Chapter 47 (Forty-Seventh Chapter) - 1 Point of Gossip Value
Seeing the little monkey's guilty look, Ruan Qingzhu smiled wryly: "Xiao Ling, didn't I tell you not to take other people's things? Why don't you listen?"
Although her voice was gentle and soft, it contained a sense of reproach.
The little monkey raised its tail to cover its eyes, not daring to look at her, looking extremely ashamed.
Observing their interaction, everyone could tell that her relationship with the psychic ape was not simple.
"Junior sister, did Xiaoling take anything else from you and not return it?" Ruan Qingzhu glanced at the law enforcement disciples gathered behind Lou Yuqing and asked somewhat awkwardly.
Lou Yuqing noticed her helplessness and chuckled twice: "It's like this, my things have been returned, but the little monkey stole not only my things, but also many of my fellow disciples. The elders of the Enforcement Hall sent us to take it over, probably to give it a verbal reprimand."
After all, the little monkey is the descendant of the sect's guardian spirit beast. Even if we don't care about the Buddha, we should consider the monk. The guardian spirit beast has made outstanding contributions to the sect in defending against external enemies, so the sect will not make things too difficult for its descendant.
Ruan Qingzhu frowned slightly, then relaxed her gaze and said, "That's fine too. I'm always worried that it will cause some trouble. I'm currently ill and can't keep an eye on it all the time. If the Enforcement Hall can help to control its temperament, that would be a good thing."
Lou Yuqing: Such a mischievous monkey is not worthy of such treatment.
Ling Yunxiao picked up the little monkey and grabbed it by the back of its neck with one hand. The little monkey cried out restlessly and struggled desperately, but it could not break free from his restraint.
Si Nidie suddenly remembered something and said, "Junior Sister Ruan, you said you are physically weak, why did you still participate in the selection competition? Fighting back and forth will only affect your health. I see that your aura is much weaker than before. You should prioritize your own safety and not overexert yourself."
Ruan Qingzhu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "I don't quite understand what you mean, senior sister. What selection competition? I haven't been out these past few days."
Si Nidie scratched her head and said, "But we saw you compete against someone on the martial arts stage today, and you even won and got the qualification for the exhibition match."
Lou Yuqing chimed in, "Yes."
She pondered that Ruan Qingzhu's expression didn't seem fake. If she really hadn't gone out, then who was the "Ruan Qingzhu" she met today?
"Exhibition match".
Ruan Qingzhu murmured repeatedly, her gaze falling on the little monkey, a complex look flashing across her face, and asked, "Little Ling, tell me honestly, did you transform into my appearance to participate in the sect's selection competition?"
The little monkey stopped struggling and lowered its head in dejection.
Ruan Qingzhu smiled helplessly: "It really was you."
Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw this: What's going on? This monkey went to participate in the competition under the identity of Ruan Qingzhu, not only did it win, but no one saw through its disguise?
The air became eerily quiet for a moment.
At this moment, the little monkey squeaked, its face displaying a wide range of expressions, and it gestured with its furry hands as if it were saying a lot.
Those present didn't understand animal language, but Ruan Qingzhu overheard: "You said you wanted to help me fulfill my wish, so you went to participate in the competition, you..."
She sighed softly.
Ruan Qingzhu already had some suspicions in her heart, and hearing Xiaoling's words confirmed her thoughts even more. She raised her eyes and said to everyone, "I heard a while ago that the sect was organizing a seven-sect competition. Unfortunately, I fell ill and was not feeling well. I complained that I couldn't participate in the selection competition, and I guess this little guy heard it."
As she said this, her face was full of helplessness and doting affection.
This may seem against the rules, but for her, the fact that someone could put her words into action, even if the method was a little off, warmed her heart.
Ling Yunxiao raised an eyebrow: "It also has the ability to transform?"
Lou Yuqing also felt that this little monkey was not simple. According to her understanding, the spirit monkey was most skilled at using illusion magic, using all kinds of illusions to manipulate enemies.
In the past, when the sect's guardian spirit beasts faced a sudden attack from a powerful enemy, they directly cast a thirty-three-layered illusion, trapping the enemy inside and extinguishing their life force.
When Lou Yuqing first heard this story, her scalp tingled. This ability was truly heaven-defying. She didn't even have a chance to fight back before she was tricked and killed in the illusion.
She recalled the illusion technique Wu Fengshu used on her senior sister across realms that day. Its power had already begun to show. If she cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage in the future, she might be like the Spirit Monkey, able to release illusions with a single word or gesture, killing people invisibly.
Lou Yuqing had also experienced the little monkey's abilities firsthand; it could make her lose consciousness silently, which was even more chilling to her than falling into a hallucination.
Not to mention, it can also transform into the appearance of other people.
Ruan Qingzhu paused for a moment and said, "Xiao Ling can only transform into my appearance for now. I think it's probably limited by my strength. But it looks just like the real thing. When we stand face to face, I myself feel a little dazed."
Lou Yuqing: It really wasn't my fault; the enemy was just too good at disguising themselves.
Si Nidie looked at the little monkey and teased, "Looks like you've committed another crime, you naughty guy. When Captain Wei punishes you by putting you in solitary confinement, you'll be in for a rough time."
The little monkey tilted its head, a hint of displeasure in its eyes.
Ruan Qingzhu felt a little reluctant: "Does the Enforcement Hall really intend to confine Xiaoling? It's free-spirited and can't stand being restrained. It loves to run around in the mountains and forests. This punishment is too painful for it. Could you ask your captain to make an exception?"
Si Nidie shook her head vigorously: "I wouldn't dare." Trying to pull a tiger's hair out of a tiger's head—unless she was suicidal, she'd just get herself thrown into solitary confinement by Captain Wei, which would be ridiculous.
Ruan Qingzhu looked disappointed.
Ling Yunxiao asked casually, "Don't the little monkey's parents discipline it?"
"Parents?" Ruan Qingzhu was stunned. "When I met Xiaoling, it was all alone. Over the years, none of its kind have come here to look for it. Perhaps its parents have already sacrificed themselves."
The little monkey shrank its body and looked rather pitiful.
Ling Yunxiao wasn't buying it. He simply loosened his grip on the little monkey's neck and moved his hand to its shoulder, giving it a more comfortable position. At the same time, he curled his palm inward, concealing a hidden force, so that he could catch the little monkey instantly if it tried to escape.
The little monkey was filled with resentment. With its speed, if Ruan Qingzhu hadn't been watching it and preventing it from making any rash moves, it wouldn't have been caught by this human.
"You don't know its identity?" Seeing Ruan Qingzhu shake her head, Lou Yuqing rubbed the little monkey's head and said, "Its name is Spirit Ape, and it is a descendant of the sect's guardian spirit beast. I thought you named it Xiao Ling because you knew the inside story."
Ruan Qingzhu's pupils trembled, and she quickly lowered her head to hide her emotions. After a long while, she slowly said, "I found it in the farmland of Qishan. It wanted to steal the spirit rice I planted, but it ate too much and choked, almost unable to breathe."
Everyone: "..." wanted to laugh.
Lou Yuqing thought to herself, "He really is a habitual offender. He's already stealing things so early in the morning, and he's even stealing people's hard-earned crops."
"After I rescued it, it bowed to me to thank me and often came to visit my farmland, but it never stole food again. After spending a long time with it, I saw that it was lively and agile, so I named it this," Ruan Qingzhu said in one breath.
Everyone understood.
There is a flat area in Qishan that is suitable for cultivating spiritual fields. The sect specially assigned people to come here, and Ruan Qingzhu was one of them.
Si Nidie asked curiously, "Don't you live with everyone? This place seems to be quite far from the farmland, and it will take a lot of time to go back and forth every day."
On the other side, the little monkey, seeing its embarrassing moment brought up, buried its head in Ling Yunxiao's body in shame and indignation, not daring to raise its head, too ashamed to face anyone.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingzhu smiled and explained, "Xiaoling likes to play by the waterfall, so I moved here. Also, there are many wild fruits here, which it loves to eat."
Si Nidie suddenly realized that the other party could go to such lengths for the little monkey, no wonder the little monkey was so obedient to her: "Junior sister, we're taking this guy with us. If you're worried, come along to the Enforcement Hall to take a look."
Ruan Qingzhu's face showed a hint of interest, but after hesitating for a moment, she gave up: "No, I trust the decision of the Enforcement Hall. I don't know where Xiaoling's parents are. I feel sorry for her being all alone all these years."
No one could give her an answer.
The whereabouts of the guardian spirit beasts were beyond their comprehension; in other words, the movements of a Nascent Soul stage expert were beyond their knowledge.
Watching the departing figures of everyone, Ruan Qingzhu stood there in a daze for a long time. Then she went back to her small house to tidy up, and rode her low-level flying magic weapon towards the mountain gate.
...
On the way back to the Hall of Law Enforcement.
Ling Yunxiao suddenly blurted out, "Ruan Qingzhu has a problem."
Everyone turned to look at him, their eyes filled with surprise.
Lou Yuqing exclaimed, "What's wrong?" and asked, "What's the problem?"
She knew Ling Yunxiao wouldn't make baseless accusations, but she really couldn't see anything wrong with it. She just felt that Ruan Qingzhu and the little monkey had a pretty good relationship.
Ling Yunxiao looked at everyone meaningfully and said slowly, "Do you think Ruan Qingzhu didn't know anything? Why would the little monkey return the magic artifacts that everyone stole?"
Lou Yuqing seemed to be enlightened: "Yes, it is so unruly. Unless someone tells it to return the item, it will not return it. This person is none other than Ruan Qingzhu."
Looking into her bright eyes, Ling Yunxiao nodded.
Si Nidie questioned, "Whether or not someone talks about this kind of thing isn't a big deal. Maybe they just like doing good deeds anonymously."
Ling Yunxiao said calmly, "She probably doesn't say anything because she wants to hide her injuries."
Everyone was stunned. Ruan Qingzhu was injured?
Si Nidie scratched her head: "Didn't she say she was sick?"
“The states of being sick and injured are different.”
Ling Yunxiao offered his guess: "I think the story might be like this: Ruan Qingzhu was injured for some reason, and the little monkey discovered this. It ran to the arena and stole everyone's magic weapons, then made Ruan Qingzhu sell the magic weapons to exchange for spirit stones. Ruan Qingzhu scolded it severely before returning the items to everyone."
As he spoke, he kept a close eye on the little monkey's movements. As expected, after hearing his words, the little monkey looked left and right, but dared not look at him, as if he had been right.
Lou Yuqing stopped in her tracks: "Could it be that Ruan Qingzhu suffered a serious injury?"
“I observed that she was breathing smoothly and moving freely. Although her aura was slightly weak, her spiritual light remained undiminished. She must have suffered only minor injuries,” Ling Yunxiao said logically.
Lou Yuqing felt relieved.
"Why did Ruan Qingzhu hide her injury from us? Because she didn't want us to know something," Ling Yunxiao analyzed logically.
Lou Yuqing instinctively asked, "What is it?"
Ling Yunxiao said decisively, "Who injured her?"
Lou Yuqing pondered along with his words. Ruan Qingzhu's injury must have been caused by someone. If it were done by a fellow disciple, there would be no need to hide it. Therefore, this person's identity is most likely a cultivator from outside the sect?
Si Nidie and the others also seemed to understand.
Ling Yunxiao continued, "Of course, this is not enough to prove anything, it's just a little evidence. What really made me suspicious of Ruan Qingzhu was that her expression changed for a moment when I mentioned the little monkey's supernatural abilities twice. It seemed that she didn't want us to know that the little monkey had this ability."
Lou Yuqing said uncertainly, "Maybe she didn't want to cause trouble because of the little monkey's supernatural powers. After all, Ruan Qingzhu didn't know the little monkey's origins at the time and thought we came for that. Even if she wanted to protect the little monkey, she was powerless to do so."
Ling Yunxiao smiled; they weren't bad people.
"I've heard a little about supernatural powers," Si Nidie said, referring to the information she had looked up in the Law Enforcement Hall. "For high-level spirit beasts like the Spirit Ape, the age at which their cubs awaken their innate supernatural powers ranges from three to six years old. This little monkey is not very old, so it may have only recently awakened its supernatural powers, and it has awakened two of them."
The little monkey squeaked twice, seemingly in response to Si Nidie's words. Si Nidie raised her hand to poke its tail, but the little monkey nimbly dodged.
Lou Yuqing couldn't help but ask, "Speaking of which, how did this little monkey steal my storage ring? Did it use its illusionary abilities? I don't think I was bewitched."
The little monkey chuckled, looking rather cunning.
Ling Yunxiao couldn't bear to watch any longer. He patted its rear end to calm it down and said, "If you want to know, just have it demonstrate it once."
As he spoke, he released his grip on the little monkey.
Lou Yuqing thought about it and realized it made sense, and her gaze fell on it.
The little monkey shook its fur, raised its head proudly, and puffed out its chest: You say you'll demonstrate, so I'll demonstrate? Am I such a shameless monkey?
"Hurry up," Lou Yuqing urged.
The little monkey's eyes darted around. If it didn't run away now, when would it? It didn't want to go with these nasty humans; who knew what they were up to?
Lou Yuqing knew something was wrong, but it was too late.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the little monkey suddenly pounced outwards with lightning speed, transforming into an invisible bolt of lightning that disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Everyone: ? ? ?
This makes them seem dull.
Just then, Ling Yunxiao snapped his fingers, and the little monkey's fleeing shadow stopped. Strands of black thread wrapped around its body, binding it tightly.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and their gazes toward Ling Yunxiao instantly changed.
Ling Yunxiao raised his hand and the little monkey flew back as if pulled by a string, appearing in front of everyone. He laughed and said, "It seems that my backup plan has come in handy."
Lou Yuqing silently gave a thumbs up: "Very good."
Ling Yunxiao: "What do you mean?"
Lou Yuqing: "It means I'm praising you."
Ling Yunxiao: "Thank you."
After a brief exchange, everyone looked at the little monkey. The black lines on its body had disappeared. Lou Yuqing sneered, "Why are you running away? We're not going to kill you, is it really necessary?"
The little monkey: "..." Now it seems it can call for help.
Faced with the threat, it finally gave in.
The little monkey's eyes flickered slightly, revealing an unusual glint. It exchanged a glance with Lou Yuqing, then looked away and squeaked: "Demonstration complete."
Lou Yuqing: What the hell?
She then looked to her left and saw that the storage ring was gone. She paused for a moment, then looked to her right hand and found that the lost storage ring had been transferred to this hand.
Is this an illusion?
Lou Yuqing closed her eyes in disbelief, then opened them again. The scene was still the same—the storage ring was on her right hand, standing side by side with the silver ring.
"Remote transfer?" she asked blankly.
The little monkey raised its tail and shook its head.
Ling Yunxiao also asked, "The Void Capture Technique?"
The little monkey shook its head again.
"Did you have a trick up your sleeve?" Si Nidie and the other law enforcement disciples were equally dumbfounded. They hadn't even seen what happened before the storage ring was moved to a different location.
The little monkey, with an expression that said "You humans are stupid," demonstrated it again. This time, it still looked at the crowd, but its eyes did not light up.
The demonstration ended in a flash, but although the little monkey was extremely fast, everyone could see it move this time.
Looking again at Lou Yuqing's storage ring, it had returned to her left hand.
Ling Yunxiao explained the trick: "I understand. You used your supernatural powers to put us into a very short period of blankness. When we regained consciousness, it seemed like nothing had happened, but you had already succeeded."
The little monkey squeaked happily, agreeing with his statement.
Lou Yuqing remembered the melons she had bought on the system and started browsing through them.
When the little monkey was three years old, it awakened its innate supernatural power—illusion; at four years old, it awakened its second supernatural power—soul capture; and at five years old, it awakened its third supernatural power—transformation.
Therefore, it used a group soul-capturing technique on us.
"Hiss~"
Someone gasped in surprise.
Si Nidie looked at the mischievous monkey in front of her and suddenly felt jealous. It was one thing to awaken one's innate supernatural power, but why did it keep awakening supernatural powers one after another?
For a moment, Si Nidie wanted to be it; if it were her, she wondered how happy she would be.
Sensing the crowd's emotions, the little monkey jumped onto Ling Yunxiao's shoulder, turning its back to them with an expression that suggested it couldn't be bothered with them.
Everyone: "..." Oh well, it's just a monkey.
The Hall of Law Enforcement.
The person sitting in the seat of honor has changed. A woman in a blue robe sits upright, with a young face, yet exuding an aura of steadiness as solid as a mountain.
"Uncle-Master Shi Hua, they've arrived." Kui Houming stood respectfully beside the woman in the blue robe.
A moment ago, he asked his disciple to fetch someone who understood animal language, and the result was Elder Shi Hua.
Shi Hua's gaze swept casually over Lou Yuqing and the others, but when she saw the little spirit ape, her expression changed. After a while, she said, "This child looks like her."
Kui Houming knew that "she" referred to the guardian spirit beast of the mountain.
Generally speaking, spirit beasts in the Nascent Soul stage cannot transform into human form. However, this does not apply to certain races, such as the Spirit Ape race, whose cultivation can transform into human form once they reach the Nascent Soul stage.
Shi Hua is a beast tamer who deals with spirit beasts all year round. She once fought alongside this spirit ape who claimed to be the Spirit Pearl Immortal after transforming into human form, and they formed a deep friendship.
Twenty years ago, Lingzhu said he had found clues about his clan and wanted to go back to his ancestral home. Shi Hua did not stop him because she knew that Lingzhu was a member of the lost psychic ape clan.
Back then, the Spirit Pearl was picked up by the previous sect leader of Wendao Sect and became the sect's guardian spirit beast. However, the spirit beast has been searching for its own clan all these years.
As a friend, Shi Hua hopes that Lingzhu's wish will come true.
At that time, she thought the other party would return soon, but year after year, twenty years passed in the blink of an eye, and there was still no news. Only the soul lamp left in the sect was still lit.
Shi Hua thought that the other party was probably having too much fun at home to think about returning home.
A gentle stream of spiritual energy flew from her hand, reached the little monkey, then curled back and flew into Shi Hua's arms. She reached out and checked its bone age: "Five years old."
Seeing the longing in her eyes, the little monkey called out, "Squeak?"
Shi Hua smiled and said softly to it, "I know your mother. How did you come to Wendao Sect? Did your mother leave you any messages? And... is she alright?"
Mother?
The little monkey's brain didn't have this concept, and a visible look of confusion appeared on its face: "I've been here since I was born. Who is my mother? I only have one good friend."
Shi Hua was stunned. The situation before her was beyond her expectations. Lingzhu's child didn't recognize Lingzhu as his mother. After a moment, she asked, "Do you have a name?"
The little monkey boasted, "My name is Xiaoling, Qingzhu named me that, isn't it nice?"
"That sounds nice. Now, can you tell me why you stole everyone's magical artifacts? If you answer correctly, I'll reward you with a cup of honey milk, okay?" Shi Hua coaxed gently.
Upon hearing this, the little monkey's mouth watered.
Honey lotion, that sounds delicious.
Its favorite food is sweet. The spirit rice grown by the light bamboo has a slightly sweet taste, but the flavor is not very strong. It also likes to eat wild fruits in the mountains and forests, some of which are sweet.
Shi Hua took out a cup filled with fine wine, and a sweet aroma instantly wafted out.
Lou Yuqing, who was several feet away, also smelled the aroma. She was certain that the little monkey wouldn't last more than three seconds. The panel said that this guy had a sweet tooth.
three
two
...
Sure enough, before Lou Yuqing could finish counting down, the little monkey couldn't wait to say, "Qingzhu is injured and needs spirit stones to heal, but her savings have all been stolen by bad people. I wanted to help her get better, so... so I stole some things."
The more the little monkey spoke, the softer its voice became.
When it was young and didn't know any better, it would take away and eat whatever it saw that was delicious. Later, Qingzhu taught it that it shouldn't touch things that belonged to someone else, because that was called stealing.
After that, it never stole again.
This time, Qingzhu vomited blood, and in its panic, it didn't care about anything else.
"I've already returned everything," the little monkey hurriedly explained. For some reason, Shi Hua gave it a warm feeling, and it didn't want to disappoint her.
Shi Hua sighed and stroked its head: "Good child, it's okay, I understand you. Your original intention was to do good deeds, but you can't do that anymore."
The little monkey nodded obediently.
What was Lou Yuqing thinking at this moment? She was thinking that Ling Yunxiao was truly prescient, guessing things perfectly.
System, shouldn't you reflect on yourself? Why is it that all the gossip about the little monkey is her personal information, with no development of her interpersonal relationships, forcing her to eat a bunch of unrelated gossip?
Refund!
[...]
[That's how the search function works. If the host isn't satisfied, they can unlock Ruan Qingzhu's melon to learn more about the story of the monkey Xiao Ling.]
Lou Yuqing retorted firmly, "My demand is to improve the search function. How dare you deceive me, your only consumer? Believe me, I won't pay you any more 'gossip points'!"
This is really impossible.
Lou Yuqing's face darkened with anger, and she prepared to teach the system a lesson.
[However, the system can give the host a discount. You only need 1 point of "melon-eating value" to buy Ruan Qingzhu's melon. What does the host think?]
how?
Of course, it would be foolish not to take advantage of a good deal.
Lou Yuqing quickly spent 1 point of gossip value to click on Ruan Qingzhu's gossip. After listening to Ling Yunxiao's analysis, her curiosity about Ruan Qingzhu had reached its peak.
Who exactly was the person who injured Ruan Qingzhu?
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