Monkey propped himself up with one hand and slowly sat up, smacking his lips as he asked, "Brother Jade Cauldron, tell me—has Anna Yang ever been in love before?"
Belle's words echoed again and again in his mind, the feeling like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.
"What am I really doing?" He slowly lowered his hands, his face lost and confused.
The atmosphere in the room grew unbearably tense. After a while, the two demon craftsmen couldn't take it anymore and slipped out on some flimsy excuse.
After sitting a bit longer, even Jade Cauldron couldn't stand it. He nervously got up and whispered, "I—I need some air. Do as you please."
"Sit down!"
Startled, Jade Cauldron dropped back into his chair with a thud, not daring to speak another word.
After a long silence, Monkey glanced at Jade Cauldron and said slowly, "Brother Jade Cauldron, what did you say to me just now? Threatening me, was it?"
"I was just joking, just joking, ha ha ha ha! What are you doing? Stop—!"
......
An hour later, on the east slope of Blossom Mountain, Jade Cauldron Immortal sat on the grass with Monkey, clinking wine bowls and draining them in one gulp. He let out a long sigh and said, "I was really just joking."
"Does it matter if you were joking?" Monkey, resting his head on his arms, shot Jade Cauldron a sideways glance. He propped himself up, finished his wine in one go, wiped his mouth, and hurled the bowl away with force.
He threw it so hard that the bowl shot off like a meteor, straight into the Eastern Sea.
Jade Cauldron crossed his legs, rolled up his sleeves, and sat up straight. With a casual gesture, he conjured another bowl and placed it before Monkey, filling it to the brim.
"Honestly, the wine at Blossom Mountain isn't very good. The quality's all over the place. Last batch was decent, but this one's just so-so."
"You should count yourself lucky to have any! Who told you this wine was brewed by us?"
Jade Cauldron took a sip, the wine dripping into his beard.
"Isn't it?"
"All stolen. How could I spare the manpower to brew wine? Last time, when I fought King Broadgaze, I grabbed a batch of Heaven's finest. I hid it away, meant to save it for a celebration. I'll have them send you a jar later."
"Makes sense." Jade Cauldron nodded quietly, took another sip, and said, "This is a demon lair, after all. Stealing is normal. You do everything yourselves—I thought you even brewed your own wine."
Monkey propped himself up with one hand and slowly sat up, smacking his lips as he asked, "Jade Cauldron, tell me—has Anna Yang ever been in love before?"
"Why are you asking that? With a war about to break out, is this really what a king should be worrying about?"
"South Heaven Gate is only just starting to prepare. I've been at this for ages—how can they compare?" Monkey waved his hand dismissively, tugged at Jade Cauldron, and said, "Come on, tell me. I urgently need some advice in this area."
Jade Cauldron slowly shook his head. "No, she hasn't."
"Not even once, after all these centuries?"
"I haven't heard of any." Jade Cauldron grabbed a red date, tossed it into his mouth, chewed, then spat the pit into the grass. Leisurely, he said, "What, are you interested in my disciple?"
"No." Monkey swallowed, replying, "The great cause isn't done yet—no time for romance!"
"I don't get it."
"Fine, if you don't get it, you don't get it. Old bachelor." Monkey sighed and shook his head. "How would you Daoist cultivators understand matters of the heart?"
Jade Cauldron glanced at Monkey. "Stop acting like a love expert, you little virgin."
Monkey’s already-red face turned even redder. "How did you know?"
"I didn’t before, but now I do. Guessed right, didn’t I? Hahahaha!"
Monkey snorted and laughed, eyeing Jade Cauldron. "Turns out you’re pretty sly yourself."
"I’ve lived for thousands of years. To end up like this is shame enough—if I didn’t have a little cunning, I might as well be dead."
"So you were never really forced by me. You volunteered to help with my research."
"Don’t go spreading nonsense!" Jade Cauldron glared at Monkey and scolded, "At best, it’s half-pushed, half-willing—definitely not voluntary."
"At least you finally admitted half the truth."
"Still, I’m actually curious to see what you can pull off. Erik Yang couldn’t handle them, so maybe you’ll have a way. Just be prepared—Heaven isn’t so simple. I don’t know about the others, but my master... Just be careful."
Monkey silently picked up his bowl, gestured to Jade Cauldron, and drained it in one go.
Jade Cauldron joined him, finishing his own bowl with a sigh. "I can understand why Erik and Anna are dead set against Heaven. But you? I still don’t really get what you’re after. Are you fighting for a future for demonkind?"
"You could say that's part of it. Really, it's also about finding my own path. I'm a demon too, don't forget that."
If you want an easy path, just go back to Crescent Star Cave. Sage Subhuti protects his disciples—Heaven wouldn't go so far as to hunt you down. Just look at your eighth senior brother, Skylar Loft; he took in a bunch of demon disciples, didn't he? The Celestial Army might grumble, but as long as he doesn't cross the line, they'll turn a blind eye.
...The Celestial Army might grumble, but as long as he doesn't go too far, they'll just look the other way.
Is it really that simple? If he were just an ordinary stone monkey, maybe it would be. But the reality was otherwise.
If the whole matter of the Heavenly Dao and Lord Lao were dragged out into the open, Jade Cauldron might end up running for his life before tomorrow.
As for that master, what role did he truly play on the chessboard? To this day, Monkey still didn't know. Maybe he was just another pawn to be sacrificed.
And then there was the problem of reviving Birdie.
"Forget it." Monkey reached out, picked up the wine jar, filled both bowls to the brim, and said, "Anyway, thank you. I'll drink three big bowls myself."
With that, he raised his bowl and drank.
"You, Monkey, actually said something human tonight. Hahaha!"
And so another day of scheming passed—after all the fuss over splitting the Peaches of Immortality, things didn’t go exactly as Monkey had planned, but at least the outcome wasn’t bad.
Only, for several days afterward, whenever Monkey looked at Belle, there was a guilty flicker in his eyes, like a child who’d done something wrong. Something inside him kept nagging at his heart. Belle, on the other hand, was as open and cheerful as ever, acting like nothing had happened.
As for Anna Yang, her formerly icy attitude had softened a bit. She and Monkey weren’t as close as before, but at least things had improved.
Meanwhile, the demons kept busy with their work, training and relaxing as usual. Jade Cauldron continued to run around, and the preparations for war on Blossom Mountain progressed in an orderly fashion.
...
Outside the Blossom Mountain perimeter.
King Bullhorn parted the green leaves, gazing out at the endless fields where demons bustled back and forth. He couldn’t help but sigh, "What’s he doing? Farming? Heh, I’ve never seen demons actually plow fields before."
Drake King poked his head out from behind King Bullhorn, studying the fields carefully. Pointing to one area, he said, "Those should be spiritual herbs."
"Spiritual herbs?"
"Right. They’re probably the main ingredients for refining elixirs. I saw something similar at Five-Fruits Temple before, though I don’t remember the exact name. But I’m pretty sure that’s what they are."
King Bullhorn frowned slightly, raising his brows. "So either they’re shipping these spiritual herbs elsewhere to trade for elixirs and magical artifacts, or they have their own demon cultivators who can refine them."
Drake King shook his head. "I don’t get it. If they’re just trading spiritual herbs for elixirs and artifacts, who’d be willing to trade with them? But if they’re actually refining the elixirs themselves..."
King Bullhorn let out a snort of laughter, his eyes narrowing into a slit. "Has he gone mad or what?"
The idea of growing spiritual herbs and refining elixirs was clear enough to King Bullhorn.
First, you’d need demon cultivators. Powerful demon cultivators capable of refining elixirs—he’d never heard of any. In all these years, he’d only ever met a few who could set up basic formations, and even those were half-baked. Expecting them to tackle complex alchemy? That was a joke.
As for those in the Divine Transformation realm, he’d never even heard of one. If there were human cultivators, maybe it’d be possible. But what reason would a human have to risk everything to help demons?
Second, you’d need a huge supply of alchemy materials. There are tens of thousands of known ingredients, sourced from every corner of the Three Realms, some even from Heaven itself. To get them all on your own is impossible. You’d need vast networks to independently refine various elixirs.
Could demons really have such networks?
If they did, they’d be better off just buying elixirs and artifacts directly. Why bother with all the hassle of gathering raw materials?
Besides, aside from someone like Zhenyuan, who’s so strong even Heaven has to treat him with respect, who else would dare make deals with demons?
And now even Zhenyuan refuses to have anything to do with them.
The only other powerful figure, Sage Subhuti, had turned King Bullhorn away a hundred years ago—he hadn’t even let him in the door.
It’s not that Sage Subhuti hates demons; it’s just that Crescent Star Cave is different from the other sects. They almost never trade with outsiders, even with Heaven.
Rumor has it that Crescent Star Cave can refine elixirs and artifacts so well because they possess a chart for material substitution that allows them to drastically reduce the types of ingredients required.
But unless you rob the entire Scripture Tower, nobody else can get their hands on it—and Blossom Mountain certainly doesn’t have it.
King Bullhorn pondered for a long time, then shook his head with a sigh. "Just what is this Handsome Monkey King trying to do? Does he really have some special resource up his sleeve?"
Unable to figure it out, the two demon kings quietly tucked their heads back into the branches. Behind them, King Roc sat silently.
Looking up at King Bullhorn, King Roc spoke slowly. "The South Heaven Gate fleet has been unusually active these past two days. Looks like they’re planning something big again. Before they finish off Eastrealm, I doubt they’ll head south, but with only Blossom Mountain left here, I’d say there’s an eighty percent chance they’ll attack next."
The demon kings fell silent.
After a long while, King Bullhorn slowly clenched his fist. "This Handsome Monkey King on Blossom Mountain must have a hold on some resources. If we could seize control, maybe it’d be our chance to turn the tables. We can’t let this opportunity slip by. So, we definitely can’t just stand by and watch South Heaven Gate destroy it."
"Why don’t we try a move straight out of the old saying—while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind? What do you all think?" Drake King suggested.