On the deck of the flagship outside Blossom Mountain, several Skyward Legionnaires and a Heavenly General hurriedly carried the gravely wounded, unconscious King Southwell into the cabin.
Several army doctors from the Sage's Path followed closely, repeatedly urging, "Slowly, slowly."
Drops of blood dripped intermittently, leaving a faint trail across the deck.
Nathan sat on the floor in the corner, Flame Spear resting on his shoulder, clutching the Exquisite Pagoda, his face full of despair.
King Northmore and King Virūḍhaka stood silently before him, their expressions grave.
The deck was as silent as death; the commanders were left leaderless.
After a long pause, an old officer approached the three, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesties, Third Prince, what should we do next? Please advise us."
King Northmore raised his head and sighed, "We should retreat."
"No!" King Virūḍhaka replied urgently, his breath quickening as he looked at King Northmore. "We cannot retreat!"
"If we can't retreat, what then? General Lee is in the demon monkey's hands right now!"
"Where would we retreat? Back to South Heaven Gate? This can't be kept secret—Heaven will know soon enough. When that happens, not only will they continue their attack, but they'll also hold us accountable for concealing the situation from command."
"Hmph!" King Northmore sneered, "So after all this, you're just afraid of being held responsible? All the trust the Heavenly King put in you is wasted!"
"You!" King Virūḍhaka was momentarily speechless, then after a breath, continued, "Do you think that's the kind of person I am? If we’re replaced and a new group takes over South Heaven Gate, who will care about General Lee’s life then? There’ll be no hope of rescuing him!"
King Northmore glared and barked, "That’s still better than not withdrawing! Didn’t you understand? If we don’t pull back, that demon monkey could kill the Heavenly King at any moment!"
"And what if we do withdraw? Look at King Broadgaze! You’ve seen that demon monkey’s tactics—if General Lee stays in his hands for even a little while longer, what do you think will happen? This must be resolved here and now! Sure, we may not be able to deal with the demon monkey, but with 180,000 Celestial troops, who can stand against us? Crushing Blossom Mountain would be easy! As long as the demon monkey still hesitates, if we don’t retreat, General Lee is actually safer. If talks fail today, we negotiate tomorrow—if tomorrow fails, then the day after! With 180,000 Heavenly troops mobilized, all of Heaven is watching. If we retreat for no reason, do you think those in Heaven who oppose General Lee won’t become suspicious? Have you considered what kind of situation that would create?"
"Why are you so sure that if we stay, the demon monkey will keep negotiating with us? What if something goes wrong? He’s a demon, don’t forget! Do demons care about the lives of their own? Would he care about the other demons on Blossom Mountain? If something happens to the Heavenly King, can you take responsibility?"
"Enough!" Nathan, who had been silent, suddenly shouted, and the whole world seemed to quiet.
Everyone turned to him, watching as he lowered his head to stare at the Exquisite Pagoda in his hands, his clear eyes blinking. They watched him slowly stand, leaning on the Flame Spear, and step by step walk toward the cabin door.
At the doorway, he paused, turned his face to the side, and spoke in a low voice: "Enough. It’s my fault. If I’d returned to the flagship sooner, none of this would have happened. Give me one day. Let me try and see if I can resolve this."
With that, he stepped through the cabin door.
On the deck of the warship, all that remained was the sound of the wind; everyone stared blankly at the cabin door where Nathan had left.
He walked dazedly down the narrow corridor, entered his own room, and slammed the door shut behind him.
The loud bang from behind made him collapse to the floor as if all his strength had been drained, clutching his face.
In appearance, Nathan looked like a beautiful child of less than ten years old. Lotus-body people have no gender, never age, and even their temperament remains forever childlike.
It was the unbearable memory of Chentang Pass—his father personally handed him over to the Four Dragon Kings who had come seeking revenge.
A seven-year-old child, carving flesh for his mother, bone for his father.
This was his eternal pain. Because of it, even after a thousand years of mediation among the immortals, his relationship with his father remained distant—the word 'father' always spoken reluctantly. Even now, he can joke with the Four Dragon Kings who were once his enemies, even drink with Ao Bing who was once a victim, yet he still cannot let go.
A thousand years have passed, and no matter how much Lee Jing tries to make amends, it will never be enough.
Nathan has never considered forgiving him.
But just now, he truly wanted to use himself to repay Lee Jing; he genuinely wanted to trade places, from the bottom of his heart.
In battle with Monkey, he knew Monkey wouldn't kill him, so he acted willfully again. He ignored orders to return to the flagship, and once more, his father appeared to clean up the mess.
It was all supposed to be routine—how did it end up like this?
And now, his father is the one captured, while he returned safely to the flagship.
He had already carved bone for his father—must he still owe him more?
"No! I must save him! I have to... I have to save him!" he muttered, eyes wide.
...
Louis Quickpaw hurried through the alchemy hall, crossed the main building, and came to Anna's door via the rear courtyard.
Seeing the door was ajar, he didn't bother to knock—Louis pushed it open and rushed straight in.
"Nine... Nine-Headed..."
Louis froze, because he saw that besides Anna, there was another person in the room—Erik Yang.
At that moment, Erik Yang sat calmly in a wooden chair by the round table, his cold, indifferent gaze instantly intimidating Louis Quickpaw.
Skyhowl, in his canine form, quietly slipped out from behind the door, sniffed Louis, then looked up at him with open disdain.
...
In the reception hall on the middle floor of the tower, Monkey and the Nine-Headed Wyrm sat cross-legged facing each other, while Isabel Su, her long hair tied up, quietly brewed tea at the side.
It was a modest room, its style reminiscent of Master Sage Silverwood's Hall of Silent Meditation, though lacking the bookshelves and calligraphy on the walls, making it even more austere.
Since creating this reception hall, Monkey had rarely used it. In fact, today was its first real use. The main reason was that those who could enter Demon City on Blossom Mountain directly were either his own people or fellow disciples from Crescent Star Cave—there was simply no need for such a space.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm was the very first guest to be received here.
From the moment he entered—really, from the moment he came into the city—the Nine-Headed Wyrm's eyes had never stopped darting around, and even now they kept wandering.
His gaze finally settled on Isabel Su’s face; he parted his lips as if to compliment her, but suddenly seemed to remember something and swallowed his words.
These days, it’s rare for anyone to casually compliment another’s women at home; if the admirer is a powerful demon king, it’s even easier for people to suspect he has ulterior motives.
Most importantly, from the very first meeting, the Nine-Headed Wyrm had always sensed a hint of hostility in Monkey’s gaze, which only grew stronger after he complimented Belle.
When Isabel Su finished brewing tea and quietly set it before them, then retreated, the Nine-Headed Wyrm took a sip, smacked his lips, and chuckled, "Good tea!"
"Good tea?" Monkey smiled faintly, his gaze still fixed on the Nine-Headed Wyrm. "It’s just ordinary tea leaves—how could it be called good tea?"
Slowly setting down his cup, the Nine-Headed Wyrm smacked his lips and said, "As long as it’s real, it’s good tea."
As he spoke, he tapped the floor. "And this floor is real too."
Monkey remained silent.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm looked up at the simple carvings on the ceiling. "And those decorations up there must be real too."
Monkey still said nothing.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm chuckled again. "I really envy you. I see that in your city, everything is real. It’s almost like a human city. These demons drift about, never knowing if they’ll survive the day, but you’ve given them a place like this. For a haven like this, not to mention fighting Heaven’s armies together—even dying, many would willingly do it."
Monkey smiled faintly and replied, "Are you mocking my demon city for its simplicity, Nine-Headed brother?"
The Nine-Headed Wyrm kept looking around. "How could that be mockery? It’s envy. What demon wouldn’t want to live in a place like this?"
Monkey replied, "The environment here is far worse than the old Drake King's city. Haven’t you ever been there, Nine-Headed brother?"
"I’ve been there, but it didn’t feel nearly as comfortable as your place. So I just took a look and left. Most importantly, I’m not familiar with that black flood dragon, nor do I care to know him."
Saying this, the Nine-Headed Wyrm picked up his teacup and took another sip.
Monkey’s expression suddenly went blank. "Not familiar? Then you are truly righteous, Nine-Headed brother."
"What do you mean?" The Nine-Headed Wyrm glanced up at Monkey.
"Isn’t it so? You risked your life to save those you barely know." Monkey stared at the Nine-Headed Wyrm, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Just recently, I heard the Six Demon Kings were ambushed on the Western Ox Continent and only escaped because you intervened."
"You sure keep close track of the Six Demon Kings."
"As the master of Blossom Mountain, how could I not pay attention to news from elsewhere?"
"Why?" The Nine-Headed Wyrm licked his lips, raised his eyebrows, and asked lazily, "Do you have a grudge with the Six Demon Kings?"
"Just some old matters from years ago. Nothing serious," Monkey chuckled.
The Nine-Headed Wyrm still couldn’t see any change in Monkey’s expression, but he was beginning to guess the source of Monkey’s hostility.
He lowered his head and silently sipped his tea; what little was left was soon gone.
Seeing this, Isabel Su quietly came over to refill his cup.
Feeling the warmth of the porcelain, the Nine-Headed Wyrm sighed softly, "If it’s just a small matter, let’s laugh it off and let bygones be bygones. These days, whether great or small, demon kings are chased everywhere by Heaven’s armies. It’s hard enough being a demon. If we keep fighting among ourselves, won’t we just die faster?"
Monkey asked softly, "I just want to know—did you ‘pass through’ Blossom Mountain together with the Six Demon Kings, Nine-Headed brother?"
The Nine-Headed Wyrm’s expression froze.