Chapter 433

The knife in my hand felt as heavy as a thousand jin; just as it was about to touch Xiao Changsheng's leaf, my hand went limp and dropped.

In the end, I just couldn't bring myself to do it…

"Xiao Changsheng, why, why didn't you tell uncle earlier that you are Huangjing! Now that things have come to this, how could uncle possibly bring himself to harm you? Really hurting you, how could uncle's conscience ever be at peace|"

I lowered my head in dejection, trying to hold back my tears, but I found my tears flowing like endless water—no matter how I covered them, they kept spilling out like a relentless tide from between my fingers,

As it turns out, there really is such a thing as fate in this world. Although we had only spent half a day together, our feelings felt as if we had known each other for half a century. Although we were complete strangers, we felt a bond as close as father and son.

"That brat, daring to covet grandfather's treasure… come and get it!"

As I shed tears, torn inside, a long whistle suddenly came from nearby, startling the leaves to flutter down.

The voice was hoarse yet full of vigor; in my stunned moment, a black shadow swiftly leapt from the tree.

That voice… how familiar! In that instant I finally remembered where I had heard such a sound before.

Right, on Zhou Bin's body, the so-called Great Sage Monkey's tone of voice was exactly like that…

Just as I figured it out, the owner of the voice, after a few climbs, had clearly stopped on a parasol tree not far ahead of me.

The voice's owner was indeed a monkey, no mistake—an aberrant monkey at that, its whole body covered in red fur, its arms as long as a long-armed ape's, actually capable of human speech, perched in the tree and glaring at me angrily.

"How could it be you, you brat!" the monkey exclaimed after halting on the tree, staring at me, unable to help but freeze.

This only confirmed my suspicion that it was the Great Sage Monkey Zhou Bin had summoned that day; he had previously blown up his own home, originating from Xiao Tan Shan. I never expected to run into him at this critical moment.

"Well done, you brat—old scores unsettled, Grandpa hasn't settled accounts with you yet, and now you dare come personally to Xiao Tan Shan, even dreaming of stealing Grandpa's treasure, you brat, you're truly bold." The red monkey on the tree angrily squinted and wriggled, scratching its ears and cheeks.

This is the monkey's nature—its behavior and demeanor are just like that; if one were to look for a hyperactive patient in the animal kingdom, the monkey would rank second, with no one daring to claim first.

But the monkey before me is far from ordinary zoo monkeys; it has cultivated a Spiritual Aperture, no different from a wild immortal. The depth of its mana cannot be judged by appearance. Moreover, its aim is clearly to go after Xiao Changsheng.

Normally, if my mana were still present, I could match him in strength. But now my mana has vanished, relying only on a seal, I simply cannot stand against him.

Thinking of this, I took a deep breath, and in my desperation devised a plan involuntarily.

"Haha, you old monkey demon, I've finally found you!" I suddenly burst into laughter, and in the moment he was stunned, my tone turned cold abruptly as I pointed at him and shouted: "Do you still remember the disciple you possessed? Let me tell you, after you left, he became a lunatic. You old monkey demon, heaven pities your hard cultivation and gave you a chance at life, yet you fail to cherish it, instead committing evil. I, young master, tell you that today I have come with my brother, my master, and my brother's master to seek you on this mountain."

To bolster my resolve and make this old monkey wary, I flipped my hand and produced the seal, forming a seal finger as if for show. Pointing at him, I again coldly shouted: "I tell you, I have already notified my brother and two masters. They will arrive here shortly; you old monkey demon must either surrender obediently or be blown apart by us—my brother's methods you know, and I guarantee that my two masters' abilities far surpass his… they will certainly not toy with you to death!"

As I finished speaking, I gave him a hehe cold smile, revealing a cruel grin.

In fact, the palm of my hand behind my back was already drenched in cold sweat. This move of mine was actually meant to scare him off by feigning strength.

By now, how could I not know this monkey's origin? Wherever a spiritual object is born, there must be a strange beast guarding it. If anyone dares to covet that spiritual object, the guarding beast will immediately and mercilessly eliminate the intruder. However, these beasts are absolutely not the spiritual object's bodyguards.

Their purpose is merely to wait until the spiritual object matures, then pluck and consume it to boost their own cultivation. Before the spiritual object matures, they are its most loyal companions, driving away any intruders that harm it. But once the spiritual object matures, they instantly turn hostile, abandoning recognition, transforming from the most loyal partners into the most ruthless butchers.

Why did Xiao Changsheng discard his true form and flee? I didn't understand before, but seeing this old monkey made me somewhat comprehend. The congenital strange beast possesses an extraordinarily keen sense of smell for the spiritual object; no matter where it flees, the beast can locate its hiding place. The only solution is for the spirit to separate, abandoning the true form to flee.

However, even after discarding the true form, the spirit cannot run far; innate limitations prevent it from straying too far from its true form. After all, the so-called spirit survives by absorbing the essence of sun and moon through the true form.

I think Xiao Changsheng likely intended to use a feint to lure the monkey away. Once the monkey is searching all over the mountain for him, he would seize the chance to return to his true form and undergo transformation on the night of the full moon.

However, meeting me turned into an unforeseen variable for Xiao Changsheng.

At this moment, I seem to have returned to the scene when I first encountered the Mountain Goblin last night; my mind holds only one thought: no matter what, I must protect Xiao Changsheng well, absolutely not letting him fall into the clutches of this old monkey ape.

After I specifically threatened this old monkey, it hesitated as well, especially when it heard my last words, seemingly recalling the terror of the Thirteen Needles of Ghost Gate, causing the red fur on its body to involuntarily tremble twice.

After struggling for a long while, this wild monkey first gritted its teeth, then a flash of extreme struggle appeared in its eyes. Although I was very nervous, I also had to admit that the monkey's expression was truly fucking rich, far richer than a human's, absolutely capable of being a temporary actor.

If a book on the monkey's self-cultivation were published, I reckon it would surely stir up a bloody storm in the publishing world, and major bookstores would undoubtedly experience another heaven‑shaking upheaval.

Seeing its clenched fist slowly loosen, I couldn't help but secretly sigh in relief, thinking it was finally going to give up.

Who would have thought, this old monkey actually sighed, very human, very heartbroken, saying: "Enough, enough, I originally planned to wait until it matured before picking it, but now it seems I, Grandfather Monkey, cannot wait for that moment. Enough, enough, since that's the case…"

The old monkey's words not only failed to relax my vigilance, but made my heart tighten sharply. From his tone, it seems he no longer wishes to wait for Xiao Changsheng to become a spirit; instead he prepares to seize and eat Xiao Changsheng right now. He would rather lose a mature spiritual herb than let anyone else have it cheap.

Next, the old monkey proved my words with action. It grabbed a vine, exerted force with its legs, leapt into the air, and shouted a fierce "Hai!" from its mouth. Its red eyes widened enormously as it flew fiercely toward Xiao Changsheng behind me.

I must not let it touch Xiao Changsheng! I gritted my teeth hard, leapt up, and hurled the Huaguang Seal in my hand at it. I only hoped that, relying on the seal's mana, I could knock this old monkey down.

Yet what I never imagined was that this old monkey's agility was astonishing. While lunging into mid‑air, it actually managed to grab a vine, forcibly turn its direction, and wobble backward.

After dodging the glowing seal, its two furry thighs slammed against the tree behind it, instantly unleashing power and lunging again toward Xiao Changsheng.

"It's over…" the old monkey's speed was extreme; in less than a blink, it had already flown airborne above my head, its ferocious claws reaching toward Xiao Changsheng. As I lifted my head, I could clearly see the ferocious expression on its face.

My heart felt as if plunged into an ice cellar, utterly icy.