I am submissive in Journey to the West, I strike hard at the gods

He breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and cursed inwardly, "That was close!"
These fairies arrived at the worst possible time; they almost ruined my plans!

Jiang Wang glanced around and, after confirming that the Seven Fairies had gone far away, muttered to himself, "That Sun Wukong, he stole peaches and threw them on the ground, what a brainless idiot!"
"Well, it's fine, they took the blame for me."

A sly smile crept across his lips. "Since they're going to investigate, I need to speed things up, pick all the six-thousand-year-old peaches, and while I'm at it, mess up the three-thousand-year-old peaches too, to buy them some time!"

With a thought, he reached out and plucked a few strands of hair. With a gentle blow, the hair transformed into seven figures, all of whom looked exactly like the Seven Fairies.

Jiang Wang whispered, "Go to the Three Thousand Year Peach Garden and pick all the peaches you can. Be quick and don't let anyone notice anything amiss!"

The seven fake fairies nodded in unison, transformed into streams of light, and flew towards the three-thousand-year-old Peach Garden.

Jiang Wang then resumed picking peaches, his technique becoming increasingly skillful. Each time he picked a peach, he carefully stored it in his storage magic treasure, afraid of making the slightest sound.

As he picked them, he muttered to himself, "Sun Wukong, you've really taken a heavy burden of blame for this!"

When the Seven Fairies discover that the peaches of immortality, which have lasted for three thousand years, have been picked clean by "them," they'll probably be furious!

Meanwhile, in the Three Thousand Year Peach Garden, seven fake fairies were busy with their own affairs.

They moved with incredible speed, their jade baskets tumbling up and down, and in a short time they had picked thousands of peaches.

Sun Wukong continued to doze off under the tree, completely unaware of anything amiss.

In the distance, several strongmen stood there blankly, seemingly oblivious to everything.

Within the six-thousand-year-old Peach Garden, Jiang Wang's movements were incredibly fast; his hands almost became afterimages, and the peaches on the trees were decreasing at a visible rate.

He thought to himself, "Only two thousand more will be picked!"
As long as we weather this storm, even if the Heavenly Court wants to investigate, they won't be able to find out it was me!

Just then, a light footstep sound came from afar, and the Seven Fairies had arrived at the Six Thousand Year Peach Garden.

The fairy in red walked at the front, her gaze sweeping over the peach grove, her brows furrowing slightly: "Strange, why are there so many fewer peaches here?"
Could someone have actually stolen them?

Jiang Wang, with his sharp ears, heard the sound and his heart tightened. He immediately swayed and transformed back into a peach, hanging on the treetop.

He held his breath and prayed silently, "Please don't find me!"

All the peaches in this 9,000-year-old peach orchard are fake; don't notice anything amiss!

The fairy in red walked to a six-thousand-year-old peach tree, reached out and picked a peach, examined it carefully, and murmured, "This peach looks normal, but the number is obviously wrong."

Let's go check out the 9,000-year-old peach area. If there's a problem there too, then things will be much more serious.

The fairy in purple nodded in agreement: "Sister is right."

The nine-thousand-year-old peaches are a supreme treasure of Heaven; if any are missing, the Queen Mother will surely be furious.

The seven fairies said no more and walked straight toward the nine-thousand-year-old peach area.

Jiang Wang, hanging on the tree, breathed a sigh of relief and only reappeared after they had gone far away.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gritted his teeth, saying, "That was close!"
These fairies have sharp eyes; luckily, the fake peaches I conjured were realistic enough.

We need to hurry and finish picking the 6,000-year-old peaches!

His eyes flashed, and he quickened his pace, his hands moving like a whirlwind, rapidly reducing the number of peaches in the six-thousand-year-old Peach Garden.

Meanwhile, in the 3,000-year-old Peach Garden, the fake fairies had already picked most of the ripe peaches, leaving a few "bitten" ones scattered on the ground.

The peaches looked like a mess.

The seven fairies arrived at the Nine Thousand Year Peach Garden. Their eyes swept over the peaches on the trees. The fairy in red frowned and said, "Strange, the number of peaches here doesn't seem to be decreasing, but something feels off."

She reached out and plucked a peach, gently squeezed it, and her expression changed slightly: "This peach... why is it hollow?"

Upon hearing this, the other fairies stepped forward to examine the peaches and indeed found that they were just empty shells inside.

The fairy in green exclaimed, "Oh no!"
Someone used illusion magic to disguise the peaches!

This 9,000-year-old peach orchard has probably been completely emptied!

The red-clad fairy's face darkened, and her tone became grave: "This matter is of utmost importance!"
Let's hurry back to Yaochi and report to the Queen Mother!
There seems to be a serious problem with this peach orchard!

The seven fairies dared not delay, and transformed into streams of light, hurriedly returning to the Jade Pool.

Jiang Wang hid behind a tree in the six-thousand-year-old peach area, listening to their receding footsteps, and grinned: "It's done!"
Sun Wukong is definitely going to take the blame!
The three-thousand-year-old peach orchard is in complete chaos, and the nine-thousand-year-old peaches are all fake. The Heavenly Court is in for a lot of trouble now!

He looked down at the few remaining six-thousand-year-old peaches in his hand and chuckled, "That's about enough. I'll save the rest to give face to the Heavenly Court."

Next, retreat!

With a flash, he transformed into a streak of light and silently departed from the Peach Garden, leaving behind only a scene of utter devastation.

The peach orchard
"What should I do?"

Jiang Wang stood in the peach orchard, his gaze sweeping over the peaches scattered on the ground, his brows furrowed.

The garden was filled with the enticing aroma of peaches, and the bright red fruits were piled up like mountains, but he was in a dilemma.

There are so many peaches, how can they be carried in just two hands?

Not to mention they had to take it away without being discovered.

He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him. He patted his sleeve and muttered to himself, "A universe within a sleeve!"
"Yes, if we learn this supernatural power, storing all these peaches will be a piece of cake!"

With a thought, Jiang Wang's mind displayed the system panel, which clearly indicated the experience points required to learn "Sleeve Universe"—900 points.

"Nine hundred experience points, wow, that's ruthless."

Jiang Wang smacked his lips, feeling a slight pang of regret, but considering the value of these peaches, he gritted his teeth and said, "Never mind, it's worth it!"

"System, exchange for the Hidden Universe!"

"Ding!

"Consuming 900 experience points, the 'Hidden Universe in a Sleeve' technique has been successfully learned!"

The system's voice rang out crisply, and Jiang Wang felt a mysterious magical power rise from his dantian and circulate throughout his limbs and bones.

His sleeves billowed slightly, as if forming a world of its own, capable of containing all things.

"It's done!"

A hint of excitement flashed in Jiang Wang's eyes. He flicked his sleeve and tentatively waved it towards a pile of peaches on the ground.

In an instant, dozens of peaches vanished into thin air, all absorbed into his sleeve.

He looked down to check, and the sleeve was still light and weightless. He couldn't help but marvel: "This supernatural power is truly mysterious. It could easily hold the entire Peach Garden!"

Just as he was feeling smug, he suddenly heard another voice in his mind, tinged with mockery: "Oh, so the main body has learned a new supernatural power, and even my clone is benefiting from it?"

Jiang Wang was taken aback, then realized that it was his clone communicating with him from afar.

The fact that the clone simultaneously controlled the hidden world within its sleeve was an unexpected delight.

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

Jiang Wang replied irritably, then rolled up his sleeves and began to gather the peaches on the ground.

In an instant, the peaches were sucked into his sleeve like flowing water. Jiang Wang's movements were fluid and graceful, and his smile deepened: "We've struck it rich! Go back and eat them slowly!"

Meanwhile, within the Jade Pool Wonderland, the atmosphere was as heavy as ice.

"Jade Emperor!"
Explain yourself clearly: what's going on with this peach orchard?

The Queen Mother of the West sat upright on her cloud bed, her phoenix eyes filled with anger, and her voice boomed like thunder.

Her hair trembled slightly, revealing her inner rage.

The fairy maidens standing beside him all bowed their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.

The Jade Emperor sat on his dragon throne, feigning composure, but inwardly he was cursing Sun Wukong to the core. He coughed lightly and waved his hand, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter has nothing to do with me."

Sun Wukong was born a stone monkey, and his nature was unruly. I only entrusted him with guarding the Peach Garden, but who knew he would be so reckless!

"It has nothing to do with it?"

The Queen Mother sneered, rose and took a step forward. With a flick of her wide sleeve, the jade cup on the table fell to the ground and shattered into powder.

"The Peach Garden is a treasure of our Heavenly Court. Sun Wukong ruined the peaches, and you think you can just brush it off with a simple 'it's none of your business'?"
"Jade Emperor, do you think I'm easy to fool?"

Cold sweat beaded on the Jade Emperor's forehead as he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty has misunderstood!"

How could I possibly have such an intention?

However, this matter... is truly troublesome.

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Your Majesty may not know, but I and Sun Wukong hold this position because of a pact with the West, which granted him a great fortune."

If we were to expel him from the Peach Garden now, it would be a breach of our promise and give others a handle against us.

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother's anger subsided slightly, but she still frowned: "In that case, what do you intend to do?"

Should we just let that monkey continue to ruin the peaches?
"Do I still have any face left in Yaochi?"

The Jade Emperor's eyes darted around, and he quickly said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have already summoned Venus to discuss countermeasures, and I am confident that we can resolve this matter properly!"

Having said that, he called out loudly towards the outside of the hall: "Summon Venus to an audience!"

Before long, Venus Li Changgeng hurriedly entered the Jade Pool, flicked his whisk, and bowed, saying, "Your subject pays respects to the Jade Emperor and the Queen Mother of the West!"

"Taibai, no need for formalities."

The Jade Emperor waved his hand and got straight to the point, "What good plan do you have for the Peach Garden?"

Venus blinked, thinking to himself, "Why has this hot potato been thrown at me again?"

He stroked his white beard and tentatively said, "Your Majesty, I believe that although the peaches were ruined by Sun Wukong, if the peaches were cut into small pieces and distributed to the immortals, it would not only avoid waste but also cover up the matter."

What do you think, Your Majesty? "

Upon hearing this, the Jade Emperor frowned slightly and hesitated before asking, "Cut it into pieces?"

Isn't this... a bit indecent?

"The peaches of immortality are divine fruits; how can they be treated so crudely?"

Venus quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Your Majesty, in times of emergency, one must act expediently!"
Otherwise, wouldn't all those bitten peaches be ruined for nothing?
Once cut into pieces, onlookers would simply assume it's a newly prepared celestial fruit; who would bother to investigate further?

The Jade Emperor pondered for a moment, and felt that although this method was not very clever, it was better than nothing, so he nodded: "Alright, let's do as you say."

However, this matter must be handled with caution. You must handle it personally and absolutely no word of it should leak out!

Upon hearing this, Venus felt a pang of bitterness in his heart, but dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face. He could only grit his teeth and reply, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

He thought to himself, "Why did this job fall to me?"
"Slicing peaches is such rough work; it's not something an old immortal like me should be doing!"

Seeing that he had agreed, the Jade Emperor turned to the Queen Mother and asked, "Your Majesty, is Taibai's method feasible?"

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother frowned slightly and pondered, "This method does make some sense, but if the truth is revealed, what will become of Yaochi's reputation?"

The Jade Emperor hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I have instructed Taibai to keep this a secret."

"Let's pretend this never happened, and the Peach Banquet will proceed as planned."

After thinking for a moment, the Queen Mother finally nodded and said coldly, "If that's the case, then so be it."

But if anything goes wrong again, Jade Emperor, don't blame me for being ruthless!

The Jade Emperor breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said with a smile, "Your Majesty is too kind, there is certainly no mistake!"

After saying this, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the Queen Mother, indicating that the matter was temporarily put to rest.

The Queen Mother turned around and said to the fairy maidens standing to the side, "Go and summon the Seven Fairy Maidens to see me!"

Before long, the seven fairies gracefully entered the Jade Pool and knelt down in unison: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The Queen Mother's gaze swept over the seven people, and she said in a deep voice, "In the Peach Garden, Sun Wukong acted recklessly and ruined many immortal peaches."

You must go immediately and collect the remaining peaches in the garden. Do not fail to do so!

The seven fairies looked at each other, then accepted the order, saying, "We will obey Your Majesty's decree!"

Then, the seven people transformed into seven streaks of light and flew towards the Peach Garden.

Meanwhile, in the Peach Garden, Sun Wukong was squatting on a peach tree, holding a bright red peach in his hand. After taking a bite, he casually threw it away, muttering, "Why are these fairies here again!"

"I, Old Sun, haven't had enough peaches yet, and you're already trying to steal them? That's so unreasonable!"

He spotted the Seven Fairies in the distance, and, furious, scratched his head and jumped onto another tree. He took a big bite of a peach, then threw it to the ground and shouted, "Rob it!"

Go ahead and rob it!

I, Old Sun, will take a bite and throw one away; let's see how many you can pick up!

The seven fairies landed in the garden, bent down to pick up peaches from the ground, and ignored Sun Wukong's actions.

The fairy in red whispered, "Sisters, ignore that monkey and quickly pick up the peaches, lest something unexpected happens."

The fairy in purple frowned and said, "This monkey is truly despicable. It takes a bite and then throws it away, wasting the immortal fruit like this. Doesn't it fear divine punishment?"

The fairy in green sighed, "The Empress has ordered that we should just pick them up and not argue with him."

Seeing that the seven fairies ignored him, Sun Wukong became even angrier, jumped higher, and his actions of biting the peaches became more and more unrestrained.

In an instant, peaches rained down in the peach orchard, and Sun Wukong laughed heartily: "Come, come, come!"

You pick them up again!

I, Old Sun, want to see how many you can find!

The seven fairies, however, remained calm and swift, collecting all the peaches on the ground into their baskets.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the peach trees in the garden had been picked clean, and even the ground had been tidied up.

Sun Wukong's eyes widened, he jumped down from the tree, and shouted angrily, "You, Seventh Fairy!"
They're quick!
But the garden is all empty, what will I, Old Sun, eat?

He casually grabbed a peach, about to put it in his mouth, when he discovered that the object in his hand had turned into a clump of green moss, emitting a faint fishy smell.

"What the hell is this?"

Sun Wukong was stunned. He looked down again and saw that the peaches scattered on the ground had all turned into moss.

He scratched his head and muttered, "Strange, strange!"

How did this peach turn out like this?

Could it be... that I've been struck by a magical spell?"

He looked up and around, only to find that the Seven Fairies had already vanished.

The garden was quiet, with only him standing under the empty peach tree, his face full of doubt.

"Tsk, never mind!"

Sun Wukong shook his hand, jumped onto the treetop, and muttered, "Let's fill our stomachs first!"

"I, Old Sun, haven't had enough of these heavenly peaches yet!"

But when he looked around, there wasn't a single peach left to pick.
He could only mutter sullenly, "These fairies are so cunning!" (End of Chapter)