In the boundless sky, speeding toward the morning sun, two great demons swept through the air, wrapped as if in a raging wind.
Clouds parted before them, forced aside by their passage. The journey from Frost-Rain Mountain to Blossom Mountain—tens of thousands of li—took them less than half an hour.
Drawing closer to Monkey, the Nine-Headed Wyrm half-closed his eyes and asked, "So we're just heading back like this? Are you really leaving those six bastards behind?"
"What good would worrying do? It was always an alliance of necessity. At this point, how could we possibly cover every base? I can only hope they've kept their wits about them."
"To let such a fat prize slip through our fingers—it's hard not to feel bitter."
Monkey chuckled, "If even we can't let it go, wouldn't Marshal Silver die of rage?"
The Nine-Headed Wyrm pressed his lips together and furrowed his brow, as if unable to let go of that rare chance.
"The next battle won't be nearly as easy."
"Hm?"
"In every fight before this, we could always retreat, always pick our battles—strong against weak. But what comes next is a fight with no way out. Have you ever had to defend to the death?"
The Nine-Headed Wyrm blinked and slowly clenched his fists.
A biting wind whipped past, streaming through his long hair.
In the shifting light and shadow, his silhouette occasionally crossed paths with Monkey's.
After a long moment, he spoke softly, "Rina says she really likes Blossom Mountain."
"Hm?" Monkey glanced at him, eyes slightly narrowed.
"I think we can hold it. It's rare for her to like a place so much—it must be worth defending."
"Thank you."
...
In Stillwater Valley, Elder Leonard Ling raised his teacup and gazed up at the great sky, watching the clouds slowly part.
"Junior Brother Wukong has gone to Blossom Mountain. It seems the war has begun."
A faint wind swept by, making the bamboo leaves rustle softly.
"I suppose so." Skylar Loft sat upright to one side, plucking a string on his zither.
The clear notes of the zither slowly spread, winding through the forest.
Lowering his head, Skylar Loft gazed at his second senior brother, lost in the music, sipped his tea, and asked softly, "When you gave him the Plague Toxin, didn't you make him promise anything?"
"Promise what?" Skylar Loft replied with a question.
"That river... Downstream there's an entire city-state."
"Oh."
"By my estimate, there are over ten thousand people living there, not counting the villages along the way." Lowering his head, Skylar Loft sipped his tea again and sighed, "This is a heavy karmic burden."
"The deepest karma is already done—what does this matter now?"
"The deepest karma?"
"Our master took the Tenth Junior Brother as a disciple—that's the deepest karma, isn't it? How could you or I avoid it? Since there's no way to escape, we might as well let him follow his path."
Skylar Loft smiled faintly and sighed, "You really do see things clearly. Tell me, do you think he'll ask us to help in the battle at Blossom Mountain?"
"You should ask yourself first—if he does, will you go?"
Skylar Loft's lips moved slightly, then pressed together. He furrowed his brow, staring at the clouds for a long, long time, and finally said, "I don't know."
......
In the blink of an eye, the two had already flown to the borders of Blossom Mountain.
From afar, they could see the camps pitched on the hills before the mountain, stretching for several li.
As the two swept overhead, a thunderous roar erupted from the camp below, like a giant powder keg finally touched by a spark. Countless demon soldiers in black armor beat their shields in unison.
On the high ground, the sentry demons waved their banners with all their might.
The two landed steadily on a platform before a cave-manor halfway up the mountain, where a crowd of demons had already been waiting and immediately came forward to greet them.