The trio walked away from the bear. They walked back the way they came from, but it only led deeper into the forest and not back out.

“Meeting up with the Wintersweet Sect again would be better,” Lu Na said.

“The worst part is, the trees are so tall that they block out the sun. We’d have to wait for the sun to set before we can determine direction,” Sun Ren said. She looked at the trees. “The best I can guess is that this way is north, but that means nothing if we don’t know where we are.”

“Amituofo. Why don’t we try to head toward the south and maybe we’ll be able to get out? We headed north to enter the forest,” Hen Li said.

“Na Na, I don’t suppose you have any invention of yours that can help us find a way out, do you?” Sun Ren asked.

Lu Na shook her head.

“I never expected to be lost in a forest. Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spirit that could find a way out of something.”

“Ever thought about trying to create these techniques on your own without having to copy others?”

“No, I never thought of that. I’m not sure how that would be possible.”

“I’ve seen you make those techniques with just a spirit wand. I’m sure by now you could make these spirit walls or earth walls blind-folded. But have you ever considered how they work in the first place? Like a child can make noodles after being taught the ingredients. But a chef could make their own type of noodles after studying the how.”

“I’ll have to look into that after we—”

Hen Li stopped, with his staff raised. He called out Panhu again and the five colored hound appeared with the bone-mouth face. Sun Ren unsheathed her sword. Lu Na gripped her wards, one in each hand.

They were facing a gigantic tree where the trunk was as thick as seven horses standing end to end. There were a few holes in the trunk.

It was the smell that told Lu Na that something wasn’t right. Instead of the usual smell of leaves, she smelled a sweet stench. She couldn’t put her hand on it, but it was almost as if someone cooked something very sweet, but then let it burn for a long time.

“Amituofo, we are mere travelers. We don’t want any trouble,” Hen Li said.

A line of animal spirits came out from behind the tree. They were all different colors, but all had the same pattern despite not being the same type of animals. There was a monkey, a moose, a rabbit, and a panda. As they stood together, it looked like they were painted together simultaneously.

The monkey stepped forward and bowed.

“Greetings humans.”

It felt weird, but Lu Na bowed to the monkey spirit. It never hurts to be polite.

“We are looking for a way out.” Sun Ren bowed.

The monkey pointed west.

“That is the way out.”

“Amituofo. Thank you.” Hen Li bowed and walked past the animal spirits.

Each of them locked their eyes on Hen Li as he walked by. Lu Na and Sun Ren hurried behind Hen Li.

As they walked further west, there were more spirit animals. But none of them attacked them as the bear did. Instead, they scurried away.

“Why are there no regular animals here?” Lu Na asked.

“It’s probably because the spirit animals ate them all,” Sun Ren said.

“Amituofo, spirit animals don’t need to eat as humans do. They absorb the spirit energy from their surroundings to survive. As long as they don’t use their spirit energy, they live a comfortable life.”

“Then why did the bear try to eat us?” Lu Na asked.

“Bigger spirits need more spirit energy to survive.”

After walking for a while, they heard crying. It was strange because they couldn’t tell which direction it came from. The other strange thing was that they stopped seeing spirit animals. Even with Lu Na’s technique, she couldn’t sense any spirit energy anywhere around them.

“Do we keep going this way?” Sun Ren asked Hen Li.

“I think we should continue this way, but we have to be very careful,” Hen Li said. “There’s a powerful spirit up ahead, one that is probably stronger than me.”

“Then why are we going that way? We should head back or a different direction.”

“Because it is crying. Don’t you hear it?” Hen Li walked ahead.

Lu Na trusted the monk, but what kind of thinking was that? She understood that if he heard a child crying then going to soothe it was something even she would do, but a powerful spirit that might be stronger than him? That’s asking to be eaten. But since she depended on him for survival in this forest, she said nothing.

After another short walk, they finally reached a break in the tall trees. It looked like the trees had abruptly stopped and a small mountain sprouted from the ground. The trio heard the crying louder here so they walked around the mountain to investigate.

They stopped when they saw a monkey’s head sticking out from the mountain. That was the source of the crying. Large tears ran down the side of the mountain like its own river, pooling at the bottom. Many wildflowers grew from the ground.

A red panda was laughing at the monkey. He threw rocks at the monkey’s head and that only made the monkey cry harder.

“Now that’s not nice,” Lu Na said. She wanted to chase off the red panda, but Sun Ren held onto her.

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“That’s not a normal red panda. It’s a spirit,” Sun Ren said.

“She’s right. If you try to chase it, a small bite from it can take your head off. Trust nothing you see here,” Nugua said.

“Amituofo. Please stop,” Hen Li said. He pushed his hands together and bowed to the red panda.

The red panda hissed before running away.

“Are you sure that wasn’t just a normal red panda?” Lu Na asked.

“See for yourself.” Nugua activated Lu Na’s technique to see spirit energy.

The red panda flared bright white, like looking at the sun.

Lu Na closed her eyes and turned off her technique.

“Okay, you’re right. That hurt.” She rubbed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw white spots.

“Amituofo, this monkey spirit is in pain. How might we assist?” Hen Li had walked up to the monkey and bowed before it.

On closer inspection, the monkey spirit looked almost human. He tracked them with his eyes from Lu Na to Sun Ren and finally to Hen Li.

“Oh monk, I beg you. Please save me,” the monkey spirit said. “My name is Sun Wukong, and some powerful spirits trapped me here.”

“That’s not possible. You’re a myth,” Sun Ren said.

“You can touch me. You can hear my words. How can I be a myth?” Sun Wukong said.

“How can I help you, Sun Wukong?” Hen Li asked.

Lu Na ignored their conversation and walked up to the mountain itself. She had her technique turned on and saw something amazing. The entire mountain was a set of complicated techniques made by spirits. They were layered one atop the other that used all five elements in its creation. Even if one technique failed, the other would take over and preserve the mountain.

Lu Na couldn’t even imagine what it could do. She touched the side of the mountain and it felt cool. Yet she could tell that it was absorbing spirit energy like the null metal.

“This mountain is fascinating.”

Sun Ren pulled Lu Na back.

“It’s just another mountain. We should be careful around this spirit.”

“Amituofo, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Hen Li said.

“Please, it wouldn’t cost you much!” Sun Wukong begged. “I’ll even give you one wish. Anything you want if you can get me out of this mountain.”

“What you’re asking is impossible for me.”

“What does the monkey want?” Sun Ren asked.

“All I’m asking is that you unleash your bird spirit and strike this mountain. I can do the rest,” Sun Wukong said.

“My Bifang Niao has been sealed away to prevent it from killing me,” Hen Li said.

“You’re lying. You can summon it at any time. I have the fiery eyes technique. I can see through your lies. You can just bring that bird out, breathe a little fire on the mountain, and we can all live happily ever after. I’ll grant any wish to you.”

“Amituofo, even if you are right, I wouldn’t do so. I made a promise to my father that I would never try to summon Bifang Niao again. I’m sorry, I can’t help you.”

“You stupid monk!” Sun Wukong yelled. “You’re absolutely useless. I would rule the world right now if I had your spirit and freedom. Yet you go down the path of a monk? I know about your precious Buddha and his path. It’s a joke. You’re a joke!”

“Let’s go,” Sun Ren said.

“Yeah, scram. None of you can do anything for me, anyway. I don’t know why I bothered getting you three in here. That red panda told me one of you could set me free, but he was wrong. Next time I see him, I’m going to bite his head off.” Sun Wukong showed his fangs and howled at them.

Lu Na had walked over to the mountain and placed one of her new inventions on it. It was a tool she developed to see what a technique did. It only worked on physical techniques that weren’t trying to kill her.

“What are you doing?” Sun Wukong asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Your mountain is so fascinating. I’m trying to see what it does.”

“You’re what? Are you one of those Xia inventors?”

“Xia inventors? That’s about two thousand years ago,” Sun Ren said. “It’s currently the Han dynasty.”

“And girl, you know about this stuff?” Sun Wukong asked.

“I have been studying these things for many years," Lu Na said, “but only recently have I started making my own tools. I think if given enough time, I might undo this mountain.”

Sun Ren pulled Lu Na back again.

“Not that she would be a mischievous, monstrous, mangy beast.”

Sun Wukong hissed at Sun Ren. He turned toward Lu Na.

“So, girl, I’ll make the same deal with you. If you can get me out of here, I will grant you any wish you want. I’ll make you the new empress, if that is what you desire.”

Lu Na took her new tool off the mountain. It glowed in four different colors.

“I think I’m going to listen to my friend for now. While I would love nothing more than to see if I can undo the mountain, I’m not sure releasing something as powerful as you would be a good idea. Not only that, you don’t seem like a kind person.”

Sun Wukong snarled, but clamped his mouth shut.

“Wait, I’m sorry. I’ve been stuck here for thousands of years. You understand that would make anyone a little crazy. But what if I offered you something for free to show my sincerity?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing you can offer me I would be interested in.” Lu Na packed away her invention. She was glad it didn’t burn out from attaching to the mountain. She feared the mountain would be too powerful.

“I know you have only just started practicing summoner arts,” Sun Wukong said. “At your age, you’re a late bloomer or your sifu is not very good. But there has to be a reason you’re trying, anyway. You want power just like everyone else.”

Lu Na turned toward Sun Wukong.

“I only want power to protect myself. I don’t want to rule the world.”

“Then I can help you. Tell me, have you been struggling to manifest your spirit?”

Lu Na nodded.

“That’s because she’s an ancient monster. I think she might be older than me. Whoever bonded you with her is toying with your life. But I can teach you how to control her. She will do as you want instead of being an uninvited guest in your head.”

“Amituofo, I wouldn’t trust him,” Hen Li said.

That made Lu Na pause. Hen Li had trusted almost everyone they met, but for him to push against trusting the monkey spirit must be significant.

“Fine, don’t trust me. But know this: if you don’t listen to my advice, your spirit will one day kill you. I can see her blood lust.”

Lu Na remembered her little chat with Nugua right after they bonded. She wasn’t sure how Sun Wukong knew Nugua threatened her already, but it felt more real than anything else. To feel her own body squeezed to death like that was a fresh fear she never thought she’d have.

“Don’t trust him. Why would I ever hurt my little Na Na?” Nugua said.

Just hearing her voice in her head made Lu Na shiver.

“What are you offering, Sun Wukong?” Lu Na asked.

“My scroll of immortality. It is the summoner art that my sifu taught me. It can see the stage of a summoner and teach them the techniques to reach the next level. It will help you breakthrough where incompetent sifus can’t.” Sun Wukong leered at Hen Li. “Some of us were never meant to be teachers.”

“And there’s nothing you want from me?”

“I just want us to be friends. If you could just remember the poor little monkey that helped you, that would be enough. And maybe one day, when you’re strong enough, you might help the little monkey.”

“No Na Na, you shouldn’t listen to him. We should leave,” Sun Ren said.

Lu Na felt torn. On one hand, she knew that Sun Ren and Hen Li were right to ignore a spirit so powerful that it required this mountain to stop it. But she was getting nowhere with her summoner arts. No matter how much she tried, she knew she wasn’t going to ever use it to defend herself. The last thing she wanted was to depend on others to save her.