Chapter 48: The Great Sage Equal to Heaven's Weak Point — Who Can Stand It?

The night wind blew that arrogant vow apart over the skies of Western Liang Kingdom, and no one dared to follow up.

All the gods and buddhas across the heavens pretended to be dead, fearing to be noticed by this monkey who had just slain a Quasi-Saint assassin.

Sun Wukong didn't even glance at that group of shrinking-head turtles again.

He lowered his head to look at the person in his arms.

Kong Xuan's face was deathly pale, and those phoenix eyes that usually held a hint of sharpness were now half-closed,

His breath was faint, as if he might stop breathing at any moment.

The toxic residue of law left by that black mist was still seeping in.

"Hold on tight."

Sun Wukong threw down a line, his figure flickered, and he directly drew an afterimage in the void.

He didn't return to Mount Huaguo; it was too far.

He kicked open the door of a secluded warm pavilion in the rear court of the imperial palace.

Inside, a few palace maids who were about to pack their belongings and flee screamed in fright, their bundles scattering across the floor.

"Get out."

Sun Wukong had no time to quibble with mortals.

He darted a few steps to the phoenix couch draped with pink gauze and laid Kong Xuan upon it.

His movements were very gentle.

"Hiss..."

As soon as Kong Xuan touched the pillow, he winced and sucked in a breath of cold air from the pain.

The gash on his back was too deep; the shadow demon's law power not only sliced through skin and flesh,

but also locked the surrounding space, making the wound impossible to heal.

"Damned filthy thing."

Sun Wukong cursed.

He wanted to reach out and cover the wound, but feared his old calluses would hurt her; his two hands hovered in mid-air, scratching his ears and cheeks, anxious enough to make sweat bead on his forehead.

The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who could normally poke a hole in the sky with a single staff, now looked like a clueless youth at a loss.

Kong Xuan lay on the soft pillow, turning his head to look at him.

His face was as white as paper, his lips devoid of color, yet his phoenix eyes held a smile.

"Great Sage."

Her voice was so faint it was just breath, "What are your hands shaking for? Are you afraid you'll lose sight of me?"

"Pfft!"

Sun Wukong glared at her, neck stiff, "I'm afraid that if I use too much strength I'll crush your little frame."

"Your phoenix bloodline is probably diluted, huh? So fragile."

Stubborn.

Kong Xuan didn't call him out on it.

Sun Wukong drew a deep breath, and a wisp of golden chaos true fire ignited at his fingertips.

"Endure."

His voice sank, "I have to burn clean the law left by that damned thing; clothes… are in the way."

Kong Xuan's five-colored feather robe was soaked through with blood and stuck to the wound.

"Just tear it off." Kong Xuan buried his face in the pillow, his voice muffled.

"Rip!"

Sun Wukong showed no courtesy, grabbing and tearing it.

The costly five-colored divine feathers turned into flying fragments.

The back, once smooth as jade, now bore a half-foot-long black scar that hissed with black smoke, looking ferocious and dreadful.

Sun Wukong's pupils contracted slightly.

If it had deviated by even half a point, it would have gouged out his heart.

"Stupid bird."

He muttered, and the true fire in his palm pressed against it.

"Hmph!"

Kong Xuan's body jerked stiff, his fingers digging into the brocade blanket beneath him, his knuckles whitening.

The agony of having his soul scorched by fierce fire was worse than death by a thousand cuts.

Sun Wukong's other hand pressed her shoulder, an endless stream of primordial holy power flowing from his palm to guard her heart.

Time passed bit by bit.

The black smoke dissipated, and that ferocious wound, nourished by holy power, finally began to heal slowly, sprouting pink new flesh.

Sun Wukong exhaled in relief, just about to withdraw his hand.

"Don't move."

Kong Xuan suddenly turned over.

A large expanse of snow-white skin dazzled Sun Wukong's eyes.

She wore no upper garment, only a dudou embroidered with mandarin ducks tied in front, one strap broken, threatening to slip off.

Sun Wukong's old face flushed red; instinctively he turned his head away, yet his gaze drifted back involuntarily.

"Put it on!"

He pulled an ill-fitting tiger-skin skirt from his ear and tossed it over, covering her.

Hot.

Kong Xuan lifted a corner of her tiger‑skin skirt.

She propped herself up and moved close to Sun Wukong.

The two were so close that Sun Wukong could smell the sandalwood scent on her, mingled with a whiff of blood.

Sun Wukong.

She didn't call him Great Sage, nor did she call him the mischievous monkey.

You look at me.

Sun Wukong had to turn his head.

Their gazes met.

Those phoenix eyes, usually proud and aloof, now swelled like a pool, reflecting a bewildered monkey.

You just said…

Kong Xuan extended her hand, her fingertips lightly hooking the broken strap of Sun Wukong's cloak, and asked, "Am I yours?"

Sun Wukong's body stiffened for a moment.

"That was to intimidate the knife‑wielder," he said, his gaze drifting to the tassels hanging from the canopy. "Just a show, understand?"

"I don't understand."

Kong Xuan leaned forward, almost pressing her whole body against his.

The soft touch made Sun Wukong's monkey hair stand on end.

"I'm stubborn."

Kong Xuan stared into his eyes, pausing between each word, "If you say it out loud, I'll take it seriously. If you dare to backtrack…"

"What then?" Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow.

"Then I'll go to the Ling Shan gate entrance and hang myself, saying you abandoned me from the start."

…

Sun Wukong stared at the face so close it seemed within arm's reach.

Five hundred years ago, he had seen this peacock in the Heavenly Palace. Back then she was the lofty Great Ming King, looking at everyone as if they were trash.

Now, this proud phoenix, to save him, almost risked her life, and at this moment she's acting like a rogue, pulling a scam.

But he doesn't dislike her.

Even… his heart beats a bit faster, as if he had first stolen some monkey wine on Mount Huaguo.

"Troublesome."

Sun Wukong muttered.

He didn't push her away; instead, he reached out and clumsily tied a knot in the broken strap of her belly‑band.

It was a dead knot.

"If you want to be mine, you have to endure beating."

Sun Wukong's palm rumbled over her head, tangling her smooth black hair into a nest, "Be smarter from now on; don't keep risking your life at every turn."

That was his acceptance.

Kong Xuan smiled.

That smile tugged at her still‑unhealed wound, pain making her gasp,

but she fell into his broad, sturdy embrace, finding a comfortable position and snuggling.

"Understood, Great King."

…

Kong Xuan has been nursing her injuries these past few days, and the Western Liang Women's Nation has taken a hit.

Her wound not yet fully healed, the former Great Ming King has already begun exercising the authority of a Boss Lady.

"These grapes are sour; Great Sage doesn't like them, replace them."

"Who brewed that wine? Diluted it with water? Smash it and re‑brew."

"And that someone…"

Kong Xuan, draped in Sun Wukong's scarlet cloak, sat in a pavilion in the palace garden, pointing at several female officials trying to get close to Sun Wukong.

"Stay three zhang away from this monkey."

"He has fleas; they're contagious."

Sun Wukong, squatting on a tree and gnawing a peach, almost choked on it.

"I have no fleas!"

"I said there are, so there are," Kong Xuan's phoenix eyes narrowed.

Sun Wukong tucked his neck in, silently spat out the peach pit, and shifted to another branch.

Can't afford to provoke.

That scene, via some unknown means, spread throughout the Three Realms.

Palace of Eternal Cold.

The pill‑making Jade Rabbit shivered, because she saw her own gentle and serene Chang'e,

who was holding a pair of scissors, cutting off all the fanned peacock tails in the Imperial Garden.

"Flirty fox."

Chang'e gritted her teeth, the scissors clicking, "Is it just one slash? I can block that! I can block two!"

The laurel tree trembled as it was cut down.

Western Liang Women's Nation.

Sun Wukong is enjoying a rare peace.

Though Kong Xuan is lenient, one must admit, this woman's skill at serving people far exceeds her fighting skill.

She peeled the grape and handed it straight to his mouth; the wine was warmed, and even the Golden Cudgel was polished to a shine with a piece of silk by her.

A day like this, even the Jade Emperor wouldn't trade it.

Hum—

Before he could swallow the grape, a sudden ripple rose in his Sea of Knowledge.

It was the bell tolling from deep within his Línghún.

No magical aura stirred, yet it shook Sun Wukong's Original Spirit with a shiver.

"Disciple."

Bodhi Patriarch's voice, lazy yet with a barely perceptible seriousness, "Have you had enough of the gentle countryside?"

Sun Wukong jolted, leapt down from the tree.

Kong Xuan's hand paused, sharply sensing something, "What's wrong?"

Sun Wukong swallowed the grape, brushed the ash off his hand.

The lazy momentum soaked in the gentle countryside vanished instantly, replaced by a sharpness that could pierce Heaven.

"The old man called me."

He looked east, toward the direction of Spiritual Platform Fangcun Mountain.

"Something big happened?" Kong Xuan stood, his cloak slipping down.

"Hard to say."

Sun Wukong squinted, "When Master doesn't look for me, when he does, it's bound to be bad news."

The last time Master summoned him, it was to smash Ling Shan.

This time…

"Time to tidy up."

With the Golden Cudgel in hand, Sun Wukong lifted his chin at Kong Xuan, "I'll take you back to your mother's home… no, back to the master's sect to acknowledge a gate."

"Some debts should be settled as the final accounts."