Chapter 94 of 100
Chapter 94
12 min read3,090 words
The Zangye Forest was hidden in a thin mist, the tree trunks within the fog were twisted and deformed, growing abnormally. A thick layer of rotten leaves and fruits piled up at the roots, emitting a sweet and putrid smell that was almost intoxicating.
Song Yun was well-prepared. She took out a jade-colored porcelain bottle from her sleeve, poured a few dragon-eye-sized pills into her palm, and said, "These are Detoxifying Pills. Holding them under your tongue can resist the miasma." Her palm was fair and smooth, contrasting beautifully with the red pills, making a pleasant sight.
Wei Shizhi took one of the Detoxifying Pills, examined it in his hand, and then put it in his mouth, holding it under his tongue. The cool, bitter taste spread to the tip of his tongue. He swallowed, feeling a cool stream slide down his throat into his stomach, invigorating his spirit.
Song Yun led the way into the Zangye Forest, followed closely by Deng Yuantong, Wei Shizhi, and Yu Yao. The rotten leaves were soft, like a thick carpet, reaching up to their ankles in shallow areas and their knees in deeper spots. Pinkish miasma seeped out with each step, and they all slowed down, trying to avoid inhaling the miasma.
Listening closely, the Zangye Forest was eerily silent. Song Yun circled the perimeter and only saw the monkey troop at the northeast corner.
It was a troop of long-tailed, high-foreheaded monkeys, noisy and playful, unafraid of humans. Song Yun squinted and examined them, but found nothing unusual. She raised her green-rusted sword and shook it vigorously, trying to attract the monkeys' attention, but none of them paid her any heed.
Song Yun muttered to herself, "The monkey troop migrates frequently. This doesn't seem to be the one."
The group continued their search along the perimeter of the Zangye Forest until the sun set, and they left the forest to find a place to rest.
Song Yun surveyed the surroundings, drew a circle on the map, and pointed to their current position, which was already on the north side of the Zangye Forest. Ahead lay rolling hills, and further north, an endless grassland.
That was the grassland of the Iron Forehead people in the northwest.
Wei Shizhi volunteered to gather firewood. After a while, he returned with a bundle of wood and four decapitated wild rabbits.
Song Yun smiled, "You're quite efficient. You managed to catch some game in such a short time."
"I come from a family of mountain hunters," Wei Shizhi said, quickly starting a fire. He cleaned and skinned the rabbits in a nearby stream and carefully roasted them over the fire.
Song Yun and Deng Yuantong had long abstained from food, so they only drank hot water. Yu Yao had a small appetite, tearing off a rabbit leg and stopping after eating it. Wei Shizhi didn't hesitate and finished the remaining meat.
The dry wood crackled in the fire, sparks rising and merging with the stars in the sky. Yu Yao sat with her legs together, her chin resting on her knees, staring blankly at the fire. Her face was half-lit, half-shadowed, the boundary between light and dark flickering, revealing her unsettled mood.
Wei Shizhi thought that after the massacre at Qizhen Mountain, her mind had probably never been at peace again.
The wind blew from the grassland, whistling. In the darkness, dozens of greenish eyes flickered, appearing and disappearing, adding a touch of eeriness.
Wei Shizhi added more dry wood to the fire, making it brighter. Yu Yao was disturbed, shielding her eyes and frowning.
"Something is coming."
Yu Yao turned to look and saw a group of animal shadows from the direction of the Zangye Forest, their eyes glowing a sickly green, slowly approaching the fire.
Song Yun said, "It's the monkey troop!"
A moment later, the monkey troop appeared in the firelight, stopping and baring their teeth, hesitant to approach. They were a troop of long-tailed, high-foreheaded monkeys, with fewer than twenty members, including the old and young. They seemed to have fled after a fierce battle, the young and strong covered in wounds, the old and weak limping, like embers in the wind, unable to withstand any more blows.
Deng Yuantong and Song Yun watched the situation unfold.
After a moment, the lead monkey, the king, mustered the courage to approach the fire, slowly squatting down and looking at the four people. It tentatively extended its paw toward Yu Yao. Yu Yao hesitated, then took out a piece of dry food and placed it in the monkey's palm. The monkey king broke off a piece and put it in its mouth, then turned and chirped a few times. The monkey troop approached the fire for warmth, the king passing the food to a female monkey and then extending its paw to beg from Deng Yuantong.
Deng Yuantong tossed it a pear, then suddenly said, "These monkeys have interacted with humans before. Someone has been feeding them."
Song Yun's heart stirred. She placed the green-rusted sword in front of her. The monkey king stared at the scabbard for a long time, then reached out to touch the characters "Gou Lian," its eyes showing a sad expression. She sighed, "It seems the caravan encountered this troop of monkeys. Junior Brother Deng, please take care of it." Her tone, however, lacked any joy.
Deng Yuantong stood up, flicked his sleeve, and a paralyzing talisman stuck to the monkey king's forehead, burning without wind and turning to ashes in the night, leaving a twisted symbol that gradually faded into the dark skin.
The monkey troop was startled, screaming and retreating. The monkey king, however, remained in place, motionless, its eyes rolling, unaware of what had happened.
Deng Yuantong picked up the monkey king and walked into the darkness. The monkey troop panicked, scattering in all directions, too afraid to chase after him. Wei Shizhi stood up and walked among the monkeys, casting a few "Soul Calming" spells, gradually calming them down, though they still trembled.
Deng Yuantong found a secluded thicket and placed the monkey king down, his eyes fixed on it. His left eye suddenly rolled back, the eyeball disappearing, revealing a yellowish snake eye with a vertical pupil, the very "Soul Capturing Eye" that Ruan Jing had left for Xiandu.
He was a ruthless man, willing to implant the eye of a beautiful python into his own eye socket, nourishing it with his essence and blood to maximize the power of "Soul Capturing."
The monkey king rolled its eyes, losing consciousness. Deng Yuantong recited a spell, raised his index finger, and drew a black smoke from the monkey king's forehead, forming the upper body of the monkey, which writhed and struggled in pain. Memories unfolded like a book, and Deng Yuantong finally found what he needed: the Zangye Forest, Yao Jiang, the green-rusted sword. These fragmented images were enough.
He ended the spell, returned the soul to the monkey king's head, and let it live.
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