Chapter 5

The little head was covered with fluffy fur, yellowish with a tinge of gray. Looking down, I saw a pair of pitch-black, lively eyes staring straight at me. Seeing the wrinkled, tender face of the monkey, I realized it was a surviving little monkey, a fish that had slipped through the net. The monkey catchers, out of pity or perhaps because they hadn't noticed it, had left it behind. Seeing the empty, desolate clearing in the forest, it couldn't help but let out a sound: "Squeak, squeak..."

The call was short and urgent, as if in lament. For some reason, my heart felt as if it were stuffed with straw.

After a couple of glances at the pitiful little monkey, I suddenly realized that among the monkeys that had saved me by throwing stones into the stream when I was drowning, there was one just like this. If that was the case, then the monkeys those catchers had taken away must have been my saviors. Thinking of this, I felt an overwhelming sense of regret. I glanced at my father with a sullen look, then at me, wondering if those guys were really tough, but if I went back to call the young men from Longjialing and Tianjiaba, and they came with hoes, could we stop them?

However, the one who made the decisions in our family wasn't me, but my father, Chen Zhili. He had originally hoped that the chicken that was to be slaughtered hadn't been taken away, so he could bring it home for a meaty meal. But when he found out it was just a little monkey, he felt a bit disappointed.

Monkeys look a lot like humans, and even the hungriest person wouldn't eat them. Moreover, the monkeys in our Malishan were very intelligent and had a fierce temper, so it was best to stay as far away from them as possible.

My father didn't pay much attention to the little monkey. He was about to leave, touching the hatchet on his waist. However, for some reason, the little monkey that had just been caught suddenly jumped onto my shoulder and used its tender tongue to lick the large patch of fish scales on my neck. Knowing that this little monkey was my savior, I wasn't afraid of it. Instead, I found it amusing and reached out to tease it. It bared its teeth at me, and I laughed. The fish scales on my neck, which had been burning, felt cool and smooth after it licked them.

The little monkey's sudden jump didn't scare me, but it did startle my father. He thought the monkey might be seeking revenge for the capture of its family, so he raised his hatchet and said, "Hey, don't mess around. My hatchet is very sharp, you know?"

My father had studied some traditional Chinese medicine and believed in the "spirit of all things," so he was trying to scare the monkey, but he didn't really intend to hurt it. He had never even killed a chicken in his life; it was always my mother who did that, and he was very kind.

The little monkey squatted on my shoulder. I had always been in poor health, a condition I had brought from my mother's womb, and I was thin and weak. But this little guy was even thinner, its body no bigger than my head when curled up. I couldn't see its face, but I heard it baring its teeth at my father and making the same short, sharp squeaks.

My father was overly nervous, but my mother noticed that the little monkey had no ill intentions toward me. She stopped my father and said, "Old Chen, what are you so worried about? Didn't you see how friendly the little monkey is with Er Dan?"

I also called out, "Father, when I was pulled by that water ghost, it was this little monkey and a few others that drove the ghost away."

Hearing my mother and me, my father finally relaxed and put away his hatchet. He was a straightforward man, and once he realized that this little monkey was his son's savior, he reached into the bamboo basket on his back and pulled out half a cooked sweet potato, extending it to the little monkey. He squatted down and said, "Don't be mad at us for not helping earlier. Those people are very dangerous, and one of them could take care of all three of us. We can't afford to provoke them. I'm sorry."

My father sincerely apologized to the little monkey, and strangely, the little guy seemed to understand. It jumped down, took the half potato, and started eating it.

Seeing the little monkey eat so urgently, its eyes rolling back, I felt a bit sad. Sweet potatoes were the least nutritious food; they would be gone from the stomach in no time, and eating too many would make a person feel light-headed. I didn't like sweet potatoes, not from a young age, but our family was poor, and we had no choice. I never thought this monkey would enjoy them so much.

My father stood up, and because we needed to hurry, he didn't stay long. He adjusted the bamboo basket on his shoulder and led my mother and me toward Wuguniang Mountain.

The half potato my father gave was quite large, and the little monkey was still eating it, not paying attention to us as we left. It didn't care about us, but I felt a bit disappointed, thinking the little monkey was so close to me, like a younger brother or sister. I couldn't help but keep looking back until its figure disappeared into the forest. I was very worried and asked my mother, "Mother, without its parents, will the little monkey starve to death?"

My mother looked at me, pursed her lips, and after a moment's thought, said, "It's possible..."

Hearing this, I stopped in my tracks and turned to go back, but my father grabbed me and scolded me harshly, "You little brat, you can't even take care of yourself, why are you worrying about that little monkey?"

My father was a barefoot doctor in the mountains and considered himself a cultured person, respected by many. He was usually very strict, and I was a bit afraid of him. Although I was extremely unwilling, I could only be dragged along as we climbed toward the main peak. As I climbed, I kept thinking, "Little monkey, wait for me. When your big brother Er Dan comes back from getting treated, I'll steal sweet potatoes from home every day to feed you, you hungry ghost reincarnated."

As I thought this, I felt something following us after walking for a couple of miles. At first, it was just me, but then even my father and mother noticed. My mother, who was superstitious, said, "Hey, Old Chen, don't you feel it? Could it be a mountain ghost following us?"

My father, though nervous inside, had to be brave as the head of the family. He gripped his hatchet tightly and said, "Nonsense, where would a mountain ghost come from? I've been in Malishan for over ten years and have never seen one... Ah!"

The last word was a loud exclamation. I looked back and saw a small black shadow following us, which suddenly appeared and scared my father. My father, a cultured person, was a bit nearsighted, but I saw clearly that the black shadow was the little monkey we had left behind. Seeing it, I ran over with joy, and the little monkey also squeaked excitedly, jumping onto my shoulder again and helping me lick the bleeding patch of fish scales.

When the little monkey jumped onto my shoulder, I made a decision that would affect my entire life—I would adopt it.

I carried the little monkey and ran excitedly to my parents, telling them my decision. My father immediately frowned and said, "No, I don't agree." I didn't back down and argued with him. What could a child do but cry? So I started to cry, wailing loudly. At first, I didn't feel anything, but seeing the wrinkled face of the little monkey on my shoulder, I became more and more sad, and tears streamed down my face.

My mother couldn't bear to see me like this, so she persuaded my father, "He's already like this, will it kill you to indulge him once?"

My father, though tough on the outside, was soft on the inside. After a couple of tries, he gave in and said, "Alright, alright, stop crying. If you cry any more, you'll attract wolves. If you're willing to take care of it, you can keep it. I won't be responsible for it." My father was still angry, but I was overjoyed. I jumped up and shouted, and the little monkey also jumped to the ground and jumped with me. Seeing the skinny monkey, I happily told my mother, "Mother, from now on, it will be called Pangu, and I'll fatten it up!"

Seeing how happy I was, my mother's slightly bitter face also showed a smile, but my father was still angry. He looked at the little monkey's crotch and saw a small penis, and he slapped me on the head, saying, "This monkey is male."

I said, "I don't care, it's Pangu, Pangu, Pangu..."

My father couldn't do anything about me and had to laugh. He then called for us to leave, but just as we were about to get up, a gray animal with a long tongue and green eyes suddenly darted out of the grass where the little monkey Pangu had appeared.