On the snow-swept mountainside, Yang Lin observed the legendary albino golden monkeys up close for the first time.
To his surprise, aside from their basic resemblance to ordinary golden monkeys, other morphological features differed greatly.
This was particularly evident in their physique; they were noticeably larger than ordinary golden monkeys, with muscles faintly visible on their limbs.
It was no wonder they could beat the ordinary ones so badly.
While appraising them, Yang Lin’s gaze once again focused on the bags they held.
Three of them were holding urea bags of a certain brand, seemingly stolen from nearby farmhouses.
Another held a moisture-proof bag for the cameras used by the "Into Science" program crew.
To verify this, he immediately asked the albino golden monkey in question:
"Where did you get the bag you're holding?"
Upon hearing Yang Lin's question, the albino golden monkey with a heart-shaped face scratched its ear before answering somewhat confusedly.
"I picked it up in the mountains over there."
"Picked it up? When you found this bag, did you encounter anyone similar to me?"
"No, I only found this bag." the heart-faced monkey replied after thinking again.
Receiving this answer, Yang Lin was greatly disappointed.
He had thought he might find a clue about Teacher Xiao Liang and the others, but now it seemed the bag was truly just something they had picked up in the mountains.
After all, they had no reason to lie to him.
However, Yang Lin clearly had no intention of giving up.
"Then can you take me to where you found the bag?"
The monkeys naturally did not refuse Yang Lin's request. They immediately clutched their respective bags and hopped forward.
Seeing that they were willing to lead the way, Yang Lin quickly followed.
After walking for an unknown duration, a mountain hollow appeared before Yang Lin.
Compared to other places, this leeward hollow had significantly less wind and snow, denser vegetation, and even a hint of green amidst the blowing snow.
As Yang Lin entered the hollow, a plum tree in full bloom with small red flowers caught his eye.
A deep fragrance filled the air with just one breath.
He immediately felt entranced. At that moment, a small, cold hand suddenly grasped his finger.
Looking down, he saw that it was the heart-faced albino golden monkey from before.
"We found the bag right here."
As if worried Yang Lin wouldn't believe it, it quickly dug out a black object from a nearby snowdrift.
Yang Lin looked closely and realized the black object was a camera lens, and one that clearly looked expensive.
The appearance of the lens indicated that Teacher Xiao Liang and the others had definitely passed through or even stayed here.
For a professional photographer to abandon a lens worth thousands, or even tens of thousands, here, it was easy to imagine they must have encountered some danger, leaving the lens and moisture-proof bag behind in their haste.
At this moment, Yang Lin felt as if Sherlock Holmes had possessed him.
But before he could further deduce where Teacher Xiao Liang and the others had gone, a wafting aroma reached him again.
This time, it was no longer the scent of flowers, but a fermented aroma.
"It's alcohol!"
Just as he realized this, an albino golden monkey approached him, holding a container made of large green leaves.
The aroma of alcohol was emanating from this leaf.
As he looked at the container with confusion, the albino golden monkey had already reached him.
"Drink!"
Upon hearing the word it spoke, Yang Lin could no longer suppress his curiosity. He reached out and took the leaf container holding the unknown liquid.
As the container got closer, the pungent smell of alcohol became even more apparent.
He finally confirmed that the container held the legendary monkey wine.
Looking at the slightly cloudy but extremely fragrant monkey wine in the green leaf, Yang Lin felt a mix of astonishment and trepidation.
He was astonished that monkeys could actually make wine, and not just in legend.
He was apprehensive about whether he should drink it, fearing that if their brewing process was not up to standard, it could easily exceed the formaldehyde limit.
In rural areas, there were almost yearly instances of people drinking homemade wine and ending up dead.
As he agonized, his gaze met the eyes of the four albino golden monkeys again.
Looking at their sincere eyes, Yang Lin suddenly felt that if he didn't drink this wine, he would be hurting their feelings.
"Forget it, it's clean and hygienic. It can't be worse than the water in the Ganges."
With that, Yang Lin tilted his head back and downed the entire cup of monkey wine.
As the monkey wine entered his mouth, a fiery sensation burned from his mouth down his esophagus, and then from his esophagus to his stomach.
At the same time, the rich aroma of grains and fruits exploded, far superior to the diluted concoctions on the market.
At this moment, Yang Lin was utterly amazed. He never imagined that wine brewed by a group of monkeys could be so delicious.
After the amazement, he felt his body, which had been feeling somewhat cold, instantly warm up. His mind even felt a little dizzy.
"Wow, what's the proof on this stuff? It's getting to me so fast."
"What exactly is the brewing process? If it can be replicated, could we sell wine in the future?"
For some inexplicable reason, Yang Lin sensed a business opportunity.
He immediately proposed to the albino golden monkeys that he wanted to visit their dwelling.
These hospitable golden monkeys agreed without hesitation.
Led by them, Yang Lin soon arrived at a cave beneath a tree.
As soon as he entered the cave, he heard the gurgling sound of water. Then, guided by the faint light from outside, he soon discovered a mountain spring within this secluded cave.
Beside the spring was an indentation created by the spring water. In it, roots of some plants and a large quantity of fruits and grains were quietly lying.
Perhaps due to the long time they had been piled up, these items had begun to ferment. Occasionally, fermented liquid would overflow from the indentation and drip into a stone trough below.
Upon closer inspection, the liquid in the stone trough was precisely the monkey wine that the albino golden monkey had offered him to drink.
"Good heavens, so this is how they make wine. If it were made elsewhere, it would be garbage instead of wine."
As Yang Lin was examining the monkey wine before him, the four albino golden monkeys began to drink from the trough.
In less than a minute, their white faces turned red.
Then, they all collapsed onto the ground beside him, leaving Yang Lin speechless.
He had originally planned to ask them more questions, but who would have thought they were all drunks?
As he shook his head in exasperation and prepared to leave, a hawk's cry suddenly echoed from outside the cave.