In a state between sleep and wakefulness, the mind of the King of Won's Kingdom was in complete disarray; nurous images kept flashing back and forth.
So were her own mories, and so her own fantasies. It was hard to distinguish between reality and illusion.
Ever since she heard about the deeds of Imperial Brother two years ago, the newly romantic King of Won's Kingdom had tried every thod to gather news about him, and it also inspired her to take up the habit of keeping a diary.
She sorted through the events related to Imperial Brother, observing what he had done on certain days, and then comparing them with what she herself had been doing...
Although they had never t, the King of Won's Kingdom felt an inexplicable closeness to him in her heart.
That's why even upon their first eting, she didn't feel the distance usually felt towards a stranger; instead, it was as though a very familiar person had finally returned ho.
However, although Imperial Brother had developed feelings for her, he rejected her. Despite the heartache, the King of Won's Kingdom could understand it.
Perhaps, this was why she fell in love with him? She loved his passion, even more, his fidelity.
After nearly weeping through half the night, amidst her half-sleep, the King's mind was extrely chaotic. Occasionally, flashes of the incidents with Imperial Brother in the Imperial Garden appeared; at other tis, it was about Imperial Brother confessing his feelings for her, and of course, there was his shying away and not daring to face her.
These were fragnts of mories in her mind.
Yet at the sa ti, there were many deep-seated fantasies in her heart, daydreaming about the events recorded in her diary, each performing their own activities as if they had known each other for a long ti.
There were also dreams where, in the Imperial Garden, Imperial Brother responded to her affections rather than rejecting her, nodding in agreent under her persistent persuasion.
Then, she declared to the world, relinquishing her position as King of Won's Kingdom to Imperial Brother, and the two were married in the presence of the entire nation.
And she beca the only woman in Won's Kingdom who conceived without the water of the Child-Mother River.
For her sake, Imperial Brother decided to stay in Won's Kingdom. They lived in mutual respect and even had a daughter, leading a very happy life.
In her fantasies, she saw herself nestled in Imperial Brother's arms, with a seven-or-eight-year-old little girl, laughing joyously and running around them, filled with laughter and happiness.
The eyes of the King were swollen, but as she lay in her embroidered bed, the corners of her mouth curled into a blissful arc.
In that half-asleep state, these imagined scenes felt incredibly real.
"Your majesty, sothing terrible has happened…"
Just then, suddenly a rush of shouting erupted, and a young maiden hurriedly ran towards the king's chamber.
Hearing the shouting, the beautiful dream in the mind of the King got abruptly interrupted, and she opened her eyes.
The blissful scenes in the mind, and the daughter that existed there, all dissipated like smoke with the waking from the dream.
The King of Won's Kingdom sat up, feeling dazed and lost.
In the dream, there was the Imperial Brother whom she deeply loved and who also deeply loved her; she had a beloved daughter in the dream...
But as the dream ended, all of that disappeared, making the King's heart breed a desire to imrse in that beautiful dream forever, never wanting to wake up.
However, being a monarch, although she felt utterly dejected, after a mont of silence, she took a deep breath and regained her composure, her gaze landing on the maiden before her, she demanded, "What happened? What's got you so panicked?"
"Your majesty, it's terrible; the Holy Monk is missing!" The maiden knelt before the King of Won's Kingdom, hastily replied.
"What!? The Holy Monk is missing!? What happened?" Hearing the maiden's words, the King of Won's Kingdom was visibly shocked and pressed for details.
"I–I don't know. I only heard the disciples shouting that the Holy Monk was missing. We searched a bit, and both the Holy Monk's steed and disciples were there, but the Holy Monk himself has vanished without a trace…" The maiden spoke quickly, outlining the events that occurred in the Eastern Hall succinctly.
"Let's go, I must see for myself!" Hearing that Jiang Liu was missing, the King of Won's Kingdom couldn't stay calm. Bypassing grooming and attire, she simply threw a phoenix robe over herself and hurried out towards the Eastern Hall.
Behind them, several maidens were exclaiming in shock as they chased after.
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"What's the matter? Where has the Master gone? Where did he disappear to!?"
At this ti, inside the Eastern Hall, Sun Wukong and his brothers had also gathered. The Master's disappearance made them all feel urgent, especially when they realized that the Master's door was locked from the inside, while the window as open.
"The Master couldn't have possibly left on his own, otherwise, he surely would have notified us!" Sun Wukong said after checking around in Jiang Liu's room, where he had slept the night before.
"Monkey Brother, even I, Old Pig, can see that much!" Zhu Bajie said, nodding in agreent next to him. Pointing at the window, he added, "The door was locked from inside, but the window was left open. Soone must have stealthily abducted the Master, otherwise, why would he leave through the window instead of the door?"
"It is indeed strange!" At the sa ti, Wujing, with a puzzled look on his face, said, "The Master's cultivation level has already reached the Returning Void Realm, and with the Master's extraordinary abilities, even if a demon creature attacked him during the night, he would have the ability to protect himself at least enough to wake us up with the noise. So why didn't we hear anything at all?"
"Then there's only one explanation! The person who ca for Master knew him, and Master had no defenses up, so the attacker could strike stealthily!" Sun Wukong said, following Wujing's doubts and after so thought.
"Indeed, that must be it!" Hearing Sun Wukong's analysis, both Zhu Bajie and Wujing nodded in agreent, finding Sun Wukong's analysis quite reasonable.
Although Sun Wukong often lacks a broader outlook, making his views quite short-sighted, one cannot deny that he was quite clever in small matters.
Thus, combining the current situation, Sun Wukong's analysis of the events was really leading nowhere.
However, even though they found Sun Wukong's analysis reasonable, who in the Royal Palace of Won's Kingdom could have made the Master let down his guard to the point of a successful attack?
"Gentlen, what exactly has happened here?" Just as Sun Wukong and his brothers were secretly speculating about the real identity of the perpetrator, the King of Won's Kingdom quickly approached, urgently inquiring to Sun Wukong and the others.
Following the King of Won's Kingdom were several maidens.
"Is this the King of Won's Kingdom? Truly a beauty capable of toppling cities…" Zhu Bajie gawked as he watched the King, who, devoid of any royal deanor, ran straight towards them.
Although Zhu Bajie had heard that the King was the most beautiful woman in Won's Kingdom, seeing her in person still seed unbelievable.
In terms of beauty, it seed the King could almost rival Chang'e!
"What ti is it, you idiot, and you're still thinking about such things!?" Watching Zhu Bajie drooling like a fool, Sun Wukong smacked him on the head, causing Zhu Bajie to howl in pain.
"Hmph, Your Majesty, this is calling 'thief' to catch a 'thief,' isn't it!?" Sun Wukong said, coldly scoffing and speaking indignantly to the King after slapping Zhu Bajie.
"Ah!? Calling 'thief' to catch a 'thief'!? Elder Sun, what do you an by that!?" The King, who was already anxious, widened her eyes in surprise upon hearing Sun Wukong's words.
"Hmph, what do I an? Are you treating , Old Sun, like a fool!?" Facing the astonished and questioning gaze of the Won's Kingdom's King, Sun Wukong looked as if he had seen through everything, saying, "My Master was captured within this royal palace. If you say soone else entered your kingdom and took my Master, I, Old Sun, do not believe it. This is your territory!"
Wujing also nodded in agreent and said, "Exactly, Eldest Brother is right. We analyzed that the visitor did not alert the Master, so the sudden attack must have co from you, King of Won's Kingdom, or soone acting on your behalf, that's why our Master wasn't prepared!"
"Exactly!" As both the Eldest Brother and Junior Brother Sha spoke, Zhu Bajie, covering his head, also nodded in agreent, saying, "I heard you declared your love to our Master yesterday but were rejected. Who knows if you felt hatred due to love! You definitely have the motive; it must be you!"
"You all really misunderstand ! While if I could, I'd also like to keep the Holy Monk locked up to stay with forever, I would never do such a thing to the Holy Monk!" the King of Won's Kingdom said, feeling very aggrieved as she defended herself after hearing Sun Wukong and the others doubting her actions.
She still denied it, even after being accused of calling 'thief' to catch a 'thief'?
Sun Wukong and the others stared intently at the King of Won's Kingdom.
She didn't seem to be lying?
After so thought, Sun Wukong stamped his foot fiercely and shouted, "Where is the Local Deity!?"
As soon as Sun Wukong spoke, the ground cracked open, and then a senior man leaped out and bowed to Sun Wukong.
"Greetings, Great Saint!"
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