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Chapter 219 Strange
The battlefield at Lion Camel Ridge was a scene of utter devastation, with scorched earth and white bones silently testifying to the carnage. The Buddha's light dissipated, leaving only a deathly silent valley and the survivors.

Tang Sheng tugged at Chen Guangrui's sleeve, his little face full of confusion. His big, dark eyes stared in the direction where Tathagata had disappeared, and he muttered softly, "Dad, that bald monk who looked like a big golden man... I, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before?"

Chen Guangrui's heart tightened, but he remained calm on the surface. He reached out and ruffled Tang Sheng's bald head, his tone soothing and casual, "Silly child, perhaps you were his disciple in your past life."

"Pfft!" Nezha, standing nearby, couldn't help but burst out laughing. He held his Fire-Tipped Spear, his lips curling into a wide grin, his eyes full of mockery.

"Come on! Him? He's a master of drinking, gambling, whoring, swindling, and cheating. He's practically got the word 'unreliable' written all over his forehead. You think he was a disciple of Buddha in his past life? I think he's more like a little devil who escaped from some demon's lair and was subdued by Buddha!"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Tang Sheng, clearly finding Chen Guangrui's statement utterly absurd.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sheng immediately put her hands on her hips and grinned at Nezha, "You're the little devil! Your whole family are little devils! My dad says I'm a disciple, so I'm a disciple!"

Although she spoke toughly, her eyes darted around, clearly indicating that she was also a little guilty.

Sun Wukong chuckled upon hearing Chen Guangrui's words. He scratched his cheek, his fiery eyes gleaming mischievously, and chuckled.
"What if he was Buddha's disciple in his past life? Heh heh, then according to seniority, wouldn't Buddha have to call me, Old Sun, 'brother'?"

He counted on his hairy fingers, seemingly calculating the complex ethical relationships, finding it increasingly amusing, and his smile grew more and more smug.

Looking at Sun Wukong's appearance, Chen Guangrui felt a heavy weight in his heart. He knew that Buddha's last words, "You and I are destined to meet," were not unfounded, nor could they be easily dismissed by Tang Sheng's unreasonable nagging.

The Buddha had probably already noticed something amiss with Tang Sheng's unusual origins. He thought with deep concern,

"The feud is completely over. Buddha has his eye on Tang Sheng, and the days to come... will be filled with trepidation. We must find a way to seek the protection of Laozi as soon as possible."

At this moment, Sun Wukong, ever outspoken, shouldered his golden cudgel, looked in the direction where the lightning bolt had struck, and asked directly,

"Chen Guangrui, was that lightning bolt that struck down from the sky and killed those three demons the work of Laozi?"

He scratched his head, his face full of confusion. "I, Old Sun, can't understand. That old Buddha is incredibly capable, and I, Old Sun, have also experienced the skills of that Supreme Lord Laozi. Just now, when the old man made his move, why didn't Buddha stop him? Could it be that he couldn't defeat Laozi?"

Nezha also came over, looking equally confused.
"Yes, Laozi is powerful, but the Buddha..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: Buddha held a revered position in Buddhism and his strength was unfathomable. Why would he sit idly by and watch Laozi kill the person he was protecting?
Chen Guangrui sighed and explained,
"You don't understand. At their level, it's often not just simple fighting. Their confrontations are usually brief and to the point, a matter of weighing options and tacit understanding. If one side shows a strong determination, the other side will sometimes choose to back down. Otherwise, if the two big shots really started fighting without regard for anything else, the Three Realms would probably be thrown into turmoil, and no one could bear the consequences."

Seeing that the two still didn't understand, he paused and gave an example, "Just like a few days ago, when the group on their pilgrimage killed Kui Mulang, didn't Laozi temporarily hold back and not immediately retaliate? The principle is the same."

In fact, Chen Guangrui saw it very clearly: the demons of Lion Camel Ridge had gone too far, which made even the Jade Emperor, who had always supported Buddha, want to give them a warning.

Seeing the Jade Emperor's attitude, Tathagata made a great fuss to come here. His words made him admit his mistake to the Jade Emperor, so the Jade Emperor summoned back the True Martial Emperor.

However, Buddha only expressed his attitude to the Jade Emperor, but he didn't say anything to Laozi. Therefore, this time, he couldn't stop Laozi's lightning strike no matter what.

Sun Wukong nodded, seemingly understanding, but clearly not entirely satisfied with the answer. He then remembered something and looked at Chen Guangrui.
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet. What are you doing here at Lion Camel Ridge? And Nezha, weren't you supposed to be with your dad to subdue demons? What are you doing here too?"

Upon hearing this, Nezha's face showed a hint of frustration and resentment.
"Don't even mention it. This trip down to the mortal realm with him to subdue demons was truly frustrating. First, we encountered a nine-headed lion demon at Leopard Head Mountain, that guy..." A hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes.
"Their strength was outrageous; we couldn't defeat them at all. Then we ran into the Green Ox Demon under Laozi's command. That Vajra Bracelet was even more wicked; it took all our weapons and magical treasures, leaving only the base of Li Jing's pagoda. We couldn't beat them; we simply couldn't. That Green Ox Demon was also despicable; it took all the other weapons, leaving only the base of the pagoda. It infuriated me."

Nezha looked at Chen Guangrui, his tone questioning, "Chen Guangrui, you never wanted to fight Leopard Head Mountain back in Heaven, did you already know the details of that nine-headed lion?"

Chen Guangrui nodded slightly, but did not say much. "I know some of it, but it involves a lot of complexities, so I can't say it outright."

He had thought about it for a long time before coming up with this trap for Li Jing, so of course he couldn't tell anyone at this point.

Well, isn't Leopard Head Mountain just a little lion demon? It doesn't have much strength.

As for the nine-headed lion, I don't know, I have absolutely no idea. Who knows where you provoked it from?

Seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, Nezha wisely stopped pressing the matter. Sun Wukong, however, became interested, scratching his ears and cheeks...
"Oh, a nine-headed lion? Sounds interesting! It can even make Nezha suffer. I, Old Sun, would like to have a go at it."

He was born with a fighting spirit and couldn't resist the urge to fight whenever he heard of a formidable opponent.

Seeing Sun Wukong's eager expression, Chen Guangrui pondered for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice, leaned close to Sun Wukong's ear, and whispered a few words.

Huang Fengguai watched from the side, only pursing his lips, thinking to himself that Chen Guangrui was up to some trick this time.

Upon hearing Chen Guangrui's words, Sun Wukong's fiery eyes suddenly lit up, and his face showed an expression of surprise, delight, and amusement at the absurdity. He slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Is that so? Interesting, very interesting! I, Old Sun, will go and take a look right away."

Before he finished speaking, he somersaulted into the clouds, his somersault cloud blazing with flames, instantly transforming into a golden light as he sped towards Leopard Head Mountain, leaving only a string of hearty laughter echoing in the wind.

Watching Sun Wukong's departing figure, Chen Guangrui withdrew his gaze and addressed the crowd,
"The matter of Lion Camel Ridge is over. The demons here have been vanquished, and the Heavenly Court's decree has been fulfilled. We should return to the Heavenly Court to report back and receive our rewards."

He looked at Huang Fengguai, who seemed to understand what Chen Guangrui wanted to say. Huang Fengguai waved his hand, "I cannot return to Heaven with you. I, Huang Feng, attained my Dao from Mount Ling. Although I am currently causing trouble for those Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, I cannot switch allegiance to the Heavenly Court. Moreover..."

Huang Feng chuckled and said, "You're just a lowly stable boy, that's too low a rank. If I go to heaven, what kind of rank can you give me?"

Chen Guangrui was somewhat embarrassed. He was told that his official rank was too low, but there was nothing he could do about it. After thinking about it, he realized that Huang Fengguai's words made sense, so he didn't say anything more.

As for Red Boy, that was the will of Bodhisattva Pilanpo and Princess Iron Fan. He was definitely going to Heaven, and he didn't need to worry about his position. Behind him were important figures in the Heavenly Court and the Buddhist world, and his official position might even be higher than his own.

As for Nezha, Chen Guangrui looked at the troublesome boy who was grimacing at Tang Sheng and thought to himself, "He won this time, and Li Jing lost. This will make the kid happy for days. What other benefits do I need?"
Right now, let's head back to Heaven.

At this moment, Tang Sheng was quietly saying to Nezha, "You've done a great service now, so no one will blame you if something happens, right? Why don't we go to the Moon Palace and take a look?"

(End of this chapter)