Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao

"Who is your young lady?" Tang Monk asked.

Madam White Skeleton became furious at this, glaring at Tang Monk with hatred, her voice eerily laughing, "Golden Cicada, you have actually forgotten her!"

In that moment, Madam White Skeleton's mind was filled with the image of her young lady. Often, she would sit idly in her own boudoir, and only she, as a maid, knew that her young lady's heart always held a place for a particular monk.

Even after so many years had passed, she still clearly remembered those moments.

"Miss, what is the man you like really like?" she had once asked as a young girl.

"He's a very interesting person, a compassionate person, a very good person," replied the young lady slowly, a smile on her face, like a blooming flower.
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"Then why not go see him, be with him?"

The young lady gently touched her own cheek, her tone filled with melancholy, "I can't go back."

The bright face showed a half that was startlingly skeletal, creating a very eerie appearance; however, it was the most beautiful face Madam White Skeleton remembered.

She never knew exactly what had happened to her mistress, until one day, she saw a "Portrait of a Beauty" and learned of a cultivation technique within it, which finally made her understand the reasons.

It was the price of eternal life, that one day, when all flesh faded away, one could attain immortality. But her young lady had stopped, never once practicing that cultivation technique again, allowing time to erode her body until only dust remained.

"If I become like that, Golden Cicada would be heartbroken." This was the answer of the young lady in her dying moments, forever engraved in her memory.

After leaving her young lady, she ultimately chose that eerie cultivation technique, hoping one day to meet the monk her young lady had spoken about, to see for herself what kind of person was worthy of such sacrifice, since the young lady had referred to Golden Cicada as a cultivator.

Thinking of this made her even more resentful, and she roared loudly, "How could you forget her, do you know what my young lady, Bai Xiaoyao, gave up for you?"

"Bai Xiaoyao!" When Tang Monk heard this name, a sudden ache gripped his heart. The name seemed incredibly important to him, yet no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember.

He looked bewilderedly at the white skeleton in front of him, urgently asking, "Tell me, what kind of person was she really?"

In that moment, Tang Monk seemed to lose his usual stiff expression, no longer the emotionless divine spirit that was untouched by the worldly matters, but a mortal filled with blood and emotion.

"Want to know? Come closer, I'll tell you."

Watching Tang Monk draw nearer, Madam White Skeleton revealed a cruel smile, whispering, "You should ask the miss yourself!" With that, she stretched out her bony claw, her five fingers elongating and thrusting toward Tang Monk's face.

"Monster, how dare you!" Unable to hold back any longer, the Monkey picked up his iron rod and struck at her head.

Yet, Madam White Skeleton did not dodge; her gaze fixed intently on Tang Monk, her eyes filled with a cold murderous intent, completely indifferent to the iron rod attacking her head.

For her, killing Tang Monk was far more important than her own life, which was the drive that had sustained her for such a long time.

However, Madam White Skeleton ultimately failed to achieve her wish. No matter how fast she was, how could she be faster than the Monkey? The Jingu Bang struck her squarely on the head, and Madam White Skeleton fell to the ground with a thud.

As she lay dying, she seemed to return to that cold night. She was wearing a shabby cotton-padded jacket, shivering as she walked on the deserted street, so disheveled that many people mistook her for a boy.

The snow that night was so heavy that it easily whitened one's hair; everyone hid inside their homes, lit up the firewood, and warmed themselves on the heated kang.

She, homeless, could only stare at the snowflakes as big as goose feathers, wandering the streets and silently praying for the night to pass quickly; otherwise, she would freeze to death on the streets.

The nights of winter were so cold; how could a child starved and chilled to the bone endure? Yet, just as she was about to freeze to death, a pair of warm hands gently picked her up, and she still cherished the warmth of that body to this day.

"Poor child, you are also homeless." The crisp voice, seemingly celestial, brought joy to Madam White Skeleton through countless years.

From then on, she was no longer homeless; she had her own young lady, no longer needing to endure a life of starvation and cold. She followed the young lady everywhere.

She had thought, if life could go on like this forever, that would be good.

Latterly, they settled in a small place where she lived the warmest and happiest moments of her life, so much so that after she had mastered her spells, she still moved that small house into her cave abode.

Yet departures always come so suddenly. The young lady, who was forever like the sun in her heart, also succumbed to birth, aging, sickness, and death, leaving her once again alone. The solitary lamp of her life that had warmed her, thus extinguished.

So, she grew to hate the monk, Golden Cicada, whom the young lady had cherished all her life. If not for him, perhaps her young lady would have been willing to continue cultivating that spell, and she could have lived forever with her young lady.

The flames in her eyes began to weaken, and Madam White Skeleton seemed to see the lady in red again, slowly lifting her up just like many years ago, still as warm, still as comforting.

"Miss, have you come to fetch me?" Madam White Skeleton muttered as the flames in her eyes completely extinguished.

"How could you kill her?" Tang Monk angrily questioned.

"Old Sun did it to save you!" The Monkey suddenly became displeased. This old monk truly did not appreciate the favor. He had saved his life, and instead of thanking him, he even blamed him.

Feeling gloomy, the Monkey walked to one side and quietly squatted down, thinking to himself that something was very wrong with the old monk.

On this day, thousands of miles away in Lotus Cave, Lu Yu was still meticulously studying the restrictions on the treasure. After such a long time of secret learning, he had memorized the properties and methods of consecration of the few treasures, truly an accomplishment. He remained there, hoping to see if there was anything he had missed.

At that moment, his Primordial Spirit stirred suddenly. The communication Jade Talisman he had left at Huaguo Mountain had been touched; he had given this talisman to the Monkey.

He had once instructed them that if they ever encountered a major crisis, they should crush the talisman. Lu Yu would then sense it and could arrive at Huaguo Mountain at the first opportunity.

However, through all these years, the talisman had not been used, thanks indeed to the powerful Old Dragon King; Huaguo Mountain had been prospering, and over time, Lu Yu had almost forgotten about it.