"What a guy..."
Wu Tianzhen carefully found a relatively flat spot to stand, then crouched down to observe closely.
These monkeys had indeed mutated under the power of the forbidden land. Their faces, which should have been healthy and reddish, now appeared dark blue, and combined with their gray fur, they looked very much like a type of white-haired zombie.
Their teeth were exceptionally sharp, with saw-like barbs, but their hands and feet had strangely degenerated into rounded knuckles, making them look increasingly like human fingers.
When ordinary animals were corrupted, their claws and teeth usually became more aggressive. Wu Tianzhen had never seen a monkey like this, which had weakened its own hands and feet.
Although he didn't know why, he figured it was a good thing.
Monkeys without sharp claws would surely have their attack power greatly reduced.
"Speaking of which, where's Fatty?" After examining the monkeys, Wu Tianzhen straightened up and only then realized a heavy hitter was missing from the team. "Little Brother, did you see him when you went down just now?"
A hint of worry crept into Wu Tianzhen's tone. He was a bit suspicious of the monkeys' diet and had a feeling that Fatty's three hundred pounds of fat were like Tang Monk's flesh, tempting the monkeys.
Zhang Qiling was staring at a monkey on the ground with its eyes wide open in death. It was unclear what they had discussed across species and life and death. Wu Tianzhen even had a fleeting feeling that Zhang Qiling would close the monkey's eyes.
Hearing Wu Tianzhen's question, Zhang Qiling abandoned his concern for the deceased monkey's psychological well-being and slowly raised his head to think.
He seemed to be discerning something in the mist, then he pointed in a direction with his finger.
"Here, looking for something."
"Looking for something? What could he find in this godforsaken place?" Wu Tianzhen couldn't quite comprehend it. Ninety-nine percent of his brain was filled with confusion, yet he still managed to spare one percent to mock Xiao Zhang's linguistic artistry.
...Amazing, Xiao Ge's sentence-breaking skills were getting more and more superb. Come to think of it, after listening to it for a while, it actually had a unique sense of rhythm.
Zhang Qiling was unaware of how far Wu Tianzhen's thoughts had wandered. He noticed Wu Tianzhen's confused expression, pondered for a moment, and as if suddenly understanding something,
The Black Gold Ancient Sword in his hand trembled slightly, and the surging sword energy instantly erupted like a hurricane towards the distance!
The mist that filled that direction was instantly dispersed, revealing a clear path!
"Holy crap!" Wu Tianzhen, caught off guard, had his eyes blinded by the swirling mist. He coughed a couple of times and looked speechlessly at Xiao Zhang.
Xiao Zhang clearly hadn't anticipated the turn of events. A hint of guilt slowly appeared on his expressionless face, and his eyes subtly avoided Wu Tianzhen's gaze. But soon, he looked back, his expression returning to calm.
Wu Tianzhen looked closely for a second time, and he was certain that Xiao Zhang's face clearly displayed a large line of text:
(You're so weak.)
Wu Tianzhen: ...You've changed, Xiao Ge. Your indifference scares me.
And at that moment, a strange sound echoed.
From the direction that had just been cleared, amidst the countless monkey corpses, a dark figure slowly emerged.
"Clang—"
The dark figure was extremely bulky, looking like a colossal black bear. It trembled, seeming to take a step forward, and its entire body shook, emitting a crisp metallic clanging sound.
Wu Tianzhen instantly thought that the Monkey Overlord had come to avenge its tragically deceased monkey offspring. He had been getting into the rhythm of fighting monkeys and instinctively raised his gun.
Then, the next second—
"Holy hell, you damn bastard, you're still addicted to aiming at Fatty?!"
Fatty's voice suddenly emerged from the dark mass. His voice rose in pitch, sounding particularly "satisfied" with Wu Tianzhen's "enthusiastic" gun-pointing welcome ceremony.
"It looks like Fatty had quite a haul," Xie Yuchen carefully wiped the monkey blood off his dragon-patterned staff with a white cloth. After confirming there were no stains, he retracted the staff and secured it in his sleeve.
His demeanor and presentation could earn him full marks. Among the few present, only his clothes remained spotlessly clean.
...Although Zhang Qiling's skills could also keep him immaculate, he had a habit of wiping his sword with his clothes.
In the battle for favor between the Black Gold Ancient Sword and his hooded sweatshirt, the Black Gold Ancient Sword had won this time. xxs壹贰
Hearing Xie Yuchen's words, Wu Tianzhen identified the dark figure more closely and realized it was Fatty, covered head to toe in strange objects. He figured those objects were the treasures Fatty had found at the bottom of this Shentan Cliff.
He was immediately reminded of the time he almost blew Fatty's head off in the Zhang Family sacred burial ground. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt, and his hands quickly hid his gun, trying to project an image of peace and tranquility.
"...Don't think I can't see you hiding it, my eyesight is excellent!!"
Fatty finally managed to walk with difficulty to the front of the group. He was now resplendent in gold and jade, with every object he wore polished to a gleaming sheen. He looked like a bizarre and noble statue.
"Damn it, you've tired me out!" He sat down on the ground, the objects clattering noisily.
The monkeys on the ground became the best carpet. Fatty shifted his position, finding a spot most comfortable for his precious backside.
"...How long has it been, and you've already found so much?" Wu Tianzhen subconsciously forgot his earlier bravado. He counted the items on Fatty and couldn't help but click his tongue. "It's so heavy, walking is a problem, you can't possibly carry it out?"
"Tianzhen, what do you mean by that?!" Fatty suddenly feigned anger, crying out indignantly. "You can look down on me, Fatty, but I can't stand it if you look down on our Little Brother!"
As Fatty spoke, his eyes "whooshed" and fixed on Zhang Qiling. He met Zhang Qiling's bewildered gaze and firmly declared with brotherly affection.
"With this much stuff, it would be as easy as lifting a little finger for Little Brother to take it away! Isn't that right, Little Brother?"
Zhang Qiling: ...?
At this moment, Zhang Qiling was wiping his sword with the hem of his clothes. The Black Gold Ancient Sword gleefully smeared stubborn dirt onto his hooded sweatshirt, shining exceptionally brightly.
The dazzling sword light reflected onto Zhang Qiling's face, revealing his clear-headed blankness.
"...Go on, go on, don't try to burden Little Brother with everything!" Wu Tianzhen felt like he would burst out laughing if he looked at the dazed Xiao Zhang any longer. He nudged Fatty. "We still need to explore further down, hurry up and find a place to put these things, they're too cumbersome."
He held back for a moment but couldn't resist commenting, "You look exactly like the Michelin Man right now."
"? Are you advertising for them here, do they know that?" Fatty retorted, but he still obediently pulled off all his items and found a spot near the cliff face to place them.
He carefully covered the items with the corpses of a few monkeys and bowed to them twice. "Mister Monkey, Madam Monkey, please be generous and keep an eye on my things for a while. We'll burn some bananas for you when we get back!"
The monkey corpses did not respond. He took this as their agreement and cheerfully, with a "crunch," slung his bag over his shoulder and prepared to leave.
Just as they were eagerly about to charge into the mist, the long-silent benefactor spoke.
"I say, brothers," Xie Yuchen said, crossing his arms and looking over. His gentle tone carried a terrifying aura. "Did we forget something?"
Wu Tianzhen almost instantly froze in place, with Fatty freezing beside him.
Zhang Qiling, still seemingly unaware, continued to walk forward, but the two of them grabbed him and pulled him back, making him stand in a neat line.
...They had forgotten to retrieve the climbing rope.