Her white gauze robe still drifted gracefully, so beautiful it was almost hard to look at directly. Yet now, her face bore the traces of hardship, looking a bit weary.
The moment Monkey King saw Anna Yang, he froze for a second—first with relief, then with caution. One hand swiftly reached for the Cloudwalker Staff.
"It's me." Anna Yang let out a gentle sigh and smiled with relief. "Where did you run off to? I've been searching for you for ages."
"You were looking for me?" Monkey King eyed her suspiciously.
"Of course. I told you I'd come find you. The old man's technique for concealing spiritual power? I learned it too, so I know how to break it. But no matter what I tried, I couldn't find you, so I came back to look around."
Monkey King slowly let out a breath and finally believed that the person before him was truly Anna Yang.
He straightened up slightly and leaned against a tree, asking, "How did you manage to get out?"
"Nezha rescued me. That night, I watched you escape from not far away. How did you manage to get out?" Anna Yang smiled at Monkey King. "They had the whole forest surrounded, yet you still... Honestly, you surprised me."
Monkey King pulled aside his tattered outer robe, revealing the underclothes embroidered with the insignia of the Heavenly River Navy. Anna Yang understood instantly and couldn't help but be impressed.
The two of them sat shoulder to shoulder, gazing into the distance at Golden Mist Cave.
Monkey King asked, "Skylar Loft never mentioned wanting to find me?"
Anna Yang shook her head. "Why not ask him yourself?"
"Ask him myself?" Monkey King turned to Anna Yang in surprise.
"Are you afraid he'll harm you?"
Monkey King said nothing.
"Don't worry. If we work together and catch him off guard, it's not impossible to subdue him." Anna Yang smiled faintly. "Do you trust me? If you do, I'll lure him out, and you can ask him yourself."
Monkey King remained silent.
Anna Yang extended a finger and began drawing in the sand. "Listen, I'll draw him out, then you adjust your spiritual power like this..."
Monkey King watched with wide eyes, slowly clenching his fist.
...
Two hours later, at the edge of a nearby cliff, Skylar Loft stood alone, gazing into the distance, his face full of confusion as if waiting for something.
"That Anna Yang suddenly called me out saying she had something to discuss, and now where has she run off to?"
Suddenly, a furry hand pressed down on the back of his neck. Before he could react, he was shoved to the ground, his right hand twisted behind him, and a knee drove into his back.
"Is that you, junior brother?" Skylar Loft was first stunned, then laughed. "Stop messing around, you can't subdue me."
Monkey King swung his fist with all his strength, landing a heavy blow on Skylar Loft's face.
Blood and two teeth flew out together.
That blow left Skylar Loft dazed, his eyes wide in shock as he glanced back in fear.
He saw an indescribable fury on Monkey King's face.
Monkey King's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched and slightly parted as he roared, "Who's playing with you! Today, you will tell me everything! Tell me the truth!"
He landed another heavy punch.
A piercing roar echoed through the mountains as a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, setting off a rumble of thunder.
Anna Yang paced slowly, already standing not far away, watching Skylar Loft with a cold gaze.
"It's you?" Skylar Loft saw Anna Yang and instantly understood everything.
"Why didn't you come looking for me? Why did you make me leave the cave? Why did you let the Heavenly Soldiers hunt me? Why not return to Crescent Star Cave? You owe me answers—today, every single thing, you will explain!" Monkey King screamed hysterically.
Three months of pent-up rage burst forth all at once.
His restrained right arm was suddenly wrenched upward, sending a wave of pain through Skylar Loft. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Junior brother... Listen to me, listen to me, don't get worked up."
"Then speak!" Monkey King roared hysterically, his voice echoing endlessly through the empty mountains.
"Junior brother..." Skylar Loft gasped for breath and said slowly, "Lord Lao is lying in wait at Spirit Platform, waiting to catch you. You can't go back."
"Lord... Lao?"
For a moment, Monkey King was stunned.
"Lord Lao... Lord Lao..." he murmured, repeating the thunderous name over and over. "Lord Lao..."
After reading so many Daoist texts, even a fool would know Lord Lao wasn't just some old man who could be toyed with, like in Journey to the West.
Lord Lao—the Daoist Patriarch, the supreme being in all of heaven and earth!
"Why does he want to catch me? Tell me the truth!"
Monkey King pressed down harder with his knee, causing Skylar Loft to howl in pain. "How would I know why! How would I know! The old man tricked me too... You think I wanted this? Remember that letter to Master Taiyi? That wasn't for Master Taiyi, it was for me. The old man knew I'd sneak a look. He knew if he told me the truth beforehand, I'd never agree to bring you out! So he fooled me too! You think I wanted this?"
"Where's the letter?"
"Burned. You can't keep a letter like that. Heh..." Skylar Loft forced a weary smile, sweat pouring down his face. "Junior brother, listen to me, you can't go back to Crescent Star Cave. Really, don't go back."
Monkey King suddenly laughed blankly. He let go, stood there in a daze, and looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
At that moment, the world spun before his eyes.
"So, so... he never really meant to teach me the Seventy-Two Transformations or Cloud Somersault. It was all just a way to send me away, wasn't it? Hahaha, I was so foolish, losing sleep every night with happiness. I was so foolish. Hahaha."
He covered his face and laughed.
"Junior brother..." Skylar Loft slowly sat up, guilt in his eyes. "I may have let the Heavenly Army capture you, but I asked Erik Yang to protect you. He owes me a big favor—he must repay it. There's nowhere safer than the Heavenly Court's prison. And Master did it for your own good, too."
"For my own good? For my own good? Hahaha, what a joke!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he laughed into the wind. "Then why did no one ever tell me anything? Why didn't anyone say a word?"
His eyes widened as he stared at Skylar Loft, clutching his chest. Word by word, he screamed, "Because if I knew, I wouldn't do what he wanted! Did you really think I couldn't see through the Sage's schemes? Hahaha... So he really manipulated me, took me as a disciple... Hahaha. How could I be so stupid to believe he took me in out of kindness! Hahaha."
Standing before Skylar Loft, he laughed like a madman—his laughter was heartbreaking, unsettling.
Anna Yang stood aside, letting out a deep sigh, watching silently as the Monkey King teetered on the edge of collapse.
So, from beginning to end, it was all just a scheme.
"Junior brother..." Skylar Loft slumped to the ground, his hand digging into his knee until it broke the skin. Bowing his head, he whispered almost inaudibly, "Junior brother, I killed the earth spirit at the lonely grave... He has already been there."
"He? Who?"
"Lord Lao. He will erase every soul that died because of you—those souls will never enter the cycle of reincarnation."
Monkey King's whole expression froze. Something exploded in his mind—he heard the sound of his own heart tearing apart. He opened his mouth, but no sound came.
No bones left behind—now, even their souls couldn't be kept safe?
That canary—what did she ever do wrong? Her only mistake was knowing a wild monkey like him.
Tears streamed down his face, his mind a complete blank.
"Canary..."