Chapter 74 Wild Temple
"I'm not a cat... Never mind." Qing Bai, who had stressed this countless times during this period, gave up struggling. "Have you always been able to speak human language, or will you... learn this later?"
The reason for omitting that part in the middle was that he was afraid of upsetting the little monkey, and also because Qing Bai was not really sure what the little monkey had experienced and what its current condition was.
A few words of casual talk did have an effect. The little monkey completely relaxed. It used the silent cicada as a tree trunk and climbed up using its hands and feet. Then it lifted its butt and sat on its shoulder. One paw held the cicada's smooth forehead, and the other paw was not idle either, pulling its ears and scratching the back of its head... It would be even better if it pulled and scratched its own ears and the back of its head.
The monkey's furry face was filled with confusion: "Of course I can always speak."
There is only one word difference between speaking and speaking human language, but there is a world of difference between them.
It's like mastering a foreign language in addition to your mother tongue, not to mention that it's a foreign language that breaks your race, even though we are all primates.
But seeing the little monkey's genuine confusion, Qing Bai probably couldn't get anything useful out of him, so he simply let it go and steered the conversation towards a more lighthearted and cheerful direction: "...What do you guys play together?"
Sure enough, the mention of playing with monkeys instantly perked up, his eyes brightening as he counted on his fingers and said to Qing Bai, "Climbing trees, picking fruits, catching bugs! Catching cats, teasing dogs, and picking corn!"
Wow, these are the two tyrants of Chushan.
Qing Bai was just about to ask them if they favored cicadas when catching insects when Jiu Nian said, "If that's the case, you should find that familiar little bald guy who always plays and makes fun of you."
As he spoke, Jiunian pointed at the young monk who passed by them again, then nodded at the dazed Ai Chan: "Not this one."
After hearing Jiu Nian's blunt remarks, Qing Bai's prepared euphemisms suddenly lost their meaning. He couldn't help but feel nervous, guessing that Jiu Nian must have sensed something new and could no longer let them coax the child to come slowly.
The little monkey tilted its head, still looking innocent and lively, but a faint green light flashed in its dark eyes: "The little bald head has grown up and is an adult. That was a fake little bald head."
"I can tell the difference, don't try to trick me!"
It's quite logical, but not very clear.
Jiu Nian couldn't be the only one to say all the offensive words. Qing Bai spoke first, "The little bald guy has grown up. What about you?"
Under the monkey's increasingly green eyes, Qing Bai spoke word by word, a direct blow to the face: "Why do you still look like a little monkey?"
Almost at the moment the words fell, the fluffy little monkey squatting on Ai Chan's shoulder completely changed its appearance - the thick black shadow was like a ball of old ink that could not be dissolved by clear water, and wisps of black mist slowly surged in all directions. It had no shape and no texture. If it were not for the two holes emitting faint green light on it and the long tail standing upright at the back, it would be difficult to tell the front, back, left and right at first glance. Only after staring at it for a long time could one barely make out a monkey from the black ball.
It really was the dark figure squatting on the tree branch outside the window this morning, playing statues with him... Could this be considered a reappearance? Qing Bai thought.
The two balls of green light flickered in and out, probably blinking. When it opened its eyes again, it looked around rapidly. The black mist that had been slowly surging seemed to have been blown by a breath of cold air from something out of thin air. It suddenly dissipated and then suddenly rose again. A hollow and hoarse voice rang out: "Because I'm already... I'm already dead... Once I die, I can't grow up..."
After saying that, the little monkey shadow suddenly let out a sharp scream. In an instant, the wind stopped and the breath slowed down. The shadows of the surrounding trees solidified, and an invisible barrier quietly shattered. When the wind started again, the shadows of the trees swayed and shattered the golden sunlight all over the ground.
The woods are no longer the same as before, the narrow paths no longer seem to have no end, and the cicada is not the only one who does not want to relive the tragedy of the past.
The moment before the little monkey screamed, Jiu Nian raised his hands and covered Qing Bai's ears as if he had expected it.
Since Qing Bai changed back into his beast form, he has had many inconveniences, but his five senses have improved by leaps and bounds, among which hearing and vision are the most prominent. Covering his ears is better than nothing for Qing Bai now, and it has more flirting meaning than actual significance.
"It's out... Do you feel uncomfortable?" Jiunian's voice was very calm, without any awareness that he had just hurt the fragile heart of a little monkey or shattered the little animal's innocent fantasy.
Qing Bai shook his head and was about to speak when suddenly bursts of shrill howls came from the depths of the forest. They came closer and closer, as if... responding to the little monkey.
Before he could react, Qing Bai's eyes blurred. He wondered where Jiu Nian had taken him again. Perhaps a tree? Or perhaps he hadn't bothered to hide, simply changing his form and vanishing from the sight of all creatures, living and dead.
Qing Bai looked down at the fluffy black tail that was strapped tightly around his waist like a seatbelt, and suddenly felt a little envious of Jiu Nian's impeccable control over it. After transforming back into a Lingxi cub, besides having to explain to others that he wasn't a cat, his biggest worry was that extra tail. It wasn't a nail or hair; if it became too long and interfered with his life, he could just cut it off with a knife. It was a body part, like a limb, but unlike the limbs that had been used for over twenty years, it was always independent and had its own ideas, and it particularly liked to go against Qing Bai's will.
For example, now, when it was obvious that something was about to happen, in order to avoid causing trouble to Jiu Nian as much as possible, Qing Bai's brain issued a still command to his entire body, and his organs including his limbs responded to the command immediately. The tail, as a new part of the body, naturally also reacted to this, but the direction of the reaction was slightly wrong... It stood up and then wrapped around Jiu Nian's tail around his waist.
I can’t say how obvious it is, I can only say that the black and white are clear, and it looks very much like two pieces of dough joined together and sprinkled with some icing sugar and then sold on the shelves of dessert shops - black and white chocolate twist.
Qing Bai clearly felt the whole process of Jiunian's body going from natural to stiff. Although it was a bit inappropriate, Qing Bai really felt a secret pleasure of bullying honest people.
As we all know, a cat's tail has always been independent of its body and brain, so it was the tail that did it on its own and it had nothing to do with him.
After thinking about the self-deceiving 'Disclaimer', the few embarrassments in Qing Bai's heart disappeared even more. Then he raised his head and saw a group of monkeys who had arrived at who knows when, carrying a human-shaped object and running into the depths of the woods.
If his eyes weren't flawless, that humanoid figure seemed to be... a cicada?!
Qing Bai calmed down for two seconds... but failed to calm down: "What should I do? Ai Chan was kidnapped by the monkey."
Jiu Nian took a light leap. Carrying a cat on his back did not affect his movement, which made him as light as a swallow and stepped silently on the leaves. He followed the monkey group not far away, using the cover of branches and the interweaving of light and shadow.
"Aren't they leading the way for us?" Jiu Nian's voice was as clear as ever, and the high-speed jumping and running did not cause it to tremble at all.
Qing Bai looked with pity at Ai Chan, who was like a star among the monkeys in front of him... Even in this situation, the monkey-shaped black shadow was still squatting on him.
A little impatience will ruin a big plan... Who told him to act like a demon halfway and create a memory illusion and a ghost wall? He has to pay a price to get out.
So Qing Bai nodded decisively: "You are right, they are leading us the way, and the mourning cicadas are the signposts."
With the guide monkey leading the way, they soon arrived at their destination - a half-collapsed brick house, or rather an unnamed wild temple.
The temple had white walls and green tiles, no doors or windows. A lame red clay incense burner was placed at the doorway. A black clay sculpture with an unclear face squatted on a one-meter-high brick platform in the room. The clay sculpture looked neither like the Buddhist Arhat or the Taoist mountain god or land god. Although the face could not be seen clearly, judging from the densely packed red coarse cloth ropes tied around its body, it was unlikely to be a kind-looking one.
There is actually such a temple deep in Chushan Mountain.
What was even more surprising was that this remote and dilapidated little temple was still quite popular. Even on a non-holiday like today, there were people kneeling outside the entrance, all of them familiar faces. This morning, all the people from the two large tables in the farmhouse dining room were there, except for Miss Yan. They were all in poor condition, either bruised or unconscious.
It seems that they missed a fierce battle while watching the show in the cracks and wandering around in the woods.
It seems that Miss Yan really didn't talk nonsense to them. She really did come to challenge and destroy the temple as she said. The only difference is that this temple is not that temple. The temple she destroyed was not a Buddhist temple but an unknown wild temple.
Judging from the size of the temple, their behavior is definitely bullying the weak and picking on the weak, and there is also suspicion that they rely on their large numbers to bully the weak. As for why they ended up like this, it is probably because they underestimated the number and combat effectiveness of the monkeys in the mountains.
Qing Bai quickly glanced around the small temple. Just as far as he could see with his naked eyes, there were nearly fifty or sixty monkeys in the open.
So we didn't bring enough people... Qing Bai looked at Mr. Tang who was still kneeling on the ground under the 360-degree protection of several bodyguards who were already in dishevel, and thought, if they wanted to use numbers to bully the few, they should have brought hundreds or thousands of strong men to flatten Chushan with human wave tactics. If they brought a dozen or so charlatans and half-immortals from different sects into the mountain, once the 'spell' was not enough damage, they would have no choice but to lie down like this.
I don't know if it was because of the little monkey, but the monkeys didn't make things difficult for Ai Chan. Although they were not very careful, they at least remembered to put a layer of dry straw on the ground when they left him in the open space in the temple. Compared with the defeated soldiers kneeling on the ground outside, they were definitely gentle.
Seeing this, Qing Bai felt relieved. Just as he was about to take a closer look at the clay sculpture in the temple that was obviously problematic, the dozens of monkeys suddenly stopped and roared in unison, scaring away half of the birds in the forest.
Although Qing Bai had never seen such a scene, he could roughly guess what they were doing with a little thought: "...The Monkey King is coming out? That's quite a grand display."
Qing Bai's guess was correct. Amidst the roars, a monkey that was a whole circle bigger than the other monkeys and had exceptionally dense and shiny fur swung out from the forest. It was holding a peach branch full of hairy peaches in its mouth, and in its large and flexible palms was a plastic bag filled with half a bag of lively insects whose species were unclear... It didn't seem like it was looking for food, but rather went out with a clear purpose to find these "flashy" little things.
After the Monkey King landed, he raised his long arms and the monkey group instantly became quiet, obeying orders and maintaining strict discipline. In contrast, the charlatans lying on the ground in a twisted manner looked more and more like a mob.
After carefully examining the Monkey King's dazzling appearance, Queen Qingbai exclaimed, "Wow... is this the Wu Zetian of monkeys?"
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