✓𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 『𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔』

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 15

A New Face

"𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔. 𝑨𝒏 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍: 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅 - 𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒚"
- 𝑫𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒎𝒂

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

भक्षक               बन्दी

"Devourer" and "Prisoner" were the terms aiding his investigation. After gathering sufficient information, Tang laid out the documents days later.

"It appears you've stumbled upon the voracious dual blades of Chimangjing, the Red Python Demon."

"The Python Demon? Isn't that the tale where Monkey King gets swallowed whole and bursts out of her—?" Tang hushed MK with a hand over his mouth to prevent any graphic descriptions.

"Yes, that Red Python Demon. Legend has it that Chimangjing commanded a cult of worshippers. She gifted them two blades crafted from her own tongue, commanding them to sow chaos in her name. These blades, imbued with her essence, were rumored to amplify the wielder's strength a hundredfold, allowing them to vanquish even powerful foes and absorb their life force. The Monkey King supposedly defeated the previous wielder in a brutal confrontation, claiming the blades and concealing them from the cult's grasp forever."

Ying Xiu absorbed the vague yet unsettling backstory. It shed light on why the simian figure haunted her dreams. She shuddered at the thought of how he triumphed over such a formidable adversary. "And what about the dreams?"

"Well, as Monkey King mentioned, it's likely just an aftereffect. Nothing to be overly concerned about."

"...But what about... Lian?" The name sparked a vague familiarity in Ying Xiu's mind, prompting her to mention it, just in case there was a connection.

"Lian?" Tang puzzled over the name, then shook his head. "Sorry, doesn't ring a bell."

Ying Xiu nodded, grateful for the additional insight into her situation. Yet, a lingering unease persisted, fueled by the recurring dreams that gradually morphed into nightmares. Despite trying to rationalize it, she couldn't shake off the feeling of mistrust towards the golden-furred simian. He may be MK's mentor and the revered Great Sage from history books, but the unsettling dreams cast a shadow on her perception of him.

Past midnight, the dimly lit room echoed only with the rhythmic tick-tock of Ying Xiu's bedside alarm clock. Clutching her pillow tightly, she resisted the urge to succumb to sleep, dreading the nightmares that plagued her nights. Fearing what the dreams might reveal, she fought against her exhaustion, staring at the digital numbers on the clock. Eventually, she gave in, realizing that her paranoia wouldn't resolve anything.

With a sigh, Ying Xiu rose from her bed. Since it was her day off the next day, she reasoned that spending a few hours watching movies wouldn't hurt. As she opened the door, a pair of bright yellow eyes greeted her from the shadows, nearly startling her. Recognizing the resemblance to the frequent visitor, she tentatively called out, "Wonton?" The creature remained still, the light reflecting off its eyes as it gracefully descended from the coffee table to the floor.