"Ignore him. Let’s keep going." Big Bull shot Scribe Squirrel a glare, picked up the branch that had been tossed aside, and said, "If you ask me, don’t overthink it—just pick someone and take care of them first."
With that, he jabbed the whole branch straight into the ground at the center.
White Ape slowly raised his head, blinking as he said, "Without the Monkey King, how are we supposed to handle this? Even with Crocodile Jack’s crew earlier, without the Monkey King, all of us together might not win. And even if we did, the cost would be heavy."
"Didn’t he say he needed help finding someone?"
White Ape glanced at the Monkey King, who was sitting cross-legged in the distance. "Are you sure... he’s willing?"
The four demons looked at each other, lost for ideas.
Just then, Scribe Squirrel swaggered to his feet and shouted, "Cowards, the lot of you! Unworthy to serve your king!"
Big Bull suddenly wanted to smack him with the flat of his blade. He glared up, "If you’ve got something to say, spit it out!"
Scribe Squirrel cleared his throat twice, getting even more brazen. "As loyal subjects, always scheming to send our king charging into battle—such disloyalty! That’s a crime worthy of execution!"
He deliberately stretched out the word "execution," pointing a finger right at Big Bull’s brow.
Big Bull’s mood was already foul; now, seeing that pointed finger, his jaw clenched in frustration.
"I’ll execute your damn— I’ll chop you to bits, you pompous fool!"
With a furious roar, Big Bull swung his blade at Scribe Squirrel, but Shortbeak quickly stepped in to block him—otherwise, someone might have died.
The circle of demons descended into chaos once more.
Scribe Squirrel had already darted far away, covering half his face with a sleeve as he sneered, "Was I wrong? As loyal subjects..."
"You dare keep talking? Want me to let go?" Shortbeak shouted.
Seeing Big Bull’s blade gleaming coldly, Scribe Squirrel finally swallowed nervously and shut his mouth, unwilling as he was.
After another bout of commotion, the demons finally settled down together again.
Shortbeak, having finally caught his breath, sighed heavily and looked at the group. "Let’s not worry about the Monkey King for now. What do you all think we should do next?"
All the demons hung their heads, at a loss. Only Scribe Squirrel shook his head and stood up again, saying, "That’s easy."
"Easy? Hmph!" Big Bull shot him a furious look.
Shortbeak pointed at Scribe Squirrel. "Just so you know, if you start spouting nonsense again, I won’t stop him from chopping you up."
Glancing at Big Bull’s blade, Scribe Squirrel shrank his head a little, genuinely uneasy.
Still, after a couple dry coughs, he began, "As the saying goes, ‘Wound the enemy a thousand, lose eight hundred yourself; the best strategy is to subdue them without fighting.’"
Shortbeak couldn’t take it anymore. He looked up, exasperated. "Just get to the point, will you? I’m annoyed enough as it is! Nobody understands your fancy talk!"
Scribe Squirrel pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly. "Fine, fine! For the Monkey King, I’ll lower my standards and humor you brutes today."
With that, he crouched down, picked up a branch, and started sketching on the ground: "Tomorrow I’ll... and then you’ll..."
Watching the five demons heatedly discussing in the distance, the Monkey King quietly tilted his head up to gaze at the moon.
The full moon drifted among the clouds, bringing a sense of tranquility.
He simply let his mind wander, lost in thought.
After a long while, the Monkey King pulled out a jade slip from his waist—its luster faded—and examined it under the moonlight.
“The Path of the Traveler really is inconvenient... If it were the Path of the Sage, I’d have fixed it by now. White Ape probably doesn’t understand this thing. I can’t cultivate right now, and who knows if Yang Chan can even find me. Sigh...”
With these thoughts, he lay down, resting his head on his arm, and closed his eyes.
......
Early the next morning, Scribe Squirrel set out with Big Bull and Shortbeak.
To be precise, he wanted to go out alone, but Big Bull and Shortbeak insisted on tagging along to keep him from pulling any tricks.
By dusk, when the Monkey King finally woke up naturally, he opened his eyes to find Scribe Squirrel kneeling respectfully at the entrance of his tent.
Scribe Squirrel kowtowed, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! The leaders from all sides have heard of your great name and are awed! They’ve sent envoys with gifts, pledging their loyalty to serve at your side!"
"What did you say?" The Monkey King rushed out of the tent and saw a heap of assorted gifts piled up behind Scribe Squirrel.
Running out of camp, the Monkey King saw that the camps of the neighboring leaders all had banners bearing the character for "Monkey."
Turning around, the Monkey King stared incredulously at Scribe Squirrel, who wore a sly smile.
"What did you do?"
"I didn’t do anything, Your Majesty. It’s your fame that travels far and wide."
That flattery...
The Monkey King turned to Shortbeak and Big Bull, who stood nearby. "What did he do?"
Shortbeak pursed his lips, shot a disdainful glance at the kneeling Scribe Squirrel, and sighed, "Threats, bribes, stirring up trouble, lies and trickery."
"Hopeless!" Scribe Squirrel immediately bared his teeth and shouted at Shortbeak, "I’ve given my all for the Monkey King—how is that trickery?"
"But the methods you use are trickery."
"War is all about deception! Deception, you hear? You illiterate brute!"
"Tch."
"You— you... You’ll be the death of me!"
"Hmph!" Shortbeak ignored him and turned away. But Big Bull looked at the Monkey King and gave Scribe Squirrel a thumbs up. "Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
With that, Big Bull left too, leaving only the Monkey King and Scribe Squirrel outside the tent.
The Monkey King circled Scribe Squirrel twice, studying this peculiar demon closely. "Did I underestimate you?" he sighed.
"I wouldn’t dare. To be favored by Your Majesty is the greatest honor a servant could hope for."
Squatting in front of Scribe Squirrel, the Monkey King smiled. "Tell me, how’d you pull it off?"
"Just a few petty tricks, nothing worth mentioning."
Scribe Squirrel was quite humble, though his face clearly showed he was eager for praise.
Still, the credit was well deserved.
Bracing his knees, the Monkey King slowly stood up. "Alright, but I’ve got nothing to reward you with—I’m broke myself."
"Your Majesty’s heart is richer than the world itself—how could you be poor?" Scribe Squirrel kowtowed happily. "Lu Qing asks for no reward. To serve Your Majesty is the greatest blessing of my life."
[Irrelevant system message—skipped.]
"Good! Not proud despite your achievements—very good. You keep calling me ‘Your Majesty,’ and with such merit, it’s wrong not to reward you. I’ll remember this, and pay you back in time."
Still, this advisor we picked up... isn’t he a bit too capable? the Monkey King couldn’t help but think.
That night, with all the gifts from the other leaders, the camp held a lively banquet.
Even the recently surrendered leaders were invited, though for some reason, every one of them looked especially grim at the table.
......
On the towering walls of Drake City, a burly elk demon peered through a spyglass toward the Monkey King’s brightly lit camp for a long moment. Then he put the spyglass away, descended the wall, and hurried with four demon soldiers toward the Serpent Lord’s palace.
Soon, the elk demon had bypassed the front hall and entered the palace, coming straight to the Serpent Lord’s bedchamber. He knelt on one knee and saluted: "Jinzhi requests an audience, Your Majesty."
"Come in." The harsh voice came from behind the tightly shut doors.
Two demon soldiers pushed the doors open at once.
In a lavish room, behind drifting sheer curtains, the Serpent Lord lounged lazily on a couch.
Two ornate candlesticks flickered on either side, casting dazzling reflections off the golden furnishings.
Stepping over the high threshold, the elk demon knelt respectfully on the cold marble floor.
"It’s late. What is it?"
"Your Majesty, the monkey demon you summoned yesterday is holding a grand banquet in his camp tonight."
"Oh? Has he made any moves these past two days?"
"None so far, except..."
"Speak."
"Except today, for reasons unknown, six regional demon leaders have all changed their banners to the character for ‘Monkey.’"
"Oh?" The Serpent Lord’s lips curled into a smile. "Interesting, very interesting. Hahaha! Investigate at once—find out everything and report back immediately."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"