Stunned.
Utterly stunned.
He had said he was going to pick some fruit, but he fucking... toppled their whole tree?!
Did this monkey really have such a vicious temper?
Deathly silence filled the courtyard of Wuzhuang Temple.
The Ginseng Fruit Tree's gnarled, powerful trunk lay sprawled on the ground, its thick roots ripped bodily out of the soil.
Crystalline sap seeped from the breaks-the essence that spilled out when an innate spirit root's origin was damaged.
Its once-lush crown now lay tilted against the bluestone paving, branches and leaves scattered amid churned earth. The ten translucent Ginseng Fruits lay mixed among the dirt and broken leaves, their luster somewhat dimmed, yet still giving off a fragrance that refreshed the heart and soul.
But at that moment, no one had the slightest interest in the fruit.
Everyone stood frozen.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's face was ashen, his joined palms suspended stiffly before him, his fingertips trembling faintly.
Every trace of color drained from Maitreya Buddha's round face. His little eyes, usually narrowed to slits, were now wide open, filled with stupefied disbelief.
The prayer beads in Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva's hand had long since slipped free and rolled among the broken stones, but he never noticed.
Medicine Tathagata even took an involuntary half step backward, as though trying to distance himself from this nest of trouble.
And Sanzang...
He stood where he was, his tattered Brocade Kasaya mottled with blood, the injuries from Qingfeng's palm strike still aching faintly.
But now, every pain in his body had been replaced by something far more intense.
Fear.
Utter, all-consuming fear.
His lips quivered, his gaze shifting back and forth between the fallen Ginseng Fruit Tree and Sun Wukong.
Only after a long while did he finally squeeze a sentence from his throat:
"Wukong... you... how could you