeling sentimental, Sun Wukong returned with Liu Jingyue.

It had to be said, Sun Wukong was very fast...

He had always been impatient and disliked dragging his feet, so he naturally did everything quickly.

He said he would fetch her, and in no time at all, he had brought her back.

There was no hesitation whatsoever.

Sun Wukong led Liu Jingyue to the plum blossom tree.

Upon seeing Su Qing, they both called out to her.

"Sister Xiao Qing!"

"Big Sister!"

At the sound of their voices, Su Qing emerged from her thoughts.

She turned to look at them and said, "You're both here! Wukong, you certainly were fast!"

Wukong chuckled and shook his head. "Big Sister knows my temperament! Hehe, Big Sister, hurry and tell us why you've come to find us. What do you need our help with?"

Seeing that everyone was present, Su Qing wasted no more time and briefly explained the situation...

After hearing her out, both Sun Wukong and Liu Jingyue furrowed their brows slightly, clearly surprised by the circumstances.

"I never thought that the Changbai Mountains, which have always been peaceful and almost free of accidents, would become so unsettled! I thought it was only the East Sea that was always plagued by disasters!" Liu Jingyue said, taking a deep breath as she looked at Su Qing.

Sun Wukong also nodded. "No wonder Big Sister came to find us. This is indeed a troublesome matter..."

"Nowhere in the world is truly peaceful. The Changbai Mountains remained peaceful for so long only because of good luck. Now, it seems that luck has run out," Su Qing said with a helpless shake of her head. "Wukong, Jingyue, can the two of you come and help?"

"Since Big Sister has asked, I naturally have no reason to refuse! Whatever it is, just give the orders, and Old Sun will make sure it's done perfectly for you!" Sun Wukong said with a grin, patting his chest.

For Sun Wukong, no matter what Su Qing needed, as long as she asked him, he would help without the slightest hesitation.

In fact...

If Su Qing ever decided she wanted to be the Jade Emperor, he wouldn't mind joining her in making a mess of things.

To him, nothing in the world was more important than his family.

Of course, Su Qing certainly wouldn't go as far as attacking the Heavenly Court.

Beside him, Liu Jingyue also nodded. "Sister Xiao Qing, you've already come to find us, so I naturally have no reason to refuse! Don't worry, as long as you need my help, I won't say no."

Liu Jingyue had always been more than willing to help Su Qing, especially since she felt she owed Su Qing a great deal... plus, she held Su Qing in extremely high regard, even bordering on adoration.

Therefore, when Su Qing said she needed help, she chose to assist without a second thought.

Seeing how straightforwardly Liu Jingyue and Sun Wukong had agreed, Su Qing couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She thanked them, saying, "Thank you both."

Sun Wukong chuckled and shook his head. "What are you saying, Big Sister? You've helped me so much. Now that you need my help, if I were to make excuses, I'd be quite shameless! I may not be a 'good person' and I've even been a great villain, but I'm still a man of honor. Besides, you're my Big Sister. Even without all that, I have no reason to refuse when you need me! I could fail anyone, but I could never fail you, Big Sister!"

To Sun Wukong, Su Qing's significance was unique, and her status was extremely high...

Far higher even than his two masters.

Su Qing listened to these words and looked at Sun Wukong in silence for a moment before nodding. "Then I'll be relying on you."

They both nodded and replied, "It's no trouble at all!"

Afterward, Su Qing continued, "Then you two should head to the Changbai Mountains first! My original body is there making the array plates we'll need... I still have to go find others."

Sun Wukong nodded. "Big Sister, go ahead and find as many people as you can. If it's not enough, I'll use my hair to create some clones. Although they won't be as strong as my original self, having ten or twenty percent of my power won't be a problem. They should be enough to support those array plates."

Sun Wukong knew how vast the area Su Qing needed to suppress was, so he knew she needed many people...

He wasn't sure if Su Qing could gather enough, so he had already planned from the start to use his hair clones to help.

Though it would certainly be much more exhausting for him, if it helped Su Qing complete this great task, it would be no problem at all.

Su Qing nodded at this. "Then... I might have to trouble you when the time comes."

"It's no trouble, no trouble! Big Sister, hurry and find the others! Jingyue and I will head to the Changbai Mountains and wait for your word." Even though Sun Wukong knew the person before him wasn't the original body, his attitude didn't change at all.

After all, Su Qing herself was controlling the clone, so it was no different from her being right in front of him. Naturally, his attitude wouldn't shift.

Su Qing nodded. "Alright, I'll be going then!"

With that, Su Qing formed a hand seal and departed ahead of them...

As for where Su Qing was going next...

Naturally, she was heading west.

Although she hadn't been to the west in a while, she still maintained some connections there. Plus, she had many friends in that region, and she might find a few who could help.

However, before officially going to find the people of the Buddhist Court in the west, Su Qing had one more place to visit...

And that was the South Sea Purple Bamboo Grove.

That's right, she planned to call her goddaughter over to help as well.

It just so happened that it had been over half a year since she last saw her...

Su Qing's Somersault Cloud was incredibly fast, and in just a short while, she had arrived above the South Sea.

Outside the Purple Bamboo Grove, Su Qing slowly descended.

Because Su Qing's heavenly secrets were heavily obscured—to the point where even Taishang Laojun couldn't see through them—Guanyin Bodhisattva hadn't calculated that Su Qing would come this time... or rather, she hadn't bothered to calculate at all. Thus, it was only after Su Qing had arrived at the Purple Bamboo Grove for a short while that Muzha came out to greet her.

"Sovereign, what brings you here?" Muzha was quite surprised to see Su Qing and couldn't help but ask.

"I've come to find Guanyin Bodhisattva and my goddaughter, Chen Chaoyan," Su Qing said with a light laugh and a simple explanation.

"I see. The Bodhisattva is in the Purple Bamboo Grove, and Junior Sister Chaoyan is there as well. Sovereign, please follow me!" After clarifying the situation, Muzha didn't stop Su Qing—not that he could have stopped her even if he wanted to.

After all, Su Qing's status was right there...

She was a Bodhisattva herself; her status was countless times higher than his.

Su Qing followed Muzha into the Purple Bamboo Grove and soon saw Guanyin Bodhisattva feeding fish, with Chen Chaoyan washing her feet nearby...

Su Qing glanced at the fish in the pond; they had grown fat beyond recognition.

Guanyin Bodhisattva really should feed them less...

If this continued, they wouldn't even be able to float.

"Godmother?! What are you doing here? Have you come to take me to your place to play again?" Chen Chaoyan asked with a tilt of her head and a cheerful smile.

Hearing Chaoyan's words, Su Qing nodded and said, "Yes and no... I've mainly come this time to ask for your help with something!"

"Help? Sure! What kind of help? You rarely need my help, Godmother. Have you run into some difficult trouble today?" Chen Chaoyan stood up and ran toward Su Qing with bare feet.

Like Sun Wukong, Chen Chaoyan had an exceptionally deep affection for Su Qing. However, unlike Sun Wukong's pure familial love, Chen Chaoyan's feelings for Su Qing carried a hint of a different kind of love...

She knew it was an unconventional, impure, and wishful love, but she couldn't stop these feelings.

And burdened with such emotions, Chen Chaoyan naturally couldn't refuse to help Su Qing.

No.

Even without those emotional factors, she was unlikely to refuse Su Qing.

Su Qing looked at Chen Chaoyan, thought for a moment, and briefly explained the situation.

After listening, Chen Chaoyan said, "I see. Then you'll need many people, right? Senior Brother Muzha, how about you come and help too?"

Muzha, who was standing nearby, was stunned and instinctively asked, "Me?"

"Yes! Come and help together!" Chen Chaoyan said with a smile.

Muzha was silent for a moment before looking toward his master...

Seeing this, Guanyin Bodhisattva gave a helpless smile and shook her head. "Do as you wish!"

"Alright! I'll go and help as well," Muzha said with a helpless smile, agreeing to the request.

What else could he do but agree?

Su Qing heard this and said, "My thanks to you as well, Brother Muzha."

Muzha scratched his head, gave a couple of silly laughs, and said no more.

Beside them, Chen Chaoyan smiled and then turned her gaze to Guanyin Bodhisattva. "Master~"

Guanyin Bodhisattva knew exactly what the girl meant. She gave a helpless smile and shook her head. "I won't be going myself, but I'll lend you two clones! These two clones both have the strength of the Earthly Immortal realm; they should be enough to help you support the array."

While Guanyin Bodhisattva declined to go in person, she didn't refuse entirely... she still contributed a bit of help.

In truth, if it were anyone else, Guanyin Bodhisattva likely wouldn't have bothered at all. But the person needing help was Su Qing, and the one asking her was her own dear disciple. Although her disciple often favored outsiders, she was still her disciple. Since she had asked, Guanyin had to help.

Going in person was clearly out of the question...

So she chose this middle-ground solution.

Su Qing was naturally not dissatisfied with this. She was not a greedy person...

It was already very good that Guanyin Bodhisattva was willing to help; what more could she ask for?

If it were a less agreeable senior, they might have kicked her out, let alone helped.

Su Qing nodded and said, "Then my thanks to you, Senior Guanyin..."

Seeing this, Chaoyan also quickly hugged her master with a smile and said, "Thank you, Master~"

"No need to thank me. I'll be happy as long as you stop causing me trouble," Guanyin Bodhisattva said, rubbing Chen Chaoyan's head. "You, always favoring outsiders!"

Hearing this, Chen Chaoyan chuckled and said to Guanyin Bodhisattva, "How can you call it favoring outsiders? Godmother is my family too! It's favoring my own~"

"You certainly have plenty of excuses, girl," Guanyin Bodhisattva said, slightly speechless. "Fine, if you're going, then go!"

Su Qing nodded and said, "In that case, I shall take my leave."

Guanyin Bodhisattva didn't intend to chat further with Su Qing, so she waved her hand and said, "Go on, go on!"

As she spoke, she flicked her palm, summoning two willow leaves and transforming them into the likeness of two young children. "Take these two with you as well!"

Since Guanyin had said she would help, she naturally wouldn't go back on her word; after all, she had a reputation to uphold.

Therefore, before Su Qing left, she gave her clones to her.

The two young girls were as cute as if carved from powder and jade. They didn't look identical to Guanyin; in fact, they looked completely unrelated. One really couldn't tell they were clones of Guanyin Bodhisattva...

However, that was for the best, as it avoided certain minor troubles.

Besides, if two Guanyin Bodhisattvas were standing before her, even Su Qing would be somewhat nervous, let alone the others she had called.

So, it was more appropriate for Guanyin Bodhisattva to transform her clones into children.

Su Qing nodded to the two children, then left the Purple Bamboo Grove with Chen Chaoyan and Muzha.

Once they were outside the grove, Su Qing said to the two of them, "I still have to go call others, so I'll leave it to you two to take Guanyin Bodhisattva's clones to the Changbai Mountains."

Chen Chaoyan was slightly taken aback but didn't find it too strange. She simply nodded and said, "Alright, then I'll head to the Changbai Mountains with Senior Brother Muzha first. You must come back soon, Godmother!"

"I'm already at the Changbai Mountains! The one here is just a clone. Anyway, you'll see my original body once you get there! But you'll have to wait until I finish with the array plates. Of course, you can also help me make them. You're quite skilled with arrays, aren't you?"

Su Qing truly needed help now, so she didn't hesitate to ask Chen Chaoyan for more assistance...

After all, she was pressed for time and needed all the help she could get... thus, Su Qing set aside her pride and asked for more.

To this, Chen Chaoyan naturally didn't refuse. She said with a smile, "Alright, once I reach the Changbai Mountains, I'll help you make the array plates, Godmother."

Chen Chaoyan was actually quite surprised; she hadn't expected Su Qing to have come only as a clone...

It seemed this matter was even more troublesome than she had anticipated.

However, she wasn't worried about any major accidents, as she was well aware of her godmother's capabilities.

Even if it was difficult this time, she still believed the crisis would be resolved.

Su Qing didn't know what Chen Chaoyan was thinking. She just smiled, nodded, and said, "In that case, I'll be going now. I'll leave the rest to you."

Chen Chaoyan nodded and waved to Su Qing. "See you later, Godmother."

With that, Chen Chaoyan rode her cloud and departed.

Su Qing, meanwhile, continued heading west.

Having secured several helpers from Guanyin Bodhisattva in the South Sea, her next stop was to get some helpers from the Buddha in Aparagodaniya.

'Hmm, I should also call Red Boy and Rakshasi. If possible, I'll bring the Bull Demon King along too. As for the Buddha... I wonder how many helpers I can get from him. Well, I'll take as many as I can get.'

Su Qing thought to herself as she arrived in Aparagodaniya without even realizing it.

She didn't linger along the way, flying straight toward the Great Thunder Monastery in the Western Heaven. As she passed the Banana Leaf Cave, Su Qing lowered her cloud and knocked on the door, wanting to see if Red Boy and the others were home.

Su Qing's luck was quite good...

Just as she knocked, Rakshasi's voice came from inside.

"Who's knocking?" Rakshasi asked. "Is it Sister Su Qing?"

Rakshasi actually knew who was at the door, but she asked anyway.

Hearing this, Su Qing gave a light laugh and said, "Sister Rakshasi is home! Is that girl Red Boy here? I have something I need to ask your help with."