Chapter 19: A Group of Two-Tael Silver

Two consecutive ape cries echoed over the mountains and rivers.

It turned out that the clear ape cries heard before were actually made by these fierce and hateful things?

Lin Jue had no time to think about this, because that highest and strongest ape had already run toward him, and the apes behind, seeing this, also hurriedly dropped the book satchel and followed.

What do these things want to do?

Lin Jue opened his eyes wide, but didn't want to retreat, so he gripped his dagger tightly and took a deep breath.

"Hiss..."

Although it was midsummer, the scorching air was still sucked into his mouth, turning cool, and reaching his abdomen, it stirred the fire breath hidden in his body, immediately becoming scorching hot.

His mouth bulged, and he sprayed out a breath of air!

"Boom..."

A ball of flame dispersed and sprayed forward!

"Ah!"

The apes were immediately frightened and screamed, the sound extremely ear-piercing.

At the same time, these apes not only stopped their steps but also retreated a distance, looking at Lin Jue vigilantly.

Both sides temporarily confronted each other, observing each other.

Lin Jue knew that these apes were definitely not common apes; their height was not much different from his own, and it was imaginable that they were likely stronger than ordinary people.

Lin Jue could only use fire to temporarily force them back, hoping that they were like ordinary wild beasts and feared fire.

Now it seemed that this idea was correct.

These apes really didn't dare to come forward again.

Some even chose to retreat and continue searching for things in Lin Jue's book satchel.

However, Lin Jue soon discovered that although these apes feared fire, they were very smart—

They would throw stones at people!

*Pipa... *

Fortunately, both sides kept a distance, and with Lin Jue's full concentration, relying on retreating and agility, he wasn't hit.

Until he was forced back a considerable distance, away from the book satchel, these apes stopped driving Lin Jue away, but still looked at him.

Lin Jue was angry and gritted his teeth, but couldn't think of a way for the time being, only watching these apes eat his dry rations, turn over his book satchel, and look at him with tiger-like eyes, confronting him.

The small knife in his hand tightened again and again.

Just at this moment, he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind him.

The apes in front also lifted their heads, looking past Lin Jue to behind him.

*Ta ta ta... *

The sound of horse hooves approached rapidly.

Just as Lin Jue was thinking whether to turn his head to look, and if he turned his head, would he be suddenly attacked by these apes, he heard a slight sound of breaking air.

"Swish!"

Then there was a *poof* sound.

An ape in front was immediately hit by an arrow and fell backward.

The monkey group was immediately in chaos.

"Swish!"

Another arrow, but it didn't hit.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves also arrived behind Lin Jue and stopped hurriedly.

Lin Jue was no longer worried about whether these apes would sneak attack him when he turned his head; he hurriedly turned his head, only to see a man in cloth clothes behind him, looking quite young, riding a tall horse, with a long spear with a cloth head hanging on the horse, a long sword at his waist, and a bow and arrow in his hand.

At this moment, one lifted his head, and one lowered his head.

"What a scholar, daring to walk this road alone? And daring to confront these strange monkeys!"

"What kind of monkeys are these? Why are they so big?"

"You don't know?"

"I don't know..."

"No wonder you are so brave!" The man said, "Didn't you see that everyone else is staying in the village behind and traveling in groups?"

"I didn't see..."

"You really don't know!"

The man riding the horse was somewhat surprised, and then said to him: "These strange monkeys were originally in the mountains, but started coming near the mountain road last year, doing evil and committing all kinds of crimes. Lone men who encounter them will be torn and beaten by them, and then their dry rations and livestock will be snatched. If there are women in the team, they will be snatched away by them to play and torture. Only martial arts experts and groups of men dare to pass through here."

While speaking, those strange monkeys actually gathered in groups like humans, not only checking the injuries of the wounded but also feeling very angry, constantly roaring.

It was just that they were also smart, not coming closer, but continuing to look behind the two.

There were constant roars, as if they were communicating.

Lin Jue also couldn't help but turn his head to look again.

Behind him, a group of people walked over, about twenty or thirty, all men, leading mules, horses, and donkeys, looking mostly like merchant travelers.

These strange monkeys were wary of them.

"You are lucky today to have met me." The man sitting on the horse said, "Wait for the people behind to walk over, and you can follow them and leave."

"Them? What about you?"

"Me? Haha!"

The man actually laughed, quite with the spirit of the wandering martial artists: "The county official of Danxun County issued a reward, two taels of silver for each of these strange monkeys' heads. It just so happens that the travel money is not enough after walking all the way... These strange monkeys, although fierce and vengeful, with a strong desire for revenge, are also cunning and cautious. With so many of you, they will only run. Only after you leave will they send the monkey heads to me."

"You alone?"

Lin Jue looked at him and was stunned for a moment.

These strange monkeys as tall as humans are not something a normal person can deal with, even with bows, arrows, knives, and guns. However, when Lin Jue was in Shu Village, he often heard village elders tell stories of chivalry outside strange stories. There were often martial arts experts with high martial arts, vigorous blood and courage, and a set of skills, who could even chop ghosts and gods with knives and cut demons and monsters with swords.

Could it be that the one he saw today was one of them?

"Go pick up your luggage!"

The man didn't answer, just urged the horse forward.

The twenty or so merchant travelers behind also walked over, often holding knives and sticks, and seeing the strange monkeys, they were a bit afraid and discussed, but followed the man's horse forward.

With many people and great momentum, even if unintentional, the momentum was fierce.

Thus, the crowd walked for a stretch, and the monkey group retreated for a stretch, until they left the government road and stared at them from a tree in the distance.

Lin Jue hurriedly came to the book satchel.

Hurriedly picked up things and checked the damage.

Beside him were the voices of merchant travelers:

"Hero, you can't deal with these strange monkeys alone! Besides being tall and big, I heard their leader can spray clouds and mist, making horses stop! The county yamen came several times and couldn't do anything to them. You'd better not take risks here for this little reward. Otherwise, wait until next time and call a few friends to come together!"

"What magic can strange monkeys have? Can clouds and mist block knives and guns?" The man on the horse didn't listen, and even boasted, "Have you never heard the story of the great general of the previous dynasty beheading the yaksha at night?"

That was the story of the great general of the previous dynasty before he joined the army.

Legend has it that his concubine died, and the corpse was placed in the mourning hall. At midnight, a yaksha came to eat it. At that time, the great general hadn't made a name for himself in the world, and he was naturally a bit afraid in his heart, but he couldn't bear to see his beloved concubine's corpse being eaten, so he still gathered his courage and brought out

The group found it difficult to say more, so they had no choice but to leave together.

Lin Jue, meanwhile, continued to check his luggage.

Besides the dry rations being eaten clean, the canopy on top of his book basket had been torn, the water canteen had been trampled, and one of the books had been thrown about by these strange monkeys, damaging several pages.

The dry rations were nothing; he could just buy more, or at worst, go hungry for the rest of the journey, but the other things were different.

The book basket was a gift from Old Master Wang of Heng Village. Regardless of how much of a friendship he had with Old Master Wang, since it was a gift, it represented sentiment; it was, in any case, more precious than buying a new one on the street. As for the other books, although he carried them mainly to cover the ancient book, not a single one was bought by Lin Jue himself; they were all gifts from people in the village who saw he was pitiful and admired his love for learning.

This water canteen was made by his uncle, who had personally gone up the mountain to cut the bamboo.

These things! Truly detestable!

Lin Jue was furious, almost gritting his teeth.

How could he easily swallow this anger?

Someone who could act fiercely enough to scare off a yaoguai, someone who could calmly converse with a soldier-ghost—how could he be afraid of a group of slightly sturdier beasts? If he left now when faced with these animals, how would he deal with yaoguai and ghosts on his future path of seeking immortality, and how could he ensure his momentum would not diminish?

Lin Jue calmly packed his book basket, raised his head, and glanced over. Some of the merchants beside him had already moved forward, but others, seeing him still packing, stopped to wait for him.

But what he was looking at was the weapon in the hands of a sturdy man.

"Sir! Lend me a blade!"

"Hm?"

"I, too, shall emulate the great generals of the previous dynasty!"

"You..."

A pu dao was thrown over, landing at his feet.

"How shall I return it?"

"At the tea shop by the North City Gate in Danxun City."

"My thanks, brother!"

Lin Jue picked up the pu dao, then turned his head and said through gritted teeth to the martial artist beside him: "I shall lend you a hand. Cut off the monkey heads, and you can have all the reward money!"

"What a scholar!"

The man agreed readily, his eyes shining:

"My name is Luo Seng!"

"Lin Jue."

"This place is no good; let's change positions."

"As you wish!"

After exchanging these few words, they walked into the distance.

Those strange monkeys were still watching them from the trees, their eyes full of anger and hatred. Seeing them leave, they followed one after another.

Luo Seng chose a corner where a river and a stream met and walked into it. The monkey troop chased them and blocked them in the corner. Both sides occasionally turned their heads to glance at the merchants and travelers who were gradually moving away.

Finally, the strange monkeys in front became restless.

A series of wooing and aahing roars erupted.

These strange monkeys could no longer restrain themselves.

The martial artist surnamed Luo, however, was unhurried, nocking an arrow to his bow.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow shot out, piercing into the monkey troop.

"Thud!"

A dull sound came as it hit a tree trunk behind them.

This action completely enraged the monkey troop.

"Woo! Ah!"

The strongest leader among the strange monkeys turned to look at the arrow on the tree trunk, immediately stood up, spread its arms to intimidate them, and shook the branches beside it as if summoning its subordinates, which immediately drew a chorus of responses.

The roaring by the river continued, carrying very far.

Immediately, the forest and grass swayed.

This group of strange monkeys rushed over.

Lin Jue had never experienced such a fight before; he had already hunched his back, fully focused, staring tightly at the strange monkeys in front while gripping the wooden handle of the pu dao in his hand.

The martial artist surnamed Luo beside him was calm and composed. He lowered his hand to first grasp the long spear on his horse, but after a moment's thought, he let go, drew his side blade instead, and without haste, dismounted and took the initiative to walk toward the monkey troop.

One side climbed and sprinted, the other walked with steady steps.

The two sides collided in an instant.

Lin Jue could hear the sound of blades whistling through the air. The sun was high, and the intense sunlight was often reflected by the long blades, casting shadows in the dark forest or drifting past his eyes, but he never looked, nor did he blink even once. Before him were only the two strange monkeys rushing toward him.

Both strange monkeys were as tall as a man, with long arms, one behind the other, their momentum fierce.

Lin Jue did not dare to relax at all.

This was because although the pu dao was longer than a standard blade and counted as a long-handled weapon, the attack range of the blade at the very front was quite limited. To put it plainly, it was just a firewood chopper attached to a long pole; he had to control the distance.

Otherwise, the pu dao would just become a stick.

His nervousness did not affect his thinking.

In an instant, the leading strange monkey had already arrived before him, but it slowed down slightly, cautiously eyeing the pu dao in his hand while tentatively waving its arms as it approached.

The strange monkey behind it, however, had even greater momentum.

Lin Jue's mind shifted, and he swung the pu dao with both hands.

He felt that the firewood chopper at the tip of the pu dao was very heavy; with the head heavy and the shaft light, the momentum of the swing naturally became greater, and the force was also very heavy.

"Woo!!"

The chopper sliced through the air, leaving a flash of light.

The strange monkey in front was indeed prepared and quickly rolled away to dodge, while the monkey behind it took the opportunity to accelerate, baring its fangs and screaming as it rushed toward Lin Jue, clutching a sharp stone in its hand.

This pu dao was very long and the blade head very heavy; while it was powerful when swung, once it was swung and missed, the strength and distance required to swing it back were much greater—perhaps because they had fought with humans often, these creatures were smarter than Lin Jue had imagined and understood humans better.

However, they did not know that Lin Jue was also prepared.

Although the pu dao had swung past, Lin Jue's face remained turned in that direction, his lungs already filled with a breath of air, causing his cheeks to bulge.

"Puff—Boom..."

A breath of fire erupted, a burst of flames exploding like a trick at a temple fair, instantly halting the strange monkey's offensive.

At the same time, the flames obscured both sides' vision.

Lin Jue did not care about that; he had only a heart full of anger, gripped the pu dao tightly, and with all his strength, swung it fiercely.

"Woo!!"

The pole whistled, the blade bloomed with cold light, and the chopper swept horizontally through the flames, with even the blade edge trailing fire.

"Puff!"

Fresh blood sprayed, and the monkey's head fell at an angle.