WU KONG

The air tasted of burnt incense and forgotten oaths. Sun Wukong perched atop the crumbling Moon-Catching Tower, his claws digging into stonework that still shimmered with residual spells from the last celestial war. Five hundred years of imprisonment had left his golden fur dulled but his eyes brighter - twin furnaces burning through the perpetual twilight of Buddha's punishment grounds. Below him stretched the Fractured Realms, where mountains floated like broken teeth and rivers of liquid starlight carved canyons through the void. "You smell different." The Monkey King didn't turn as the ground beneath him solidified into lotus petals. "Still sneaking about in holograms, Tathagata? Or has heaven's bureaucracy finally revoked your physical visitation rights?" Buddha's chuckle made Wukong's bones vibrate. The projection solidified into a figure both massive and contained, like a supernova trapped in human form. His fingernails glowed with the light of dying stars. "Your humor remains as subtle as your approach to problem-solving," the Enlightened One said. "I bring neither condemnation nor empty philosophy today." A scroll case materialized between them, its jade surface crawling with celestial seals. Wukong recognized the triple helix symbol of the Heavenly Audit Bureau - and the blood-red wax bearing the personal mark of the Jade Emperor. "Let me guess." Wukong plucked a hair from his arm and blew it toward the scroll. The strand transformed into a screeching falcon that tore at the case with talons of fire. "Another binding contract? More chains disguised as honors?" The scroll remained unscathed. Buddha's smile deepened the lines around his eyes. "Chains imply captivity. This..." He gestured as the case unfolded itself, revealing columns of text written in liquid darkness. "...is a key." Wukong's tail twitched as he read the shimmering words. "Celestial Inspectorate. Authority to investigate any immortal of third rank or below. Right to requisition heavenly troops." His mocking tone sharpened. "Since when does heaven's court appoint monkeys as watchdogs?" "Since their celestial hounds grew fat on bribes and blind to sin." Buddha's finger traced a line in the air, conjuring visions that made even Wukong's battle-hardened stomach churn - a village elder bowing to a drought dragon demanding child tributes, ghost soldiers marching under forged underworld banners, constellations subtly altered to favor certain mortal dynasties. "Your rebellion five centuries ago was crude but effective," Buddha continued. "Now I offer refined purpose. The Jade Emperor's court rots from within while pretending otherwise. They need..." "A wrecking ball." Wukong's grin showed too many teeth. "A surgical blade," Buddha corrected. "One that cuts through celestial pretense without destroying the patient. Who better than the Great Sage who sees through all disguises?" The visions shifted to show the Office of Meridian Winds - a floating palace of white jade where immortal officials in azure robes conducted an elaborate tea ceremony. Wukong's nostrils flared at the scent wafting through the magical projection: peach wine mingled with something darker, like iron left to rust in blood. "Tonight's banquet celebrates Minister Qiu's five-thousandth tenure," Buddha said. "Guests include the Dragon King of the East Sea and the Keeper of Mortal Lifelines. An ideal starting point for your... investigations." Wukong's claws flexed, remembering the weight of his Ruyi Jingu Bang. "Why not send your precious golden-armored guardians? Or that sanctimonious Guanyin?" "Because heaven's corruption has infected even the bodhisattvas." For the first time, Buddha's voice carried an edge. "The Karmic Ledgers show discrepancies. Soul quotas go unfulfilled. Reincarnation cycles skip entire regions. Yet every audit concludes with perfect balance sheets." A low growl rumbled in Wukong's throat as he studied the scroll's terms. The bureaucratic language couldn't mask the unprecedented authority - permission to bypass celestial protocols, authority to detain even mid-ranking deities, access to restricted archives. "And if I refuse?" Buddha's gaze drifted westward where storm clouds gathered over the mortal realm. "Then the rot spreads unchecked. Within three centuries, the heavenly pillars c***k. In five, Yama's hells overflow. By millennium's end, the cosmic scales tip beyond recovery." The admission hung between them like a confession. Wukong stared at the inspector's seal burning at the scroll's foot - a twisting dragon eating its own tail, symbol of infinite authority and infinite consequence. "What aren't you telling me?" The Monkey King's eyes narrowed. "No celestial appointment comes without poisoned honey." Buddha's form began dissolving into swirling sutras. "Your first target hosts a daughter newly enrolled in the Phoenix Court Academy. His brother oversees the Karmic Ledger archives. His concubine's father commands the Seventh Heavenly Legion." The Enlightened One's voice turned to distant thunder. "Cut one thread, and the entire tapestry may unravel." As the last syllable faded, Wukong felt the weight of the inspector's seal materialize around his neck - not a collar but a torc of living flame that molded itself to his fur. With a roar that shook loose stones from ancient towers, he leaped into the sky, the wind screaming through his revived armor. Far below in the mortal realm, a monk paused while drawing water from a cracked well. Tang Sanzang's reflection showed not his own face, but a glowing monkey-shaped constellation tearing through clouds. "So it begins," the monk murmured, his hand instinctively touching the nine scarred rings hidden beneath his rough-spun robe. "May your fury purify rather than consume, old friend." The water trembled as Wukong's passage distorted reality itself, his trajectory bending toward the shimmering gates of heaven where unsuspecting ministers prepared their lies. **Next Chapter: "First Steps in the Celestial Court" – Sun Wukong infiltrates an immortal banquet, discovering that even celestial wine carries the bitter aftertaste of corruption.**