A streak of golden light cut across the sky, landing steadily in the clearing before the gates of Crescent Star Cave.
As soon as they touched down, Tripitaka struggled off Monkey's back, collapsing on the ground and gasping for breath. His face was as pale as a thin sheet of paper.
The two disciples guarding the gate were clearly startled by the sudden scene, left momentarily at a loss.
Monkey stood off to the side, arms akimbo and expressionless, as if Tripitaka’s condition had nothing to do with him.
The first two times Monkey carried Tripitaka at full speed, he forgot to shield him with spiritual power—an accident. This time, though, it was obviously deliberate.
After a long while, Tripitaka finally caught his breath, bracing himself on his knees as he shakily rose to his feet. He stared at Monkey, stunned, unsure what to say.
Monkey shot a look toward the cave entrance and said, in an irrefutable tone, “Go inside. Hide out for a while. I’ll come get you when I’m done. Then we’ll continue west.”
Tripitaka frowned and protested, “This is pointless.”
“Then what’s the point?” Monkey snorted. “Go back and keep torturing yourself?”
“If the one who seeks salvation hides at the first sign of disaster, how can he save anyone?” Tripitaka pressed his palms together. “If I can hide, what about all beings? Crescent Star Cave might shelter me for a while, but could it protect the Three Realms forever?”
“Don’t talk to me about all that useless stuff!”
“Then what does the Great Sage consider useful?” Tripitaka replied. “If all this is useless, why did you risk everything to protect me on the Westward Quest?”
“So what do you think we should do?”
“Face hardship head-on!”
“And what if you die by accident?”
“Life and death are Heaven’s will.”
“Heaven’s will?” Monkey was instantly infuriated. He forced down his anger, eyes wide as he yelled, “I’ve staked everything on you, and now you tell me ‘Heaven’s will’? If it’s all Heaven’s will, why did I bother with any of this? Why didn’t I just wait for fate to decide?”
“Precisely because you’ve placed everything on me, there can be no carelessness.” Tripitaka pressed his palms together, face expressionless. “The Westward Quest is meant to defy Heaven itself. Eighty-one thousand miles, gambling on Heaven’s mercy. Only if I survive every hardship, step by step, can the clouds part and the moon shine through.”
“Heaven’s mercy? Ha!” Monkey’s face twisted with rage. He roared, “What is Heaven? Back then I beat the Celestial Army so badly they didn’t dare leave South Heaven Gate—I was Heaven! If I’d known you were gambling on mercy, I’d have sooner died under Five Elements Mountain than crawl out for this!”
Confronted with Monkey’s fury, Tripitaka was momentarily stunned. He took a step back, but kept his eyes locked on Monkey.
Faced with Tripitaka’s refusal to compromise, Monkey bared his teeth in a grimace, one hand unconsciously reaching for his ear.
He was on the verge of drawing his Golden Staff. Right now, he was truly impatient—desperate, even. Anna was in the hands of the Six-Eared Macaque, and he couldn’t bear to stay here another moment.
The reason he crawled out from under Five Elements Mountain to gamble everything was, on one hand, his own unwillingness to accept defeat. On the other, from what he knew, the Westward Quest was destined to end in Tripitaka’s victory. But there was another reason: he believed Tripitaka was not some stubborn fool.
But now, it seemed that wasn’t the case after all.
With disaster staring us in the face, are you really going to throw a tantrum now?
Monkey suddenly felt an urge to beat Tripitaka to death with a single blow.
He’d held back all this time just for victory at the last moment. But if something happened to Anna… he’d rather kill this stubborn bald monk and go fight Lord Buddha himself.
For a moment, the two of them were deadlocked.
One of the disciples at the gate quickly exchanged a glance with the other, who immediately ran up the mountain path.
The one who remained hurried down the steps to Monkey’s side, bowed, and said, “Disciple greets Grand-Uncle. Please, Grand-Uncle, calm your anger.”
“Get lost!” Monkey snapped, ignoring the disciple and glaring at Tripitaka. “Anna means a lot to me—a whole lot. How could a bald monk like you ever understand that?”
“I do understand,” Tripitaka replied expressionlessly. “Though I have no romantic ties, I am not devoid of feeling. Aside from my late parents, there is also Master Fabian at Mount Gold Monastery who raised me from childhood.”
“She’s in the Six-Eared Macaque’s hands now—a bloodthirsty, selfish monster.”
“I understand that too.”
“If you understand, how can you say things like that?” Monkey’s voice shot up, furious. “What if something happens to her? Can you take responsibility?”
“Even if nothing happens to her, can the Great Sage really be with her?” Tripitaka’s voice rose as well. “Don’t forget how many eyes are watching you—not just Lord Buddha, but countless others hoping you’ll fail! Every move you make affects her! All that time you didn’t even dare see her face, wasn’t it to let people gradually forget about her? Now, she’s inevitably caught up in this. If the Westward Quest fails, the one who suffers won’t just be you, but Anna as well! So, save her or not—what difference does it make?”
Tripitaka finished his long speech in one breath, leaving Monkey wide-eyed and stunned, as if doused in cold water.
The standoff froze again.
After a moment, Tripitaka, still gasping, said, “Besides, didn’t Anna herself say she could handle the Six-Eared Macaque? Great Sage, maybe you should calm down and think this through.”
“You actually trust her?”
"If you don’t trust her, Great Sage, who do you trust?"
Monkey stared blankly at Tripitaka for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, “I trust no one. Not even you. Satisfied?”
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“Great Sage.” Tripitaka blinked, took a deep breath, and said, “You must think I’m just making trouble for you right now, don’t you?”
“Isn’t that true?”
“But Great Sage, don’t forget—you’re making trouble for me, too.” Tripitaka bowed his head slightly. “The Westward Quest has always been my own burden. It cannot be abandoned or avoided. To me, the Six-Eared Macaque’s threat is one ordeal—but you forcibly sending me to Crescent Star Cave is another.”
Monkey waved his hand, let out a long breath, and glared at Tripitaka. “Sorry, I never planned to listen to you. You have two choices. One, wait here until I settle things and come back for you. Two… walk back on your own.”
“Then I’ll walk back.”
“Not a chance!” Monkey snapped, turning to the bewildered disciple. “Detain him—no matter what, do not let him leave Crescent Star Cave. If anything goes wrong… even if you’re a fellow disciple, I’ll kill you myself!”
With that, Monkey ignored the disciple’s stunned look and Tripitaka’s protests, spun around, and shot into the sky as a streak of golden light.
Only then did the disciple who’d gone to report hurry down the mountain path with Clara Heart, but all they saw was Monkey’s departing figure and Tripitaka standing motionless.
After staring toward Monkey’s exit for a long time, Clara Heart finally approached Tripitaka, pressed her palms together, and said, “Clara Heart greets Master Tripitaka.”
“Greetings, Venerable Clara Heart.” Tripitaka turned and returned the bow.
...
Lionback Kingdom.
At this moment, the Six-Eared Macaque was pacing back and forth in his room, occasionally glancing at Anna, who sat calmly to the side.
His expression was full of doubt.
Outside, King Roc and King Liontusk stared at each other, while Many-Eyes the Centipede sat cross-legged, quietly monitoring the room’s situation.
After a long hesitation, King Roc asked in a low voice, “Will the other one come charging in soon? With Her Holiness the Holy Mother here, given his temperament, there’s no way he’ll let this go, right?”
Glancing at the meditating Many-Eyes, King Liontusk stammered, “Um… the Great Sage said if that monkey comes, we’ll use Her Holiness the Holy Mother as a hostage. That’ll keep things under control.”
"Use Her Holiness the Holy Mother as a hostage?" For a moment, even King Roc, who usually only cared for his own life, was left speechless.
Meanwhile, Many-Eyes the Centipede remained motionless, clearly unwilling to comment on the matter.
Suddenly, all three pricked up their ears at once. Inside the room, the Six-Eared Macaque spoke.
"You say you want to support me—how exactly?"
Anna Yang smiled at the Six-Eared Macaque. "How do you want me to support you?"
"Shouldn’t I be asking you that?" The Six-Eared Macaque stroked his chin, looking puzzled. "You said you’d teach me how to be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. Since you’re so confident, let’s hear it."
"First, you need to go to Blossom Mountain."
"Blossom Mountain?"
"Yes. Blossom Mountain is the true holy land in the hearts of all demons. What is Lionback Kingdom, really? Just a scattered camp of defeated remnants. The demon clan’s golden age began at Blossom Mountain, and if it’s to rise again, it must begin there. Only by reviving the demon clan will you truly become the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."
Outside the door, Many-Eyes the Centipede’s brow furrowed slightly.
Inside, the Six-Eared Macaque thought for a moment, then nodded. "You have a point. But I’ve heard Blossom Mountain is nothing but scorched earth now. Bringing so many demons there would be… tricky."
"Did Many-Eyes the Centipede tell you that?"
"He did." The Six-Eared Macaque nodded again.
Anna Yang took a deep breath and sighed softly. "You’re the King of All Demons, Simon Stone, the Monkey King. I am Holy Mother of Mount Hua, Anna Yang, also known as the Demon Queen, and I ruled Blossom Mountain for more than a century. That one outside is just a minor member of Blossom Mountain. Who do you think you should listen to?"
Hearing this, the Six-Eared Macaque’s brow furrowed deeply as he looked at Anna Yang, clearly uncertain.
Outside, Many-Eyes the Centipede could only stretch out his hands and rub his face in frustration.
This was a power grab—so casually spoken, yet unmistakable.
Clearly… he had underestimated this woman who’d ruled the demon clan for centuries. She was far more than just a banner for her people.