"Demons—run!"
Countless guests screamed in terror. In their panic, they abandoned their belongings and raced for the main doors, scrambling and shoving each other in a desperate rush.
In an instant, the once-crowded hall was swept clean of people. The curtains were torn down in the frenzy, left in tatters on the floor. Tables and chairs overturned, belongings scattered everywhere—a scene of utter havoc.
The flames on the red candles flickered in the wind, and an apple was crushed underfoot by the fleeing crowd.
At this moment, only Marshal Silver, Nisha Song, Old Master Gale, Tripitaka, and the now-revealed Louis Quickpaw, Barry Bear, and Prince Aiden Ao remained in the hall.
Old Master Gale stared at Marshal Silver in terror, slowly backing away. His legs gave out, and he collapsed to the floor.
Nisha Song, still standing in place, reached up to lift her red bridal veil. She looked at Marshal Silver, eyes wide, completely stunned.
Marshal Silver slowly turned toward the equally terrified Louis Quickpaw and Barry Bear, who were also revealing their true forms. His hand trembled as he reached up to touch his own face.
He felt a pig’s snout and pig’s ears.
In that instant, half his heart had already gone cold.
"I... What is this..." Staring at Nisha Song in horror, he slowly sank to his knees, clutching his face and howling in agony.
In an instant, right before Nisha Song’s eyes, Marshal Silver’s body began to swell like a balloon, bursting through his red wedding robes. Fangs sprouted from his mouth, a mane grew behind his head, and he transformed into a massive pig demon, a full zhang tall.
Nisha Song’s red bridal veil slipped from her hand to the floor. Her mind went blank; she blinked repeatedly, her mouth slightly open, unable to utter a single word.
"What... what is happening? Why... why would a perfectly good person turn into a demon...?"
Old Master Gale struggled to crawl toward the door, but his legs were already too frightened to support him. All he could do was inch forward like a helpless caterpillar.
Marshal Silver slowly lifted his head to look at Nisha Song, then, terrified, lowered it again and covered his face.
"Is this... the unbearable secret?" Nisha Song asked, her expression dazed.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall seemed to freeze.
......
High above, Lingji and Manjusri quietly observed the unfolding illusion before them.
In that vision, Nisha Song stood frozen, utterly lost in shock.
Marshal Silver, wrapped in torn red cloth, sprawled on the ground, clutching his head and trembling violently.
Old Master Gale was still struggling to escape.
Tripitaka’s party exchanged glances, at a complete loss for what to do.
A few brave villagers lay prone outside the main doors, watching from afar and whispering among themselves.
"Those people are demons? No wonder they were so generous."
"But... why is Gavin a demon too? That doesn’t make sense. We grew up together..."
One villager whispered, "Do you remember? They said... they were old acquaintances of Gavin. But how could a six-year-old child have old acquaintances? If he wasn’t really six at the time, then it all makes sense..."
In that instant, the villagers’ faces turned pale.
Who could have imagined that, all these years, they’d been living alongside a pig demon?
Watching the illusion before them, Manjusri sighed deeply after a long silence and asked softly, "Those five beads—are they used to dispel their transformation spell?"
"Yes," Lingji replied quietly.
"Now, Marshal Silver will have a hard time explaining himself. Of course, he’s not exactly innocent either. But what’s the purpose of all this?"
Lingji lifted his chin and chuckled, "Marshal Silver was just caught in the crossfire. Gold Cicada claims to save all beings... but how could he, when people are so ignorant? I just wanted him to see the truth of human nature. If he chose to walk among demons, he should have been prepared for this—wherever he goes, people flee. How could he possibly save all beings then?"
Turning to look at the smug Lingji, Manjusri took a deep breath, then resumed watching the illusion. He said quietly, "And what about your promise to the Yellow Wind Demon...?"
"Let’s see if he can get through this first," Lingji replied offhandedly. "We should leave quickly—if we alert the Monkey Demon, things won’t end so easily."
......
Inside the room, the Monkey Demon could no longer suppress his true form. He was now fully aware of what was happening outside.
Staring at his furry hand, he slowly broke into a grin—a grin that was slightly menacing.
Soon, his spiritual sense had locked onto the Yellow Wind Demon.
......
"You’ve got some nerve," a voice echoed in the Yellow Wind Demon’s mind.
Startled, the Yellow Wind Demon dropped the beads and spun around—only to find the Monkey Demon already standing behind him. He froze in shock.
In his panic, he looked around wildly, only to see the Monkey Demon’s figure everywhere—left, right, behind, even atop the surrounding hills. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared at him, impossible to tell which were real.
"Who sent you?" The Monkey Demon grinned meaningfully, stepping forward.
The Yellow Wind Demon retreated in panic.
"Why did you do this?" The Monkey Demon took another step forward.
The Yellow Wind Demon’s face twitched; his heart was pounding in his throat. He retreated several more steps and fell to the ground.
The Monkey Demon stepped onto a rock, looking down at him and said coolly, "Speak, and you’ll die quickly. Stay silent, and you’ll wish you were dead. Understand?"
Staring at the Monkey Demon in terror, the Yellow Wind Demon howled, "Venerable Lingji! Venerable Lingji! Save me!"
"I see now—it really is the Buddhist sect’s doing." The Monkey Demon snorted coldly and raised his golden staff without hesitation.
"Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me—!"
With a loud bang, blood spattered as the Yellow Wind Demon was sent flying into the air.
Standing on the ground, the Monkey Demon reached out and grabbed at the air. Instantly, the so-called Demon King’s body exploded into a rain of blood, not even leaving him time to cry out.
Lowering his head, the Monkey Demon quickly swept the surrounding three li with his spiritual sense.
"Hmph, the rabbit got away?"
......
In the hall, Marshal Silver trembled as he pushed himself up from the floor.
Letting go of the ground, he retreated step by step toward the door.
From beginning to end, he never dared to lift his head and meet Nisha Song’s eyes.
She asked in a daze, "Is this... the unbearable secret?"
Marshal Silver continued to retreat, step by step.
"Stop—! You stop right there! You think you can just leave without explaining anything?"
Marshal Silver stopped, still hanging his head. After a long silence, trembling, he said, "I didn’t want you... to see the real me..."
"This... is the real you?"
Marshal Silver nodded slightly.
In that instant, all hope was lost. Tears streamed down Nisha Song’s face as she stared blankly at Marshal Silver.
His footsteps shuffled back again.
The next moment, under everyone’s gaze, Nisha Song threw herself into Marshal Silver’s arms, clinging tightly to his massive body and sobbing uncontrollably.
"Why didn’t you tell me... Why didn’t you say anything? I said I’d face it with you—so why?"
Old Master Gale, still sprawled on the ground, was so shocked his mouth hung open.