For a person, the most terrifying thing is often not the absence of hope. In fact, for the vast majority of beings living in this world right now—including demons, humans, and even immortals—life is without hope. And they have long grown accustomed to these hopeless days.
What is truly terrifying is when hope finally arrives—only to be lost again.
No one could say just how long that night was—not even Tripitaka himself. It was as if he could see the gathered elders aging before his very eyes, their faces changing at a pace visible to the naked eye. Just moments before, they had been so joyful and full of hope.
It was a kind of despair that seemed to grow right on their faces.
The old county prince kept clutching Tripitaka’s hand, repeating again and again: “Master Tripitaka, you mustn’t leave us. You mustn’t leave.”
That endless, pleading refrain went on until the old county prince finally fainted.
He collapsed. Yet the elders all around him showed little surprise, their expressions numb and wooden.
In that instant, Tripitaka suddenly understood the chain of cause and effect.
From the moment they chose to stay here, perhaps their ending was already sealed. To live on in hardship, without hope, until one day they simply fell over and died...
It was a truth every one of them already knew.
Tripitaka no longer tried to persuade the elders to go inside, for in that moment, he seemed to truly understand their pain.
Persuasion was useless. Most importantly, even Tripitaka himself no longer knew what to say.
After settling the old county prince in his room, Tripitaka once again picked up his tools. Beneath the moonlight, he walked step by step toward the half-dug well.
Watching Tripitaka’s distant figure, Monkey asked quietly, “Do you think Universal Salvation is really possible?”
Marshal Silver, beside him, turned his face away and gazed at Monkey with a blank expression.
After a long moment, he turned back and said softly, “You think it’s impossible?”
“I never said it was impossible.”
“You’re only asking because you think it’s impossible. Otherwise, you’d never say something like that.”
“You—!” Monkey was momentarily lost for words. He clenched his teeth for a while before muttering, “Fine. I admit it—I do feel like we’re heading deeper into a dead end. I’m less and less sure of myself. Now I don’t even know what we’re supposed to gain at the end of this road.”
“General Lee came to see me.”
"Huh?"
He said the rain clouds had nothing to do with the Heavenly Court. I believe he was telling the truth.
Monkey bared his teeth impatiently. "He still has to come see me. If he doesn't show up, I'll take it as his silent agreement. Let them suffer for it later!"
"He will come, but... you should mind your limits." Marshal Silver took a deep breath and said slowly, "What I mean is, since it's not them, there's no need to make things unnecessarily hard."
......
Dawn broke, gray and dim.
In the study, Six-Ears Damon slumped crookedly in his seat, his face dark with displeasure.
"Great Sage, Her Holiness the Holy Mother wishes to see you."
"Did she say anything else?"
"No, she just said she wanted to see you."
"Not seeing her!"
"Y-yes... yes!" The demon soldier bowed hastily and withdrew from the room.
After a long moment, Gavin Goathorn, who had been standing nearby, spoke cautiously: "Great Sage, do you really... truly not wish to see Her Holiness the Holy Mother?"
"Why would I see her?"
"Her Holiness the Holy Mother once gave her all for Blossom Mountain. Without her, how could things have turned out the way they did back then..."
"Enough!" Damon Six-Ears slammed his palm heavily onto the desk.
Gavin Goathorn was so startled that he dropped to his knees, frozen in fear.
"Liars, all of them!" Damon Six-Ears snarled through gritted teeth. "Anna Yang! From the very beginning, I trusted her so much—even threw Many-Eyes into prison for her. And in the end, she... As for Clara Heart, don't even mention her—she's been lying to me since day one. I even let my guard down because she came as Anna's junior-sister, and I allowed her free passage in Lionback Kingdom. And what did I get for it?"
Gavin Goathorn kept his head bowed, listening in silence.
The more Damon Six-Ears spoke, the angrier he became. He slammed the desk again and roared, "I'm cruel to others, but when have I ever been cruel to them? Even now, with Clara Heart, I only keep her under soft detention. If I really wanted to punish her, I could have thrown her into a dungeon and tortured her long ago. Instead, she's living comfortably! These two women... What am I lacking compared to him? Why do they both lean toward him? If that's how it is, what's left to say? I'll use them to bait that fellow! As long as I make a grand show of marrying, he'll have no choice but to come. Then I'll decide how to deal with him!"
Hearing this, Gavin Goathorn's heart skipped a beat.
"You mean to use Her Holiness the Holy Mother and Miss Clara... as hostages?"
"What? You pity them?" Damon Six-Ears' eyes slid sideways toward Gavin Goathorn.
That look made Gavin Goathorn shudder, and he quickly shook his head.
"Good." Damon Six-Ears rolled his eyes and said, "I don't have much time left. Since you don't pity them, help me think of a better plan. This time, I must make sure he never returns!"
For a moment, the whole study fell silent, save for Damon Six-Ears' heavy breathing.
Gavin Goathorn knelt on the floor, his heart pounding.
He wasn't a warlord like Many-Eyes or King Roc. In his eyes, the Great Sage, the Third Saintess, and Miss Wind-chime were all untouchable, crucial figures for demonkind.
Yet now, he was being asked to help use the Third Saintess and Miss Wind-chime to trap another Great Sage...
The thought made his hands and feet go cold, his face pale.
After a long time, he stammered, "Great Sage, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."
"Speak."
"With your power, and with the Third Saintess and Miss Wind-chime as leverage, success isn't difficult. But..."
"But what?"
Gavin Goathorn glanced at Damon Six-Ears and said softly, "I'm just afraid you might regret it later."
Looking down at Gavin Goathorn kneeling before him, Damon Six-Ears said, "Go on."
Hearing this, Gavin Goathorn swallowed hard, gathered his courage, and said, "The Great Sage is demonkind's hope, and you are my benefactor. Without you, I'd still be hiding in some corner, never serving as chancellor. I believe all the demons in Lionback feel the same. There's no doubt—the Great Sage is better for our kind than the other one."
At this, Gavin Goathorn glanced up at Damon Six-Ears. Seeing no change in his expression, Gavin continued, "But the Third Saintess and Miss Wind-chime aren't demons. To them, the past probably matters more."
"The past?"
"Yes." Gavin Goathorn wiped the sweat from his brow and whispered, "I mean their memories."
"So, I'll never measure up to him. Is that what you mean?"
"No, no, no!" Gavin Goathorn shook his head and waved his hands. "I think you should talk openly with them! Really, that's my honest advice! Maybe if you talk, everything will be resolved!"
"Just talk and it'll be resolved?" Damon Six-Ears looked at the panicked Gavin Goathorn and couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not guaranteed." Gavin Goathorn calculated desperately, unable to find a way to save Anna and Clara, so he said, "I just think you should talk openly with them before deciding. After all... even if you don't remember the past, it still happened. What if one day you do remember—what will you do then?"
Damon Six-Ears was stunned by this.
The candlelight flickered as the two stared at each other in silence.
After a long time, Damon Six-Ears narrowed his eyes. "You're right. I'll give them one more chance. Life and death are up to fate—if nothing changes after I talk to them, it's not my fault."
"Then, who will you see first, Great Sage?"
Damon Six-Ears frowned, images of Clara Heart and Anna Yang flashing through his mind. He shivered involuntarily.
"I'll see Clara Heart first. This time, I'll go in my true form!"