Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Little Night Monkey

The path in the forest was overgrown with wild grass, and the two of them walked with difficulty, Lei Wuchen looked around, only to see that the surrounding trees were dense and overgrown with weeds, although it was noon, but the trees seemed very dim.

"That's not the way we walked when we came in the morning, was it?"

"Yes, this road is a shortcut back, and almost no one knows about it except for the people who go to the town to sell herbs," Ding Xiao replied.

"This is the same road that your father and father took back then?"

"No, this road has only been taken in recent years, because after that incident, many people in the village have bypassed that road", Ding Xiao's expression was cold, and then said: "You have an injury on your shoulder, besides, we have been walking for so long, first rest at the big stone in front, I have dry food with me"

Ding Xiao put the medicine basket on the side of the stone, bent down and took out the pot cake wrapped earlier, Lei Wuchen took the cake handed by Ding Xiao, and sat on the stone, the black and cyan stone did not see the sun all day long in this deep forest, it was a little cold and damp, but the two didn't care.

Lei Wuchen lowered his head and took a bite of the cake, although it was very dry, but it was very fragrant in his mouth.

"Come, drink saliva"

Lei Wuchen took the kettle, took a few sips, and then looked around, it was cold and silent, and he couldn't see any traces of animal activity, and couldn't help asking, "Do you usually walk from here alone?"

"I'm used to going alone, and people in the village rarely pass here, but I think it's the closest way home, so I usually walk like this, and nothing has happened in the past few years," Ding Xiao explained.

"Does your uncle usually sell herbs?"

Ding Xiao thought for a moment and replied: "It seems that since that incident, he has not picked herbs again, maybe because he is afraid, or because he wants to avenge his son, he will lead the people of the village to hunt and kill the night monkey beast in the mountains every night."

Lei Wuchen nodded, and then asked thoughtfully, "If you don't pick herbs, won't you have no source of income?"

"I don't know much about this, although they are all in the same village, but since I can remember, I haven't had much contact with their family, okay, let's keep walking"

Ding Xiao picked up the kettle and was about to put it in the medicine basket, when he suddenly hurriedly took a few steps back, quickly took out a scimitar from his waist, and stared at the medicine basket vigilantly.

Lei Wuchen was very surprised by his behavior, followed his gaze to the medicine basket, and saw a night monkey beast sitting in the medicine basket, holding a small sugar man in his hand, and kept licking it, Ding Xiao's actions obviously startled it, but this night monkey beast did not have the slightest fear, nor did he escape, still sitting in the medicine basket licking the little sugar man.

"Don't worry", Lei Wuchen grabbed Ding Xiao, who was about to swing a knife, and said. He slowly approached the medicine basket and looked at the strange beast that suddenly appeared, only to see that this night monkey beast was very small, with golden hair all over its body, which was very different from the night monkey beast he saw last night.

The little night monkey beast also looked up at Lei Wuchen, its small eyes were full of doubts, but after a while, it lowered its head and licked the sugar man in its hand, without the slightest fear of them.

"Have you ever seen a night monkey beast like this?", Lei Wuchen asked.

Ding Xiao was also surprised, this little night monkey beast was obviously different from what he saw on weekdays, and it had no intention of attacking them.

"No, it's just that the night monkey beasts are damned, you get out of the way"

Before the words fell, he heard a long roar suddenly from the forest, and then the chirp came from the forest like boiling water, Ding Xiao knew that this was the night monkey herd coming.

Hearing the chirping, the little night monkey beast jumped up from the medicine basket and jumped onto the branch next to it, and before they could react, five or six adult Chinese New Year's Eve monkey beasts had already appeared in front of them, surrounding them in the middle.

"You have injuries on your body, hide behind a tree first, and they will be handed over to me", Ding Xiao held the scimitar tightly in his hand, stared around vigilantly, and said.

Lei Wuchen didn't hide, he quickly glanced around, these night monkey beasts only move at night, and now they also come out during the day, obviously coming for the little night monkey beasts.

"Don't worry, it's okay", Lei Wuchen gestured to the knife in Ding Xiao's hand and said.

The night monkey beast led by the night monkey beast held the little night monkey beast in its arms, bared its fangs, and roared at them, and the rest of the night monkey beasts also kept jumping around them, ready to move.

"Oh ~ Woo woo"

Suddenly, there was a sudden cry behind them, and the night monkey beasts in front of them heard the sound, looked at each other, turned around and jumped into the depths of the forest, Lei Wuchen hurriedly looked behind him, although he saw that the branches were shaking up and down, but there was no trace of them.

After a long time, Ding Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and put the scimitar in his hand back on his waist, obviously the scene just now made him afraid.

"How do you know that they won't attack us?" Ding Xiao turned to look at Lei Wuchen in front of him with an indifferent expression, and asked puzzled.

"Guess", Lei Wuchen bent down to pick up a small sugar man that fell to the ground, and then said: "Night monkey beasts are generally active at night, but now they dare to come out during the day, which shows that this little night monkey beast is very important to them, and it is very dangerous for night monkey beasts to come out during the day, so those few just now should be the strongest of the night monkey beast group, even if they are in danger, they can get out"

"So you're going to let me put down my knives and make them less hostile to us?"

"Yes, since they came out during the day to find the little night monkey beast, when they find it, they must have no intention of fighting us, but this is just my guess, if they put down their knives and still attack, then we will have to sit and wait", Lei Wuchen explained.

"Anyway, you guessed it, let's go", Ding Xiao turned around and picked up the kettle that had fallen on the ground, picked up the medicine basket, and said.

Lei Wuchen looked at the crippled sugar man in his hand, smiled helplessly, and said: "People are fine, but this little sugar man is too big, and it is inevitable to let Qing'er talk about it when he goes back."

"It's okay, there's still one left in the medicine basket."

"Didn't you just let that little night monkey beast finish eating?", Lei Wuchen asked in disbelief.

"It should be the one it dropped on purpose, I don't know, it's in the medicine basket."

The path ahead became wider and wider, the woods were not so dense, and the sunlight sometimes shone on Ding Xiao's body, glowing with golden light. Lei Wuchen looked back at the road he had walked, although the distance was very far, he could still see the vague figure hidden among the branches and leaves, Lei Wuchen smiled slightly, turned his head and hurried towards Ding Xiao.

At sunset, the two of them walked out of the deep forest, on the road to the village, the two of them were completely relaxed, although the previous scene was thrilling, but they did not dare to guarantee that they would not be in trouble after dark, but now that they are almost home, there is nothing to fear.

Ding Xiao was silent all the way, and he was very impressed by today's incident, the innocent and fearless eyes of the little night monkey beast, as well as those night monkey beasts that he hated for so many years, can also understand human nature. "Will killing the Night Monkey Beast really solve the problem?", this was the first time in so many years that he had questioned himself, and he had been living in hatred for the Night Monkey Beast for as long as he could remember, and it was still the case until now.

Lei Wuchen looked at Ding Xiao with a solemn expression, and said, "In addition to killing, there may be a better solution."

"Maybe", Ding Xiao raised his head and sighed, "If it weren't for you, I might have fought with them to the end today, but the result might have been to die in their hands, thank you for saving me again"

"It's okay, I'm also self-protecting today", Lei Wuchen smiled indifferently.

Suddenly, a noise came from the village, and then a group of people walked out, Lei Wuchen looked fixedly, more than a dozen of them, all armed with long knives, sticks and hemp ropes, were walking towards the mountain.

Lei Wuchen thought in his heart, if he was not mistaken, these people were going to round up the night monkey beast, and the middle-aged man who led the way and was dressed in a black coarse cloth coat should be Ding Xiao's uncle Wu Changan.

"Don't look at it, they go up the mountain every day and will only come back in the morning during the day, let's hurry home"

Lei Wuchen was still staring at the group of people, and asked puzzledly, "Have you seen the night monkey beast they brought back?"

"Sometimes they bring back dead night monkeys, but some of them carry medicine baskets to pick herbs, because there are no good herbs near the village, and they usually cross the mountain and go there to hunt and kill or collect herbs."

Lei Wuchen nodded, his brows furrowed slightly, could it be that this Wu Changan hunted and killed the night monkey beast in the mountain every night, was it really just to avenge his son?