They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 104 She even insulted me!

"Just now, I did exactly as that slovenly old Taoist priest said, and went to the backyard of Gao Village, which is Gao Cuilan's little dilapidated embroidery building."

The Silver Furnace Boy vigorously wiped his face, still recounting the unpleasant events that had just occurred to him.

"Those idiots from Gao Village, men, women, and children, a whole bunch of them, carrying torches and sticks, were searching wildly all over the mountains and fields outside the village for Gao Cuilan, whom Pigsy had 'kidnapped.' They were screaming their hearts out, shouting things like 'Give me back my daughter!' 'Give me back my young lady!' It was so noisy! But nobody expected..."

"Gao Cuilan didn't leave the manor at all! She's staying in her own room!"

At this point, Silver Furnace Boy admired Yuan Shoucheng somewhat. He had to admit that the slovenly old Taoist priest was absolutely right.

Hearing this, Jinlu Tongzi was also somewhat surprised, "She's in the room, but where's Zhu Ganglie?"

"He's here too!" The Silver Furnace Boy became agitated again as he got to the point.
"I had just landed in the backyard, still far from that embroidered tower, when I heard a series of crackling sounds coming from inside! Crack! Crack! Crack! It was so clear!"

He imitated the rhythmic voice, his face showing a mixture of confusion and indignation.

"There was also a woman's sobbing, a really pitiful cry. I knew it as soon as I heard it. It must be that bastard Zhu Ganglie. He was wronged at the Gao family and had a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent it, so he took it out on Gao Cuilan, a weak woman. This is just too shameful!"

Chen Guangrui looked at him thoughtfully. Yuan Shoucheng stroked his beard, his shoulders began to tremble slightly, and he tried hard to keep a straight face.

The Silver Furnace Boy, completely unaware, continued to describe his "heroic act."
"I'm thinking, just listening isn't enough, we have to see it for ourselves. I'm from the Tushita Palace, I'm very reasonable, I can't wrong an innocent person, what if it wasn't a fight?"

He puffed out his chest. "So I sneaked onto the roof and carefully removed a few tiles..."

He leaned closer to the Golden Furnace Boy and Chen Guangrui, his eyes wide, his voice low, as if he were transported back to that harrowing scene.
"Guess what I saw? Zhu Ganglie really did start fighting with Gao Cuilan, and it was a really fierce fight! Zhu Ganglie is big and heavy, and he was pinning her down! Gao Cuilan was crying and begging for mercy, she was so pitiful!"

"He kicked off her embroidered shoes and threw them aside! Tell me, how much anger does a grown man, a god descended from heaven, have to have to knock off a young woman's shoes?"

He got angrier and angrier as he talked.
"The more Gao Cuilan begged for mercy, the harder that idiot Zhu Ganglie hit her! He even made those... panting sounds, he must be exhausted!"

The silver furnace boy waved his little fists.
"This is outrageous! Our Tushita Palace can't afford to lose face like this! Zhu Ganglie was a task we were given. If people find out that Marshal Tianpeng bullied a weak woman in the mortal realm, and it gets back to Heaven, not only will he be finished, but we brothers will also become a laughing stock. Even our Ancestor will lose face. No, I have to save her!"

So he, who proclaimed himself the foremost figure in the Tushita Palace to eliminate evil and promote good, took action.
"I kicked that lousy door open with one kick, bang!!"

The silver furnace boy gestured proudly.

"Hey! The moment the door opened, Pigsy jumped in fright, his face and head covered in sweat, looking like a pig's head just pulled out of the water. I called out to him, Pigsy! Stop your bullying and wicked ways, come back with me to face your punishment!"

At this point, the Silver Furnace Boy's face turned bright red with anger, almost as if it were steaming.

"Who knew, it really infuriated me! Before Pigsy could even stammer a word, that Gao Cuilan! Yes! The one who was just crying and begging for mercy! She sat up abruptly, her hair disheveled, her face red and her neck thick, and pointed at my nose, yelling, 'You...you little rascal, where did you come from? Trespassing into a young lady's boudoir, get out of here right now!'"

He imitated Gao Cuilan's tone, his voice shrill and full of incomprehension and grievance.

"Listen to this! Listen to what she's saying! I kindly rushed in to break up the fight and save her, and she tells me to get lost?! How can this woman be so unreasonable? She doesn't appreciate kindness. She can't even beat Zhu Bajie, and she's still not satisfied and wants to keep fighting?"

The Silver Furnace Boy concluded indignantly,

"I think she deserves it. That idiot should have beaten her into submission!"

"Hmph! Outrageous!" The Golden Furnace Boy's face also tightened. He was equally angry and frustrated, feeling that his younger brother had been greatly wronged. He reprimanded the Silver Furnace Boy firmly.

"Serves her right! From now on, don't get involved in these thankless and troublesome matters. Let her fend for herself, so as not to bring trouble upon herself. She doesn't know what's good for her!"

“Yes, let her fend for herself. I won’t help her even if she begs me next time!” Silver Furnace Boy nodded firmly, feeling that his brother’s words resonated with him.

Just then, a series of extremely strange, suppressed "pfft-pfft" sounds came from the side. Yuan Shoucheng's old face turned red, his shoulders trembled violently as if he were having a seizure, strange "hoarse" sounds came from his throat, and his eyes were narrowed to slits, as if he was about to pass out.

Clearly, he had understood what "fighting" meant long ago, and had been holding back, but now he had finally reached his limit and was about to burst out laughing.

Chen Guangrui understood as well, and his expression became even more interesting. He pursed his lips, puffed out his cheeks, and his eyes darted around, sometimes looking at the ground, sometimes glancing at the two indignant children, his lips twitching uncontrollably.

"Hey? Why aren't you all saying anything?" The Silver Furnace Boy finally noticed the strange atmosphere. He looked at Yuan Shoucheng, whose shoulders were shaking wildly as he desperately tried to suppress his laughter, and then at Chen Guangrui, whose face alternated between pale and flushed as he tried to appear serious. Completely bewildered, aggrieved, and confused, he couldn't help but raise his voice and shout.
"They were fighting, and I kindly tried to break them up. Was I wrong? I remember seeing the Ancestor in the Tushita Palace before... um! um!"

"shut up!"

Silver Furnace Boy had barely begun speaking when the words "Ancestor" were uttered. Gold Furnace Boy's expression changed drastically, as if he had heard the most forbidden curse. Like an enraged leopard, he leaped up and pounced with lightning speed, covering Silver Furnace Boy's mouth tightly!
That force almost flattened Yinlu's little face!

"Ugh!" Caught off guard, Silver Furnace Boy's big eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Why did my brother hit me?

"You bastard!" The Golden Furnace Boy's eyes turned red with anger, his voice sharp and filled with fear. "If you dare utter another word of nonsense! If you dare mention the Ancestor again! I'll tear your mouth apart! I'll do it right now!"

He was genuinely shocked, angry, and frightened; his brother's unrestrained speech was truly horrible!
"Ugh... Ugh!" Silver Furnace Boy was suffocating from being suffocated, and he had no idea what he had done wrong. He only felt that his brother had suddenly gone mad, and he struggled desperately.

"It was already... um!" He was still stubbornly trying to argue.

"You dare to say that! You dare to say that!" The Golden Furnace Boy was completely enraged. He desperately covered his younger brother's mouth while raising his hand to tear off the Silver Furnace Boy's lips. The two children instantly started fighting again, rolling around on the ground. One whimpered in frustration, while the other shouted angrily, "Tear your mouth apart!"

The scene was both chaotic and comical.

Chen Guangrui watched with a pounding heart and a chill running down his spine: "It's all over, this is getting more and more complicated..."

His mind was in turmoil.

"Laozi? With whom? Also?... What did that silver furnace almost blurt out just now? Heavens! Is this kind of secret something I can hear?" A chill ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head, and Chen Guangrui felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

He felt himself completely caught on the edge of some terrible vortex.

And just amidst this noisy chaos and commotion...
"Thump! Thump! Thump-thump!"

A series of muffled thuds followed.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shoucheng, the shrewd old sage, had "wisely" chosen the most thorough way to "avoid danger" without anyone noticing.

He was holding his head in a "painful" manner, repeatedly and gently but firmly banging it against a half-person-high, angular, hard rock next to him!

"Ouch...ouch...I'm dizzy..."

He kept ramming his head in, his eyes closed, emitting perfectly timed groans. After about seven or eight rams, the sounds gradually weakened, and finally his head lolled to the side. In a very "professional" posture, he collapsed to the ground with a "thud," his eyes tightly shut, his breathing long and deep, completely "passed out"!

All that remained on the scene was the sound of the gold and silver furnaces wrestling and Chen Guangrui's expression of utter disbelief, his mind racing with thoughts of "This is no place to linger."

Outside Black Wind Mountain, the mountain breeze carries a scent mixed with the aroma of grass and trees.

The two boys, Jinlu and Yinlu, along with Chen Guangrui and Yuan Shoucheng, found a relatively flat mountain hollow to settle down temporarily.

The Golden Furnace Boy frowned slightly, unconsciously fiddling with the corner of his Taoist robe. He looked at Chen Guangrui, who was closing his eyes as if resting, and couldn't help but ask,
"Mr. Chen, now that the accountant's trail has gone cold, and Guanyin Temple is the place we need to go, why don't we just go and ask them directly? Why do we have to waste our time here at the foot of Black Wind Mountain?"

Before Chen Guangrui could speak, the Silver Incense Burner Boy, who was idly fiddling with pebbles with his foot, immediately looked up, his little face raised, and shouted first,

"That's right, we're disciples of Laozi, from the prestigious Tushita Palace. If we brandish our ancestor's name, how impressive would it be to go straight to that Guanyin Temple? Who would dare to disrespect us?"

He spoke with great enthusiasm, his small chest puffed out, as if simply announcing his name would scare the other person into submission, his eyes filled with the expectation of showing off his ancestor's power.

Chen Guangrui slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the two boys. His tone was calm yet carried an undeniable sense of authority.

“We must go to the Zen temple, and we must go there in a grand manner, under the banner of Laozi.”

He changed the subject, his expression becoming serious.

"But remember, we're not going there to show off. When we go, we'll be very confident. We won't just rely on our reputation to force our way in. The old abbot of that Zen temple is just an ordinary monk. If he doesn't know anything, what can we do? Are we really going to drag him back to the Tushita Palace?"

He looked at the boy with the silver stove, then at the boy with the gold stove.
"If we do that, not only will we not get anything out of them, but we will also appear to be abusing our power. If Guanyin Bodhisattva were to personally confront Laozi about this matter, wouldn't we be making trouble for no reason? Not only would we be blamed, but we would also damage Laozi's prestige and reputation. Therefore, we must be absolutely certain that we have grasped the other party's mistake before going to that Zen temple, so that we can be sure of success and leave the other party with no room for argument, and even Guanyin Bodhisattva will have nothing to say."

The Golden Furnace Boy nodded repeatedly in agreement. Chen Guangrui's analysis was clear and reasonable, dispelling his impulsive impulse. Although the Silver Furnace Boy didn't understand, he wasn't about to argue with Chen Guangrui about such a matter.

Chen Guangrui's gaze shifted to Yuan Shoucheng, who was squatting on the ground beside him, chewing on a blade of grass, looking completely unconcerned.
"Mr. Yuan, is it really impossible to find out anything about the accountant's whereabouts?"

Yuan Shoucheng spat out the grass stems, and a look of distress immediately appeared on his plump face. He sighed repeatedly.
“Master Chen, do you think I’m some kind of divine compass? I’ve already calculated it over and over again! Either someone is covering up the secrets for him, or this old fellow is hiding in some obscure corner that can cloud perception. I’m completely in the dark, I’ve found nothing.”

He spread his hands, shook his sleeves, indicating that his hands were empty. "Anyway, the thread is completely severed. There's no way I can figure it out now. This old Taoist priest is at his wit's end!"

Chen Guangrui remained silent for a moment, not surprised by the result.
"It seems we can't rely on the accountant for now. The only way to break through is to go to Black Wind Mountain."

He turned to the two boys and said, "My two celestial children, I would like to trouble you to use your magic to summon all the mountain gods and local deities within a hundred miles. We need to ask them some questions and find out what's going on in this area."

"Binding spirits? Heh! Easy!" The Silver Furnace Boy was just wondering where to show off.
"These mountain gods and local deities are nothing more than petty officials on earth. If the treasure bestowed by our ancestor just shows his face, they'll be scrambling over and kneeling before him!"

The Golden Furnace Boy nodded in agreement, "It's indeed not difficult. It's just..."

He frowned again, looking at Chen Guangrui with some confusion, "Mr. Chen, what's the use of asking these little gods? These local folks, holed up in the ground all day, what earth-shattering secrets could they possibly know?"

A confident smile curved Chen Guangrui's lips.

"Don't underestimate these 'small officials'. No matter what happens in a mountain, a river, or a piece of land, you can't hide it from them. Who walks on the mountain, who disturbs the things in the soil, where there is an unusual smell, where the plants, insects, and birds are disturbed... every single thing is recorded in their 'land record book'."

"Gather them together at the designated time and place. With our identities from the Tushita Palace here, we need to make sure they explain everything clearly. Remember, we represent Laozi!"

The Silver Furnace Boy's eyes lit up, and he suddenly realized, "I understand! This is called 'striking the mountain to shake the earth'!"

His back straightened even more instantly, and a sense of pride welled up inside him, as if "we have powerful connections." His doubts were completely overshadowed by the feeling that "following Mr. Chen is very reliable."

Yuan Shoucheng, standing to the side, lowered his eyelids and muttered to himself.
"I'm afraid it's not just about Guanyin Temple. We should also ask about Black Wind Mountain, and Five Elements Mountain. Oh, and the local deity of Eagle Sorrow Gorge. If we can ask them, we should ask them too."

He knew Chen Guangrui well. This guy was definitely asking those local gods and deities about the Guanyin Temple, but he would also take the opportunity to learn more about what he wanted to know.

"Don't believe me?" Yuan Shoucheng chuckled slyly as he watched Chen Guangrui's performance.

"Then please, two celestial children, perform the spell." Chen Guangrui cupped his hands, his tone steady and resolute.

The two boys, Jinlu and Yinlu, immediately stopped their playful antics, exchanged a glance, pointed their fingers at the ground, and uttered a low incantation!

"By order of the Supreme Dao Ancestor, all earth deities of the four directions, come to pay your respects at once!"

(End of this chapter)