At dawn, the mostly restored Five-Fruits Temple and Longevity City basked in gentle sunlight. The cultivators, displaced for a night, were gradually returning to their homes.
A few senior cultivators hauled tables and chairs to the main street, registering last night's losses in hopes of seeking compensation from Five-Fruits Temple.
Inside Five-Fruits Temple, several disciples carried various ritual implements up the long stone steps. On the plaza ahead, a long table draped in gold cloth was set up, bearing a few simple offerings and a bronze incense burner.
Wisps of pale incense smoke curled upward.
Monkey and Zhenyuan stood silently before the long table, flanked by more than ten disciples of Five-Fruits Temple and, among them, Tripitaka’s party including Louis Quickpaw. High above and on distant peaks, spies from every faction lay hidden, watching.
Surveillance of Five-Fruits Temple was far from over.
After a long while, a child-attendant brought forward a bowl of clear water and set it on the table.
Monkey glanced at the rippling water in the bowl, then at Zhenyuan, his brows furrowing tightly.
Zhenyuan stepped up to the long table, lit three sticks of incense, made a symbolic bow to the east, and placed the incense in the burner. Next, he gently nicked his finger with a nail and let two drops of fresh blood fall into the bowl.
The bright red blood met the clear water and quickly spread.
Turning, Zhenyuan handed the other three sticks of incense on the table to Monkey. "Your turn," he said.
Yet Monkey did not reach out to take them.
After a long silence, Zhenyuan stroked his long beard and chuckled. "What’s wrong? Do you look down on me?"
Monkey blinked and said, "Look down on you? Hardly. You’re one of the great powers, after all."
"So, you don’t trust me?"
"Whether I trust you or not—does it matter?" Monkey rolled his eyes and gestured toward the clouds overhead. "What matters is whether they trust us."
"Then what are you hesitating for?"
Staring at the bowl of blood and water, Monkey sighed, "I was just wondering—does spider blood have poison?"
At this, Zhenyuan couldn’t help but laugh. "The elders called me ‘Six-Legged Spider Zhenyuan,’ but in truth, my true form only resembles a spider—it isn’t one. You needn’t worry, Great Sage."
Monkey let out a long sigh. "I suppose I’m just being paranoid. Even if it were poison, it wouldn’t kill me. If I could be poisoned so easily, I might as well be dead already."
With that, he reached out and took the three sticks of incense from Zhenyuan, lit them, bowed symbolically to the east, and said with a casual sigh, "I haven’t bowed many times in my life—even to Heaven and Earth, this is only the second. So you’re getting full honors today."
"When was the first time?"
"The first time was at my wedding."
"Oh..." Zhenyuan nodded slightly. "Looks like I’ll have to find time to visit your sister-in-law at Mount Hua."
"Did I ever say you were my elder brother?"
"I’m tens of thousands of years older than you. If I’m not the elder brother, who is?"
Monkey placed the three sticks of incense into the burner, turned back slowly and chuckled, "Let’s just call each other brothers, no need to rank by age. How about it?"
Zhenyuan gave a helpless laugh and spread his hands. "Fine, as you wish."
Only then did Monkey reach out, nick his own finger, and let his blood drip into the bowl.
On the sidelines, Barry Bear sidled up to Prince Adrian and whispered, "Is this some kind of spell?"
"It’s not a spell."
"Not a spell? Then why swear brotherhood all of a sudden? Why copy those mortal customs?"
"You don’t get it, do you?" Prince Adrian lifted his chin proudly. "This is all for show, for the others to see. The Three Pure Ones remain silent, Master Sage Subhuti doesn’t appear, so Zhenyuan and the Great Sage swearing brotherhood is a public statement about the Westward Journey. From now on, we’ll have far fewer troubles from Daoist factions."
Barry Bear hesitated for a long moment, then shook his head. "I still don’t get it. Didn’t Zhenyuan hate the Westward Journey enough to risk his life fighting it? Why is he suddenly so supportive, even proposing brotherhood himself?"
"Maybe he’s afraid other cultivators will crash into us the way he did." Prince Adrian glanced back at Marshal Silver, his voice low. "As for the real reason, that pig probably knows. But he’s in the same boat as us—if he thinks it’s safe, it probably is."
...
By now, more than a hundred cultivators of varied appearance had gathered outside Goldlight Cave on Kunlun Mountain.
Some looked like white-haired elders, some appeared middle-aged, some were youthful and refined, and some even resembled children. But all were impeccably dressed and clearly of high status.
These were the major power-holders of the Celestial Sect who currently held no post in the Heavenly Court.
As soon as the Longevity Mountain battle broke out, they learned the news by various means. Upon hearing from Five-Fruits Temple disciples that the conflict started because of Tripitaka, they rushed overnight to Goldlight Cave to seek Master Taiyi.
Unfortunately, Master Taiyi was not in the temple, and the gatekeeping disciples refused to let them in. So all these prominent Daoist figures could only gather at the main entrance, waiting in vain.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Master Taiyi is back!"
At once, everyone turned to look west.
In the distance, Master Taiyi arrived, riding the clouds and holding a whisk, his expression dark and grim.
"Greetings, Master Taiyi!"
"Greetings, Senior Uncle Taiyi!"
"Greetings, Grand-Uncle Taiyi!"
Even before Master Taiyi landed, the cultivators bowed in salute one after another. Yet Master Taiyi gave not the slightest response—not even a gesture to let them rise.
The moment he touched down, Master Taiyi strode toward the gate, his face iron-hard, as if none of the juniors around him existed.
Recovering from their surprise, the cultivators hurried to crowd around him, bombarding him with questions.
"Master Taiyi, how should the Five-Fruits Temple incident be handled?"
"Senior Uncle Taiyi, the demon monkey has come down from the mountain—we can’t take this lightly."
"Golden Cicada’s Westward Journey was originally the Buddhist Order’s affair, but now it threatens Daoism. We must make plans early..."
For all their talk, these bustling figures were seasoned enough to know proper etiquette; none dared block Master Taiyi’s way directly.
As for Master Taiyi, he still acted as if they didn’t exist, his face set and his steps unwavering toward the gate. The cultivators could only follow closely behind.
In the blink of an eye, Master Taiyi had crossed the threshold with the crowd of cultivators at his heels.
A disciple hurried to Master Taiyi, bowed, and said, "Disciple greets Master."
Only then did Master Taiyi stop.
At this pause, everyone around fell silent, staring blankly at Master Taiyi, waiting for the acting head of the Sundered Sect to speak. Yet Master Taiyi simply stood there, unmoving.
Taking the opportunity, Zhenyuan once again asked Tripitaka to discuss the Way of Universal Deliverance with him.
Tripitaka was understandably apprehensive about this.
Earlier, even when the discussion was courteous and pleasant, Zhenyuan had changed his face the moment it ended... Anyone would be a bit wary after that.
Once again, it was Marshal Silver's persuasion that finally convinced Tripitaka to accept Zhenyuan's request.
Of course, it couldn't be right away. After a sleepless night, the others were fine, but Tripitaka was still only mortal, so he naturally needed to rest first.
So the group returned to the newly repaired pavilion.
As soon as they entered, Louis Quickpaw began chattering endlessly in Monkey's ear about how every demon faction had responded to the incident, fiercely condemning King Roc and King Liontusk for cowardice, only briefly mentioning the more supportive actions of King Bullhorn and Nine-Headed Wyrm. He rambled on until Monkey grew thoroughly annoyed, finally inventing excuses to send Louis and the accompanying demon officers away, and at last enjoyed some peace and quiet.
Left to himself, Monkey's thoughts returned to the whispered conversation between Marshal Silver and Zhenyuan. Reaching out with his senses, he suddenly realized Marshal Silver was nowhere to be found!
......
At that moment, twenty li outside Five-Fruits Temple, Marshal Silver—having returned to his human form—descended slowly by a shaded stream, looking around.
Before long, a silver figure slowly rose from the knee-deep stream.
"Is the newcomer Marshal Tianpeng?"
Hearing this, Marshal Silver slowly turned his head.
Standing in the stream was a burly celestial general in silver Heavenly Army armor, sporting a thick beard. Judging by his insignia, he belonged to the Heavenly Marshal Corps.
Marshal Silver slowly reached out his hand, revealing a white kerchief.
"Did you leave this behind?"
"Reporting to Marshal, yes, I left it."
As he spoke, the celestial general stepped out of the stream, knelt on one knee, and saluted Marshal Silver with a military gesture.
Seeing the standard salute, Marshal Silver couldn't help but laugh bitterly. He took a deep breath and said, "Get up. I'm no longer any marshal. My name is Gavin Pig now, and I can't accept such a salute. Tell me, who sent you to find me?"
The celestial general smiled faintly, rose, and bowed. "This is His Majesty's command."
Glancing toward Five-Fruits Temple, the celestial general stepped closer and spoke in a low voice, "Because this is a secret decree, there is no written text—it's to avoid leaving evidence. However, I hold a jade token from the High Sky Throne Hall as proof."
As he spoke, the general drew a small, gold-inlaid jade token from his belt and handed it to Marshal Silver.
Marshal Silver glanced at the jade token and tossed it back indifferently, his voice turning cold: "Speak. What is the order?"
The celestial general carefully put away the important token, bowed, and said, "His Majesty commands that you embed yourself in the scripture-seeking party. Should any abnormal developments occur, report back to Heaven through the Heavenly Marshal Corps."
At this, Marshal Silver's expression froze. He stared at the general, motionless.
A long silence followed—so long that even the celestial general grew uncomfortable.
"Marshal, is something wrong...?"
Marshal Silver snorted, then chuckled lightly: "What official establishment do I belong to now?"
"Marshal, your establishment has never been..."
"Let me ask again," Marshal Silver interrupted. "Am I still truly a marshal? If not, why call me 'Marshal?' If I am, where is my marshal's seal? Where are my troops?"
With that, Marshal Silver smiled, watching the general intently. The smile looked more like a cold sneer.
The celestial general was tongue-tied, silent for a long moment before stammering, "Marshal, you worry too much. His Majesty has mentioned the events of six hundred years ago—it was indeed a wrongful case."
"A wrongful case? Then why not overturn it?"
The celestial general steadied himself and replied in a low voice, "That was the previous Jade Emperor's sentence. After the war, many witnesses and pieces of evidence are gone. It's truly difficult to overturn the case now."
For a moment, Marshal Silver nearly laughed aloud.
Never mind whether there were ever any real charges or evidence—just the fact that all witnesses and evidence are gone, yet the current Jade Emperor can still declare Tianpeng innocent out of thin air, shows his methods are no less than his predecessor's.
Marshal Silver's gaze toward the general grew increasingly meaningful.
Sensing the change, the celestial general pressed on, "But yesterday, it was only because you intervened that the crisis was resolved. For that merit alone, it cannot be denied. His Majesty will surely find a chance to clear your name and restore you to Heaven. Until then, Marshal, please... continue to fulfill your duties."