As they walked away from Gao Lang’s courtyard, everyone could hear the grinding of Wukong’s teeth. His expression was now full of wrath, his fist mashing into his other palm, demonstrating what he wanted to do to Gao Lang’s face. Muttering under his breath, only a few words could be heard by the rest.

“How dare that… looking at my Mistress like… dig his eyes out and make him eat them… strangle him with his own intestines!”

Ignoring the rather ghoulish threats being levelled against his superior’s grandson, Elder Mu turned towards Trip. His brow was furrowed in thought.

“Earlier, you mentioned the increasing infant mortality rates and the birth defects of the surviving children. Do you know how to stop it? A cure?”

“It’s because of relatives marrying each other. The closer they are, the worse it gets, and it’s carried over to the next generation. No cure I know of, but prevention is simple. Don’t marry a relative!” said Trip.

“Could it be… that simple?” said Elder Mu, in a hoarse half-whisper. He looked almost like he had been hit in the head.

“Eh? But… Lord Gao always told us that it was a curse from not working hard enough, not supplying enough food to the Crimson Army. Once we met their requests, their demon sorcerers would dispel the curse.” said Elder Jing.

“Father, even if the reason is simple, how to fix it won’t be. Where are we going to find enough outsiders? All the surrounding villages for miles around were already absorbed so many decades ago!” said Gao Cai.

“Son,” said Elder Mu, his hand on Gao Cai’s shoulder, “we can’t just give up. We’ll just have to explore further!”

“I know of a place that might help. It’s called the Monastery of LGS, about one week’s worth of travel through the area of desolation. Ask for Brother Mender, tell them Sister Trip sent you.”

“Monastery? But if they’re monks, would they be able to…?” said Gao Cai.

“They’re not THAT kind of monks, so yes, they can have families. Also, they have ties to other villages too. Maybe you could have some sort of festival or apprenticeship program, where your youth could meet each other.” said Trip.

“That’s a great idea! We should suggest it to Lord Gao at once!” said Elder Jing, clapping his hands delightedly, his voice raised in excitement.

“Wait, wait. Things… might not be so simple after all.” said Elder Mu, who was staring intensely off into space. Snapping out of it, he looked at Elder Jing.

“Jing, do you remember, when we were little, when the Crimson Army first came? Lord Gao’s father, our fathers, all the other elders, they were all executed. Because they were against the unification of villages. Could it be… they knew this would be the result?” said Elder Mu.

“Are you saying… this was… intentional? My daughter’s babies, all stillborn… it was all because of… them?” said Elder Jing. Elder Jing, who had been like a good natured plum all along, had transformed into an angry chili. His fists were clenched tightly, his eyes were bloodshot, his face and neck were red, and he was trembling with rage.

“Jing…” Elder Mu grabbed Elder Jing by the shoulders, “control yourself! There’s a chance Lord Gao has no idea about this! We won’t know until we ask!”

“Ask? I’ll ask him alright. I’ll ask if he’s ready to rebel against the Crimson Army!” said Elder Jing. His agitation had seemingly been compressed and concentrated, from a wild flame to a focused intense pool of molten lava.

“Good man! I’ve been itching for a fight! I’m with you!” said Wukong, giving Elder Jing a thumbs up.

“Let’s settle the situation with Bajie and Gao Lang, and lay Gao Xin to rest first.” said Gao Cai.

“... you’re right. Okay. Let’s get to it then.” said Elder Jing, nodding grimly.

“Elders, I’ve been meaning to ask about your supplying food to the Crimson Army. Where do you deliver the food to?” said Trip.

“Oh, that, we don’t actually make the deliveries. Every two weeks or so, some of their soldiers show up with a few wagons for us to fill up.” said Elder Jing.

“Do you know where those wagons go?” said Trip.

“I can’t be absolutely sure, but we’ve heard about this place called Yellow Wind Ridge, a massive mountain ridge. I think it’s one of the bigger outposts for the army in the region.” said Elder Jing.

***

At the village square, a small stage had been constructed. A group of muscular men, panting and sweating heavily, had just finished dragging Bajie up the stage, off to one side. Bajie was hanging limply from his restraints, still tied securely to the X-shaped wooden frame. He was silently staring at the ground with a vacant gaze, looking like he had given up all hope.

Around the stage, a large crowd of villagers continued to gather, growing larger and larger. As she made her way through the crowd, Trip could hear scattered muttering here and there.

“They’re really going to go through with it?”

“Poor Bajie… my kids will be crying for days… he always had snacks or flowers for the kids…”

“It’s all because of that Young Master Gao Lang…”

“Could it be, Lord Gao doesn’t know?”

“But Lord Gao has always been so fair, how could he allow…?”

From among the crowd, two small children ran up the stage to hide behind the X-shaped frame. One was a little girl with a club foot, and the other was a little boy with scales on his head instead of hair. Looking up at Bajie with their large, innocent eyes, they reached up as high as they could to pat him gently on his hip and stomach. It took a while before Bajie roused himself, looked around, before finding the little kids who were comforting him. Twisting his head sideways and downwards, he smiled as best as he could at them.

“Keep away from that murderer!” a rough voice roared.

A hairy leg came out of nowhere, kicking the little boy in the side, causing him to roll off the stage to land heavily on the ground.

The owner of the hairy leg turned out to be Gao Tian, who had stomped on to the stage while carrying an oversized nine-pronged rake that was obviously too heavy for him. Having dealt with the little boy, he took a swipe at the little girl, but overbalanced and missed her head by a hand’s breadth. Realising that she had escaped death by a hair, the little girl’s eyes were open wide in fear, and her face had turned as white as raw tofu.

By now, a few adults had rushed forward, gathering the two children up in their arms. Only then did the children begin to cry at the top of their lungs. While attempting to comfort the children, the adults couldn’t help but shoot glares full of flying razors up at Gao Tian.

“Gao Tian! Just because you’re the son of Lord Gao, don’t think he’ll avoid punishing you if enough of us report you to him!” one of them shouted.

“Report me? I’m doing you a favour, keeping your children away from negative influences! But if you’re unhappy, by all means, feel free to report me -- Lord Gao’s ONLY SON-- all you want!” shouted Gao Tian, one hand on his hips.

Bajie, who had begun trembling violently upon seeing Gao Tian getting violent with the children, screamed at Gao Tian, “Y...You! Leave t...the ch...ildren alone! Stop u...using my rake! Stupid Tian!”

Gao Tian looked at Bajie incredulously.

“What’s this? Even YOU dare to answer back now? It’s not your rake anymore, it’s MY rake, which I’ll use to beat you to death!”

As though immediately wanting to prove that he was true to his word, Gao Tian raised the rake behind his shoulder, then swung it sideways straight into Bajie’s chest. The impact was so hard, it knocked all the breath out of Bajie, leaving him doubled over as far as his restraints would allow, desperately gasping for breath.

Again, Gao Tian raised the rake behind his shoulder, preparing for another strike.

Which was when Trip jumped up on stage and punched Gao Tian in the belly, causing him to wheeze while letting the rake go and dropping to his knees. Which brought his head to the perfect height for Trip to grab, and introduce it to her knee by way of forcefully smashing his nose into her kneecap. Still grabbing his head, Trip dragged Gao Tian to the edge of the stage before throwing him off it.

“I’m doing Lord Gao a favour, keeping his only son away from negative influences. If you’re unhappy, by all means, feel free to report me all you want.” said Trip to the puddle of bully with an exploded nose.

“Wuuaaaaa! My Mistress is AWESOME!” shouted Wukong, pumping both fists in the air. Without anyone noticing, he had made his way on stage, and was leaning against the wooden frame supporting Bajie.

“Don’t worry little Pigsy! My Mistress, the Ever-Righteous Lady Trip, will soon have you out of this mess!” said Wukong while giving Bajie a wide grin.

-- Chapter 30, End --