Journey to the West: Please Call Me the White Bone Demon

The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Yun Zhao, carrying the Jade Emperor's decree, returned to Flower Fruit Mountain. He descended from the clouds, and a faint gray-black death aura flickered. His formless and shapeless divine power quietly withdrew, restoring his original appearance.

Inside the Water Curtain Cave, Sun Wukong and Nezha had already sensed that familiar aura.

The monkey somersaulted out of the cave, laughing loudly, "Brother! You're finally back!"

Nezha followed, still disguised as Yun Zhao. He cupped his hands in greeting, a smile on his face, yet with a hint of regret: "Brother Yun, you're back."

Yun Zhao first smiled and nodded at the monkey, then looked at Nezha: "Brother Nezha, have you had a good time these past three years?"

Upon hearing this, Nezha's eyes flashed with a hint of pleasure, but he sighed again: "Enjoyed? I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but it was enough to vent my anger."

"For the past three years, I've tormented that old bastard to the point of wishing he were dead. Just thinking about it is exhilarating. Unfortunately... I haven't had enough fun yet."

Sun Wukong scratched his head and chuckled, "Brother, you really got your revenge! I, Old Sun, watched for three years and felt sorry for Li Jing. He was constantly finding new ways to deal with him. Tsk tsk, I've even learned quite a few new tricks!"

Yun Zhao chuckled upon hearing this and patted the monkey on the shoulder: "Brother, this is not a good way to promote education."

He turned to Nezha and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Brother Nezha, I only managed to buy you three more days. We'll have another chance to teach Li Jing a lesson later!"

Nezha waved his hand: "It's alright, Brother Yun. In the past three years, I have vented all my hatred for Chen Tang Pass and the resentment after the Investiture of the Gods. That old bastard trembles at the sight of my shadow... no, your shadow. That's enough to ease the hatred in my heart!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Yun Zhao and Sun Wukong, his voice becoming solemn: "I, Nezha, hereby acknowledge you two as my friends! From now on, if you ever need my assistance, I will brave mountains of knives and seas of fire without hesitation!"

Sun Wukong laughed heartily, "Good brother! I, Old Sun, consider you a friend too!"

Yun Zhao nodded: "Okay, it's settled."

Nezha then cupped his hands and said, "I'm going back to Heaven to report now. I still need to cover up the lie for the Jade Emperor."

Having said that, he stepped onto his Wind and Fire Wheels, transformed into a streak of fiery red light, and soared into the sky, disappearing into the sea of ​​clouds in the blink of an eye.

Only Yun Zhao and Sun Wukong remained in front of the Water Curtain Cave.

The monkey scratched his cheek, looked in the direction Nezha had left, and clicked his tongue, saying, "That kid, fiery-tempered, but loyal and righteous. Brother, this friend is worth having; he's just my type!"

Yun Zhao smiled and said, "Yes."

He turned to look at the monkey and said seriously, "Brother, I have returned with a decree from the Jade Emperor, which appoints you and me as officials in Heaven. We are both Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Great Sage White Bone, both of which are super-rank official positions, with no one to govern us, and we will enjoy all the offerings of Heaven."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong's eyes lit up, and he twirled his golden cudgel in his hand: "Really? Don't tell me it's another one of those ridiculous positions like the弼马温 (Bima Wen, a lowly official in charge of horses)!"

"Of course not, it's a genuine official rank exceeding the highest grade."

The monkey was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Seeing the monkey laughing happily, Yun Zhao sighed inwardly but did not point it out.

At the beginning of the great calamity of the Journey to the West, the monkey was destined to face the tribulation and suffer some hardships, but for now, he could only let nature take its course.

Suddenly, the monkey seemed to remember something and tilted its head to look at Yun Zhao: "Brother, didn't you say before that Flower Fruit Mountain was a place of unrestrained freedom and carefree joy, the most delightful place? Why are you now voluntarily requesting to go to Heaven to become an official?"

Yun Zhao smiled mysteriously: "Brother, I have my own plans for some things, but they are just for our long-term benefit."

The monkey scratched its head, still puzzled: "Benefits?"

Yun Zhao patted his shoulder: "You'll know in time. Trust me as your brother."

Seeing his brother's serious expression, Sun Wukong nodded and said, "Alright! If my brother says we'll go, then we'll go!"

Yun Zhao smiled: "That's right."

Since we're going to ascend to heaven, we naturally have to release those prisoners.

Although the Giant Spirit God and the Yaksha were also imprisoned for three years, they were not mistreated.

Only Li Jing... was personally "taken care of" by Nezha, his treatment was worlds apart.

He turned to the monkey and said, "Brother, go and release the Giant Spirit God and his men. Let them get lost."

Sun Wukong chuckled, "Alright, I'll go right now!"

He somersaulted into the prison cell behind the mountain, and soon after, the cheers of the Giant Spirit God and others could be heard.

Yun Zhao then walked alone to the dark room where Li Jing was imprisoned.

The dark room was hidden deep inside the mountain, its walls sealed, filled with a deathly aura, perpetually dark, cold, and damp. It was precisely the "extraordinary treatment" that Nezha had specially prepared for Li Jing.

Pushing open the stone door, a musty, rotten smell hit you.

Li Jing was chained to a corner. The once majestic Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had his magic power imprisoned by Nezha. Without a celestial body to maintain his image, he was now emaciated, with disheveled hair, a scraggly beard, tattered clothes, and numerous old and new wounds on his body.

Three years of torment brought him to the brink of mental collapse. Whenever he heard the door open, his body would tremble uncontrollably, and he would curl up into a ball.

Upon seeing Yun Zhao's figure appear, Li Jing's eyes widened, his voice filled with terror and despair: "You...you already came once, didn't you? Why...why are you here again? Could it be...could it be that you're going to torture me multiple times a day now?"

His voice was hoarse and trembling with sobs.

Over the years, he went from initial angry roars to desperate pleas, and now to numb despair, waiting for help year after year.

Here, one cannot even perceive the passage of time; Li Jing has lost all hope.

Every day, Nezha tortured him in different ways—whipping, roasting, pouring chili water on his wounds, piercing his soles with iron skewers… Every day was worse than death for him.

Looking at him like this, Yun Zhao felt no pity, only amusement.

He walked slowly closer, squatted down, and said with a gentle smile, "King Li, don't worry, I'm not here to torture you this time, but to let you go."

Li Jing was startled, then his expression brightened instantly, as if a drowning person had grasped a lifeline.

He raised his head, trembling, his eyes blazing with wild joy: "Really? Really? You...you monster, you're finally letting me go?"