𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌﹔lego monkie kid

第一章 ─ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏

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「 第一章 // 𝗖𝗛. 1 」

"Viva La Vida."

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"Master, there's..." You hold up a hand, silencing the boy. Your eyes continue scanning across the handscroll without interruption as your fingers unconsciously tighten around the pieces of bamboo stringed together.

Slowly, you exhaled through your nose, composing yourself.

"Inform them I'm absent. After their departure, blow the candles and lock the doors."

A blink, and a brief nod was all you needed to know the boy understood. Your ears twitch when the footsteps fade away. You close the scroll with a click and set it down on a tabletop nearby.

It seems as though your past has finally caught up to you.

The boy returns soon after, taking a moment to carefully lock the soundproof sliding doors, before hurrying over to the closest candle stand and swiftly extinguishing the flames with a gentle breath.

Soon enough, he completes the tasks assigned. The silence is deafening in the darkened room, not a single sound to be heard. Not knowing what to do, Jiangxue stands awkwardly in front of the candle stand at the furthest end of the room, his gaze sweeping around- And his mentor nowhere to be found.

With a clear of the throat, the teen speaks up once more; "Master, is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No need." You step out of the shadows with a small smile resting on your lips, revealing your hidden figure previously positioned by the closed doors.

You approach Jiangxue with silent steps, your tail swaying ever so relaxed behind you. "Good job. It appears you're as proficient in performing chores as always."

"I cook for you everyday, Master!" He retorts immediately, and you chuckle when his brows furrowed in that familiar puppy-like way.

He lets a groan escape as your hand moves to rest on his head, ruffling his white hair.

"Precisely. Keep up the good work, Xue'er, or your Master will end up dying of starvation."

"I don't get it, Master. Why don't you just request for professional chefs from the Queen Mother of the West? Surely, Master knows how well they cook," Jiangxue suggests, glancing your way.

You simply shrug, moving past his side to take a seat behind the low table on the elevated platform at one end of the room. You rest your face on your hand while you stare at Jiangxue, who in turn raised a brow at you, prompting you to answer his question.

"Your homemade food tastes better?" His sky blue irises narrow.

"I'm apathetic?" He gives you a judgemental look in return.

"Too lazy to write a letter to the Queen Mother of the West, Master? Too lazy to ask me to hire some chefs for you?" He returns sarcastically, shaking his head in visible disappointment.

"Fine. I just... I'd hate to bother her." I stop, observing his face for any signs of satisfaction, before giving in. "She aided me a few centuries ago when I was in hot soup."

"Very hot soup?"

"Boiling soup, Xue'er, boiling soup."

Jiangxue's face softens slightly at that, and you feel your heart throb like it did millennia ago.

"I see," his gaze then darkens upon moving onto the scroll lying on the tabletop. You watch amusedly as his lips almost instinctively purse into a thin line.

"That aside, Master, let's get to the point. That scroll..."

His voice wavers, unsure of how to proceed. Silence gradually envelops the room, hanging like a thick veil of fog. However, your voice punctuates the silence immediately when you inquire, "Would you like to read it?"

Jiangxue immediately perks up, his face a mixture of excitement, surprise, and disbelief: "Really?"

Your tail ceases its swaying as you pause, a sense of déjà vu suddenly washing over you. It makes you strangely uncomfortable; the type of feeling you get when a bad memory resurfaces from the depths of your mind.

You ignore it.

"Go ahead."

He beams, grasping the scroll enthusiastically.

"And the visitor, Xue'er?" A coat of red instantly paints over his cheeks, well aware he had forgotten to fill you in on the unwelcome guest.

"Ah- Yes. He claims he is an oracle, here to deliver a prophecy. According to the man, it is an emergency concerning you," Jiangxue inhales sharply, continuing, "He told me he had previously sent the prophecy via the Celestial Post."

"No wonder the contents of the scroll seemed so far-fetched."

"Yes, it's a prophecy after all- Did you just say 'the scroll', Master?"

You point to the scroll in his hands without a word.

A second passes, and then two. Silence befalls the room once more, broken only by an offended gasp.

"Master, a prophecy is a sacred text intended for those to whom it pertains; I can't possibly read this-"

"Hey, hey. Slow down, bud. I'm the one it 'pertains' to, and I decide who gets to read it." Your hand makes quotation marks in the air as you yawn.

"Master!"

You make a face, your ears flattening against your head. "Prophecies are no secrets here in the Celestial Realm, Xue'er. Sooner or later, news will get out, and every single Celestial being will know the once-in-a-millennium prophecy concerns some unimportant, forgotten Celestial Fox."

Jiangxue looks extremely unamused.

"Besides, we'll be fortunate enough to have left by the time that happens." You add with a sigh. For the second time that day, Jiangxue lifted his eyebrows in astonishment.

"Where to, Master?"

"To the Mortal Realm."

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