"No! We're not taking it apart! Absolutely not!"
Master Tongtian snatched the Zhuxian Formation Diagram from Xiruan's hands, along with the Treasure-filled Jade Ruyi, and hurriedly stuffed them deep into his sleeve.
He didn't want to think about anything anymore. He just wanted to sit quietly and pray that Elder Brother and Second Brother would give him a chance to explain.
"Sweetheart, my precious girl."
Master Tongtian crouched down and spoke in an almost pleading tone. "Can we... can we please settle down for a while? Daddy's a little tired and wants to rest."
"Oh."
Xiruan looked at her own father's face, pale as paper, and obediently nodded, though she wasn't happy about it.
"Then get some good rest, Daddy. I'll keep watch at the door."
Daddy must've had too many scares today. She had to give him time to recover.
She really was such a thoughtful daughter.
Just as Master Tongtian let out a sigh of relief, another visitor's voice came from outside Zixiao Palace.
"This humble monk is Guanyin. By the Buddha's command, I've heard that there may be a misunderstanding among the three Eastern sect leaders. I've come here specially to mediate and put an end to the hostility."
The voice carried clearly into the palace, reaching both father and daughter.
Master Tongtian's heart gave a jolt.
Guanyin?
Someone from the Western Religious Sect?!
What were they here for?
To mediate?
As if! When had these baldies ever been so kind?
They were here to watch the show and take advantage of the situation, weren't they?
Master Tongtian was on high alert. He was genuinely afraid his fearless daughter would get into it with someone from the Western Religious Sect again.
When Xiruan heard the word "mediate," an image immediately popped into her little head: the mediator the village chief had called in when Zhang San and Li Si had a dispute over a debt.
That mediator claimed to be smoothing things over, but in reality, he helped rich Li Si force poor Zhang San to sell his land and house to repay the debt!
"Daddy!"
Xiruan's little face immediately fell. She looked solemnly at Master Tongtian and said, "Someone else is here! That bald guy must be here to trick us out of our house!"
Master Tongtian: "..."
He was just about to tell Xiruan not to go outside under any circumstances.
Sweetheart, our family only has this one Small Dark Room. Where's this house you think someone's going to trick us out of?!
"No! I have to go take a look!"
Xiruan carefully peeked through the crack in the door.
At some point, a lotus throne gleaming with golden light had appeared outside.
Standing atop it was someone dressed in white, holding a Jade Pure Bottle, with a compassionate face and an imposing, dignified bearing—a... Big Bald Head.
Well, even though this Big Bald Head had hair, in Xiruan's eyes, everyone from the Western Religious Sect was a baldhead.
And this one looked even shinier and richer than the two golden, shiny baldheads she'd scared off earlier!
Guanyin Bodhisattva wore a merciful smile and waited quietly for a response from inside the palace.
She had come on the orders of the two sect leaders.
First, she wanted to see for herself what sort of mysterious little girl had stirred up the Three Realms and dared to smash even a saint's Dharma Body.
Second, she wanted to see whether they could convert a being with such great fortune and potential to their Western Religious Sect.
If they succeeded, it would bring immeasurable merit and opportunity to the sect.
Just as she was pondering this, the doors of Zixiao Palace slowly opened a crack, and a little head covered in soft fluff peeked out.
Guanyin Bodhisattva took a closer look, and her heart gave a faint tremor.
What an exquisite, lively little girl!
"Hey, baldhead."
"Are you here to trick my family out of our house?"
The merciful smile on Guanyin Bodhisattva's face froze instantly.
Bald... baldhead?
Trick... trick you out of your house?
W-what was going on?
She had cultivated for countless eons and seen countless living beings. What kind of scene hadn't she witnessed?
But she swore she had never heard such an outrageous opening in her life.
Baldhead?
Trick you out of your house?
She looked down at her spotless white dress, then touched her glossy black hair, her mind full of question marks.
What about me looks like a baldhead?
Could anyone really describe a place like Zixiao Palace as something you'd trick someone out of?
"Young Benefactor, perhaps you—"
Guanyin Bodhisattva took a deep breath, doing her best to maintain the dignity of a Great Being.
She would use compassion and wisdom to enlighten this child, who seemed a little... unusual.
"Don't say a word!"
Xiruan clutched the doorframe tightly, as if afraid Guanyin would rush inside and steal something.
She looked Guanyin up and down and wrinkled her little nose. "You're dressed so nicely, and you're standing on a flower. You're obviously rich!"
"Rich people always come to our house to collect debts!"
"I'm telling you, our family doesn't have a single penny! If you don't leave, I... I'll let the dog bite you!"
She absolutely couldn't let herself lose her nerve!
Guanyin Bodhisattva was completely at a loss for words.
...She couldn't understand it at all... She was rich, so she'd come to collect a debt? What kind of reasoning was that?
Inside Zixiao Palace, Master Tongtian listened to his daughter's astonishing words, his palms sweating.
He felt like dying.
It was bad enough that his daughter thought he owed someone money. Now it was anyone who had money that he owed...
"Young Benefactor, you've truly misunderstood." Guanyin Bodhisattva forced out a smile and decided to try a different approach.
There was no reasoning with her, so she could only appeal to her emotions.
A gentle Buddha Light surrounded her, and her voice grew ethereal and compassionate.
"I haven't come to ask for anything. I sensed that resentment was surging here and that the friendship among the three sect leaders was being damaged. I couldn't bear to see it, so I came in hopes of resolving the situation..."
Xiruan blinked her big eyes, even more confused.
What was this baldhead babbling about?
What resentment? What friendship?
She didn't understand.
"Resolve the situation?"
She remembered! That village mediator had said the same thing!
He'd said, "You're all neighbors from the same village. Each side should give a little and resolve the dispute." And what happened?
Poor Zhang San had to sell his last plot of land and hand the money over to rich Li Si!
So that was it!
This baldhead wasn't here to trick them out of their house. She was here to trick them out of their land!
"You liar!" Xiruan's fiery temper flared, and she charged out, bristling with indignation.
"You phony, evil baldhead! You're even worse than that crooked accountant and evil village bully!"
She planted her little hands on her hips and pointed at Guanyin's nose, scolding her without pause.
"At least they only come to our door to collect debts. You've gone straight to trying to trick us out of our land deed!"
"I'm telling you, not a chance! Not even through a crack in the window!"
Guanyin Bodhisattva was caught so off guard that she stumbled back two steps.
She was utterly bewildered.
A land deed?
The land deed to Zixiao Palace?
Who would dare ask for that?!
Dao Ancestor Hongjun would probably kill them, drag them out of the River of Fate, and kill them again?!
Before you continue