"Not done yet?" Hearing this, Venerable Lingji's face immediately broke into a wide smile—a smile so broad that even Damon Six-Ears felt stifled.
"What are you smiling at?"
"It's nothing."
"Nothing?" Damon Six-Ears straightened his back slightly, baring his teeth and said, "If you've got something to say, can't you just spit it out? Why all this hemming and hawing?"
"It really is nothing." Venerable Lingji kept covering his mouth as he laughed, and after a long while—until Damon Six-Ears's teeth-grinding was loud and clear—he finally sobered up and asked, "Great Sage... do you really care that much about that little brat?"
"Who says I care about him?"
"If you don't care, then why would you risk clashing with our Buddhist Order just to rescue him?"
"I promised someone I'd bring him back, that's why I'm here." Damon Six-Ears reached up and scratched his ear, sounding thoroughly impatient. "Besides, isn't the real issue whether I care about him or not? The real issue is... whether I care about you lot."
"Oh?" At this, Venerable Lingji's smile blossomed. He gently pushed the tea he’d brewed for Damon Six-Ears a little closer and said with a grin, "How do you mean?"
"How do I mean? That's for you to answer." Damon Six-Ears shot Lingji a glare, ignored the tea, and turned away with a long sigh. "If my master hadn't broken it down for me, I'd still be led around by the nose by you people. No matter how obedient I am, you never consider my interests. No matter how arrogant I get, as long as the other one is still around, you won't dare touch me. Since that's the case, why should I bother being polite to you?"
Damon Six-Ears glanced at Lingji, raised his eyebrows meaningfully, and asked, "Wouldn't you agree?"
"True enough, true enough." Lingji pursed his lips and nodded, agreeing.
However, his expression remained completely unconcerned.
Damon Six-Ears couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
He'd thought that saying all this in front of the Buddhist Order would be a show of bravado, but to his surprise, the other side showed no reaction at all.
The Buddhist Order really can't be judged by ordinary logic.
Thinking this, Damon Six-Ears slowly stood up.
"Leaving so soon, Great Sage?"
"What, is that a problem?"
Lingji pointed to the teacup and chuckled, "You haven't even had your tea yet. If you don't drink it soon, it'll get cold."
Rolling his eyes again, Damon Six-Ears picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp. Turning around, he leaned on his Iron Sentinel and walked step by step toward the main door.
Yet just as he was about to step out the door, his foot suddenly withdrew. He quickly looked up at the roof.
"What's wrong?" Lingji asked nonchalantly.
Put on the spot by the question, Damon Six-Ears felt a bit embarrassed. He could only lean on his Iron Sentinel, walk back, and sit down again.
"I'm thirsty, want a few more cups. You wouldn't begrudge me, would you?"
"Not at all!" Lingji's face broke into another wide smile as he refilled the empty teacup. "Great Sage, drink as much as you want. If it's not enough, I'll have someone fetch more from Spirit Mountain."
At this moment, Monkey was still alone, suspended in the clouds above Thunderclap Monastery.
A cold wind blew, but the fur on his body didn't move at all. His divine sense had already covered every inch of Thunderclap Monastery; any movement would be instantly detected.
Time passed, bit by bit.
Inside Thunderclap Monastery, the monks sat cross-legged with eyes shut, seemingly meditating as usual, but in reality, all were on edge. Outside, mortals slept while the demons kept their eyes wide open, gripping their weapons and staring at the monastery.
In this tense standoff, a whole night passed.
Throughout the night, Monkey didn't move at all, nor did his divine sense relax its grip on the monastery. Damon Six-Ears, meanwhile, kept drinking tea in the back hall until he felt awkward.
But what could he do about feeling awkward? Was he just supposed to leave?
Obviously, if he showed himself here, Monkey would never let him go—there'd be a battle for sure, and plenty of trouble to follow.
This was... truly stifling.
Lingji, from start to finish, remained perfectly at ease, as if he had seen through the reason Damon Six-Ears was stuck here.
But this attitude only made Damon Six-Ears more annoyed.
"Don't worry." Lingji looked out the window toward the whitening east and said softly, "When dawn comes, he'll have to leave."
"He'll have to leave at dawn? What do you mean?"
"Because something important happens at dawn." Lingji said, grinning at Damon Six-Ears.
Damon Six-Ears was momentarily confused, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You're scheming something, aren't you?"
"Scheming? I suppose so." Lingji nodded. "Of course, he might not leave. But if he doesn't, that's even better."
Hearing this, Damon Six-Ears' expression changed.
"You're plotting against Master Tripitaka, and you're using me as a chess piece?"
"You could say that."
Those words set Damon Six-Ears' anger blazing. Without thinking, he swept his Iron Sentinel at Lingji with a rush of wind.
With a clang, Lingji caught the blow steadily.
The sharp sound instantly spread out—even Monkey, suspended above the monastery, heard it clearly. He stretched his neck and stared even more intently at Thunderclap Monastery.
Inside the back hall, Damon Six-Ears still held his sweeping stance, glaring at Lingji in anger.
Lingji glanced at the roof and said softly, "Don't get angry. If you hit any harder, the roof will fly off and everything will be exposed."
"You bald donkey!"
Lingji smiled as he watched Damon Six-Ears' furious face. "Didn't you just say? There's no need to be polite with us. Being polite brings no benefit, and being impolite brings no harm. We're just using each other. So why not let go and not take it personally?"
Damon Six-Ears' eye twitched.
At this moment, dawn had not fully broken, but the County Prince's residence was already bustling.
News that Master Tripitaka would bless Thunderhill County had already spread everywhere. The commoners, who barely noticed him yesterday, now crowded the palace just to glimpse the monk who could pray for their county.
"The Buddha is here, and if Master Tripitaka blesses Thunderhill County, maybe... he'll become a Buddha himself soon!"
Thunderhill County has just been founded, and already a Buddha is here—how extraordinary!
Amid the bustling crowd, Tripitaka only locked himself in his room, silently chanting scriptures.