I am a fairy in Journey to the West

Meanwhile, Daoist Simu and Daoist Qianhe returned to the riverbank. The two first took a bath, then changed into new Daoist robes before going back to the Jialuo Daoist Temple to see Nangong Jialuo.

Seeing that only two people had returned, Nangong Jialuo asked, "Where is the other fellow Daoist?"

Master Four Eyes said, "That fellow Daoist has stayed on the island."

"Oh?" Nangong Jialuo frowned and asked, "He was arrested?"

"No." Master Simu looked at Nangong Jialuo and said, "Fellow Daoist Nangong, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. The creature on that island is not some kind of demon, but a divine general from Buzhou Mountain."

"A divine general?" Nangong Jialuo asked, "What do you mean?"

So Master Simu and Master Qianhe told Nangong Jialuo about the Linjiang Water God. After listening, Nangong Jialuo frowned.

"So that's how it is." Nangong Jialuo sighed and said, "Lin Jiangshui Shen told me about this, but I didn't expect it to be so complicated."

At this point, Nangong Jialuo asked again, "What kind of punishment will the Linjiang Water God receive?"

"We don't know either," said Simu and Qianhe, exchanging bewildered glances.

Just then, a voice came from within the long sleeves of the Four-Eyed Daoist, "One hundred strokes of the cane, and a five-year salary deduction."

"Who? Who's speaking?" Four-Eyes Taoist was shocked and quickly looked around.

Upon hearing this unfamiliar voice, Nangong Jialuo's expression changed, and she quickly scanned her surroundings.

Only Master Qianhe could hear clearly. He pointed to Master Simu's left sleeve and said, "Brother Simu, the voice seems to be coming from your sleeve."

Upon hearing this, Master Four Eyes was so frightened that he quickly reached into his sleeve and pulled out the fan that Zhuang Yan had given him.

The moment he took out the fan, it instantly lit up with a spiritual light, then landed and transformed into a woman with her hair tied up with a hairpin and wearing a green cloud-patterned dress.

Upon seeing the woman appear, Nangong Jialuo immediately asked, "Who are you?"

Master Simu and Master Qianhe were initially startled, then asked the woman, "Are you a fan spirit?"

"What fan spirit?" the woman said. "I am the head of the Yuntai Pavilion of the Western Mountain Divine Palace, a seventh-rank celestial official of the Lower Yuan."

Upon hearing this, Daoist Qianhe was surprised, "Are you a celestial official from the Western Mountain Divine Palace?"

“Yes,” the woman said. “The reason I turned into a fan is because I have this magical artifact.” As she spoke, she showed off the exquisite ‘jade bone fan’ ornament on her waist.

“This is a magical treasure that can conceal one’s aura, allowing one to hide within it.” The woman added, “If it weren’t for it, I would have been captured by the generals of the Zhechong Prefecture long ago.”

Upon hearing this, Master Simu suddenly realized, "You are one of the twelve people who were sent to the Yuchuan Mountain God by the Western Mountain God that day?"

“Yes.” The woman cupped her hands and smiled, “My name is Yan Fanglan, and I greet you two Daoist masters.”

Simu and Qianhe stared blankly, and subconsciously returned the greeting.

Then Yan Fanglan turned around and bowed to Nangong Jialuo, "Greetings, Lord Nangong."

Nangong Jialuo returned the greeting solemnly, then suddenly asked, "You just said that you are a celestial official of the Western Mountain Divine Palace, and that the Linjiang Water God will be flogged one hundred times and have his salary deducted for five years? Is that true?"

“Absolutely true,” Yan Fanglan said, “because I am also a criminal official appointed by the Fire Spirit Grand Master.”

Nangong Jialuo hurriedly asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, is one hundred strokes of the cane light or heavy?"

"That's hard to say," Yan Fanglan said. "It depends on what kind of cane it is. If it's an ordinary cane, a hundred blows will only damage your bones and muscles, and you'll recover in a few months. But if it's a thunder and fire whip cane, you'll be badly injured even if you don't die."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Jialuo immediately became worried. Seeing this, Yan Fanglan asked, "Mountain Master Nangong, what about you and Lin Jiang, the Water God?"

"Oh," Nangong Jialuo smiled, "We are friends, very compatible friends."

"I see." Yan Fanglan nodded.

Nangong Jialuo then asked, "High God, is there any way to reduce the punishment or offer salvation?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Fanglan immediately spread her hands and said, "If there were a way, would I still be here? There is no way, unless the Fire Spirit High Priest grants me a pardon."

Upon hearing this, Nangong Jialuo's eyes lit up immediately, and she asked, "Then where is the Fire Spirit Grand Master?"

Yan Fanglan was startled and looked at Nangong Jialuo, saying, "No way? You're really going to plead with the Fire Spirit Grand Master?"

Nangong Jialuo said, "It is my duty to do this for my friends."

Yan Fanglan was very impressed upon hearing this and said, "The Fire Spirit Grand Master is far away on Mount Buzhou in Zhongshan Haizhou, which is separated from here by thousands of miles of mountains and rivers and a vast sea."

Master Four Eyes said, “Mount Nangong, I’m not trying to discourage you, but you’re just a mortal cultivator. By the time you reach such a long distance, the Water God of Linjiang will probably have already finished his punishment.”

"Yes," said Daoist Qianhe, "It's really too far, and there are countless difficulties and dangers along the way."

Nangong Jialuo calmly replied, "Man proposes, God disposes. I do not have the ability to save Linjiang Water God, nor can I sit here and watch my friend suffer. Whether or not I succeed in the end, I will have a clear conscience."

After saying that, Nangong Jialuo looked at Simu, Qianhe and Yan Fanglan and said, "The three of you can stay at my temple tonight. I will be setting off for Buzhou Mountain tomorrow."

“No need,” said Simu. “We came here to subdue demons and do good deeds, but now that there are no more evil spirits to subdue, let’s continue on our way to another place.” Daoist Qianhe also said, “Thank you for your kindness, Mountain Lord. We’ll take our leave now.”

Seeing this, Nangong Jialuo said, "Alright, since that's the case, I won't try to keep you two any longer."

But Yan Fanglan stepped forward and said, "Two Daoist masters, I will go with you."

"What?!" Both Simu and Chizuru were startled by these words, and then quickly waved their hands, saying, "No, no, we can't protect you."

Yan Fanglan said, "I don't need you to protect me. Just keep me with you and make sure the Buzhou Mountain God doesn't find me."

“That won’t do either,” Four Eyes said. “This is harboring a criminal official, and we can’t afford to take that responsibility.”

Qianhe also said to Yan Fanglan, "Your Excellency should find another expert. We two are of lowly cultivation and dare not interfere in the affairs of the Heavenly Court."

After saying this, the two were about to leave when Yan Fanglan said, "But that Master Lingtai entrusted me to you. Have you forgotten what Master Lingtai said?"

Upon hearing this, the two immediately stopped in their tracks.

After an unknown amount of time, Master Four Eyes returned with a dark face and said to Yan Fanglan, "You'd better change back."

Yan Fanglan's face lit up with joy, and she quickly transformed back into her fan form and landed on the ground. "Thank you both, Daoist priests."

Master Simu said nothing, picked up the fan and put it in his sleeve, then turned and left with Master Qianhe.

Zhenyue Mountain is named for its lush and verdant scenery, which resembles a crescent moon. Every fifteenth of the lunar month, the moonlight in the mountain is exceptionally bright.

Chi Ling was stationed here, overseeing the capture of criminal officials throughout Xiniu Hezhou by the generals of Zhechong Prefecture.

But Xiniu Hezhou is very large. Even with the addition of the Giant Spirit God, there are only eleven generals in her Zhechong Prefecture. If this continues, how long will it take to catch the more than 20,000 criminal officials in Xiniu Hezhou?

"The Western Mountain Divine Palace not only refuses to cooperate, but also hinders us at every turn, which is really excessive." Inside the reed hut in the mountains, Wuchenzi reported the events of the past few days to Chiling.

Chi Ling wasn't angry after hearing this. Instead, she said, "The Grand Master of Fate will decide what to do at the Western Mountain Divine Palace. We just need to arrest those criminal officials."

Wuchenzi nodded, then asked, "Grand Commandant, wouldn't it be inappropriate to imprison all those criminal officials in the Western Mountain Divine Palace?"

“This is the order of the Grand Master of Fate, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Aren’t Wang Lang, Shen Buqun, and Zhu Youjian in charge of guarding it?” Chi Ling said.

Wuchenzi said, "Grand Commandant, I'm worried that the Western Mountain Divine Palace might be plotting something in secret."

“They wouldn’t dare,” Chi Ling laughed. “Do you know why the High Priest ordered us to lock all the captured criminals in the prison of the Western Mountain Divine Palace?”

Wuchenzi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "This subordinate does not know."

Chi Ling said, "There are only two reasons. First, the Western Mountain Divine Palace rules over the Western Niuhe Continent. It is justified to punish those criminal officials in the Western Mountain Divine Palace, which can shut up many nitpickers."

“Secondly, by keeping these people locked up in the Western Mountain Divine Palace, if anything goes wrong, it will give the Grand Commander the opportunity to hold the Western Mountain Divine Palace accountable,” Chi Ling said with a smile.

Wuchenzi suddenly realized and said, "I understand. The Western Mountain Divine Palace not only dares not do anything bad, but also has to help us keep a close watch on those criminal officials who are imprisoned. Otherwise, it will give the Grand Master of Destiny a reason to hold the Western Mountain Divine Palace accountable."

“That’s right,” Akaya nodded.

At this moment, a voice came from outside the reed hut: "Reporting to the Grand Commandant, your subordinate Ren Xiaoyao has returned to report."

Wuchenzi immediately stepped aside, while Chiling looked up at the outside of the reed hut and said, "Come in."

Ren Xiaoyao stepped into the reed hut, first bowing to Chi Ling, and then reporting back to Chi Ling on the matter of dealing with the aftermath of the Linchuan Water Mansion.

Then Ren Xiaoyao continued, "Grand Commandant, on this trip I discovered a fellow Daoist with exceptional skills. Considering that the Zhechong Prefecture is currently in need of capable personnel, I would like to recommend him to you, Grand Commandant."

Upon hearing this, Chi Ling immediately asked, "Highly skilled? How highly skilled?"

Ren Xiaoyao said, "He just blew a breath and dispersed the Demon-Slaying Smoke of his subordinates."

Upon hearing this, Wuchenzi immediately became respectful, while Chiling raised an eyebrow and asked, "He actually has such abilities, where is he?"

Ren Xiaoyao said, "It's right outside the thatched hut."

Chi Ling said, "Please come in quickly."

"Yes." Ren Xiaoyao accepted the order, then turned and walked out of the thatched hut, bringing Zhuang Yan in.

Zhuang Yan walked into the reed hut. At first, Chi Ling squinted and watched for a while, but the next moment her expression changed. She suddenly stood up from her seat, opened her mouth to speak but then immediately closed it, standing helplessly on the stage.

But Chi Ling quickly regained her composure and asked Ren Xiaoyao, "Is this the expert you recommended?"

Ren Xiaoyao replied, "That's right."

Chi Ling quickly stepped down, bowed to Zhuang Yan, and then pointed to her seat on the stage, saying, "Please take a seat, esteemed one."

"Huh?" Ren Xiaoyao was stunned when he saw this scene.

Wuchenzi, standing nearby, remarked with admiration, "The Grand Commandant's courtesy and humility, coupled with his thirst for wealth, truly make him a role model for us all, worthy of our utmost respect." (End of Chapter)