After a brief moment of shock, Clara Heart slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "Stop right there!"
Monkey stopped in his tracks, slowly turned his head, and looked at Clara Heart with languid eyes. "What is it? I'm here for Aiden Chen, not for you."
Birdie quietly tugged at the corner of Clara's robe, but Clara brushed her hand away.
"This is my place!"
"I know."
"How dare you barge into my place?"
"Well, I’ve barged in. What are you going to do about it?" As he spoke, Monkey had already drawn the Golden Staff from his ear and held it in his hand.
Since things were already tense, Monkey figured he might as well tear away all pretense—better to be blunt and skip the awkwardness.
"You!" Clara was instantly furious, glaring at Monkey. "Are you really going to cause trouble in Crescent Star Cave?"
"It’s not the first time I’ve made trouble in Crescent Star Cave. I was causing trouble here before you were even born." Monkey spun his staff with a flourish, stomped it on the ground, and beckoned to Clara. "Want to try me?"
Birdie glanced anxiously between Clara and Monkey.
Clara's teeth were clenched so hard they made a grinding sound. Her bright eyes glared at Monkey, and her brows were furrowed so tightly they seemed ready to bleed.
"What’s wrong? Afraid? If you’re too scared, I’ll just go find Aiden." Monkey glanced toward the inner room and said lazily, "He’s inside. I know. I don’t need you to come along."
With that, he shot Clara a mischievous grin.
That look made Clara feel her blood rush to her head.
She spun around to draw her sword, but in her panic, Birdie hurriedly reached out and pressed down on her hand.
With her head slightly bowed and eyes wide, Birdie shook her head at Clara, then gave an awkward smile and turned to Monkey. "Great Sage, you two are senior and junior disciples—why so much anger? Must every disagreement end in a fight? What’s the point?"
Monkey slowly crossed his arms. "Why are you here too?"
Birdie bowed slightly and replied, "Clara is an old friend of mine. I came to visit her and catch up—that’s all."
"Well, if you two want to catch up, go ahead. I’ll go find Aiden."
With that, Monkey turned to leave.
"Stop!"
Another sharp cry rang out. Monkey stopped once more, lazily digging at his ear as he turned back, his face full of impatience.
"Why are you looking for him?"
"To ask him something."
"Ask what?"
"None of your business."
"I’m his master!"
"So what?" Monkey tilted his head and beckoned to Clara again. "Come on, if you beat me, you get to decide. If you can't, stop wasting your breath."
"You!" Clara stared at him, biting her lip, her brows tightly furrowed.
Her grip tightened on the sword hilt. Birdie, startled, quickly reached out to press down on her hand again.
"Don’t... don’t..."
In the courtyard, the two stood silently, staring at each other.
Monkey’s face was full of provocation, while Clara looked as if she might burst into tears.
"What do you want from me? I’ve been avoiding you, so why do you still come here?"
"This is my sect. Why shouldn’t I come? Don’t forget, I’m still your senior brother. What I do is none of your concern."
"I don’t want to see you anymore!"
"If you don’t want to see me, just leave. No one’s stopping you."
In a fit of anger, Clara tried to draw her sword again, but Birdie still held her back firmly.
When it came to cultivation, Birdie was still just a bit stronger than Clara.
In her desperation, Clara shouted at Birdie, "Let go! I want to kill him!"
"Let her go." Monkey lazily pointed his Golden Staff at Birdie. "Let her come. I want to see how she plans to kill me."
"Great Sage, she’s your junior."
"Is she?" Monkey looked at Clara with a half-smile. "When I joined the sect, my seniors tested me. I’ve never tested her. Is she really my junior? Draw your sword. If you can withstand five moves, I’ll acknowledge you as my junior."
"Great Sage!"
Just then, a large group of Daoist disciples poured into the temple.
The disciples were all startled to see Monkey.
A path quickly opened up, and at the end of the corridor, Eugene and Yvonne Rain walked in, one after the other.
"Disciple Eugene greets Uncle Master Wukong."
"Disciple Yvonne Rain greets Uncle Master Wukong."
From a distance, they bowed to Monkey. The other disciples followed suit, each cupping their hands in greeting.
"Disciples greet Grand-Uncle Master."
Seeing this, Clara had to let go of her sword hilt, turning her face away in frustration.
Her eyes were already shimmering with tears.
For Clara, all these newcomers were her juniors; losing control in front of them was out of the question.
Monkey, likewise, put away his Golden Staff.
Compared to Clara, Eugene and Yvonne Rain were juniors, but they were true old acquaintances, deserving a little respect.
Looking at everyone, Monkey frowned and sighed, "It’s been a while. How is everything in the temple these days?"
"Thanks to Uncle Master Wukong, all is well." Eugene hurried forward and bowed to Monkey again.
After the greeting, he glanced, intentionally or not, at Clara—whose face was flushed with anger—and asked softly, "Uncle Master Wukong, is your sudden return for something important?"
"I have some business. I need to ask a boy named Aiden Chen a few questions."
"Oh?" Eugene glanced toward the room where Aiden was, then stepped aside and gestured politely. "Uncle Master Wukong, since you’re here, why not join me in the main hall for some tea? As for Aiden, I’ll have someone bring him over shortly. Would that be alright?"
"Is the old man in the temple?"
"He is. Would you like to pay respects to Master Sage?"
"Did he say he wanted to see me?"
"Master Sage hasn’t mentioned it."
"In that case, let’s skip it." Monkey glanced at Clara, then grinned and strode out with Eugene.
Behind him, Clara glared at his back, full of resentment.
......
Inside the Hall of Silent Meditation, Master Sage Subhuti was idly playing with a magical implement.
He glanced up in Monkey’s direction, a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.
......
After Monkey left, the crowd gradually dispersed from Clara’s courtyard, leaving only three people behind.
Yvonne Rain stepped up beside Clara and bowed. "Aunt-Master Clara, please don’t be angry. Uncle Master Wukong has always been like this. But I don’t think he means any harm."
"No harm?" Clara snorted, turned to sit on a stone chair, and at last the tears she’d been holding back burst forth.
"Aunt-Master, are you...?"
For a moment, Yvonne Rain’s mind went blank.
It was the first time she’d ever seen Clara like this.
"It’s alright, you go on ahead. I’ll talk to her." Birdie looked at Yvonne Rain and gestured gently.
Clara wiped her tears over and over, muttering, "That damn monkey! Damn monkey! I’ve been avoiding him, so what more does he want..."
"But..." Yvonne Rain hesitated. "Uncle Master Wukong said he wants to see Aiden Chen."
Just then, the door to the room opened.
Aiden Chen hurried over to Clara and handed her something.
Everyone looked closely and saw it was a piece of cloth.
Aiden Chen’s sleeve was missing a corner.
Clara was stunned, Birdie was stunned, Yvonne Rain was stunned—everyone stared at Aiden Chen, whose face turned bright red.
He lowered his head and said timidly, "I’m sorry, Master... I couldn’t find a handkerchief, so I had to cut my sleeve."
At that, Clara broke into a smile through her tears, pulling Aiden Chen into a hug.
"It’s alright, I’m not angry with you. I won’t be so harsh with you anymore."
"Really?"
"Really."
Seeing this, the others relaxed.
"So... should I take Aiden Chen to see Uncle Master Wukong now?"
"No." Clara shot Yvonne Rain a look.
"No...? Isn’t that a bit much? Uncle Master Wukong rarely comes here, and if he does, it must be for something important."
"Even if it’s important, we’re not going!" Aiden Chen said angrily. "He bullies my master."
Seeing the master and disciple united, Yvonne Rain could only sigh and look at Birdie.
"You go ahead," Birdie said.
Yvonne Rain nodded to Birdie, bowed to Clara, and said, "Disciple takes her leave."
With that, she turned and left the room.