Chapter 312: Calling Nezha

About fifty meters ahead of the four master and disciples, a woman was tied to a tree.

"Oh, tsk tsk tsk, she really is a beautiful little demoness."

It truly matched the original text's description: "A face like a silver basin, lips like smooth cherries. A beauty through and through, even more charming than Chang'e in the moon."

But... she was pretty, alright, it was just that her intelligence seemed a bit worrying.

After all, using this method to lure a monk into saving someone works, and luring men with lecherous hearts also works.

But she, Tang An, was neither a monk nor a man. It really was a waste of her planning and a waste of those brain cells.

Come to think of it, the last one to tie herself to a tree to trick their scripture-seeking team was Honghai'er.

She still remembered that back then, she had even led the way in playing the game of passing by Honghai'er three times without saving him.

Banjie Guanyin looked at Tang An and suddenly froze.

"You, you are..."

The ropes on her body automatically fell away as she stood there stunned.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Why wasn't she following the original plot? Was she going to attack directly?

"Don't come over here. You're so pretty, I really don't have the heart to hit you." The key was that her magic weapons were all physical critical hits, and this little demon couldn't take that much of a beating.

If she killed her in one blow, who would she find to make up the tribulation?

Just as Banjie Guanyin took two steps toward Tang An, suddenly, with a "Slap!", she knelt on the ground.

Tang An had a head full of question marks. What kind of move was this?

"Miss, did you untie yourself just to kneel down and beg me to save you?"

Banjie Guanyin blinked her beautiful big eyes. "This humble one greets the Immortal."

Hm?

"According to the normal procedure, shouldn't you be calling me the Destined One?"

No, had the Journey to the West Calamity been messed up by her to this extent?

Banjie Guanyin's eyes were full of admiration for Tang An. She knelt and moved forward two steps, but her path was blocked by the Fire-Tipped Spear.

"Any closer, and you die." Nezha did not allow anyone to harbor thoughts of harming her.

Banjie Guanyin actually recognized Nezha. "Righteous Brother, do you truly not recognize me?"

"Hey, hey, hey..." Tang An hurriedly grabbed the flaming Fire-Tipped Spear.

Nezha immediately withdrew his strength, so Tang An didn't get burned.

"You little demon, why are you bringing up 'Righteous Brother' for no reason?"

Calling him 'Righteous Brother' like that—what was the difference between that and actively seeking death?

Was it easy for her to keep a demon to fulfill a tribulation? Why were all the demons so eager to throw their lives away?

"Come, like this." Tang An pulled Banjie Guanyin up and tied her back to the tree.

Banjie Guanyin didn't even struggle, letting Tang An tie her up.

"Don't look at me like that. Even if you admire me, I'm still going to beat you."

Tang An was almost losing her heart to that look in her eyes. What exactly was wrong with this little demon? She wasn't following the normal plot at all.

"This humble one was originally a golden-nosed white-haired rat. I cultivated into a demon three hundred years ago and stole Rulai's incense and precious candles."

"Rulai intended to kill me, so I happened to hide behind Li Jing, who had just arrived."

"Randeng Fozu appeared and said that I had a father-daughter affinity with Li Jing, so he immediately made me acknowledge Li Jing as my foster father, thereby sparing my life."

Tang An scratched between her brows. "Does this Randeng have some kind of special obsession with people acknowledging relatives?"

"Who's to say he doesn't?" Banjie Guanyin was also unwilling. "If we go by what the Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha said, then since this humble one ate the incense and candles, that was also an affinity with the incense and candles."

"Since it was an affinity, it was meant for me to eat. Since it was meant to be eaten, why would Buddhism, which prides itself on compassion, want to kill me? It truly makes no sense."

"Uh..." Tang An actually felt for a moment that there was nothing wrong with what she said.

Or rather, it wasn't that the golden-nosed white-haired rat wasn't fated to die, but that from the moment she stole the incense and candles, she had become a small pawn in the Journey to the West Calamity.

Her fate was never meant to be cut short, which was why Randeng stepped in, played the good guy, and fulfilled the Measure Tribulation.

"Forget it. Since we need to gather tribulations anyway, you might as well come along with us."

Next, it was time to see if this golden-nosed white-haired rat would cause any trouble.

Tang An mounted Jiuyue's back, and Banjie Guanyin, the golden-nosed white-haired rat, followed closely by her side, chattering non-stop along the way.

"The benefactor saved my life, so from now on, this humble one's life belongs to the benefactor."

"Hm?" Tang An was puzzled. "Saved your life? How so?"

Banjie Guanyin gestured to the tree behind them. "Didn't the benefactor just save me from there?"

"Uh... I..."

"Is there any possibility that before I saved you, I was the one who dragged you over and tied you there?"

"Whatever the benefactor says is right. In any case, this humble one has already noted the benefactor's kindness."

No... she... why did she have such a fan-girl expression?

"You recognized me at a glance just now. Did you find out about the way our four master and disciples have been subduing demons and eliminating evil along the way?"

Banjie Guanyin shook her head and said, "The reason this humble one recognizes the benefactor is because of that Lingshan calamity half a month ago."

"This humble one was originally going to Lingshan to steal some more incense and candles. Who knew I would happen to see the benefactor wreaking havoc on Lingshan, which really vented a lot of anger for me."

"The situation at that time was not one where this humble one could stay for long. So I only saw the benefactor's heroic posture from afar, and I felt the benefactor was extremely powerful and admired you to the extreme."

"What the benefactor did is truly this humble one's guiding light."

Tang An was a bit embarrassed by the praise. "I just beat up Rulai, and I've become a guiding light?"

"Not at all, not at all." Banjie Guanyin explained, "Does the benefactor know why this humble one is called Banjie Guanyin?"

"Why?" Tang An asked.

"Only because I have once witnessed the hypocrisy of the Buddha. If all Buddhas are like this, then if Guanyin can be a Bodhisattva, why can I not be one?"

"This name, Banjie Guanyin, also carries the intent of mocking Lingshan. If the Buddha does not save the world, and the Bodhisattva does not ferry the people of the world, then are these not all just half-baked, superficial principles?"

"Therefore, I bestowed this title of Banjie Guanyin upon myself."

Tang An could not help but applaud Banjie Guanyin, "Farsighted, idealistic, and reasonable."

While the few were speaking, they arrived at a temple before them.

According to the indicators of the Journey to the West Calamity Book, the temples they were supposed to check in at, they still had to check in at.

"Let's go, you come in with us."

"I will listen to whatever my benefactor says."

Tang An looked up at the exotic-styled temple, and their group walked inside.

They did not encounter any obstacles here; when the Abbot heard they were heading to Western Heaven Lingshan, he hosted them and let them stay.

"You go down and rest."

"Does my benefactor not need me to serve her?"

"Hm? Serve?" Serve where? Was it the kind of serving she was imagining?

Tang An rubbed her cheeks and patted them. She thought to herself, "Wake up, Tang An. Don't you know that 'lust' is a blade hanging over your head? What kind of messy things are you filling your brain with every day?"

"Ahem." She cleared her throat and waved her hand to signal for Banjie Guanyin to withdraw.

"Right."

Just as Banjie Guanyin reached the doorway, she was called back by Tang An.

"No, you are this obedient? I tell you to go and you go, I tell you to stop and you stop."

"Naturally, you are my benefactor."

Tang An could not tell for a moment whether she was pretending to be like this on purpose, or if her nature was truly this pure.

If she were truly this pure, and if the one she worshipped was not herself, but instead a man with ulterior motives, then her life would likely...

"Forget it, go and rest first. I will call you if there is anything."