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

"Ok?"

“Is seeking the truth so difficult?”

“…The monkey traveled across the ocean for ten years before he finally found his master.”

"..."

In the sky, Qingxin was silent for a while. Xia Zhiming turned his head to look at her and found that the girl pursed her lips and said nothing, but her eyes were firm as if she had made up her mind.

----------

Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, Xieyue Sanxing Cave.

In the quiet room, Patriarch Bodhi slowly opened his eyes, raised his head, stroked his beard, and smiled. Then he raised his head slightly as if to look at someone. After a long while, he laughed loudly: "No hurry, no hurry, this is just one..."

After a while, Patriarch Bodhi's ears twitched slightly, as if he had heard something. He was so anxious that he blew his beard and glared, and cursed: "You old fool, why are you thinking about my disciple?"

Chapter 12 Dream Interpretation

Anshui County——

"Tanghulu~Tanghulu~"

"Selling fried dough twists, fried pancakes, and tofu pudding!"

"Buy firewood! Buy charcoal!"

"Rouge and powder, flowers, hairpins, silk and cloth~"

On the streets, all kinds of shouting, hawking, and bargaining sounds are heard continuously. The streets are crowded with people in groups of two or three, and white smoke is rising, making it very lively.

All kinds of miscellaneous things were placed on the stalls and in the gatehouses on both sides of the street, which dazzled Qingxin, who had just arrived in the county town.

"Zhiming, Zhiming, what does candied haws taste like?"

In front of the old man selling candied haws, Qingxin, who was standing behind a group of children, was looking at the candied haws stuck on straw sticks, standing on tiptoe and looking at them eagerly.

Xia Zhiming stabbed helplessly: "Although I really want to buy it for you, we don't have the money."

"Can I turn stone into gold?" The little girl quickly came up with an idea.

"That's just a trick, right? But it will be fine if you can maintain it for half a year." Xia Zhiming did not directly deny the girl's idea.

"Oh, no..." Qingxin suddenly lost interest. She turned around and looked back at the red candied haws reluctantly before turning and leaving.

At this time, Qingxin, who was already conspicuous in his Taoist robe and had a white snake wrapped around his neck, gradually attracted a lot of attention.

However, Xia Zhiming and Qingxin didn't care. They looked left and right, and soon the girl forgot about the candied haws.

After a while, Qingxin and Xia Zhiming came to the entrance of an alley again. It was a remote place with few people and only a fortune-telling stall.

The man and the snake looked over and saw a blind old Taoist sitting on a cushion with his five hearts facing the sky. In front of him was a piece of white cloth with the words: "Iron Mouth and Straight Prediction, One Divination Worth a Thousand Golds" written on it.

There was a stone bowl in front of the old Taoist priest, and inside it was almost half a bowl filled with silver and copper coins. It seemed that he had made a good harvest.

At this moment, a scholar in plain clothes was sitting on a wooden bench in front of the old Taoist priest and said, "Master, I had sex with a fox girl in my dream yesterday..."

Having said this, the scholar seemed to notice someone coming to his side. He turned his head and looked to the side, and saw a little Taoist boy in Taoist robes standing next to him.

The scholar thought it was just the experienced boy in front of him. He looked at Xia Zhiming hanging on Qingxin's neck with some surprise, then turned around and continued:

"But I was careless for a moment, and when the rain and dew dissipated, I touched a penis. I was so startled that I didn't realize that I was tricked by the monster and was pinned to the bed, unable to move. In the end, the fox got the upper hand..."

"Pfft~"

"Pfft~"

Qing Xin and Xia Zhiming couldn't help laughing out loud. The scholar also blushed at this time. He pretended not to care and looked up at the old Taoist in front of him.

He found that the old Taoist still looked solemn and dignified, and the scholar immediately felt that he had met a master. He then asked: "Master, may I ask what is the meaning of my dream?"

After he finished speaking, he saw that the old Taoist in front of him seemed not to notice, so he had to ask again: "Master?"

But the old Taoist still didn't say anything.

Xia Zhiming on the side couldn't help but complain: "Brother, don't just ask, why don't you pay first..."

“Oh~!!!”

Hearing this, the scholar suddenly came to his senses. He turned around with a smile and looked up, about to bow and thank him, when he found Xia Zhiming sticking his head out, glaring at him with his red eyes, his tongue spitting out...

The scholar's smiling face suddenly froze, and before he could react, he heard a shrill scream like a pig being slaughtered from the side -

"Monster! There's a monster!!!!!"

The two men and the snake quickly turned their heads and saw the blind old Taoist stumbling and crawling off the mat and disappearing in an instant.

The incident happened suddenly, and the two people and the snake who were left there were all stunned. When the others present slowly came to their senses, they couldn't help but laugh out loud.

It turned out that although Xia Zhiming had a snake body, he spoke like any other young man. However, the old Taoist knew there was a monster when he heard him speak, and it was obvious that his blindness was fake.

After the laughter was over, the scholar immediately stood up, half-knelt with his legs barely level with Xia Zhiming, then raised his hand and saluted, saying: "My humble name is Li Youcai, thank you very much, brother."

"Xia Zhiming, no need to thank me." The scholar was polite and well-mannered, so Xia Zhiming naturally gave his name.

"Qingxin." The junior sister imitated him and gave his name.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Li, are you interested in listening to my interpretation of your dream?" Xia Zhiming looked at the scholar in front of him and said with a smile.

"Brother, don't tell this joke." Li Youcai seemed to have just remembered what he had said before and waved his hand awkwardly.

On the other hand, Xiao Qingxin shook her head and said, "I had sex with the fox girl in my dream, and I had some desires..."

Xia Zhiming nodded. There was nothing wrong with the little sister's dream interpretation. After all, they hadn't learned the Book of Changes for nothing. This simple dream interpretation wouldn't be difficult for them, except...

Xia Zhiming spit out the snake's tongue and laughed: "I suddenly felt my penis, but I found that what I wanted was not a good thing."

"Let that monster succeed... Hehehe~" Qing Xin was about to continue speaking, but couldn't help but giggled halfway~

Seeing the Taoist boy in front of him like this, Li Xiucai suddenly became so anxious that his face turned red, and he felt like ants were crawling on his back.

Just as he was about to wave his hand and leave in anger, he heard Xia Zhiming continue, "Now that that monster has succeeded, it seems you're planning to go along with it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiucai's face froze, and his foot, which had already taken half a step, stopped in place.

On the side, Xia Zhiming didn't say anything else. He stretched out his tail and touched the little senior sister's cheek, indicating her to sit on the cushion.

"Qingxin, after we finish this business, I'll take you to buy candied haws."

"Really?"

"Just ask him for money."

Xiao Qingxin immediately stretched out her hand obediently and looked at the scholar in front of her with some anticipation.

……

Chapter 13: Don’t take it seriously, it’s a fallacy!

Seeing the girl in Taoist robes in front of him asking for money, Li Xiucai was not annoyed. He just sat back on the wooden bench with an uneasy look on his face, sitting opposite Qingxin who was sitting cross-legged on the cushion, and then he remained silent for a long time.

Seeing him like this, Xia Zhiming couldn't help but urge him: "A real man shouldn't worry about gains and losses. If you have anything to say, just say it directly!"

"You have to pay first!" Xiao Qingxin looked at the scholar with some dissatisfaction and pouted to remind him - her hand had been stretched out for a long time!

Hearing the urging of the two strange people in front of him, Li Xiucai suddenly came back to his senses. He then slapped his thigh and took out a small piece of gold cake from his pocket. He looked at it reluctantly and sighed: "Take it!"

Seeing this, Xia Zhiming was about to speak up, but Xiao Qingxin had already taken over and cheered, "Zhiming, we're rich now!"

"Li Xiucai, you are so generous..."

His little sister happily held the golden cake in her hand and looked around, but Xia Zhiming paid no attention. He turned to look at the lost scholar in front of him and said, "Although I don't have any wine here, you must have a story. Would you like to tell it?"

Hearing this, the young sister came to her senses immediately. She sat upright on the cushion and imitated the old Taoist priest, putting on an air of a master and saying, "Tell me about it!"

The look of the little Taoist boy immediately caused the scholar to chuckle softly, and then he seemed to have let go of his worries and began to talk -

The story is a bit long, but it says that Li Xiucai was originally a scholar in the capital of Qingshan County. He studied hard since he was young but failed to pass the imperial examinations. He was depressed and could only drink every day to relieve his sorrow.

His family felt that letting him stay like this was not a good idea, so they sold their property and used the connections of the county magistrate to get him a position as a construction manager in Anshui County, in charge of engineering, water conservancy, roads and other matters.

Originally, this was a lucrative job, but Li Xiucai had been unsuccessful for many years. Now that he has become an official, he naturally wants to be loyal to the country and serve the people, so that his life in this world will not be in vain.

The result is obvious. It is not so easy to get into officialdom.

There is nothing worth elaborating on about the fickleness of human relationships and the intercourse of interests. Li Xiucai is not a pedantic person, so he can still tolerate these things.

Until a huge sum of money for canal construction and water diversion came under his jurisdiction...

"Okay, no need to say more. I've already guessed what's going on." Xia Zhiming interrupted Li Xiucai's next words, making the scholar in front of him dance with joy and blush.

Xia Zhiming ignored him and said jokingly, "If that's the case, I have to call you Master Gongzheng, right?"

"Master Gongzheng!" Xiao Qingxin held the gold cake in her hand and bowed in a proper manner.

"I can't take on that." Li Xiucai just smiled bitterly and waved his hand. After that, he bowed to the white snake in front of him and said respectfully: "Please teach me..."

"I'm not worthy of being called Mr.," Xia Zhiming spat out his tongue, and then asked his own question: "So what are your plans now?"

"Zhiming, what are you talking about?" The younger sister said with embarrassment: "I don't understand..."

"Hahaha~" Li Xiucai burst into laughter, and then said with a smile: "This official is obsessed with plucking feathers from passing geese. In other words, he is greedy."

At this point, Li Xiucai paused and sighed: "If you don't pull it out or don't let them pull it out, they will destroy you..."

"Then why don't you just pull out less?" Xiao Qingxin was confused.

Xia Zhiming said happily: "How are we going to manage the relationship in the future if we don't pull it out?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the scholar in front of him looking embarrassed, as if his thoughts had been exposed.

"Alright," Xia Zhiming said, not saying anything more. He flicked his snake tail and said, "The dream has been interpreted, and you've paid. It's not my job as a snake to teach you what to do next, but I do have a message for you."

Li Xiucai bowed and said: "Please speak frankly..."

Xia Zhiming raised his head and said, "When you are an official, you should benefit the people."

Li Xiucai's eyes suddenly lit up. After a moment's thought, he asked doubtfully, "Is this all that matters?"

Xia Zhiming nodded: "That's all that's needed."

After saying that, Xia Zhiming wagged his tail again, pretending to be impatient and started to drive people away.

"Thank you for your teachings, sir!" Seeing that he had no intention of continuing, Li Xiucai bowed and said.

After saying this, Li Xiucai stopped arguing and stood up from the wooden bench. He didn't know if it was Xia Zhiming's illusion, but he felt that there seemed to be a little light in the eyes of the scholar in front of him.

After Li Xiucai walked away, Xia Zhiming immediately put away his attitude of being a master and rubbed Qingxin's little face with a smile.

"Am I awesome?"

"Awesome! But..." Xiao Qingxin nodded, but then asked again: "Were you just trying to bluff him?"

"What else?" Xia Zhiming asked doubtfully.

"But that statement sounds so impressive. It sounds like something only a high-ranking official could say."

"What's the use?" Xia Zhiming opened his mouth and stretched.

"I could recite this wise saying to you countless times, but what's the point? Those who can understand it will understand it naturally. For those who can't understand it, it's useless to recite it ten thousand times."

"To put it bluntly, unless you've reached the same level as Master, who can truly see into the past and the future? So-called interpreting dreams and praying to gods and Buddhas is ultimately just seeking psychological comfort."

"But I think he really did listen." Qing Xin watched Li Xiucai walk further and further away and slowly disappear in the crowd, but suddenly realized that he had missed something. He turned around and said in shock: "I don't think you said that he should not be greedy for money!"

"As long as the canal is built, that's all that matters. He's only a construction official, not a county magistrate. He's caught in the middle, so what else can you expect of him?"

Xia Zhiming turned his head and looked at the little girl, then said calmly, "For ordinary people, what difference does it make whether someone is greedy or not? Who can really tell?"

"But he knows it himself." Xiao Qingxin tilted her head in confusion.

“…” Xia Zhiming was speechless and could only sigh.

"Then do I have to pay back the money I cheated?" Xiao Qing looked at the gold cake in her hand with reluctance, feeling it was heavy.

The white snake was immediately furious: "How can this be called cheating? I'm just being a confidant for once! What's wrong with taking a little money?"

"But what you said seems to be a twisted logic!"

"It's all for your candied haws~" Xia Zhiming slapped the heartless girl on the head with his tail.

"It hurts a little~" Xiao Qingxin immediately covered her forehead and said softly with tears in her eyes: "Zhiming, you hit me~"

"Okay, little girl, you're almost ascending to heaven, how can I really hurt you by hitting you?" Xia Zhiming was speechless as he looked at the pretentious little girl.