✓𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 『𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔』

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 12

Portents

"𝑨𝒔 𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏, 𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 '𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅' "
— 𝑬𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒉 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Rows of drums stretched from left to right, while banners of deep crimson adorned the walls. At the far end of the path stood an imposing onyx marble baptismal font, flanked by two figures eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Glancing down to her right, she found herself in the presence of a young girl, her hand tugging gently for reassurance. "Don't fret, big sis. I'll be right here with you," the girl whispered before slipping into the crowd.

As the world around her swirled and shifted, a new scene unfolded.

She felt the cool embrace of the water as her head dipped below the surface, accompanied by the faint murmur of an incantation. "With this act, your blood oath is bound. Arise, our chosen successor!" Emerging from the baptismal waters, she beheld her reflection—a visage framed by cream white hair and accented with streaks of black. Turning towards her family, she saw tears glistening in their eyes—her parents and younger sister, all with hair as white as snow, weeping in an unusual mix of pride and sorrow.

The setting shifts, and she finds herself wielding blades enveloped in a crimson mist, slicing through the air with a swiftness matching that of the demonic adversary. With precision, the weapons intercept the creature's menacing claws and gnashing fangs, and there she sees the surface adorned with two Sanskrit inscriptions:

भक्षक (devourer)
बन्दी (prisoner)

Huntress... Xiu

The blades throbbed, their radiance overwhelming until the scene morphed once more.

Now, she stands in the hall, drenched in blood, the crimson mingling seamlessly with her scarlet hanfu. Gasping for breath, a primal growl escapes her lips. Despite her exhaustion, her gaze fixates on one unmistakable sight: the Monkey King, amidst the sprawled bodies of her entire clan and family.

Ying Xiu jolts awake with a gasp, pushing herself up with a groan, only to meet the unforgiving solidity of a bench above her. Rubbing her sore scalp, she wonders how, why, and when she ended up falling asleep in such an odd place.

Once she gathers herself, she rushes back into the shop, finding Mei and Tang similarly bewildered as they pick themselves up from the floor. Ying Xiu could have sworn Pigsy was just here before she dozed off outside. "Does anyone have any idea what's happening?" They all shake their heads in confusion.

Just then, her phone buzzes, drawing their attention. Hesitant, Ying Xiu answers the call at the sight of the unknown number. "Hello?"

"Is this Ying Xiu? From... Pigsy's Noodles shop?"

Ying Xiu looks over at Mei and Tang, who have already gathered around her to listen in. "Yes, who's calling?"

"You need to come to the hospital."

As it turns out, the commotion was caused by a Sleep Bug app that one of the Spider Queen's lackeys unleashed at The Cloud. Ying Xiu couldn't quite make sense of it all, but she didn't dwell on it knowing that MK had likely resolved the issue. However, Pigsy ended up in a cast because, somehow, he woke up in a shopping cart careening down the mountain.