Monkey’s heavy slap sent Many-Eyes the Centipede reeling, blood spraying through the air.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Many-Eyes forced himself upright, kneeling again.
"Smack!"
Another slap crashed Many-Eyes to the ground, his face covered in mud and sand. He scrambled up, dazed.
The distant demons watched in stunned silence, unable to believe their eyes.
"Great Sage... this journey to the West is a trap set by the Buddhist Order. You must not go!"
"Smack!"
At the third slap, a front tooth flew from Many-Eyes’ mouth. He kept his head bowed, still kneeling.
"Did I ask you to speak?" Monkey snapped.
Many-Eyes clutched his face, trembling as he lowered his head.
Monkey circled Many-Eyes, pacing slowly. After a long pause, he asked in a low voice, "Who told you to do all this?"
"No one, Great Sage... No one told me. I did it myself," Many-Eyes replied.
"Did you inform me before you did all this?" Monkey pressed.
"N-no... I didn’t," Many-Eyes stammered.
"Who told you it was allowed?" Monkey asked coldly.
"No one... no one said so," Many-Eyes murmured.
"So you planned all of this yourself?" Monkey demanded.
Many-Eyes gave a faint nod.
Monkey raised his hand again. Many-Eyes squeezed his eyes shut, hunched his neck, but dared not dodge.
After a long moment, Monkey’s slap never fell.
"When did you know I’d returned?" Monkey asked.
"As soon as you came out, Great Sage—I knew right away," Many-Eyes replied.
"But you never thought to come talk to me?" Monkey pressed.
"Great Sage, this is a plot by the Buddhist Order!" Many-Eyes cried, pointing urgently toward the distant monks. "What has that monk Tripitaka accomplished? The ones who were doomed still died, the ones who were wounded are still hurt—there was no salvation at all! It’s all a lie! He’s one of theirs, even if he argues doctrine with Tathāgata, he’s still a Buddhist. We demons have a blood feud with the Buddhist Order—why would their people ever let us in? Great Sage, you mustn’t trust him! Right now, if you call out, all the demons of the Three Realms will rally behind you. Blossom Mountain’s glory could rise again!"
Blossom Mountain’s glory, again?
Monkey gave a cold snort.
And even if it did, what would it matter? Back then, Blossom Mountain at its peak was still wiped out by the Buddhist Order.
Seeing Monkey unmoved, Many-Eyes shouted desperately, "All the demons of the Three Realms look to you, Great Sage! Six hundred years... They’ve waited six hundred years. If they learn you’ve returned only to become a dog of the Buddhist Order, what will they think?"
At that, Monkey’s eyes flashed. He raised his hand again.
Many-Eyes squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, bracing for another slap.
But Monkey didn’t strike him again.
Instead, Monkey slowly set his hand on Many-Eyes’ shoulder and hauled him to his feet.
Glaring at Many-Eyes, Monkey said, enunciating each word: "What’s right and what’s wrong—I’ll decide for myself. I don’t need you to tell me."
With that, Monkey let go. Many-Eyes collapsed to the ground, limp.
"Get out of here. Go do whatever you need to do. My problems—I’ll handle them myself." Monkey said.
Many-Eyes stared blankly, his eyes rimmed with red.
Monkey strode toward Tripitaka, step by step.
"Great Sage! My loyalty to you is as clear as the sun and moon!" Many-Eyes cried.
Monkey stopped. After a long pause, he spoke without turning: "What, you think just because I let you off for your loyalty, you still want something more?"
Looking up at Monkey, Many-Eyes trembled and said, "Great Sage, Tripitaka must not be trusted! If you trust him, our demon race is doomed!"
Monkey shot a sidelong glance at the tearful Many-Eyes, then walked on toward Tripitaka without looking back.
Behind him, Many-Eyes beat his chest and stomped his feet, wailing loudly.
But Monkey paid him no further attention.
Everyone has their own stance. Some things can’t be explained, can’t be made clear, and will never reach agreement.
Halfway along, the Three Beasts and the Seven Spider Sisters lined up on either side, respectfully saluting Monkey.
"Greetings, Great Sage."
Monkey stopped, glanced at the Three Beasts, then at the Seven Spider Sisters.
Monkey had no impression of the Three Beasts—maybe they were newly grown demons over the centuries, or perhaps old Blossom Mountain demons who hadn’t shown themselves before. The Seven Spider Sisters, though, he remembered.
Back at Blossom Mountain, the seven were still very young, always following their senior brother. Monkey recalled that when Old Ninth’s wife sought refuge at Blossom Mountain, he had especially asked Many-Eyes to have his junior sisters keep her company. Speaking of Old Ninth’s wife—what was her name again? For a moment, Monkey couldn’t recall. He wondered if she was still well.
Old Ninth...
Taking a deep breath, Monkey quietly said to the Seven Spider Sisters, "Your senior brother is very loyal. And you are all quite good yourselves. I recognize your loyalty."
The Seven Spider Sisters bowed their heads, exchanged glances, and replied softly, "We thank you for your praise, Great Sage."
"But loyalty needs the right methods, not chaos. Watch him for me—don’t let him cause more trouble. Understood?" Monkey said, tossing a Jade Tablet to the purple-robed Spider Sister.
The purple-robed Spider Sister silently tucked the Jade Tablet into her sleeve and bowed. "I understand."
Turning, Monkey addressed the Three Beasts: "Go back and heal. Cultivate well. Stop doing meaningless things. If demons want to stand firm in this world, we must bleed—but not like this, and not through you."
Yes, sir!
Monkey strode past them, heading step by step toward Tripitaka.
Was Many-Eyes wrong?
Actually, Many-Eyes wasn’t wrong. If Monkey hadn’t already known another version of Tripitaka’s quest from another world, he might never have trusted Tripitaka. Funny, isn’t it? Some things—trust or distrust—are just a matter of a single thought.
(Irrelevant system message omitted.)
Monkey nodded silently toward Tripitaka, then turned and walked over to Marshal Silver, who was meditating in the distance.
His white robes were stained completely red, covered in countless wounds. The gash running from shoulder to chest was especially shocking. If he were truly mortal, he’d have died long ago.
"You alright?" Monkey asked.
"Nothing serious. Just out of spiritual power—need a bit of time to recover," Marshal Silver replied.
Monkey looked Marshal Silver up and down, then grinned, "Still so fierce—even out of power, you can fight. Hahaha, no wonder you’re my old defeated rival."
Marshal Silver gave a helpless smile.
With a wave of his hand, several beams of light flew over from a pitch-black corner and landed steadily in Monkey’s palm.
They were Marshal Silver’s Nine-Toothed Rake, General Curtain’s Demonbreaker Staff, Barry Bear’s spear, and Prince Adrian’s sword.
From afar, Monkey tossed each weapon back to its owner, handing the last one to Marshal Silver.
Marshal Silver glanced up at the Nine-Toothed Rake in Monkey’s hand, but didn’t reach for it. Instead, he asked, "Where’d you get these?"
"Dug them up from a mountain five miles out. They buried your weapons there, but you all left a trace of your aura—otherwise, they’d have been hard to find."
Marshal Silver’s eyes narrowed, "You came back earlier, didn’t you?"
Monkey pursed his lips and nodded.
"If you were back, why didn’t you show yourself?" Marshal Silver pressed.
"I meant to, but..." Monkey forced the Nine-Toothed Rake into Marshal Silver’s hands, took a deep breath, and sat down beside him. "But when I saw the attackers were Many-Eyes and his crew, I changed my mind. Many-Eyes wanted to see salvation, and so did I. I wanted to know what would happen to the team if I wasn’t there."
"You nearly got us all killed!" Marshal Silver roared.
At once, countless eyes turned to stare at them.
Monkey casually threw up a silencing spell and said, "No one was going to die. Not a single one. You know why Prince Adrian’s still alive? I secretly made sure every attack missed his vital points."
"And them?" Marshal Silver pointed at the distant pile of monks’ corpses.
"What have they to do with me?" Monkey replied, expressionless.
For a moment, Marshal Silver was stunned. Only then did he remember—the one joking with him now was a demon king, a king among demons.
With a bitter, helpless smile, Marshal Silver bowed his head.
After a long while, he wiped his face and quietly asked, "Weren’t you off on an errand? How did it go?"
"Don’t ask. It didn’t work out." Monkey pouted and said with a sigh, "And I realized, unless I storm Tathāgata’s own stronghold, I won’t accomplish anything. So, figuring out how to attain the Dao—that’s crucial. Until I do, I can’t rest easy."
"So you put Master Tripitaka and the rest of us through all this danger?"
"Did I?" Monkey replied.
"Didn’t you?" Marshal Silver shot back.
Seeing Marshal Silver’s grim face, Monkey grinned and lay back with his arms behind his head. "If you say so, then so be it."
Marshal Silver’s face grew even darker.
He suddenly felt that this Monkey was very different from the one who’d left. This was the true Handsome Monkey King, the same one who had once fought him with everything he had on Blossom Mountain.
"Marshal Silver."
"Yeah?"
"I suddenly think I’ve been a fool. Maybe I was pinned under Five Elements Mountain too long—my mind’s gone dull."
"Huh?"
Monkey pursed his lips and said slowly, "This time out, I met the Earth-Store King twice. Once in the Netherworld, once in front of Ian Liu’s house."
Marshal Silver looked at Monkey, puzzled.
Monkey smiled faintly and continued, "He talked a lot about mind-only Buddhist doctrine. I admit, he made some good points. But more importantly, he taught me something: the Buddhist Order will never let me live in peace. They’re like a swarm of flies, always buzzing around. So, attaining the Dao is a must—the sooner, the better."