Tears Fell on Hidden Mist Mountain (III)

Meanwhile, Ao Tu returned to his old haunts.

Qiao'er's parents passed away peacefully in their old age, and her father wished to be an emperor in his next life.

After listening, Ao Tu thought for a moment and said, "Your destiny is not noble, and you have no Merit. You cannot become the king of a great nation. I will reincarnate you in Northern Utarakuru to be the ruler of a small country."

Upon hearing this, Qiao'er's father exclaimed with delight, "Thank you for your concern, son-in-law. It's good to be the ruler of a small country. You have connections that Tongtian; could you perhaps pull some strings to prevent me from drinking the Meng Po soup?"

Ao Tu shook his head and said, "No, this is the Heavenly Dao order. If you want to retain your memories of this life, I can send you to Small Thousand World in the Lower Realm and give you a treasure that will make you uncontrollable. No matter how you become a king or emperor, it won't matter. However, it will be difficult for you to come back."

Qiao'er's father listened carefully and pondered it, but in the end he still dared not go to that so-called Small Thousand World.

Although he didn't understand the difference, he knew one thing: in this place, with his son-in-law backing him up, he had a powerful patron, so things couldn't be too bad for him. But in that so-called Small Thousand World, without a powerful backer, what was he?

He then said, "Good son-in-law, I am willing to Reincarnation and become the ruler of a small country!"

Ao Tu nodded and said, "Go ahead and wait for the underworld to pick you up. I've had people take care of everything. Don't make a fuss about this, lest someone hears about it and starts filing lawsuits or seeking justice, which would ruin things."

Qiao'er's father thanked him repeatedly and then left.

Ao Tu then summoned the spirit of Qiao'er's mother and said:

"Qiao'er said that you desire wealth and status. I'll help you be reborn as a lady from a prominent family, betrothed to a superior spouse, and guarantee you a life of prosperity. What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao'er's mother pleaded:

"Good son-in-law, this is all wealth, no nobility. Please make it even more noble!"

Ao Tu said, "You are not destined to be the wife of a king or nobleman. How about this, I will reincarnate you in the Northern Utarakuru, as a lady of the Manor's wife, you will have a fiefdom of ten thousand acres, which is the reality of a king or nobleman. Is that alright?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao'er's mother shook her head repeatedly and said:

"Even if a Queen or Princess were a good son-in-law, they wouldn't be considered particularly noble. In terms of true nobility, it would be people like you immortals and gods!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu shook his head and said, "That's difficult; you are not destined for it."

Qiao'er's mother pleaded, "Good son-in-law, like other sons-in-law, you bring a couple of chickens and ducks to visit your parents-in-law during festivals. I know you are destined for great things, so I have never dared to ask for more. Now that I am dead, I have no other requests, I only ask that my son-in-law, for the sake of this relationship, take good care of me."

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu said, "Alright then, I will reincarnate you in the Lower Realm Ganges-Sand Worlds, as a Female Immortals. However, your destiny is shallow, and if you wish to ascend back in the future, it will be an extremely difficult task, like a hundred boats racing against each other."

Qiao'er's mother said happily, "Thank you, son-in-law! It would be good enough to become Immortal; I don't care about ascension or anything like that!"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu lifted her soul, tore through the void, and found a cultivation realm in the endless Ganges-Sand Worlds below. He threw her in, and considering that there was some connection between them, he spent a tiny bit of his power to bestow upon her a "Phoenix-Blood Divine Body" and "Innate Spirit Eyes" or something similar.

In that other world, Qiao'er's mother indeed became Female Immortals and enjoyed a lifetime of wealth and honor.

However, Ao Tu ignored it further.

In the Lower Realm, Ganges-Sand Worlds are born and die. In the blink of an eye, countless billions of years have passed in that world, and no one cares as it collapses into the void.

Only a very few exceptionally talented individuals, who receive a stroke of Creation in a new world, can save the world from collapse and prolong its existence by a single breath.

After Ao Tu finished arranging the funerals for the two old people, Qiao'er and the White Bone Spirit peeked out from under the covers.

Honestly, although Qiao'er used the Immortal Elixir, she only became more radiant and could be described as having a fairy-like beauty, but in terms of looks alone, the White Bone Spirit was still more beautiful.

After all, the White Bone Spirit is made of Black Lotus root, and the pure, elegant, and noble aura emanating from her is difficult to conceal.

Ao Tu said, "Alright, you two, come out now."

Qiao'er was always obedient, and upon hearing Ao Tu's words, she tried to get out of bed.

The White Bone Spirit grabbed her around the waist, preventing her from leaving. She reached into the loose mourning clothes and teased her for a while before untying a mandarin duck-patterned bodice and throwing it out.

Qiao'er blushed deeply and said, "Jingjing, what are you doing?"

The White Bone Spirit laughed, "There are only the three of us here, and no one else around, so why should we be on guard?" Then she said to Ao Tu, "Brother, come up and rest!"

Ao Tu asked, "What did you call me?"

The White Bone Spirit said, "Brother, have you forgotten that you used to recognize me as your younger sister, and called me Long Jingjing?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Tu remembered the time when he had plotted against Wukong. Thinking back on it now, he couldn't help but chuckle and said, "You, ha, you really know how to play tricks!"

The White Bone Spirit chuckled, crawled out of the covers, grabbed Ao Tu's arm, and hugged him tightly, saying, "Your Great King, I'll only call you my elder brother here; everywhere else, I'll still call you Your Great King!"

Qiao'er saw this, but dared not look, and buried her head to pick up the fallen undergarment.

Upon seeing this, Ao Tu pulled her over and laughed:

"Alright, no need to pick them up anymore. Now that we have no more attachments here, come back with me!"

Qiao'er gave a soft "hmm".

She has always been obedient.

Having waited here for so many years, I have no complaints.

Ao Tu was about to leave, but seeing that she still seemed reluctant to part, though she kept it to herself, he smiled and said:

"It's been a long time since I've had your cooking. Please make me some food; I'll leave tomorrow morning."

Qiao'er was delighted to hear this, so she picked some wild vegetables, cut a piece of cured meat and stir-fried them together, steamed sorghum rice and eggs, and then kneaded dough. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing a fair section of her arm, and kneaded the dough.

Seeing that her mourning clothes were loose and swaying back and forth, Ao Tu couldn't help but laugh and walk over, pressing her down and saying, "Alright, that's enough for three people, how many more do you want to make?"

Qiao'er lowered her head and whispered, "Husband, the dough is ready."

Ao Tu laughed and said, "Take this and come with me to the river."

Upon hearing this, Qiao'er took the dough and went to the riverbank with Ao Tu.

Ao Tu found a Bluestone to sit on, and fearing that Qiao'er would catch a cold, he had her sit on his lap, saying, "Knead the dough into small pieces and throw them into the river."

Qiao'er blushed and did as she was told.

Ao Tu played with one hand while using the other to pluck a willow twig and make a net.

The dough was thrown into the river, and soon many small fish and shrimp came to eat it.

Ao Tu stretched out his net and caught river shrimp the size of a fingernail and river fish the size of a wheat ear. He filled a small basin with them, then happily took Qiao'er back, coated them in batter, and deep-fried them until crispy.

The food was ready, and Ao Tu went to the inner room.

The White Bone Spirit was extremely lazy and didn't work; she just lay in bed waiting for her meal.

Ao Tu pulled back the covers, slapped her, and called out, "Dinner's ready."

The White Bone Spirit stretched lazily, showing off her slender waist, and swung her delicate feet, saying, "Older Brother, I know!"

Ao Tu laughed and said, "How dare you! This time you're not even calling me 'brother'?"

The White Bone Spirit smiled, got out of bed, put on her embroidered shoes, took Ao Tu's arm and led him to the table. She sat down next to Qiao'er, served the food, and while holding chopsticks, whispered in Qiao'er's ear:

"Sister! I can't help much with cooking, but I'll help you a lot more tonight!"