The White Jungle.
I looked at the mist-covered woods, nervous.
Zhi was right.
This wasn’t a place you came to mess around.
The heavy fog that gave the jungle it’s name flowed out of the trees, obscuring your view before you ever stepped into the jungle.
Various animal calls and rustles permeated the air.
This place was known for strong spirit beasts.
The jungle itself was a maze, the fog confusing visitors and obscuring the way.
I took a deep breath, the humid air filling my lungs.
We could do this.
We had everything we needed here.
I summoned the little wooden bowl from my spatial ring and set it on the ground.
“Okay, Zhi?”
He grumbled.
“This is weird.
You’re weird.
How can the needle always point the same direction?”
“I told you, it’s magnetism.
Luckily this world is a lot like my old world in that there’s magnetic poles.
Though, if there weren’t I guess the sun would scorch this planet every day.
I’ve already shown you it works.”
He summoned a bit of water to fill the bowl, pulling it out of the humid air.
“Oh, you’ve shown me.
I just can’t understand how it works.
It makes no sense.
How does striking a needle with a rock make it always point the same direction when in water?”
“… Sorry, but I have no idea either.
It basically is magic.
But it’s magic from my old world, and it seems to work here too.” I summoned the needle and gently floated it on the surface of the water.
It spun around for a few seconds before steadily pointing north… or south on this world.
The poles were reversed.
“Okay!
We just carry this with us and reference it every once in a while.
We’re heading due northwest into the forest, and we’re trying to find an old temple.” I picked up the bowl and looked back at the jungle, determined.
“How did Xaoge navigate this jungle without your Earth magic?
Due to the illusions from the mists, celestial navigation is impossible.”
“He had a treasure that was linked to the temple, but the book said it was due northwest from his starting point, just south of the town of Han.” I nodded to the buildings about a hundred feet to our right.
Zhi took a deep breath and drew his sword.
“You keep our ‘compass’ safe and handle navigation.
I’ll lead the way and keep an eye out for beasts.”
I nodded and followed him into the undergrowth.
The thick jungle and mysterious noises soon became all we could see.
Not that we could see much of it.
The fog was too dense to see farther than five feet.
I occasionally course corrected Zhi as we walked through the tense atmosphere.
We ate when we got hungry, and when the light began to dim, we set about making camp.
It wasn’t much, a small cloth tent, a fire pit, and a few tools for cooking.
Zhi eyeballed me as I got the cooking tools out.
“It’s your turn to cook, isn’t it?”
“Nice try.
I cooked last night.
It’s your turn.”
He pouted.
“Cooking is the woman’s job.”
“While that kind of sexist drivel might fly with another woman, it doesn’t with me.
I told you, men and women were equal on my old world, and I very much agree with that sentiment.
I cooked last night.
It’s your turn to cook.”
“I guarded us and led the way through this thick jungle!
How can you ask me to cook after the exhausting day I’ve had?”
“Like this.
It’s your turn.
Here’s the rice, and some chicken.”
“Damn it…” He reluctantly took the tools and set up the tripod for the pot.
He started the rice and began searing the meat.
I got out a few leafy greens, and he added them to the pan, letting them soak in the fat and fry up.
A heavenly smell began floating through the air.
I took a deep breath.
“For not liking cooking, you sure are good at it.”
“Cooking is a servant’s job.
But my father taught me the basics of campfire cooking as part of my survival training.
Though I never imagined I would actually need it.” He let out a heavy sigh.
Damn it.
Now he was depressed.
I cleared my throat.
“You’re lucky.
My dad never taught me anything.
He hated me.
Uh, from my first life.
My dad from this life loved me a lot.
But you know, you met him.”
He side-eyed me.
“He did?
And… you really consider those monkeys your parents?”
“What?
Of course I do.
They gave me life.
They loved me.
Didn’t your parents love you when you were born?”
He worked his jaw.
“Let’s just say I don’t.
I wasn’t in a good mental state when I was first born.
I distanced myself from my troop the moment I could.
But… they did care about me.
The monkey who sired me often left fruit at my nest.
The female who gave birth to me always groomed me and checked everyday to see if I was alright.”
Ah.
I guess I could understand why.
He had been grieving for his old parents, and in no shape to try and accept new ones.
“Well, having a father who loved me was new for me.
My mother was sweet too, although she was always busy caring for her latest cub.
A lot like my old mom actually.
I was the middle child, so I was either overlooked or in trouble.”
“You don’t talk about your old life that much.
Don’t you miss it?”
I shrugged.
“Not really.
It’s hard to explain.
The memories feel… distant.
More like it was a dream than something I lived through.
It’s like… a new beginning.
True reincarnation, where the spark of an old life gives birth to a new flame.
I used to be her.
But I’m not anymore.
I’m Liu Ming, body, mind, and soul.”
He stirred the chicken and veggies before reaching for the plates.
“It’s done.
Ready to eat?”
“Hell yeah, that smells incredible.” He gave me a plate and lifted up the lid for the rice, delicious steam filling the air.
We both helped ourselves, starving after the long day of hiking through the jungle.
We took a few bites of food before he continued our conversation.
“You’re lucky.
I don’t feel that way at all.
I guess for me it wasn’t reincarnation, but a rebirth.
I kept my mind and soul as they were, and just got a new body.
I wish I could let go like you did.
But…” He stared at the food for a moment.
Before sighing.
“I just can’t.
I can’t let what happened to my family stand.
And I still feel like Liu Zhihao.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes before I responded.
“That’s okay too.
You can still be Liu Zhi… hua?”
“I’m certain you’re doing it on purpose.”
“I’m not!
Anyway, my point is you can still be him.
And you can continue living as him.
It’s your choice after all.
I decided to embrace a new life and forget my old one.
And you decided to make this life an extension of your old one.
Both are okay.”
He narrowed his eyes at me, munching.
“How do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“You’re always so chill.
About everything.
Doesn’t anything ever bother you?”
“Plenty of things bother me.
Like when you say cooking is women’s work or when my father died.”
“Yeah, but I’ve never seen you get mad because… I don’t know when I teach you to read.
You struggle a lot, but you never get mad.
Or being out here in the middle of a dangerous forest.
For example, if a stranger walked up to you in a restaurant and insulted you, would you get mad?”
“Uh, I think I’d be more confused than anything else.”
“See!
Like that.
If someone did that to me, I’d get mad and start a fight. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Where’s your pride?”
I snorted.
“What kind of pride is so easily damaged by a stranger’s opinion?
Let me tell you a secret I learned in my old life.
Not everyone is going to like you.
Some people are stubborn idiots who would rather burn than admit you’re right.
If a guy really came up and insulted me for no reason, I’d say he should get a job.
And ignore him.
To be honest, that would piss most people off more than any insult.
The only people whose opinions matter are those you care about and respect.
The rest can say whatever the hell they want.”
“Even if they insult your family?”
Hmm.
I took another bite and thoughtfully chewed for a moment.
“That’s different.
If someone insulted you, I would definitely throw hands.”
“Uh, wait.
You mean me specifically?”
I nodded.
“Isn’t that what you meant?
I mean, if a stranger walked up to you and started calling your mother dirty names, they’re just asking for a punch to the face.
And no one can fault you because that’s always uncalled for.
So, if some random stranger listed one of your many, many faults and said you were a bastard, I’d fight them.
Insulting me is one thing, but insulting someone I care about?
That’s line you just shouldn’t cross.”
“… You think very differently from most people in this world.
And I didn’t mean specific family members, I meant your family name.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t care.
In fact, fighting strangers over such weak insults would only damage my family name further, wouldn’t it?”
He winced and sighed.
“Maybe you’re right.
I used to fight someone over the slightest insult against me or my surname.
But all it got me was a reputation for being hot-headed.”
“Mmm, you were kind of confrontational in the book.
But to be honest you weren’t the worst arrogant young master I’ve read about.”
“You keep saying that like it means more that each individual word.
Like it’s a title or something.”
“Or something.
Arrogant young master was a type of character in the novels I liked to read.
They were prominent scions of sects or martial families that constantly brag about their family name and use it to bully others.”
“What!?
I… I don’t do that.”
“Anymore?”
His silence was all the answer I needed.
“Like I said, you weren’t the worst arrogant young master I’ve read about.
While you did throw your weight around, you didn’t beat people or abuse women.
You were just a cocky young brat.”
“I resent that.
I was… I just didn’t have a chance to come into my own.
That was my first martial tournament.
I was under a lot of pressure to do well.
After Xaoge beat me in the preliminaries, my parents had to pull some strings to snag me a spot and I felt so ashamed.
I had to win.
That’s why I…”
“Poisoned Xaoge’s food?”
He looked up at me, panicked.
“It wasn’t a lethal poison!
It was just supposed to give him a light case of food poisoning!
I don’t know how that lethal poison ended up in his food!”
“I do.
Xaoge put it there himself.
He knew you would have gotten a slap on the wrist for trying to give him food poisoning, so he made your offense so grave the organizers would be forced to kick you out in disgrace.”
His breath caught.
“He did?
That… that bastard!”
He snarled and looked down at the last few bites of his food.
He angrily ate them before setting his bowl down and looking into the fire.
I finished up my food too and used a bit of chi to clean our dishes before slipping them back into my spatial ring.
I scooted next to him to watch the fire.
Eventually, he sighed.
“As much as a bastard Xaoge is for doing that, it was still my fault.
I tried to use deceptive means to cheat and knock out a competitor because I didn’t feel like I could win.
I was the one who shamed my family by doing such a thing.
I wish I could go back in time and undo it.”
I patted his back to try and comfort him.
“Sorry, but that’s a whole different genre.
There’s no way to change who you were and what you did.
But hey…” I looked at the crackling flames with him.
“At least you have the chance to be better in the future.”
“Better huh?” He looked up, to where the smoke mingled with the fog, the sky pitch black.
“I guess you’re right.
I may have shamed my family, but I’ll make them proud.
I’ll take our vengeance upon Xaoge and raise the Liu name to the heavens and beyond.
From here on out, I’ll be honorable.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arm around his waist, leaning into him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you on the straight and narrow.
I wouldn’t let my husband do anything bad without my permission.”
He smirked and wrapped his own hand around my waist.
“Oh, so I need your permission then?
Hah!
Liu Zhihao does what he pleases.”
“Aaaaand what would please you right now?”
He dipped down and kissed me.
Mmm.
I shifted, and I felt arm smoothly slide under me and he effortlessly lifted me up and set me in his lap.
Our lips never parted, and the kiss deepened until we were tugging at each other’s clothes.
Finally, he broke it off, his voice low and husky.
“Let’s go to the tent first.”
“Ooooh, carry me.
It’s so hot when you carry me.”
He grinned and stood up, with me in a bridal carry.
Fuck he was so strong.
I kissed him again as he carried me to the tent.
Sore.
I blinked and groaned.
Morning.
We should get moving again.
But sore.
Why did I think doing some ‘dual cultivation’ last night was a good idea?
Because Zhi looked hot in the flickering flames.
Introspective.
Serious.
Cool.
When he wasn’t being a prima donna, he could be pretty sexy.
Speaking of… I nudged him.
“Zhi.
It’s morning.
Time to get up.”
He groaned.
“No.
Five more minutes.”
I nudged him a little harder.
“Zhi, we’re in the middle of a mission.
We need to move while it’s light outside.
We probably should’ve kept watch too, but we both got swept up in the moment.”
He tugged the blanket over his head.
“Ming, it won’t hurt if we sleep in.
We’ll get there eventually.”
“…Do you want me to tickle you?”
I saw the blanket stiffen before he threw it off and sat up.
“I’m up!
So don’t you dare.”
I chuckled at the glare he threw at me and tugged the tent flap aside.
I crawled outside and stretched, breathing in the humid mist.
Still nice and cool.
Ah, refreshing.
He grumbled as he crawled out and threw my clothes at me.
“Get dressed before you flash the neighbors.”
I looked around the deep fog and laughed.
“There could be a man about ten feet away and he wouldn’t be able to see me.
It just you and me here.
Not even any animals to sneak a peek.” I stuck my tongue out at him and struck a pose.
He rolled his eyes.
“You should still get dressed.
You know I prefer it when you wear clothes.”
“Could have fooled me with how you were acting last night.”
He coughed and looked away.
“That was for… dual cultivation.”
“Oh, just admit it you big baby.
You find me attractive.”
“You’re a monkey.” He stood up and stretched, still not looking at me in embarrassment.
“So are you.
There’s no shame in finding another monkey attractive you know?
You’re not human anymore, and it’s the body that governs those kinds of urges.”
“I’m not responding to that.
Anyway, we should eat breakfast, do a quick groom and get moving.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
I resisted the urge to tease him more, and we did exactly that, eating some dried rations for breakfast.
We groomed each other before packing up our tent, throwing some dirt on the fire and moving on.
We should be nearing our destination by now.
I kept an eye on the little needle in the bowl, making sure we were headed the right way.
I had just gotten us some lunch out to eat as we kept hiking when Zhi suddenly stopped.
“Zhi?” I questioned him, but he turned around.
“I think we found what we’re looking for.
Look at this.”
I took a few steps forward and the fog suddenly lightened.
I could see a clearing with a decrepit temple in the center.
Oh, wow…
It was… spooky.
This looked like the kind of place you’d find ghosts or demons lurking.
Large claws scraped throughout the structure, marking it as something’s territory.
Zhi and I shared a look before he waved at it.
“You’re the expert.
Is it supposed to look like… this?”
“Um… it’s definitely the right place, but now it looks like something is living here.
In the novel, Xaoge exorcised the demon that lives here, so now…”
“Something’s moved in.”
We both looked over the temple for another minute, watching for movement.
I spotted something.
“Look.
Halfway up the right tower.
Do you see that?”
He squinted at where I pointed.
“Yeah.
I do.
It’s… eyes?”
Right after his finished that thought, the eyes began shrieking.
That was familiar.
Movement broke from the holes in the temple, white-furred monkeys pouring out.
Shit!
They looked aggressive.
I grabbed Zhi before he could use his sword.
“Wait!
Let me talk to them first!”
“What?!” The monkeys were puffed up, beating their chests and snarling at us, ready to attack at any moment.
I threw off my cloak and stooped down to their level and hooted in a friendly greeting.
The monkeys were unsure now.
They glanced between me and Zhi, who was still hidden under his cloak.
I tugged at him and hissed.
“Walk like a monkey.
And take your cloak off so they can see you.”
He glowered at me, indignant before sighing.
He dropped down and took off his cloak.
I vanished it into my spatial ring with mine.
The monkeys were still confused, but a lot less wary now.
A few braver ones came forward for a friendly sniff.
Then there was a giant roar from the fortress, and a massive monkey appeared in the biggest crack through the wall of the temple.
Both of us froze as he regarded us.
“Ffffffuck.
That’s a mid-Foundation Establishment spirit beast.” Zhi, began edging back.
I shushed him.
“Just act like a monkey.
And we might be able to get inside and get what we need.”
The beast watched us for a moment before snorting and setting itself on the ground.
He grew in size, about seven feet tall by the time he reached us.
His nostrils flared and he sniffed at Zhi first, who struggled to not shake.
He snorted, clearly not impressed and turned to me.
He sniffed at me and got closer.
And closer.
Until his nose was right on my fur.
I trembled, praying he wouldn’t hurt me.
He finally withdrew, sitting back and rubbing its chin.
He smiled at me.
And hooted.
Oh fuck.
Zhi’s lip curled up.
Even if he didn’t speak monkey very well, he knew what that hoot meant.
The spirit beast was propositioning me.
I swallowed and inched back.
I kept my body language submissive, and did my most polite refusal, turning my head slightly away from him.
He frowned.
And hooted again.
Oh boy.
He didn’t like that answer.
I swallowed and looked over at Zhi, who bristled at the monkey now.
“We have to fight.” His hand tightened its grip on his sword.
“All of these monkeys?
They’re all spirit beasts!”
“Well, the only way he’s fucking you is over my dead body.”
“Don’t fucking jinx me!” I desperately looked at the other monkeys for help, but the males all averted their eyes and the females looked on in sympathy.
Shit.
This wasn’t a nice monkey who was going to accept the fact I didn’t want him to screw me.
He hooted again, more forcefully and stood up.
I shrank beneath his gaze.
Judging by his… size, him doing me would seriously hurt me.
He wasn’t fun big.
He was pain big.
Zhi made his move.
He stopped being submissive and stood up.
All the monkeys fell silent as he walked between me and the spirit beast, shielding me from his gaze.
He snarled at the spirit beast.
Well, he and all the other monkeys understood that.
The monkeys frantically began shrieking and backing up, desperate to make space, and the spirit beast snarled right back.
I stood up and grabbed Zhi.
“Zhi, he accepted your challenge.
Please tell me you have a plan.”
“Sort of?” His eyes were unsure as they slid from me back to the spirit beast.
I swallowed and forced myself to let him go, backing up.
“I’ll give you some space, and support you with the few treasures I can use.
Please win.
I don’t want to be his sex slave until I die.”
He gave me a nod and I backed way the hell up, joining the other monkeys in watching, pulling out one of the few treasures from the spatial ring I could use at my level.
It was a small pearl that could emit a loud bang and a flash.
A flashbang.
I held it up for Zhi to see and he nodded.
He got into a stance with his sword.
The spirit beast roared and threw his fist out, but Zhi used his water movement technique to just barely sidestep it and blew some fire onto the spirit beast’s arm.
Its fur immediately caught fire.
Its eyes widened, and it began shrieking and running around.
Of course!
It was a spirit beast, but it didn’t have intelligence yet.
Of course it feared fire!
With the beast distracted, Zhi went for the beast’s tendons to cripple it.
But as he swung his sword, the beast rolled, dropping the the ground, thrashing.
Zhi was forced to retreat as the beast put out the flames by bashing its arm against the ground.
The beast stood up, and shook its fur, its arm charred, but still usable.
He and Zhi circled each other, wary.
If the beast got into close range, Zhi would set it on fire again.
If Zhi got close, the beast could deal its first and last blow.
With a snort, the beast broke off first, and walked for the trees.
The monkeys chittered in surprise, thinking it was giving up and leaving voluntarily.
Instead, it reached up and grabbed a thick branch.
It was a good six inches diameter, and about five feet long.
Zhi’s eyes widened, and he swore.
“Fuck, Ming, get ready with that flashbang!”
“Just give me the word!” I got ready to throw it, tensing my arm and cocking it back, aiming for the spirit beast now smugly walking towards Zhi.
Zhi waited until it began to raise the branch to strike.
“Now!”
I hurled it right towards them, and closed my eyes and plugged my ears.
I still felt it explode, and a few monkeys knocked into me, panicking.
A huge roar of pain sounded after the bang, and I opened my eyes up to see Zhi pulling his sword out of one heel and slashing it towards the other.
The beast fell to its knees, crippled, but still dangerous as it tried to whirl on Zhi and strike him.
Zhi shot another burst of flame at him, and the beast roared again, and started thrashing.
But with useless feet, it wasn’t nearly as dangerous.
Zhi was able to get close a few times and shoot some more flames, and they engulfed the beast the fire spreading over its fur.
Its struggles became weaker and weaker, until it just curled into a ball.
It shook at the flames died out, having consumed all its fur.
Zhi grimaced at the crippled, burned, and cowed spirit beast.
He raised his sword one last time before plunging it into its neck.
It was over.
I let out the breath I’d been holding and slipped the pearl I had gotten out back into my ring.
Zhi had won thanks to a bit of planning and strategy.
The monkeys went wild, rushing towards Zhi, congratulating him.
I had to push aside quite a few monkeys to reach him, and when I did, he looked utterly overwhelmed.
I chuckled and clapped his shoulder.
“Not bad Zhi.
Of course, we now have a new problem.”
He shot me an annoyed glance as he tried not to touch any of the monkeys as he sheathed his sword.
“You mean besides a bunch of monkeys trying to touch—Hey!” He yanked his tail back from a particularly enthusiastic female.
“Well, I guess they’re related.
All these monkeys think you’re their new alpha.”
“WHAT!?”