It took a bit to get the monkeys to settle down, and they were quite disappointed when they heard we couldn’t stay.
In the end, a strong female was elected alpha, and she happily agreed to our request to go into the temple.
I looked up at the statue of a mountain god, thoroughly creeped out.
Its face was wooden, and paint chipping off of it.
It looked like the sort of thing you’d find in a horror movie and matched the rest of the setting of the hollowed out temple.
The monkey troop couldn’t care less, and happily chittered, played, and groomed completely unaware they didn’t match the genre.
Zhi studied the statue before looking away.
“Where’s this mysterious thing we came here for?”
“Hold on a sec.
It’s hidden underneath the statue, in a hidden compartment.” I crouched down and felt around the cobwebbed base until I found the switch.
I flipped it, and it popped open.
I reached inside and pulled out an old wooden box.
Zhi crouched down with me.
“That’s a pretty small box.
What’s inside?”
I undid the latch, revealing cushioned, velvety insides, and a bottle filled with a clear liquid.
“This is it.
Poison.
Poison from the Xintao Snake.
Just one drop can kill a Golden Core cultivator in a heartbeat.”
Zhi stiffened up.
“Seriously?
No wonder the Tang want to get their hands on it.”
I nodded.
“Since they cultivate poison chi, this is a valuable aid for them.
Plus, the matriarch of the clan risked her life to get her hands on it.
With this gift, there’s no doubt they’ll welcome us.
And with everything Xaoge did to them, they’ll have no problem allying with us to take him down.”
I snapped the box shut and flashed it away into my spatial ring.
Safe and sound.
We stood up, and the monkeys insisted on us staying the night, and we had no reason to refuse.
Overall, we’d gotten more from this trip than we planned.
Not only did we get the poison, but we also got a beast core aligned with earth chi which could help Zhi cultivate.
But still…
I shot him a glare as I made dinner, all the monkeys staying well away from me and the fire.
Several female monkeys were cozying up to him.
He gave me a cocky grin and shrugged like he just couldn’t help it.
Finally, I put the pan down, finished, walked over, and grabbed him.
I hissed at the shameless females who huffed at me and pulled him over to the fire.
“Aw, come on Ming, there’s no need to be jealous.
They just find me irresistible.”
I shoved a plate in his hands.
“Well then Mr.
Irresistible, I hope you’re fine with not getting any tonight.
After all, you have plenty of female attention.”
“Oh Ming, you know you’re the only girl for me.” He stacked his plate high with the beef, rice, and mushrooms I made.
I pouted as I got my food and looked away from him.
I felt his sly tail wrap around my waist.
Damn it.
Damn his animal magnetism.
“Come on now.
Don’t I get a thanks for defending your honor?” He gave me a cheeky smile.
Ugh!
No fair.
He couldn’t be all serious, introspective, and cool one night then confident, cocky, and cute the next.
It just wasn’t fair.
Or good for my heart.
Damn it.
Not to mention he was still somehow a pathetic wet dog of a man.
A complete loser.
How could I not fuck him?!
I looked down at my food and I could feel the blood rushing to my face as I ate.
“Fine.
Thanks for protecting me.
It was… nice.”
“Nice?
I was thinking more like brave, dashing, heroic—”
“Nice.
It was nice.
So nice, I think you deserve a special prize.” Now he was getting a little full of himself.
Confidence was attractive.
Arrogance was not.
“Oh?” I felt his tail dipping down to in-between my legs.
“What kind of prize were you thinking?”
“A special nickname.
Just for you.”
He paused.
“A nickname?
I mean, you already call me Zhi.
That’s a nickname.”
“Yeah, but I mean an affectionate nickname.
Something that really encapsulates your essence and how I feel about you.”
He seemed to be warming up to the idea.
“Oh, so like you’ll call me… King?”
I shook my head.
“Oh no, nothing as mundane as that.
No, I mean a special name women used to call their husbands in my old life.
It’s the ultimate in affectionate nicknames.
It proves that you’re the most important person in my life.”
“I guess I wouldn’t mind a special nickname.
What is it?”
I smiled.
“Babygirl.”
He cocked his head.
“Ba… babyguuurl?
Babygirl.
That’s the special nickname?”
I suppressed my laughter the best I can.
“Uh, yeah, snrk!
Babygirl.
It expresses how much I care about you.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“What does it really mean?”
“Pfft!” I couldn’t contain it anymore.
“Babygirl!
Ha!
You are my babygirl.”
“Miiiiiiiing.
What does babygirl mean?” His warning tone only made me laugh harder.
Finally, I caught my breath.
“It’s a combination of the words ‘baby’ and ‘girl’.”
“What?!
Ming, give me a proper nickname!”
“That is a proper nickname!
Women used to call men they care for deeply that!”
“As a joke!
Ming, seriously, you are not calling me that!”
“Look, if a guy is babygirl, then he’s babygirl.
And you’re definitely babygirl!”
“Ugh, I can’t believe I saved your life earlier and you’re making fun of me now.” His tail withdrew as he turned away from me and pouted.
Aaaw.
I giggled and sidled up to him as he sullenly ate the last of his food.
“Oh, it really is the most affectionate of names.
Only women who really like a guy call him that.”
“What to emasculate him?” He set his plate aside, done.
I took my last bite and put it down too.
Heh, he was so mopey.
I grabbed his arm and cuddled up to him, rubbing my cheek on his arm.
“Mmm.
Come on Zhi, it really is meant to be affectionate.”
“I swear, you get off on torturing me.
Does making fun of me really get you going?” Follow the newest chapters on novelping.com.
“Well, teasing you does feel pretty good.
But I really am grateful you stood up for me against that beast.
Especially given it was stronger than you.”
“Then… will I get lucky tonight?”
“Ummm…” I looked out to the monkeys all watching us, their eyes lit from just beyond the flames light.
“Maybe tomorrow night.
When we don’t have an entire troop of monkeys watching.”
He turned and sighed when he saw them.
He turned back to me.
“Then I’ll accept a kiss for now.”
A kiss huh?
I closed my eyes, and I felt his lips meet mine.
He kissed me soft and slow.
When we finally broke apart, his eyes were gentle.
He caressed my cheek and let out a soft breath, like relief.
“Ming, I’m really glad you’re here with me.”
Ah.
Affection and warmth rushed through my chest.
I smiled and cuddled closer to him.
“I’m glad I’m here too.”
He wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
We both watched the fire, just enjoying the other’s company.
I swung my tail and caught his, and we tangled them together.
I closed my eyes and smiled.
This wasn’t so bad.
And it sure was a hell of a lot better than being alone.
Oh finally.
I let out a huge sigh of relief as we left the oppressive fog of the jungle.
Zhi matched me, sagging in relief and sheathing his sword.
Luckily, the monkey was the only spirit beast who took notice of us.
We were out.
I looked towards the little town to the north of us.
Han.
We made it out just fine.
“Let’s go to the inn and just relax the rest of the day.”
“Absolutely.
I’ll teach you some more characters and we can read some scrolls together.”
We started back to town, checking our disguises to ensure we were passable as people.
We headed straight for the only inn in town.
I got our money out to pay for a room as Zhi handled the innkeeper, a plump, middle-aged woman with an easy smile.
She chuckled.
“I thought the two of you had left town.
Don’t tell me you really went into the White Jungle!”
Zhi chuckled.
“Oh no, not at all.
We just baited a few weaker spirit beasts out of the jungle.
Now that we have the cores we need, we should head back home.”
“A shame.
We hardly ever get honored cultivators like yourself here.
Much less this many at once!”
I paused in counting the coins and looked up.
“Is there another cultivator besides us here?”
“Yes, he arrived just yesterday and headed out today.
He said he had something to check on in the jungle.”
Zhi and I shared a glance.
Zhi was the one who asked.
“Do you remember his name?
Or what he looked like?”
She hesitated.
“Well… I’m not sure.”
Lying time.
“Ma’am, the truth is, we were getting some beast cores to elope.
I fear my family may have sent him to find us.”
The urgency and genuine fear in my tone convinced her to share.
“Well, he didn’t give me his name, just like the two of you.
But he was rather tall and was bald with a well-groomed beard.”
Zhi and I shared a look of panic.
Zhi turned back to the woman.
“I’m sorry, but we have to leave right away.”
“Oh dear.
Was he sent by your family?”
I nodded.
“He was.
I’m sorry, but can you please keep us being here a secret?”
She looked nervous.
“I’ll do my best but… I may have mentioned that you were here in passing.”
We were screwed.
We bid her goodbye and hauled ass all the way out of town.
As soon as we were out of sight, we left the road.
And got up into the trees, taking off our clothes.
And we moved east until late into the night.
Finally, we stopped, still high in a tree.
I panted, exhausted from all the running.
“Is a fire a bad idea?”
Zhi was also tired, though he didn’t seem as wiped as me.
“Yes.
We’re eating rations tonight.
We can’t risk Xaoge’s right hand finding us now.
He’s at least Golden Core.
If he finds us, we’re both finished.”
Shit.
He was right.
It was already a miracle he missed us.
“What are the odds he didn’t come here for poison?”
“Zero.
He absolutely came for the poison, even if we don’t know why.
What I don’t understand is why he sent Zhong Chen to get it.
That must mean the poison is important, secret, or both.
Shit, we need to get to the Tang family yesterday.”
I finally caught my breath.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.
We’ve been moving since this morning, and I’m exhausted.
I can’t go any further right now.”
He watched me for a moment before sighing.
“I’m running on empty too.
Let’s sleep here.
Can you sleep on a tree branch?”
“I can doze.
It’ll have to do.
Here.” I summoned two dry rations, crackers, jerky, and a few raw veggies.
And we used the bowls to drink some water.
After, we both settled onto two different branches.
I laid down in the crook between the trunk and the branch, blissfully closing my eyes.
Ah, wait.
I summoned a treasure from the spatial ring.
Another ring.
I slipped it on.
Now my chi was hidden.
I summoned another ring.
“Hey, put this on.” I handed it over and he slipped it on.
“Is this a hidey ring?”
“Yeah.”
“We should have put these on earlier.
But now we’re as safe as we can be.
Get some rest.
We’ll move at dawn tomorrow.”
I closed my eyes again and took a deep breath.
Time to sleep.
Or sleep as much as I could given I was in a tree.
I dozed off.
I woke with a hand over my mouth.
Zhi hissed in my ear.
“Don’t move.”
I felt it now.
It swept over the area, scrutinizing.
I held my breath.
Please let these rings be enough.
We should look like two regular monkeys to whoever was watching.
It didn’t leave.
It lingered.
Shit.
What should we…
Oh.
I licked his hand.
He wrenched it back in shock and I chittered, laughing at him.
I fussed with my fur, acting like a regular monkey and he caught on quickly.
He chittered back and darted forward.
I ran away from him, down the tree, and around on the ground, eventually letting him catch me.
As I did, I felt the presence fading, it’s interest waning.
It left entirely when I let Zhi climb on top of me, like we were about to mate.
Zhi breathed a giant sigh of relief and collapsed on top of me when it left.
“Oh, thank the gods.
How did you know that would work?”
“I didn’t.
I just figured acting like normal monkeys would be less suspicious than both of us acting terrified and shivering.”
“Well, we’re in the clear for now.
Let’s eat and discuss our next steps.” He climbed off me and I summoned some more dry rations.
We munched and Zhi gave me his ideas.
“He knows the poison is missing, and that two short cultivators took it.
Now the question is what exactly he thinks we’re going to do with it.”
“Easy.
Either kill someone important or go to the Tang family.”
“In that case, we can’t go to the Tang family yet.
No doubt he’s going to be checking the roads east.”
“Hell, he’s going to be checking everywhere.
Where can we hide out until…” Oh.
Duh.
“I have a good idea.
We’ve already fooled him once with the hidey rings.
Let’s just pretend to be regular monkeys for a while.
Then, even if he searches this area again, he’ll just pass over us.”
Zhi grimaced and sighed.
“You’re right.
It’s our best bet.
Goodbye civilization.
I’ll miss you.
How long until we leave though?”
“We should hide out for a few months.
Let’s say three right now.
That should be long enough for him to think the thieves slipped through his fingers and give up.”
“Three months of wild living.
Great.”
I chuckled.
“I think it’ll be fun!
Just you and me, and a troop of monkeys.
We’ll play and groom, and forage.
Just like the good old days!”
“You mean two months ago?
Well, fine.
Let’s find the nearest troop and join up.”
We managed to find a troop not too far away, and after a brief scuffle to prove our strength, they let us in, but kept their distance.
That was fine with me and Zhi.
We built a nest in the sleeping grounds and foraged, groomed, and played until the end of the day.
We both settled into the nest, cuddling up together when the presence came back.
None of the other monkeys noticed it.
I tucked my head deeper into Zhi’s chest and he squeezed me a little tighter.
It moved on a moment later.
We both relaxed.
He whispered to me.
“This was a good idea.
If we still weren’t in a troop or behaving erratically when he swept through here again, we would have been screwed.”
I nodded in agreement.
It still made my heart leap into my throat though.
Just a few months.
We could fake being normal monkeys for that long.
The presence swept through several times over the next few days.
Including some… awkward moments.
When we had to go to the bathroom, or one time when we were…
Well, the point was that we were behaving like normal monkeys, so he never stopped for more than a moment to scrutinize us.
Still, it was tense.
But soon, his presence stopped coming around so often.
Soon it only swept through once a day.
Then once every few days.
The frequency slowly decreased over the next month, until it stopped altogether.
But we decided to stick with our original three-month plan.
It was a good thing we did.
We felt another sweep near the end of the three months.
I convinced Zhi to wait one more month after that.
It was the end of summer by the time we finally decided to move again.
Though, it was a bit of a shame.
If it wasn’t for our cultivation, I’d be satisfied to live like this with Zhi forever.
Just living off the land and spending time together, leaving the troop whenever we wanted a little… alone time.
Zhi actually managed to learn some monkey language too.
And despite his irrational love of human civilization, I think he enjoyed himself too, finally letting himself be a monkey a little.
But we had oaths to keep, families to avenge, and poison to deliver.
So, with a lot of nervousness and trepidation, we left our temporary troop, which had warmed up to us, bidding them goodbye and hitting the road.
We headed east, towards the lands of the Tang family, the martial family of poison.
We still avoided towns and kept a low profile where we could, only stopping for supplies.
We also avoided being seen in towns together, sleeping outside towns as regular monkeys.
Our caution paid off, as we managed to make it to the Tang family’s gentle rice paddies and lowland swamps without any further incidents.
We traveled a little more freely now, soon reaching Dumincheng.
The seat and ancestral home of the Tang family.
It was a large city, with nearly a hundred thousand people.
It sat at the top of a hill, and rice paddies flowed out from it in every direction.
The city mainly had blue clay roof tiles and was made with cool stone.
We decided to settle into a small inn near the outer wall of the city.
It was much the same as the inn in Han or Hongtai, a small straw bed and a window with wooden shutters.
Except this one also came with a table!
However, even though we made it to our destination, we still had a problem.
“How are we going to approach the Tang Family?
I doubt we can just walk up to the front gates and ask to be let in.” Zhi was pacing back and forth in front of the bed.
I stared up at the ceiling, laying on the bed.
“I’m sure we can figure something out.
What if we sent them a letter saying we have the poison?”
He snorted.
“Without a seal or an important messenger, there’s no way anyone will answer it.
Even if the Tang family is in decline, I’m sure they have more mail than they know what to do with.”
Hmm.
I sat up and summoned the box with the poison.
“What about… a gift?”
“What, you want to just give them the poison?
It’s our only leverage for negotiation!”
“Zhi, we’re two weak-ass monkeys.
The moment they find out we have the poison, we won’t be able to protect it from them anyway.
Wouldn’t it be better to curry some goodwill by giving it, then ask for a few small favors?
Like shelter and access to their chi-gathering formations for cultivation?”
He sighed and sat next to me.
“Maybe there’s something to that.
But we shouldn’t send the whole bottle.
We’ll send a small bottle as a sample and receive an invitation to meet with the matriarch.
Then we’ll present the bottle as a gift and ask for a few small favors.
We can also discuss allying with them, against Xaoge.”
That sounded like a plan.
We put it to action right away, buying what was needed to send a small sample of the poison, and sending it by courier, giving them a message that we wished to meet with the matriarch and gift the rest in person.
The next day, we received the invitation.