✓𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 『𝑀𝑜𝑛𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑔』

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 17

Secrets Unveiled

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆"
-𝑶𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒆

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Macaque pressed her head back into the pillow when she attempted to move away. "Swallow it," he commanded.

Ying Xiu felt a surge of defiance, not understanding what this ball-like object was that melted with a horribly bitter taste on her tongue.

"Swallow it, or I'll shove another," he growled menacingly.

Tears welled up in her eyes at the unbearable taste, and she was forced to comply with his demand, gasping when he finally removed his hand. Ying Xiu coughed, trying to clear away the lingering coarseness from her throat. Thankfully, whatever had held her limbs had released its grip once the deed was done.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Macaque remarked with a twisted grin.

Ying Xiu gulped down half of the water from the pitcher, then threw it towards him. However, he swiftly fell into his portal to dodge it and reappeared by the foot of her bed.

"What was that? What did you do to me?" she demanded, her voice trembling with fear and confusion.

"What? Try to cure you with a refined pill made for flu? I don't know what you're talking about," Macaque replied casually.

"To cure..." Ying Xiu's brows furrowed in utter confusion. "You're an enemy. For all I know, that could be poison."

Macaque balanced himself on the bed frame, a sly smile playing on his lips as he rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to kill you, I would've done that already back when you welcomed me in here," he remarked, chuckling. "Honestly, any decent trickster would be able to do you in with how trusting you are of others. Especially animals."

"You—" Ying Xiu wasn't foolish or impulsive. Macaque took advantage of that and allowed her to ponder, his silence emphasizing his point. Slowly, realization dawned on her.

"Bean..."

"Bingo!" Macaque exclaimed. "Seriously, I thought you'd be more dense about this, but look at you go. You're really something else, aren't you?"

She glared at him and swiftly opened the drawer to grab the taser.

"Ah ah ah," Macaque warned, slapping it away with his tail and pinning her wrist to the bedside. Ying Xiu yelped as he slammed her wrist down roughly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Learn to read the room, would you?"

Ying Xiu tried to pry her wrist away, but his tail felt as surprisingly hard as steel. Realizing she couldn't escape, she decided to entertain his apparent act of mercy for the time being, hoping to find another way out of the situation through conversation.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Can't hear ya, sweetheart," he chuckled, finding her query too vague for a quick reply.

"Why me? Why the whole cat act? Why nab me? What's your endgame?"

"Take it easy, sweethe—"

"Ying Xiu."

"On to the first one," shrugging off her interruption, "You're, like, a special case. Hard to explain with what you know now, but trust me, it's way more complicated than you think. It's a whole other level of complexity."

"Cut to the chase."

"Sure thing. Second question, being a cat is way less conspicuous, don't you think?" he chuckled. "Can you imagine me just showing up at your door and starting a chat like we're old pals?"

"Doubt it," she seethed, eyeing anything she could use as a weapon.

"Snatching you seemed like a viable option, so I went for it," he shrugged, as if it were just a casual decision made for his own amusement.

"That still doesn't explain why I was used as bait. You could've gone for MK or any of his friends."

"But prince charming won't rush to save just anyone."

"Prince charming?" She grimaced at the memory. "MK wouldn't have just ignored—"

"I wasn't talking about the kid."

She froze, realizing the only other presence at that moment other than him and MK was the Great Sage himself. The black-furred simian grinned.

"He... Why would he be..."

Sauntering over to her shelf, he found an old photograph of Ying Xiu amidst a few other children. Though not well preserved, it offered enough clarity to identify her among the group. "Aren't you curious why your dreams keep replaying every night? A wielder of the same dual blades that slew thousands of demons to their last breath? .... Have you ever considered it's no coincidence that you stumbled upon some mystical weapons and encountered a legendary figure like the Monkey King?"

"What is this? Some kind of fantasy novel to you?"

"Sweetheart, I am a living fantasy novel," he quipped. "I'm the Six-Eared Macaque! And this city isn't that dull either, right? Weird things started happening after MK got that staff. And now, strange things are happening to you after you nearly touched those dual blades, aren't they?"

It should make sense, but Ying Xiu couldn't bring herself to believe there was more to it than meets the eye. "No... No, they're just dreams."

"Dreams?" he chuckled. A shadow loomed behind her, whispering in her ear, "No, they're real."

The woman jerks her head to the side, finding nothing but the bare wall. "What do you mean they're real?"

"Been there, done that. That sort of thing. And to top it off, we've crossed paths before. Like I said, you resemble her, you are her, you just haven't realized it yet." Macaque sighs, arms crossed. "Under different circumstances, I might have let you carry on with your normal life, but since you've started recalling things, I thought I might as well lend a hand. You know, for old times' sake."

"... Why should I trust a conniving trickster like you?"

"Why should you believe everything anyone ever tells you? Cowardly, yes, but nothing's more irritating than being duped by someone you were meant to trust just because they're the good guys," he mused, forming air quotes with his fingers before transforming into a cat with a small poof. "Morality and righteousness often overshadow the shadows. Take Wukong, for example." He settled comfortably at the edge of the mattress. "72 transformations? I can do that. Self-replication? Visual enhancement. I've mastered those skills too."

She tightened her grip on the glass she now concealed in the blanket, puzzled by his insistence on involving the Great Sage once more, just as he claimed that everything she'd experienced wasn't mere coincidence. He was toying with her, but she couldn't shake off the doubt.

She wasn't a fool, and Macaque seized that to his advantage. He smirked, as much as a cat could, his glowing eyes shining prominently in the dark. "I'm sure you've noticed, Xiu. Why would he just happen to be holding onto those weapons? Technically, they weren't his... And what about your little companion?"

Ying Xiu flinched.

"Coincidence? I think you're smart enough to piece it together."

Her blood ran cold, a terrible shiver running up her spine. Her hands shook as she slowly revealed the glass, hovering it on top of the bedside, only to lose her grip and watch it fall, shattering on the floor.

'Wonton... is Monkey King?'

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