Besides 'inviting' them to participate in the village's sacrificial ceremony, the old man also had other villagers prepare a lot of offerings in a very formal manner. It's just unclear whether it was a real ceremony or just a performance for them.

Around 10 a.m., a group of people carried the sacrificial poles toward the back mountain. The old man said there was a small temple on the back mountain, and sure enough, they saw a small temple with a gray roof in the distance. The 'Sangzi' they were looking for was sitting on a stone bench at the entrance of the temple.

Sangzi's expression and actions were exactly the same as before. If they hadn't already known the inside story, they would definitely have been fooled.

Uncle Zhang was both bold and meticulous. He immediately gave 'Sangzi' a hug and asked him in a particularly affectionate tone, "Where did you go! Do you know how long we've been looking for you? Hey, where are the others?"

Even Xu Qian had to say with respect—an actor! A true actor!

Sangzi flashed her usual smile and said to Uncle Zhang, "I told them to keep looking for me. I heard from the village chief that you were looking for me, so I came over to let him know I'm safe."

Uncle Zhang gave him an "Oh, I see" look and continued, "You're not injured, are you? Where's your equipment?"

Sangzi paused for a second and replied, "I accidentally fell and hurt myself when I went up the mountain before."

Uncle Zhang patted him on the shoulder again, his eyes crinkling with a smile, like an elder concerned for a younger generation, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, 'Sangzi' and 'Anda', who was called the village chief, entered the small temple together. This Anda was not the Anda that Xu Qian had met in the Monkey Cave; he was probably just a stand-in.

As friends of 'Sangzi', they were naturally invited inside.

After witnessing an 'ordinary' sacrificial ceremony, the temple prepared a bowl of congee for everyone. The congee looked greenish, as if some kind of wild vegetable had been added.

Xu Qian glanced at Meng Ziqiu, neither nodding nor shaking his head. Meng Ziqiu gritted his teeth and took two sips. In terms of taste, it was indeed wild vegetable porridge, but unfortunately, the monkey tribe's cooking skills were not very good. The porridge was... really awful!

Xu Qian gave everyone a dispelling pill in advance, instructing them to take it after drinking the porridge. However, the porridge contained something malevolent; those who ate it immediately had a [Hallucination] debuff appear under their names. The slowest one was immediately affected. But it wasn't entirely useless; the others could imitate him and pretend they were affected as well.

As planned, Xu Qian and a few other people with more decent appearances were dragged back to the Monkey Cave by the old man, while the others, including Meng Ziqiu and Uncle Zhang, were taken outside by another group of people, probably to the cliff mentioned earlier.

Xu Qian figured that Meng Ziqiu had his own stitches, which meant he was essentially two people in one, so there shouldn't be any major problems. Besides, he had a bounty on his head, so he could receive the reward immediately if anything went wrong.

Meng Ziqiu himself was somewhat hurt; he never imagined he'd be the one left over! What kind of aesthetic sense do they have?! Ugh!

About an hour later, Xu Qian returned to the Monkey Cave. This time, the Monkey Cave was even more lively than when he last came. Around the sacred tree, monkeys of all sizes surrounded it. Their fur was gray, their facial features were slightly dark, and they were larger than the monkeys we usually know. They all looked at the few humans lying in the center. Each monkey had a different expression. Some were excited, while others were indifferent. Perhaps this was the real sacrifice for them.

Xu Qian was the first to be moved. Although he didn't open his eyes, he was constantly observing his surroundings. He saw a small monkey squatting next to him. The monkey was very thin and looked like it was the one he was about to 'swap' with, Tammy.

Tammy scrutinized him closely, its eyes darting around. It must be quite young, its eyes filled with nothing but curiosity and innocence. Xu Qian even suspected that it didn't actually understand the meaning of 'exchange'.

After a while, Xu Qian finally met the main character of the day—Anda.

Anda lowered his gaze slightly, his hands still empty. Compared to other monkeys or 'people', his expression seemed a little too calm. It was this calmness that made Xu Qian feel even more concerned. He couldn't explain why, but it was like his intuition.

Xu Qian waited patiently for the 'exchange' ceremony to begin. He was very confident that he could escape unscathed. However, his companions did not think so. They were all extremely nervous. If Xu Qian had not repeatedly warned them not to make a move beforehand, they would have already grabbed their weapons.

Anda stood between Xu Qian and Tami, his lips moving as he uttered an incomprehensible incantation. Xu Qian saw a green light suddenly flash in Anda's empty hand, and a thought struck him; he prepared to turn the tables—

"Boom—"

"Bang--"

Suddenly, the entire cave began to shake violently. Even the usually stable sacred tree trembled. This movement caused the monkeys in the cave to scream in pain. The high and low screams filled everyone's ears, which was more torturous than torture itself.

This was an opportunity. Xu Qian leaped up and rushed towards Anda with lightning speed, so fast that Anda didn't even have time to react before he snatched the Azure Light Token.

Anda's face darkened, his eyes turned visibly bloodshot, and his expression became increasingly ferocious, a far cry from his previous calm and indifferent demeanor.

"--squeak!!!"

"—Squeak!!!"

Xu Qian's unexpected appearance made the monkeys in the cave even more restless, and the 'humans' even more so.

"Get up, brothers—" Xu Qian shouted to his companions.

In an instant, seven or eight people formed a circle, and in the center of the circle was Xu Qian, who was holding the Azure Light Token.

Anda had completely changed. His body still retained a human form, but his face had turned into that of a monkey. He stood facing Xu Qian, and there was a vague sense of looking down on him. "I underestimated you."

Anda's words revealed a kind of disdain, a disdain that only arose because of the vast difference between the two sides.

Xu Qian had been watching his movements closely. Seeing that he seemed to be about to chant some incantation, he disregarded everything else, drew his Floating Cloud Technique, and unleashed a combo on the other party. The fierce sword energy forced Anda to stop the incantation and retreat, but it was only a retreat. However, this sword strike made him take the person in front of him seriously again.

Anda seemed to have thought of something, but quickly dismissed it, "...How could there still be cultivators in this world? The spiritual energy has long been exhausted! No, that's not right! Who exactly are you!"

Not only was Anda puzzled, but Xu Qian was also surprised. He had originally thought that this Anda was just a monkey clan leader, but now that he heard him say this, and even knew the terms "cultivator" and "spiritual energy depletion"... then there was only one possibility!

"...You're actually a spirit?!"

Anda's unpleasant expression seemed to confirm Xu Qian's statement.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is!" Xu Qian finally understood. He initially thought it was the so-called 'divine tree' that was causing trouble, but he never expected it was actually the 'Azure Light Token' in his hand!

Anda forcibly recited the incantation, but Xu Qian opposite him took out the remaining Immortal-Catching Net. It was this net that made him change his expression. The moment the Immortal-Catching Net covered the Azure Light Token, the damage from the sword energy earlier made his mouth taste sweet, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

The earthquake continued during the standoff between the two men, and chaos and fear spread throughout the monkey cave. The sudden earthquake startled the monkeys, a subconscious, physiological reaction that they couldn't even control.

But there is one exception: Mina, Anda's 'daughter'.

She stood in front of Anda, her pale face showing an unwavering stubbornness.

The scene before him gave Xu Qian a sense of déjà vu, as if he were the villain, and that feeling... was rather subtle.

"Brother Xu, what's the situation now? The earthquake is still going on. What should we do? Go out or not?" One of his companions was shaking. Not only were monkeys afraid of earthquakes, but he was afraid of them too.

"A big earthquake won't kill you, a small one won't kill you, so what's the panic?" As a man from Sichuan, Xu Qian had the right to speak on this matter, especially since he was the one who caused this earthquake.

Anda reached out and gently pushed Mina away. Mina shook her head at him, but Anda persisted and turned to Xu Qian, asking calmly, "What do you want?"

“I only have one purpose,” Xu Qian said, glancing at the time. It should be about time; Uncle Zhang and the others should have brought Sangzi out by now. “I don’t like to make things difficult for people, but my friend needs to get his body back.”

Sure enough, following Xu Qian's instructions, Meng Ziqiu and Uncle Zhang successfully found Sangzi in the dungeon.

The other 'Sangzi' turned pale; he understood what the consequences would be.

Xu Qian returned the Azure Light Token to Anda, but Anda did not act immediately. Instead, he said to Xu Qian, "I can be of use to you, but I have one request: I hope you will spare them." The 'them' he was referring to was this group of monkeys.

Xu Qian nodded in agreement. He hadn't intended to do anything to the monkeys and had even planned what to do next, but Anda's words gave him a more comprehensive plan.

Before Anda could act, Xu Qian saw Sangzi lying on the ground and asked, "How did you hurt your hand?"

Sangzi had already accepted her fate and didn't want to pay attention to him, but considering that even the other party and the priest had given in, she honestly answered, "I fell off a cliff while being chased by poachers."

Xu Qian thought for a moment, then said nothing and let Anda continue.

Sangzi was heartbroken.

Early the next morning, Xu Qian and his group led their men down the mountain.

Aside from people, Xu Qian took nothing with him. He left all his sworn brothers on the mountain as the head of the Gongshan Wildlife Conservation Base, responsible for protecting the monkeys while also keeping them under control. (P.S., although the base isn't built yet, that doesn't stop him from being in charge!) Before leaving, Xu Qian also healed several monkeys injured by humans, including Sugeli. They were all lively and energetic, and could once again roam freely across the mountains.

At the same time, Xu Qian had Meng Ziqiu notify the police station at the foot of the mountain, informing them not only of the skeletons at the bottom of the cliff but also of the exact location of the female corpse. He also told them that there was a large-scale human trafficking operation in Bai'ai Village below Monkey Ridge, and that the dead young woman was very likely the missing college student.

Author's Note: The next chapter is an extra chapter about the old man, serving as a supplement to this story. You can choose to read it or not, but reading it will help you understand things better.

P.S., this will be a paid chapter tomorrow! There will be one update at noon as usual, followed by one more in the afternoon and evening. Chapters 38-51 are paid chapters, so please take note if you've already read them!

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