They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 130 The Accountant
Qingfeng and Mingyue's eyes widened instantly.

Like drowning people suddenly grasping at a straw, or like discovering a huge flaw, the hesitation and confusion on the faces of these two quick-witted and sharp-tongued children were instantly dispelled, replaced by extreme excitement and the smugness of having found a weakness.

Qingfeng suddenly looked up, his narrow eyes piercing like knives at Zhu Ganglie standing behind him. He pointed a finger at him, his voice sharp and shrill with excitement.
"Oh ho, who do we have here! A celestial attendant from the Tushita Palace? Tsk tsk tsk..."

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, full of sarcasm, "When did the immortal master of the Tushita Palace get involved with a lecherous and gluttonous wild boar spirit from the mortal realm, a guy who was supposed to be a live-in son-in-law of a peasant family and was kicked out?"

Mingyue followed closely behind, her little face contorted with excitement, pointing at Zhu Ganglie and spitting as she spoke:
"Yeah, we thought it was weird earlier. Look at that pig, so filthy and smelling so foul!"

"It's all over the neighborhood in Gao Village that Gao Cuilan, the daughter of the Gao family, was entangled with this wild boar demon! I heard he goes to climb into girls' windows at night, he's lazy and greedy, and he's done a lot of dirty things like stealing chickens and dogs in the village. Is this the kind of scum your immortals from the Tushita Palace associate with?"

These words were like a sharp knife, piercing Zhu Ganglie's sore spot. His rough, black pig face instantly turned a purplish-red, his short, thick neck stiffened, and he wanted to retort but was momentarily speechless, his two large, fan-like ears flapping anxiously.
"I...I...I, Old Pig, that was...that was true love, you don't know anything! It's true I'm from Gao Village, but I'm also..."

He stammered, and the more he tried to explain, the more guilty and incompetent he seemed.

"Also what? Also a guest of honor in the Tushita Palace?" Qingfeng scoffed, his words as sharp as knives.
"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror? You're clearly a shameless, gluttonous, and lecherous beast. When did the Tushita Palace become so indiscriminate that it even takes in trash like this?"

"Exactly!" Mingyue quickly chimed in, afraid of being overshadowed.

"I think you guys are just impersonating the Doulu Palace. This little kid stole a few magical treasures from somewhere and dares to come out and swindle people. He even found a stupid and greedy pig demon as an accomplice. It's laughable. I don't think this little kid is any kind of immortal child. He's probably some wild demon from the mountains who has transformed into a fraudster!"

The two boys spoke rapidly, their sharp tongues revealing their true nature. They used every trick in the book—sarcasm, ridicule, and personal attacks—to utterly humiliate Zhu Ganglie and even question the identity of the Silver Furnace Boy and the origin of his magical treasure.

The Silver Furnace Boy, who had been so smug just moments before, was now completely bewildered, as if a bucket of buzzing wasps had been stuffed into his head.

He had never encountered anything like this before. He was bombarded with filthy insults, such as lecherous, adulterous, climbing through windows, lazy and greedy, and petty thieves.

With his pitiful limited knowledge and vocabulary, he simply couldn't think of a way to refute these sharp-tongued, venomous children.

He watched as Zhu Bajie, his face flushed red, struggled to refute but stammered foolishly. Hearing words harsher than knives, he trembled with rage, his face turning bright red. Pointing at Qingfeng and Mingyue, his lips quivered. After a long pause, he finally uttered what he considered the most lethal retort.
“You’re all born of pigs!” he shouted, almost in tears.

That shout, though loud, sounded so pale and powerless under the onslaught of insults, like a gentle breeze and a bright moon.

Yuan Shoucheng, standing to the side, remained silent. A shrewd man, he had his hands tucked into his sleeves, his small eyes narrowed, and a look of anticipation on his face. When Qingfeng and Mingyue were hurling their insults, he even seemed to nod with interest.

However, when Qingfeng triumphantly raised the note and pointed it at Zhu Ganglie again, the slightly crumpled note was facing the sunlight, and Yuan Shoucheng glanced at the back of the note out of the corner of his eye.

A blurry ink stain seeped through the back of the paper.

Yuan Shoucheng's gloating expression froze instantly. His eyes sharpened, and he subtly moved closer to Chen Guangrui, nudging him in the side with his elbow. He lowered his voice and spoke quickly in a tone only the two of them could hear.
"Scholar Chen, look at the ink showing through the back of that note!"

Chen Guangrui, who had been frowning slightly and scanning between the two sides who were arguing heatedly, immediately focused his gaze on the note that Qingfeng was waving in his hand. Sure enough, a few scribbles were faintly visible on the back of the translucent paper.

Yuan Shoucheng's voice was even lower, carrying the keen insight of someone from the streets who had a knack for uncovering secrets.

"Look at the words on that note, can you read them clearly?"

He asked a question, then stared intently at the note. "The strokes, the structure of the characters—it's so similar! The letters from Gao Village in the Golden Pond Room of Guanyin Temple are in the handwriting of that accountant!"

Chen Guangrui's gaze suddenly sharpened, his brows furrowed slightly, and he nodded imperceptibly, indicating that he understood.

He looked again at the flimsy note and the two boys spitting as they spoke, a thoughtful look creeping into his eyes.

In a secluded crevice on Mount Sumeru, a weasel spirit with a pointed snout and shrunken cheeks, who had transformed into human form, was anxiously rubbing its hands together. It was one of the Black Bear Spirit's capable subordinates.

Previously, he was ordered to escort the gemstone to Bodhisattva Lingji, but it was stolen halfway there and the treasure was lost.

He reluctantly returned to report the news. After hearing this, Bodhisattva Lingji only told him to step back and wait for further instructions, without saying how to deal with him or what the next step would be.

"What should we do now..." The weasel was filled with anxiety.
"His Majesty repeatedly instructed me to handle this matter well, but now... sigh! What does the Bodhisattva mean? Is he blaming me, or is he going to retrieve the treasure? Should I wait here like an idiot, or sneak back and report to His Majesty first?"

He paced back and forth, the loose stones crunching under his feet, his mind a jumbled mess, unable to make up his mind.

Just as he was feeling agitated, several tall and burly figures suddenly emerged from the shadows of the trees not far behind him and silently surrounded him. The one leading them was none other than the Yellow Wind Monster.

The Yellow Wind Monster's sharp golden eyes were fixed on the Weasel Demon. He nodded slightly, his mind racing. His appearance was lewd and sharp, and his aura matched. He was indeed the errand boy under the Black Wind Demon of Black Wind Mountain.

The weasel spirit, oblivious to everything, was still worrying about the gems and its future. Suddenly, a voice rang out, "Are you from Black Wind Mountain?"

"Hey, what's up? Who are you?"

Before the weasel spirit could react, a large, fan-like hand covered in yellow hair suddenly covered his mouth from the side.

"Woo!"

The weasel spirit only had time to let out a short, muffled groan before an overwhelming and domineering demonic power instantly invaded his limbs and bones, like heavy shackles, suppressing all the magic power he had just summoned.

He stared wide-eyed at the imposing and fierce blond face in terror.

Yellow Wind Monster's eyes were cold. Seeing that his target was firmly under control, he felt it was unnecessary to even ask a question.

"Take him away." He uttered the two words in a low, short voice, and with a exertion of his arm, he easily lifted the weasel spirit, who was still struggling in vain, and tucked him under his armpit.

That weasel spirit was merely a wild demon, and in the hands of a demon king like the Yellow Wind Monster, it couldn't even make a ripple.

The other elite demons of Huangfeng Ridge immediately stepped forward in unison. Some gagged the demon with rags, while others deftly took out ropes and tied the demon's hands and feet tightly.

The whole process was silent, swift, and efficient. In just a few breaths, the weasel spirit vanished from the spot. Only some scattered pebbles and trampled weeds on the ground proved that something had just happened.

A mountain breeze blew by, and everything returned to its deathly silence.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the figure of Lingji Bodhisattva, draped in a golden kasaya, appeared in front of the crevice in the rock.

He originally wanted to ask the weasel spirit for more details about the robbery, hoping to find some clues, and he wondered if there were a few other people who might know about this.

After all, although the two gems were of little use to him, there seemed to be a lot of news circulating in Buddhism recently, and Bodhisattva Lingji wanted to take another step forward, so there were some things that he couldn't let others know.

However, there was no one there. Lingji Bodhisattva glanced around and immediately sensed something was wrong.

Fresh footprints, a few loose stones, and obvious dents left by struggling in the grass...

This is definitely not the scene that would be left behind if one left quietly.

Someone took action. And it was a forced abduction.

Lingji Bodhisattva's face instantly darkened, like dark clouds rolling in before a storm. He had specifically instructed this little demon to wait here; besides himself, who else knew this?
Who would dare kidnap a minor demon from Black Wind Mountain near his dojo? This is clearly aimed at him and that gem!

A thought suddenly surged up like a poisonous vine gripping the heart: Tushita Palace!

Was it the boy holding the jade bottle, or someone more influential behind them?
Maitreya Buddha had just left, and his words seemed to still be protecting the Tushita Palace. They had just promised "not to utter a single extra word," and only wanted to bring the person back safely...

Lingji Bodhisattva stared at the marks on the ground, his fist clenching silently beneath his wide monk's sleeve, his knuckles turning white. A surge of anger at being fooled rose and burned in his chest. The calm on his face could no longer be maintained, and his ever-changing expression finally solidified into a cold rage.

He almost gritted his teeth, suppressing a low growl as he spoke into the empty crevice.

"Didn't you say you were tight-lipped?"

"Didn't you say that this matter is over?"

"Didn't you say you just wanted him to go back?"

He suddenly raised his voice, each word like hailstones hitting a rock, "It's all a lie!"

"Now kidnap the weasel spirit," Lingji Bodhisattva's voice carried a chilling undertone and a violent rage born of betrayal.

"They're trying to keep me alive, to use something against me!"

(End of this chapter)