Chapter 4: The Mysterious Monkey Group (Part 2)

  "Squeak, squeak." The familiar cry rang out, and Hailong's body instinctively shifted to the side, turning behind a large tree. But unlike usual, today there was no expected fruit thrown over. Hailong found that his hand had conditionally reflexed to touch his waist, but today's cloth bag was empty.

  "Squeak, squeak." A gray-brown figure jumped in front of the sea dragon, a pair of red little eyes rolling around restlessly.

  The sea dragon crouched down, laughing and saying: "Little clever one, why didn't you throw fruit at me today? Is your injury healed?" As he spoke, he grabbed Little Clever's body and looked towards the wound from yesterday. The purple bamboo was indeed miraculous, for there wasn't even a hint of a scar on the injured area, and the grayish-brown monkey fur had all grown back.

  The little spirit winked, shook his head and then nodded, leaving the dragon confused. With a whoosh, the little spirit jumped onto the dragon's shoulder and then did a somersault, landing in front of him and waving at him.

  "What's up? Are you taking me to eat fruit? Alright! Anyway, I'm free, if there's good food, I'll bring some back for the masters. Those guys are lazy to death, every day they still need me to serve them." As he spoke, Hailong lightly stepped out and landed beside Xiaojingling.

  Xiao Jingling was startled by Hailong's speed and looked at him with surprise. Hailong said proudly, "Isn't it awesome? This is my new move that I just learned. If you still want to fight me, I'll definitely beat you until your butt hurts."

  The little guy flicked his tongue and made a face at Hailong, then unfolded his body and quickly jumped towards the depths of the fruit forest like a star ball.

  Although he had increased his speed by using his magical powers, the sea dragon was still no match for the quick-witted little creature that had occupied the advantageous position from the very beginning. No matter how hard the sea dragon tried to push his magical powers to their limits, he could not catch up with the gray-brown shadow. The quick-witted little creature seemed strange today, running for a while before stopping to wait for the sea dragon. As soon as it saw the sea dragon approaching, it would speed up and run ahead again. Unbeknownst to them, they had already passed through the orchard and entered the most primitive mountain forest behind the Cloudy Plateau.

  "Hey, little rascal, where are you taking me? I'm almost out of breath. This place is like a maze, I've forgotten the way we came, how can I get back?"

  The little machine was running happily, without any signs of fatigue. When it heard the dragon's words, it stopped in its tracks, pointing first at the front and then at itself, chirping non-stop.

  Hailong sighed helplessly and said, "Alright, alright, I'll risk my life to accompany you, but if you can't find me something good to eat, you'll have to carry me back."

  The little machine spirit made an angry face at Hailong and turned its head to continue running forward.

  After crossing two more hills, just when Hailong was about to give up, he heard a strange sound. It was the same high-pitched squeaking sound as before, rising and falling in a lively rhythm, accompanied by the rustling of leaves. Hailong immediately understood and laughed with a sigh: "Great, Little Smart, you really did it! You actually brought me to your monkey nest!"

  Hearing a similar cry, Xiao Jingling was extremely excited, and in the air, he continuously flipped over several times, shouting loudly.

  Following Xiao Jingling through a dozen or so dense big trees, Hailong came to a world of monkeys. Looking around, this was simply an ocean of monkeys, with all sorts of monkeys jumping up and down everywhere, whether in the trees or on the ground. Some were chasing each other, some were fighting, and most interestingly, some little monkeys were picking lice for big monkeys. In this carefree world, they played to their heart's content. In the center of this forest was a large boulder that jutted out, about ten meters high and covering an area of about one hundred square meters. In front of the boulder was a clear spring, flowing gently and gathering in a small pool not far from the giant rock. Although it was some distance away, Hailong could still clearly feel the icy coldness emitted by the spring water. He thought to himself that this Monkey Spring must be the source of life for these monkeys, no wonder they gathered here.

  The sudden arrival of the outsider made the monkeys alert, some large macaques, almost as tall as humans, quickly rushed to the sea dragon's side, baring their teeth and making a threatening gesture, clearly unwelcoming him. The other monkeys also gazed at him unfriendly. Seeing this, the sea dragon was frightened, not to mention the numerous monkeys here, even a single strong macaque would be too much for him to handle. Thinking of this, the sea dragon couldn't help but regret following Little Machine Spirit to this place.

  At this moment, the little monkey suddenly jumped up from the ground and landed on the sea dragon's shoulder. One of its paws was placed on the sea dragon's head to stabilize its body, while the other paw waved vigorously as it let out a loud screech.

  Those large macaques, after hearing Little Machine's 'monkey language', reduced their hostility and let out a few soft cries before retreating to a distance. However, their vigilance clearly hadn't changed; nearly all the monkeys stopped frolicking and fixed their gaze on this outsider, Hailong.

  The little spirit patted the dragon's head and pointed to the small lake that was as calm as a mirror, indicating for the dragon to go over.

  Taking a deep breath, Hailong calmed down the unease in his heart. Since he had already come here, he might as well listen to Xiaojingling. After all, he had saved it yesterday, so it wouldn't harm him, right? Thinking this way, Hailong slowly walked towards the direction of the water pool.

  The monkey troop, which had just calmed down, suddenly became agitated again as soon as they saw the sea dragon walking towards the water pool. The shrill cries shook the mountain forest with a rustling sound. "Squeak——" A sharp voice came from Xiao Jing's mouth, and its penetrating power was extremely strong, actually standing out from the loud cries of many monkeys. He seemed to be extremely angry.

  The big macaque that was about to pounce stopped in its tracks, and the other monkeys looked at Little Clever with a mixture of fear. However, they seemed reluctant to let the sea dragon approach the water pool.

  "What are you little guys doing? Let him come over since there's a guest." An aged voice rose from the direction of the water pool, the tone was gentle yet infectious. The monkeys hearing this voice were like deflated balloons, immediately retreating far away and clearing a wide path for Hailong.

  The little monkey cried out in delight and pointed at the pond again.

  Hai Long thought, how could there be someone in this group of monkeys? Could it be that we are the people from Lian Yun Sect? He cast his gaze towards the water pool. Astonishingly, he found that within a ten-meter radius around the water pool, not even one monkey was present. By the side of the water pool sat a person with their back to him, wearing a large cloak that completely covered their entire body, including their head.

  Without the monkeys' obstruction, the sea dragon quickly walked to the back of that strange man. The little machine jumped down from his shoulder and ran to the side of the strange man, making a "squeaky" sound, as if saying something.

  "Excuse me, senior. Is this your place? I came here unintentionally with Xiaojingling. Please don't mind." After all, this was someone else's territory, and those robust apes had the ability to threaten his life, so Hailong naturally became polite.

  The old voice sounded again, "Is 'Little Smart' a name you gave it?"

  Hailong nodded and said, "Yes! We've known each other for a long time, playing together every day. I think it's strange and clever, so I gave it this name. Senior, what is the relationship between you and these monkeys? Why do they listen to you like that?"

  A low laugh sounded, and the strange man said: "They are all my children, thank you for saving this little grandson's life yesterday."

  The dragon in his heart secretly laughed, if these monkeys were your children, wouldn't you be an old monkey? Although he thought so in his heart, he said on the surface: "Yesterday's matter was actually my fault, it was me who accidentally knocked it down from the tree and hurt it. Helping it recover is what should be done."

  The strange man suddenly chuckled, "Actually, you don't have to pretend in front of me. No matter what kind of person you are, just the fact that you're willing to use Wupin Purple Bamboo to treat my little grandson's injury proves that your nature is kind. This one point alone is enough. Being natural and carefree isn't a bad thing."

  "Hai Long's expression changed slightly as he said, 'You're also a cultivator? Being able to see through my thoughts proves that your cultivation is almost on the same level as my master's!'"

  The strange man hummed and said, "You're talking about Dao Ming that kid, right? Compared to me, what is he worth? However, speaking of which, I indeed count as a true cultivator, it's just that my methods are different from yours in the Lianyun Sect. Since my little grandson brought you here, I'll have to give you some benefits, as a thank you for giving him that five-petaled purple bamboo. What do you want? Just say it and I'll try my best to satisfy you. As a cultivator, there are many treasures that would suit you."

  After hearing the strange man's words, Hailong's heart moved, but he immediately dispelled the idea in his mind, shook his head and sighed lightly: "I saved Xiaojilingshen because he is my friend, I didn't think about getting anything in return. If I wanted your things, it would seem like I was taking advantage of Xiaojilingshen, I don't like this feeling."

  The strange man's body trembled slightly, and he could hear that Hailong's words came from the bottom of his heart, without any pretence. But he still couldn't help but ask: "Are you willing to consider a little monkey as a friend?"

  "Hmph, what's the big deal? As long as I like it, even snakes, insects, and rats can become friends. Everyone is a living being, who's to say who's superior or inferior? We all have our own abilities. For example, when running in the mountains, I'm far inferior to Xiao Jingling, but my brain is much smarter than hers, heh heh."

  Hearing what Hailong said, Xiaojingling snarled at him with discontent.

  The strange man let out a soft sigh and said, "Good, very good. Even among cultivators, it's rare to find someone who views life as equally as you do. In fact, neither I nor Dao Ming can truly understand what you're thinking. We're just using the 'Tongxin' technique from the Six Spirits of the Taoist school to see if you're lying or not. With your temperament, this thing should suit you best." A black light flew out from the strange man and slowly floated towards Hai Long.

  Hailong subconsciously stretched out his hand and took the object into his palm. The black light converged, and Hailong felt a weight in his hand, and when he looked closely, it was just a small iron rod about the length of his palm. But the weight was not light, heavier than the short axe he used to chop firewood, seemingly around twenty kilograms or so. "Senior, what is this? I said, I don't want anything."

  The strange man laughed and said, "I didn't say this was a reward for you! I gave it to you because I like you. Take it, and when your cultivation reaches a certain level in the future, you'll naturally be able to use it."

  Hailong gently fiddled with the small iron club and said, "Alright then, I'll take it. Although it looks ordinary, its weight is quite unusual. Senior, is this some kind of special ore?" It didn't feel like anything valuable, so Hailong casually put it into his own pocket.

  "The strange man said: 'You don't need to care what it is, when your cultivation is enough, you will naturally understand.'"

  Hai Long smiled secretly in his heart, but it was just a small iron rod, what's so mysterious about it, and he responded with an unimpressed tone.

  "Well, you can go now. Come back here with Xiao Jingling tomorrow morning. Remember to cultivate the Tian Xin Fa well, it's indeed a superior cultivation method."

  Hai Long nodded and said, "Then I'll be off." Xiao Jiling seemed very excited, jumping to Hai Long's side, pointing down the road they came from, and ran out first. Hai Long took a deep look at the strange person, but from start to finish, he never saw his true face. Suppressing the curiosity in his heart, he helplessly shook his head and turned to chase after Xiao Jiling.

  As soon as they left the area where the monkeys lived in groups, a strange voice sounded again beside Hailong's ear, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today."

  Hailong stopped in his tracks and shouted towards the direction of the monkey group: "I know. I won't tell others about what I saw with you. Thank you for giving me the iron stick."

  When Xiao Jingling sent Hailong back to Moyunping, it was just lunchtime. Everything was as usual, and there was nothing unusual about it. After lunch, Hailong returned to his room. He took out the small iron rod from his pocket and examined it carefully. The dark rod body didn't have any texture or pattern, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn't feel anything special about it.

  He casually tucked the iron rod back into his bosom, just as he was about to start today's Tian Xin cultivation. However, he suddenly heard a clear breaking sound coming from outside. A strange pressure made him feel suppressed in his heart. Hai Long's first reaction was that an outsider had arrived. Remembering the beautiful Ling Fei Zi who came last year, he suddenly felt a surge of heat in his chest and rushed out in three strides at once.