Baihuaxiu held an amber jade goblet in her slender fingers and moved with delicate, lotus-like steps. The wine rippled faintly, reflecting the dim yellow firelight overhead.
"You have come such a long way, brother-in-law. Let me offer you a toast."
The Yellow-Robed Monster lounged sideways in his great beast-skin chair, his eyes already somewhat unfocused.
Seeing Baihuaxiu raise her cup again and again, he split his great mouth in a grin, his laughter making the stone walls hum.
His wife was usually as cold as frost. Such a sight was rare indeed.
In excellent spirits, he lifted his enormous bowl and drained several bowlfuls of strong liquor.
Bajie, meanwhile, buried himself in his work.
Both hands flew, cramming fresh bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, melons, and fruit into his long snout all at once. His chewing swept through the food like a gale scattering clouds.
He knew it was getting late and was eager to return and report back, with no desire to linger.
The feast drew toward its end.
Kui Mulang belched wine fumes and waved his great hand, ordering the lesser demons waiting outside the hall, "Go! Prepare some fine wild fruit and provisions for my younger brother! Wrap them securely so he can take them back!"
Just then, Baihuaxiu moved lightly to Kui Mulang's side.
She bent down slightly, her voice carrying an earnest, sorrowful plea. "My husband. From what your younger brother just said, they will be traveling west all the way. Surely... they must pass through the Baoxiang Kingdom."
She lowered her eyes and said softly, "It has been so long since I last returned to my parents' home. Might I trouble your younger brother and his companions to take a letter to my father and mother, so those two elders need not worry about