A-Hu's pupils contracted.
"You saw through them and still let them go?"
Great King Si did not rush to answer.
He put the orange segments into his mouth one by one, chewing very slowly.
After eating the last segment, he pinched the peel between his fingertips and flicked it into the Bronze Furnace.
The orange peel fell into the fire.
The flames leaped.
A sweet scent spilled from the furnace's mouth, only to be quickly smothered by the chill in the Stone Chamber.
Great King Si smiled.
"Just playing around. Otherwise, it would be far too boring."
A-Hu stared at him.
Great King Si shook his head. "You don't really think Sun Wukong could fool me, do you?"
"If I didn't play this way, what should I do?"
"Get serious?"
He spoke with utter nonchalance, but A-Hu's fur bristled little by little.
Great King Si crouched down and reached out to pat its head.
A-Hu suddenly opened its jaws to bite him.
Great King Si had already withdrawn his hand.
"Look at you. Getting worked up again."
He walked back to the stone table and tapped his fingers against it.
"He can only rescue someone if I let him."
"He can only leave if I let him."
At this point, he reached out and took another orange.
His fingernail slit the peel, sending out a tiny spray of juice.
"You're too young. You haven't lived long enough."
"So you haven't seen much."
He peeled off a ring of orange skin, looking down as it unfurled in his hand.
"Have you ever witnessed the Creation of Heaven and Earth?"
"Do you know what it means to be imperishable through ten thousand kalpas?"
Great King Si placed the orange peel in his palm and crushed it into a ball.
"Heaven gives life.