He took a closer look, and good heavens, the pit was incredibly deep.
It was full of dark, sticky mud, like a big pot of overcooked culinary disaster, with an indescribable smell.
A little monkey is trapped in this swamp hell, half of its body is sunk deep inside, and only its head and two waving little paws are sticking out.
It kept emitting pitiful cries, filled with endless fear and helplessness, which made Lu Fan's heart clench.
"Oh dear, the poor little guy." Lu Fan looked distressed, his brows furrowed, and he muttered to himself.
He was like a wound-up machine, his mind racing, rapidly looking around, desperately searching for anything that could be used to help him get to safety.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Not far away, there were several thick, long vines swaying gently in the breeze, as if they had been specially prepared for this rescue.
Lu Fan rushed over in a few steps, pulled out his dagger and started chopping at the vines, muttering to himself, "These vines are pretty tough, hopefully they'll come in handy."
It took a lot of effort to cut the vines down.
Back at the edge of the pit, Lu Fan tied one end of the vine into a large slipknot, and then slowly lowered the vine down, being careful with every inch, so as not to frighten the little monkey.
He kept muttering something, like a soothing spell: "Little one, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm coming to save you. Put your paws into this circle and hold on tight."
The little monkey seemed to truly understand Lu Fan's words, and its previously flustered movements became somewhat more organized.
It struggled desperately, its small body bursting with amazing strength, and finally managed to stick one of its paws into the slipknot.
Seeing this, Lu Fan took a deep breath, gripped the vines tightly with both hands, and carefully began to pull them upwards.
The mud was like a pair of invisible, glue-covered hands, holding the little monkey tightly.
Lu Fan felt like he was pulling a huge, fat pig weighing several hundred pounds. With each pull, it felt like something was dragging him down.
His legs seemed rooted to the ground, standing firmly, and the muscles on his arms bulged high, as if they might burst through his skin at any moment.
"Heave-ho, heave-ho."
Lu Fan gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words. He exerted force little by little with both hands, and the vines were stretched straight, making a "crunching" sound, as if protesting the huge pulling force.
The monkey king beside him was also anxious, jumping around on the edge of the pit, making sharp cries that seemed to carry a magical power, cheering Lu Fan on.
Just when Lu Fan felt the vines were about to give way, the little monkey was finally pulled out of the mud pit.
Lu Fan plopped down on the ground.
He patted his muddy hands and let out a long sigh of relief: "Finally, I've rescued you, little guy. You're lucky you ran into me. If it were anyone else, I might not have been able to pull you up."
After being rescued, the little monkey was covered in mud, looking utterly pathetic.
It scrambled to the monkey king's side, as if it had found a safe haven, and clung tightly to the monkey king's leg, its body still trembling like a leaf shivering in a gale.
The Monkey King felt extremely sorry for the little monkey and gently stroked its head with his paw, softly calling out to it. The sound was like a gentle lullaby, comforting the frightened little monkey.
After a while, the little monkey's emotions gradually calmed down.
It took tiny steps to walk to Lu Fan's side and gently scratched Lu Fan's trouser leg with its little paws.
Then she raised her head and looked at Lu Fan with her big, watery eyes, her eyes full of gratitude, as if to say, "Thank you for saving me."
Lu Fan looked down at the little monkey. He couldn't help but laugh, "Hey, you little rascal, what happened to you? You've turned into a mud monkey!"
The little monkey was covered in a black, sticky substance, as if it had been thrown into a mud jar and rolled around in it.
The little monkey looked at Lu Fan pitifully, its wet eyes still showing a hint of fear.
The mud on its paws kept falling off with its movements, making it look like a moving clay sculpture, which made people laugh.
[Clay Discovered]
"clay?"
Upon hearing the notification sound in his mind, Lu Fan was slightly taken aback, then a look of surprise appeared on his face.
After all, this thing is an essential component for making bricks, and it's practically a treasure in the wild.
"Hey Monkey King, your little brother sure knows how to pick his place! He fell into a clay pit. If this were ancient times, he might have been fired into a pottery ornament!"
Lu Fan chuckled and teased, while gently patting the little monkey's head, trying to remove the clay from it.
But once the clay dries, it becomes rock hard, like a stone. It's not easy to remove. His fingers were painfully poked as soon as they touched it.
The monkey king circled the little monkey several times, looking left and right, but he was helpless against the clay covering him. In his anxiety, he started squeaking again, his voice full of worry and helplessness.
Lu Fan pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He said, "Don't worry, don't worry, I have a way. This clay softens when it gets wet. Let's take it to the river for a bath, and I guarantee it will turn back into its original clever self."
Without further ado, Lu Fan carefully picked up the little monkey and led the monkey king toward the pool.
The little monkey behaved itself the whole way, probably because it was frightened by what it had just experienced, and was as quiet as a docile kitten.
When they reached the pool, Lu Fan gently placed the little monkey on the shallows, and the water softly licked its paws.
He squatted down, scooped up a handful of water with both hands, and slowly splashed it onto the little monkey.
A magical thing happened: as the water washed over it, the clay began to fall off little by little, just like snow melting in spring.
The little monkey's golden fur gradually became visible, shimmering with a warm luster in the sunlight.
"Look, this is much cleaner."
As Lu Fan cleaned the little monkey, he chatted with it as if he were talking to an old friend.
"You little rascal, you'd better be careful in the future. This clay pit is not a fun place."
The little monkey seemed to understand, blinking at Lu Fan and patting his hand with its little paw, as if responding to his words.
The cleaned monkeys were full of energy again, hopping and skipping on the shallows like mischievous children.
It would occasionally splash water with its claws, soaking Lu Fan, the water droplets sparkling in the sunlight.
"Hey, you little rascal, I just saved you and you're already being naughty!"
Lu Fan stood up with a smile, looking at the lively little monkey, feeling gratified. The fatigue from the rescue instantly dissipated.
The Monkey King also came over and affectionately rubbed his head against the little monkey, then ran to Lu Fan's side and tugged at his trouser leg, seemingly to express his gratitude.
"Alright, alright, it's good that everything is alright."
Lu Fan patted the Monkey King's head. "But speaking of which, this clay is of pretty good quality, it's so sticky."
Lu Fan unconsciously had an idea. Looking at the clay pit, he imagined using clay to make sturdy bricks and build a warm shelter.
But now, we need to dry the little monkey's fur first; we can't let the little guy catch a cold.
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