Chapter 6

Perhaps he should turn and run, but could a monkey outrun a tiger?

Unless —

“Smack!”

Suddenly, an apple hit the tiger squarely in the face.

With a roar, the tiger angrily looked in the direction it came from.

A monkey, perched high in a tree, shrank back into the foliage.

“Great King… run!” a monkey screamed.

The stone monkey turned and fled, but the tiger was no pushover. Realizing the monkey’s intention, it immediately pounced in the direction of the stone monkey.

However, the situation was not that simple.

Another pear was hurled at the tiger, followed by a banana, grapes...

It was as if it had started raining fruit. The monkeys threw everything they could grab at the tiger. Although the mighty tiger was not afraid of a few fruits, the key was not to get hit in the eyes.

Thanks to the help of the monkey troop, the stone monkey had already run more than ten yards for his life, and the tiger had already left the range of the monkeys' attacks in its mad dash.

Clearly, this was a smart tiger. It knew what was crucial: as long as it killed this monkey that couldn’t climb trees, everything would be over.

The stone monkey no longer cared about his injuries. He screamed, ran, jumped, and dodged in the forest with all his might. But two legs could never outpace four.

The troop of monkeys had been left far behind. Without their help, the tiger gradually closed the distance.

If caught this time, it would likely be the throat, not the shoulder.

Just as the stone monkey was nearly in despair again, a goldfinch flew over his head: “This way, fool.”

“Huh?” Without thinking, the stone monkey hurried in the direction of the goldfinch.

“A tree hollow!?”

Just as the tiger leaped to pounce, the monkey rolled sideways into a narrow tree hollow!

Before the stone monkey could catch his breath, the tiger’s sharp claws swiped at his face!

The wind from the swipe brushed his cheeks. At such close range, the stone monkey could even see the fur on the tiger’s claws.

However, it couldn’t reach the stone monkey.

After reincarnation, the stone monkey seemed smaller due to being in a juvenile stage, looking no different from an ordinary monkey. He could fit into places where an adult tiger couldn’t.

After clawing for a long time and only grabbing a handful of dry leaves, the tiger quietly retracted its claws and then lowered its head to peer into the hollow.

This was a narrow, elongated cave formed by the roots of a giant tree, filled with intertwined roots and fallen leaves. The farthest point inside was just over a foot away from where the tiger could reach. The stone monkey was pressed tightly against the wall.

“Come out!”

This was the tiger’s voice! It could speak! All the animals in this place could speak!

It was already completely dark. Staring at the terrifying eyes, the stone monkey, still shaken, forced out two words through his teeth: “No way!”

“Don’t even think about it. I won’t leave, and you can’t run.”

“Listen,” the stone monkey, trembling all over, bared his teeth and said, “If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll kill you!”

“Is that so? That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard. A monkey claiming to kill a tiger?” The tiger’s face showed a strange smile in the moonlight.

“Goldfinch—!” the stone monkey shouted at the top of his lungs: “Goldfinch—are you there?”

“I told you, I’m a canary! A canary! Do you monkeys have no brains?”

“Any bird will do! Can you help me?”

“Help with what?”

“Go and bring the other monkeys over.”

“Bring...” Instantly, the canary’s curses could be heard outside the hollow: “I can’t believe it! You actually want to feed the other monkeys to the tiger! You’re worse than a human...”

“No! Damn it, don’t misinterpret! Get them to bring durians! Do you know what durians are?”

Immediately, the canary’s laughter could be heard outside.

If he remembered correctly, the stone monkey had seen a monkey carrying a durian during the day. The Flower-Fruit Mountain seemed to have all kinds of fruits.

Listening to the sound of the canary’s wings gradually fading away, the stone monkey glared at the tiger and said slowly, “I’ll make you regret not biting me to death!”

“I’ll see what tricks you can pull!” the tiger growled fiercely.

Time ticked by, the tiger still staring intently at the stone monkey, who refused to back down.

However, his condition was clearly worse than the tiger’s. The blood from his shoulder wound had clotted and stopped flowing, but the deep wound caused him excruciating pain. Half of his fierce expression was due to the pain.

He even found that his left hand was completely useless.

“Is it broken?” he wondered.

Being bitten by a tiger, a broken bone wouldn’t be surprising. But now, even the slightest movement made the wound feel like it was about to split open again, and he couldn’t verify it.

Soon, a durian fell heavily!

Although it didn’t hit the tiger, it left a deep mark on the tree root!

This scene startled the tiger. It finally understood what the stone monkey was waiting for. Not all fruits were harmless!

The tiger looked up sharply and saw three durians coming straight at it.

One of them hit its waist accurately, and immediately, a howl of pain echoed, followed by the cheers of the monkey troop.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t leave? Why don’t you stay then?” The stone monkey bared his teeth in a sinister smile, reaching for a durian to eat while watching the show, but without tools, opening a durian with one hand wasn’t easy.

“Fine, I’ll keep it as a weapon.” Stashing the durian to the side, he raised his head and shouted, “Little ones, give it everything you’ve got!”

The cheers outside grew even more enthusiastic.

“Didn’t you want to eat me? I’ll show you who eats who. Forgot to tell you, monkeys don’t always eat plants!”

The response was a hysterical roar from the tiger, and the stone monkey, not to be outdone, let out a hysterical howl.

For a moment, tiger roars and monkey howls echoed back and forth.

That night, the entire forest was abuzz. The tiger continuously dodged the falling durians. By the second half of the night, with durians running low, coconuts were mixed in. Each time the tiger was hit, it sparked cheers, which filled the monkeys with enthusiasm and even made them forget to sleep.

For the tiger, these cheers were a nightmare. Each cheer meant more coconuts, more durians, and more monkeys joining in. It even saw a squirrel throwing walnuts at it!

The reputation of the king of the jungle was thoroughly ruined.

Worse still, that damned stone monkey was laughing at it from inside the hollow.

As for the stone monkey, his condition was no better.

The stone monkey was already exhausted from the day’s events. The intense escape had severely drained his energy. With his injuries, he felt his eyelids drooping all night.

But he couldn’t relax for a moment. If he fell asleep and rolled over, he might fulfill the tiger’s wish.

Reluctantly, he had to stay alert and see who would give in first.

When the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and illuminated the forest, the tiger, with no good flesh left on its body, finally chose to retreat, dragging its weary body away. The stone monkey, however, only slipped out of the hollow to grab two coconuts and a stone before retreating again.

The canary quietly landed at the entrance of the hollow, poking its head in to ask, “What are you doing? Why don’t you come out? It’s gone.”

Using all his strength to crack open the coconut, the stone monkey drank from the shell, wiped his mouth, and sighed before saying weakly, “Do you think I’m stupid? Where is there a safer place than here? I’m injured and can’t climb trees. If I meet it again without this hollow, I’m dead. By the way, thanks, goldfinch.”

“Gold you mother! How many times have I told you I’m a canary! If you call me that again, I won’t talk to you!”

“And... keep an eye on that tiger. I really need to rest...”

“You...”

Before the canary could speak, she saw the stone monkey faint.

Perhaps due to the extreme mental stress, the feeling of being on the brink of life and death all night was not easy to bear.

“I swear, if you call me a goldfinch again, I’ll never talk to you.”

Pecking at the tree trunk angrily, the canary turned and flew in the direction the tiger had fled.

For the rest of the day, the monkeys and the canary took turns keeping watch on the tiger. If it was the canary’s turn, she would just follow the tiger and report its movements. If it was the monkeys’ turn... they would tirelessly throw things at the tiger.

The former king of the mountain had fallen to the level of a rat in the street.

With no choice, the tiger had to run to an open area to find a moment’s peace.

However, the war between the monkeys and the tiger was just beginning.

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