✓𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 『𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔』

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 14

Seeking Answers

"𝑸𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔; 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇"
-𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑴𝒄𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒉𝒂𝒏

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

Ying Xiu observed their exchange with a growing sense of unease, her mind swirling with confusion at the sight of Monkey King conversing effortlessly with the others. It felt strangely surreal, as if she shouldn't have been able to perceive him at all, yet there he was, a vivid presence in her reality.

"Ying Xiu, do you see something?" Tang's voice cut through her thoughts, his concern evident in his tone.

"Um..." she hesitated, unsure on how to explain it.

Meanwhile, Monkey King himself couldn't ignore the connection he felt with Ying Xiu, a link that went beyond his intended communication with MK. Despite his initial attempts to dismiss the unusual circumstance, Ying Xiu's undeniable awareness of his presence forced him to confront the situation head-on. With a subtle extension of his telepathic abilities, Wukong reached out to her, offering a clear visual projection of himself.

"Oh hey, Ying Xiu! Surprised to see you here," he greeted her with a casual tone, though beneath the surface, a sense of intrigue and concern lingered. "I suppose my telepathic abilities are stronger in the celestial realm. You haven't come across any more mystical artifacts, have you?" he joked lightly, though the gravity of his question hinted at the seriousness of their recent encounter.

Ying Xiu's grip tightened on the ladle, her bandaged hands trembling slightly as a wave of nervousness, tinged with fear, washed over her in the presence of the mystic monkey.

Observing the exchange between Ying Xiu and his mentor, MK furrowed his brows, his curiosity piqued by the tension in the air.

The Great Sage nodded in apparent satisfaction at Ying Xiu's response. "Okay, good, good," he acknowledged before redirecting his attention back to MK.

Ä̤́̂̚n͎̦̜̻͈͇͉̬͊͒̀̆ͫ̈́͋̉ͅy̬̣͍̭̜͔ͦ̇͊̔ͯ̉w̯͗ͤ̑͂ͥà̜̫͍̣͖͇͉̬̑̉ͧ̿̆ͫ̈́͋̉ͅy̬̣ͦ̇͊̔... ̲̦͚̙e͕̬̩͔̩͕̔͛͌̌̆ͅv͚̭̫̖̲̦͚̙ͤ̚e͕̬͕̰̔͛͌̒ͨ̈́r̯̠̦̩͇͉̬ͨ̌̑̆ͫ̈́͋̉ͅy̬̣̠̜ͦ̇͊̔̈́ͯ̾͊ͅt͓̙͔͊h̟̪̜̟͙͕ͮ̎̄̆i͗n͎̦̜̻͈͍̺̖͊͒̀ͭͪg̻̰̹̥͕͊͛̊ͭ ̜̟͙͕̎̄̆i̗͓̜̥̭͗̄̈ͪͧs̲̬̝͕̍ͭ̓ͦ ̖ͥf̥̖̗̜̟͙͕̔̎̄̆i͗n͎̦̜̻͈̲̦͚̙͊͒̀e͕̬̔͛͌!-͔̳̮̪͎ͤͬͤW̙̰͍̻̹̲̦͚̙̋ͩ͐ͪ̚e͕̬̠͔̞̔͛͌̔͒̐̏́l͙̬̞̥̠͔̞̔͒̐̏́l͙̬̞̥, ͙̗͓̖ͬͩ̊m̩͈͕̥͍̦̩̱o̘͇̩̞̗͓̜̥̭ͯ̋ͭ͂̄̈ͪͧs̲̬̝͕̠̜̍ͭ̓ͦ̈́ͯ̾͊ͅt͓̙͔̠͔̞͊̔͒̐̏́l͙̬̞̥͇͉̬̆ͫ̈́͋̉ͅy̬̣ͦ̇͊̔ ̖ͥf̥̖̗̜̟͙͕̔̎̄̆i͗n͎̦̜̻͈̲̦͚̙͊͒̀e͕̬̔͛͌. ̮̪̈S̖̜͚̥͍̦̩̱̽o̘͇̩̞ͯ̋ͭ͂, ̠͔̞̔͒̐̏́l͙̬̞̥̜̟͙͕̎̄̆i̗͓̜̥̭͗̄̈ͪͧs̲̬̝͕̠̜̍ͭ̓ͦ̈́ͯ̾͊ͅt͓̙͔̲̦͚̙͊e͕̬̔͛͌n͎̦̜̻͈͊͒̀, ͍̭̜͔ͯ̉w̯̲̦͚̙͗ͤ̑͂ͥe͕̬̔͛͌ ͍̺̖ͭͪg̻̰̹̥͕̥͍̦̩̱͊͛̊ͭo̘͇̩̞̠̜ͯ̋ͭ͂̈́ͯ̾͊ͅt͓̙͔͊ à̜̫͍̣͖̑̉ͧ̿ ͬ̅b̖̰̮̜̟͙͕͊͗ͬ̎̄̆i̠̜͗̈́ͯ̾͊ͅt͓̙͔͊ ̥͍̦̩̱o̘͇̩̞̖ͯ̋ͭ͂ͥf̥̖̗̔ à̜̫͍̣͖̑̉ͧ̿ ̰̭̝̈p̪͕̰̈͊̄̒ͨ̈́r̯̠̦̩̥͍̦̩̱ͨ̌̑o̘͇̩̞ͯ̋ͭ͂ͬ̅b̖̰̮̠͔̞͊͗ͬ̔͒̐̏́l͙̬̞̥̲̦͚̙e͕̬͙̗͓̖̔͛͌ͬͩ̊m̩͈͕."

The commotion outside drew all of their attention, and they hurried out to witness a surprisingly surreal sight: a colossal dumpling plummeting from the sky. Ying Xiu stood frozen, her mouth gaping in a mixture of terror and hunger, mirroring Tang's expression. It was a sight that both amazed and horrified her, the thought of perishing beneath the weight of a giant soup dumpling strangely intriguing yet terrifying all at once.