Chapter 72 Encounter with a Troop of Monkeys: To Live, You Must Pay a Ransom.
"What happened?" Upon hearing the noise, the hunting party and Lu Xuan quickly returned to where the women were, only to find that a group of monkeys had appeared in their orchard.
These monkeys darted among the fruit trees, constantly attacking the women with fruit, and some even jumped onto them, scratching and clawing, leaving red marks on their hands and cheeks.
The younger girls were so frightened that they burst into tears.
The monkeys snatched away many of the fruits from the baskets that were already piled high on the ground. Some baskets were even overturned, and the fruits were scattered all over the ground. The panicked women accidentally stepped on them, making a mess of the place.
The scene was so unprecedented that the hunting team was stunned and remained motionless for a long time.
The viewers in the live stream were also surprised.
[Humorous! Are primitive monkey species really this ferocious?]
[I remember that monkeys mainly eat various fruits, so this orchard might have originally been their food source. Of course, they're unhappy that the streamer brought people to pick their food.]
Lu Xuan was the first to come to his senses and shouted to the other stunned members of the hunting team, "Don't just stand there, go help rescue them!"
The group snapped out of their daze and rushed over to help drive away the monkeys, shielding the most targeted and the young ones behind them.
But these monkeys are also very clever.
They discovered that the hunting party members were strong, healthy, and numerous. They quickly climbed to heights out of the hunters' reach and used tree branches to shield themselves. Whenever the hunters attacked with bows and crossbows, they nimbly jumped to other trees, and none of them were hit.
As they fled in all directions, they patted their butts and farted at the people below.
The villagers and spectators were deeply moved.
[How can there be such an annoying monkey? Has it become a spirit?]
[My fists were clenched just watching this on the screen!]
That's so despicable!
Lu Qing, whose hair was disheveled and whose clothes were torn, was furious. She pointed at the top of the tree and shouted, "Come down here if you dare!"
Miao Jinfeng, Aunt Chen, and others were both angry and heartbroken to find that many fruits had been ruined by the monkeys. They couldn't help but cover their wounds and curse at the monkey troop.
"These wild monkeys are infuriating!"
"Don't let me catch you! Otherwise, I'll skin you alive!"
Just as the monkeys became increasingly smug and their aggression intensified, leaving the people under the tree helpless, countless vines suddenly sprang up from the ground, binding the unsuspecting monkeys one by one like dumplings.
"Squeak squeak squeak—!" The monkeys were so frightened that their fur stood on end, and they scattered in panic.
But no matter where they go, the vines always follow them closely.
In no time at all, all the monkeys were tied up and thrown into the crowd.
Zhang Chengming, who had been hit by several fruits, picked up a monkey and sneered, "Run! Keep running! Let's see if you still dare to be so arrogant!"
The monkeys, looking at the villagers with their sneering faces, changed their previous smug demeanor. Their round eyes were now watery, and they pitifully begged for mercy from the women whose faces were pale.
The human-like appearance made Miao Jinfeng, Lu Qing, and the others, who were holding back their anger, pause.
The viewers in the live stream were amazed, wondering if these monkeys had become spirits, being incredibly clever.
Lei Yan aimed his crossbow at the monkey troop and turned to ask Lu Xuan, "What should we do with these monkeys? Kill them all?"
The women felt a pang of pity, but the pain from the scratches on their bodies prevented them from saying they would release the monkey.
Wouldn't it be pointless to let them go like this, even if they were injured for nothing?
Lu Xuan picked out the largest monkey from the group of more than twenty similar-looking monkeys. He grabbed the monkey by the neck and asked, "Do you want to live?"
The big monkey nodded quickly.
The others watched in astonishment, "It actually understood?"
Lu Xuan continued, "If you want to live, you have to pay the ransom."
Villagers: "???"
audience:"???"
[What the heck? Demanding ransom from a monkey? Streamer, that's ridiculous.]
Even if these monkeys could understand simple human language, would they know what 'ransom' meant?
The key question is, even if they understood, what ransom would they offer?
The gathering and hunting teams were also completely baffled.
Lu Xuan didn't answer them, but instead intensified his movements, which frightened the big monkey into squeaking in panic.
"Take me to find the treasures you've hidden. If you find them, I'll spare your tribe. If you don't, leave them all here as fertilizer for this forest."
The big monkey didn't understand what fruit fertilizer was, but it could sense the threat in Lu Xuan's tone. Regardless of whether its understanding was correct or not, it kept nodding and then stretched out its bound arm, which it couldn't move, to point in another direction of the orchard.
This action left everyone else speechless once again.
"Could it be that these monkeys are hiding something good?"
Everyone's curiosity was piqued.
Lu Xuan instructed the others to collect the fruit they had already picked, reminded the hunting team to bring the other monkeys along, and then followed the direction the large monkey had pointed.
After walking for about ten minutes after leaving the orchard, the group spotted the monkeys again in the trees.
Perhaps because they possessed monkey tokens and a monkey king, the monkeys did not attack them, but instead made occasional squeaking sounds, seemingly communicating with each other.
After walking for a while, seeing that there were more monkeys in the surrounding trees than in their hands, someone suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"
"Why do I think I smell alcohol?"
The rest of the hunting party were speechless and said, "Where would you find wine in this deep mountain forest? You're probably just craving it yourself."
But soon, the women also said, "Huh? I think I can smell it too."
"I think I am too..."
Not only them, but many viewers in the live stream with keen senses also smelled a faint aroma of wine and fruit.
Wine, fruit, monkey—these keywords combined made some viewers who had watched other world livestreams instantly understand what Lu Xuan was looking for.
[It's alcohol! Monkey wine, the host is looking for monkey wine, right?!]
[Holy crap! How come I didn't think of that? When it comes to monkeys and fruits, shouldn't monkey wine be the first thing that comes to mind?!]
[Monkey wine is said to have all sorts of miraculous effects, including beautifying the skin, anti-oxidation, lowering blood pressure, and prolonging life—it sounds incredibly amazing! Calling it a treasure among wines wouldn't be an exaggeration.]
I've watched many live streams about ancient times, but none of them have ever managed to get their hands on real monkey wine. Could it be that I'll finally have a chance to taste it today?!
[Rubbing my hands together excitedly! Thank goodness the streamer had already enabled sharing, otherwise I would have been so angry I couldn't sleep if I missed out on something this good.]
While the viewers in the live stream were excitedly cheering, Lu Xuan had already found his target by following the increasingly clear smell of alcohol: a tree hollow filled with various fruits.
The aroma of alcohol wafts from here.
Some of the fruits on the outermost part of the tree hole were still fresh, while others were already rotten. But if you peeled the outer fruits out, you could smell the rich aroma of wine inside.
"It smells so good!" The people who gathered around exclaimed with delight.
"Were the fruits in the tree hole stuffed in by these monkeys? And do they even know how to brew wine?"
"I think I've heard someone mention this before. Is this what's called monkey wine? It's said to be a treasure that even nobles in the capital can hardly obtain."
"Really?! Then we're in for a treat!"
The men in the village usually drank cheap, cloudy wine, and had never smelled such a high-quality, pure fruit wine before. Their eyes lit up, and they couldn't wait to reach out and scoop out the wine to enjoy it.
Lu Xuan certainly wouldn't let them mess around and waste such a rare delicacy.
He took out an unused empty jar and a water ladle, covered the mouth of the jar with a clean burlap cloth, and then scooped out the wine mixed with a lot of fruit residue from the tree hole and poured it into the jar.
While busy working, he took out a few more jars and filter cloths and handed them to the others, saying, "Look around carefully, there should be other tree holes. Once you find them, pour out the wine as I have done."
Apart from the few people guarding the monkey, the others quickly scattered and began searching the surrounding area.
Soon, the group found six tree holes filled with various fruits.
Not all tree hollows contain intact monkey wine.
Some of the fruits were clearly stuffed in not long ago and hadn't had time to ferment yet. Others, perhaps due to being left out for too long and getting dirty or for some other reason, had liquid inside that had turned sour and smelly, and even had green bubbles. It was obvious that they were completely inedible.
After some effort, including the tree hole that Lu Xuan personally dealt with, they finally obtained four jars of monkey wine, totaling thirty catties.
Thirty catties of liquor sounds like a lot, but if it's divided among a group of people, they basically won't get much.
Besides, Lu Xuan earned this through his own abilities. Others might say they're lucky, but when it comes down to it, they're too embarrassed to actually share.
Miao Jinfeng said, "You found the wine, so you keep it. You don't need to share it with us."
The others nodded. "That's right."
Before Lu Xuan transmigrated here, he had only drunk monkey wine once. He was indeed interested in collecting this rare treasure, so he did not refuse. He simply poured a small cup for each of them to try, and said, "I will exchange it for three hundred catties of grain."
No one refused.
They knew that Lu Xuan had no shortage of food, and they had consumed a lot of food by trading with him, so it was a good thing to be able to replenish some.
Having reached a solution that satisfied both sides, everyone then began to enjoy the monkey wine.
This wine, which can be called the treasure among wines, naturally has an excellent taste. It has a smooth texture that is not harsh on the throat, a rich fruity aroma, a mellow flavor that does not cause headaches, and just a small sip is enough to leave you with a lingering fragrance on your teeth.
Because it is a pure fruit fermented wine without any added baijiu (Chinese liquor), the alcohol content of Monkey Wine is not high.
But the wine itself didn't intoxicate; the people were already quite tipsy after just one small cup. For a long time, no one spoke, just silently savoring the taste.
The chat in the live stream paused for a moment. Occasionally, someone would speak up, either praising Lu Xuan wildly or urging him to take out the wine from the jar so they could drink their fill.
Lu Xuan pretended not to see it.
Good wine should be savored slowly; drinking it all in one go is like a cow chewing a peony—a terrible waste. Don't even think about it.
With the harvest of monkey wine, everyone's annoyance with the monkey troop dissipated considerably.
Lu Xuan patted the face of the big monkey, who looked dejected because he had lost the wine, as a warning.
"I'll let you off this time because of the monkey wine, but if you dare to bother us while we're picking fruit again, next time I'll rip your heads off, understand?"
Feeling the increased pressure on his neck, the big monkey nodded with tears in his eyes.
I understand, I understand, I won't do it again. I'll give you all the fruit, okay? Waaah.
Lu Xuan then released the monkeys that had been tied up.
Freed from their restraints, the monkeys squealed and fled back to the trees. The large monkey cautiously glanced at Lu Xuan, and after confirming that he wouldn't stop it, it also scurried up the tree as if its tail was on fire, quickly disappearing from sight.
Lu Xuan put away the monkey wine and called to the others, "Let's go back."
Back in the orchard, Lu Xuan first took out a wound spray and treated the scratches on the injured person's body.
Wild animals carry many germs, and if not treated properly, they can easily cause serious problems. The wound medicine sold in the store can kill many viruses in addition to simply reducing inflammation and killing bacteria.
With their injuries treated and the monkeys no longer an obstacle, the group quickly regrouped, some picking fruit and others hunting.
There were over a hundred fruit trees in the orchard. Even though Lu Xuan saved the others a lot of time, the group still spent the whole morning there.
Correspondingly, the results have been very encouraging.
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