Gold-Headed Jiedi choked on that and still wanted to argue.
Down below, inside Water Curtain Cave, a sudden commotion broke out.
The monkey troop's playful chatter came to an abrupt halt.
The monkeys' shrieks tangled together, pierced through the waterfall's curtain of water, and carried faintly up above the clouds.
The Five Directions Jiedi all froze at once and, without thinking, sat up straight.
Gold-Headed Jiedi was the first to extend his divine sense, probing toward the inside of Water Curtain Cave.
Gold-Headed Jiedi's pupils suddenly contracted.
"What's going on?"
Silver-Headed Jiedi had already stood up, the ritual artifact in his hand flashing bright, poised to strike.
"Could something have broken in?"
Mohe Jiedi reacted first. A thread of divine sense silently pierced through the clouds and plunged straight into Water Curtain Cave.
A moment later, he withdrew his divine sense, and his taut body relaxed.
"Nothing."
"An old monkey died. Its lifespan was up."
Gold-Headed Jiedi froze for a moment, then put away his ritual artifact as well and plopped back down on the cloud.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
Mohe Jiedi answered flatly.
Silver-Headed Jiedi also deflated and lay back down on the cloud.
"Gave me a fright."
"I thought something major had happened, but after all that fuss, it was just an old monkey reaching the end of its allotted years."
Bolo Jiedi picked up the dead branch he had tossed away earlier and continued drawing circles on the cloud's surface without even lifting his head.
"Monkeys, after all. Their lifespans are limited to begin with."
"Living a few hundred years already counts as good fortune."
"Perfectly normal."
"Just an ordinary monkey. If it died, it died. What does that have to do with us?"
The few of them soon threw the matter to the back of their