Chapter 64: Jinjiao and Yinjiao: So, the beating was all for nothing?

Under the heavy pressure of the master and his three disciples, Jinjiao Dawang surrendered completely.

However, apart from the Jade Purifying Bottle, he no longer had any other treasures on him.

Oh, wait, no—aside from himself; in Tang An's eyes, he was worth more than those Magic Treasures.

"Come on, let's begin your cranial connective tissue removal surgery. Close your eyes, it will be over in a moment."

Jinjiao Dawang was pinned to the ground, "Are you sure that when I close my eyes, what I see won't be the Western Heaven?"

"No, no." Tang An had already pulled the cord on her chainsaw, "Of course, if you want to keep your eyes open to watch, I have no objections."

The chainsaw roared to life; a Journey to the West version of Saw was reenacted.

Naturally, Tang An moved very quickly; Jinjiao Dawang didn't even feel any pain before his golden horn had been sliced off by Tang An, who held it in her hand, admiring it with glowing eyes.

It was over; the head didn't hurt, but the flesh did.

Jinjiao Dawang scrambled up from the ground, "You've broken off the horn, and you've snatched away all the Magic Treasures, you can leave now, right?"

"Leave?" Tang An's gaze returned to Jinjiao Dawang, "There is still one treasure left to take, where would I go?"

Jinjiao Dawang was terrified, "How could you know that we still have..."

"Look, you've admitted it yourself." Tang An put the golden horn back into the Universe Bag, then very skillfully pulled out a rope. "Come, which one of you two will help out and tie this?"

Jinjiao Dawang and Yinjiao Da Wang looked at each other, their eyes widening one after the other.

"Don't look at me with those innocent, college-student-like eyes; I am just helping you complete your KPI."

Saying this, she swaggered off, heading straight for Lianhua Cave on her own.

As long as she entered this cave, she would count as having been captured by the demons. Then, this tribulation would be considered complete.

Jinjiao and Yinjiao were so bewildered by Tang An that they couldn't function; if they had known she would be so cooperative, why did they have to go through such a huge ordeal and even lose so many treasures?

"Virtuous younger brother, what exactly is she thinking?"

Yinjiao Da Wang touched his own bald head. "I don't know."

The two followed Tang An and her disciples into the cave, and Tang An sat down on a stone stool.

Nezha cooperated, currently untying the rope on her hands.

Jinjiao and Yinjiao looked at each other, their posture resembling well-behaved students waiting for a teacher's lecture.

"Your mother's?" Tang An gestured with the rope in her hand.

Jinjiao and Yinjiao were horrified, "You, how can you curse!"

"Hmm?" Tang An realized her method of greeting was wrong, "I meant, is the Huangjin Rope in your mother's hands?"

"Don't say we're bullying you; call her over too."

Yinjiao Da Wang touched his own bruised and swollen face; she hadn't bullied them yet? Look at how bullied they already were!

"You can't touch my mother."

"Hey, you're swearing, you're cursing, and you're even cursing yourself." Tang An always repaid grudges on the spot.

Yinjiao Da Wang slapped his own mouth, "I meant, my mother likes the Huangjin Rope, so just leave us one, just one."

"Right, we just want to keep this one, you can take everything else," Jinjiao Dawang followed up.

Just as the two were speaking, the voice of an elderly woman appeared abruptly behind them.

"Big Jin, Little Yin, you've returned?"

"Oh my, how did you end up bald after just going out?"

It was quite sudden; mainly because she, as the mother, had no mental preparation.

Tang An sized up the old woman; she looked about eighty or ninety years old, with graying hair, a hunched back, and all the signs of being old and frail.

"Old fox, where is the Huangjin Rope?"

The black fox looked at Tang An, her hand cupped to her ear. "What rope?"

"The Huangjin Rope."

"What Huang what?"

"The Huangjin Rope!"

"What gold rope?"

"Damn you!" Tang An rolled up her sleeves and refused to take it anymore; this was clearly just playing her for a fool!

Jinjiao and Yinjiao grabbed Tang An's legs from either side, "Don't hit, don't hit, our old mother is a demon but she is frail, she truly cannot withstand you laying a hand on her."

Tang An was slightly surprised, "You two..."

Jinjiao and Yinjiao had prepared for a tear-jerker, ready to slowly recount the story of themselves and the old fox.

But Tang An just said, "Are you two hybrids! Or cross-species???"

Jinjiao and Yinjiao:...

Sometimes, silence is truly deafening!!

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore." Tang An might bully the young, but her last bit of moral sense prevented her from bullying the old.

"You can keep the Huangjin Rope, we're leaving."

Jinjiao and Yinjiao were very surprised; they hadn't expected that although Tang An's methods were ruthless before, even more brutal than a great demon,

at this moment, she let them off so easily.

The two looked at each other, and as if they had made a major decision, they suddenly blocked the path of the master and his three disciples, kneeling before Tang An and the others.

"We beg you all to help us two just once."

"A kindness of a drop of water shall be repaid with a gushing spring!"

Tang An and the others were also very surprised by this sudden grand gesture.

"Repaid with a gushing spring? By stealing Laojun's Pills to repay us?"

Jinjiao and Yinjiao looked at each other again, "Fine!" The two responded solemnly, and with a "thud," they kowtowed.

Tang An was left speechless by the two of them, "Just a moment ago you wanted to kill me, and just now we nearly killed you, yet now you suddenly kneel before us to beg for help?"

"Your train of thought is even more erratic than mine."

Jinjiao cupped his hands and said, "Causing trouble for you truly was not our original intention."

"Correct," Yinjiao also said, "We have our own hidden difficulties, but we cannot speak of them."

"Enough." Tang An naturally knew what their little hidden difficulties were; wasn't it just that Laojun had forced them down to stage a trial?

"For the sake of so many Magic Treasures, speak. What help do you want? I will first consider whether I can help."

Jinjiao and Yinjiao stood up excitedly, "We want you to help us plead with Laojun to grant us a hundred years of time to continue being demons in the Mortal World."

"Hmm?" Tang An did not understand, "Isn't your goal me? Now that the matter is resolved, wouldn't it be better to go back and continue being civil servants? Why continue being demons..." Having said this, Tang An paused and turned to look at the black fox.

When she looked at Jinjiao and Yinjiao again, the two of them nodded in unison and with determination.

"So, you intentionally took this job, but your true purpose was actually for her?" Tang An's expression shifted slightly; or rather, not just Tang An, but even Nezha and Yang Jian were moved.

Jinjiao roughly explained the matter between them and the old fox to Tang An.

It was roughly that the old fox had less than a hundred years of lifespan left, and she had already begun to frequently forget things from the past, acting even more muddled.

In other words, the old fox had contracted the disease that the elderly are very prone to: Alzheimer's.

After Sun Wukong finished checking the old fox's pulse, he nodded at Tang An. "Master, those two are not lying."

Tang An was puzzled, "With your lifespan running out, you could just steal some Immortal Pills and come down. If she is ill, wouldn't it be fine to find the corresponding Immortal Pill to treat her?"

Jinjiao and Yinjiao sighed deeply, their tone filled with the helplessness of small characters.

"You are the Destined One, the Great Sage, the Third Prince, and the True Lord Erlang."

"We are merely boys who tend the alchemy furnace."

"If we were to steal even one Immortal Pill, it would be a violation of the Heavenly Law, and our lives would be uncertain. Even if my brother and I could save one person, that person would still have to remain in the Heavenly Court to continue watching the furnace, and would still be unable to care for our old mother."

"Furthermore, the things Mother has forgotten cannot be recovered by eating Immortal Pills."

Jinjiao looked at the clouds in the sky outside the cave, feeling deeply emotional.

"In the early years when we first attained the Dao, we only thought about going out to struggle, to attain the Dao and Ascension, to take a position in the Heavenly Court, and to see the Three Realms."

"We also once thought that this Lianhua Cave was a place we could leave whenever we wanted and return to whenever we pleased."

"But only now do we understand that while one can go outside whenever one wishes, one cannot stay in Lianhua Cave even if one wants to."

"Now that we have finally found an opportunity, we just want you to plead with Laojun to let us stay in the Mortal World as demons for a hundred years, to send..." Jinjiao could not continue.

Hearing this, Tang An sighed deeply and looked at Nezha, Yang Jian, and Wukong. "What do you think?"

"Master knows me, Wukong; this matter, I, Wukong, am determined to help."

Yang Jian also nodded and said, "A heart of utmost purity and filial piety; it can be helped."

Nezha's eyes held complex emotions, but he still nodded.

"Good! Four votes, unanimous. We will help with this favor!"

"Oh? What favor are you all helping with?"

A voice with an immortal and transcendent air appeared outside Lianhua Cave.