Chapter 7 The clever monkey wants to become a tiger, the king of all beasts!
Beyond the desolate mountains, there are many immortal sects. Every ten years, the elders of these sects would enter the mountain tribes to select children with the potential for immortality and bring them into their sects for training.
For the people who have lived in the mountains for generations, this may be their only chance to leave the vast mountains in their lifetime.
Those lucky ones who are chosen to join the immortal sect, if they one day complete their studies and return, will be able to lead their people away from this spiritually barren and dangerous mountain, and settle in the city where the immortals reside.
Bai often heard the elders in the tribe talk about how a child from the Black Lake tribe, thousands of miles away from their White Tiger tribe, was once chosen by the Immortal Sect.
After cultivating for hundreds of years, the child returned to his tribe. When he returned, he rode on auspicious clouds, his clothes fluttering, as if an immortal had descended to earth.
She waved her hand and threw out a small flying boat, taking all her people with her to the legendary immortal land, the City of Eternity, where they settled.
This story has been passed down orally among many tribes in the wild mountains for nearly a hundred years, and it is still the legend that the elders of each tribe love to tell to their children.
Whenever this story is mentioned, the elders seem to have witnessed it firsthand, their eyes filled with longing. Often, after telling the story, they use it to inspire their children to lead their people away from these mountains in the future.
Therefore, whenever the time for the immortal sect to recruit disciples approached, many hunters would appear in the mountains and forests.
The silver-bellied golden pheasant is one of the most beloved demonic beasts. Although it is not of high rank, its body is radiant with light and color. Not only can its feathers be used in medicine, but its flesh and blood are also a nourishing delicacy.
More importantly, compared to other third-tier demonic beasts, the Silver-bellied Pheasant's combat strength is roughly equivalent to that of a guard goose. The group would face almost no danger in capturing the pheasant. Aside from its difficulty in catching, it is practically perfect.
Today's successful capture of prey was thanks to Bai Zhu's intervention. Ordinary people, let alone capture it, would be considered quite skilled just to spot it from afar.
The two adults ate only a small portion of the whole pot of chicken soup on the table; the two little ones ate the rest.
By the end of the meal, Ayu was glowing with a spiritual light, her face flushed, as if she were drunk.
Although Bai Ye wasn't as dizzy as A Yu, she wasn't much better off. Bai Shu chuckled, picked up Bai Ye, whose little belly was round from eating, with one hand, and carried her basket on her back with the other, and walked home under the moonlight.
Inside the courtyard, the sound of water splashing filled the air. While taking a bath, Bai just smacked his lips in a daze, as if still savoring the taste of the silver-bellied pheasant.
Bai Shu couldn't help but smile. He scooped the little tiger out of the water, dried her off, and placed her on the bed.
Throughout all this, Bai didn't even open his eyes, sleeping like a little pig.
......
【Ah Ye, time to get up! You still have to go to the mountains to find the clever monkeys to trade for things today.】
The incessant chatter in his mind was irritating, so Bai turned over in frustration and pulled the blanket over his head.
"Hey, the sun's shining on your little bottom!" Xiao Wang's voice rose considerably.
"You're so noisy!! Xiao Wang!!" Bai also sat up angrily, squinting his sleepy eyes and muttering irritably.
She sat blankly on the bed, yawned widely, and two glistening tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
I'm sorry, Aya, I didn't mean to bother you, but you still have tasks to do today.
After waking up for a while and losing sleep, Bai rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. "I was playing PUBG at Ayu's house, how did I end up on the bed?"
[Haha, you two little rascals, you were both so overwhelmed by the medicinal effects of the pheasant and ginseng last night that your mother had to carry you back.]
"Okay, I know." Bai replied, pushing open the door with her little paws and immediately seeing Bai Shu guarding the door.
She was startled and awkwardly greeted, "Mother, aren't you going into the mountains today?"
Bai Shu glanced at her sideways, reached out and pinched her furry little face, pulling it out of shape. "You little rascal, you can't wait for me to go into the mountains so you can sneak out and run wild, can you?"
Bai felt a little awkward after his little scheme was exposed. Not knowing how to answer, he simply ran into the yard and squatted down by the water vat to fetch water to wash his face.
Watching the little guy flee in disarray, Bai Shu's eyes were full of smiles. The little guy was still too green to fight her.
After washing up, Bai returned to the main room and had breakfast with her mother. She was still thinking about going into the mountains to find the spirit monkey to exchange for monkey wine, but Bai Shu stayed at home without leaving her side, so she couldn't find a chance to sneak away.
Bai Shu looked at the little guy who was still anxious, but didn't say anything. He just watched Bai Ye wander around by himself.
As she looked at him, she noticed something was off; her son seemed to have grown up a bit.
"Come here, let your mother see if our Aye has grown taller." Bai Shu got up, picked up Bai Ye, and brought him to the threshold.
On the old threshold, scratches of varying depths rise from low to high, each marked with the year in charcoal. The most recent one dates back five years.
Bai Shu pressed Bai Ye against the door, comparing the mark to the one from five years ago. A flash of joy crossed her eyes, and her voice was filled with undisguised excitement: "Our A Ye, is he finally starting to grow again?"
This little one of his hadn't grown much since the first few years after arriving in the tribe. Bai Shu had pondered this for a long time and even consulted a shaman, but they couldn't find the cause of the problem.
Bai also turned her head and looked at the scratch at eye level, a look of joy flashing in her eyes as well.
She didn't want to be a little tiger forever; she wanted to grow up, cultivate, and become a big tiger, the king of all beasts! She wanted to shatter the void and ascend to immortality!
Bai guessed that it was probably the effect of the Body Tempering Pill. Thinking of the five Body Tempering Pills that were beckoning to her, she became even more anxious.
"Mother, I've grown taller now, can I go out now?"
Bai Shu snorted lightly, "Don't even think about it. I'll stay home and watch you today. You're not going anywhere. You're going to be wild as hell."
Bai sighed helplessly, propping his little face up with his paws and staring longingly at the courtyard gate. "Xiao Wang, isn't this plot a bit off? Why can't I get out of the house?"
[Ah, novels are just for reference. The real world is definitely different from that in novels, and authors don't write down every single detail when they're creating their works.]
After listening to Xiao Wang's explanation, Bai sighed deeply again.
The little tiger's sighing and gloomy face made Bai Shu unable to help but laugh, and several wrinkles were squeezed out of his small, round face.
She mimicked Bai Ye's manner, sitting down beside her and teasing her, "Tell your mother, why are you so eager to run to the mountains? Is it because there's a little tiger in the mountains that you find pleasing to the eye?"
“Mother…” Footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate, interrupting Bai Ye’s words.
Aunt Wu, carrying a hard bow and a long sword, pushed open the courtyard gate and stepped into the small courtyard. Looking at the man and tiger sitting in a row on the threshold, she joked, "Oh, young clan leader, you're awake so early? My little rascal is still sleeping soundly with his blanket in his arms, drooling."
Bai Shu chuckled, "Ayu is still young. It's actually a good thing for her to sleep more and absorb more spiritual energy."
“That’s right!” Aunt Wu nodded, skipping the topic. “It’s time to set off, Chieftain. The people from the Iron-Eating Beast tribe next door are waiting for us at the door.”
Bai Ye's eyes lit up, and he scurried up and went inside. He grabbed Bai Shu's longbow and brought it out, stuffing it into his mother's arms like a treasure, saying, "Mother, take this weapon."
"Stay put and guard the house. If you dare to run into the deep mountains again today, you'll regret it!" Bai Shu warned her.
Bai immediately raised both hands and swore, "Mother, don't worry, I will stay at home obediently and not go to dangerous places."
"You're just trying to coax me!" Bai Shu shook his head and chuckled, then slung his longbow over his shoulder and walked briskly out of the tribe with Aunt Wu.
Bai watched the two figures walk away, and thought to himself, "Is this the treatment of a protagonist? There's nothing I can't do if I want to."
"Ah, is it possible that Mom was just teasing you this morning, and that she was actually going out anyway?"
Bai Ye: "...Shut up, that's my protagonist halo!!!"
Okay, so this is your protagonist aura. Let's get on with the mission.
Bai waited at home a little longer until the sun rose higher and the forest mist dissipated. Then, she carried the small earthenware jar containing the honey from the Demon King Bees and slipped out of the tribe.
"Turn on the navigation, Xiao Wang!"
Okay, navigation is now enabled.
Following the route in his mind, Bai also hurried towards the monkey habitat.
The spirit monkey is an extremely rare and precious beast found in the wild mountains; it is naturally adept at treasure hunting.
Whether it's the spiritual herbs hidden on the cliff face, the spiritual medicines in the crevices of rocks, or the spiritual fruits in the deep ravines, as long as these natural treasures ripen, they cannot escape the monkey's radar-like nose.
They will swarm in, gather these precious herbs together, and use their racial talents to hide them in tree hollows, brewing them into sweet monkey wine.
Monkey wine contains amazing spiritual energy. Drinking it can not only greatly improve one's cultivation level, but also has a powerful healing effect.
In the remote mountains, a small pot of monkey wine can attract a crowd to snatch it up, which shows how rare this thing is.
Bai Ye moved with lightning speed, his figure transforming into a white shadow as he swiftly swept through the dense forest. As he ventured deeper, he gradually approached the habitat of the monkeys.
A dozen or so golden monkeys gathered on a towering ancient tree. Some sat, some stood, and some scratched lice off each other. Their long golden fur shimmered like satin in the sunlight, like flowing gold dust, extremely dazzling.
The sound of Bai Ye's running footsteps startled them. The monkeys quickly disappeared into the bushes, peeking through the gaps in the branches and leaves at the little white tiger running below.
With a "whoosh," a bright red spiritual fruit fell from the sky, hurtling towards Bai Ye's forehead at lightning speed.
Bai reacted quickly, reaching out and grasping the spirit fruit. A tremendous force came from her paw, making her claws go numb.
She looked up and saw a round-headed little monkey hanging upside down on a branch.
Its long tail hung in mid-air, and its furry paws remained in a throwing posture, clearly indicating that it was the one that had smashed down the spirit fruit.
Seeing that Bai was also looking over, it immediately squeaked and nimbly climbed up to the treetop, hiding among the dense branches and leaves, revealing only a pair of big, bright eyes.
Bai saw the little monkey and knew she had found the place. The spiritual fruit in her hand kept emitting a sweet fragrance and overflowing with spiritual energy. She unceremoniously tossed it into her mouth.
The moment he bit into it, the sweet juice burst in his mouth, and abundant spiritual energy surged into his body. Bai's eyes lit up. The spiritual energy contained in this bite of fruit was comparable to the spiritual energy absorbed from meditating all night.
We can exchange some spirit fruits later to take back for Mother and Ah Yu to try.
The little monkey on the treetop was so anxious when it saw that its magic fruit had been eaten that it scratched its ears and cheeks in distress.
"Come down here, I have something good, even better than your spirit fruit." Bai Ye grinned, showing off his white teeth, and waved the pottery jar on his back at the spirit monkey in the tree.
As soon as he finished speaking, Bai took off the earthenware jar from his back. The moment he opened the lid, an intoxicatingly sweet aroma wafted out from the mouth of the jar.
A group of monkeys on the treetops suddenly became restless, squeaking incessantly. The sweet scent of honey lured the monkeys closer and closer to Bai Ye.
The smallest of the monkeys couldn't resist the temptation and, disregarding the danger, leaped down from the treetop, landing not far in front of Bai.
It first looked at Bai Ye warily, its little nose twitching and its big round eyes fixed on the pottery jar. Seeing that Bai Ye did not move, it mustered its courage and moved forward slowly towards her.
Bai remained motionless, letting the other party approach until that furry little paw made a lightning-fast move, reaching into the pottery jar.
With a "click," the lid landed precisely on the earthenware jar, blocking the little monkey's paws from scooping up honey.
The little monkey was so frightened that its golden fur bristled, and it leaped dozens of meters away in a few bounds, creating a safe distance between itself and Bai.
Bai laughed and said, "Little guy, you can't make the decision. Let me make a deal with your parents first."
"Squeak!" the little monkey cried angrily, slapping its chest with its two little paws.
It was furious that a tiger cub of similar size called it "little guy".
Bai was also amused by the little monkey's reaction, laughing so hard that his little mustache was trembling.
"Squeak!!!" The little monkey jumped up and down in anger, its golden fur standing on end, making it look like a golden ball of fur.
The little monkey's angry cries echoed through the dense forest, and in an instant, the entire forest became restless.
A dozen or so furry heads peeked out from between the branches of towering ancient trees, each monkey clutching a heavy, smelly fruit. The large fruit rained down on Bai Ye like a dense shower of raindrops.
Bai also looked at the fruit flying towards him, his lips twitching. These monkeys are doing something inhuman!
They actually used the infamous rotten fruit from the forest as a weapon.
She leaped into the air, clutching the pottery jar, her small body nimbly moving left and right, her hind paws precisely striking the flying fruit.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" The sound of air being cut rang out one after another, and the stinky fruits that came flying back along the same path at an even faster speed, smashing into the spirit monkey.
The fruit made a muffled "poof" sound as it hit the monkey, followed by a cloud of yellowish-green smoke.
The smoke dissipated as soon as it was exposed to the wind.
A stench, like that of dead fish and rotten shrimp left to rot in the sun and then thrown into a garbage dump, permeated the dense forest. The smell was utterly awful; once it touched you, it would linger for months.
"Ugh~ Ugh~" Several monkeys, stunned by the fumes, instantly fell onto the branches.
Bai frowned, trying to hold back, but couldn't help herself and vomited. She grabbed the jar and ran away, narrowly avoiding the stench.
A dozen or so figures fled with Bai Ye. After they ran out of the stinking fog, they swooped down from the branches and surrounded Bai Ye. The monkeys bared their sharp teeth and growled threateningly.
Bai also took deep breaths of fresh air, completely ignoring the monkeys surrounding him.
Once she could no longer smell the stench, she raised her paw and said slowly, "I'll count to three. If you don't want to trade, I'll just rob you. Then there will be no honey or monkey wine."
A note from the author:
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