Chapter 72: The So-Called Ghost Infant Swallows a Large Bat

  After a cup of tea, Liu Yi and the others were very close to the crying voice. Except for Wang Daichuan, the rest of them had their hair standing on end. In the desolate mountains and wild ridges, the cold wind was howling, and the unknown object was wailing like a sad baby, which was really frightening. If you add a small segment of guqin music, it would be just like a chapter from "Liaozhai's Night Talks".

  A crowd of people skirted a patch of tall weeds, hiding behind several large trees to look in the direction of the sound. If they hadn't looked, they wouldn't have known; but once they did, they were startled.

  On a small empty ground, the moonlight spread down, and the scene in the field was clear. Dragon Great Master fell to the ground, unknown whether he was dead or alive. Beside him, a white-bodied, yellow-limbed, dog-like creature lay on its side, making inexplicable whimpering sounds from its mouth.

  In addition, there was a strange little monkey with a long tail, crouching beside the Dragon Great Master and that strange dog, gnawing on a pig-headed bat. As it took a bite, it let out a "wa, ah" cry, emitting a mournful wail like an infant. Not only that, but its face was also streaming with countless tears. This bizarre state of eating someone else's flesh while appearing sorrowful shocked Liu Yi and the others greatly.

  That little monkey was very small, as short as a "32K large book", with a shiny black body but a white head. Around it stood five pig-headed bats, their wings flapping violently, apparently in extreme anger, yet they didn't dare to approach, seemingly intimidated by the little monkey.

  Seeing such a strange situation, Zhou Bingbing couldn't help but let out a sharp cry, suddenly startling the little monkey who was eating with its head down. It looked up at Liu Yi and then continued to eat with its head down, the sound of crunching and smacking lips constantly ringing out. Anyone who heard it would break out in a cold sweat.

  Professor Zhou saw the monkey and was suddenly surprised and delighted, saying: "It's actually the legendary 'White-headed Filial Beast'."

  Everyone was puzzled, and Wang Dachuan also didn't know what this thing was, so he asked: "What is that thing?"

  Professor Zhou said slowly: "According to the ancient book 'Records of Strange Things from the South', Da Yu refined the nine tripods in Shu, and when the tripods were completed, nine guardian divine beasts appeared. It is said that these strange beasts all have great magical powers, can drive away evil spirits and demons, and have a white spot on their bodies as their characteristic, such as the White-Eyed Wisdom Beast, the White-Bodied Loyalty Beast, the White-Clawed Etiquette Beast, the White-Headed Filial Piety Beast, etc. Looking at that big dog with a white body on the ground, I estimate it is the legendary 'White-Bodied Loyalty Beast', and that 'White-Headed Filial Piety Beast' is probably this little white-headed monkey in front of me! But I don't know why they appeared here? Could it be that the 'Nine Tripods' that cannot be found in the world are actually inside the Tian Gong on Jiuding Mountain?"

  Wang Daichuan said on the side, "If it's really like that, these two strange little beasts should be guarding the sides of the Nine Cauldrons, how did they run out here? Could it be that a huge change has occurred inside the Heavenly Palace?"

  "It's highly likely!" Liu Yi nodded thoughtfully.

  Wang Dachuan looked at the two strange beasts in the arena and muttered to himself, "These divine beasts are indeed extremely bizarre. Why is that white-bodied beast like a dog? Is it because the phrase 'loyal as a dog' originated from this?"

  Professor Zhou Tao listened to this and stroked his beard, somewhat angry: "If Liu Yi had said this, I would have definitely scolded him. You're not young anymore, how can you be so superficial in understanding the problem?"

  Wang Dachuan not only didn't feel embarrassed, but laughed and said: "I'm an old man, that's just how I talk!"

  Professor Zhou said, "As soon as I mentioned the word 'loyalty', you immediately came up with this phrase. It's clear that the scene of shouting 'Long live!' in ancient costume dramas must have appeared in your mind, right? But let me tell you, you are greatly mistaken. What is meant by 'loyalty' is actually very simple: it means putting one's heart in the middle, being upright and honest, and being a person who has nothing to be ashamed of."

  Wang Dachuan was suddenly stunned, while Liu Yi and Zhou Bingbing smiled without speaking. Wang Dachuan unknowingly touched Professor Zhou Tao's sore spot. Whoever goes to criticize the words "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, integrity, loyalty, filial piety, shame, and bravery" will certainly argue with him for three days and three nights, refusing to give up!

  Only then did Professor Zhou Tao sigh and say slowly: "It's hard for a person to live a life without regret, but at least you should be able to ask your heart and have no guilt. How many people in modern times can do that? Most people don't even ask their hearts, where does the 'no guilt' come from? Look at the strange things on the internet, the clowns jumping around recklessly, corrupt officials and greedy desires filling the world, where is the peace and happiness?"

  Wang Dachuan's face lost its smile upon hearing this, but instead became calm and still as water, faintly interrupting him with: "I was wrong!"

  Professor Zhou nodded with a smile, wanting to say something else, when he heard the sound of gurgling coming from Lin Zi's mouth. These pig-headed bats making such strange noises was also a big wonder.

  Everyone looked towards the center, only to see that a few bats suddenly flapped their wings, glanced at each other, and swooped down from all four directions, east, south, west, and north, like lightning, attacking the little monkey.

  The bat was fast, but the little monkey was even faster. Everyone only felt a flash in front of their eyes, and this guy had instantly attacked four bats from different directions, and his strength was incredibly great, knocking those several bats that were dozens of times larger than him to the ground. Not only that, but those bats seemed to have been injured internally, twitching on the ground for half a day before getting up again, looking like they were afraid to attack again. This made Liu Yi and others reevaluate this so-called white-headed little monkey once more.

  That little monkey, seeing that the few bats did not dare to come and attack, proudly bared its teeth and called out twice. Then, as if showing off its might, it picked up the bat on the ground that had been gnawed down to only bones and wings, and threw it at one of the bats on the left.

  The bat saw the dead bat fly towards him, and suddenly flew up, grabbed it with one claw, shook his body, flapped his wings and flew into the air. The other bats followed suit, and it seemed that these bats were fighting with the monkey for the body of their companion.

  That little monkey saw the bat fly away, and its face turned sad again. It slowly walked to the big white dog that was lying on the ground wailing, and let out another mournful cry of "Waa, ahh...". Tears streamed down its face, showing a pitiful and lovable expression. If it weren't for its strange appearance, Zhou Bingbing really wanted to take this little guy home as a pet, spoil it, love it, and indulge it, even if others disliked it.

  Just then, the great monk Long Dawu, who had fainted to one side, came to and opened his eyes. Seeing the strange little monkey in front of him, he was not afraid, but instead knelt down on the ground and started kowtowing, muttering: "Thank you, Monkey Head Ancestor, for coming down to save me!"

  It seems that this little monkey is the natural enemy of that pig-headed bat, and it must have rescued Dragon Great Master while attacking the big bat. Adding to that, they worship the Monkey Head Ancestor, so it's not surprising that they mistook this 'white-headed filial beast' for the Monkey Head Ancestor descending into the world.

  The little white-eyed monkey chirped twice and surprisingly stretched out its paws to help the Dragon Great Master get up. Liu Yi and others were shocked again, no longer afraid of the two strange animals in front of them, and all walked out from behind the trees.

  That little white-eyed monkey saw the crowd coming, but it wasn't afraid and didn't attack anyone. Instead, it sat down next to the big white dog, rubbed its eyes with both hands, and started wailing again, "Wa, ah, wa, ah", even more pitifully than before. The sorrow was overwhelming, and everyone's heart felt a deep sense of desolation. They almost wanted to take this little guy in their arms and comfort it.

  The crowd walked forward, and Professor Zhou Tao squatted down to look at the white dog on the ground: "It's injured! I'm afraid it was done by that group of foreign witches again. They've been harming living creatures all along the way. Fortunately, we're following them from behind, otherwise, who knows how many rare beasts would have died in their hands!"

  He shook his head and sighed, starting to examine the white dog's injuries. The little monkey saw Professor Zhou's kind and caring expression as he examined its companion, knowing that he had come to help, so it lay down on the ground, put one paw on the professor's leg, and chirped anxiously, seemingly urging the professor to hurry up and treat its companion!

  Professor Zhou touched its head and said with a smile: "Don't worry!"

  The little monkey seemed to have understood and took its paws away, no longer disturbing Professor Zhou Tao.

  The white big dog's body has knife wounds, and judging from the situation, it should have been injured by a foreign witch with a half-moon eared knife. Fortunately, there are no other symptoms of poisoning, otherwise, even if Professor Zhou Tao's medical skills are excellent, he would be helpless.

  After rescuing the big white dog, the little white monkey's eyes revealed a comfortable expression in its companion's gaze, and it stopped wailing. Suddenly, with an excited tearful eye, it let out two squeaks on the spot, then sprang into the air, swiftly darting from one tree to another, at a speed that was astonishingly fast, as if celebrating.

  This white-headed monkey, even when happy, has a face that is as sorrowful as a human's, like the painful expression of someone who has lost a loved one, and it is indeed worthy of being called a filial creature.

  Liu Yi watched from the side, greatly surprised to see this white-headed little monkey so happy, and he was truly happy for him. Suddenly, he imitated its excited cries and also let out two "squeaks".

  This cry immediately attracted the white-headed little monkey, who swooped over to his shoulder in an instant, crouched there with a tilted head sizing him up, then snorted out a mouthful of air, wrapped its tail around Liu Yi's neck in a circle, and sat leisurely on his shoulder.

  Liu Yi saw him like this, and was quite delighted. He stretched out his hand to touch its head. Wang Daichuan also curiously wanted to touch its head, but was scared away by the white-headed little monkey's bared teeth.

  The little white monkey didn't give Wang Dachuan any face, making him extremely depressed, muttering: "Monkey eyes look down on people...", and went to visit the big white dog that had already stood up, not mentioning it. The big white dog was comfortably enjoying Zhou Bingbing's caress, with a leisurely and self-satisfied expression, and no longer had its previous sickly appearance.

  Professor Zhou Tao burst out laughing on one side. At this time, Liu Yi asked the monkey, "Where did you come from?"

  That white-headed monkey seemed to understand Liu Yi's question, and it saw that he was in a hurry, chirping and pointing with his hand not far away!

  Long Dafashi saw this and shouted sharply: "I know what it's pointing at, it's the Black Dragon Pool ahead!"

  Liu Yi nodded and said, "Then let's set off!"

  The white-headed monkey on his body, as soon as he heard that they were setting off, suddenly came to life, jumped down with a whoosh, and then scurried onto the back of the big white dog, just like a general riding a tall horse, pointing his finger forward, domineeringly chirping twice, somewhat like a young scholar, full of vigor and spirit, indicating the direction.

  After the white-headed monkey's cry, Liu Yi and others saw that the big white dog was walking slowly towards the front.

  A monkey and a dog, looking like they're inseparable!

  A monkey and a dog, looking like they're inseparable!