Early the next morning, Master Sage Subhuti posted a notice, announcing that all affairs within the monastery would henceforth be managed by Danny Crimson. Yet Danny Crimson, being a free spirit uninterested in administration, almost never held the usual daily scripture lectures or discussions, and even abolished the mandatory morning recitations.
Apart from serving as someone for the disciples to appeal to when problems arose, and providing a deterrent presence, it made little difference whether he was there or not.
As for the events of that night, they seemed to have truly happened. It was said that the two Spirit-Absorption stage disciples Danny Crimson brought back had faces swollen like pig heads the next day, apparently because Danny Crimson was quite dissatisfied with their performance that evening.
Other than that, Danny Crimson took no further action.
Everything seemed to pass in utter silence.
As for the other disciples, now whenever they saw Belle from afar—even when she was alone—they would avoid her as if she were the plague, whispering among themselves.
However, for this young girl, her heart now held only the Monkey King. No matter what others said or did, she did not care.
She only wished to stay by the Monkey King's side.
For the following month, the Monkey King lay in his room recovering from his injuries, unable to continue cultivating. Just as Anna Yang had said, the channel that had once burst open within his body had now sealed itself again.
Thus, each day the Monkey King stared vacantly at the ceiling, at that patch of orange-yellow feathers, his body growing thinner and weaker.
The emptiness in his gaze pained Belle, but there was nothing she could do. All she could offer was her meticulous care, day and night, hoping the Monkey King would recover soon.
But what would happen after the Monkey King got better?
Belle was deeply worried, afraid that he would take risks again, and powerless to stop him. In all of this, she seemed nothing more than a bystander, unable to change anything.
Master Sage Subhuti still paid no heed, so in her helplessness Belle picked up her brush and sent a letter to her master, Elder Gale.
Three days later, someone arrived—not Elder Gale, but Belle's senior brother, Miles Moon.
After a polite inquiry about the Monkey King’s condition, Miles Moon pulled Belle outside. For the first time, the always obedient Belle argued with the senior brother who had always cherished her. Whatever she said, Miles Moon left in a huff, his sleeve flicking as he went.
When Belle re-entered the room, the Monkey King saw her cheeks flushed red.
The two exchanged a knowing smile and let the matter drop.
That day, the Monkey King vaguely remembered them mentioning the 'Vitality Pill' and 'Uncle Sky Loft.'
The days passed in quiet simplicity. If only things could stay this way forever, Belle thought. But she knew such peace was only a luxury.
As the Monkey King’s body gradually healed, the determination returned to his face, and the questions in his heart finally seemed answered. He plunged himself into the world of books, devouring their contents with fervor.
Yet whatever he pondered, he never shared with Belle, and her worries grew deeper with each passing day.
One evening, a month later, Belle was helping the Monkey King change his medicine as usual. She took the used bandages to the well to wash them.
After cleaning them, she would soak them in her homemade medicinal solution and hang them to dry for reuse.
During this month, Belle’s cultivation was nearly neglected. She spent each day gathering and grinding herbs, constantly busy, though her knowledge of medicine improved greatly. This was thanks to her diligent reading of medical texts—books most cultivators scorned, useful only before reaching the Spirit-Absorption stage. Once they learned the art of alchemy, such mundane medicine was no longer needed.
But alchemy was still far out of reach for Belle. For now, all she could practice was ordinary medicine.
As she crouched by the well, carefully washing the bandages, Anna Yang approached from afar, no longer needing to share a room with Belle now that she had her own little wooden cabin.
"Hey, little one, honestly, I'm curious—who is he to you, that you'd go to such lengths for him?" Anna Yang leaned against the well, smiling as she spoke.
Belle glanced up at her, blinked twice, then lowered her head and continued her work, as if Anna Yang didn’t exist at all.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Do you even know who you're helping?"