Jade Flute stood rooted to the spot. Pipa still stood inside the doorway, watching him. The strings of pearls on her phoenix crown hung beside her cheeks, swaying gently as she spoke.
"Smile."
Jade Flute drew his sleeve across his face, forcibly wiping away his tears, and tugged the corners of his mouth upward.
"I am smiling."
Pipa stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "You call that a smile? It's hideous."
True Immortal Ruyi stood beside her. Hearing this, he nodded too. "Jade Flute, Pipa is right. This is your master's wedding day. What are you weeping for?"
Jade Flute lowered his head. Only after a long while did he say, "Your disciple is simply happy. This day was so hard to come by."
"If you're happy, go back to the wedding feast and entertain our honored guests for me." True Immortal Ruyi waved a hand. "Why stand planted in the doorway?"
A-Hu glanced at master and disciple, then beckoned to the palace maids behind him. They quietly withdrew to one side.
Only True Immortal Ruyi, Pipa, and Jade Flute remained before the door.
True Immortal Ruyi conjured something into his hand: the Ruyi Golden Hook that Wukong had returned to him earlier.
The Golden Hook had clearly been broken, yet now the fractured sections had actually joined back together on their own, leaving only a few exceedingly faint scars.
The smile on Jade Flute's face froze.
"Master?"
True Immortal Ruyi glanced down at it, then held it straight out to him.
"Take it."
Jade Flute did not reach for it.
"What are you doing?"
True Immortal Ruyi looked at him.
"Once matters here are settled, return to Mount Jieyang. The poison has been cured now, so you won't need to detoxify anyone again."
True Immortal