I just became the Pirate King, and you're telling me I also time-traveled at the same time.

Chapter 1051 Why Not Use It If It's So Useful?

Before she could finish speaking, Su Wanwan sneered, "Do you want to soak your legs or your eyeballs in your tea?"

The succubus's smile froze instantly.

Sun Wukong burst out laughing from behind: "Wanwan, you've got a really good mouth today."

Su Wanwan pointed at the patch of silk netting: "I'm not going to waste my breath on you. Take these tattered nets away and stay away from Tang Sanzang. Anyone who dares to climb on our heads in the middle of the night and spin silk will have their heads plucked bald one by one."

The vine demons were initially annoyed, but when they looked up and saw Chu Yang fiddling with his cuffs while Sun Wukong poked at the silk net with his golden cudgel, as if pondering where to start a fire, their expressions changed instantly.

One of the older-looking female demons immediately said, "Take it in, we'll take it in right away."

"And one more thing," Su Wanwan said, "Don't speak in a high-pitched voice in front of me, it's annoying."

The female demon: "..."

Finally, we went to the eastern rocky slope.

That old scorpion demon had the worst temper. Its entire body was covered in shiny black carapace, and its scorpion stinger was taller than a person. It hid in a crevice in the rock and refused to come out at first. It wasn't until Sun Wukong smashed half of the rock wall with his staff that it was forced to reveal itself.

It flew into a rage as soon as it appeared, and its tail hook stabbed straight at Tang Sanzang.

This time, Su Wanwan didn't even wait for Chu Yang to speak before raising her hand and yelling, "You're asking for death!"

Then she watched as Chu Yang grabbed the scorpion's tail hook.

It really was bare-handed.

The old scorpion demon tried its best to pull itself back but couldn't. Instead, Chu Yang casually pulled it out of the crevice and left a long groove in the ground.

Sun Wukong, standing nearby, chuckled: "You certainly know how to pick your targets."

The old scorpion demon was so thoroughly beaten that its tail hook was bent halfway, and it finally became docile. When Su Wanwan stood in front of it, even she felt that her tone was much more natural than before.

"See?" she asked. "This is what happens when you're dishonest."

The old scorpion demon lay on the ground, panting heavily, and after a long while, he managed to utter, "...I saw it."

As the sun slowly sank behind the treetops, the atmosphere of the entire primeval forest seemed to change.

The sense of spying that had been lurking in the shadows and ready to pounce had clearly faded.

Occasionally, a glimpse of demonic energy would flash in the distance, but as soon as it got closer, it would quickly retreat, as if some message had already been exchanged between them in the deeper depths.

As evening approached, the group found a relatively clean clearing in the woods to rest.

Although the canopy overhead was dense, some of the evening glow managed to filter through, casting a dark red edge on the fallen leaves. In the distance, the sound of water could be heard, like a thin stream winding around the tree roots. The white horse lowered its head to graze, while the white donkey rooted around the ground, trying to find some tender roots.

Su Wanwan sat on a fallen log, and only now did she belatedly realize that her legs were a little weak.

It wasn't that I was too scared to move; it was the kind of shivering that comes from being tense all day and maintaining a tough facade for so long, and then suddenly relaxing.

Chu Yang walked over from the side and handed her a water pouch.

"Take a sip."

Su Wanwan took the water and drank two mouthfuls. The cold water made her feel more awake. She looked up at him: "You planned this all along, didn't you?"

"What are you calculating?"

"It was good that I was the one to ask for help." Su Wanwan stared at him. "It's good that I actually managed to hold on."

Chu Yang sat down on the piece of wood next to her, casually picked up a leaf and twirled it between his fingers: "Not very good."

"Um?"

"I just think you should give it a try," Chu Yang said. "You can't always hide in the back."

Su Wanwan snorted: "It's not like I want to hide."

"You don't want to avoid it," Chu Yang glanced at her, "You just sometimes overthink things. The more you overthink, the more easily you get discouraged."

Su Wanwan remained silent for a moment.

The wind blew through the treetops, carrying down a few dry leaves that fluttered down to her feet.

After a while, she whispered, "But if you and Monkey King hadn't been behind me today, I might not have dared to say that."

"Isn't that normal?" Chu Yang said.

"normal?"

"With someone backing you up, of course you should be tougher," Chu Yang said calmly. "Otherwise, what's the point of having someone back you up, just to watch the show?"

Su Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"What you're saying is... quite unreasonable."

"What's the point of reasoning?" Chu Yang said lazily. "Your own people are standing behind you just so you can use them to bully others."

Not far away, Sun Wukong was squatting by the fire, turning over a skewer of mushrooms he had somehow found. Upon hearing this, he immediately chimed in, "That's right. The reason I, Old Sun, have this staff standing there is precisely so that you can use it to bully others."

Su Wanwan chuckled: "Brother Monkey, you're talking nonsense too."

"I wasn't lying either," Sun Wukong said, taking a bite of a roasted mushroom. "You really did look quite good today. Your voice was a little weak at first, but it got better later."

"You even gave a review."

"Of course," Sun Wukong said seriously. "Next time you run into the Demon King, you can be even more ruthless with your first words."

"for example?"

Sun Wukong thought for a moment: "For example, 'Get out here'."

Chu Yang said, "Too short."

"Then you tell me."

"If you don't get out here, we'll burn your cave to the ground tonight."

Su Wanwan: "..."

Sun Wukong slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, "This one's good too!"

Tang Sanzang sat on the other side of the fire, holding a vegetarian cake in his hands. His eyelids twitched as he listened, and he finally couldn't help but say, "You mustn't teach her these things."

Sun Wukong turned around: "Master, did Wanwan not speak well today?"

Tang Sanzang paused, unable to go against his conscience and say it was bad, so he could only say, "It's not that it's bad... it's just that the words are too harsh, and it's easy to cause conflict in the end."

Chu Yang threw a tree branch into the fire, and the flames crackled.

"Master," he said, "if we don't go all out today, these guys will just think they can still give it a try."

Tang Sanzang was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "This humble monk understands."

The firelight illuminated his face, making his features appear gentle and serene. After a while, he spoke again in a low voice, "It's just that every time I cause you so much trouble, I always feel..."

"Master," Su Wanwan suddenly interrupted him.

Tang Sanzang looked up at her.

Holding the water pouch, Su Wanwan said with unusual seriousness, "Don't always think it's because of you. It's not your fault that those monsters want to eat you; they're just greedy and malicious. If you always take the blame for this, aren't you just making things easier for them?"

Tang Sanzang was taken aback.

Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and whispered to Chu Yang, "Look, it's really hard today."

Chu Yang smiled but remained silent.

Su Wanwan continued, "Besides, we didn't work for nothing today. Didn't you see the way those guys looked at us? If anyone dares to have any ulterior motives in the future, they'd better think twice before they try to figure out if they have enough teeth to be knocked down by Monkey King or enough tail to be pulled down by Chu Yang."

Sun Wukong was overjoyed: "I love hearing that too."

Tang Sanzang looked at her, and after a long while, he actually smiled.

The smile was very faint, but it did show a genuine relaxation.

"Miss Su is right," he said softly.

Night gradually descended.

The sounds of insects gradually rose in the woods, faint and dense, sometimes sounding from the east, sometimes echoing from the west. In the distance, the occasional drawn-out cry of an unknown beast was swallowed up by the deeper darkness.

The fire was burning brightly, warming the ground around it.

Chu Yang pulled out another half-packet of peanuts from somewhere and spread them on a clean leaf.

Su Wanwan saw it and almost laughed in exasperation: "Just how many did you hide?"

"Not much," Chu Yang said, "there are still some plums."

"You still have plums?!"

"Um."

Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong immediately came over: "Give it to me, give it to me."

"Brother Monkey, weren't you eating mushrooms just now?"

"Mushrooms are mushrooms, and plums are plums."

The white donkey had somehow gotten close to the side, peeking out and sniffing around.

Chu Yang casually slapped its head open: "You can't eat this."

The white donkey snorted in dissatisfaction.

As Su Wanwan watched the group of people, a horse, and a donkey sharing peanuts and plums around the fire, she suddenly realized that the eerie and oppressive atmosphere of the demonic forest that had permeated the daytime had actually been diluted considerably.

There's still a sinister aura in the wind, and perhaps there are still eyes watching from deep within the shadows of the trees.

But those eyes will probably no longer be filled with the undisguised covetousness and scheming they had when they first entered the woods during the day.

Halfway through the meal, there was a soft "whoosh" sound from the treetops above.

Su Wanwan subconsciously looked up.

A thin, slender figure landed silently not far away. It was a little demon who had followed the gray-clothed man during the day. It looked like a deer spirit, with a pointed face and narrow eyes, and was carrying a basket in its hand.

After landing, it immediately lowered its head, not daring to look around, and respectfully put down the basket.

"The Grey King ordered me to bring some fruit," it said, its voice trembling. "He said... he told you that you would be resting in the forest tonight, as an apology."

Sun Wukong chuckled: "You're quite perceptive."

Chu Yang glanced at the basket. Sure enough, there were several kinds of wild fruits inside, some purple and some red, all washed clean.

"Just leave it there," he said.

The little demon nodded repeatedly, put down the basket, and tried to run away.

"Wait a minute," Su Wanwan suddenly called out to it.

The little demon froze on the spot, slowly turned around, her face pale: "Miss, is there anything else you need?"

Seeing its alarmed expression, Su Wanwan suddenly found it a little funny, so she deliberately put on a stern face and said, "Go back and tell your Grey Lord."

"Yes, yes."

"He behaved alright today," Su Wanwan said. "If anyone else misbehaves later, add a note to his record first."

The little demon was stunned for a moment, then quickly memorized these words and nodded hurriedly, "I will definitely bring it, I will definitely bring it."

After saying that, he disappeared in a flash.

Sun Wukong laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "Make an example of him, hahaha, Wanwan, you've really gone bad."

"What do you call going astray?" Su Wanwan snorted. "That's exactly what it is. He's the one who led us to identify the people, so naturally we have to keep an eye on them too."

Chu Yang nodded slowly from the side: "You've learned how to use people, not bad."

Su Wanwan tilted her head to look at him, then suddenly narrowed her eyes: "Why do I feel like you've been deliberately praising me all day?"

Chu Yang replied calmly, "Really?"

"have."

"That means you did a really good job today."

His answer was so natural that it shut down Su Wanwan's subsequent question, "Are you plotting something again?"

She opened her mouth, then after a long pause, let out a "humph" and turned to take the fruit from the basket.

Sun Wukong watched the spectacle with great interest, while Tang Sanzang lowered his head, holding a vegetarian cake, pretending not to hear.

As the night deepened, the fire gradually died down, leaving only glowing embers.

The forest was damp, so Sun Wukong simply broke off several large bundles of thick branches and laid them on the ground. He also gathered many large leaves from the side to cushion the ground, finally creating a reasonably decent spot.

Before lying down, Su Wanwan couldn't help but look around at the darkness.

Occasionally, a fluorescent green light would flash in the distance; it was unclear whether it was an insect or an eye.

"Still watching?" Chu Yang's voice came from the side.

"I always feel like something is watching me."

"Let them keep an eye on us," Chu Yang said. "They won't dare come over anyway."

"You can actually sleep soundly."

Why can't I sleep?

"This is the Demon Forest."

"oh."

"...What do you mean by that 'oh'?"

A very soft laugh came from the darkness.

"It means even the demon forest needs to sleep," Chu Yang said. "Besides, we've already given them a heads-up today. Anyone who dares to approach in the middle of the night is just unlucky for it."

Su Wanwan lay there, gazing at the slivers of starlight filtering through the gaps in the tree canopy. After a while, she suddenly whispered, "Chu Yang."

"Um?"

Thank you for today.

The area quieted down for a moment.

Chu Yang then said, "What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for letting me go and speak to them," she said. "And thank you... for really supporting me from behind."

After saying this, she felt a little uncomfortable, so she buried half of her face in the leaf cushion, leaving only her eyes showing.

In the darkness, Chu Yang seemed to glance at her from the side.

"Don't be so polite," he said. "Didn't we already say we're family?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a faint voice suddenly came from the nearby tree: "I'm going too, so I'm one of them. Why isn't anyone thanking me for going?"

Su Wanwan was almost startled awake: "Brother Monkey, why aren't you asleep yet!"

"I'm up in a tree," Sun Wukong said lazily. "I was almost asleep, but you guys woke me up again."

"Then why were you eavesdropping?"

"Who was eavesdropping? You were the ones who were talking quite loudly."

Tang Sanzang murmured "Amitabha" on the other side, clearly still awake.

Su Wanwan's face flushed, and she immediately turned her back to him, saying, "I'm not talking anymore, I'm going to sleep."

Sun Wukong chuckled to himself while he was in the tree.

A breeze rustled through the trees, causing the branches and leaves to sway, while the moonlight appeared and disappeared high in the sky.

Nothing happened that night, as expected.

No monsters approached under cover of darkness, nor did anything foolish enough to test the waters in the middle of the night. Occasionally, a few low roars could be heard in the distance, but they quickly dissipated without ever getting any closer.

The group continued their journey as soon as it was light the next day.

The morning mist floated in the forest, moist and light, and in the distance, the dew that had condensed last night hung on the branches, sliding down in strings and dripping onto the leaves.

Su Wanwan got up more quickly than usual, even tying her hair up neatly and tightly.

Sun Wukong chuckled upon seeing this: "Hey, you really look like the boss today."

"Stop teasing me." Although Su Wanwan said this, her eyes were noticeably brighter than yesterday.

Chu Yang led his horse past her, glanced at her, and casually said, "Alright, you can go first again today."

Su Wanwan was taken aback: "Give it back to me?"

"Nonsense," Chu Yang said, "We started yesterday, so of course we'll continue today."

"...You actually came in handy with me."

"If it's so useful, why not use it?"

These words sounded like an order, but for some reason, Su Wanwan felt that compared to the awkwardness of being pushed into it at the beginning yesterday, she was now genuinely thinking, "Then I'll do it." (End of Chapter)