Let's do it! Force is our only option!

Inside a dim cavern abode.

Five burly figures sat around a stone table, legs spread wide, their blood and vitality as deep as an abyss.

All were Monster Forms.

Had a patrolling spirit officer from the Heavenly Court been there to inspect the mortal realm, he would probably have been frightened clean off his cloud.

These five were none other than five of the Seven Great Demon Saints who had raised the banner of rebellion alongside the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and shaken the Three Realms with their fame: the Great Sage Who Overturns Seas, Flood Dragon King; the Great Sage Who Confounds Heaven, Roc King; the Great Sage Who Moves Mountains, Lion Camel King; the Great Sage Who Understands the Wind, Macaque King; and the Great Sage Who Drives Away Gods, Tamarin King.

Their titles shook the heavens, and their pomp was magnificent.

However, the Heavenly Court's Case Files made it quite clear that during that earthshaking havoc in Heaven, the only one who had actually stood at the front, cutting down celestial soldiers, smashing divine generals, and stealing all the glory, was Sun Wukong.

These so-called sworn elder brothers had hidden behind him, waving flags, shouting encouragement, and fishing in muddy waters.

Their presence or absence had made little difference.

Over the centuries, Sun Wukong had gone to fetch the scriptures and become the Victorious Fighting Buddha, while these brothers had traded on their old credentials to quietly carve out territories in the mortal realm and run illicit businesses dividing up merit.

Smack!

Lion-Camel King slammed his palm onto the stone table and snarled, "What fucking rotten luck! The operation we secretly set up on Flower-Fruit Mountain was ruined by two little immortal officials! The fruit trees are reviving, and we won't get so much as a monkey hair!"

Cutting off a demon's income was like killing his parents.

Macaque King spoke quietly at this. "That Monkey Sun is now Spirit Mountain's Victorious Fighting Buddha. With such a commotion on Flower-Fruit Mountain, he must know about it. If we stick our necks out now over a few pieces of fruit, we're liable to get ourselves covered in filth."

"Let's put it on hold for now."

"Let's talk about handing over merit."

"I'm the youngest here, so I'll state my position first. Whatever happens, I don't intend to send the merit from that side up this year. What do you think?"

Dragon Demon King lifted his wine bowl and took a sip, then sneered. "Then we won't hand it over. With the five of us brothers doing business together, where can't we go in these vast Three Realms? We've lost Flower-Fruit Mountain, so we'll make up for it somewhere else."

Across the stone table.

Peng Demon King and Macaque King kept their heads down, drinking together without uttering a word.

They were two-faced fence-sitters.

They followed whoever won and never lightly entangled themselves in trouble or karmic consequences.

Seeing the conversation cool, Lion-Camel King could no longer suppress the wicked fire in his heart. His large eyes rolled as he proposed, "Brothers, we won't touch Flower-Fruit Mountain, but what about the two immortal officials who ruined our business? Why don't we find a pretext, set out some bait, lure them down to the mortal realm, and butcher them?"

Kill immortal officials?

Macaque King froze, then recovered and nodded in agreement. "That's a fine idea!"

"Shut up."

Dragon Demon King frowned and interrupted the two hotheads, promptly dousing their enthusiasm with cold water. "Kill immortal officials? Do you think we're still back in the days of wreaking havoc in Heaven? Killing is easy; cleaning up afterward is hard. We'll work toward that slowly. There's no rushing it. What's most urgent now is our business on the Heaven-Reaching River!"

"Those three brothers on Lion Camel Ridge-Azure Lion, White Elephant, and Great Roc-have really gone too far!

"Relying on their backers, they've actually sealed off the entire Heaven-Reaching River! Anyone traveling upstream or downstream has to pay whatever merit toll they set. They impounded three hundred of our Flying Boats carrying goods from the Northern Julu Continent last month!"

"They're simply bullying us beyond endurance!"

Hearing that their cargo had been seized, Lion-Camel King shattered the wine bowl before him with a slap. "Motherfuckers! They've got backers, but we brothers aren't molded out of clay either! Fine! If they blockade the river, so will we! Tomorrow we'll plug the Heaven-Reaching River's Water Eye. Then nobody gets an easy ride!"

Macaque King hesitated at this.

He was accustomed to using his head. Rashly offending those three brothers was no good thing. The three demons' strength was ordinary, but their connections were thorny.

Seeing Macaque King's hesitation, Lion-Camel King's expression soured. "Sixth Brother, let's do it! There's no room left for negotiation. Force is our only option!"

Inside the cavern abode.

The demons seethed with righteous indignation, and the curtain rose on a struggle for territory.

The Heavenly Court.

Chen Wei sat upright behind the main desk, reviewing a few routine documents forwarded by the Bright Hall.

Since the matter of Flower-Fruit Mountain's tribute had been settled, the Folk Customs and Morals Inspection Bureau had gained a little renown in the Heavenly Court. Over the past two days, considerably more immortal officials had loitered outside its offices, hoping to cultivate connections.

However, Chen Wei's mind was nowhere near the documents just then.

He raised his eyes slightly, glancing from the corner of his eye at Yang Niansan behind the side desk to his right.

Yang Niansan had returned from leave that day, wearing an ink-wash-colored Cloud-Patterned Long Robe, her expression icy.

In the full four hours since she had entered, she had not volunteered a single word.

Her movements as she leafed through the Case Files were stiff, and the sound of her writing was loud enough to suggest she was carving a stone inscription.

Whenever Chen Wei's gaze so much as swept her way, Yang Niansan stiffened her face.

Just then.

Ma Muzhi entered from the outer hall carrying a stack of Jade Slips and placed them on Chen Wei's desk.

Taking advantage of the moment as he bent down, he raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice. "Sir, what's going on? After one trip to the Jade Pool, why is Lord Yang acting like a little girl who's been wronged?"

"I can see the cold expression," Chen Wei said in surprise. "But how did you tell Lord Yang was nursing a grievance?"

Ma Muzhi chuckled, sounding rather pleased with himself. "Heh, sir, you're unmarried, so you don't understand the tricks of the trade. Go closer and take a sniff, and you'll see. Lord Yang positively reeks of vinegar! This is clearly jealousy!"

"I suspect she probably had an argument with the Third Holy Mother."

"Oh, so that's it."

Chen Wei raised his eyebrows slightly.

He swiftly replayed the trip to the Jade Pool two days earlier in his Sea of Consciousness. Yang Niansan had been dragged into that perfumed powder puff of a crowd by the Seven Fairies and subjected to a fierce interrogation. She had finally escaped, but their fragrance must have clung to her. The Third Holy Mother must have scolded her for it when she returned.

Fairies and mortal women were all the same: they loved their vinegar.

When a subordinate was unhappy, a superior naturally had to offer some proper encouragement.

Besides, Yang Niansan had been implicated while conducting official business. How could Chen Wei stand by and do nothing?

Just then.

Yang Niansan rose and walked straight to Chen Wei's main desk, setting a document on it. "Reporting to you, sir. Our bureau is newly established and short-staffed. The day before yesterday, I applied to our superiors for three immortal official positions, and approval has now come through. With so many matters to handle, should we put up an Immortal Recruitment Notice to recruit new staff?"

Every other word was "sir," and her official diction was even more precise than Chen Wei's.

Strictly business.

Not half a word wasted.

Ma Muzhi tucked his neck in and discreetly retreated two steps.

Chen Wei ignored the document. Dealing with a sulking member of the Immortal Second Generation required an unconventional thrust.

He pushed the document aside and asked with a soft chuckle, "Lord Yang, did you cook any tangyuan before coming to work today?"

"What?" Yang Niansan froze slightly. All the words she had prepared were stopped in her throat by that single question.

Chen Wei leaned back in his chair and spread his hands. "Official Ma was just chatting with me about this. He said the tangyuan he ate two days ago were truly an unrivaled delicacy, sweeter than anything his mother could cook even in her dreams! Now his craving has struck, and he wants some more."

"Yes... I do indeed want some!" Ma Muzhi's heart filled with bitterness, but he still had to play along.

"As it happens, I'd also like some tangyuan today. I wonder if there's enough to eat our fill?" Chen Wei turned his gaze back to Yang Niansan, his smile growing ever brighter, his tone sincere.

From his observations, Yang Niansan most enjoyed having other people eat tangyuan.

Bringing it up now was simply perfect!

[Here I was, painstakingly boiling my heart's blood dry, finally arranging all these words across the page just so, fully expecting you to come take a look sooner. Who knew that after waiting and waiting, until my eyes nearly wore through with longing, I wouldn't see even half a soul! Tell me, what shiny new amusement has stolen each of your hearts? What lively place have you all run off to, that you can't even spare the time to set foot here?]

[Plain-language translation: Please send free little gifts and leave five-star reviews!]