Chapter 93

Chapter 93

The Old Monkey King, wise as he was, had lived so deep in the mountains that he knew little of human affairs. This time he'd left Miemang Mountain mainly to hand off the cub to them—the fact that people were entering the mountain was just a heads-up for Rong Feng.

Ordinary beasts usually didn't think much of humans, because more often than not, a few days later, the humans would end up being eaten.

Miemang Mountain was vast—without Rong Feng's ability to bound over ridges and through forests, it was practically endless for a regular person on foot.

But ever since his troop had been trapped and captured by bandits, the Old Monkey King had become extra cautious. In his eyes, "humans" weren't to be messed with—especially in groups. A pack of them was a whole different kind of danger than a lone wanderer.

A lone wanderer was either lost or out looking to die. But a group of people carefully picking their way into the mountain definitely had an agenda.

Rong Feng and Bian Hong didn't head into the mountain right away. Instead, they went back to the crime scene at Sun Family Shack. The rain had washed away almost every trace of the crime, and the bodies had been examined and buried, but the signs of a struggle inside the house were still there.

Bian Hong did a careful sweep of the place while Rong Feng stood silent on the highest point of Sun Family Shack, looking down to take in the whole layout.

Finally, taking in the distance and the lay of the land between this little village and Miemang Mountain, he finally understood why these villagers had died.

Because to get into the mountain, you needed a guide.

Miemang Mountain was dangerous—even gold prospectors who didn't know the area needed locals to show them the way. Sun Family Shack wasn't as close to Miemang Mountain as their own place, but going in from here meant more rocks and fewer trees, which made it safer.

Bian Hong walked over and looked up at Rong Feng, who was standing on the stone platform. "They didn't force their way in—the owners invited them in for drinks."

The door bolt showed no signs of being forced. Inside, cups and dishes were scattered everywhere, and you could still see the remains of a lavish feast rotting on the floor. Even the pot on the stove still had moldy stew in it.

Rong Feng bent his knees and jumped down from the platform. He already had a clear picture: the killers were a gang of gold prospectors. They'd had the Sun family lead them into the mountain, then wiped out the whole village to keep their tracks covered. Cold-blooded and ruthless.

If the Old Monkey King hadn't brought out that blood-stained gold-digging shovel, who knows how long it would've taken Rong Feng to figure out who these people were.

When they'd found those three custom-made shovel heads on the back slope earlier, the signs had already been there—probably a gold-digging gang working the area, hunting for gold in the mountain. But because of their senseless cruelty toward the mountain's animals, they'd run into the Little Mountain Lord who was staying there at the time—and in the end, even their bodies were gone.

He should've gone to patrol the mountain back then, but the floods had hit, rivers bursting their banks, and that gave these bastards a window to slip through.

For this group to have quietly wiped out Sun Family Shack—with all the able-bodied men at home—they had to be plenty in number and skilled to boot.

Rong Feng looked at Bian Hong, who was gazing up at him, and thought: he wasn't the same man with nothing to lose and a life to throw away anymore. You could say he had a family to take care of now.

Just then, the baby monkey poked its head out of the front of Bian Hong's clothes, tilted its head to study Rong Feng, then reached up a furry little paw and gently brushed it against Bian Hong's chin.

Rong Feng's murderous aura slowly faded. He reached out and touched Bian Hong's face, then tucked the monkey's paw back into Bian Hong's clothes, silently telling himself: be careful.

The two went home to get ready. If they were heading into the mountain, likely to fight, they couldn't stop to cook along the way. They'd have to pack plenty of dry rations to stay hidden.

The kitchen stove burned all night without stopping. Rong Feng chopped wood in the yard with a steady thud-thud-thud while Bian Hong quickly fried flatbreads, steamed buns, and prepped dried meat.

By morning, as the sky started to lighten, the sound of hooves came clomping up outside. The little bear shoved through the door with his bulky body, drool hanging in long strings from his mouth, his little black bean eyes gleaming.

He'd caught the smell of the bread and buns from the mountain trail, so he'd sprinted home with everything he had, four paws flying—leaving even Silver Frost in the dust.

So by the time the little bear was leaning against Bian Hong's leg, scarfing down a bun with loud smacking noises, Silver Frost was just now calmly walking up to the door with the two kids.

The horse's back was still pretty high. Usually Yuan Ding would jump down first and wait below to catch Guan Bao, but today, seeing his big brother stacking firewood in the yard, Yuan Ding wasn't in any rush to get off. Instead, he sat there steady and reached out to tug on Silver Frost, who also wanted to head inside, stopping her right next to his big brother.

Rong Feng naturally reached out, one arm for each kid, and lifted them both off the horse. He didn't put them down—just carried them straight inside.

Yuan Ding and Guan Bao sprawled across their big brother's broad, solid shoulders, grinning ear to ear.

These past few days, school had been let out because of the flooding, and on top of that, Cousin Min's wedding had rolled around. Yuan Ding and Guan Bao had been having the time of their lives—Nanzhang Wazi was packed with people coming and going. The two kids, who used to be super wary of strangers and barely smiled or talked, had gotten to the point where they were happily helping Daya roll the bridal bed and had even made a few new friends.

In their minds, Big Brother and Brother Xi were often gone, but they'd always come back in a few days with tasty treats.

The two kids, still on Rong Feng's shoulders, took the flatbreads Bian Hong handed over. Fresh off the griddle, the bread smelled amazing, with a lightly toasted brown surface glistening with oil. It was a little hot to hold, but that didn't matter—you had to bite in while it was steaming for the crust to be crispy. Once it cooled, it'd go soft.

They were pretty expert eaters by now.

But even these two "expert eaters" were pleasantly shocked at their first bite—it was sugar bread!

Yuan Ding quickly turned and stuffed the sugar bread he'd already bitten into Rong Feng's mouth. "Big Brother, try it! Brother Xi added sugar!"

Rong Feng took a bite. It was a little hot, but damn, it was good.

Then the two kids climbed down from Rong Feng's arms to bring some bread to Brother Xi. Bian Hong lifted the bamboo basket by the stove, revealing a neat stack of flatbreads inside.

"Take your time—there's plenty more."

The richness of their life filled everyone in that little kitchen with peace and joy.

Silver Frost poked her head through the kitchen window too. She'd also smelled the bread on the mountain trail, but with kids on her back, she'd kept her composure.

Bian Hong tore off two pieces of bread that had cooled down and stuffed them into Silver Frost's mouth, then scooped a piping hot one out of the pot and tossed it to Rong Feng.

And for a moment, the whole family just sat there quietly eating bread.

But then Guan Bao suddenly let out an "Ah!"—the rabbit-ear hat on his head, meant to keep off the morning dew, gave a little jolt. Yuan Ding followed where his little brother was pointing and saw a tiny, pale golden creature peeking half its head out from the doorway of the inner room.

"A... a little kid?"

From just half a face, the monkey had a bit more fur than a kid's head, and it was colored, so Yuan Ding mistook it for a moment.

Bian Hong went over and scooped up the little thing. "This is a baby monkey. From now on, it's part of our family. It's pretty small, so you two need to help Brother Xi take care of it."

The little golden monkey was absolutely adorable—tiny as could be, with two big watery eyes taking up almost half its little face, and fluffy fur all over. Since it had been separated from its troop, it instinctively loved clinging to people's chests.

So Yuan Ding and Guan Bao agreed right away, almost swearing on the heavens. How was this any different from getting a little brother!

But by the next day, Yuan Ding realized there actually was a difference.

Big Brother and Brother Xi were in a hurry to get into the mountain. After getting their rations ready, they took off in a rush, telling the boys before they left that if they didn't want to eat the dry provisions, they could just stay overnight at Uncle Min's place after school.

The little monkey brother was also left in Yuan Ding's care. The little thing still needed milk, so Yuan Ding had to go to a house in Nanzhang Wazi before school to pick up a small bowl of breast milk. The family had just had a baby girl who didn't eat much, and Bian Hong had gone all out—bringing fine medicine and meat to the house to help the young wife produce milk.

When Bian Hong had dropped off the gifts, he'd happened to catch the woman nursing her baby. Seeing that through the open door, he immediately turned and left, totally embarrassed.

The young wife was puzzled—she was just feeding her baby, why did Min Xi run off like that? What was there to be embarrassed about? She was a married woman, and it wasn't like he couldn't have kids himself.

In the end, the family happily agreed to let Bian Hong take the leftover milk every day. After all, at a time when they were worried about not having enough meat to help with milk production, Bian Hong's contribution was a godsend.

That way, not only did the mother recover well and the baby grow plump, but even the little monkey got the luxury of drinking colostrum.

For now, the daily trip fell to Yuan Ding. Yuan Ding was the loyal, dependable type—when he agreed to something, he saw it through. He handled himself with tact and good manners, winning the young wife over so completely that she nearly tried to arrange a betrothal between her newborn daughter and him.

Yuan Ding looked at the baby, who could barely open her eyes, and shook his head over and over. Then he thought for a second and came up with an extremely reasonable, impossible-to-argue-with excuse.

"Niece-in-law, don't blame your little uncle for saying no—this child is my great-granddaughter. We're several generations apart."

The family was struck speechless, then burst out laughing, quickly apologizing to Yuan Ding. "Right, right! Little uncle, that was wrong of me to think. Hahaha!"

Yuan Ding was satisfied. Seemed his big brother's high standing in the village was a good thing—he and Guan Bao got to enjoy the perks too.

With no one else at home, Yuan Ding and Guan Bao brought the little monkey along to school, taking turns holding it—one moment in one's arms, the next in the other's. The little monkey was well-behaved and soft.

While the teacher was giving the lesson, it lay still, tucked inside the front of Yuan Ding's clothes, sleeping without moving.

During recess, the little monkey got thirsty and poked its head out to drink some water. Guan Bao was standing on tiptoe to feed it when Yuan Ding's deskmate spotted them and let out a surprised "Huh?"

The little monkey immediately ducked back in and clung tight, so the others only caught a glimpse. Perhaps having never seen such a pretty, human-like baby monkey, the kid's mind went blank and blurted out without a second thought.

"Yuan Ding, did you sneak Brother Xi's baby out?"

Yuan Ding shot him a glare. "Your brother's the one who had a baby. Keep it down—you're scaring it."

Guan Bao chimed in from the side, "Yuan Ding and I didn't steal any baby."

The commotion quickly drew the attention of the other students. Yuan Ding was well-liked, so everyone came over to look. In no time, the whispers spread, morphing from "Yuan Ding's brother had a baby" to "Yuan Ding's brother gave birth to a monkey"...

In the end, it was Guan Bao who puffed up his cheeks, banged on each desk, and set everyone straight one by one before Bian Hong's reputation was finally saved.

Yuan Ding pinched his brow, looked down at the big eyes of the little monkey in his arms, and sighed—he hadn't gained a little brother, but a monkey nephew.

Meanwhile, Bian Hong, deep in the mountains, had no idea he'd almost been labeled as "having given birth to a monkey." At that moment, he and Rong Feng were moving fast through the forest, following the stone path that led into the mountains from Sun Family Shack, looking for any trace of those men.

Along the way, they found few clues, revealing that the group was extremely cunning and cautious, skilled at covering their tracks—nothing like the three who'd been killed outright after breaking into the back mountain. This group was tougher and more professional.

At the edge of a pine-covered ridge, several birds circling overhead seemed to notice Rong Feng. An eagle seized the moment and swooped straight down.

Rong Feng extended his arm to catch the large eagle, then pulled two sheets of paper from the tube tied to its leg, and took the Mountain Guard token that hung from a cord around its neck.

This eagle wasn't running an errand for anyone else—Rong Feng had sent it, carrying the Mountain Guard token to the Prefect's residence in the prefectural capital to request the case file for the Sun Family Shack incident, which contained the forensic examination records and autopsy reports.

It wasn't for any other reason—this time, there were a lot of people involved, and having solid evidence on file would make it easier to close the case once the Prefect was informed.

Normally, he would have gone himself to get the documents, but there was no time—fearing things were getting serious, he whistled to call an eagle.

This eagle had been trained by the National Master, who served as a bridge of communication among the Mountain Guards spread across over three hundred pristine mountains. Skilled in message delivery, he spent time each year training eagles.

Wherever the National Master was, traces of these birds could usually be found in the surrounding prefectures and counties. When Rong Feng met his master at Erlongkou, he hadn't only taken a beating—through his master's connections, he'd also learned the art of summoning birds from the National Master.

This time, he'd blown the whistle as a test, and it actually summoned a messenger eagle loitering nearby. So the eagle took the Mountain Guard token and Rong Feng's note, and went off to handle business for this unfamiliar young man.

The messenger eagle was highly intelligent—before leaving, it stood at attention, puffing out its chest as if to say, "Leave it to me."

Rong Feng handed the case files to Bian Hong to review. The evidence was conclusive: the method of the killings and the wounds on the bodies matched those gold-seeking men perfectly.

They could be killed.

Having completed its task, the messenger eagle turned and flew off, satisfied. It had been a long time since it'd had a mission—most of its master's errands were handled by the Roc Eagle elder, leaving the lesser birds to wander about. Who'd have thought it could pick up work in these remote mountains?

But while the outcome was good, the process left a lifelong scholar of Confucian learning, a staunch atheist, utterly bewildered.

That night, at the Prefect's residence, the city garrison patrol had just passed by on their rounds, but no one noticed a large eagle slipping silently through the night sky into the Prefect's courtyard.

Inside the side chamber, the Prefect was sleeping with his husband in his arms when he heard something tapping at the window—"thud, thud, thud," like chiseling wood.

Thinking it might be a thief, he sprang up, drew his sword, and crept closer. But as he neared the window, he saw the moonlight casting the silhouette of a giant eagle on the paper window.

A night breeze blew, giving it a slightly eerie, supernatural feel. The Prefect felt a chill of unease, but being a skeptic, he opened the window anyway.

A massive eagle dropped a Mountain Guard token into his hand, then used its sharp beak to pry open a bamboo tube and pull out a letter.

Man and eagle stared at each other for a long moment in the moonlight by the window...

When the Prefect returned to bed, his husband had woken up and mumbled groggily, "Husband, what were you doing out there this late?"

The Prefect slipped under the covers, mulling it over several times, tempted to sit up and check the window again, but afraid of disturbing his husband's sleep, he stayed put.

So he clicked his tongue and said, with a hint of self-doubt, "Seems like... I handed a case file to a bird?"

His husband hugged him and patted his head, thinking the man must be talking in his sleep.

Ah, the flood prevention work lately had been exhausting—look, it's given the husband hallucinations.