Yu Mi looked at Bao Gu in shock and asked, “When did you see it?”
Tears streamed down Bao Gu’s face as she said, “It was shortly after you came back last time, when I told you that the medicinal field had been robbed. It looked so small and cute, how could I have known it was the thief? Who would have thought it could eat so much! Oh, senior sister, it took all my spiritual medicines and elixirs.”
Yu Mi’s face darkened, and she gritted her teeth, demanding, “What happened? Tell me everything!”
Fan Tuan also stared at Bao Gu.
Bao Gu recounted how the little monkey had eaten all her Zhu Ming fruits and medicinal herbs before leaving. She added, “Five days ago, it came back. When I saw it, it was curled up in the corner of the wall, injured. I treated its wounds with the medicine you gave me, fed it elixirs, and even made it a nest with tiger skin. It ate one elixir and kept asking for more. I couldn’t bear its pitiful eyes and ended up feeding it all. Just now, it suddenly grabbed the tiger skin nest and ran off without looking back. Then I saw you and many fellow disciples flying over on swords. I only realized it was the thief when you came back.” She continued to wipe her tears and sobbed, “It stole my things and even tricked me out of the spiritual medicines that were almost in my mouth.”
Yu Mi’s chest heaved violently, her face ashen with anger.
Fan Tuan shook his head and gave Bao Gu a simple verdict: “Foolish!” Seeing how badly Bao Gu was crying, he only said “foolish” instead of “hopelessly foolish.” He shook his head, stepped out of the courtyard, and sent a message to everyone to withdraw from Lingyun Peak. Having seen countless people in his life, he could tell whether Bao Gu was lying at a glance. Since the monkey had sensed their approach and fled before they arrived, digging three feet into the ground would be futile; it had clearly escaped far away, and further search would be in vain.
Bao Gu saw the many fellow disciples leave on their swords without a trace, and she asked Yu Mi, “Senior sister, have they all left?”
Yu Mi replied irritably, “The spiritual monkey has escaped; do you think they would stay here to enjoy the scenery?”
Bao Gu turned and ran back into the house, sitting in the main hall and crying, “I’m so poor, yet I saved my food to feed you, and you stole all my spiritual medicines. How am I supposed to cultivate now? If I can’t advance in my cultivation, my life will be short, and I’ll die in a few decades. Little monkey, you’re endangering my life, and I never harmed you. I fed you spiritual medicines, treated your wounds, and you… you ate all my spiritual medicines…”
Yu Mi was so angry she couldn’t speak, but Bao Gu’s words struck a chord in her. She entered the room, pointed at Bao Gu’s forehead, and scolded furiously, “How can you be so foolish? You fed the life-saving medicine to that wretched monkey. Do you not want your wounds treated? How could you do this? The medicinal field’s herbs have been eaten by it, what will our Lingyun Peak use to cultivate future disciples? Instead of catching the thief, you fed it all the spiritual medicines and elixirs from your storage bag. I won’t let you off for this.”
She raised her hand, a long whip appearing in her palm, and pointed it at Bao Gu, saying, “That wretched monkey has destroyed Lingyun Peak’s last bit of resources, and you still took it in and treated its wounds! Let’s see if I can spare you!” She raised the whip to strike Bao Gu!
Just as her hand was raised halfway, a piercing screech came from behind her.
The fluffy golden monkey poked half of its head out from the wall, baring its teeth at Yu Mi while threateningly waving its front paws.
Yu Mi turned around, pointing the whip at the fluffy Duobao Spiritual Monkey.
The Duobao Spiritual Monkey shrank back timidly, only its eyes visible on the wall, staring at Yu Mi. Then it stuck its head out again and continued to bare its teeth at Yu Mi with a “pip” sound.
Yu Mi threw the whip onto the table beside her, sat down on a chair, and coldly watched the Duobao Spiritual Monkey, saying, “Stop baring your teeth and grinning at me! Who are you threatening? Xuantian Ancestor is your master, right? My Lingyun Peak is the direct lineage of the old ancestor, and you, this wretched monkey, dare to harm your own family’s property. Do you have any shame? Do you still have any face?”
The Duobao Spiritual Monkey continued to bare its teeth at Yu Mi, its small paws subconsciously covering its face.
Yu Mi huffed and said, “Wretched monkey, let me tell you, if you don’t compensate for my loss, I’ll whip Bao Gu to death first, then go cry in front of the Ancestor’s spirit tablet, saying you’ve harmed your own family’s property and caused the death of the Ancestor’s chosen direct disciple. The Ancestor took you in, and after his death, you repay him by breaking his lineage. This is called ingratitude!”
The Duobao Spiritual Monkey bared its teeth even more fiercely, its already large eyes bulging even bigger.
Yu Mi snorted angrily, “Not compensating, right? I’ll start by whipping Bao Gu and then go to the Ancestor’s spirit tablet to accuse you of your crimes!” She pretended to grab the whip and whipped towards Bao Gu.
At the moment Yu Mi raised the whip and was about to strike, the Duobao Spiritual Monkey leaped from the wall onto Bao Gu’s hand, emitting a piercing screech and holding a gourd twice the size of its head.
Yu Mi stopped the motion of her whip and huffed, “A broken gourd to compensate for my loss?”
The Duobao Spiritual Monkey squeaked twice, placed the large gourd on top of Bao Gu’s head, and hung on the wine gourd to pull open the seal. The intoxicating aroma of wine immediately filled the air. It waved its small paws and patted the large gourd hard, as if to say it was good wine.
Yu Mi pointed at the Duobao Spirit Monkey and asked, “How much wine can be brewed from the spiritual medicines and fruits in my medicinal field? The medicines grow in the field, inexhaustible and endless, yet you’ve ruined them all overnight. Now you think you can dismiss me with a jug of wine?”
The Duobao Spiritual Monkey stretched its neck and called out “squeak squeak squeak” several times.
Yu Mi said, “I don’t understand monkey language. Speak human.”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey bared its teeth again, screeching “pip pip pip” several times. Suddenly, it hugged the wine gourd and leaped from Bao Gu’s head, followed by a “thud” as Bao Gu, who had been sitting in the chair, fell to the ground unconscious.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey sat on the beam with the wine gourd, its black and lively eyes staring at Bao Gu and calling out “squeak squeak squeak.”
Yu Mi stood up, turned Bao Gu over, and saw her cheeks flushed and her breathing heavy, completely drunk and unconscious. She scolded softly, “What a disgrace, getting drunk just from the smell of wine!” She picked up Bao Gu, dragged her into the bedroom, threw her onto the bed, then turned to look at the Duobao Spirit Monkey that had followed into the room with the wine gourd.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey was completely buried in the beam, only its lively eyes visible on the surface. The large gourd filled with top-quality Monkey Wine was placed steadily on the beam above the Duobao Spiritual Monkey’s head. Its gaze shifted back and forth between Yu Mi and Bao Gu, as if pondering Yu Mi’s intentions.
Yu Mi sighed inwardly, “This wretched monkey is really cunning!” She sighed softly and said, “If I were you, I would sit at home and have endless spiritual medicines to eat, rather than stealing medicines and getting beaten and chased by so many people.”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey squeaked, sticking its head out and baring its teeth at Yu Mi, looking disdainful.
Yu Mi chuckled and said, “Don’t believe me? Let me do the math for you! You can brew Monkey Wine; do you know how many spiritual medicines and fruits you can exchange for just one jug of your wine? The medicines and fruits exchanged for this wine only need a small portion to brew many more jugs, and you can eat the rest of the fruits to your heart’s content.”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey scratched its head with its paw, seemingly a bit confused.
Yu Mi scolded, “Foolish monkey, no wonder you can only be a little thief chased by people. Does it hurt to be burned by the formation’s power? Does it hurt to be sliced by the elders’ sword fingers?”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey bared its teeth again, making a “giggling” sound, seemingly a bit annoyed.
Yu Mi said, “First give me two jugs of Monkey Wine, and I won’t deal with Bao Gu for now, nor will I cry about your mistakes in front of the Ancestor’s spirit tablet. I’ll also give you spiritual fruits and medicines to eat.” As she spoke, she began to list the types of spiritual medicines and fruits she was prepared to give the Duobao Spirit Monkey, naming all the common second and third-tier spiritual medicines on the market.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey couldn’t help but suck on its fingers, its eyes rolling around.
Yu Mi said, “If you don’t give them—,” she pointed the whip at the unconscious Bao Gu and made a threatening gesture towards the Duobao Spirit Monkey.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey blinked, hesitated for a moment, and then threw the gourd on the beam to Yu Mi.
Yu Mi caught the gourd and said, “Two jugs!”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey bared its teeth with a “pip” sound, refusing to give more.
Yu Mi pointed the whip at Bao Gu and said, “Then I’ll beat her.”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey covered its face, turned around, and buried itself completely in the beam, leaving only its red bottom exposed to Yu Mi.
Yu Mi was speechless. She flicked her finger, sending a strand of sword energy directly at the Duobao Spirit Monkey’s red bottom. The red bottom disappeared instantly, and her sword energy hit the beam, creating a small pit.
The Duobao Spirit Monkey emerged from the floor, bared its teeth at Yu Mi with a “pip” sound, and turned into a golden light that entered the courtyard wall and disappeared.
Yu Mi knew that the Duobao Spirit Monkey would definitely come back for Bao Gu. She guessed that Bao Gu must have encountered a great opportunity at the old site of Lingyun Main Peak, which attracted the Duobao Spirit Monkey and made it willing to offer the precious Monkey Wine to protect Bao Gu. The elders and ancestors of the sect were all astute and would soon make the connection between Bao Gu and the Duobao Spirit Monkey, keeping an eye on Lingyun Peak. If they wanted to get the Duobao Spirit Monkey, they couldn’t stay here and had to leave as soon as possible.
Yu Mi fed Bao Gu two spiritual medicines to mask the scent of the Monkey Wine brewed from spiritual medicines and fruits, then left Bao Gu’s room.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yu Mi felt divine senses sweeping from afar.
Soon after, divine senses from various peaks fell upon the summit of Lingyun Mountain, watching her and Bao Gu closely.
Yu Mi acted as if she hadn’t sensed anything, sitting in the quiet room meditating and cultivating, not even lifting her eyelids.
The next day, early in the morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Yu Mi went to Bao Gu’s room, woke up the still sleeping Bao Gu, and said, “Get up, no more sleeping! Didn’t I tell you yesterday that we’re going to Yun City today?”
Bao Gu got up groggily, “Oh,” and suddenly remembered yesterday’s events. She was about to say something when she saw Yu Mi silently move her lips, which seemed to say, “Silence.” Bao Gu understood and changed her question, “Are we going to the auction house to collect the remaining payment for the Golden Elixir Pills?”
Yu Mi said, “Yes, and I’ll take you out for some experience and chance encounters.” She sighed heavily, turned, and left Bao Gu’s bedroom, sitting in the main hall waiting for Bao Gu to finish washing up before lifting Bao Gu onto the flying sword and heading towards the sect’s gate.
Bao Gu noticed they were going in the wrong direction and said, “Senior sister, you didn’t go this way to Yun City last time.”
Yu Mi asked with a smile, “Do you still want to use the teleportation array to leave? Don’t you know Lingyun Peak is so poor it’s clinking? Five low-grade spirit stones are still spirit stones!” If they used the teleportation array to leave, how would that wretched monkey follow?
Bao Gu thought for a moment and asked, “Aren’t we going to look for the Duobao Spirit Monkey?”
Yu Mi glared at Bao Gu and said angrily, “Can you catch it? Even if we find it, it won’t be ours. Why bother with something that’s not our business? We’re not looking!” She sped up, turning into a long rainbow that streaked across the sky above Xuantian Gate and headed straight out of the mountain gate.
Yu Mi flew nearly a hundred miles away from the sect’s territory before she felt the dozen or so divine senses that had locked onto her withdraw.
