Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 432: Women are inherently gentle, but firm as mothers
The woman was originally just a spirit, without any bloody scene, but Chen Nuo was still somewhat shocked, a ghost of half a body was unheard of to him.
"You..."
The woman smiled, even in her spectral state, Chen Nuo could tell that her eyes closely resembled those of the child; had the woman not been so haggard, she would surely have been considered a beauty.
"You must be very curious why I, a person who died of illness, am able to remain in the human world in the form of a spirit, right?"
Chen Nuo nodded, "Unless there is a great obsession, one would be taken away by Black and White Impermanence immediately, but your resentment doesn’t seem to be that heavy, and your spirit’s condition doesn’t look like that of an ordinary spirit either, how come?"
"Initially, I pleaded with Black and White Impermanence for a long time, but they still wanted to take me away. I had no choice but to follow them to Naihe Bridge."
The woman slowly explained, "Before we reached the underworld, I heard someone talking to me, asking if I wanted to stay in the human world. Of course, I did; I didn’t listen clearly to the conditions he mentioned, I just agreed to him."
Even though the woman hadn’t finished speaking, Chen Nuo already understood, "You made a deal with an Evil Ghost."
The woman nodded with a bitter smile, "I didn’t know he was an Evil Ghost at that time. I just wanted to stay by Xi’s side to watch her grow up, so I agreed to him immediately. Later he said that every month he would consume part of my soul, as the price for helping me escape from Black and White Impermanence’s clutches."
Looking at the woman’s state, Chen Nuo asked, "How long have you been dead?"
The woman pondered, "It seems it’s been over three months."
"In three months, he’s eaten half your soul; in less than a year, he will have devoured you completely. How exactly do you plan to watch over your daughter as she grows up?"
Another bitter smile from the woman, "I’m just a woman, and I died of illness; how could I know about these things? I was very eager to watch my daughter grow up and didn’t think about these issues. By the time I realized something was wrong, it was already too late."
"Black and White Impermanence is searching for me outside, so that Evil Ghost set up a prohibition here, masking my scent so Black and White Impermanence can’t find me. Now, I only want to accompany her as long as I can. Even if I get eaten by that Evil Ghost, I want to find a good family for my daughter before that happens."
"So you came to find me?"
"I just happened to encounter you," said the woman. "Initially, I only thought about finding a good family for her. Even if she would become a child bride, it wouldn’t matter as long as she could grow up healthy."
Chen Nuo wanted to say something, but he realized he couldn’t apply modern thinking to these ancient people, so he simply nodded and said nothing.
This child was like a blind cat running into a dead mouse when she met him. He couldn’t say he was absolutely a good person, nor was he an absolute bad person.
But he didn’t lack food or drink, nor did he need the child to do anything; raising her until she grew up wouldn’t be a problem. Since he had encountered the situation, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to it.
"I will take good care of this child." Chen Nuo looked at the child eating pastries, "I will look after her until she grows up. You can rest easy now." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
The woman was very touched, almost to the point of tears, but as a spirit, she couldn’t shed tears. She only felt the urge to cry, using her intact hand to wipe away tears that did not exist.
"Since your wish has been fulfilled, you should go and be reincarnated,"
Chen Nuo said, "Continuing like this is really not the solution."
"But," the woman hesitated, "I have already escaped from Black and White Impermanence once, even if I go back now to admit my guilt, will I still be punished?"
Chen Nuo wasn’t too clear about the affairs of spirits, but he felt that since he had done a good deed, he should see it through. Since he was taking care of the child, naturally, he wouldn’t leave her mother wandering here alone.
"I’m not too clear on this matter, so how about this, follow me, and I’ll take you to the underworld to ask around."
The woman hesitated. She had entrusted her young child to Chen Nuo’s care and already felt like she was troubling him; now she even had to ask him to help settle her soul.
Chen Nuo saw through the woman’s hesitation and spoke bluntly, "If you don’t go, you’ll be eaten by that evil ghost. Then, you’ll truly be dead, with no chance for reincarnation. Are you really not coming with me?"
"But he helped me," the woman said hesitantly.
Chen Nuo found it slightly amusing. "His initial intention wasn’t to help you. Are you sure you’re not leaving? I’m not a good person to begin with and my patience is extremely short. I decided to help you only because I stumbled upon you. If you don’t leave, then I’ll just take your daughter and go."
He truly didn’t have much patience, and as he spoke, he was ready to leave. Although the young child couldn’t fully understand their conversation, she could grasp a bit.
If her mother didn’t follow Chen Nuo, it seemed she would truly die. So the young child hurriedly called out, "Mother, please go with the Immortal Brother. He’s a good person, he can definitely help us."
Seeing that her daughter had spoken, the woman no longer hesitated and got up to leave with Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo had never been to the underworld, and not being as rash as Sun Wukong from the original story, he decided that he needed someone to introduce him.
After pondering for a moment in his mind about whom he could ask, he finally settled on Nezha.
Having sent a message, Nezha soon appeared in front of Chen Nuo.
Actually, Chen Nuo chose Nezha for a simple reason: Nezha needed to cross-dress to become stronger. He agreed to help Chen Nuo, and in return, Chen Nuo would give him the dress design. There was no emotional attachment, much like a transaction.
"What’s the matter, Shopkeeper Chen, you called me over again right after my dress was done."
Nezha wore the completed outfit: a white blouse on top and a plaid skirt below, with knee-high white socks. Paired with Nezha’s androgynous face, he was the very picture of a beautiful girl.
The young child gazed at Nezha, her large eyes full of admiration, "Such a pretty Immortal Sister."
Nezha glanced at the young child, "Shopkeeper Chen, where did you pick up this kid, and why are they so dirty? You could at least wash them before picking them up."
Her mother was still standing right there. Chen Nuo coughed, "I just happened to come across her on the road."
"Immortal Sister, I, I’ll be clean after a wash." Children naturally like beautiful people and things, and the young child, afraid that Nezha would find her despicable, hurried to defend herself.
Nezha took a closer look at the young child, "On closer inspection, she’s quite pretty. But call me Brother, not Sister."
"Brother?" The young child looked at Nezha, then at Chen Nuo. "But Immortal Sister obviously looks like a sister, why should I call you Brother? Aren’t brothers supposed to look like Immortal Brother here?"
"Where’s all this nonsense coming from? When I tell you to call me Brother, you call me Brother!" Nezha said, exasperated.
The young child was frightened by Nezha’s tone and began to tear up.
"I truly apologize, Immortal Lord." The woman promptly bowed to Nezha, "My child is ignorant and has offended you. Please don’t take offense."
Nezha finally noticed the woman standing to the side and was startled, "What’s with this person, why is she only half there?"
"Nezha!" Chen Nuo quickly stopped him, fearing he might say something even more shocking. "Think before you speak."
