Before long, Shadow arrived with the restorative elixir, with Anna Yang following close behind.
Seeing Monkey, her first words were: "I thought you'd be drunk by now, but it seems you're not."
Without waiting for Monkey to invite her, she sat down directly across from him at the chessboard and began arranging the pieces.
After a few moves, she asked softly, "Is this really necessary? Isn't it a bit much?"
"There's no such thing as 'too much.' We've reached the point of direct conflict with the Heavenly Court—there's no hiding from it. If I treat King Broadgaze kindly, they'll only see me as weak."
"But... treating prisoners well is the mark of a gentleman."
"Is that so?" Monkey glanced up at Anna Yang, chuckling. "If we act like dogs, we'll only get beaten when we're down. But if they see me as a vicious wolf, I think many won't even dare pick up a stick against me."
Finishing his cannon move, Monkey looked up at Anna again and said, "I have to make every Heavenly General think I'm mad. Otherwise, even if they don't attack, they'll keep testing my limits, setting traps. If your brother acted like I do, I doubt even the Jade Emperor would dare order the army's pay docked—no one would have the guts to enforce it."
At this, Anna suddenly laughed.
"That's true—no one likes provoking a madman. If you get on his bad side, you never know when you might get torn apart. 'Better offend a gentleman than a petty man...' That saying is spot on." As she spoke, Anna's gaze dimmed a little and she sighed, "My brother... he's just too scrupulous."
"He's a gentleman—of course he cares about his reputation. As for me, I'm not even human." Monkey shot a meaningful glance toward the dungeon door. "They all call me a demon monkey. I'm not even human, let alone a petty man. Hahaha!"
Anna Yang laughed along with him.
Inside the dungeon, King Broadgaze's screams continued unabated.
Soon, the game ended—Anna edged out a win, Monkey lost by a hair. Just then, Shadow emerged and leaned in to whisper to Monkey, "Monkey-brother, he wants to see you."
"Am I someone he can see just because he wants to?" Monkey replied, his face expressionless.
"Then... how should we handle it?" Shadow asked cautiously. "His cultivation has already been sealed. Even with elixirs keeping him alive, if this keeps up, he won't last much longer."
"Let him suffer a bit more. We'll talk when it's about time."
"Understood."
After Shadow left, Monkey beckoned to a young demon waiting nearby. "Go fetch Shortbeak for me."
"Understood."
After the young demon left, Anna Yang gazed at Monkey and let out a long sigh, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Now that you've crossed him, General Lee is in big trouble."
She clearly disapproved of Monkey's methods, yet for some reason, Anna found herself laughing more freely than ever before.
Suddenly, she realized that being a demon wasn't so bad after all—at least there weren't so many moral shackles, and no one could tell you what to do.
Of course, that only worked if you were a powerful demon king like Monkey.
Shortbeak, dead drunk, was soon dragged over.
Watching him stagger and wobble, Monkey sighed helplessly.
Monkey suddenly remembered the night they arrived at Drake City—a night of victory, when Shortbeak was just as drunk, saying all sorts of things.
Back then, Big Bull and White Ape were still alive.
Monkey suddenly thought of Big Bull's dream, and of Princess Tara Ironfan...
"Hmm, maybe I should go stir up trouble for the real Bull King?" If Big Bull were still alive, the real Bull King wouldn't even dream of marrying Princess Tara Ironfan.
He used to say that Monkey would help Big Bull smash that fated couple apart.
"Monkey..."
Suddenly, a roar burst out—Broadgaze snapped awake, but could only keep howling.
But all he could do was scream. Even without the ropes, he couldn't stand; his limbs had been mangled beyond recognition.
Seeing Monkey approach, the battered and half-delirious Broadgaze stared wide-eyed, trying to crawl away in terror, but couldn't move.