You, a monster, still want to travel to the West?

"No, I mean: you can't catch it... Humph!"

Halfway through her words, Xiao Qingxin hummed softly, put her arms around Xia Zhiming's neck, stepped lightly on his feet, and blushed coquettishly said: "Zhiming, it's itchy~ Don't tickle me!"

Seeing her instant surrender, Xia Zhiming squeezed the white silk feet in his hand a little harder and nodded with satisfaction.

Although Qingxin was not very sensitive to external stimuli because her body was a stone, and she was so calm most of the time that Xia Zhiming began to doubt his life, the little girl was unexpectedly ticklish, and gently scratching her was more effective than anything else, which gave him a strategy to deal with Qingxin.

The stream was not far from the bamboo forest, and the two of them quickly returned to the bamboo house while playing.

To their surprise, Zhu Ganglie was already sitting cross-legged in front of the threshold of the bamboo house, looking very frustrated.

Seeing Xia Zhiming coming over with Xiao Qingxin in his arms, Zhu Ganglie looked up and saw that they both looked a little surprised. He quickly patted his butt and stood up, grinning innocently, "I, Old Zhu, accidentally walked into the wrong place. I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now."

"Stop pretending and come sit here."

Xia Zhiming didn't believe his nonsense at all. He carried Xiao Qingxin to the stone table in front of the house and sat down. He quickly set the table with fruits, wine and drinks, poured two bowls of water and pushed them to Zhu Ganglie, who was already sitting at the table opposite him. He asked with a smile: "You usually come and go, and you never come to see us. You look like this today. Did something sad happen to you?"

"There's nothing sad about me. I'm just hungry." Zhu Ganglie rolled up his sleeves happily, grabbed the fruits on the table one in each hand and started to eat them.

Snap! Snap! Snap! — the sound of gnawing.

Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! —Swallowing sound.

On the table, under Xiao Qingxin's shocked gaze, Zhu Bajie looked like a starving ghost reincarnated, sweeping away the fruits and vegetables on the table like a whirlwind.

Xia Zhiming didn't seem to care at all. He piled a few more baskets of meat buns on the table for him and watched him eat with relish.

You know what, although Zhu Bajie's eating manners are not very good, the live broadcast of eating is really appetizing. After watching for a while, Xiao Qingxin also reacted, took out a red date from her sleeve, held it in her hand and started to chew it.

Meanwhile, Zhu Ganglie finished his fruit and drank a bowl of wine, wiped his mouth, and then grabbed a bun and threw it into his mouth, chewing it... and chewing it again...

Under the somewhat surprised gazes of Xia Zhiming and Qingxin, Zhu Ganglie spat out the meat bun with a "Puh" sound and grinned, "My friend, why are the seeds in your buns filled with meat?"

"You already have a wife, why do you still care about this?"

"..." Zhu Ganglie was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said with a silly smile: "That makes sense!"

After saying that, Zhu Ganglie didn't care about fasting or not. He threw the meat bun in his left hand into his mouth and swallowed it whole. Then he finished several baskets of steamed buns on the table one by one.

After a while, when Zhu Ganglie had swallowed the last of his meat bun with some wine and was burping on his bloated belly, Xia Zhiming asked with a hint of amusement, "Didn't you get any food at your wife's house today?"

"Burp~ It's gone. I won't be able to eat it anymore."

"how?"

Zhu Ganglie shook his palm-leaf ears and waved his hands, saying, "I was in such a hurry today that I forgot to transform into a human. I accidentally revealed my identity."

Xia Zhiming shook his head: "Then you are indeed quite miserable."

Xiao Qingxin tilted her head: "Why are you so careless?"

Zhu Ganglie chuckled and said, "You've been hanging out with people all day, forgetting you're a monster."

"Okay, so what are we going to do now?"

"My wife didn't see it, but I don't know when it will reach her ears. I don't know what to do, so I thought I'd ask you."

"You care about this?"

"Old Pig, this is my first time being a monster too. To be honest..."

Zhu Ganglie hesitated for a moment, then said bitterly, "Even if I transform back into a human to fool everyone, they'll pretend nothing happened. But when they see me, their expressions won't be the same anymore. They'll be afraid of me like a tiger or a wolf all day long, which is really frustrating..."

Xiao Qingxin comforted him, "Don't worry. You've been at the foot of the mountain for so long, caring for your family and never hurting anyone. I'm sure you'll be able to return to your hometown once this period is over..."

Xia Zhiming covered her mouth, leaned over and chuckled, "Qingxin, you can't go back."

Xiao Qingxin pried his hands apart, raised her head and said confidently: "Of course I can!"

Xia Zhiming shook his head and looked up at Zhu Ganglie across from him, only to see that he was looking at Qingxin expectantly. He asked tentatively, "Fairy, your husband usually appears in the form of a snake in front of outsiders. What do you think?"

Xiao Qingxin tilted her head: "What do you want to think?"

"Have you ever thought of letting him show himself in his current appearance?"

"I haven't thought about it," Xiao Qingxin thought for a moment and shook her head. "Although she looked very pretty when she was in human form, she was also like a naughty child. It's better not to change."

Xia Zhiming was delighted when he heard this: "So Qingxin, is this how you see me?"

Xiao Qingxin reached out and pinched his ear, tilted her head back and pouted, "Not obedient at all~"

Hearing her say this, Xia Zhiming glanced at Zhu Ganglie opposite him, but saw that he had a dazed look in his eyes and a silly smile on his face. It was obvious that his mind had already drifted away. He couldn't help but sigh helplessly.

He understood Ganglie's idea, which was nothing more than trying to return to his previous life, but -

Not everyone in the world has the heart to accommodate a pure alien. A sincere heart might win one, two, three, or even many people willing to accept him, but to expect everyone to accept a monster without any reservations...

It's pure fantasy.

Chapter 212 Breaking the wind and crossing the night

Beside the stone table, Xia Zhiming put his arm around the girl's slender waist and whispered in her ear, "Girl, prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain. You can step over it, but you can't move it. When you look back, it's still there, towering and unmoved."

In his arms, Xiao Qingxin shook her head and said nothing.

At this moment, Zhu Ganglie, who was standing opposite, heard this and shook his ears like a palm-leaf fan, coming back to his senses. He cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality today, my friend. I will come to visit you another day."

At this point, Zhu Ganglie stood up and picked up the half-full bottle of wine on the table, and said cheerfully: "You guys will definitely not like this wine anyway, so I'll take it back to the cave and just use it to quench your thirst."

"Is it okay for you to eat and take it at the same time?"

"No, then no, why are you saying that?"

"Never mind, just take it."

Xia Zhiming waved his hand, and after a moment's thought, he said, "I'll give you a suggestion. Do you want to listen?"

"You say, my immortal friend."

"Don't have too high expectations. Judging people by appearance is human nature. Even gods can't avoid it, let alone mortals."

"I'm not stupid, old pig!" Zhu Ganglie lifted his bulging belly and said with a pout, "Let's give it a try. If it doesn't work, forget it!"

After saying that, Zhu Ganglie didn't stay any longer. He swaggered into the bamboo forest with the wine in his hand and soon disappeared.

In the courtyard, Xiao Qingxin glanced at the old pig who was staggering away. After a moment's thought, she asked, "I always feel like he's trying too hard."

Xia Zhiming leaned over and rubbed her cheek, then said with a smile, "Suppose, Qingxin, that one day you suddenly became afraid of me... Tsk, I dare not even think about it."

Qingxin tilted her head: "Zhiming, what are you afraid of?"

"I'm super awesome, I can make a Qing Xin with just one mouthful!"

"..."

Xiao Qingxin gave him a blank look, stretched out her jade fingers to knock open his teeth, and with a thought, her body turned into golden light and drilled in.

Beside the stone table, Xia Zhiming touched his suddenly full stomach and couldn't help but say, "Qingxin, please don't kick me."

"Hmph, I'm angry, so I'll punish you by making you sleep alone tonight~"

"Girl, don't forget, I still have a leaf with you. This trick won't work on me."

"Ugh... then I won't go over."

Hearing this, Xia Zhiming raised his eyebrows, spit out a snake tongue and rolled out a jade leaf. With a thought, Shao Luo Qingxin, whom he had not seen for a long time, fell into his arms.

Looking at Qingxin who was pretending to be a silly doll in his arms, Xia Zhiming picked up a strand of hair and scratched her ear. After the girl threw herself into his arms without any hesitation, he happily stood up and took her back to the bamboo house.

……

----------------------

In the days that followed, Xia Zhiming and Qingxin's lives didn't change much. The only thing worth mentioning was that a pig would come over from time to time to eat.

Of course, Zhu Ganglie didn’t eat for nothing.

Every time he came, he would bring a new story, mostly about some family matters, and a few times he would mention some outsiders, but it was basically limited to his father-in-law's house.

Most of the time, Zhu Ganglie looks silly and happy. Occasionally, he would look frowning, but it would not last for more than a few days. He would return to his old self when he was seen again.

Time flies, days and months pass by, half a year has passed in a flash, and it is winter again.

One evening, when Xia Zhiming returned from the pond with Xiao Qingxin, before he even entered the yard, he saw Zhu Ganglie approaching him with a smile, saying, "My friend, I've brought my wife here today. Remember to say a few good words for me, Old Zhu."

Hearing him say this, Xia Zhiming and Xiao Qingxin looked at each other, both a little surprised.

In this era, one wife has multiple concubines. Let’s not talk about concubines. They have no human rights anyway. Zhu Ganglie is willing to bring a mortal to meet them. Needless to say, there is a good intention behind it, but... this is the treatment only the wife can enjoy.

After being surprised, the two followed Zhu Ganglie into the courtyard and sat down. They saw a young girl sitting at the table. She...

Her hair is lightly combed, her face is as white as jade, and her eyes are shy and not open.

She has bright white teeth, skin as white as cream, and a delicate bud about to bloom.

Summary: Gao Cuilan, a young plant that has not yet fully grown.

Seeing her expression, Xia Zhiming immediately raised his eyebrows and teased Zhu Ganglie, "You're so good, Tianpeng! I didn't expect that a guy like you with thick eyebrows and big eyes would like a little girl."

Zhu Ganglie was a little unconvinced: "How dare you say that to me? There is no one younger than my sister-in-law in this world."

"Puchi~" Xiao Qingxin covered her lips and laughed when she heard that.

Next to her, Gao Cuilan heard this and looked at Xiao Qingxin curiously. She saw that she was indeed as young as a child, and her eyes suddenly became strange when she looked at Xia Zhiming.

"Don't look at me like that." Xia Zhiming naturally noticed her gaze, waved his hand and smiled, "You can't tell the age of immortals just by looking at their appearance. For example, the ancestor of earthly immortals, Zhenyuan Daxian, looks like a beautiful young man, but in fact he is a great god who has existed since the beginning of the world."

Gao Cuilan nodded in confusion. She didn't know who the Great Immortal Zhenyuan was, but she felt that what he said seemed to make sense.

Seeing her quiet demeanor, Xia Zhiming pondered for a moment, then pulled out a small jade bottle from his sleeve and pushed it over. After Gao Cuilan took it, he smiled and said, "This is a medicinal pill. There are twenty-four pills inside. They can cure all diseases and increase your lifespan by twenty-four years. Consider this my gift."

On the opposite side, Gao Cuilan trembled when she heard this, and almost dropped the jade bottle in her hand.

Next to him, Zhu Ganglie heard this and said, "Brother, why are you so stingy? My sister-in-law usually eats the immortal fruit as if it were her meal. How dare you give her this pill?"

"Don't call me brother. I only want a good and lovely sister, not a stupid brother like you."

Xia Zhi understood him at a glance, and took out a bottle of imperial wine, a golden elixir, and a longevity peach from Xiao Qingxin's sleeve. He added some special effects of fairy spirits and auspicious clouds to them, placed them on the table, and introduced them one by one:

"If you want the Jade Emperor's imperial wine, the Taishang Laojun's Nine-Transformation Golden Pill, or the Longevity Emperor's longevity peach, I don't mind giving it to you. But your wife has no cultivation at all. Do you think you can keep her with your limited skills?"

Zhu Ganglie immediately disagreed: "How can I, an old pig, not be able to defend it?"

Xia Zhiming raised his eyebrows: "How about you pick one?"

Zhu Ganglie was delighted when he heard this and immediately reached out to grab the longevity peach.

At this moment, Gao Cuilan grabbed his sleeve, shook her head, and said anxiously, "My husband, I believe you, I believe you are a god, please don't take it, don't take it."

"Wife, you don't know," Zhu Ganglie said unhappily, explaining, "Eating this longevity peach can add nine thousand years to your lifespan. I'm not a god now, so if I miss this opportunity, I'll never get it again."

"Husband, human hearts are terrifying, and what people say is terrifying. You've suffered so much injustice and heard so many rumors in the past six months, and how come you still don't understand..."

"I, Old Pig, have my own abilities, but I don't care about them."

"But...how can I bear it?"

"Whoever dares to say you're not, I, Old Pig, will kill his entire family."

"Daddy asked me to find you to break off the engagement..."

"..."

Suddenly, a cold wind blew in front of the bamboo house. Xia Zhiming looked up and saw white fluff slowly falling from the sky.

Snowing.

Chapter 213 If two people go together.

Zhu Ganglie and Gao Cuilan came suddenly and left in a hurry. The reason might be the cold weather, or it might be that some people's hearts had turned cold.

The next morning, when Da Qingxin woke up with the white snake hiding in his arms for warmth, he pushed open the door of the bamboo house and saw Zhu Ganglie not riding on the cloud but coming on the wind.

A vicious wind blew up, blowing away countless pieces of snow in the bamboo forest, making a dull sound.

Noticing this unusual situation, Xia Zhiming poked his head out from his embrace and saw Zhu Ganglie, with bloodshot eyes and a slightly tired look, falling in front of a man and a snake.

As soon as he landed, Zhu Ganglie forced a smile, cupped his hands, and said flatteringly, "My friend, can I have some wine?"

"Of course you can, but as usual - you can't eat for free."

"Old Pig, I don't like to complain about unpleasant things. It will easily make people dislike me."

Xia Zhiming spit out his snake tongue, wagged his tail, and handed over a large jar of fine wine, saying with a smile: "It's okay, just drink it first. When you drink too much, you will naturally want to find someone to complain to. I'm not in a hurry."