< Chapter 64: We Must Fight Our Way Up >
Monkey Head Gang Headquarters.
Yuan Er glared at the messenger in shock and anger. "What did you say? You want me to hand over the monkey corpses? To give them to that Flying Disk Workshop for refinement?!"
He was livid, his eyes bloodshot, and when he shouted, it seemed like he was ready to devour someone.
The messenger's face remained impassive. "This is Lord Fei Si's order. Your Monkey Head Gang has greatly disappointed him. With so many monkey pets dead, how can you meet his expectations?"
"On the contrary, it would be better to make good use of these monkey corpses and refine more Mechanical Apes."
"This year's Huoshi Festival is extraordinary! Even the City Lord is watching closely. You must act for the greater good."
At the mention of the "greater good," Yuan Er's face instantly turned pale.
He gritted his teeth and said, "I… I need to think it over…"
However, he glanced at Yuan Dasheng, who was lying like a bear or tiger beside him, and his pupils slightly contracted. Softening his tone, he said, "But I also understand your difficulties. I'll give you some time to accept it."
"I'll be at the door, and I won't leave empty-handed this time."
"I hope you can adjust quickly."
The messenger left the room and closed the door.
After he left, Yuan Er, in his fury, grabbed everything within reach and smashed it to the ground.
The continuous sound of crashing objects reached the messenger outside the door, only eliciting a cold smile from him.
"Too much bullying, this is simply too much bullying!"
Yuan Er roared, "It's the Flying Disk Workshop! They are the ones aggressively buying wild monkeys. They are the ones offering hefty bounties, enticing demonic cultivators to attack and kill our monkey pets. They are the ones who tried to assassinate me!"
"They have set their sights on the business of harvesting Huoshi. They want to uproot our Monkey Head Gang."
Yuan Er's anger gradually gave way to a sorrowful wail.
Yuan Dasheng remained calm throughout.
Since Yuan Er's assassination attempt, Yuan Dasheng had moved in to live with him.
To prevent his soul from being extracted and taken to the palace, he would periodically harm his own soul, ensuring he didn't trigger the soul-drawing mechanism (Yuan Dasheng's theory).
Watching Yuan Er, Yuan Dasheng was reminded of the past.
Yuan Yi had been ambushed and severely injured.
The attacker brazenly left his name and spoke bluntly, "You're just a beggar, and you think you can marry my family's lady? Haha!"
"Give up on that idea."
"To be honest, I was sent by the lady herself."
"This time, I'm giving you a lesson. Stop dreaming and take a good look at yourself."
Seeing Yuan Yi lying on the bed, barely breathing, Yuan Dasheng had been enraged and wanted to rush over to fight the enemy.
Yuan Yi had held him back tightly. "Dasheng, Dasheng! Calm down."
"Anger won't solve the problem!"
"That Miss Zhang, I am determined to marry her. Only through this marriage can our gang establish a foothold and align with other factions."
"So, even if I am humiliated and ambushed, I will act as if it never happened."
Yuan Dasheng glared at Yuan Yi, furiously breaking free from his hold. He grabbed anything within reach and started smashing them, his rage causing the air to subtly distort.
Yuan Yi leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, with fresh blood seeping through his bandages. He patiently waited until Yuan Dasheng calmed down a bit before approaching him again.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, Yuan Yi's voice was hoarse and heavy, "Dasheng, I know you're very angry. My humiliation angers you more than if it were your own."
"But let me tell you, let me tell you…"
"Being born humble is not a disgrace. A true man must be able to endure and adapt!"
"I will certainly marry that woman. Her father is already inclined to cooperate with our Monkey Head Gang. This is not something she can decide."
"We must not cause trouble, or it will ruin everything."
"But I assure you, today's humiliation, I will repay doubly in the future."
"We must get through this, Dasheng," Yuan Yi said, patting the ape's shoulder firmly. "We need to climb up, we need to fight our way up. One day, we will stand very high!"
Under Yuan Yi's soothing words, the ape's flushed face and raised brows gradually settled, revealing a look of aged weariness.
His monkeys and their offspring had been poisoned, not even given the dignity of a proper burial, instead used as materials for the enemy's mechanisms.
Though a storm of rage brewed within Yuan Dasheng's chest, his face remained eerily calm. He silently watched Yuan Er, who was smashing everything in sight, reminiscing about his old friend with whom he had once fought side by side.
Unfortunately, he was no longer around.
Thus, the ape's anger was tinged with an added layer of sorrow.
It slowly stood up, walked to Yuan Er's side, and gently placed its hand on his shoulder.
Yuan Er's body trembled. When he turned and saw Yuan Dasheng, he immediately collapsed to the ground, tears streaming from his eyes. "Uncle Monkey!"
Lava Immortal Palace.
The puppet Ning Zhuo had been quietly waiting for some time.
Finally, he believed that Yuan Dasheng would no longer enter the Immortal Palace.
"The strategy worked!" Ning Zhuo thought to himself.
Whether it was offering a high price to lure demon cultivators into repeatedly attacking the Monkey Head Gang's monkey pets, or deliberately failing to assassinate Yuan Er, it was all to put pressure on Yuan Dasheng.
Now it seemed the plan had worked well.
Yuan Dasheng, realizing that a storm was brewing and that the Monkey Head Gang was under targeted attacks, could no longer focus on exploring the Immortal Palace.
"This way, in the short term, the four major forces won't discover Yuan Dasheng."
"On the other hand, Yuan Dasheng won't be able to gauge the situation in the Immortal Palace accurately without noticing other competitors."
"And I, too, am in the midst of turmoil."
Detective Division member Zhu Xuanji arrived much earlier than Ning Zhuo had anticipated.
Though Ning Zhuo had been prepared.
"The two major arts practiced by the Detective Division members are the Alert Mind Art and the Trace Back Art."
"The former is the source of the spell prohibitions in the Alert Heart Bell, and the latter can uncover closely related objects."
If Ning Zhuo went to blow up the Immortal Palace, under the Trace Back Art, he would undoubtedly be exposed. To solve this problem, Ning Zhuo proactively appeared, contacted Chen Cha in person, and deliberately exposed the Mechanical Explosive Monkey.
Now, the arrangement had already taken effect.
"But how long can it be hidden?" Ning Zhuo didn't know; perhaps in the next second, he would be exposed and captured.
He had long been mentally prepared for this.
He could only race against time and keep moving forward.
"Now, I just have to wait for the Huoshi Festival."
Zhu Xuanji and Chi Dun concealed their figures as they left the black market.
Chi Dun, puzzled, asked, "Lord Zhu, what’s going on? Under your Celestial Golden Eyes, they can't lie. But no one has recently purchased large quantities of Fire Essence."
Zhu Xuanji was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly, "It seems the culprit came prepared."
"From the Mechanical Monkey, it’s clear the culprit specifically guarded against our Trace Back Art."
"None of the large or small markets in Huoshi City have suspicious buyers making significant purchases of Fire Essence. Either they bought in bulk from elsewhere or they bought it in batches."
"Whichever the case, it’s all meticulously planned!"
Chi Dun asked, "What should we do next?"
Zhu Xuanji stroked his chin and sighed, "Next, we prepare for the Huoshi Festival!"