Journey to the West: Treasure Vase of the Great Dao-Chapter 486 - 259: Fortune and Misfortune

The round little face had rosy cheeks, snuggled tightly in her parents' embrace, with traces of drool on the corners of her mouth, unaware of what she might have been dreaming about as she smacked her lips together. Eventually, she placed her right thumb in her mouth and sucked vigorously, her face immediately breaking into a contented smile, blooming radiantly like flowers in April.

Xiao Bai jumped onto the little girl's body, light as a feather, barely making her feel its weight.

At that moment, her face showed a greedy expression as she looked at the adorable little girl, her mouth drooling involuntarily.

In the eyes of all demons, a child like this little girl was the delicacy of delicacies, a rare find indeed.

"Lord of Heaven has indeed been generous to me, just as I saw the person I've longed for day and night, now he has sent me a delicious feast. To refuse such a feast that comes knocking would be defying the heavens," the Brocade Fur Rat said to herself, seemingly searching for a reasonable excuse for her actions.

She slowly extended her paw, which transformed, the cute little paw elongating, its sharp claws shimmering with a cold light. Her small, round eyes filled with greed and cruelty, she could hardly wait to indulge in her own delicious meal.

The little girl was enveloped by a dazzling white light, but the Brocade Fur Rat showed no surprise, as she knew it was the Power of Humanity protecting the child. However, to a demon like her, this level of the Power of Humanity was as flimsy as paper.

The claw tore through the white light in an instant, revealing the sleeping girl inside. Sensing something, she furrowed her brow slightly but showed no signs of waking up.

A sinister red light flashed in the demon's eyes, and her figure seemed to stretch; the scene shifted from a cute animated film to a horror movie in an instant, as if a bloody, terrifying spectacle was about to unfold.

However, at that moment, an even more brilliant white light emanated from a wooden plaque around the little girl's neck. Upon closer look, it was a simple wooden plaque with just one word, "Human."

But that simple word "Human" was the most terrifying sight to any demon. Rich Power of Humanity burst forth from the somewhat crude wooden plaque, striking the demon directly, causing her to emit a piercing, agonizing scream.

Because she inhabited a small rat's body, the sound made by the demon wasn't particularly loud, but it was enough to wake the family of three sleeping in the bed.

The family awoke in an instant, the parents immediately using their arms to shield their daughter as they surveyed their surroundings warily—this had become a habit over many years.

It was deathly quiet around them, as if the sound they had just heard was part of a dream. After a long stare, they gradually relaxed. They had forgotten that today was no longer the age of demons; they no longer needed to live in fear. In Lion Camel City, the Demon Kings were once invincible, said to be a match even for the fabled Heavenly Court, yet they had been vanquished by a Sage. It was unlikely that any demon would dare to cause trouble here recklessly.

"I thought I heard something," the wife said, furrowing her brow as she spoke to her husband.

The husband tightly embraced his somewhat shaken wife and slowly said, "I think I heard it too, it sounded like a human's scream, but then again, maybe not."

Their voices woke their daughter, who was fast asleep. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, the little girl asked in confusion, "Mom and Dad, what's wrong? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?"

The couple looked at the wooden plaque hanging around their daughter's neck and felt relieved. Although the plaque looked like something a child might make as a joke, they knew all too well that it was a Divine Artifact personally made by the Sage, and it had saved the lives of all the survivors of Lion Camel City. Without Mr. Lu taking charge and setting up Restrictions, it might not have ended up in their daughter's hands and would probably have been placed in a temple for worship instead.

They tenderly stroked their daughter's hair and said gently, "It's nothing, dear Cui Cui. Go back to sleep quickly. Didn't Mr. Lu tell you? Children who don't sleep well won't grow up."

Upon hearing this, Cui Cui's face showed a hint of fear, and she quickly buried her head in her mother's arms.

She had promised Brother Lu Yu that she would definitely visit those places he had talked about, to see the beautiful landscapes he described, and also to visit the Eastern Land of Great Tang as Monk Uncle had mentioned. She heard that it was home to some of the greatest dynasties and cities in the world, where the people's movements were as graceful as clouds and their work as vigorous as rain.

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Unfortunately, she was still too young to travel such long distances. Monk Uncle had said that reaching there would involve crossing many great mountains and numerous large rivers.

Since then, Cui Cui prayed daily to the magical Lord of Heaven, wishing she could grow up quickly to fulfill her dreams. Sometimes, she dreamed of riding a little wooden horse, holding a pretty pink Treasured Sword in her hand, carrying her beloved ragdoll on her back, traveling eastward. Along the way, she encountered many demons, and with her Treasured Sword, she would slay them all, just like Brother Lu Yu once did when he killed those two terrifying demons.

Cui Cui had great faith in the Lord of Heaven. Just as now, she used to pray every day that someone would bring back the hope spoken of by the adults and make her parents smile happily.

Then Brother Lu Yu came, killed the terrifying Demon King, and brought hope to everyone, making her parents, who had been frowning all the time, smile radiantly once again. For this reason, Cui Cui was utterly convinced of the power of the Lord of Heaven.

Every night, she would pray silently to the Lord of Heaven in her heart, hoping He would soon fulfill her wish.

Under her mother's gentle caress, Cui Cui prayed a few more times in her heart before slowly drifting into her dreams.

The couple exchanged a glance, both seeing the smile in each other's eyes. For them, being able to live together like this was the greatest happiness in life.

With this contentment in their hearts, the couple happily drifted off to sleep, and the small house fell back into silence.

After the three of them had reentered deep sleep, a pristine white mouse slowly emerged from a corner of the room. Its eyes, once full of disdain and pride, were now filled with a lost and dispirited look, and it let out a sigh while hanging its head low.