"A whole set?"
"Is this a joke about the Great Desolation?"
Sun Kong felt an indescribable chill in his heart. From then on, he was more wary of this mother, who seemed so easily moved and persuaded by him.
But on the surface, he couldn't truly offend her, so he could only agree readily while using the pretext of mentioning other matters to probe.
"This matter of the golden bricks is easy to discuss."
"However, your son has three small matters that he must trouble Mother with. I wonder if you have time?"
As Sun Kong asked this, he closely observed Nuwa's expression. Seeing that she was still quite happy and not angry,
he proceeded to mention the three small matters he had prepared.
The first was about the Heavenly Court, where the Jade Emperor was suspected of colluding with Patriarch Minghe to shield heavenly secrets and plot some unknown grand conspiracy.
Sun Kong had originally hoped for the help of Tathagata Buddha, but Tathagata Buddha, whose cultivation was comparable to the Jade Emperor's, could not deduce the truth.
He could only ask Nuwa to intervene.
The second was about the new Six-Eared Macaque. This fellow had become increasingly audacious. Besides shielding heavenly secrets like the Jade Emperor, making it impossible for Sun Kong and the others to deduce his whereabouts,
what was most alarming was that he seemed to be colluding with the successor of the Demon Ancestor Luohu.
Although Sun Kong did not have concrete evidence to prove this matter so far, he desperately hoped Nuwa would investigate, as perhaps she could find some clues.
This matter was not only beneficial to Sun Kong but could also be used by Nuwa to report to the Dao Ancestor, thus earning merit.
The third, and the matter Sun Kong cared about most, besides obtaining the fragments of the Tiangang Guiyi Gong,
was about his second brother Wu Zhiqi and third brother Zhou Wuxian!
"Mother, my second and third brothers, like me, are born of the Four Mixed Monkeys and equally admire and respect you. I believe that instead of giving merits to those fellows in the Heavenly Court, it's better to give them to them."
"Wouldn't this be more comfortable than teaming up with the future Pigsy, future Sandy, and future White Dragon Horse, who would try to trick me every day?"
"They say that good things should stay within the family. Think about it, Mother. For so many years, has the Heavenly Court ever invited you to participate in anything besides the Investiture of the Gods? Have they ever interacted with you or shown you any respect since then?"
"Giving them to Pigsy, Sandy, and the White Dragon Horse only enriches the Heavenly Court and depletes our Wa Huang Palace."
"In my opinion, why not replace Pigsy and Sandy with my second and third brothers? As for the White Dragon Horse, we can choose someone from your palace. They are all our own people, and we can use them with peace of mind."
Sun Kong's words carried considerable weight, as he foresaw the course of Journey to the West and was already making moves to subvert it.
This caused even Nuwa to be shocked.
At the same time, the system rewards arrived as promised.
But this reward was a bit unusual.
It was so unusual that Sun Kong almost couldn't continue speaking!
[Ding! Host has shocked Empress Nuwa too much, causing her, after just acknowledging the host as her son, to worry that the host will cause trouble and burden her.]
[Reward: Host and Empress Nuwa's intimacy -5 points.]
[Note: Only for those below the Saint level. For Saints and above, the host needs to gauge the situation themselves, as excessive shock might not result in rewards.]
[Insufficient shock, rewards are meager.]
[Excessive shock, rewards are negative.]
[Only when the shock is neither insufficient nor excessive will you receive full positive rewards. Please consider carefully!]
Hearing this, Sun Kong almost jumped up and cursed the system for being a cheat.
If he had known that Saints and above had such considerations for "insufficient" or "excessive" shock, he would never have spoken so hastily about so many things.
Now, it was too late.
Although Nuwa had not yet replied, Sun Kong could see from her slightly angry, slightly worried, and slightly furrowed brows.
This female Saint did consider him her son.
However, on the other hand, as a Saint, Nuwa did not dare to subvert the original destiny of Journey to the West for the sake of a stepson.
Even though she herself understood the logic of keeping things within the family, in the face of the destiny set by the Heavenly Dao and the watchful eyes of other Saints,
Nuwa chose to abide by the old rules and dared not break them!
Therefore, before Sun Kong could come up with more reasons, Nuwa rejected his suggestion of his second and third brothers replacing Pigsy and Sandy.
To prevent him from acting even more recklessly and incurring heavenly punishment, she even showed a rare expression of anger and gave Sun Kong a good scolding!
"You monkey, don't think you can act recklessly just because you have some luck."
"The destiny of Journey to the West was set by the Heavenly Dao and the Dao Ancestor. Secondly, we six Saints have already discussed and set the general direction. How dare you arbitrarily change it?"
"Thirdly, if Pigsy, Sandy, and the White Dragon Horse knew the truth, would they let you off easily?"
"I absolutely will not agree to this, unless you have the ability to change the heavenly destiny? But even I, let alone you, a Hunyuan Great Luo Golden Immortal, do not possess this ability."
"Also, don't think I don't know about the changes at Spirit Mountain. You'd best find Xuanzang quickly before the Tribulation of Journey to the West begins and make him obediently reincarnate and become your Tang Monk."
"Otherwise, if you truly cause trouble because of this, neither of you will have a good outcome."
At this point, Nuwa still considered Sun Kong's feelings as her son and did not speak too harshly. She only used the Heavenly Dao, destiny, and the other five Saints to pressure him.
The subtext was that she also knew the benefits of using her own people, but the disadvantages were immense. If Sun Kong could resolve the disadvantages, she wouldn't mind supporting him a little!
Hearing this, Sun Kong instantly understood and stopped talking nonsense. He then asked about the first two matters.
"These two matters are of great importance. Mother has also tried to divine them before, but with no success. It is clear that this is not something you or I can manage."
"You should focus on finding Xuanzang and doing other things well. As for the collusion and the demon race, Mother will report it to the Dao Ancestor."
"That demon race is not ordinary. You should provoke them less."
"If you truly don't have enough spiritual treasures, then go to Mother's treasury and choose one. Mother is quite generous and magnanimous."
Saying this, Nuwa actually led Sun Kong to her treasury.
Sun Kong's eyes immediately fell on the Heaven and Earth Conjugal Red Embroidered Ball.
Nuwa rejected it, stating that this item was bound to her.
Sun Kong's second choice was the Baolian Lantern.
Nuwa again refused, saying that this treasure already had its destiny.
Finally, Sun Kong became impatient and threw a tantrum, acting like a spoiled child!
"This one doesn't work, that one doesn't work. Which one can then?"
"Mother, you yourself said you were generous."
"Why doesn't a single one work in the end?"
Her words made Nuwa both exasperated and speechless. For the first time, she felt that being a mother was far more difficult than being a Saint!