After transmigrating into the body of the Jade Rat Spirit, I became Nezha's adopted sister.

Sun Wukong paused, turned to look at Tang Sanzang, and frowned: "Master! These thieves have burned, killed, and looted, and have taken countless lives! If it weren't for me, Old Sun, being here today, how could that old man be alive? Releasing him would be like letting a tiger return to the mountains!"

"But he has truly repented!"

Tang Sanzang stood firmly between Sun Wukong and the bandits, insisting, "We monks should guide people towards goodness; how can we arbitrarily break the precept against killing?"

Seeing this, the bandit leader immediately grasped at this straw, kowtowing repeatedly to Tang Sanzang: "Holy Monk! Holy Monk, save me! I know I was wrong! I'm willing to lay down my butcher's knife and from now on eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures! Please, Holy Monk, have mercy!"

Bai Yeying, hiding on the slope, watched with a furrowed brow, muttering to herself, "Has this monk gone mad from chanting scriptures? He actually believes those bandits? The Great Sage is right, releasing them would be a real sin!"

She watched as the Monkey King was rendered speechless by Tang Sanzang's compassionate words, and could only scratch his head in frustration, clearly feeling extremely aggrieved.

Tang Sanzang continued to patiently persuade him: "Wukong, forgive and forget. Our journey to the West is to save all sentient beings. If we fight and kill along the way, how are we any different from these bandits? Quickly release him and don't let anger rise again!"

Bai Yeying grew angrier as she listened, feeling a surge of anger rising to her head. This monk was already soft-hearted, but now he wanted to use grand principles to pressure the Great Sage? The Great Sage's temper was too good; she should probably beat him up too.

She couldn't hold back any longer and was about to jump out of her hiding place to shout a few words on behalf of the Great Sage.

In the instant she shifted slightly and her aura was barely revealed, she sensed something.

The white mouse's body was suddenly lifted into the air, as if an invisible hand had grabbed the back of its neck.

Caught off guard, Bai Yeying's four little paws flapped in the air, lifting the mouse into the air, startling her into a squeak.

The next moment, the boy's teasing voice rang close to her ear: "Hey, whose mouse is this, hiding here watching the fun?"

Bai Yeying froze, her flailing paws instantly stopping, her eyes wide open.

That voice, that tone, who else could it be but Nezha?

She twisted her stiff neck and turned her head slowly.

What comes into view is the boy's smooth chin and upturned lips.

Nezha casually rested one hand on his knee, while the other gripped the back of her neck. He sat on a tree branch above where she had just been hiding, a corner of his red robe dangling down, swaying gently in the breeze. Clearly, he had been there for a while, perhaps even earlier than her.

"Third Prince?!" Bai Yeying tucked her four claws in front of her body, her tail stiffened, and only her eyes blinked.

"Hmm." Nezha snorted in response, lifting her up and shaking her as if weighing a disobedient pet. "Didn't I tell you to stay in Trapped Sky Mountain and not run around outside? Huh?"

Bai Yeying's heart pounded, half from shock and half from...embarrassment. She'd been caught! And in such an embarrassing way!

"I...I was just passing by, taking a look..." Her voice trailed off, utterly unconvincing under the other person's ambiguous gaze.

"Just passing by?" Nezha raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the still arguing master and disciple and the limp bandits below. "Just passing by on the journey to the West? And you're watching with such interest. What, want to jump out and stand up for what's right?"

Bai Yeying didn't dare to reply.

Nezha chuckled, but didn't make things difficult for her any further. He just kept his hand on the back of her neck and looked down again.

Below, Sun Wukong seemed to have finally grown impatient with entanglement with Tang Sanzang. He struck the bandit leader, who was still crying and begging for mercy, on the head with his golden cudgel, instantly killing him with a bloody head.

Tang Sanzang was shocked. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again and said to Sun Wukong, "Since he has begged for mercy, how can you take his life? How will you get to the Western Paradise?"

"If I can't go, then I won't go." Before the words were even finished, he somersaulted into the air, and with a flash of golden light, he vanished without a trace.

Tang Sanzang gazed in the direction where his disciple had disappeared, then looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, sighed deeply, and chanted Buddhist mantras.

He turned and said goodbye to the old man, then took his horse and walked forward alone.

Bai Yeying felt a mix of emotions watching this. She had always disliked Tang Seng, and now she wanted to scratch him to death.

Behind him, a boisterous voice rang out without warning: "Hey, you two, you're quite the entertainers when it comes to making a scene for me, Old Sun!"

The moment Sun Wukong finished speaking, Bai Yeying was so frightened that all the white fur on her body stood on end, and the whole rat almost bounced out of Nezha's hand.

Nezha remained calm, and even had the leisure to bend his finger and tap her on her frizzy forehead.

"Thump."

"Squeak!" Bai Yeying cried out in pain, clutching her head with her paws, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared at the boy who was so close to her.

Nezha slowly raised his eyes and looked at the old pine tree next to him, its branches swaying.

Sun Wukong had somehow already squatted down there, his golden eyes observing them with great interest. Or rather, he was observing the white-furred dumpling that Nezha was holding in his hand, and then observing Nezha's posture as if he were carrying a rat.

"Great Sage!" Bai Yeying reacted first, forgetting that she was still being carried, she twisted her body to greet him, her voice a little weak, "You...you're here? Um, wasn't it just now..."

"What, can't I, Old Sun, come?" Sun Wukong grinned, scratching his ear. "Are my Fiery Eyes just for show? The two of you are practically stirring up trouble here, do you think I can't see you?"

His gaze swept between the two, especially when he saw Bai Yeying's angry but not daring to speak out, and her inexplicable dependence on Nezha. The mischievousness in his golden eyes intensified: "Well done, little mouse. It hasn't been that long since we last met, and you've already latched onto such a powerful figure? No wonder you were so hesitant when you mentioned certain people last time."

Bai Yeying: ".................."

Help! Why isn't there a hole in this broken tree branch for her to crawl through?

When Nezha heard Sun Wukong mention the thigh, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't refute it. He just shook Bai Yeying's hand and said in his usual irritating tone, "Great Sage, you have good eyesight. I'm just watching the show."

"Hey!" Sun Wukong jumped down from the tree branch.

Nezha then jumped down from the tree as well.

Sun Wukong slung his golden cudgel over his shoulder, moved closer, and circled Nezha and the pendant in his hand for a short while: "The commotion here is much more interesting than fighting those bandits. Third Prince, are you just passing through on your way down to the mortal realm?"

Nezha remained unfazed: "His Majesty has decreed that the journey to the west be overseen to ensure that the pilgrims do not perish."

He paused, glancing at Bai Yeying, who was feigning death in his hand: "By the way, catch a disobedient rat that's running around everywhere."

Bai Yeying buried her face in her paws. She was too ashamed to face anyone! Especially not the Great Sage!

"Oh~" Sun Wukong drawled, with an expression that said, "I understand, but I won't say it out loud."

"I see, it's just business, and conveniently done, right?"

Nezha didn't respond to that question, but instead looked at Sun Wukong: "That monk is pedantic, what do you plan to do?"

Mentioning Tang Sanzang, Sun Wukong's smile faded, and he scratched his ears and cheeks, showing some annoyance: "What can I do? Let that monk suffer for a few days, be frightened by the demons, and make him beg me, Old Sun, to come back."

Bai Yeying peeked through her claws and couldn't help but whisper, "The Great Sage did the right thing. Keeping that bandit around will only cause more harm. It's better to teach Tang Sanzang a lesson."