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

Sun Wukong's golden eyes were fixed on the bottle, his mind racing. This jade bottle seemed to operate on the same principle as the gourd; it required a response to capture people. If he didn't agree...

He made up his mind, kept silent, but kept moving, and aimed his golden cudgel straight at Jinjiao, trying to interrupt his spellcasting.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Jinjiao remained calm. His eyes darted around, and he suddenly changed his target. He turned the mouth of his gourd towards Tang Sanzang, who was being anxiously watched from behind by Sha Wujing, and shouted, "Tang Sanzang!"

Tang Sanzang was worried about his disciples when he suddenly heard someone call his name. He instinctively looked up and asked, "Huh?"

"Master, don't answer!" Sun Wukong shouted urgently, but it was too late!

A flash of golden light appeared at the mouth of the bottle, and before Tang Sanzang could even cry out in surprise, he was sucked into the bottle!

"Master!!!" Sun Wukong's eyes were bloodshot.

Golden Horn laughed heartily and quickly stuffed the cork back in: "Sun Wukong! Your master is in my hands too! Why don't you surrender now?!"

Sha Wujing roared and swung his staff, ready to fight to the death, but Sun Wukong stopped him.

Sun Wukong's chest heaved violently, and the anger in his eyes almost materialized.

He looked at the jade bottle in Golden Horn's hand and the gourd in Silver Horn's hand, and then at the two smug boys in front of the cave. He knew that a direct confrontation was not an option. These two boys were not particularly skilled, but their magical treasures were too troublesome.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and whispered to Sha Wujing, "Brother Sha, keep an eye on the luggage, don't act rashly. I'll be right back."

Having said that, he glared fiercely at Golden Horn and Silver Horn, then his figure blurred, transforming into a golden light that shot towards the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Brother Monkey!" Sha Wujing called out urgently, but there was no reply.

The Golden Horn and Silver Horn were even more smug when they saw Sun Wukong escape.

"What kind of Great Sage Equal to Heaven is he? He's nothing special!" Golden Horn held the Jade Bottle and Gourd, admiring them dearly.

"That's right! They were scared away by our treasure!" Silver Horn raised his head. "Men! We've captured Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie. After we refine this Sun Wukong, we'll slowly enjoy Tang Sanzang's flesh!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The little demons cheered and jumped for joy, surrounding Golden Horn and Silver Horn, carrying the gourd and the jade bottle, and returned to the Lotus Cave in a grand procession, the stone gate slamming shut.

From the treetop, Bai Yeying looked on in surprise. Why was the plot so different?

Two of them got arrested? Tang Sanzang and Pigsy are both in jail? The Great Sage flew away? Did he go to get reinforcements or figure out a way?

As she was pondering this, she suddenly sensed something, shrank her neck, and instinctively tried to hide herself even more.

A familiar voice rang almost in her ear: "Have you seen enough?"

Bai Yeying froze, her neck turning very slowly, one notch at a time.

Nezha had silently sat down on another thick branch next to her without her noticing. He was still dressed in that neat red robe, one leg bent, elbow resting on his knee, looking at her with his head turned to the side. His beautiful phoenix eyes were expressionless, but Bai Yeying felt that his gaze was chilling.

"Third Prince," Bai Yeying smiled, then asked somewhat guiltily, "You've come to watch the fun too?"

Nezha's gaze moved from her guilty face to the tightly closed stone door of the Lotus Cave below, then back again: "It seems someone has taken my words to heart."

Bai Yeying felt a chill run down her spine and quickly waved her hands, "No, no! I was just looking from a distance, I definitely didn't want to get involved! Look how well I'm hiding!" She tried her best to prove that she was safe.

Nezha snorted and didn't respond, only saying, "Sun Wukong went to get reinforcements and won't be back for a while."

"Huh? Call for reinforcements? Call whom?" Bai Yeying asked subconsciously.

Nezha glanced at her: "What do you think?"

Bai Yeying was dumbfounded by the question she had asked. Those two boys hadn't changed at all; who wouldn't know who sent them?

The thought of Laozi standing in the empty Tushita Palace, clutching his pants, saying I know nothing makes me want to laugh.

"Are you going to find Laozi?"

Nezha remained noncommittal, which was taken as tacit agreement.

"Those two boys are playful and arrogant now that they've got the treasure. Now that they've captured Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie, they'll surely be showing them off in the cave."

Bai Yeying nodded, "That's true, you could tell from their posture just now."

Nezha paused for a moment, then continued, "Sun Wukong can't come back for a while, and Sha Wujing is guarding outside alone, so he can't save anyone."

Bai Yeying continued to nod, vaguely sensing that there was something more to his words.

Sure enough, Nezha turned to face her, his beautiful phoenix eyes looking directly at her: "Would you like to go inside and take a look?"

Bai Yeying: "Huh?"

She wondered if she had misheard. Go in? Lotus Cave?

"Why do you suddenly want me involved? And even if I wanted to go, it wouldn't be easy for me to get in!" That stone door looks really heavy, and there must be some kind of restriction on it, right?

"I can take you in, and I can pick you up."

Bai Yeying found it strange; Nezha was acting very strangely today.

Looking at her bewildered yet eager expression, Nezha felt that awkward thought resurface.

She always plunges into the hustle and bustle without any warning, yet she always seems to be thinking about that monkey.

"Not looking for a show?" He raised his chin, pointing to the tightly closed stone door below. "It's even more lively inside."

Bai Yeying looked at Nezha's expressionless profile, her initial doubts suppressed by curiosity. Her eyes lit up: "Can we really go in?"

"Hmm." Nezha said no more, and gently touched her brow with his fingertip.

A cool breeze rushed in, and then formed a hidden barrier around her.

"This barrier can conceal your presence and figure for an hour. Be careful once you're inside." Nezha withdrew his hand. "I'll escort you deeper into the cave, away from the main hall."

Having said that, the Hun Tian Ling silently extended, but instead of wrapping around her waist, it coiled around her wrist like a serpent, like a red rope.

"With this sense, I can find your location."

"Mmm!" Bai Yeying nodded vigorously, touched the red string around her wrist, and felt much more at ease.

Nezha didn't delay any longer and sent Bai Yeying into the Lotus Cave.

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

On the other side, high in the heavens, in the Tushita Palace.

Sun Wukong somersaulted straight to the thirty-third heaven without announcing his arrival, and barged into the alchemy room carrying his golden cudgel.

"Old man! Old man! Come out!"

Laozi was sitting cross-legged on a futon, resting with his eyes closed, when he heard Sun Wukong barging in with a loud shout. He didn't even lift his eyelids, only slowly uttering a "Hmm?"

"Stop playing dumb with me!" Sun Wukong jumped in front of Laozi, slamming his golden cudgel on the ground, sending sparks flying. "Your two furnace-guarding boys stole a bunch of your treasures and went down to the mortal realm to become demons, capturing my master and junior brother in the Lotus Cave on Pingding Mountain! Shouldn't you give me an explanation for this?!"

Laozi slowly opened his eyes, flicked his whisk, and looked utterly bewildered and innocent: "Great Sage, what makes you say such a thing? My two attendants have always been obedient and dutiful, never slacking in guarding the alchemy furnace. Just a few days ago, they said that the furnace fire was at a crucial stage in nurturing the golden elixir, and they couldn't be left unattended for even a moment. How could they have descended to the mortal realm as demons? Great Sage, could you have mistaken me, or perhaps some demon has transformed and impersonated someone from my Tushita Palace?"

"You're mistaken?" Sun Wukong's golden eyes widened, his anger turning into a mocking laugh. "The aura of those treasures—the purple-gold gourd, the jade bottle—I, Old Sun, recognize them clearly with my fiery eyes! Besides you, old man, who else in the Three Realms possesses so many possessions? And those two boys haven't even changed their appearance; one in a golden robe, the other in a silver robe—they're clearly your Daoist disciples!"

"Oh? Is that so?"