Chapter Fifty-Two: The Golden Band of Resolve, A Monkey in a Crown

“Is there really a traitor? But it’s not a person—it’s a monkey!”

Wang Cheng’s expression changed as well. Only after witnessing the scene with his own eyes did he realize he had fallen into the trap of conventional thinking. In a world where mystical arts manifest in the open, who said that the one responsible for evil deeds must be human and not something else?

Hou Yong himself was indeed above suspicion; Han Zechang had not been blind when choosing a helper for his beloved niece. The problem lay in the monkey he raised.

The golden circlet the monkey always wore on its head was, in all likelihood, a treasure that blocked the probing vision of the “Rare Finds at a Glance” technique. Hou Yong’s oddity only appeared because he was always accompanied by the monkey, whose aura was intimately connected to his own, inadvertently serving as a smokescreen for the true culprit.

When the monkey took off its circlet and tried to place it on Han Shushu’s head, its aura finally betrayed a flaw, allowing Sihai Tongbao to glimpse a fragment of the truth.

[Suppressing Relic: Heart-Calming Golden Circlet (Provincial Treasure)
This relic is anchored in a myth known to all, drawing upon the collective wishes and faith of the people to form a supernatural resonance.
It can pacify the mind-ape and subdue the will-horse, controlling minds from the inside out, unlocking dormant strength within the body; it works wonders on both monkeys and humans.
Taboo: Composed of a curse and a circlet, once worn, it can only be removed by dealing with the one who holds the curse. Only then does its control lift...]

Even with the barest intuition, one could guess that this circlet was a symbol of the “Monkey Taming” tradition, the inherited suppressive relic of a certain local office. It was a precious treasure meant to subdue the luck of an entire lineage.

The gentry faction under Pu Shouying had spared no expense to deal with Han Shushu—or rather, with the “River-Turning Rat” Han Zechang behind her. If Han Shushu donned this golden circlet during her ascension, her fate and fortune would become inextricably entangled. Even if the circlet could be removed from her head, the shackles upon her destiny and heart would never be undone—she would forever be manipulated like a trained monkey, her life doomed to misery and servitude.

Hou Yong had yet to realize that the monkey he’d raised since infancy had already fallen under the remote control of another middle-tier “Monkey Tamer.” After his cries went unanswered, he leapt instinctively, hoping to stop this renegade beast with the “Drunken Monkey Fist” he’d honed for years.

But the monkey didn’t even spare him a glance. With a flick of its tail, hard as iron, it struck his head with a thundering blow.

Thud! Hou Yong collapsed on the deck.

Han Shushu opened her eyes just in time to see a ferocious monkey face looming inches away. The joy of imminent ascension froze on her features, but she was still receiving the final breath of divine energy and could neither leave the altar nor move. She could only wail inwardly in terror:

“It’s over, it’s over! This time, Shushu, you really can’t escape your doom...”

On another ship, Wang Cheng was too far away to intervene in this sudden crisis. Yet in his eyes appeared the image of a square-holed bronze coin, within whose center glowed the crimson talisman of the Dragon Vein. With a low, urgent cry, he invoked:

“Sihai Tongbao, lend me your power!

Gulu, go!”

Invisible waves rippled outward.

Whoosh!

The next moment, a fiery-red giant fish leapt from the sea, soared over the Han Xingfa, and, turning the monkey’s own path against it, whipped its steel-like tail across the monkey’s face.

Then came a second, a third...

These were none other than the parrotfish and its extended clan, the “Guiding Party,” seven aunts and eight great-aunts. The Dragon Vein talisman still retained its power to awe and command lowly beasts. Wang Cheng had used it together with a talisman drawn by his master to subdue the parrotfish spirit he’d long befriended, giving it the name: Gulu.

Originally meant to guard against the enigmatic Hou Yong, it now proved decisive at a critical moment.

The monkey was nearly swept off the Han Xingfa by the school of giant parrotfish, saved only by its grip on the circlet and a timely clutch at the ropes, narrowly avoiding a plunge into the sea. Looking up, it realized that in those brief moments of delay, Han Shushu’s fate had already stabilized—the “Sea Salvager” promotion ritual was complete.

“Dead monkey! You’re finished!”

A cold sweat breaking out across her back, Han Shushu grabbed the overlord’s phalanx on the altar and slipped it onto her slender finger like a ring. A crimson talisman between her brows glowed as if it would bleed. The innate power of “Lifting the Cauldron” surged through her, and with two pink war hammers stirring wind and thunder, she tore open a great hole in the swirling snow above.

The petite girl now charged at Monkey Two like an unstoppable armored bull.

The parrotfish’s intervention had cost the monkey the upper hand and enraged the “Monkey Tamer” performing the ritual across the way.

“Screech—!”

Monkey Two shrieked; its pupils expanded until the blackness swallowed the whites of its eyes. The golden circlet was placed back on its own head, and its body swelled rapidly, becoming a jet-black giant ape over two meters tall.

Ancient texts record: “The Monkey Tamer keeps feathered hats and official caps in a wooden box. The monkey opens the box, dons the cap, and sits as if presiding over court. The monkey sings folk songs, its intonation clear and distinct. This is called ‘the monkey in the hat,’ a phrase from antiquity. The rest—plow-pulling, horse racing—are all at its master’s command. For plowing, a dog replaces an ox; for racing, a sheep stands in for a horse...”

The unique skill, “Monkey in the Hat,” allowed the monkey to impersonate humans by wearing different hats and clothes, assuming the roles of various officials. With the Heart-Calming Golden Circlet, the model being imitated was clearly formidable.

Clang!

Han Shushu stood her ground and swung her hammers, meeting the monkey’s fists in a crash of metal upon metal. In the vision of the mind’s eye, the two relics—Heart-Calming Golden Circlet and the Overlord’s Remains—shone brilliantly, sketching two vague but mighty figures behind each combatant.

It was a spectacle to rival the clash of legendary heroes.

Hou Yong finally struggled to his feet on the deck, realizing at last that he, a “Monkey Tamer,” had been outwitted by his own monkey. He drew a short-barreled firelance, lit the fuse with his own life force, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The lead shot aimed at the enemy’s head was casually blocked by the monkey’s massive palm. Blood spurted, but the bullet was caught between iron-like muscle and bone, unable to penetrate.

“What?!”

Hou Yong was shocked and terrified. The monkey he’d raised from infancy had been pushed to its limits by the “Monkey in the Hat” art. But at its core, it was still just a slightly spiritual ordinary monkey. With such tremendous physical enhancement, its body would likely collapse after this battle—and the master behind the scenes would care nothing for its fate.

Monkey Two caught the bullet and lashed out with its tail again.

Hou Yong’s body folded like boneless flesh as he was swept aside, coughing up blood before he even hit the ground.

Monkey Two ignored him, turning instead to withstand a blow from Han Shushu’s war hammer with its broad back, then brought both fists down like hammers on the Han Xingfa’s foremast.

Boom!

Wooden splinters flew everywhere.

“No! It’s trying to stop us from escaping!”

Han Shushu saw the situation clearly. The attempt to control her had failed; now the enemy’s plan was to bring in outside forces for a direct kill. If the ship’s sails were destroyed, they would be trapped on this lonely isle with a warship bearing down—a certain death.

However, though the Overlord’s Remains had greatly increased her strength, they could not match the monkey for agility—she simply couldn’t catch up. Others, armed with blades and spears, surrounded the monkey with reckless courage, but were flung away like rag dolls, unable to hinder it.

At last, with two mighty blows, the tall foremast crashed down onto the deck, the faces of Han Shushu and the crew blanching in despair.

Monkey Two, poised to strike the mainmast and cripple the Han Xingfa for good, suddenly recoiled as a flash of cold, white light slashed across its vision, burning its eyes.

It was Wang Cheng, borrowing once more the power of the “Turtle Head Form,” skimming over the waves like the sea demons that once hunted them, landing aboard with three hundred pounds of force.

Blue Dragon from the sleeve—blade drawn, thrust unleashed!