Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Headache.

It hurts so much it feels like it’s splitting.

Wen Jiao wanted to knock on the buzzing head, but when she raised her hand, she felt something was pulled. It was cold, like smooth silk. She opened her eyes and saw a three-foot white silk hanging in front of her, one end hanging on the beam, and the other end in her hand.

No, that was not her hand. The fingers were slightly plump, like smooth white jade bamboo joints, and she was wearing a pearly gold ring on her hand.

"Ah!" Wen Jiao screamed, her legs went limp, and she fell off the stool.

"Fortunately, the neck hasn't been put in yet..." The moment she landed, she only had time to think of this before she was dragged into the endless darkness by the severe pain in the back of her head. In a trance, she seemed to hear the door being knocked open, and the girls' cries came one after another: "Oh no, the lady hanged herself!"

"Where is the husband? Ask him to come over and see the lady!"

"You're still breathing, why don't you go get a doctor!"

Wen Jiao's eyes seemed to be filled with a screen cut into two parts. On one side, there were carved beams and painted buildings, and antique charm, while on the other side, there were tall buildings and busy traffic.

The young lady, who was surrounded by jewels and jade, recited in a gentle voice under the guidance of the female teacher: "It is the common way for women, and the classic teachings of etiquette. Be humble and respectful, put others before yourself, do good without saying goodbye, do evil without saying anything, endure humiliation and dirt, and always be fearful. This is what is called a humble and weak person."

A girl with neat short hair stood in the classroom and recited aloud: "If the youth are wise, the country will be wise. If the youth are wealthy, the country will be wealthy. If the youth are strong, the country will be strong. If the youth are independent, the country will be independent. If the youth are free, the country will be free. If the youth are progressive, the country will be progressive..."

The young lady grew up day by day into a beauty as beautiful as lotus and cold smoke. Surrounded by her maids and servants, she climbed up the tall building and saw the handsome number one scholar riding a horse in the parade. She smiled shyly and threw the hydrangea to him.

The girl's hair grew longer day by day, and she entered university. She spoke passionately and eloquently in campus clubs and debate competitions, and was in high spirits.

The young lady wore a gorgeous wedding dress and drank wine from the cup with the number one scholar, with red candles burning brightly.

The girls wandered among the rows of tall bookshelves in the library and were so happy that they didn't want to go back to bed.

The young lady accompanied her husband to his new post in a simple entourage. On the way, she was spotted by a boatman. That night, her husband was pushed into the river, and she also wanted to commit suicide by jumping into the river. However, when she thought of the child of her husband in her belly, she hesitated for a moment and was grabbed by the boatman and carried back.

The girl typed her paper furiously until the computer time showed two in the morning. She let out a long sigh, painfully moved her stiff shoulders and neck, closed the computer, and fell asleep.

The young lady gave birth to a baby, wrote a blood oath, put the baby and the blood oath into a wooden basin, and pushed it into the surging river, crying inconsolably. After returning to her official residence, she had to put on a smile with the boatman who impersonated her husband and became the prefect of Jiangzhou.

The girl went to the mountainous area to teach during her vacation. She raised some sponsorship money to help the students rebuild dry toilets. For this, she had to fight wits with the principal who was trying to take advantage of the situation and the construction party who was perfunctory.

The young lady endured for more than ten years and waited for her long-lost son to return to Chang'an to seek help from his grandfather, and finally killed the evildoer who occupied her. Her husband was protected by the Dragon King and came back to life. She thought that the family would be reunited and happy from then on, but her son devoted himself to Buddhism and was unwilling to go home. Her husband disliked her for not wanting to jump into the river and die to keep her body pure, for losing her virginity to the enemy who harmed him, for her son who became a Buddhist monk and could not continue his family line, and for her not being as youthful and charming as the two concubines. She cried every day, listened to the concubines' sarcasm, and finally sent the maid away and committed suicide with a white silk hanging in the air.

The girl took photos with her friends in her graduation gown. In the crowd, she caught up with the school god she had a crush on for a long time and smiled brightly: "Banxianer, are you still looking for a partner for the graduation trip?"

Her eyeballs trembled uneasily under the cover of her eyelids. In her dream, Wen Jiao realized the identity of this body. She was also called Wen Jiao, Yin Wen Jiao, the mother of Tang Monk in Journey to the West - Mantang Jiao!

From the depths of the dream, a mournful cry floated in. The cry was extremely mournful, as if it expressed all the sorrows of half a lifetime. Wen Jiao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a beautiful figure in the dark fog.

"Are you crying?" Wen Jiao asked in her dream.

The woman did not answer, but her back kept shaking and she continued to cry. Wen Jiao was about to interrogate her in detail when she heard the whispers of several people.

"The doctor left this prescription. Suxin, take the key and go to the storeroom to get the medicine."

"Okay, I'll be back soon. I'm just afraid the medicine won't work. In my opinion, my wife is suffering from a mental illness."

"My dear, I don't know which of the two little devils has tripped you up. It's ridiculous that he didn't even come to see his wife committing suicide."

"In fact, my husband just sent someone to pass the message to me, but I saw that Sister Mingxin was busy entertaining the doctor to prescribe medicine for my wife, so I didn't dare to tell her."

"What did he say?"

"My dear, you said... you said..." The voice seemed to be unable to speak. After being questioned several times, he finally made up his mind and said, "Let my lady do as she pleases."

"I think he just wants to force our wife to death!" The girl named Mingxin burst into tears. The sobbing sound intertwined with the crying of the woman in the dream. The woman trembled and turned back suddenly.

When their eyes met, Wen Jiao felt as if struck by lightning. Crescent eyebrows, willow-leaf eyes, lips that were naturally smiling, except that she was a little older, the woman looked exactly like herself.

"Who are you?" Wen Jiao asked in a trembling voice.

"Who am I?" the woman repeated in confusion, her eyes filled with sorrow, "I am you."

It was as if she had fallen from a thousand-foot-high building into the abyss in an instant. Wen Jiao sat up in shock, feeling cold sweat all over her body.

"My lady is awake." Someone beside the bed said in surprise. She recognized the voice of the girl named Mingxin. The maid was pretty, but her eyes were slightly blue, which was obviously due to lack of sleep.

Mingxin was the personal maid of Mantangjiao, the daughter of Yin Wenjiao, the current prime minister, Yin Kaishan. Yin Wenjiao went to Jiangzhou with her husband Chen Guangrui and did not return for fifteen years. The maids who served her were all married. The maids who were trapped in Jiangzhou were all bought by Liu Hong to monitor her. After Liu Hong was executed, they were all sold.

After returning to Beijing, Yin Kaishan and his wife felt sorry for their daughter because she had no one to serve her, so they gave her 20 maids and servants. Yin Wenjiao was always afraid that Chen Guangrui would misunderstand that she was rich and arrogant, so she sent half of them back, and Mingxin was one of the ten people who stayed. Yin Wenjiao loved her gentleness and tact, and another maid named Suxin was smart and clever, so she ordered them to be personal maids. Yin Wenjiao was in tears because of the cold war between Chen Guangrui and her, and Mingxin became haggard.

How do I know this? Wen Jiao was startled. She quickly pulled open the green curtain and stuck her head out: "What is the name of this year?"

Mingxin was startled and answered subconsciously: "The first year of Zhenguan."

A series of memories subconsciously flashed through my mind: Zhenguan was the reign title of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the first year of Zhenguan was 627 AD.

Wen Jiao closed the curtain with force. Her memory was not confused, she was still the soul from the modern times, but there was an additional memory of Yin Wenjiao in her mind.

She slid into the quilt helplessly. It was 627 AD, almost 2024 years away from the year where she lived. Dad, Mom, her ideals and ambitions, and the love that had ended after only a year...

She can't go home.

Wen Jiao cried silently.

When the sun rises tomorrow, she will be Yin Wenjiao.