I looked toward Ren and Jordan for help. Jordan glowered at Sun Wukong as though he’d like nothing better than to beat him up with the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Ren shook his head from side to side, as if all his greatest fears had come true.
“You won’t get away with this,” Jordan snapped. His fists trembled at his sides. “My sister’s down in Diyu still! She stayed behind, risking her life, so we could bring you your stupid stick. And this is how you repay us?”
Sun Wukong picked his staff back up and then brought it down again in a dramatic, thunderous motion that shook the ground. “You go too far, warrior,” he growled.
I knew the smart thing was to tell Jordan to shut up before the Monkey King unleashed his wrath. But I was so angry with Sun Wukong that I didn’t care how badly Jordan—we—insulted him. Someone had to put him in his place.
“Jordan’s right. You’re just a coward,” I accused. “You don’t want to fight the Jade Emperor because you’re scared you’ll lose. Just like you lost the first time you tried to fight Heaven!”
“Oh boy,” Ren murmured.
My insult struck home. A dark shadow crossed Sun Wukong’s face, and his whole body began to shake and glow. This was it. He was going to blast us to smithereens.
But the explosion I was waiting for didn’t come.
“Monkeys!” Sun Wukong commanded, clapping his hands together.
There was a rushing sound of running feet, and a group of monkeys assembled behind us. They slammed their spears together onto the ground in one smooth, coordinated movement.
“Here!” they shouted.
Sun Wukong didn’t even glance at us when he barked, “Please escort our guests off the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. They’ve done me a favor, and now it’s time for them to go.”
Small arms wrapped around me. The monkeys began dragging us away from Sun Wukong’s throne, despite how hard I struggled against them. “Please, dà shèng. We need your help.” I hated myself for begging, but I didn’t see any other choice. “You’re the greatest, most powerful hero of Chinese mythology. And I just remembered—my brother even dressed up as you for Halloween once! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
“You’re the old ally we’ve been searching for. You have to help us,” Ren pleaded.
“I’m flattered, but I’m no ally,” Sun Wukong growled. “I have no alliances. And I don’t have to do anything. I do as I please, and I don’t fight in wars that don’t benefit me. The sooner you silly humans stop believing those old tales about me, the better. Now—begone!”
“Coward!” Jordan screamed as the monkeys hauled us down the path. “Filthy, stinking coward!”
Sun Wukong grew smaller and smaller in the distance. The monkeys pulled us into the cave, and he was swallowed up by the darkness.
CHAPTER
24
The monkeys dumped us outside the Water Curtain Cave, on the other side of the magical waterfall.
“And don’t come back to bother our dà shèng again,” spat one of the monkeys. They all raised their tails at us and left, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.
Jordan was the one who broke it. “Well, that went well.”
“Couldn’t have gone better,” Ren deadpanned.
I ran my fingers over the blades of grass beneath me, pulling out tufts in frustration. Before, the remaining two days of the Hungry Ghost Festival had felt like plenty of time. Now, they felt like no time at all. How were we supposed to complete this quest?
“So … what do we do now?” Ren asked.
“Why are you guys looking at me?” I said.
“You’re the one with the compass and chariot,” Ren pointed out. “And Erlang Shen, Guanyin, and Nezha still see you as the Heaven Breaker. You’ve gotten us out of tough situations before.” His eyes shone with pride when they met mine.
I blushed. “I …”
“Plus, my sister hated—hates—your guts,” Jordan added. “It’s rare that Ashley hates anyone that much. That means you’re probably someone to respect.”
“Uh, thanks.” I averted my gaze. I wished they wouldn’t look at me like I was supposed to pull a brilliant solution from thin air. I was completely out of brilliant solutions. Or even horrible solutions.
Think, Faryn. Two days until the end of the Hungry Ghost Festival. How could we stop the Jade Emperor before then?
Wait a minute. What had Nai Nai told me? Until the end of the Hungry Ghost Festival, I could summon the spirits of my ancestors to leave Diyu.
I yanked my backpack off my shoulders and unzipped it. After digging past the last of my granola bars and beef jerky, I pulled out the thin bundle of prayer notes. I handed a note to each of us.
“Y-you’re praying at a time like this?” Jordan spluttered.
“We’re praying because it’s a time like this,” I said shortly. Xiong had told us to use the prayer notes only as a last resort. Well, this was the occasion for a last resort if I’d ever seen one.
Ren caught on first. “You want us to rally our ancestors.” His flat, skeptical tone told me he wasn’t exactly in love with my plan.
I nodded.
“You think our ancestors will be enough to convince Sun Wukong to join our side?” Ren asked.
“I don’t even know if I want that dude on our side,” Jordan grumbled. “Are we sure Massive Monkey Migraine is the ‘old ally’ we’re looking for?”
“He’s the one, Jordan,” I insisted. He had to be. Otherwise, we were completely screwed. “Do any of you have a better plan? Or feel like going back to the New Order having failed the quest?”
That shut them up. I was right, and we all knew it. Our best bet was summoning our ancestors and asking for their help.
I pressed the prayer note between my palms. The others followed suit. I closed my eyes and raised my hands in front of my face. This is Faryn Liu. Please, ancestors,
