Chu Yang walked outside the pavilion. The night wind rushed against his face, carrying the raw scent of grass and trees. Standing at the edge of the slope, he looked westward. The official road below the mountain gleamed pale under the moonlight, and a few scattered lights in the distance likely marked a village. He had originally thought that traveling with a fox might be amusing, but it would never be trouble-free. Now, though, this fox had truly settled down, and she really would take a blade for others. Yet after taking that blade, someone still had to watch over her and make sure she drank her medicine and healed properly.
Trouble.
But trouble was trouble. When he recalled that day at Moon-Return Marsh, when she had forced herself to stand before the wall of water, her hair disheveled, blood at the corner of her lips, her voice trembling as she still shouted for Tang Monk to run, something seemed to bump lightly against his chest. It was not hard, but it was damn irritating.
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, the group descended the mountain.
Along the way, Sun Wukong remained as boisterous as ever, Tang Monk kept chanting scriptures as usual, and White Dragon Horse and White Donkey remained one lazy and one gluttonous. Su Wanwan had originally wanted to carry the cloth bundle containing the pot, but Chu Yang sent her back with a single look.
"Can't keep your hands to yourself?"
"I was just picking it up."
"Then go ahead and tear yourself open again while you're at it. I'll have to bury you as a favor."
"Can't you say something auspicious for once?"
"Your being obedient is the most auspicious thing possible."
Su Wanwan snorted, but in the end, she did