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

Laozi stroked his long, snow-white beard, his brows furrowing slightly as if in thought. He then shook his head and sighed, "Alas, Great Sage, you are unaware of the unusual celestial phenomena recently. Perhaps there are evil spirits and heretics who specialize in imitation and transformation, stealing the essence of magical treasures to commit evil deeds. Perhaps some audacious demon has coveted these few of my playthings, disguised himself, stolen their essence, and descended to the mortal realm to cause trouble. Who knows?"

He spoke flawlessly, his face clearly saying, "I know nothing, I'm a victim too."

Sun Wukong stared at Laozi's face, which seemed to be ethereal and otherworldly but was actually feigning ignorance, and his anger surged.

But he knew that this old man held a high position in Heaven and was extremely cunning. Without solid evidence or the Jade Emperor's decree, it would be incredibly difficult to extract the truth from him. Continuing to pester him would only be a waste of time.

His eyes darted around, and suddenly his anger vanished. He scratched his cheek and chuckled, "So that's how it is. I misunderstood Laozi. Since Laozi was unaware, then it must be demons causing trouble, daring to impersonate the celestial attendants of the Tushita Palace and steal Laozi's magic treasures. How despicable!"

Seeing the change in his attitude, Laozi felt slightly relieved and nodded, saying, "Great Sage, you are wise. This matter is indeed unrelated to me."

"Very well, since it is the work of demons, impersonating celestial children, stealing precious treasures, and obstructing the journey to the West, their crimes are heinous! I, Old Sun, will descend to the mortal realm right now, go to Pingding Mountain, and kill and smash those fake Golden Horn and Silver Horn, along with those counterfeit treasures, to the ground! This will prevent them from further tarnishing Your Majesty's reputation!"

Having said that, Sun Wukong, without waiting for Laozi's reaction, cupped his hands in farewell and said, "Laozi, farewell!"

He turned and left, somersaulting through the clouds, exiting the Tushita Palace and flying straight down to the mortal realm at an astonishing speed.

Laozi sat on his prayer mat, watching the direction where Sun Wukong had disappeared. The calmness on his face slowly faded, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He did some mental calculations with his fingers, then immediately stood up: "This monkey..."

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

Inside Lotus Cave, the light was dim and the air was stuffy.

Bai Yeying peeked out from behind a rock.

Golden Horn and Silver Horn sat high on two stone chairs covered with animal skins. On the stone table in front of them were a purple-gold gourd and a jade bottle!

Below, a group of lesser demons were drinking and eating meat, making a great commotion.

"Brother! We've done a great job this time!" Silver Horn's face was flushed as he held up a wine cup. "We even captured Tang Sanzang! Once we eat Tang Sanzang's flesh and achieve immortality, we'll be the most powerful demon kings in the world!"

Golden Horn had also drunk quite a bit, clutching his wine jug and chuckling, "Second Brother is right! But the fact that Sun Wukong has escaped is still a potential problem."

"What are you afraid of!" Silver Horn slammed his hand on the table. "We have so many treasures! If he dares to come again, we'll capture him with the gourd! Tie him up with ropes! Fan him with our fans!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jinjiao nodded, then scratched his little bun on his head with some annoyance. "It's just that there are too many treasures, making them troublesome to use. It would be great if we could use them all together."

The two little kings began whispering and discussing how to use the treasure, sometimes arguing, sometimes laughing, just like children who had received a new toy and couldn't put it down.

Bai Yeying watched from the shadows, marveling at what she saw. What a waste! Laozi's magical treasure was being used as a toy to show off.

Her gaze swept over the several magical artifacts, memorizing their placement.

The purple-gold gourd was in the middle of the table, the jade bottle was beside it, the Seven Star Sword and the banana leaf fan were leaning against each other, and the golden rope was casually draped over the back of the chair.

Turning around, I saw Tang Sanzang tied with rope and lying in a corner, chanting sutras with his eyes closed. Although his face was a little pale, he was still quite calm.

Pigsy was bound like a rice dumpling, his mouth stuffed with a wad of cloth, struggling and whimpering, his eyes darting around.

Just as Bai Yeying was about to move closer, she suddenly heard Jinjiao's voice: "Let's go, let's go check on that Tang Sanzang! Don't let Sun Wukong pull any tricks!"

Bai Yeying quickly shrank back into the shadows to eavesdrop on the sounds.

Golden Horn and Silver Horn staggered over. They had clearly drunk quite a bit, their faces flushed.

"Monk!" Golden Horn tried to look fierce. "Your disciple Sun Wukong has already abandoned you and run away! If you know what's good for you, just wait to be eaten by us, and you'll suffer less!"

Tang Sanzang opened his eyes, his gaze calm: "Amitabha. Wukong will return on his own."

"Come back? Bring back what?"

Silver Horn chuckled, shaking the gourd in his hand: "Our treasure is one of a kind in heaven and earth! Even Sun Wukong would have to call it grandpa!"

Pigsy struggled even more fiercely in the corner, making "woof woof" protesting noises.

Jinjiao glanced at him and chuckled, "This pig's head is quite plump; it should be good steamed."

"Braised is even better!" Silverhorn chimed in.

The two boys started discussing how to eat Tang Sanzang and Zhu Bajie, from steaming and braising to grilling and stewing. They talked about it with great interest, which made Bai Yeying roll her eyes in the shadows.

Are these two really here to play monsters? They look like cooks.

Just then, a little demon ran over to report: "Report! Your Majesties! That dark-faced monk outside the cave is still shouting and cursing, refusing to leave!"

Golden Horn waved his hand impatiently: "Get lost! Don't disturb my enjoyment!"

Silver Horn's eyes lit up: "Brother, that Sandy isn't very capable, but he's always making a racket outside, which is annoying. Why don't we... use the Golden Rope to drag him in? It'll be a good test of how effective the rope is!"

Golden Horn thought for a moment and said, "Okay! You go!"

Silver Horn excitedly jumped off the chair, picked up the Golden Rope draped over the back of the chair, and led a few little demons toward the cave entrance.

Bai Yeying's heart skipped a beat. An opportunity!

Jinjiao stayed alone in the hall, drinking from his gourd, somewhat tipsy, and too lazy to care about the noise of the little demons.

Bai Yeying carefully slipped out from behind the stone, using the concealment barrier and her petite figure to move quickly through the shadows towards the stone table.

She wanted to see more clearly what those magical artifacts actually looked like. Perhaps she could even hear Golden Horn muttering to himself, revealing some usage tips?

Just as she slipped under the stone table and looked up to see the bottom of the gourd on it, Jinjiao suddenly muttered, "This gourd is nice, but it's tiring to call people by name every time. It would be great if I didn't have to call people by name."

He touched the patterns on the gourd with blurry, drunken eyes.

Bai Yeying pricked up her ears.

Golden Horn let out a hiccup and continued muttering to himself, "Laojun seemed to have said... this gourd, if you shake it three times towards someone, it might work? I can't remember... should I give it a try?"

He swayed as he stood up, holding the purple-gold gourd, and mumbled something incoherently to a little demon who was pouring wine. Then he waved the gourd at the little demon three times.

Nothing happened.

Jinjiao scratched his head: "Wait a minute? I still have to call him by name? What a hassle." He sat back down dejectedly, put the gourd on the table, and continued drinking.

Bai Yeying kept these words in mind. Shaking it three times in front of people? Was the spell wrong, or did it simply not have that function? Or did Golden Horn remember it wrong?

As she was pondering this, a commotion and a roar came from the direction of the cave entrance—it was Sha Wujing's voice!

Immediately afterwards, Silver Horn returned triumphantly, with the Golden Rope binding the struggling Sandy!