On the southern sea off Blossom Mountain, the wind swept cold across the waves.
At this moment, half a month had passed since the Marshal Silver Love Case was resolved in the mortal world, and it had been more than five years since Monkey King returned to Blossom Mountain.
"Not yet. The youth was bawling so hard I couldn’t get a word in. I had them brought back."
This white-robed youth was petite, with a high topknot, a white silk ribbon fluttering behind, holding a folding fan and radiating elegant poise.
That delicate face was so exquisite it would make any woman in the world feel inferior.
After a long while, the lone boat, driven by the waves, finally drew close to the shore.
Shadow hesitated. "The youth’s at least Spirit-Refinement stage—not an ordinary human."
That very first step sank straight into the sand, nearly sending her tumbling to the ground.
Barely managing to stand upright, she looked down in dismay at the mud and sand on her boots and the seawater splashed across her hem, her brows furrowed so tightly that they could wring out water.
With a helpless sigh, she stomped off to a patch of grass farther away, ignited a white flame in her palm, and brushed it over her boots.
After a moment, she used a spell to clean off all the mud and seawater, then finally began to walk step by step through the forest, glancing around.
Not far away, in the grass, two little demons with faces streaked in camouflage and bodies wrapped in branches had drawn their bows to full, arrows aimed straight at the young lord.
"What do you think—immortal, or demon?"
"I can sense spiritual power, but no demon aura. Probably a cultivator—at least Spirit-Refinement stage."
The two little demons exchanged a glance.
"You go report to the boss. I'll stay and keep watch."
"Alright."
In the woods, the young lord frowned as she walked, stepping over fallen leaves, looking around at the primitive forest with obvious distaste.
"What kind of wretched place is this? Why would Channie come here? Skyhowl had better not be lying to me!" she fumed. "If he dares trick me, I'll use him to scrub the hotpot pot when I get back!"
Her voice was sweet, unmistakably female.
More and more demons gathered around her, but she remained completely unaware.
After walking a bit farther, the 'young lord' grew impatient, gazing at the distant mountain peak with a sigh: "Forget it, I'll just fly. At this rate, who knows when I'll find her? I'll circle around first and see."
As she spun around gracefully and was about to take off, two demons suddenly appeared, casting a net over her from above and trapping her in an instant.
A chorus of monstrous cries erupted, and a swarm of demons burst out from every corner, weapons gleaming coldly as they pointed at her through the net.
A rat demon in leather armor, tall and agile, chewing betel nut and carrying a long blade, swaggered up to her. Using the tip of his blade to lift her chin, he spat out the betel nut residue and snarled, "Who are you? Name yourself! What are you doing on Blossom Mountain? Speak!"
She was clearly terrified, staring at the cold blade pressed against her chin, her face pale, eyes wide, tears welling up inside.
She trembled and stammered, "Don't eat me... Just kidnap me instead, my father will pay any ransom."
Before she could finish, she burst into sobs, crying so pitifully that even the fierce demons around her felt awkward.
"Don't eat me, please, I'm begging you, dragon meat tastes terrible..."
"A girl?" Shadow frowned deeply.
"Shadow, what now?" A bat demon sidled up and asked.
Staring at her for a moment, Shadow sighed and waved his hand. "Tie her up and take her back. We'll question her once she's cried herself out."
Shadow was no longer the scrawny rat demon he once was.
After five years, he now stood over five feet tall, thanks to Crescent Star Cave techniques and Anna Yang's elixirs. He had reached the Spirit-Refinement stage, no longer the weakling who couldn't even chase down a wild boar.
After instructing his subordinates, Shadow pulled out another betel nut from his belt and started chewing, then lowered himself, summoned his spiritual power, and sprinted eastward.
He dashed through the woods, crossed a stream, and quickly climbed a small hill.
On the far side of the hill, under the shadow of a giant rock, a monkey with red and yellow stripes painted on his face, dressed in battered leather armor and clutching a cloud staff, squatted in the corner like a down-and-out old soldier, cracking sunflower seeds with Shortbeak.
"Monkey."
"What's up?" The monkey grabbed a handful of seeds and set them aside.
Shortbeak looked up and glanced at Shadow.
Shadow walked over and sat down cross-legged beside Monkey, cracking sunflower seeds as well. "Monkey, we caught someone... To be precise, we’re not sure if it’s a person or a demon yet."
"You didn’t ask?"
"Not yet. They were bawling so hard I couldn’t get a word in. I had them brought back."
"Bawling?" Shortbeak rolled his big eyes, cracked open a seed, and said, "Probably not a demon—maybe just an ordinary human who wandered in by accident."
As he spoke, Shortbeak split the cracked seed, tossed the kernel into his mouth, and swallowed it with a flick of his tongue.
Pecking at seeds wasn’t easy for a bird, but Shortbeak still loved eating them.
Shadow hesitated. "They’re at least Spirit-Refinement stage—not an ordinary human."
Monkey spat the seed shells onto the ground. "Nothing strange about them?"
"Nothing especially off so far... but just looking at them, they seem pretty odd."
"Alright, let me know if you get anything out of them."
"Understood!" Shadow nodded, scooped up a handful of sunflower seeds into his pocket, stood up, and turned to leave.
Monkey turned his head back toward Shortbeak. "Where were we?"
"We were talking about that toad demon—whole nest of them. They won’t let us open the mine. Well, to be exact, they want half of all the weapons we forge from it."
"Just tell him I’ll challenge him to a duel tomorrow—or a mass brawl, if he prefers. If he can beat me, every weapon we forge from that mine is his."
"No need for that." Shortbeak chuckled. "Rhino already led a team and wiped out his whole den this afternoon."
"Rhino could handle him?"
"Of course! Rhino’s reached Spirit-Transformation. What’s a whole nest of toad demons to him?"
"Then why bother telling me? You all handled it yourselves." Monkey shot Shortbeak a look.
"I just wanted to ask—is it really wise to run a mine a hundred miles out? Isn’t that a bit much?"
"No choice. Anna’s scouted everywhere—only that spot has the ore we need, and it’s a poor deposit at that. Damn it. The stuff we smelt for warships won’t be enough for future engraved weapons, and sure, that’s not urgent yet, but we have to plan ahead."
Monkey leaned on his Cloudwalker Staff, swaying as he stood up and brushed oil crumbs from his hands. "Anyway, we have to get this done. Did those two go to check it out?"
"They did, but just like always, didn’t do much. Should we take them out? Looks like they’re Spirit-Transformation now too—must’ve gotten plenty of elixirs from above."
"Let them be, just keep a close watch."
"Alright." Shortbeak nodded.
Monkey scratched his ear, turned around, and flew off toward Cascade Cave.
Night fell. In the dark stone chamber of Cascade Cave, an oil lamp was lit as Monkey sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating.
He had just settled in when Anna Yang entered from outside.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the door, sighing softly. "Be careful from now on. Latest news: Marshal Silver has been pardoned. The Heavenly Fleet will probably be mobilized again soon."
Monkey squinted, raised his head to look at Anna Yang, and asked, "He wasn’t demoted to the mortal realm?"
"No." Anna Yang shook her head. "The Jade Emperor let him go. The immortals are furious but don’t dare speak out. Now he’s more powerful than ever—probably going to be even more aggressive than before."
Monkey tilted his head back and let out a quiet sigh.
What was all this supposed to mean?
A romance case, and Pigsy wasn’t demoted—he’s even more powerful than ever... That’s quite a deviation from the script.
Back when Monkey first heard about the Marshal Silver case, he’d hoped the Heavenly Fleet and South Heaven Gate garrison would really come to blows. If that happened, Heaven’s foundations would be laid bare—even if the Marshal Silver case was settled, there’d be no troops left to suppress the demons below.
He never expected, in the end, things would just settle down quietly...
From now on, days wouldn’t be as carefree as before. Luckily, years of vigilance and hard work had built up a bit of foundation.
At least, it wouldn’t be easy for Heavenly troops to move against them now.
Monkey nodded. "I’ll tell everyone to keep a lower profile."
If they could avoid trouble, it was best not to stir any up—after all, time was on their side.
Anna Yang turned to leave, but suddenly paused as if remembering something. She looked back at Monkey. "By the way, my sister-in-law might come looking for me in the next few days. Help me keep an eye out."
"Your sister-in-law?"
"Princess Coral of the Western Sea."
"Oh." Monkey suddenly understood and nodded quietly. "I’ll let Shortbeak and the others know."
Anna Yang still wasn’t reassured and reminded him, "Don’t forget—my sister-in-law... Just make sure you tell them, or there’ll be trouble."
"Don’t worry, a woman—or rather, a female dragon—is easy to spot... Wait a minute." Monkey froze, eyes suddenly wide. "Shadow said they caught someone bawling today!"
...
In the pitch-dark dungeon, several braziers burned fiercely, casting a reddish glow over the damp, shadowy cell.
Shadow stood with arms folded, eyes narrowed, staring intently at the "young gentleman" who was trussed up and hanging from the ceiling.
"Why did you come to Blossom Mountain? Speak!"
"I was tricked into coming! It’s not my fault! Don’t eat me! Kidnap me for ransom instead, there’s a Jade Tablet in my pocket! Ask for whatever you want—my father will send the ransom soon!" The youth screamed at the top of their lungs, tears streaming down their face.
"Who tricked you into coming?" Shadow demanded fiercely.
The youth was sobbing so hard they could barely catch their breath, let alone answer.
Seeing the youth reduced to a tearful mess, Shadow’s face darkened even more, his patience wearing thin.
A sparrow demon sidled up to Shadow with a red-hot iron rod and whispered, "Should we use torture?"
"They’re bawling this hard without torture—what good would it do?" Shadow shot the sparrow demon a look.
If the captive refused to talk, Shadow usually had a way. But if they were crying too hard to speak...
He’d never encountered a prisoner like this before—truly a troublesome case.
Just as the demons were at a loss, the dungeon door slammed open and Monkey and Anna Yang burst in together.
"Sister-in-law!"
"Sister Anna..."
At the sight of Anna Yang, Princess Coral cried even harder, gasping for breath until she fainted on the spot.