Jiang Liu's words seed to voice the doubts that lingered in everyone's hearts. Not only was he himself surprised by the enthusiasm of these female demons, but so were his companions Sun Wukong, White Dragon Horse, and Zhu Bajie, all equally baffled.
Everyone's gaze fell upon Second Sister Luan, curious about her response.
"Alas..."
Though the question was raised by Zhu Bajie, whom Second Sister Luan would naturally ignore, it was Jiang Liu who had asked, prompting her to let out a long, sorrowful sigh, as if it held endless bitterness.
Looking toward Jiang Liu, she said, "In truth, when Master Xuanzang made his vow to heaven, swearing to wed Princess Gaoyang, all of us with divine skills could perform the Concentration Calculation.
Hence, my enthusiasm stems from admiring the depth of the Mage's love; the hardships faced on this journey of ten thousand and eight thousand miles surely cannot compare to even a fraction of the agony in one's heart, can they?"
Jiang Liu: "..."
Second Sister Luan's words brought Jiang Liu back to the vows made in the Imperial Palace and to his recollections of Princess Gaoyang cornered by the Corrupting Spirit Poison, resorting to bartering her life in desperation and accepting the journey to Western Spirit Mountain for scriptures out of helplessness...
All the mories of the past welled up, truly making the heart swell with a myriad of feelings.
"Holy Monk, the journey to the West has truly been a hardship for you..."
Watching Jiang Liu lost in his lantation, Second Sister Luan felt a pang in her heart, and without thinking, she raised her hand to gently caress his cheek.
Feeling Second Sister Luan's hand on his face, Jiang Liu snapped back from his reminiscences, recoiling as if he had been electrified, and with hands pressed together, he bowed, saying, "Amitabha, Second Sister, please refrain from such actions. All living beings suffer, not just this poor monk. One should not look upon impropriety, speak of impropriety, or act on impropriety."
Jiang Liu had not expected the female demons on this Journey to the West to be so bold as to make advances in public, which truly startled him.
He took the initiative, and Master Xuanzang actually dodged her like a plague, leaving Second Sister Luan montarily stunned, then she couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
"Do you know, Master, how many over these hundreds of years have coveted my beauty, longing for a taste of my charms, employing all kinds of overt and covert ans? Yet, while I am smitten with the Mage, you are the only one who has avoided in all these years. You truly are a rare man in this world, and Princess Gaoyang is so fortunate, it's enviable," she said playfully.
"Amitabha, love is most valuable when it is focused. Since Second Sister understands my situation with Princess Gaoyang, you should realize that my heart cannot accommodate another woman. I appreciate your feelings, Second Sister..."
With hands pressed together, Jiang Liu answered earnestly.
"Forgive my impropriety earlier. All of us in Yunzhai Cave have long revered the Mage, and now that we are fortunate enough to et today, I would ask that the Mage stay here in Yunzhai Cave for so days, so that I may fulfil the duties of a host," Second Sister Luan said after a mont of silence, nodding in response to Jiang Liu.
To Second Sister Luan, this indeed posed a conundrum.
Her admiration for Master Xuanzang stemd from his extraordinary love for Princess Gaoyang, and naturally, it would not be easy for him to develop feelings for another woman.
If he were to easily transfer his affections to her, would she still hold him in regard, she wondered?
Although Second Sister Luan's enthusiasm and boldness had given Jiang Liu quite a scare, he did not reject her invitation to stay.
Firstly, delaying their journey was the best course of action, and secondly, he needed to discuss the matter of the Black Bear Demon with her.
Zhu Bajie beside him remained silent, having understood from the conversation between Jiang Liu and Second Sister Luan the reason for her keen enthusiasm.
However, realizing it was one thing, but witnessing Second Sister Luan's fervent affection and even her uninvited touch of Jiang Liu's face while expressing her admiration was quite another; Zhu Bajie felt a surge of envy that turned his eyes a fiery red.
He had chanced upon seeing Second Sister Luan a few years ago and had been infatuated with her ever since, pursuing her doggedly day after day, yet she had always been cold towards him.
And now, the Scripture Seeker had only just t her, and she was exceedingly warm, even going so far as to make a move, speaking words of admiration.
In Zhu Bajie's shoes, who wouldn't find that hard to swallow?
No matter what he did, it never seed enough compared to others who didn't even try...
With Second Sister Luan's enthusiastic hospitality, Yunzhai Cave quickly prepared a sumptuous dinner to welco and cleanse the dust from Jiang Liu and his companions' journey.
After being outright rejected by Jiang Liu, Second Sister Luan refrained from any further physical advances, but the tender look in her eyes seed as if it could lt even hardened steel into pliable silk.
After dinner, Second Sister Luan arranged accommodations for Jiang Liu and his companions.
The original plan was for Jiang Liu to have a stone chamber to himself, but truly fearful that the female demon might sneak into his room at night, he insisted on sharing one with Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie.
"Master, I think that female demon is quite fond of you, why don't you just accept her?" Sun Wukong teased as he lay on the stone table, legs crossed, while Jiang Liu sat cross-legged on the stone bed preparing for cultivation.
Jiang Liu had no chance to reply before Sun Wukong sat up excitedly and said, "Just think of how amusing it would be. On our Journey to the West, we don't need a hundred and eighty, just taking ten or so female demons with us, fluttering about like swallows and oriolets, I would really like to see what kind of expression Buddha would have then."
"No, absolutely not."
Before Jiang Liu could respond, Zhu Bajie, who had heard this, hurriedly jumped up and said, "Monkey Brother, Spirit Mountain is a pure land of the Buddhist Sect. What business do you have bringing a group of female demons there? If Buddha holds us accountable, the rit from our Scripture Seeking could turn into a disaster, absolutely not."
As he spoke, Zhu Bajie stared at Jiang Liu anxiously and said, "Holy Monk, you wouldn't do sothing so absurd, would you? Right?"
"I bet you're worried that I'd accept Second Sister Luan's love, aren't you?"
Jiang Liu naturally understood the aning behind Zhu Bajie's anxious gaze and spoke to him irritably.
"Hehehe, Holy Monk, I, Old Pig, truly fancy Second Sister Luan, and since you have soone you like, you should understand," Zhu Bajie scratched the mane on his head and grinned, exposing his sharp and rugged fangs.
"Truly fancy?" Jiang Liu gave Zhu Bajie a disdainful look.
As he often said, what's precious about love is its exclusivity. Perhaps Zhu Bajie's feelings for Second Sister Luan were genuine, but they were far from exclusive.
He had been disrespectful to Chang'e in the Heavenly Court, and after descending to the mortal world he got together with Second Sister Luan, and then, after her death, he married Gao Cuilan.
Moreover, throughout the Journey to the West, any female demon with the slightest bit of beauty would stop him in his tracks. If it were his past life, his behavior would definitely be categorized as that of a 'playboy', and not just any playboy but a 24K pure one.
"Wukong, you don't understand. Second Sister Luan might indeed admire , but it's just admiration, not love,"
After rolling his eyes at Zhu Bajie and muttering a complaint to himself, Jiang Liu shook his head at Sun Wukong.
"Oh? What do you an?" Sun Wukong was taken aback and looked at him in surprise.
"Really, you're saying Second Sister Luan doesn't love you? Holy Monk, where does this idea co from?" Zhu Bajie beca even more excited, his eyes widening as he looked at Jiang Liu expectantly.
Could it be that if it were not love, he still had a chance?
"To Second Sister Luan, she was actually just touched by the sincere affection between and Princess Gaoyang, so she admired and pitied in her heart, nothing more, and that's not love. Perhaps she herself mistook it for love," Jiang Liu explained, shaking his head.
Jiang Liu could reason out such matters quite clearly. It was like reading a novel or watching a TV show, where seeing a sincere love story greatly moves you, so you feel fondness for the characters in the book or on-screen.
For example, in his previous life, the most famous example was the novel "Dream of the Red Chamber," which countless won read with intense emotional investnt. Discover hidden stories at empire
In the parlance of his past life, it would be sumd up as rely 'gaining fans'; to call it love would be a stretch. It's just that the people in this world lacked a clear understanding of this concept.
"Hee hee hee, pity? Master, your choice of words is excellent. I've only ever heard of n feeling pity towards won," Sun Wukong laughed at Jiang Liu's words, finding them very intriguing.
Jiang Liu didn't refute Sun Wukong's teasing; indeed, aside from admiration, Second Sister Luan did feel pity for him, just as one might pity a tragic character in a book or on a show...
"By the way, Monkey, haven't you, living for so many years, ever engaged in romantic entanglents with any female demons?" Jiang Liu, seeing Sun Wukong's playful expression, asked curiously.
"Why bother with romance? Before I, Old Sun, left Flower Fruit Mountain to seek the way of immortality, whenever I fancied a female monkey, I'd simply take her back to my cave. Why bother with feelings? Centuries have passed, and now all of Flower Fruit Mountain is filled with my monkey children and grandchildren," Sun Wukong responded dismissively, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Jiang Liu: "..."
Well then, thinking about the original text where Sun Wukong was always shouting about his 'monkey children and grandchildren'—could it be they were all indeed his descendants?
And considering that Sun Wukong, before his worldly pursuits of immortality, ruled over Flower Fruit Mountain like a monkey king, with habits no different from wild animals—wasn't it logical that there were many female monkeys ready to present themselves? It made sense.
However, rembering Sun Wukong's bestial ways of living before seeking the immortal's path was sowhat cringeworthy and difficult to imagine for Jiang Liu.
"You monkey, are truly without charm," Zhu Bajie also chid in disparagingly.
anwhile, Zhu Bajie's eyes glead as he looked at Jiang Liu and said, "The Holy Monk truly lives up to his na. Even living within the Buddhist Sect, you have a profound understanding of the matters of the heart, which I greatly admire, Old Pig."
With that, Zhu Bajie paused for a mont before adding, "Holy Monk, I beg you to take as your disciple. I, Old Pig, want to learn the ways of love from you. Even if I could only grasp the re basics, I, Old Pig, I, Old Pig..."
Imagining a future where no matter where he went, female demons and even fairies would cry and clamor to throw themselves at him, Zhu Bajie's mouth watered with the thought of such a life. To him, it seed even more joyful than being the Great Jade Emperor himself.
(PS: I'm asking for monthly tickets. I want many monthly tickets so I can try to climb up the new book monthly ticket rankings. I was 6 days late to the ga, missing the beginning of the month when everyone has the most tickets, but now I've risen to over 20th place and still have a bit of hope. My goal is to reach the top 10 in the new book monthly ticket rankings.
I hope you all can lend a hand...)
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