On a small hillside, Monkey held a reed stalk in his mouth, gazing indifferently into the distance.
"What's wrong?" Marshal Silver asked.
"My right eye keeps twitching. They say left means fortune, right means disaster."
"Isn't that just a mortal saying?" Marshal Silver laughed. "The mighty Great Sage Equal to Heaven, and you're this superstitious?"
Monkey pursed his lips, spat the reed onto the ground, and said slowly, "Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Hey, tell me—why has everything gone so quiet lately? Six-Eared Macaque, the Buddhist Order, Lord Lao—they've all vanished without a trace."
"Isn't that a good thing? We can just walk steadily to Spirit Mountain—what's so bad about that?"
"Good?" Monkey thought for a moment, then sighed softly.
We can certainly reach Spirit Mountain, but whether we can attain enlightenment is another matter entirely. If enlightenment is out of reach... it might be better if something happened to interrupt the Westward Quest, so I could negotiate openly with Lord Lao.
Thinking this, he turned his head but ultimately kept walking west.
......
Late at night, a shadow flitted across the rooftop.
A large group of demon officers was quietly gathering at Holy Mother Palace. Not a single one walked in openly through the front; every last one slipped in stealthily, scaling walls and sneaking inside.
Behind a tall wall at the street corner, a pair of eyes watched all this in silence.
......
"Lord Qiye, it looks like those under Nine-Headed Wyrm are gathering at Holy Mother Palace."
"So they've finally made a move." Many-Eyes the Centipede pursed his lips, his eyes shifting restlessly as he contemplated.
"Senior brother," Webster the spider demoness asked softly, worry creasing her brow, "if we do this, won't we be putting Her Holiness the Holy Mother in danger too?"
"There will certainly be risks. You can't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. As long as we get through this hurdle, everything will be fine."
"But what if Her Holiness really... What will we say to the Great Sage if something happens to her?"
"Heh." At this, Many-Eyes the Centipede gave a helpless smile, shaking his head. "Do you really think your senior brother is planning to throw in with the Great Sage on the Westward road?"