Chapter Eighty-Six: Letting Him Go

“...What do you want to do?”

“Nothing. You can go now.”

Keeping them here brought Yuan Wujin no benefit at all. If he wanted the journey to the West that lay ahead to remain under his control, letting them go was also a choice.

“Really?”

Xiao Tian could not guess what Yuan Wujin intended, and he had no mind to guess either. Right now, all he wanted was to take the Six Brothers of Meishan back to Guanjiang Mouth.

Since Yuan Wujin clearly meant to spare them, Xiao Tian knew how to seize the opportunity. He hauled the six collapsed brothers up from the ground and fled in a frenzy, terrified that Yuan Wujin might change his mind.

With the appearance of the Six Brothers of Meishan and Xiao Tian, this could be counted as a minor interruption. Yuan Wujin continued flying toward the Celestial Court.

To avoid any mishap after entering the Southern Heavenly Gate, Yuan Wujin chose to go around the Four Heavenly Kings directly. With his present cultivation, he could do so without making a sound.

But he seemed to have forgotten the Demon-Detecting Mirror at the Southern Heavenly Gate. Before he even reached the gate, he felt a surge of danger, and involuntarily returned to his true form.

“I actually forgot about the Demon-Detecting Mirror,” Yuan Wujin said with a wry smile.

The Demon-Detecting Mirror at the Southern Heavenly Gate was the real thing. Not to mention Yuan Wujin, even a Great Luo expert could not pass through the gate without a trace.

Trying to fool the mirror and slip through the Southern Heavenly Gate had probably only happened when the Great Sage Equal to Heaven raised havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

Without such a grand upheaval, it was still best to enter through the Southern Heavenly Gate properly.

“What happened? Why do the Four Heavenly Kings all look so downcast?”

As soon as Yuan Wujin entered the Southern Heavenly Gate, he saw the Four Heavenly Kings wearing bitter expressions. Could it be that Yang Jian had put pressure on them? If so, then the lesson he had given the Six Brothers of Meishan could be counted as revenge on their behalf.

“Four Heavenly Kings, what troubles you?”

“It is hard to say. The Empress will no doubt tell you. We need not say more.”

Yuan Wujin was a disciple of Holy Mother Jinling, and the Four Heavenly Kings knew it. But some matters were not suitable for them to speak of.

“Is that so? Then I’ll take my leave.”

Seeing their expressions, Yuan Wujin had no desire to linger and chat. He flew straight toward the Palace of the Big Dipper.

It seemed this was probably not about Nezha. If his guess was correct, it should be related to the Journey to the West. In his former life, the Four Heavenly Kings were recorded as having appeared in that tale, so this must be it.

However, the Nine Luminaries Star Lords also appeared in the Journey to the West. Yet according to Yuan Wujin’s understanding of them, perhaps only the Five Element Star Lords would truly obey orders. In particular, with the strength and temperament of the Sun Star Lord, the current Monkey King had not the slightest chance of victory. Even with Yuan Wujin added, success was not guaranteed.

Yuan Wujin was, in a sense, the young master of the Eight Departments of Heaven, so he passed through the Celestial Court almost unimpeded and soon returned to the Palace of the Big Dipper.

“Great General.”

Two star spirits greeted Yuan Wujin respectfully. Perhaps he had flown too fast and had not noticed the surrounding stars; he had simply passed before them. But these faint, minor stars had seen too many immortal officials ignore them, and so they felt no resentment. They merely continued to emit their dim light.

“Is Master here?”

Yuan Wujin tiptoed into the Palace of the Big Dipper. Only before Holy Mother Jinling did he ever reveal such a childlike side. If Yu Rongwang were to see it, he would be utterly astonished. When had his decisive, ruthless elder brother ever shown such a manner?

Holy Mother Jinling glanced at Yuan Wujin and said, “You returned at just the right time.”

“What do you mean, just the right time? Your disciple missed you, so I came back.”

Yuan Wujin naturally understood what she meant, but a little honey on the tongue was still necessary.

“Master, when I came back, I saw the Four Heavenly Kings looking glum. Did something happen?”

Though it was probably as he had guessed, Yuan Wujin could not help asking.

“They will only be able to guard the lesser gate in the future. The general who guards the Southern Heavenly Gate is being replaced.”

Not the Journey to the West? Yuan Wujin was greatly startled.

“Replaced? Why?”

“There is no why. They can only blame their own poor luck. When the time comes, they will naturally return to their proper positions.”

Yuan Wujin caught a thread of the truth.

“After the Four Heavenly Kings leave, who will guard the Southern Heavenly Gate?”

“Flying General.”

Those two simple words from Holy Mother Jinling stirred a storm in Yuan Wujin’s heart. The Flying General was a figure from the immortal fantasies of his former life; Yuan Wujin could not possibly not know him. Rumor said he possessed extraordinary power and was the foremost expert of the Heavenly Realm. How did he compare with Yang Jian? Was he weaker, or stronger?

“How does his strength compare with the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“Only stronger, never weaker.”

It seemed things were not quite as he had imagined. This was not the Journey to the West alone; there were too many things Yuan Wujin did not know. He could not say how much lay hidden within the vast world of the primal lands. Who could ever fully comprehend such a realm?

It seemed he could no longer view the primal world entirely through the lens of the Journey to the West. There were too many secrets buried within it, secrets far beyond what someone of Yuan Wujin’s level could hope to uncover.

“Have you ever gone down to the mortal realm and visited Flower-Fruit Mountain, which I mentioned to you before?”

“I have.”

“Did you see the Monkey King there?”

“I saw him, though he did not see me.”

“That is as it should be.”

Holy Mother Jinling seemed about to say more to Yuan Wujin, but perhaps decided it was not appropriate and did not make it clear.

“For these next few days, you may go seek out the Nine Luminaries Star Lords. There is no need to come here to me all the time.”

With that, Holy Mother Jinling motioned for Yuan Wujin to withdraw.

Even if she had not mentioned it, Yuan Wujin would still have gone to see the Nine Luminaries Star Lords. After all, they could be counted among his earliest friends, and they had given him no small amount of help in the Heavenly Court.

Before going to see them, however, he still needed to return and check on Xiaoyu.

The same gate guard was still there, and the Divine Ape Great General’s residence had not changed at all since Yuan Wujin had left.

“Great General, you’re back,” the guard greeted him respectfully.

“While I was away, did anything happen?”

“It seems that the Martial Star Lord came by once. He was extremely arrogant, but after the madam mentioned the name of the Lord of the Nine Luminaries, he left in embarrassment,” the guard reported after thinking it over.

Back then, Martial Star had been taught a lesson by Yuan Wujin shortly after Yuan Wujin came out of seclusion, and so he had come to the Divine Ape Great General’s residence to recover his face. He had not bothered to investigate matters either. In Martial Star’s eyes, any general he did not know was nothing more than a petty official of the lowest rank, and so he had swaggered over to the Divine Ape Great General’s residence with great arrogance.

When Martial Star arrived, he had indeed startled the guard and forced Xiaoyu out of the residence. To Xiaoyu, a mere Martial Star who dared make trouble here was nothing but a clown. Once the name of the Nine Luminaries Star Lord was spoken, he immediately tucked his tail and fled.

“Just a small-time nobody. Dealing with him only lowers our own standing.”

“If he dares come again, just make him get lost,” Yuan Wujin told the guard.

If he dared to provoke Xiaoyu, he would certainly have to pay the price. Yuan Wujin would not care who he was.