Chapter Seven Fire Boy

  Gan Ping was only nine years old, still with a childlike heart. Seeing the lovely monkey so spirited, he couldn't help but laugh happily too. Just then, the monkey jumped up and suddenly fell from the branch, Gan Ping hastily stretched out his hand to catch it, but unexpectedly the monkey took advantage of the momentum and dove into Gan Ping's arms. Gan Ping quickly hugged it tightly and held it in his bosom, examining it carefully.

  It's strange to say, this monkey was running and jumping on the tree, very lively, but once it fell into Gan Ping's arms, it became honest and didn't move at all, only staring at Gan Ping's face with a pair of black shiny eyes.

  Seeing its pitiful appearance, Gan Ping couldn't help but stretch out his hand and poke the monkey's upturned nose, laughing and scolding: "Little rascal." The monkey immediately grasped Gan Ping's fingers tightly, shaking them vigorously, causing Gan Ping to laugh uncontrollably, feeling carefree, and clearing away the gloom of many days.

  If there were a monk skilled in identifying spiritual beasts, he would certainly call out the name of this red-haired monkey, Mihuo. In the world, there are spiritual beasts and demonic beasts. Demonic beasts refer to the ferocious and evil beasts that gather in the mountains and forests, harming people and taking lives. Spiritual beasts, on the other hand, have gentle temperaments and never actively harm humans.

  This Mihou is one of them, with the bloodline of the ancient divine beast Dalishen Ape, although its body is small, it has infinite strength, and it is naturally good at using fire attribute spiritual energy, and it is naturally resistant to fire attribute people or objects. However, it is extremely rare, and there was once a cultivator who captured one to guard the alchemy furnace, but it's unknown why one appeared here and found Xiao Ganping.

  After playing with the unknown monkey for a while, Gan Ping reluctantly put it down on the ground. "Little monkey, hurry back home, I'm leaving." Although he liked this monkey very much, the sky had already darkened and if this little monkey didn't quickly return to its troop, who knows what danger might befall it. Even though he was a bit reluctant, kind-hearted Gan Ping still decided to let it go.

  That mischievous little monkey sat on the ground, a pair of shiny black eyes staring at Gan Ping, scratching his head again, as if he didn't understand what Gan Ping meant, but then let out a sharp cry and plunged into Gan Ping's arms once more.

  After numerous attempts, Gan Ping found that the mischievous monkey had climbed onto his back and refused to get off. Having no other choice, he let it jump around on his shoulders as he turned around and continued walking in the direction they were heading.

  Originally, Gan Ping thought that if they kept a distance from the forest, the monkey would get impatient and leave. However, after walking for a long time until nightfall, the monkey on his shoulder still didn't show any intention of turning back. This made him wonder in his heart, could this be a stray monkey? Or perhaps it was also lost like himself?

  He didn't know that the Fire Monkey was born to be wild and free, with no fixed abode, going wherever it pleased. Suddenly, it ran into Xiao Ganping's body of fire spirit, and there was no way it could bear to leave.

  The weather is gradually turning cold, and it has been more than 20 days since I set out in this mountain forest. Along the way, Gan Ping also encountered many wild beasts, but there was no sign of human presence.

  After a whistle, a fluffy monkey head appeared on the tree in front, and then a whole body of less than half a foot of bright red monkey danced out, with two wild fruits in its paws. The monkey casually threw one to Gan Ping, and then squatted on the tree, eating with relish.

  Gan Ping took the wild fruit, wiped it casually with his hand, and started eating it in big mouthfuls. The weather was getting colder and colder, and the wild fruit was becoming scarcer and scarcer. If it weren't for the fire helping him find food, he might have gone hungry.

  Huǒ ér, is the name given by Gān Píng to that mischievous little monkey. It's strange to say, but this monkey was originally very lively and playful with Gān Píng, never stopping. One day, it found a small, bright red wild fruit from who-knows-where, and Gān Píng thought nothing of it, casually tossing it to Huǒ ér. After eating the fruit, the monkey suddenly became drowsy and fell asleep in Gān Píng's arms, sleeping soundly for many days.

  At first, Gān Píng thought something was wrong with Huǒ ér and flipped the sleeping monkey over several times to check, but eventually had to admit that it was just fast asleep. So he let it sleep in his arms, and the monkey only woke up two days later. What surprised Gān Píng was that after sleeping for many days, the monkey's originally dark red fur had become a brighter, more vibrant color, and its body had shrunk slightly. This made him worry secretly, wondering if Huǒ ér was ill.

  But when the mischievous monkey woke up, it jumped around energetically, putting Gān Píng's mind at ease.

  This little fire monkey didn't know what it had eaten, but after this good sleep, it was even more spirited and more human-like than before. Because every day it was by Gan Ping's side, it was nourished by the spiritual energy of his body, and it became even more dependent on Little Gan Ping.

  After eating the fruit, Huo Er was shouting loudly on the tree, dancing with joy, seemingly wanting to play with Gan Ping. Gan Ping helplessly said: "Huo Er, come down, let's hurry along." The monkey looked puzzled, staring at Gan Ping in confusion, not understanding why Gan Ping didn't want to play with him this time.

  "Fire, come down, it's time to go, can't play anymore," said Gan Ping to the monkey. The days of running around had made Little Gan Ping grow up quickly, with the two great masters' Yuanshen fragments and experience, after this journey of hardships, he was already showing his talents, his mind was no longer that of a nine-year-old child.

  He reached out to catch the fire that had jumped down, turned around and walked forward. The monkey was nestled in Gan Ping's arms, seemingly puzzled as to why its master looked so worried, and couldn't help but use its fluffy little paws to stroke Gan Ping's face.

  Gan Ping was tickled by it and rubbed the clownish nose that pointed to the sky, laughing: "You little rascal, you always make me take you with me wherever I go. If only we could move a bit faster."

  When Huo'er heard Gan Ping's words, he scratched his head, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his small monkey face. Gan Ping found it amusing and tapped his head, saying, "Could you really have a way?" As soon as the words fell, the little red monkey jumped out of his arms and rushed up to the branches, jumping back and forth, and disappeared in an instant.

  "Fire, fire!" Gan Ping cried out in a flurry. He gazed at the distant red shadow that was disappearing from view and couldn't help but let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead with a look of helplessness on his face. What is this monkey trying to do? Fine, I'll rest for now.

  He found a slightly flat tree root, leaned against the trunk with a slight slant, and gazed around blankly. This wild monkey should be back soon, and indeed not long after, Gan Ping heard the familiar chirping calls, which sounded extremely excited. He quickly stood up and looked in the direction of the calls.

  In the distance, a huge figure came running, and Gan Ping was startled. He hastily looked carefully. The one who flew over was actually a giant black leopard, with a body length of over 10 feet, and two dark blue eyes on its majestic head stared at him. Its agile body muscles were twisted and turned, and each jump had a distance of over 30 feet, rushing towards this side.

  All the way, Gan Ping also saw many ferocious beasts, but had never seen such a huge and ferocious black leopard before. He couldn't help but secretly cry out in alarm, unsure if he could defeat it. On this journey, Gan Ping had killed many ferocious wild beasts, ever since he discovered his own divine power. Whenever he encountered ferocious beasts that wanted to attack him, he would kick them away with one foot, but he had never seen such a gigantic black leopard before.

  Just as Gan Ping was making a desperate stance, wanting the leopard to let go and make a move, this huge beast suddenly stopped in front of him. "Squeak!" After hearing a familiar monkey cry, the black leopard actually lowered its body and lay down obediently on the ground. It wasn't until then that Gan Ping discovered the fire spirit crouching on top of the leopard's head, its fiery red fur standing out even more against the jet-black leopard's body. Earlier, due to tension, Gan Ping hadn't noticed it.

  Staring blankly at the flames that were triumphantly burning on top of the leopard's head, Gan Ping felt a strange sensation rising in his heart. It seemed that the fire had subdued this big guy, and it was clear that the fire was no ordinary monkey, but must have some extraordinary origin.

  The black leopard, which had been jumping around under its feet, was also extremely depressed. As the overlord of this area, it had cultivated for over a hundred years and was just one step away from advancing to a powerful demon beast. It was peacefully sleeping in its cave when suddenly, the guy on top burst in and brought it before this human. The black leopard didn't have any ability to resist, feeling the sharp monkey claws on its forehead, and had no doubt that they could crush its skull with one grab. It couldn't help but hang its head in despair and listen to its fate.

  Gan Ping circled the huge black leopard twice, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Fire Boy is really something, able to catch such a big leopard and make it obey him." He didn't know that this Mi Huo Huan was born with a spiritual beast, and had eaten that strange fruit a few days ago, absorbing the fire spirit's power while sleeping in Gan Ping's arms. When he woke up this time, he had already awakened some of the ancient inherited bloodline. The pressure from the ancient divine beast's bloodline was not something that this black leopard, which hadn't even reached the level of a low-ranking demon, could withstand.

  Gan Ping saw Huo Er repeatedly urging him to climb onto the leopard's body, and only then did he understand what the little monkey meant. It had caught this big guy to use it as a mount. He couldn't help but slap his forehead, wondering why he hadn't thought of that himself. The tigers and leopards they had encountered earlier were just given some bitter fruit, but with his divine power, subduing a tiger to ride was easy. Just as Gan Ping was regretting this, Huo Er suddenly chattered loudly, repeatedly urging Gan Ping to mount the leopard.

  Looking at the jumping fire, and then looking at the huge black leopard crouching on the ground, daring not to move, Gan Ping hurriedly scrambled onto the leopard's back. The fire pulled out a thin branch from somewhere behind him and whipped the leopard's large head, then grabbed the leopard's scalp with its small paws and let out a sharp cry, whereupon the leopard shot forward like an arrow off the string.

  Gan Ping was almost thrown off by the sudden acceleration of the leopard, and he let out a cry of alarm as he hastily grabbed onto the leopard's fur. A black shadow flashed through the forest, its speed nearly a hundred times faster than Gan Ping's, carrying with it Gan Ping's panicked shouts, the monkey's excited squeaks, and the leopard's pained growls, disappearing into the distance in an instant.