I am a fairy in Journey to the West

After carefully wrapping his mother's ashes in cloth, Wei Xian then discovered some silver hidden by the wild boar spirit in the cellar beneath the burned-down house.

Wei Xian took out the silver, put it into a bundle, and handed it to the woman: "Take this silver; it should be enough for your travel expenses back to your hometown."

The woman looked at the silver, then at Wei Xian, and said, "I have no family left, and I don't even know where my hometown is."

Upon hearing this, Wei Xian was at a loss. Zhuang Yan, who was standing next to him, patted Wei Xian on the shoulder and said, "This girl has nowhere to go."

"Ah, this..." Wei Xian stood there stunned for a moment, then asked, "What do we do then?"

Zhuang Yan rubbed his forehead and then said to Wei Xian, "Look at her like this, and she's a woman. Can she survive alone in this chaotic world?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Xian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Then you can stay in Liuhe Village. I live in Liuhe Village."

The woman said, "I have no relatives or friends in Liuhe Village. Besides, would they accept an outsider?"

Wei Xian frowned again upon hearing this, and after a moment said, "Don't worry, I will persuade them to accept you. People in the village are easy to talk to."

The woman was silent for a moment, then looked up at Wei Xian and asked, "Can I stay at your house?"

Without hesitation, Wei Xian nodded and said, "Of course, no problem. My mother's room is available, so you can stay there."

Zhuang Yan laughed. At this moment, the woman was covered in soot because she had just been rescued from the fire. She held the bag of silver in one hand and said, "Then I won't need this silver."

Wei Xian said, "Then I'll take it for now; I'll definitely need it later."

So Wei Xian shouldered the bundle of silver, helped the woman, and said to Zhuang Yan, "Immortal, shall we go back together?"

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "You all go back first. I will come when it's time."

Wei Xian nodded, then helped the woman down the mountain, the two of them limping along.

Just then, the sun rose, and the morning sunlight shone on the two young people, giving them a golden glow.

Meanwhile, Simu and Qianhe had also killed the wild boar demon, retrieved its demon core, and returned to reunite with Zhu Qingqiu.

Accompanying them was another person, the former Queen of Xiliang, who was now dressed in plain clothes and had no gold or silver ornaments on her body.

Upon seeing the two return, Zhu Qingqiu quickly asked, "Where is my sword?"

Master Simu raised his hand and threw the green steel sword back. Zhu Qingqiu hurriedly dodged, but the sharp blade pierced the ground with a 'whoosh'.

Zhu Qingqiu angrily said, "Are you going to kill me?"

Master Four Eyes laughed and said, "Didn't we dodge it?"

Zhu Qingqiu drew his Qinggang sword, sheathed it, and said to Daoist Simu, "If it weren't for Daoist Zhaoyan here, I would have taught you a lesson."

Zhao Yan looked at the bloodstains on Simu and Qianhe and asked with concern, "Are you two Daoist masters alright?"

The two glanced at themselves and then laughed, "It's nothing, it's all that beast's blood."

Zhu Qingqiu asked, "Has the monster been eliminated?"

"A piece of cake," the Four-Eyed Taoist said smugly. "It has to be thunder magic."

"Hehe." Zhu Qingqiu smiled without saying a word.

Master Qianhe then said, “We are not far from Erlang Village now. It has taken us more than two years to travel this route. The three of us are used to sleeping in the open and it doesn’t bother us. But Fellow Daoist Zhaoyan, who is just a mortal, has had a tough time.”

Zhao Yan smiled and said, "Thanks to the three Taoist priests who escorted me all the way, I didn't have to suffer much."

Zhu Qingqiu said, "Alright, alright, we can talk about our troubles when we get to Erlang Village. Let's pack up and get ready to leave."

The three nodded, then tidied up some things, extinguished and buried the campfire, and continued their journey towards Erlang Village.

A month later, the four of them finally arrived at Erlang Village.

Although it is called a village, it is now a town in name only. The entire Erlang Village has expanded dozens of times compared to before, and it is home to refugees who have fled from all over the country, with a population of over 100,000.

So when Zhao Yan and the others arrived here, they were all shocked by the bustling scene before them.

"The whole Xiniu Hezhou is in such chaos, but this place is like a paradise," Zhao Yan murmured.

It should be noted that even her Western Liang Women's Kingdom has been greatly affected in recent years, and the domestic situation is very chaotic.

"Goodness gracious!" Zhu Qingqiu exclaimed, "This isn't a village; it's clearly a city!"

Chizuru and Simu were also amazed, never expecting that Erlang Village was so big.

"Oh no, I forgot where I agreed to meet with Immortal Lingtai." Master Simu clapped his hands in annoyance.

Master Qianhe also said, "At first, we thought it was just a village, and that it wasn't too big and we could find it by searching. Now, where are we supposed to look?"

Just then, the group heard a crane's cry from above. As the cry rang out, pedestrians on the surrounding roads quickly moved aside.

The four looked up and saw a crane, its body shrouded in celestial light, its feathers black and white, and its head adorned with a seven-colored crest, circling down.

"Wow, what a beautiful crane!" Zhao Yan exclaimed.

At this moment, Zhu Qingqiu quickly said, "Fellow Daoist Zhaoyan, retreat quickly."

Before the words were finished, the crane landed, stirring up a huge cloud of dust that forced Simu, Qianhe, and Zhu Qingqiu to retreat.

Only Zhao Yan was unaffected, because the crane had already settled in front of her and stretched its wings out to her feet, like a staircase.

Upon seeing this, Simu, Qianhe, and Zhu Qingqiu all realized, "This crane is an envoy sent by the Immortal of Lingtai."

Zhao Yan looked back with some confusion, and Daoist Qianhe quickly said, "Fellow Daoist Zhao Yan, this crane has come to pick you up. Quickly get on its back." Zhao Yan hesitated slightly upon hearing this, but then the crane nodded at him. Seeing this, Zhao Yan was overjoyed and quickly bowed to the crane before carefully stepping on its wings to climb onto its back.

At this moment, Zhao Yan said again, "Crane, crane, those three Taoist priests escorted me all the way here, why don't we pick them up as well?"

Upon hearing Zhao Yan's words, the crane once again extended its wings toward Qianhe and the other two. The three were delighted and bowed to the crane before walking over together.

The next moment, the seven-colored crown let out a clear whistle, flapped its wings and soared into the sky, flying towards the vast mountains of Qifeng Mountain.

The Seven-Colored Heavenly Crown carried Zhao Yan and the other three directly to the back mountain of Erlang Temple. Zhuang Yan sat cross-legged on a stone platform, watching the Seven-Colored Heavenly Crown land in front of him.

Simu, Qianhe, and Zhu Qingqiu jumped down directly, while Zhaoyan stepped down using the wings of her seven-colored heavenly crown.

Upon seeing Zhuang Yan, Qianhe and the other two hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Lingtai."

Zhuang Yan smiled at the four of them and said, "Two years and four months, thank you for your hard work."

"We dare not!" the three replied. "It is our honor to be able to guide the disciples of the Immortal."

Zhuang Yan nodded slightly and said, "I promised you before that if you could send my disciple to Erlang Village, I would grant you a chance to become an immortal. You must keep your word."

After saying that, Zhuang Yan took out a gourd from his sleeve, poured out three Nine-Turn Golden Pills, and said, "Come forward."

Upon hearing this, the three immediately stepped forward. Zhuang Yan presented the three Nine-Turn Golden Pills to them, saying, "These are Nine-Turn Golden Pills. After consuming them, one can instantly become an immortal within three days."

"Nine Revolutions... Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir?!" Qianhe and Simu were disciples of the Daoist sect, and they knew perfectly well whose formula the Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir was.

Zhu Qingqiu asked in astonishment, "Is it the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir refined by Laozi?"

Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "That's right. I have some connections with Laozi, so I naturally have his Nine-Turn Golden Pill on me."

"Take this pill, and after you go down to Qifeng Mountain, find a treasure land to open up a cave dwelling, and then take the pill," Zhuang Yan said.

The three were extremely excited and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Thank you for bestowing the pill, Immortal."

After saying that, the three of them accepted the Nine-Turn Golden Pill and carefully put it away.

Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Alright, I know how you all feel. Let's not delay any longer. Let's go find a cave dwelling now and prepare for seclusion to take the elixir."

"Yes." The three men stood up in response, then bowed to Zhuang Yan to take their leave.

After the three left, Zhuang Yan turned his gaze to Zhao Yan, whose body bore the very obvious marks of time.

Zhao Yan quickly stepped forward, knelt before Zhuang Yan, and bowed, saying, "Disciple Zhao Yan greets Master."

Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "The delicate queen of yesteryear is now weathered by life."

Zhao Yan said, "Life, death, prosperity, and decline are the natural order of things in this world, and I do not grieve over them."

Zhuang Yan asked, "It seems you've read quite a few scriptures over the years?"

Zhao Yan said, "Since Master bestowed upon me the opportunity to become an immortal, in addition to governing the country, I have also collected and studied many Taoist and Buddhist scriptures. Over the years, I have gained quite a bit of insight."

"Hmm, very good. You're much better than your teacher in this respect," Zhuang Yan said with a smile.

Zhao Yan quickly bowed and said, "How dare this disciple compare to Master?"

Zhuang Yan smiled slightly and said to Zhao Yan, "I once bestowed upon you the name 'Zhao Yan,' and these two characters will now be your Daoist name. As for your given name, it is optional. If you feel it is necessary, you may call yourself whatever you wish."

After a moment's thought, Zhao Yan asked, "Master, may I give myself a name?"

"Sure," Zhuang Yan said with a smile. "What name would you like?"

Zhao Yan said, "Lady Liang."

Zhuang Yan laughed and said, "Are you reminiscing about the Women's Kingdom of Western Liang?"

Zhao Yan nodded and said, "Master, I have only been away from the country for a year and a half since I abdicated, and I have heard that a large-scale rebellion has broken out in the country. The Western Liang Women's Kingdom no longer exists. Therefore, I would like to use the name 'Liang Women' to remember where I came from."

“Alright,” Zhuang Yan said. “From now on, your name will be ‘Liang Nu’, and your Taoist name will be ‘Zhao Yan’.”

Liang immediately kowtowed and said, "Disciple Liang thanks her master."

Then, Liang performed the grand ceremony of three bows and nine kowtows to Zhuang Yan, formally becoming his disciple.

Afterwards, Zhuang Yan imparted the "Jade Purity Divine Firmament Great Dao Treasure Record" to Liang Nu, saying, "This is the Daoist method of our sect. You must diligently study and cultivate it. Also, you must diligently cultivate the 'Essence Absorption Method' that I gave you before."

"Thank you for this method, Master. I will obey your instructions." Liang bowed deeply.

Zhuang Yan nodded and said, "This is the place I have chosen for your cultivation. You should cultivate here carefully. If you have any questions, you can come to Erlang Temple to find me. If you are not in Erlang Temple, you can contact me through this."

As he spoke, Zhuang Yan presented a Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman to Liang Nu and explained in detail how to use it.

After hearing this, Liang was quite surprised, thinking to herself that the items used by immortals were indeed extraordinary. So she bowed again in thanks and put away the Heavenly Profound Jade Talisman.

Finally, Zhuang Yan pointed to the seven-colored heavenly crown and said, "This crane is a rare celestial bird called the 'Seven-Colored Heavenly Crown,' which is my mount and will remain by your side."

Zhuang Yan then said to the crane, "You will stay by Liang Nu's side and obey her commands."

The crane nodded respectfully. Then Zhuang Yan took out a 'Jade Lotus Purple Gold Pill' from his sleeve and threw it over. The crane saw it clearly, opened its mouth to catch it, and swallowed it with a 'gulp'.

In an instant, a dazzling celestial light shone from the crane's body, and the seven-colored crest on its head shone even more brilliantly.

After arranging everything, Zhuang Yan left the back mountain dojo and returned to the Erlang Temple at the foot of the mountain, watched by Liang Nu and the crane. (End of Chapter)