As a child watching Journey to the West, I always found the parting scene between Tang Sanzang and the Queen of the Woman's Kingdom to be overly sentimental. A monk is a monk; parting is parting. A sharp turn of the head, a mounting of the horse, and a swift departure—why all the lingering reluctance, the hesitant murmurs? Now, watching Wang Jue and Hua Gu turn back every three steps, I finally grasped the sentiment between the Monk and the Queen. It truly echoed the saying: "Though the body lacks the wings of a phoenix to fly together, the hearts are linked by a thread of telepathy." Only those involved can truly understand the secret held within those three backward glances.

After seeing them off, I returned to the mountaintop to discuss the next steps with Wang Jue. Old He and Xiao Shu were still missing, and the Elder asked us to find the Man-Eating Netherworld Worms for her. However, none of these matters were as urgent as dealing with the police. I felt we needed to find a secure place for Wang Jue to hide.

So, I consulted him: "Where do you think is the safest place? I don't have the Clairaudience of Shunfeng Er, so I don't know how to evade the police, but I am your friend; I will stand with you."

"We might have to part ways," Wang Jue said unexpectedly, a flicker of reluctance in his eyes.

"What?" I could hardly believe my ears. "The police are right in the village, their car is just outside. Are you saying this now because you plan to turn yourself in?"

"I can no longer live a normal life. I can't always stay with you. Being constantly chased by the police will bring you too much trouble." Wang Jue stated gravely. "I can take responsibility for myself. You don't need to worry about where I go or what happens to me later; just take care of yourselves." With that, he grasped my hand with one hand and firmly patted it with the other, as if bidding a final farewell.

This declaration came abruptly, without warning or premonition, and without even consulting us; he had simply decided on his own to vanish from our side. His thinking was somewhat inscrutable, yet I couldn't deny that this decision was the rational choice. Hiding was never a long-term solution. I, Old He, and Xiao Shu would eventually return to normal life, but he truly could not.

"Then where do you plan to go?" Since parting was imminent, I still hoped to know his general direction; I didn't want him to simply disappear completely from this world.

"I haven't decided yet. I can hear many sounds and know when the police will appear, so I probably won't have to live like a hermit in the mountains. If you need to find me, come here. There is a small fissure beneath this rock. Write down what you need to tell me and place it inside the crack. I will come by here every so often. When I receive your message, I will find a way to contact you," Wang Jue said with a smile, completely calm and relaxed, without a trace of regret for past events.

This offered me some small measure of comfort. In truth, his current misfortune was inextricably linked to me; it would not have been strange if he resented, blamed, or hated me. Yet, he didn't think that way. He accepted reality with such a free spirit, smiling as he prepared to greet a new life—that was a great solace to me.

"Alright, you must take care of yourself!" I clapped him on the shoulder.

Suddenly, I thought of Old He, Xiao Shu, and the others in the village; I had no idea where they had fled. Finding them would likely be quite an ordeal. Perhaps I could leverage Wang Jue's Clairaudience to hear where they were so I could go and meet them directly. I turned to him and asked, "Can you hear where Old He and Xiao Shu are?"

Wang Jue cupped one hand around his ear, turning a full circle, encompassing the four cardinal directions. Finally, he stopped, pointing toward the northwestern direction of the mountain, indicating the slope of a mountain opposite us. "There is a hidden cave entrance there. Descend this mountain, follow the small path up the opposing peak. The entrance is halfway up the mountainside; they are hiding inside." After speaking, Wang Jue waved goodbye and started down the mountain in the opposite direction from me.