Chapter 47: Reward Settlement
However, Ao Tu rode clouds and descended at White Tiger Ridge.
He landed in that White Bone Cave.
The White Bone Spirit saw him and hurriedly came forward to pay her respects, saying: “Great King.”
Ao Tu said: “Tang Sanzang and his disciples are coming. Follow me.”
Thus, the Tiger Vanguard on the left and the White Bone Spirit on the right followed Ao Tu back to the wooden house.
Qiao Er, as usual, carefully tidied up the wooden house and looked toward the main road. Seeing no one still, she prepared to go back.
Suddenly, a figure walked over from afar.
It was exactly the person she had been thinking of day and night.
Just as Qiao Er could not wait to rush over, she was stunned to discover the stunning woman following behind the Dragon God.
Her beauty was peerless, her jade face frosty, naturally exuding a seductive charm; starry eyes dewy, cherry lips dotted with vermilion, as if embodying myriad charms. Her dark hair was coiled into a lofty bun, slanted with a jade hairpin; her icy skin lightly wrapped in plain snow-white robes, with nine strands of silver tassels floating.
Looking back at herself, a farm girl, though with some delicate beauty, inevitably weathered by sun and wind, her cheeks faintly flushed. Her slender jade fingers bore faint calluses, unlike the soft hands of a boudoir lady.
In coarse hemp clothes, though naturally charming, without fine garments to match, only speckled with dust and mud. Her braided hair hung down, without any accessories, bound only with a grass rope—how could it compare to her golden jade radiance?
After days of bitter waiting, finally seeing her beloved, yet feeling inferior, she shed a few tears and turned away with her face covered.
Ao Tu returned to the wooden house. Soon, Qiao Er knocked on the door, carrying a basket of food—some coarse flour buns and wild vegetable dumplings.
The White Bone Spirit opened the door and said: “Who are you?”
Hearing this, Qiao Er felt even more inferior.
Ao Tu said: “This is Qiao Er. Please invite her in.”
The White Bone Spirit then invited Qiao Er in.
After Qiao Er entered, she saw Ao Tu. Ao Tu was handsome and elegant, perfectly matching the beauty of that woman just now. She lowered her head and said:
“Sir, I saw you return and feared you hadn’t eaten, so I specially brought some food.”
Ao Tu said: “Thank you. You cleaned this room too, right? Sorry for the trouble.”
He had been away for over a month, and upon return, the room was spotless as new—clearly someone had been cleaning it regularly.
Qiao Er lowered her head and said: “No trouble. Well, then I’ll go.”
In the end, she still didn’t dare ask about the marriage proposal.
If she asked and Sir said it was just a jest, how would she face it?
If she didn’t ask, she could still harbor some hope, letting the dream in her heart linger a few more days.
Ao Tu nodded and said: “Go ahead. By the way, prepare yourself—I’ll propose marriage in a couple of days. This is my younger sister Jing Jing. Get to know each other.”
Qiao Er stood stunned in place as the joy she had longed for day and night suddenly arrived.
She dazedly got acquainted with Jing Jing, then walked out of the wooden house and returned home. Though only a few steps, it felt like another world.
A few days later, Tang Sanzang and his disciples left the Longevity Mountain area, and the System voice sounded.
【Settlement in progress, total obstruction of thirty-two days.】
【Obtained reward magic: Earth Evasion Technique.】
【Obtained reward: Six-Revolving Golden Elixir.】
【Obtained reward: Grand Unity Purple Gold Elixir.】
【Obtained reward Buddhist Dharma: Six-Character Mantra.】
【Excess two days automatically carried over to next side quest; next side quest: Three Strikes Against White Bone Spirit.】
In this Wuzhuang Temple mission, Ao Tu’s obstruction time wasn’t too long—only over twenty days. Adding the previous six days of progress, it barely reached thirty days’ rewards.
No way around it—Great Immortal Zhen Yuan’s dojo, Ao Tu could hardly make major changes.
Fortunately, the harvest was plentiful. Besides the System rewards, he also got three Ginseng Fruits: ate one, kept two, along with a section of Ginseng Fruit Tree branch, nurtured in his Five-Colored Divine Light.
The upcoming Three Strikes Against White Bone Spirit could be properly managed.
He had already been laying the groundwork at Wuzhuang Temple.
【Entering mission area】
【Current side quest: Three Strikes Against White Bone Spirit】
【Mission requirement: Obstruct the pilgrim in White Tiger Ridge area; settlement rewards based on obstruction time.】
【Mission rewards: 3 days/Three-Revolving Golden Elixir, 7 days/Six-Revolving Golden Elixir, half a month/Demon Court Minor Heavenly Cycle Formation, one month/Witch Weapon Peach Wood Staff, one season/Supernatural Power Rainbow Transformation Technique, half a year/Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year/Innate Spiritual Treasure Soul Scattering Gourd, three years/Innate Spiritual Treasure River Diagram and Luo Book, twelve years/Chaos Bell, sixty years…】
【Current progress: two days】
Ao Tu looked at the rewards refreshed by the System.
The three-day and seven-day rewards were nothing special.
The half-month reward was a formation he hadn’t heard of, but positioned at half-month progress, it probably wasn’t particularly strong.
The one-month reward was a witch weapon, Peach Wood Staff. Regardless of its power for now, its wood attribute from the Five Elements could perfectly fill the gap in Ao Tu’s Five-Colored Divine Light, greatly enhancing its power.
Currently, in the Five-Colored Divine Light: metal from Three-Grade Golden Lotus, water from Three Lights Divine Water, earth from Ginseng Fruit branch, fire from Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan—only wood was missing.
The one-season reward: Rainbow Transformation Technique.
This technique was a supernatural power on par with Five-Colored Divine Light, also known as Golden Crow Rainbow Transformation Technique. The Golden Crow is the essence of the great sun; its light splits into seven colors, scattering as rosy clouds, gathering as rainbows—hence Rainbow Transformation Technique.
When unleashed, body merges with light, traversing ten thousand li in an instant, traceless—the foremost evasion technique in the Three Realms.
As for the half-year reward: Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood.
If Ao Tu obtained it and refined it, he could manifest some ancient Dragon Clan might, showing the Monkey brother the oppressive force from the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation.
Ao Tu went down the mountain and bought some betrothal gifts—not many items.
One zhang of cotton cloth, one zhang of red cloth, one dou each of the five grains, two jars of rice wine, two strips of cured meat, and two taels of silver wrapped in red cloth—that was all.
For an ordinary family, this was already excellent betrothal gifts.
He presented them to Qiao Er’s parents, stating his intentions.
The two elders were naturally willing and inquired in detail about Ao Tu’s family situation.
Ao Tu replied that his family was originally an official family; his father died framed in court strife, his mother passed from grief.
There were still nine brothers at home; to avoid disaster, they dispersed in all directions.
He had brought his one younger sister here, wanting to live in seclusion in the mountain forest, marry, have children, farm at sunrise, rest at sunset, and from then on live the stable life of common people.
The two elders were overjoyed and immediately set the wedding date.
This White Tiger Ridge, due to previous demon disturbances, had few people, so there were no relatives or neighbors to invite.
A few days later, on an auspicious day, they cut red paper to paste on windows, lit two red candles, both families together prepared a table of good dishes, and joyfully ate. Qiao Er donned red attire, Ao Tu carried her back to the wooden house, and the rites were complete.
The Tiger Vanguard built another wooden house nearby, yielding the new bridal chamber.
At night.
Ao Tu lifted the veil.
Qiao Er’s face was flushed red, shy and tense, not daring to look at him.
Ao Tu smiled: “It’s fine. I won’t ruin your chastity. Stay here at ease for some time. There’s no one else in these mountains, so it won’t tarnish your reputation. Once my affairs are done, I’ll give you a thousand taels of gold and silver and send your family to live in the city.”
Hearing Ao Tu’s words, Qiao Er felt no joy at all; instead, her face paled.
Right, Sir had said it was just acting…
After Ao Tu finished speaking, he prepared to leave.
But Qiao Er suddenly grabbed his arm.
