The night wind drifted softly, bending the mugwort low.
In the roadside grass, a gray wild rabbit poked its head out, watching warily.
After Mother Nuwa gave her definite answer, the party slowly followed the winding mountain path toward the temple by Mother Lake.
All along the way, Monkey kept glancing, intentionally or not, at Tripitaka on horseback. He simply couldn't fathom why a shrew of a goddess, after seeing Tripitaka, would change her attitude so completely.
"Just what did they talk about?"
"Great Sage, what did you just say?" Rosemary suddenly turned her face toward him.
"Nothing!" Monkey quickly waved his hand. "I was saying, the scenery in your Women’s Kingdom is really something—the mountains, the water, it’s a fine place indeed."
"Of course," Rosemary said proudly. "The Women’s Kingdom is nourished by Her Ladyship’s power—how could any ordinary place compare? Why not settle here after you finish your scripture quest, Great Sage?"
"Huh?" Monkey was taken aback, looking at Rosemary with a frown. "We’re all men—doesn’t the Women’s Kingdom forbid males from entering?"
Rosemary blushed, lowering her head and stammering, "If... if it’s the Great Sage, I’m sure Her Ladyship wouldn’t object."
She finished speaking and then, cautiously, raised her eyes toward Monkey. Unfortunately, his attention was once again fixed on Tripitaka, as if he hadn’t heard a word she said.
Could she really repeat those words a second time?
After pondering for a long while, she could only sigh helplessly.
Not far away, Marshal Silver quickened his pace and walked up to a female general, speaking in a low voice: "General, may I ask, what happened to the horse we brought with us before?"
"The horse you brought before?"
"Yes, a white horse." Marshal Silver gestured with his hand.
For a long moment, the female general couldn’t recall anything.
But a nearby soldier craned her neck and said, "The horse you brought is still in the stables."
"The stables?"
"Yes. At first, we just kept him in the stables, but... then things started happening. With Her Ladyship and Her Majesty both absent, having a single stallion there sent all the mares into a constant frenzy. I heard the stablemaster reported it to the Chancellor, asking whether to kill it or not."
Marshal Silver was startled. "And... then what happened?"
"I heard the Chancellor couldn’t decide either, so in the end she ordered it gelded—just let it live, that’s all."
"Gelded... gelded?" Marshal Silver’s face twitched, and he didn’t ask any further. He swallowed hard, slowed his pace, and walked over to General Curtain’s side.
"Did you hear that?"
"Heard it." General Curtain tried his best not to laugh, stammering, "If a hand gets cut off, I know all the techniques to reattach it. But, uh... if that gets cut, does the Marshal know how to fix it?"
"I don’t know either."
The two exchanged a glance, then couldn’t hold back and burst into hearty laughter.
"Marshal, do you think we should tell his wife about this?"
"No way, absolutely not. Just think about it—the whole stable full of mares..." Marshal Silver was laughing so hard he had to lean against a tree to catch his breath.
"A stallion, and then gelded..." Barry Bear, who had been silent at the rear, finally sighed, "Honestly, being poisoned isn’t so bad. If we hadn’t been, who knows, maybe we’d be the ones getting gelded."
The Women’s Kingdom was not large. Before midnight, the party arrived beside Mother Lake, where the ancient Mother's Mausoleum, over two thousand years old, stood before them.
Rosemary walked to the front, turned, and halted the group.
"This is forbidden ground. Only the Holy Monk and the Great Sage may enter. Also, Great Sage, you must leave your weapons here."
Tripitaka and Monkey exchanged a glance. Monkey nodded and casually drove his Golden Staff into the earth.
With a single blow, the Golden Staff sank more than two feet into the ground.
"Will this do?"
A female general craned her neck, pointing at Monkey’s wrist. "Your bracelet... that seems like a magical artifact too, doesn’t it?"
Monkey glanced down at his wrist.
She was referring to the Adamantine Ring.
"This is something I never take off. No one’s words will change that."
"That won’t do. In over two thousand years, no one has ever dared enter the Mother's Mausoleum armed. You..."
The female general wanted to say more, but Rosemary stopped her.
"It’s just a keepsake accessory, not a magical artifact."
Monkey glanced at Rosemary. "You recognize this?"
Rosemary pressed her lips in a faint smile. "It’s Miss Wind-chime’s Adamantine Ring. Back in the days of Qi Tian Palace, Miss Wind-chime always looked after the servants, so... I certainly recognize it."
Monkey fiddled with the Adamantine Ring on his wrist, smiled wryly, and said, "So, how about now? Can we go in?"
Y-yes, you may." The female general nodded slightly.
"Please proceed, Great Sage."
Rosemary stepped onto the high stone steps, with Monkey and Tripitaka following slowly behind.
On the way, Monkey sidled up to Tripitaka and asked in a low voice, "What do you think she wants with you?"
I... I truly don’t know."
Did you leave anything unsaid last time?"
I really can't say. Last time, I said all I could; I just didn’t get to comfort Lady Nuwa. But... it seems Lady Nuwa doesn’t need my comfort."
Forget it, I won’t ask you. No use anyway." Monkey waved his hand and walked away.
...
Just as Monkey was puzzling over meeting Lady Nuwa, in the Southern Lands, a carriage belonging to Heaven’s Skyward Ranger Corps drifted slowly over a small town.
The standard Central Plains-style town was almost completely dark, with barely a trace of light. On the empty streets, a single fallen leaf drifted gently in the breeze.
The whole town was eerily quiet.
In these times, any mortal city—even bustling places like Chang’an in the Tang Dynasty—would be unusually silent at this hour. For a border town like this, it wouldn’t be strange to find it empty.
But what was strange was that one house in the town was ablaze, flames roaring skyward and spreading with the wind—yet no one was fighting the fire.
Not only was no one fighting the fire, there wasn’t even a night watchman to be seen.
"Could it be... there’s no one here? Has there been any fighting nearby?"
"No reports, and we just patrolled the neighboring villages—nothing unusual. Besides… towns ravaged by war don’t look like this."
"Something’s off. Let’s take a look." The lead Skyward Ranger made a quick decision.
"Hyah!"
With a crisp shout, the four Pegasus wheeled toward one corner of the town.
"What’s that?"
"Where?"
Before the lead Skyward Ranger could give orders, the first investigator leapt out.
The other two had no choice but to park the carriage, dismount, and hurry after him.
Under a large tree, they found the first ranger crouched beside a corpse.
"Look—a dead man, not long gone." The ranger turned the body over and examined it carefully. "All the blood’s been drained, and there’s barely any sign of struggle. There’s only one wound at the neck, where the blood was drawn, but it’s not fatal—not instantly, anyway. He must have died before being drained, or else he’d have fought back. What could have done this?"
"What about his soul? He just died, so the Ghost Messengers haven’t come yet. The soul should still be nearby. Call it out and ask—then we’ll know."
The investigator replied calmly, "No need. I already checked. There’s no soul here—no wandering ghost, not even a stray spirit."
That answer startled the other two rangers.
"Could it be a cultivator’s vendetta? Killed him, then destroyed the soul as well?"
"How deep a grudge would it take to slaughter so many? The whole town, all at once?" The ranger wiped his hands with a kerchief, stood, and glanced down the long street. "This isn’t the first corpse I’ve found. I checked that whole row of houses—everyone’s dead, livestock too, and all the deaths are identical. If a cultivator had interfered so blatantly in the mortal realm, he should know we can consult the Book of Life and Death. No matter how he hides, he can’t escape. Is there a Land Warden here?"
"No. The post’s been vacant for years—no one sent down from above. Fewer and fewer want the job these days." Another ranger sighed. "If you side with mortals against monsters, you risk being killed by demons. If you compromise with demons, Heaven punishes you. It’s a thankless task. Let’s withdraw and report—looks like a demon did this. Let’s see what the higher-ups say."
The lead ranger nodded slightly.
Given the situation, there was nothing else they could do.
They prepared to leave.
Suddenly, a Pegasus scream split the night, echoing through the town.
"Not good! The culprit is still here!"
The three Skyward Rangers drew their swords and raced separately toward the war-chariot.
Moments later, the rangers converged from three directions to surround the chariot.
All four Pegasus lay collapsed, and in the center, the Six-Eared Macaque was throttling one of them, desperately sucking its blood.
Seeing the attacker appeared to be a newly formed monkey demon, the lead ranger relaxed slightly.
But four Pegasus together are not easy prey; how could a mere newborn monkey demon fell them all in such short order?
Still, he brandished his sword and shouted an arresting command: "Stop! You monkey demon—how dare you commit such monstrous crimes? Surrender at once!"
Six-Ears paused, tilted his head, and slowly looked at the three rangers.
He licked his lips and sighed languidly, "These three newcomers... look even more delicious."
In the moonlight, his bloodstained smile was utterly ferocious.