Du Yueyao felt a pang of envy.
After traveling through the northern states of Lingbei Dao for over a month, Du Yueyao had earned the recognition of Liu Qingyan and the women of Wuxiu Manor. They no longer deliberately hid things from her.
Then, she realized she was the weakest among them.
Initially, she felt a bit of self-pity, but Liu Qingyan soon comforted her, saying Du Yueyao had helped her the most. This turned her sorrow into joy.
Being acknowledged by Lady Qing, the Healer, filled Du Yueyao with happiness.
Moreover, the medical skills Liu Qingyan taught her were genuine, peak techniques that required no cultivation to heal and save lives.
This gave Du Yueyao a clearer understanding and determination about her future.
…
Crossing the mountain stream, the group struggled to find the original path and continued forward.
“Though the stream is turbulent, it’s not impossible to cross. Couldn’t they have found another route?” Hua Yixing asked.
“Maybe the other paths were even harder for that physician to pass,” Yu Mingxin suggested.
“They could’ve sent a villager to report. The physician said they’d return in five days at most,” Bai Ting’er said.
As her words fell, the group halted in unison.
“What…” Du Yueyao started to speak but quickly covered her mouth.
By the roadside, a lone head lay in the dirt, surrounded by scattered blood, flesh, and broken bones.
“Ugh!”
Yulan couldn’t hold back, turning her head and vomiting.
Du Yueyao, trained in medicine, was mentally stronger. She clung to Liu Qingyan but couldn’t stop trembling.
The two guards drew their blades, and Hua Yixing and the others cautiously scanned the surroundings.
“It was eaten!” Lin Jing’er narrowed her eyes, her voice cold.
“A demon?” one guard asked.
“Probably,” Hua Yixing nodded, stepping forward to examine the chaotic footprints on the ground. “And not just one.”
“Many demons?” The guard jumped, eyeing the surrounding forest, where shadows seemed to lurk in the depths.
Lu Zheng and the others approached, seeing human-like footprints of varying sizes in the muddy path. “Monkeys?” he asked.
“Big monkeys!” Hu Cainiang said. “Taller than humans!”
Bai Ting’er seemed to recall an unpleasant memory. “Mountain mandrills?”
Mountain mandrills, ape-like creatures with human-like intelligence, stood over ten feet tall and were nearly demonic when mature.
Lu Zheng looked at the head and the scattered, blackened, foul-smelling bloodstains. The person had been dead for at least three days.
“Then this village…” Du Yueyao’s voice trembled, clearly understanding the implications.
“Let’s go up and see.”
They ascended the mountain, encountering no more bodies or signs of human activity.
They reached the village at the mountainside.
Broken fences, collapsed houses, scattered corpses, and splattered blood.
Lu Zheng sensed carefully and found no living souls in the village.
“Ji ji!”
A sharp cry rang out. The group turned to see a towering figure emerge from a rooftop.
Eight feet tall, covered in black fur, ape-like, with red eyes and sharp teeth.
“Mountain mandrill!” Bai Ting’er exclaimed.
“Ji ji!”
The mandrill’s eyes glinted as it spotted them, then leaped toward the group.
“Back off!”
Before Lu Zheng could act, Hua Yixing stepped forward and slapped the mandrill.
*Smack!*
The mandrill spun, crashing into a wall behind.
Du Yueyao gasped, and the two guards stared at Hua Yixing in shock.
Moments ago, she was a refined, elegant lady, now transformed into a fierce dragon?
“When Ting’er first awakened her spirit, she nearly died at a mandrill’s hands,” Hua Yixing explained. “That’s why she’s afraid of them.”
“Understood,” Lu Zheng nodded. “Why didn’t you kill it?”
Hua Yixing’s gaze sharpened. “Kill it, and how do we find the rest?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow as the mandrill scrambled up, leaping back to the rooftop and fleeing toward the back mountain, shrieking loudly.
“Ji ji! Ji ji!”
Lu Zheng felt exasperated. “Is that how mandrills sound?”
“Yes!” Hua Yixing nodded, then led the chase.
Lin Jing’er and the other three followed.
Lu Zheng smiled, grabbed the shoulders of the two guards, and leaped after them.
Adult mandrills were only near-demonic. Unless they awakened true intelligence and became demons, they were no match for Hua Yixing and the others.
Since Hua Yixing was taking action, Lu Zheng was happy to watch the show.
Seeing Lu Zheng trailing behind, Liu Qingyan understood his plan. She lifted Du Yueyao and Yulan, her maid, and lightly followed.
…
The mandrill fled, shrieking, deeper into the back mountain, heading northwest.
Ten miles of mountain path passed in a flash, and from the other side came answering cries.
“Ji ji! Ji ji!”
“Ji ji! Ji ji!”
Then came the rustle of shaking trees, approaching from afar.
“Here they come!”
The fleeing mandrill suddenly stopped, turning to face Hua Yixing with red, murderous eyes.
“Want to kill me?” Hua Yixing sneered.
Since the nest of mandrills had appeared, this one was no longer needed.
“Die!”
Her palm flipped, revealing a pair of iron forks. With a flick of her right hand, one fork shot out, striking the mandrill’s face in an instant.
“Ji ji—”
The mandrill collapsed. Hua Yixing reached it in a flash, pulling the fork free.
“Ji ji! Ji ji!”
A group of mandrills appeared.
Seeing their companion dead beside Hua Yixing, over twenty mandrills roared, their red eyes blazing, ready to charge.
Hua Yixing brandished her forks, Lin Jing’er’s nails lengthened, and demonic qi rose from Hu Cainiang, Yu Mingxin, and Bai Ting’er.
“Ji ji!”
The mandrills, driven by instinct, sensed the women’s strength.
But…
Mandrills were ferocious by nature. Who were they afraid of?
Claws bared, teeth gleaming, they charged.
“Kill!”
With a clear shout, Hua Yixing rushed into the mandrill group.
“Ji ji!”
Suddenly, another mandrill’s cry came from the back mountain, followed by a clear voice in their ears. “Stop! Don’t kill them!”
Hearing this cry, the mandrills hesitated, starting to retreat, but Hua Yixing and the others ignored it, continuing their attack.
“I said stop!”
The clear voice was filled with anger and frustration.
As the remaining five mandrills fled in panic, a massive mandrill burst from the forest.
