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

Tang Sanzang said sternly, clutching the Buddhist beads he had just picked up tightly, his fingertips turning white: "That demon just now transformed into a village woman! How can we know it's not another one? You, you all, quickly drive her away!"

The skeleton harbored a deep resentment, wondering where things had gone wrong to arouse the monk's suspicion.

But she showed no sign of it on her face; instead, she looked as if she was about to cry, making her appear even more pitiful: "Elder, why do you say such things? I am indeed from Lingxi Village. My husband is hoeing in the fields, and I am on my way to bring him food! If you do not believe me, I will leave now..." As she spoke, she made a move to leave, turning back every few steps, truly a sight to behold.

Normally, Tang Sanzang would have softened at the sight of this. But having been terrified by Bai Yeying's sudden transformation, he was now like a frightened bird, how could he dare to believe it? He simply closed his eyes and kept chanting Buddhist prayers to keep Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing on their guard.

The situation reached a stalemate. The White Bone Demon was caught in a dilemma, cursing her bad luck inwardly.

On the cliff, Bai Yeying had already slipped back to Nezha's side, her face beaming with an uncontrollable smile after her prank had succeeded.

"How was it? I did a pretty good job, right?" She tugged at Nezha's sleeve, asking as if she wanted praise.

Nezha lowered his eyes and saw her smiling so broadly that her eyes disappeared, her cunning and smugness clearly written on her face. He curled his finger and tapped her forehead lightly.

"Thump."

"You're so clever." His voice was clear and gentle, and her smiling face was reflected in his beautiful phoenix eyes.

Bai Yeying covered her forehead, but laughed even harder. She knew he wasn't angry; in fact, he found it quite amusing.

She turned her head, continuing to watch the stalemate below with great interest, muttering to herself, "Next, shouldn't the Great Sage return and expose the demon? I wonder what other tricks the White Bone Demon has up her sleeve?"

Nezha didn't answer, but stood with his arms crossed, the red ribbon fluttering gently in the breeze. His gaze fell below, where the true demonic aura was quietly gathering on the village woman.

Below, the White Bone Demon, realizing that words alone were no longer enough to convince Tang Sanzang, flashed a fierce light in her eyes. She subtly moved her wrist, seemingly about to turn and leave, but long fingernails sprouted from her fingers, reaching straight for Tang Sanzang!

"Master, be careful!" Sandy reacted the fastest, his staff flashing out to catch the fingernails. Pigsy roared angrily, brandishing his rake and charging forward: "What a vicious demon!"

The true demonic aura was no longer concealed and soared into the sky! The gentleness on the village woman's face faded, and she transformed into a beautiful young woman, holding a bone sword, with gusts of demonic wind blowing around her.

"Tang Sanzang! Today you deserve to fall into my mouth!" the White Bone Demon shouted, and a battle immediately broke out on the spot.

Sun Wukong, who had been watching from the shadows, did not hesitate any longer. With a flash of golden light, he stood in front of Tang Sanzang and shouted, "Hey! Demon! Take this from me!" His golden cudgel aimed straight for the White Bone Demon's head.

In a real fight, the White Bone Demon's cultivation was far from sufficient. She immediately abandoned her clone, her demonic soul leaving her body and fleeing back to her cave.

...............

Deep within the White Bone Cave, a chilling wind howled.

The White Bone Demon sat cross-legged on a throne built of withered bones, her once beautiful face now so somber it seemed to drip with gloom. The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she felt; the more she thought about it, the more something seemed amiss.

How could Tang Sanzang, a mere mortal monk, suddenly become enlightened and act as if he'd seen a ghost upon seeing her? Even if his two disciples were more perceptive, the monk's reaction was still far too intense.

"Something must have gone wrong..." she bit her nails. Just now, when Sun Wukong swept his staff, if she hadn't reacted quickly and abandoned her physical body to escape, even her main soul would probably have been damaged.

A head-on confrontation would be utterly hopeless. That monkey was able to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago, and even though he's been suppressed for five hundred years now, his skills seem to have only improved. With my current level of cultivation, I'm afraid I wouldn't even last a single round in a direct confrontation.

He has to be transferred.

The White Bone Demon's eyes gleamed with a sinister light, and a wicked plan gradually took shape. She stretched out her pale fingers and made a grasping motion towards the malevolent energy permeating the cave, chanting incantations. A wisp of demonic wind gradually formed in her palm.

She brought the whirlwind to her lips and blew gently. The whirlwind, as if possessing a spirit, emerged from the cave and drifted towards the other side of the mountain.

..................

On the cliff.

"Huh? What's that?" Bai Yeying, with her sharp eyes, pointed to the dark clouds rising from the distant mountains and forests.

Nezha glanced in the direction she pointed, his phoenix eyes showing no emotion: "A petty trick, a scheme to lure the snake out of its hole."

Sure enough, Sun Wukong, who was guarding Tang Sanzang below, also sensed the unusual demonic aura, which was moving in the opposite direction from White Bone Ridge.

"Master, Pigsy, Sandy, guard Master well and do not leave!" Sun Wukong's golden eyes clearly saw that the source of the demonic wind seemed to be another demon, and its aura was different from that of the White Bone Demon.

Although he sensed something was amiss, he couldn't allow the demon to run rampant nearby, lest it injure his master or bring even more trouble...

He gave his instructions, then his figure transformed into golden light, and he sped off in the direction of the demonic wind.

Pigsy quickly agreed, dragging his rake to block Tang Sanzang's path, his small eyes wide open. Sandy also gripped his staff tightly, his expression solemn.

On the cliff, Bai Yeying watched Sun Wukong's departing figure and tugged at Nezha's sleeve: "Is the Great Sage really gone? What if the White Bone Demon takes advantage of the situation..."

Nezha did not answer, but merely glanced down at the mountain path. Almost at the same moment Sun Wukong's figure disappeared, a figure emerged shakily from around the bend in the mountain valley.

It was an old woman with gray hair and tattered clothes, leaning on a wooden cane and carrying a worn-out bamboo basket on her back. She walked along wiping away tears and making suppressed sobs.

"Here we go again!" Bai Yeying exclaimed softly. This time, without her prompting, Tang Seng reacted even more violently than before, practically jumping back, his voice trembling: "Demon! Monster! It's a monster again!"

This time, Pigsy didn't immediately agree. He squinted and looked the old woman up and down. Although his master's frightened appearance made him a little nervous, this old woman... looked really miserable. Her face was full of wrinkles, her eyes were cloudy, and she walked with a swaying gait. She was really not like the beautiful village woman from before.

"Master..." Pigsy hesitated for a moment, then said in a muffled voice, "This old woman looks like she really is a person? She's quite pitiful."

"Bajie! You're being foolish!" Tang Sanzang was both anxious and frightened. Pointing at the old woman, he said, "This is a desolate mountain wilderness, with no sign of human habitation. There's a demon woman ahead, so where did this old woman come from? It must be that the demon's first plan failed, so she came up with another! Sha Wujing, quickly drive her away!"

The old woman, who was actually the White Bone Demon in disguise, cried even louder upon hearing this, pounding her chest and stamping her feet: "Heavens! My life is so miserable! My husband and I worked so hard to raise our son, and now he's married and forgotten his mother. He thinks we're old and useless, and he's kicked us out of the house. We're destitute and have no one to rely on but to gather wild vegetables and dig up some roots in the mountains to fill our stomachs. Elders, please have mercy and give us something to eat! I haven't had rice or water for three days..."

Her cries were heart-wrenching, her condition pitiful, and coupled with her frail and aged appearance, it was truly difficult to associate her with the vicious demon she had just witnessed.

Tang Sanzang kept his eyes tightly closed, his lips moved, and he chanted the sutras faster. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, clearly indicating that he was having an internal struggle.

On the one hand, the compassion of a monk made it impossible for him to ignore such a pitiful old woman; on the other hand, the fright he had just experienced was too profound.

Pigsy looked at the old woman's chapped lips and the few withered wild vegetables in her tattered bamboo basket, then glanced at his terrified master, scratched his head, and whispered, "Master, how about... we give her a piece of cake? She doesn't look like she could harm anyone."

"Idiot! What do you know!"

Tang Sanzang suddenly opened his eyes, both frightened and angry: "Demons are masters of transformation! Have you forgotten how that village woman instantly turned into a blue-faced, fanged monster? That must be the demon using the same trick again, trying to gain our sympathy, seeing that we were on guard! Sha Wujing! Why aren't you attacking!"