Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 410: Demanding a Written Promise, Insisting on the Clothes
Chen Nuo glared at him, thinking that such big talk really wasn’t the way to avoid divine retribution.
"My friend is the Mountain God of this place. Whatever you want, just tell me, and I’ll have my friend find it for you," Jin Zha said.
"Host, this is a good method. This way, you don’t need to bother searching for Maifan Stone any longer, just ask the Mountain God to find it for you," the system said excitedly.
"Nonsense, as if I needed you to tell me that, I had already thought of it," Chen Nuo said, and then he stopped in his tracks and turned to Jin Zha, "Your friend is the Mountain God here?"
"That’s right." Seeing Chen Nuo finally take an interest, Jin Zha puffed up his chest proudly as he replied.
"Don’t talk about this little hilltop, the entire Taihang Mountain range is under my friend’s control, so whatever you want, my friend can get it for you."
"That makes things much easier," Chen Nuo said to Jin Zha, "Take me to meet your friend."
Jin Zha, recognizing Chen Nuo’s interest from his demeanor, immediately stated his own request, "You help me make clothes, the same style as the ones you’re wearing."
"Clothes are easy. Take me to meet your friend first," Chen Nuo said.
"Sure." Jin Zha nodded, took two steps, then stopped, "But what if you go back on your word later since we have no evidence?"
"It’s just a piece of clothing, what’s there to regret? Just take me there already," Chen Nuo said, growing impatient since he was still waiting for the Maifan Stone and the energy that the system had mentioned.
"That won’t do, verbal promises don’t count. How about this, you write an IOU, so even if you want to deny it later, you won’t be able to escape it," Jin Zha said.
"Where are you going to write an IOU in these wild mountains?" Chen Nuo said, slightly angered. "Don’t tell me you’re setting me up on purpose."
"How could I set you up? I am an immortal!" Jin Zha was also getting angry, since it wasn’t pleasant to be distrusted.
"Then let’s do this: you take me to see your friend first, and once we meet your friend, we can write the IOU. Is that okay?" Chen Nuo thought it over and decided to compromise.
"No, what’s the point in writing a note after we’ve already seen my friend?"
"Is he your friend or my friend?" Chen Nuo fumed. "We’ll write the IOU in front of your friend. If I’m the type to go back on my word, you can just tell your friend not to help me."
Jin Zha thought about it and felt that Chen Nuo’s point made a lot of sense, so he proceeded to lead Chen Nuo deeper into the area.
The trees here were dense and conveniently blocked the sun, making it extraordinarily cool. Walking further, they came across a cave with an open space outside it, where a long-haired man in green was leaning against a rock, drinking.
The more Chen Nuo looked at that rock, the more familiar it seemed. When he got closer, he realized—it was the very thing he had been searching for all this time. After such a long search, it turned out to be right here.
"Taihang!"
Upon seeing the man, Jin Zha got very excited and hastened towards him with wide strides, reaching out his hand.
Chen Nuo thought he was going for a hug, but instead, Jin Zha dashed forward and snatched the wine jug from the man’s hand.
"Hey, there’s only a little left, how can you drink so fast? You’re not drinking, you’re guzzling!" Jin Zha looked at the jug with disdain, finding just a bit left. He sipped it with disdain, reluctant to return it to the man.
The fragrance of the wine was strong and familiar. After a careful sniff, Chen Nuo realized it was his own Peach Blossom Brew.
Strange, he definitely didn’t know this man, so how come he had his Peach Blossom Brew?
"Give it back to me. I had the Local Deity sneak it from a banquet for me. That’s all that’s left," the man said.
After he finished speaking, Chen Nuo suddenly realized; so it was borrowed, no wonder.
Just as that man was grappling with Jin Zha for the liquor flask, he suddenly saw the person behind Jin Zha and jumped in surprise, "What’s going on, you actually brought a mortal here!"
"Hehe, I ran into him just now when I came to find you," Jin Zha explained. "His clothes are really unique, and I wanted to get one for myself, so I thought I’d let him make one for me."
"So, what does that have to do with you bringing a mortal to me?"
"It’s a big deal," Jin Zha said with exaggerated importance. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he smacked his forehead, "If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Wait, let’s draw up an agreement right now."
"An agreement?"
Jin Zha stretched out his hand and formed a Dharma Hand Seal; a golden piece of paper appeared in front of the three of them. It had the clothing arrangement they had just discussed, and then Jin Zha pressed his hand seal onto it before passing the paper to Chen Nuo, "Your turn."
Chen Nuo still pretended to be clueless like a mortal, "How can I press a hand seal without seal paste?"
"Right, I forgot about that," Jin Zha said, smacking his head again. "Wait a moment, I’ll get some seal paste for you."
As he spoke, Jin Zha spread his hands and conjured up some seal paste out of thin air, handing it to Chen Nuo, "There you go, now press your hand onto it, and it’s done."
Chen Nuo looked at the seal paste shining with golden light, "This seal paste is golden?"
The paper was golden, the writing on it was golden, and if not for the golden outlines that made the characters visible, Chen Nuo would hardly have been able to make out what was written.
Now, even the seal paste used for pressing hand seals was golden; Jin Zha truly lived up to his name. Chen Nuo couldn’t help but wonder what his second brother, Muzha, was like—surely he wasn’t wooden in every aspect.
"Ah, it’s fine," Jin Zha hastily explained, watching Chen Nuo’s look of disgust. "Don’t worry about its color; my seal isn’t just for show, it possesses mana."
If it had mana, then Chen Nuo didn’t need to worry.
Chen Nuo shrugged and pressed his hand seal onto it.
The moment Chen Nuo’s hand seal touched the paper, the golden sheet transformed into a beam of golden light that shot into Chen Nuo’s mind. He immediately tapped into the system, asking, "What’s this? Does it do any harm to me?"
"Host, it’s fine," the system replied. "Immortals often use this method for making agreements. You’re just not familiar with it because you haven’t made any agreements with others before. This small spell is quite common in the Heavenly Court."
Ever since the system had come clean with him, it had become more responsive, quite different from the previous emotionless mechanical voice.
This voice now seemed as if it were a real person talking to him, and although Chen Nuo had been somewhat uncomfortable with it at first, he gradually got used to it.
"So, you’re saying that once I fulfill the agreement, the spell will disappear, right?" Chen Nuo inquired.
"Yes, that’s right," the system confirmed. "Besides, it’s just making someone a piece of clothing. You only need to spend a hundred Merit Points to get it, isn’t that a good deal?"
"A good deal my foot," Chen Nuo retorted, "Without this Jin Zha, I could’ve found one myself too." It was just a matter of how long it might take.
"What’s this agreement about?" The Mountain God, having finished off the liquor he had just snatched, overheard something about an agreement and leaned in to ask, "What agreement did you make with this mortal?"
"Clothes," Jin Zha replied. "I really like this mortal’s clothes. I’ve never seen this style of clothing before. Once I get one made, I’ll have my two brothers open their eyes wide. Last time, Nezha got some skirt from who knows where, and it was so pretty. He boasted about it to me for a long time."
"Hang on, he was wearing a skirt, and you don’t wear skirts. What good does his bragging do you? Are you envious or what?" The Mountain God couldn’t help but ridicule Jin Zha’s words.
