Monkey finally decided to settle down in Stillwater Valley.
When he informed Shortbeak and Louis Quickpaw of this decision, he received, very unusually, a fierce backlash. These two, second only to Monkey among the ranks of Blossom Mountain, completely forgot their station and roared furiously at him through the Jade Tablet.
In fact, their reaction was only natural. Everyone knows that General Lee will soon hear of King Broadgaze's defeat and capture; when that happens, whether Heaven sends a full army or an envoy to negotiate, Monkey must be present.
At such a critical moment, for the commander to leave Blossom Mountain is a grave taboo.
But could Monkey abandon Anna Yang because of this? He couldn't do it. So, he could only hope that General Lee would not act so quickly.
Night fell. After dinner, Monkey sent Shawn Cloud away and kept a lonely vigil in Anna Yang's room.
Through the plain window lattice, he watched moonlight spill across the courtyard. The mountain air, chilled to the bone, condensed into dewdrops on the leaves and branches, shimmering faintly in the moonlight, trembling gently, and occasionally dripping down.
Elder Leonard Ling and Elder Stillwater sat beneath the pavilion in the courtyard, discussing something. They seemed to be arguing, and eventually made a bet.
Monkey didn't catch what the bet was about, but guessed that Elder Leonard Ling probably lost.
It's said that Elder Leonard Ling is the most gifted among Sage Subhuti's nine disciples, but in terms of cultivation, he still lags far behind his second senior brother.
With a soft sigh, Monkey scratched his head and looked at the sleeping Anna Yang.
Her face was gradually regaining its color, looking almost as it usually did. Only her brows were faintly furrowed—she was surely not having a good dream.
Sweat beaded on her white, jade-like forehead, and Monkey felt a faint pang of anxiety.
He traced a rune in the air, but halfway through, he stopped.
Should I go in?
Entering someone else's dream is one of the Seventy-Two Transformations, and for Monkey now, it's nothing difficult. But should he really go in?
He hesitated, and in the end abandoned the unfinished spell, simply staring blankly.
After a long while, he picked up the towel by the side, dipped it in the wooden basin, wrung it out, and gently wiped the sweat from Anna Yang's forehead—repeating the process several times.
"Is this what the future Great Sage Equal to Heaven is reduced to? Am I really so lacking in ambition?"
Thinking this, he couldn't help but laugh, though his hands never stopped moving.
"Junior Brother Wukong."
Elder Leonard Ling's voice came from behind, startling Monkey, who quickly put away the towel in his hand.
"What are you doing, Junior Brother Wukong?" Elder Leonard Ling craned his neck, sizing up the somewhat flustered Monkey.
Monkey blinked twice and replied, "Nothing. Is something the matter?"
"Oh." Elder Leonard Ling sat down carelessly on the chair, peeling an orange as he said, "I came to check on her. After all, she is my disciple."
As he spoke, he handed half of the orange to Monkey.
After a moment's hesitation, Monkey finally took the half orange and began eating it piece by piece.
"She's improved, but still hasn't woken up."
Seeing Monkey eat the orange, Elder Leonard Ling finally felt relieved.
"I heard you went to Blossom Mountain?"
"Mm, I went back."
"How is it over there now? Are you doing well? From what I can see, your cultivation is already very high."
"Celestial Sage." Monkey replied flatly.
Elder Leonard Ling clicked his tongue and laughed, popping the last orange slice into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before sighing, "The Traveler's Path really is different. I've cultivated the Sage's Path for so many years, and I'm still just a Celestial Adept, but you've reached Celestial Sage in just a few years. I suppose... you're already at the peak?"
Monkey nodded silently. "Doesn't everything come at a price?"
"Everything comes at a price, not just cultivation. For every gain, there's a loss, and for every loss, a gain."
"That's true." Monkey couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
"By the way, Anna Yang stayed with you at Blossom Mountain. Didn't her brother object?"
"He came by some time ago."
"He went to Blossom Mountain?" Elder Leonard Ling turned to look at Monkey.
"Mm." Monkey nodded. "He fought with me."
"Did he say anything?"
"No, it's hard to say, and impossible to explain." Monkey glanced out the window and asked, "What's Elder Stillwater doing out there alone?"
"Him? He said he wanted to listen to the evening breeze. Don't mind him, he's always been odd. But he's also remarkable. In Crescent Star Cave, aside from Master and Senior Brother, his cultivation is the highest." Elder Leonard Ling clicked his tongue and laughed. "Every gain has its loss, every loss its gain. Because he can't see, his heart is free of distractions, and his cultivation is twice as effective. Sometimes I wonder if I should poke out my own eyes." He laughed loudly.
Outside, Elder Stillwater was gently touching the guzheng in the pavilion, but did not play, only feeling the breath of the breeze.
An immortal should be like him.
Living in seclusion in the mountains, free from worldly strife, untouched by mortal dust.
Such a life must be happy, but unfortunately I have taken a completely different path. A path I must walk.
Thinking carefully, this whole journey has always been outside the Dao of Heaven, but within the bounds of reason.
Monkey took a deep breath and remained silent.