Blood seeped slowly down the slope beneath their feet, spreading into the earth.
Jack Rivers curled his crocodile body, the long black-tasseled spear still trembling where it pierced his belly.
At the other end of the last patch of land, blood blossomed across Tripitaka's kasaya. He knelt on one knee, clutching the wound at his chest.
In that brief instant, Monkey King was already in front of Tripitaka, with Marshal Silver and General Curtain guarding his sides.
"Master Tripitaka, are you alright?"
Marshal Silver reached out to check Tripitaka's pulse.
Tripitaka furrowed his brows, shook his head painfully, and looked past Monkey King toward the prone Jack Rivers.
"You ungrateful creature!"
Barry Bear yanked the black-tasseled spear free, sending blood splattering. Instantly, he aimed the tip at Jack Rivers's brow, ready to strike down.
Prince Adrian, the Little White Dragon, hurried to block the way, but before he could speak, Barry Bear shoved him aside.
Just as Barry Bear was about to finish Jack Rivers off...
"S-stop... stop..."
Barry Bear's spear halted in midair. He slowly turned to look at Tripitaka.
Those eyes, sharp as spikes, stared blankly at Tripitaka.
"He must die." Monkey King dragged his Golden Staff, striding toward Jack Rivers—only to find himself suddenly held back by Tripitaka.
Tripitaka looked at Monkey King and slowly shook his head. "Great Sage... spare him. His crime does not merit death."
"He just tried to kill you!"
"Great Sage... please, spare him, won't you?"
Tripitaka still clung tightly to Monkey King's trouser leg.
Seeing Tripitaka's sweat-soaked, deathly pale face, Monkey King grew even more furious. "I thought you weren't so pedantic. Turns out, you're just the same."
"This isn't pedantry. It's... compassion. If I do not keep a heart of compassion, how can I prove the Dao?"
His gaze at Monkey King was unwaveringly resolute.
Monkey King was taken aback. After a long moment, he snorted coldly and sighed, "Fine, have it your way."
With a helpless smile, Monkey King signaled to Barry Bear with a glance, telling him to stand down.
Receiving Monkey King's approval, Barry Bear slowly lowered his raised black-tasseled spear.
Tripitaka said softly, "Let him go. He is a filial son. No matter what... he will never break the spell. So keeping him here is pointless."
For a moment, the two demon kings at the riverbed could hardly believe their ears.
"Is this monk an idiot? Just letting the crocodile prince go like that?"
"Could it be a trick? That monk has been tending to the crocodile prince. Maybe they've struck some sort of deal."
King Roc glanced languidly at King Liontusk and said, "Unless the crocodile prince no longer cares about his father's soul, how could this be a trick?"
On land, Barry Bear and Prince Adrian both slowly stepped back.
Jack Rivers stared at Tripitaka for a long time, then gritted his teeth and painfully dragged himself toward the nearby river, blinking rapidly.
Will I die? Are they just waiting to strike me from behind?
That monk must have another scheme. They're letting me go, but maybe... maybe...
Jack Rivers gritted his teeth and inched forward, his mind a tangled mess.
For a fleeting moment, he even wished Tripitaka would suddenly order Monkey King to smash him to pulp. That way, he'd remain the snake, but Tripitaka wouldn't truly be the farmer.
If only it were like that. Then his earlier attack would weigh less on his conscience.
Yet, even when he reached the water's edge, nothing he hoped for happened.
Behind him, everyone watched in silence, including the two demon kings at the riverbed. Yet no one moved.
The whole world was silent—a silence that made him feel infinitely guilty.
Jack Rivers plunged headfirst into the river, slowly swimming forward with his tail swaying.
Water, after so long—he felt dizzy, but the stabbing pain from his wounds kept him alert.
He swam slowly to the dam Monkey King had built. Jack Rivers raised his head from the water and looked at Tripitaka.
In that moment, he finally believed no one was waiting to attack him from behind.
After a long, hesitant pause, he bowed deeply to Tripitaka, then turned, crossed the dam, and vanished into the Blackwater.
Ripples slowly spread out.
Without looking back, he swam toward where the golden spike had fallen.
For that moment, his mind was utterly blank.
...
Upstream on Blackwater River, Clara Heart stood atop her Eight-Trigram Disc, staring across at King Gloomape.
Aiden Chen, seeing this hairy-faced monster, was so terrified his soul nearly fled. He clung tightly to Clara's sleeve, unable to move.
"Hold tight in a moment," Clara murmured, glancing down at the river whose flow had been drastically slowed. She smiled softly, "If you fall, there won't be a bone left of you."
Aiden Chen nodded vigorously.
"Who are you?" King Gloomape growled through clenched teeth, his voice a low, menacing rumble.
"Why should you care who I am?" Clara grinned, folding her arms. She called out, word by word, "King Gloomape!"
"You know who I am?"
"You dare call yourself 'king' to me? Before, you always called yourself a mere lowly general."
At these words, not only was King Gloomape stunned, but even Clara herself was surprised.
"A mere general?" King Gloomape's eyes narrowed to slits as he sized Clara up. "You were at Blossom Mountain? Why do I have no memory of you?"
Clara gave a dry laugh and began edging her Eight-Trigram Disc backward.