What just happened?
In that instant, the same question flashed through everyone's mind. One by one, they froze, staring blankly at Tripitaka collapsed on the ground.
Dazed, Tripitaka struggled to get up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t muster any strength. The world spun before his eyes.
“What... what’s happening?”
“My whole body... I’m so weak...”
After a brief moment of shock, Marshal Silver hurriedly dropped the pastry in his hand and rushed to Tripitaka, helping him up together with General Curtain, who arrived at the same time.
Only then did Monkey slowly turn his head to look at Rosemary.
“What’s going on?”
“I... I don’t know either...”
Rosemary looked completely bewildered. Not only her—even the Chancellor seemed utterly at a loss.
Before Tripitaka could steady himself in the chair, General Curtain, standing nearby, suddenly slumped and fell as well.
“They’ve been poisoned.” Marshal Silver, holding the wrists of both Tripitaka and General Curtain, quickly gave his diagnosis.
Is there something wrong with the incense?
Monkey’s eyes snapped to the incense burner, which was still emitting thin wisps of smoke.
In three quick steps, he rushed to the burner, flipped the lid off, and grabbed a handful of ash to sniff under his nose.
Everyone watched Monkey closely.
After a long moment, Monkey simply scattered the ash back into the burner, his eyes darting around.
No poison? Or is the toxin so potent that even he can’t detect it?
Before Monkey could figure it out, Barry Bear was already swaying, one hand gripping the chair, the other pressed to his temple.
“You too...?”
"My whole body feels weak, and I can’t gather any spiritual power..."
Before Barry Bear could finish speaking, he swayed and fell backward. Fortunately, Marshal Silver reacted quickly and caught him.
Meanwhile, the six maids standing behind Rosemary collapsed one after another, showing the same symptoms as Tripitaka and the others.
Monkey couldn’t care about anything else. In a flash, he lunged forward and, with lightning speed, gripped the Chancellor’s throat.
"Speak! What is happening?"
Monkey bared his fangs as he roared, startling the Chancellor. The six maids lying on the ground were terrified, struggling to crawl away but unable to move.
"Speak—!"
Monkey tightened his grip on her throat with two fingers as he shouted again.
The Chancellor, terrified, began to cry, mouth agape but unable to explain anything.
In truth, even she had no idea why this was happening.
Outside, countless guards had been alerted and were rushing toward them.
In her panic, Rosemary grabbed Monkey’s wrist to stop him, but he glared at her, making her withdraw her hand immediately.
Monkey’s gaze toward her subtly changed.
In an instant, the entire building was surrounded. Soldiers with spears pointed at the group, but none dared approach.
Monkey glared at the Chancellor, gritting his teeth and asking coldly, "What exactly... what exactly is happening?"
Though it sounded like he was questioning the Chancellor, he was really asking Rosemary.
No one answered.
Rosemary was already completely panicked.
"Speak! If you say it’s poison, there must be an antidote! If you don’t hand over the antidote today, the entire Women’s Kingdom will be buried with you!"
Monkey roared, unleashing a violent surge of spiritual power like a raging wind.
Instantly, all the soldiers recoiled in fear. Rosemary collapsed to the floor, staring helplessly at Monkey.
With a clatter, even Marshal Silver toppled to the ground. Of the westward travelers, only Monkey remained standing.
“Don’t you understand what’s happened?” A voice echoed in everyone’s minds. “Those pastries were never poisoned. She only tricked you into trusting her. If no one told you the pastries were poisoned, you’d carefully inspect everything. But if someone said they were, all your attention would focus on the pastries. My queen, you did well—this palace is very satisfied.”
“Her Ladyship! Is Her Ladyship here?” someone cried out in shock.
“With Her Ladyship here, we no longer need to fear this demon monkey!”
“How could this monkey ever be a match for Her Ladyship?”
Monkey looked at Rosemary in surprise.
“The pastries weren’t poisoned?” In that instant, Rosemary understood Mother Nuwa’s intention. Her eyes widened as she looked back at Monkey. “Great Sage, it’s not what you think... truly, it’s not...”
But Monkey had no time for her. A wave of lethargy swept over him, his hand trembled, and the world spun around him.
For a moment, it felt as if his strength was drained away, countless female demons whispering in his ears, urging him to surrender. Yet just as that drowsiness was about to consume his consciousness, Monkey’s eyes snapped open, his grip on the Chancellor’s throat tightened, and by sheer willpower and his formidable cultivation, he forced the discomfort down.
Mother Nuwa’s voice chuckled, "I underestimated you. You once reached Heaven’s Way. Two thousand years—two thousand years I haven’t left the Women’s Kingdom, and in that time, the world gained a monkey like you?"
“Who are you?” Monkey hurled the Chancellor out the door, flattening a swath of soldiers.
“You don’t know who I am, yet you dare come to the Women’s Kingdom? Who is your master? How did he raise such an ignorant disciple?”
“Who are you, really?” Monkey howled at the sky. “Come out! Show yourself! Don’t hide—fight me openly!”
Spiritual power surged madly within him.
Moments later, with a thunderous crash, the loft where Tripitaka and the others stayed was flung skyward!
Amid swirling splinters, Monkey wrapped the unconscious Tripitaka and companions, and even the still-awake Rosemary, in a cocoon of spiritual power laced with lightning, and blasted out, landing atop the main hall roof of the Traveling Palace.
Screams of women echoed from every corner.
He settled everyone as quickly as possible, then straightened and swept his divine sense across the entire palace.
A breeze brushed his cheeks, ruffling his fur. His eyes, wide as copper bells, missed nothing—yet he found no trace.
Behind him, Rosemary trembled and said, "Great Sage... I truly didn’t..."
“Don’t speak.”
Rosemary froze in place.
Monkey panted softly, standing atop the palace and scanning the grounds below. He said in a low voice, "I’m not so easily fooled. Her poison needed no disguise; even I couldn’t detect it. Telling me about it was just to cast you as the traitor. But... she’s lost all trust in you now. If you stay, your death will be ugly."
Rosemary bit her lip, tears streaming down her face.
Turning his head, Monkey asked gently, "Are you all right?"
"I... I think I’m poisoned too." Clutching her chest, Rosemary felt the world blur and her body tilt.
Monkey quickly caught her in his arms.
Leaning against Monkey’s chest, she smiled through her tears.
“Who is she, really?”
“She is... Mother Nuwa... Her Ladyship...”
Slowly, Rosemary closed her eyes and lost consciousness.
Looking down from his perch, Monkey saw the ground below swarming with troops. Yet the true enemy still hadn’t appeared, and he couldn’t sense even a trace of her presence.
It reminded him of his duel with Zhenyuan in the Netherworld—except now, the Adamantine Ring was powerless.
In an instant, shockwaves rippled across the ground like waves. Countless tiles flew skyward, and the army below could barely stand.
Several front-line generals and soldiers spat blood and collapsed.
"Extreme Traveler’s Path, once Heaven’s Way, now at the peak of Great Luo Mysterious Immortal, able to break through at any time but refusing to—why is that? Has this palace slept too long and missed all the drama?"
“Come out! If you do, I’ll tell you all the tales you missed!”
“Would you really face off against an Extreme Traveler on the peak of Great Luo Mysterious Immortal?”
A crisp, clear laughter rang out, and Monkey’s expression grew darker.
He could sense Tripitaka and the others fading—their time was running out.
Monkey’s voice echoed through the palace.
Except for the restless army below, the palace was silent.
Monkey waited, eyes wide.
After a long silence, the voice sounded again in Monkey’s mind: "Are you truly worried about their lives?"
At that question, Monkey’s brow twitched faintly.
His grip on the Golden Staff tightened until it creaked, his eyes wide as copper bells, yet his face held a forced smile.
Beads of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead.
After a long while, the voice returned.
"To be honest, the poison’s ineffectiveness on you surprised me. I used it mainly to test the queen I personally appointed... You may leave, and I can give you the antidote." The voice paused, then continued: "But Rosemary must remain."