"Is he powerful?"
"Not powerful."
After that, Belle never mentioned the old gentleman who had helped her in private to anyone except Monkey. She didn’t even tell Monkey that the old gentleman had come to Blossom Mountain to teach her formation drawing and pill refining.
Thinking back, that was when Anna Yang was coldest toward her...
But why would you just bump into the Dao Patriarch Lord Lao while walking down the road?
The girl couldn’t help but feel a bit dizzy.
After hesitating for a long time, Belle blinked her blue eyes at Monkey and whispered, "When we get to Heaven, if you meet him, you really should thank him properly."
"I will." Monkey shot her a look.
Monkey rarely spoke to anyone about the Dao, not even the Nine-Headed Wyrm knew anything. Of everyone on Blossom Mountain, only Anna Yang knew the whole story.
First, because the matter was too strange—trying to explain it to an ordinary cultivator would take ages, let alone to a half-literate demon. Second... Monkey didn’t want to truly drag them into it.
He’d never mentioned it to simple-minded Belle, either.
At this moment, Belle probably truly believed it was her request to the old gentleman that saved Blossom Mountain. But Monkey knew very well that Belle’s chance meeting with Lord Lao on the road from Crescent Star Cave to Blossom Mountain was definitely connected to himself. He was sure Lord Lao had done it intentionally.
But why involve Belle? What could that mean?
Looks like Lord Lao didn’t tell Belle about my connection to him. Fine, since it’s been hidden this long, I’ll just keep it hidden. But why did Lord Lao seek out Belle? Could it be... Belle is Birdie reborn?
"By the way, is that old immortal you know called Boyang Li?"
By age, it was nearly two years after Birdie died that Belle was born. If Birdie’s soul entered the cycle of reincarnation and was delayed for some reason, it wouldn’t be impossible.
But in this vast world, how could things be so coincidental?
No, Elder Stillwater said that besides Lord Lao and my master, there was a third person involved, who drew away Birdie’s soul.
If it was intentional, then any coincidence is possible.
If that’s really the case...
Monkey suddenly remembered what Elder Stillwater said about how to revive Birdie. His heart skipped a beat, and he quietly glanced at the bright-smiling girl beside him.
Two... choose one?
"Why does your face look so bad all of a sudden?" Belle asked, looking at Monkey.
"No, it’s nothing. Maybe I’m just not used to the climate in Heaven yet." Monkey quickly composed himself and forced a laugh.
"No way?" Belle waved her hand in the air. "I’m not affected at all—how could you be? Does Heaven’s climate really have a negative effect on you? If so, that’s trouble. You’ll be staying here from now on, so we’ll have to find a solution..."
At this moment, Monkey didn’t know that the black-haired elder was hidden in the pavilion, watching the two from afar.
He lowered his head, calculated with his fingers, and chuckled.
"Then why didn’t you ever tell me?"
Thirty-Fifth Heaven, Mi’luo Palace.
The white-haired elder took the bamboo slip handed over by the boy, unrolled it and read, calculated with his fingers, and snorted, "The Heavenly Dao truly is strange! When the Marshal Silver Love Case broke out, I was already suspicious. But he didn’t act for so long, so I thought it was just a normal change caused by someone in the lower realm trying to alter fate. Things like this have happened before. But now, if this were just a normal change, how could he personally bring the monkey-demon to Heaven three hundred years ahead of time? As for that girl, she’s only a grand-disciple under Subhuti, and shouldn’t be here at all. This is going to get interesting."
After speaking, the white-haired elder laughed and said, "Go, keep a close eye on those two. Don’t make any mistakes! Also, speed up the investigation into the two maidens transferred to Tusita Palace!"
"Disciple obeys!" the boy bowed.
Boyang Li is Lord Lao?
At this moment, Monkey and Belle were still waiting outside the Grand Hall of High Heaven. Inside, the immortals were fiercely arguing over the Marshal Silver Plague Toxin Case.
Originally, with that confession, the evidence in the Marshal Silver Plague Toxin Case was ironclad.
Although the deal between Marshal Silver and Taibai had been nullified by Lord Lao’s intervention, the confession was still public, with Marshal Silver’s signature on it. Now, Marshal Silver must either admit to the confession or to deceiving the Jade Emperor.
In Heaven, the Jade Emperor isn’t as powerful as imagined, but submitting a confession for a crime that never happened and presenting it in the Grand Hall of High Heaven means deceiving not just the Jade Emperor, but all the immortals of Heaven.
Could such a crime be considered minor?
Admitting to the confession or to deceiving the Jade Emperor—either way, the punishment is about the same.
At this point, Marshal Silver’s punishment is inevitable. The immortals who wanted him dead were especially excited, just waiting to strike while he was down.
But somehow, the Jade Emperor stubbornly kept looking for reasons to exonerate Marshal Silver.
Of course, the immortals led by Taibai wouldn’t accept this, and immediately attacked. The argument lasted an hour—by mortal reckoning, a whole month. Even Monkey waiting outside couldn’t help yawning.
Just as the Jade Emperor was about to run out of excuses, a boy suddenly rushed past Monkey and entered the hall.
A slip two fingers wide was passed from immortal to immortal, and everyone fell silent.
In the end, the Jade Emperor balanced all sides, had Marshal Silver admit to the crime, but reduced the punishment. His celestial status was stripped, he was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment in the Heavenly Prison, but wasn’t banished to the mortal realm as expected.
After much effort, the verdict was finally reached and the imperial edict declared. Marshal Silver, escorted by four celestial soldiers, slowly left the Grand Hall of High Heaven. At last, Monkey heard the heavenly herald: "Announcing: Sun Wukong, Handsome Monkey King of Blossom Mountain, is summoned to the hall—!"