"Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh!"
As they continued their climb up Mount Emei, Long Feichen couldn't help but chuckle from time to time.
He couldn't help it, really. The sight of that brown-furred monkey after its head had been shaved bald was just too comical.
Every time Long Feichen thought of the monkey's bald head and its future miserable life, he couldn't stop laughing.
Zhuge Ji felt the same, but he was more reserved and didn't laugh out loud like Long Feichen. He was just inwardly delighted.
Serves you right for snatching my goddess's snacks!
Serves you right for splashing chili juice into my eyes!
Serves you right for throwing poop at people!
Yan Shouyi said helplessly, "Are you two really picking on a monkey like this?"
Long Feichen retorted, "Brother Yan, the monkeys on Mount Emei are notoriously bad. What we did was act on behalf of Heaven and eliminate a pest for the people!"
"Oh, come on. You should be most grateful that you evolved so quickly. Otherwise, you would have been the one getting your head shaved today," Yan Shouyi chuckled.
Long Feichen was momentarily speechless.
Ye Tianyuan followed behind, his thoughts drifting. He suddenly recalled a funny story he had seen online.
It was said that a tourist was visiting Mount Emei when a monkey snatched a bag of melon seeds from them. The tourist, indignant, went to find the park administrator. Upon hearing the story, the administrator immediately found a monkey and beat it soundly. The tourist tried to stop the administrator, saying he had the wrong monkey.
The administrator replied that their park operated on a responsibility system. For any mistake made by a monkey, the administrator would only punish the Monkey King, as the King had failed to manage its subordinates.
Sure enough, after being beaten, the Monkey King, in a huff, disappeared into the forest. A short while later, it dragged out the monkey that had stolen the melon seeds and gave it a beating in front of the tourist.
In the end, the monkey that stole the seeds not only returned them but also saluted the tourist before leaving.
The story was so outlandish that Ye Tianyuan was certain it wasn't true.
Tian Juer, on the other hand, had no thoughts in her head. She concentrated on climbing the mountain, munching on potato chips to replenish her energy.
"Everyone, stop for a moment."
Just then, Yan Shouyi suddenly halted and called out to them.
Long Feichen asked in surprise, "What's up? Gotta pee? Come on, let's go together. I'll grab a smoke on the way."
"Shut up!" Yan Shouyi said irritably. "There's some movement around us. Listen carefully."
The five of them fell silent, straining their ears.
Soon, they began to hear sounds.
A rustling, like the sound of wind blowing through leaves, but the sound of wind through leaves has a rhythmic quality. The rustling they heard now was chaotic and seemed to come from all directions.
It was as if... as if many things were approaching them!
Suddenly, a dark figure descended from the sky, landing in front of the five of them!
Upon closer inspection, it was a relatively large, brown-furred monkey!
As soon as the monkey landed, it bared its teeth at the five of them and let out a sharp screech!
By now, Long Feichen and Zhuge Ji were utterly disgusted with the monkeys of Mount Emei. They had just gotten rid of the brown-furred monkey, and now another one appeared, and it was baring its teeth and looked quite aggressive right from the start.
So, Long Feichen, annoyed, picked up a stone from the ground and shouted at the monkey in front of him, "Go! Get out of the way, good monkeys don't block the path!"
To his surprise, the monkey not only didn't cower but instead picked up an even larger stone and hurled it at Long Feichen without hesitation!
"What the hell...?"
Long Feichen dodged quickly, utterly astonished. He couldn't understand why this monkey was so short-tempered, resorting to violence immediately.
Before Long Feichen could even start complaining, more monkeys suddenly emerged from the surroundings!
Ten, twenty... fifty... a hundred...
Hundreds of monkeys, dense and overwhelming, filled the ground and the trees, completely surrounding the five of them!
They were holding sticks or stones, waving them incessantly, seemingly to threaten them.
Tian Juer finally felt a bit scared and instinctively shrank behind Yan Shouyi, saying, "Huì, Huì Zhǎng..."
Long Feichen also nimbly hid behind Yan Shouyi, crowding beside Tian Juer, "Brother, Brother Yan..."
"You are such a..."
Yan Shouyi, furious, kicked Long Feichen away.
It was one thing for Tian Juer, that delicate sister, to act like that, but why was this brat joining in the fuss?!
Zhuge Ji was a Celestial Observer with no combat ability, and although Ye Tianyuan was a descendant of shadow puppetry, he was lame.
On the surface, apart from himself, Yan Shouyi, the strongest person should have been Long Feichen. Yet this scoundrel, who lectured others so eloquently, turned into a shrinking turtle when trouble arose.
Long Feichen, kicked away by Yan Shouyi, chuckled and rubbed his backside, his face thicker than the city walls.
"That's strange, these monkeys are just surrounding us, but they aren't attacking," Zhuge Ji said. "They seem to be waiting for someone."
Upon hearing this, Long Feichen drew his Caiwei Sword and shouted at the monkey troop, "What fiend dares to block our path! Who is your leader, let it come forward and speak!"
The monkey troop chattered for a while, and soon fell silent.
On a tree, the monkey troop stirred slightly, then parted to make way.
A bald, brown-furred monkey, looking furious, leaped onto a branch, followed by slightly smaller but equally bald monkeys.
"Hey, isn't that him!"
As soon as Long Feichen saw the brown-furred monkey, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He hadn't expected the brown-furred monkey to wake up so quickly and come over personally to show itself. This perfectly filled the regret in Long Feichen's heart about "not getting to see the brown-furred monkey's reaction upon waking up."
When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred. Upon seeing Long Feichen and Zhuge Ji, the brown-furred monkey's fury surged.
It pointed to its head and chattered furiously.
Zhuge Ji asked Long Feichen, "Little Brother Long, can you understand what it's saying?"
"I can't understand it, but it's definitely cursing us, and in a very unpleasant way," Long Feichen replied, then laughed even louder.
"Jī!"
The brown-furred monkey, enrared, suddenly issued a loud command.
Long Feichen was not worried at all. "With Brother Yan here, what's there to be afraid of from a bunch of monkeys?"
Yan Shouyi remained calm. Let alone a pack of monkeys, even a pack of monkey spirits would be no problem for him now.
Who would have thought that after hearing the brown-furred monkey's command, the entire troop of monkeys would lift their buttocks!
"Damn it!"
Even the steady Yan Shouyi couldn't maintain his composure and immediately picked up Tian Juer and ran up the mountain.
Two seconds later, Long Feichen, Zhuge Ji, and Ye Tianyuan reacted. The expressions on their faces changed drastically, and their mindset shifted from "completely composed" to "utterly panicked."
"Run!!!"
Long Feichen screamed hysterically and then bolted, with Zhuge Ji close behind.
Ye Tianyuan's face turned pale with fright. He reached out to the backs of the fleeing group, calling out, "I, I can't run fast! Can someone help me?!"
However, not a single one of the four ahead turned back. They demonstrated with their actions what it meant to be "scattered like droppings in the wind, each flying for themselves."
Ye Tianyuan cried out in despair, "Didn't we promise not to abandon or give up on each other???"