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

Upon hearing this, the people in the stone hall fell silent.

Sun Wukong frowned, his golden eyes scrutinizing the Yellow-Robed Monster. Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing exchanged bewildered glances, speechless.

Bai Yeying blinked, thinking, "Is it really okay to say something like that directly?" She secretly glanced at Sun Wukong. Did the Great Sage believe her or not?

"Kui Mulang?" Sun Wukong snorted, and the tip of his staff moved forward another half inch, almost touching the Yellow Robe Monster's throat.

"You say you're Kui Mulang, so you are? To me, you're just a mountain bandit who kidnapped my master and even wanted to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh!"

"It really is me! It really is Kui Mulang!" The Yellow-Robed Monster, also known as Kui Mulang, was sweating profusely. Ignoring the excruciating pain in his chest, he hurriedly explained, "I...I descended to the mortal realm without permission and had a romantic relationship with Princess Baihuaxiu of Baoxiang Kingdom. Today, I mistakenly captured the Holy Monk; it was all a misunderstanding! Great Sage, please spare my life for the sake of my colleagues in Heaven!"

He muttered to himself, secretly groaning. He had thought the Heavenly Court's decree was a publicly funded honeymoon, allowing him to enjoy himself in the mortal realm while completing his mission. He figured capturing a pilgrim would be a piece of cake for him.

Who would have thought that Sun Wukong was so fierce, and that there was such a troublemaking rat demon! If we don't tell the truth, we'll really be beaten to death by this furious monkey's staff, and that would be truly unjust!

Sun Wukong stared at him for a long time, seemingly weighing the truth or falsehood of his words, or perhaps considering whether or not to strike him with his staff.

Kui Mulang was terrified by his gaze and didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

Just as the atmosphere became tense, a clear voice came from the side, tinged with curiosity and mischief: "Oh~ so you're the Kui Mulang Star Lord who, for personal reasons, abandoned your divine status and descended to the mortal realm to become a demon?"

Bai Yeying, with her hands behind her back, took a few steps, approached, bent down, and looked at Kui Mulang's disheveled appearance with her round almond eyes. Her tone was innocent and naive: "I heard that you couldn't forget Princess Baihuaxiu while you were in heaven, and you didn't hesitate to break the heavenly rules to come down to the mortal world to find her. You really are a... infatuated immortal."

Her words sounded like an exclamation, but coupled with the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, they sounded more like a sarcastic remark, as if she were enjoying the drama.

Kui Mulang blushed with embarrassment and anger at her words, but dared not retaliate and could only lower his head sheepishly.

Sun Wukong's lips twitched slightly at Bai Yeying's words, and the murderous intent in his eyes lessened somewhat. He sheathed his golden cudgel, but remained vigilant, coldly saying, "Even if you are Kui Mulang, descending to the mortal realm as a demon without permission and capturing my master is a serious crime! You may escape death, but you will not escape punishment! I, Old Sun, will escort you back to Heaven and hand you over to the Jade Emperor for judgment!"

Upon hearing that he was to be taken back to Heaven, Kui Mulang breathed a sigh of relief, finally spared his life. He hurriedly thanked him, "Yes, yes, yes... Thank you, Great Sage, for sparing my life! This humble immortal is willing to accept punishment!" He quickly bowed his head to admit his guilt, lowering his posture.

Sun Wukong ignored him, turned and walked to the stone pillar. He quickly tore through the yellow wind ropes binding Tang Sanzang, and carefully helped his unconscious master down: "Master? Master? Wake up!"

Pigsy and Sandy also gathered around.

Seeing that Tang Seng was only unconscious and not seriously injured, Bai Yeying stopped paying attention to him. She glanced at Kui Mulang lying on the ground, her eyes darting around, and suddenly remembered something. She quietly took a few steps back, hid behind a thick stalagmite, and with a sway, transformed back into her original form as a palm-sized white-haired rat.

She smoothed her slightly messy fur with her little paws, then scurried quickly out of the cave, following the shadow of the stone wall.

The excitement has been over, and Kui Mulang's identity has been revealed. Next, it's just a matter of the Great Sage rescuing Tang Sanzang, and then probably sending Kui Mulang back to Heaven. This kind of ending scene probably won't be very interesting.

Moreover, she suddenly remembered that she seemed to have sneaked down, and Nezha was still waiting outside! She had to hurry back, otherwise that man would get impatient and complain that she was causing trouble again.

She slipped away quickly, disappearing from Wave Moon Cave in just a few leaps.

Outside the cave, the setting sun cast a golden-red hue over Wanzishan Mountain.

Bai Yeying transformed back into human form, dusted off her clothes, and looked up in that direction. On the rock, Nezha stood with his arms crossed, his back to her, gazing at the sunset. His red robes fluttered slightly in the mountain breeze, and his figure stood tall and straight like a pine tree.

He seemed to notice her gaze, slowly turned around, lowered his eyes, and looked at her face. His phoenix eyes showed no emotion; he simply looked at her quietly.

Bai Yeying felt a little uneasy under his gaze, and the little bit of smugness she had felt in the cave vanished instantly.

She moved swiftly, flying to his side, taking small steps to stop a few paces in front of him, and whispered, "Third Prince, I'm back."

"Hmm," Nezha responded, his voice unreadable. "Finished fighting?"

"It's over." Bai Yeying nodded, unable to contain her smugness. "That yellow-robed monster was Kui Mulang! He got a terrible beating from the Great Sage, and even begged for mercy in the end, saying he was one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations..."

She chattered on and on about what had happened in the cave, especially emphasizing how she cleverly stabbed Kui Mulang and how she managed to stop him from spraying poisonous smoke.

Nezha listened without interrupting her, simply observing her excited expression and astonishingly bright eyes.

After she finished speaking, he slowly opened his mouth, his tone still the same: "So, you rushed up again?"

Bai Yeying's smile froze for a moment, and her voice lowered: "I...I was just worried that Pigsy was in danger!"

"Yes, very brave." Nezha nodded in affirmation, then changed the subject, "And then you almost got cleaved in two by a single blow?"

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

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. "I...I dodged it! And I'm fine, aren't I?"

Nezha didn't respond. He took a step forward, and the distance between them instantly shortened.

The close proximity allowed Bai Yeying to smell the familiar lotus scent emanating from him, causing her heart to skip a beat for no apparent reason. She looked up and met his phoenix eyes, which were almost touching hers.

Her somewhat guilty yet trying-to-remain calm demeanor was clearly reflected in the boy's beautiful eyes. He looked at her for a moment, then suddenly reached out his hand.

Bai Yeying subconsciously closed her eyes, thinking he was going to tap her forehead again.

However, the expected pain did not occur.

His fingers merely brushed across one side of her cheek, where a speck of dust had somehow gotten on it.

"It's filthy."

As soon as she finished speaking, Nezha's face suddenly loomed large before her eyes. Bai Yeying didn't even see how he moved; she only felt a slight warmth on her lips, and then a soft touch covered them.

"Huh?!"

Bai Yeying's eyes widened instantly, her mind went blank.

A fleeting touch, like a dragonfly skimming the water, and then it was gone.

It was so fast it felt like an illusion, but the lingering touch and the burning heat from the boy told her it wasn't a dream.

Nezha had retreated to his original distance, as if nothing had happened. Only in his beautiful phoenix eyes did he see the last rays of sunset on the horizon, and a hint of annoyance and tension that even he himself was unaware of.

The mountain wind suddenly became noisy, blowing her wisps of hair wildly across her forehead.