# 1245
Chapter 1245
Lin Qiye's consciousness returned to reality, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"What did you draw?" Sun Wukong asked.
"...The saving life hair."
"What the heck is that?"
"The saving life hair." Lin Qiye repeated. "It's the thing that Guanyin Bodhisattva gave you back then."
Sun Wukong: ...
Sun Wukong's expression was bizarre. After a moment, he勉强 nodded. "Alright... at least it can save your life a few times."
The two fell silent.
"Lin Qiye." Sun Wukong hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"What's up, Brother Monkey?"
"During my time at the asylum, thank you for taking care of me. If not for you, I might never have walked out of that hospital's gates in this lifetime... I'm not Nyx, nor that old man Merlin. I have no family fortune or anything. I've been alone all these years, so even after being discharged, I don't have anything to give you as a gift."
Sun Wukong paused, then said seriously,
"But I can give you a promise: as long as I'm alive for one more day, as long as you're within my sight, no one can kill you... the Supreme God included."
Sun Wukong's eyes gazed into the distance. His tone was calm, yet carried an indescribable determination and confidence.
Lin Qiye was stunned, then laughed bitterly. "Brother Monkey, we're all family here. No need for that. I haven't been as fragile as you think on this journey."
"It's different." Sun Wukong shook his head.
"Before, you were too weak. You could only operate within Great Xia's borders. The dangers in the fog were unlikely to threaten you. But the stronger you become, the more people will have their eyes on you. The secret of Asylum of the Gods will eventually be discovered by the foreign gods... at that point, you'll truly be in danger."
Lin Qiye opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but ultimately fell silent.
Time passed slowly.
Lin Qiye rode the Somersault Cloud, and the two flew across the sea. On the surface, he appeared calm, but his mind remained vigilant at all times.
Having already experienced the side effects of the [Star Coins] once, he was now on full alert. Though he didn't know when Gilgamesh's bad luck would be diverted to him, one thing was certain—he absolutely did not want to be struck by lightning a dozen more times.
After an unknown length of time, a rumbling sound came from the distance.
"Hm?"
Sun Wukong's brow furrowed as he turned toward the source of the sound.
"Enemies?" The alert Lin Qiye, now on high alert, quickly stood up from the Somersault Cloud.
Sun Wukong's eyes narrowed slightly, golden light flickering in their depths. "It's a white-haired woman, sitting on some strange metal block, approaching rapidly... wait, that's not a metal block..."
"White-haired woman? Metal block?"
Lin Qiye was utterly confused by Sun Wukong's description. He extended his spiritual perception to its limit.
At the end of the horizon, countless pixels stacked frantically, forming an infinite highway extending into infinity. At the very front of that highway, a McLaren painted in apocalyptic colors was roaring forward at staggering speed!
"That's..." Lin Qiye's jaw dropped in shock.
He knew that apocalyptic McLaren only too well.
Back when he was in the Japanese "Human Enclosure," he had driven that very car—
"Jinian?!"
Lin Qiye grabbed Sun Wukong, who had already raised his Ruyi Jingu Bang ready to strike at the McLaren. "Brother Monkey, she's on our side!"
Sun Wukong raised an eyebrow and quietly sat back down.
Lin Qiye rode the Somersault Cloud and flew directly toward the apocalyptic McLaren. As the car grew larger in his vision, he stretched out his hand and waved.
"Jinian!"
Screeeech—!!
The sharp screech of tires against the highway instantly echoed through the fog. Jinian's hands flew across the dashboard inside the car, and the entire McLaren drifted half a circle on the highway before screeching to a halt at its edge.
A pale, long leg kicked open the car door. Jinian, draped in a ragged windbreaker, stepped out furiously:
"Lin Qiye! Are you trying to die?! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to act on your own like that?
You hadn't even reached the ceiling, yet you were trying to snatch the King's Treasury from an Olympian god?! Couldn't you have come back to find me in [Utopia] first?
What, am I, the president of the Oath Society, that much of a burden to you? If you'd brought me along, regardless of whether it was Olympus or the Alps, I would've charged into the King's Treasury with you and wrecked everything! Wouldn't that be better than you going alone?
If you'd been killed by someone, how was I supposed to go home?!
You..."
Jinian stood on the highway with hands on her hips, her expression stern and furious. She was mid-rant, berating Lin Qiye as he descended on his cloud.
That's when her gaze landed on Sun Wukong beside Lin Qiye—the one shouldering the Ruyi Jingu Bang, dressed in golden chainmail armor. Her wide-open mouth froze mid-air.
She blinked vigorously, confirming this wasn't a dream. Her expression shifted from stunned, to shocked, then to wild joy!
"Holy..." She instinctively opened her mouth, about to let out an expletive.
But halfway through, she caught herself. Awkwardly clearing her throat, she brushed her silver-white hair behind her ear and said respectfully:
"Great Sage, hello. I'm your fan. Could I please get your autograph?"
Lin Qiye: ...
"Who is she?" Sun Wukong looked at Lin Qiye with confusion.
"...A friend." Lin Qiye's mouth twitched slightly. After a pause, he added, "And also the former director of Asylum of the Gods."
Hearing the latter part, Sun Wukong's eyebrows rose. His gaze toward Jinian was full of surprise.
"Great Sage, my name is Jinian."
Jinian eagerly stepped forward and shook Sun Wukong's hand. Even though she was trying very hard to contain herself, the wild joy in her eyes was practically spilling out of the air.
"...Hello. You can let go now."
"Oh, oh right. Sorry."
Jinian came back to her senses, apologized repeatedly, and乖巧地 retreated to Lin Qiye's side.
"What happened? When did the Great Sage get out? Didn't I ask you to get me an autograph?" she whispered.
"About ten minutes ago... then there was fighting the whole time. When was there time for an autograph?"
"Fighting? With who?"
"It's complicated. We'll talk as we walk."
"Alright."
Lin Qiye summoned the Somersault Cloud again, carrying Sun Wukong and Jinian, and continued flying forward.
"So, along the way, you encountered nine deities from the Norse, Olympian, and Sumerian pantheons?" After hearing the full story, Jinian's brow furrowed tightly.
"You were going to snatch the King's Treasury. Why couldn't you have come to find me first? Going alone was way too dangerous."
"There wasn't enough time. If I waited for you to come, the treasury might already be in someone else's hands, and Gilgamesh's condition would be completely untreatable." Lin Qiye spread his hands helplessly.