With that, he planted his staff, flipped into the air, and shot off toward Blossom Mountain, howling as he went.
"What is he doing?" Miles Moon stood there, blinking in confusion.
It wasn't just Miles Moon; all the demons were equally bewildered.
"I'll go see." Anna Yang leapt up onto the window ledge and rode the wind in pursuit.
"Damn you! I'm back—get out here and stop playing dead!"
A wild gale whipped up as the Monkey King soared through the clouds, brandishing his Cloudwalker Staff and howling hysterically. His terrifying roars echoed across Blossom Mountain, sending birds fleeing and animals cowering into their dens.
He circled Blossom Mountain at breakneck speed, but found nothing. Undeterred, he landed and began a meticulous search.
Eyes wide, he searched tree by tree, poking even the grass until satisfied.
Every creature on Blossom Mountain trembled, shrinking further into hiding.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Anna Yang asked, trailing beside him.
"A leopard."
"A leopard? Did it offend you?"
"It kept me from sleeping for months and ate a bunch of my underlings. What do you think?"
"You've been gone for more than ten years, right?" Anna Yang propped her chin on a boulder, sighing. "Does a leopard even live that long?"
"You don't get it, this is Blossom Mountain. The animals here talk and live forever. Excuse me, move aside."
"What are you doing?" Anna Yang stepped aside.
The Monkey King flipped the boulder over, but found nothing but a pile of ants underneath.
In the distance, two sparrows stared in disbelief.
"So you're hiding, huh? You used to jump out when you saw me! I'm telling you, I'll dig three feet down if I have to—I won't let you escape to the Netherworld!" Wukong roared, flipping the boulder.
His voice echoed through the empty mountains, making every living thing shudder.
Far away, a troop of monkeys hid in the trees, peeking out.
"That... looks like the King."
"The King?" The old monkey squinted. "Sort of looks like him, but our King wasn't this tall. And he never wore clothes."
"Maybe he grew taller?" a young monkey asked.
"Can monkeys even grow that tall?" They glanced at each other, puzzled.
"He’s already at Spirit-Refinement, and he’s still hung up on a leopard." Anna Yang rolled her eyes, leaned against a tree, and folded her arms to watch the spectacle.
"Easy for you to say! That leopard never chased you!"
The Monkey King continued searching tree by tree. Passing every hollow, no matter the size, he poked it with his staff—leaving no corner unchecked.
After a long while, he finally spotted the monkey troop.
"Where did that leopard go? Did it die before I got back?" the Monkey King shouted.