Chapter 165 - 162: The Impatient Monkey
While the Ten Days of Purgatory was underway, an event of some significance was also taking place far away in Hua Country.
Within He Province, the scenic Baiyun Mountain seemed even more lush and green than usual.
Besides the forest rangers who maintained the woods and the staff who patrolled the various mountain scenic areas, the ones who could best attest to this were the vast community of hikers.
Take Lü Bing, for example, who was currently leading his team up a trail he’d chosen on Baiyun Mountain.
"Team Leader, I don’t think the vegetation was this lush when we came to Northern Neighbor last time, was it?"
Xiaohu, a young man in the group carrying a large pack, looked at the surrounding plants and then up at the canopy of trees that almost completely blocked out the sun. "I don’t remember the vegetation being this thick last time we were at Northern Neighbor," he asked in confusion.
"Isn’t that a good thing? It blocks the sun. It’s hot as a furnace out there. At least it’s a bit cooler here in the mountains."
"It was still cold last time we were here. The plants probably hadn’t started growing in yet."
Mo Shaoge ventured a guess, then pulled a bottle of mineral water from his pack and chugged a few large gulps.
"Cui Ying, want some water?"
Cui Ying glanced at the water bottle he had just drunk from and gave a light laugh, indicating she had her own.
Mo Qingxue skipped over to Cui Ying’s side, offered her an open pack of cookies, and shouted, not caring in the slightest that her brother could hear.
"Ignore that idiot. He’s so desperate for a woman he’s gone crazy. I bet you he’d hit on a female monkey if he saw one!"
Her words drew a burst of laughter from the group.
Such elegant names were wasted on the two siblings, as one was more rambunctious than the other.
"But it really has been excessively hot this summer..."
Cui Ying chimed in to avoid seeming antisocial, while Count and Little Sister, who had come with her, were already too tired or hot to have the energy to speak.
"Hasn’t it gotten hotter every year? Alright, everyone, let’s take a break right here."
As Lü Bing spoke, the group of eleven reacted as if they’d been granted a pardon, scrambling to find places to sit.
"Finally, a break."
"You guys get tired way too fast."
"This is our first time! You all are old pros!"
"’Old pros’..."
The few of them sat and started chatting.
The organizer of this trip was actually Cui Ying—or rather, the "Where the Nightingale Flies" editorial department. The team leader, Lü Bing, was one of the very people involved in the "Monkey King’s Guidance" incident they had reported on in the "Strange Tales and Ghost Stories" section.
Lü Bing had actually guided two trips back here already, but both times were with soldiers and the forest police. This time, however, it was at the request of Cui Ying’s group, and they were paying him for it.
Everyone knew that besides hiking, camping, and having fun, this trip was also about searching for the mysterious Monkey King. They just didn’t know that their guide, Lü Bing, was getting paid.
"Team Leader, this area doesn’t seem that treacherous. How did you guys get so lost last time that you couldn’t get out?"
Now that she was here in person, Cui Ying felt there were a few points in the article she had written that didn’t add up.
Lü Bing, drinking water and eating a cookie, sat down on a rock and took off his backpack.
"You think it’s not easy to get lost because you have a veteran leading you. Try walking it by yourself. A lot of the mountain paths look exactly the same."
"What about GPS?"
"That thing isn’t always reliable. Like last time, when that fog rolled in, we couldn’t even get a signal. Afterward, it acted like it had gotten wet and never worked properly again."
Cui Ying’s interest was piqued again. For someone on her first long-distance trek with a hiking group, her stamina was surprisingly good.
"Did that fog ever appear again? Uh, I mean, when you brought ’them’ in to investigate."
Lü Bing naturally knew that ’they’ referred to government personnel.
"No, it didn’t appear either of the next two times. Even when there was fog, it felt different from that first time."
"Yeah, that fog felt really weird. It’s hard to describe. It was just... oppressive!"
Mo Shaoge had snuck up beside Cui Ying at some point, startling her.
"And under that oppressive feeling, we made a fatal mistake."
"What mistake?"
Count asked curiously.
"We decided to turn back the way we came. But what we thought was the original path probably wasn’t, not in that thin fog. So when the fog cleared, we found ourselves in a completely unfamiliar place."
Upon hearing this detail, Count thought to himself, ’The person we interviewed didn’t mention this.’
"Wait, if it’s that freaky, how can you guarantee we’ll get out safely if the fog rolls in this time?"
Mo Shaoge let out a snicker and gave Count a look that said, ’You’re so dumb.’
"We just have to not wander around blindly, right? Besides, we’re here to have fun and maybe find the Monkey King. It’s not like he only shows up when it’s foggy."
This answer displeased Count greatly. ’Buddy, you clearly don’t get it,’ he thought. ’We paid money for this!’
Just then, the cries of monkeys echoed from the forest.
"OOH! OOH! GAH! AHH!"
It sounded like they were calling out, but also as if they were mocking them.
"Over there! Monkeys!"
Mo Qingxue pointed to a nearby tree and shouted.
"They’re probably macaques. It couldn’t be the Monkey King, could it?"
Cui Ying asked Lü Bing excitedly.
"How could that be the Monkey King? Don’t get so worked up over a single monkey, you goof!"
Little Sister teased her with a laugh.
The others in the group also looked toward that part of the forest and saw that there were actually quite a few monkeys in the trees.
Soon, the area was bustling with them.
Seeing this, Cui Ying grabbed some cookies and was about to go over, but Mo Shaoge pulled her back.
"What do you think you’re doing?"
"Feed them! Aren’t they begging for food?"
One of the more experienced hikers in the group laughed and explained.
"You’re thinking of the monkeys in the tourist areas who are used to people. It’s different here. These monkeys are mostly wild. If you get close, you’ll just scare them off. They might even throw rocks or branches at you."
"Can monkeys really throw rocks?"
Her fellow hikers might have just been joking, but Cui Ying genuinely wanted to know.
Lü Bing hesitated for a moment.
"It’s hard to say for sure, but there’s a good chance the monkeys here will throw rocks."
As soon as he said that, Cui Ying basically understood what he meant. It was probably because of that Monkey King again.
But then an idea sparked in her mind.
"Then can we follow this group of monkeys? They have to meet up with their troop, right? They could lead me to the Monkey King!"
"Sis, it’s very dangerous to go running blindly after wild animals in the forest, especially highly agile ones like monkeys!"
While they were talking, a few of the monkeys seemed to be creeping closer.
"OOH! OOH! AHH!""AHH! OOH!"
...
One of them was leaping up and down on a nearby branch, constantly making noise and shaking it.
"Why do I get the feeling it’s really agitated?"
Cui Ying looked at this monkey, then looked toward the experienced hikers.
"Actually, I get that feeling too..."
Mo Qingxue chimed in.
Now that it was mentioned, the others more or less began to feel that the monkeys were acting abnormally.
A few were far away, so what was the meaning of this one getting so close and screeching?
"AHH! OOH! AHH-AHH!"
The monkey kept screeching, and after a few cries, it leaped away from the tree.
But it didn’t go far. It returned to the side of the other monkeys and continued to screech at the group of people.
"My grandma always said that animals have a spirit of their own. Why don’t we follow them and see?"
Mo Qingxue couldn’t help but make the suggestion. Cui Ying immediately agreed, and as her brother, Mo Shaoge hesitated but didn’t voice any opposition.
"What do you say? Should we go take a look?"
Although the other hikers were all curious, a small number felt they should be rational and were unwilling to leave.
The monkeys’ cries grew more and more urgent, and the ones in the distance began to cry out as well.
The one that had run closer heard the cries, glanced back a few times at the group of hikers, and then leaped toward the monkey troop without looking back again.
The whole troop of monkeys began to move deeper into the mountain forest.
"No! I have to go see!"
Cui Ying’s stubborn streak flared up again. This time, the Mo siblings said they would go with her, and Count and Little Sister were eager to try as well.
Lü Bing sighed, feeling unlucky. They were his employers, after all, so he had no choice but to go with them.
The remaining five hikers said they would pitch their tents here and wait for them.
The Mo siblings actually pulled out two blades from their large packs—one long and one short.
"Hurry, hurry! The monkeys are moving fast!"
The troop of monkeys was moving quickly, and Cui Ying urged everyone on.
The small group, carrying light packs, hurried after the monkeys. The troop seemed to notice the humans following them, as the few at the back actually slowed down a bit.
"Holy crap! Are these monkeys sentient?"
"Cut the crap. Now I’m even more curious!"
"Watch your step! Don’t fall!"
They reminded each other to be careful. Since the monkeys seemed to be waiting for them, they slowed down a little to avoid tripping in the dense forest.
*Author’s note: Third Chapter for Thursday.*