Chapter 186: Idle Chat

Yes, yes, yes, that's it.

Hey, little brother, come quickly!

Yu Lin pushed aside the grass and saw a furry head poking out of a crack in the stone, with half a body following behind, its furry hands exposed, waving vigorously at him:

"Here, here! Old Sun finally got a living person!"

With a pointed mouth and a furrowed face, Golden Eyes and Fiery Eyes, his appearance was indeed not handsome; if someone were summoned in the dead of night, they'd be scared enough to run away, shouting:

"There's a ghost!"

At first glance he was quite frightening, but after looking a few more times, he became pleasant to the eye, even growing more charming...

"Hey, little brother, what kind of look are you giving me?"

"Uh, sorry, sorry."

Yu Lin gave Sun Wukong an apologetic smile, and with Dragon Lord and Qilin came to his front, sitting cross‑legged, laughing: "But aren't you the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong?"

"Oh?! Little brother knows Old Sun?!"

The moment Sun Wukong heard Yu Lin's words, his eyes lit up, he scanned him up and down, feeling a vague familiarity but no clear memory, and asked curiously:

"Little brother, what's your name?"

"Yu Lin."

"Yu Lin... little brother, which deity from the heavens are you? Did we see you at the Peach Banquet years ago?"

"I'm not a deity; in fact, I haven't become an immortal yet, I have no Fruit Position, and I've never been to the Heavenly Court."

"Like that?" Sun Wukong's confusion deepened; he looked at the Dragon Lord and Qilin behind Yu Lin, suddenly formed a guess, chuckling:

"Yu little brother carries such a treasure, so perhaps, like Old Sun, you have a good master?"

Yu Lin thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Pretty much."

Seeing his admission, Sun Wukong immediately seized his hands and whispered:

"Yu little brother, be honest with Old Sun—did you also come from.......... there?"

"You were sent here to scout the situation, then rescue me out?"

He lifted his head, met Yu Lin's gaze, his eyes full of hope.

He recalled that when he was besieged by the Immortals years ago, though he said nothing, he still hoped Patriarch Bodhi would intervene and save him.

Unfortunately, this time he would be disappointed again.

"Sorry, I'm not what you think," Yu Lin shook his head.

"I only traveled here, heard of the Great Sage's deeds, and wanted to see for myself."

"........." Sun Wukong, seeing his denial, released his hand, sighed, "I guess Old Sun was being greedy."

"Indeed, after all, the words they used against me back then... must have been sincere."

"I've caused such a disaster again..."

"Better not mention it, better not mention it!"

"Yu little brother, did you bring any tasty food?"

He didn't bring up the matter of breaking the seal; Yu Lin said he came to see him, perhaps sent by some deity, to see how he was doing now.

"Actually, I do," Yu Lin waved his hand, and the ground instantly filled with a heap of food.

"Thanks, thanks, I remember your kindness!" Sun Wukong wasn't ungrateful; after thanking, he immediately began to feast heartily.

"Great Sage, may I ask you some questions."

"Go ahead, no problem."

"Did you really eat Lao Jun's Immortal Pill all by yourself?"

"How could that be? That old fellow brews pills whenever he wants; how could I finish them? They're not afraid I'd eat them all, I'm the one who might be overwhelmed!"

"By the way, what about the Underworld's Book of Life and Death? I heard you destroyed the Book of Life and Death."

"No way! Old Sun only crossed out his own name, some Monkey Grandsons, and also......."

He bit into a fruit, grinned, "Tore out a few blank pages and tossed them into the mortal world!"

Could this be the origin of the Book of Life and Death, one of the Heavenly Bestowed Artifacts of the Civil Affairs Bureau?

It's also uncertain; perhaps Awakeners who deal with soul‑binding infused it.

Yu Lin didn't think further, just raised his thumb: "Great Sage, mighty."

"Then when you sealed the Seventh Fairy Maiden, did you really do nothing?"

"Otherwise? You think..."

"And also..."

This food, enough for a hundred people, while they talked and ate, was quickly polished off, but he still looked as if he wasn't satisfied.

But Yu Lin only brought that much.

He wiped his mouth, laughing, "These iron pills and copper broth I've been eating for a hundred years."

"Eating such a feast today is far tastier than the celestial banquets in the heavens!"

"When I leave this place, I will repay Yu little brother for today's meal!"

"Fine." Yu Lin put away the utensils, stood up and said:

"Since the Great Sage is full and satisfied, I won't disturb your rest."

"Farewell."

He turned and left.

Watching his back, Sun Wukong called out:

"Yu little brother, come visit Old Sun often from now on!"

"Alright."

Chongyun County.

The night was dark and deep; the cold wind swept up fine snow, striking the window lattice.

In the study of County Magistrate Li Yuan, the candles burned brightly, yet he felt no warmth at all.

On the bed lay two corpses side by side—his only two sons.

Their faces were deathly pale, their bodies stiff as stone from the winter cold. Li Yuan's eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at his sons' faces, as if trying to engrave their likeness into his bones.

On the neighboring bed lay his wife, who had fainted from crying several times; she was now being carefully attended to by a maid.

"Prepare the horses!" Li Yuan snapped around, his voice hoarse and frightening, "To the capital!"

The steward stood outside the door, glanced at the swirling snow outside the window, and looked troubled: "Sir, the night road is impassable, and there's more snow... perhaps we should wait until dawn..."

"I said prepare the horses!" Li Yuan suddenly flew into a rage, grabbing the jade pendant from his waist and hurling it violently!

The jade pendant grazed the steward's cheek as it flew past, shattering against the doorframe.

The steward dared not dodge or cry out, quickly bowing: "Yes, yes, I'll go at once."

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, a carriage silently drove out the rear gate of the manor.

The carriage's shaft rolled over the accumulated snow, emitting a creaking sound, and soon vanished into the vast snowy night.

The next day.

Before Zhongjia Village.

A woman sweeping the snow fallen before her door was tugged on the sleeve by a child: "Mother, look!"

"What's wrong?" The woman lifted her head, only to see a graceful young lord riding a tall, fine horse approaching on the road ahead.

The horse was pure white all over, its tack exquisite, gleaming in the morning light.

Even more eye-catching were the three carriages following the young lord, their loads covered tightly with red cloth; though the exact items couldn't be seen, the bulging shapes and deep ruts showed they were heavy.

The woman, as if having heard the matchmaker's rumor about going to Zhong Kui's house to propose a marriage, immediately put down her broom, took the child's hand, and followed.

Other villagers, seeing this, also gathered curiously; a group silently followed behind the carriages all the way to the front gate of Zhong Kui's home.

Only saw the young lord nimbly dismount, bowing toward Zhong Kui, who was splitting firewood in the courtyard:

"I am Wang Congwen; I have come today especially to visit Brother Zhong—my respects!"