The Search and the Monkey King’s Plaything

What am I to do? Little Tou is nowhere to be found! This is all my fault! If anything were to happen to my little Tou, I truly wouldn’t have the face to live on!

Upon her return, Qiao Qiao’s mother tearfully recounted to Yue Ye Si how Tou had been submerged in the lake.

In her desperate search for Tou, Yue Ye Si had plunged into the lake’s depths, remaining submerged for an unnervingly long time.

As a Heaven-Human Realm expert, Yue Ye Si’s inability to locate Tou beneath the water for such an extended period filled her with a dreadful foreboding, suggesting that perhaps… perhaps…

At this grim realization, Qiao Qiao’s mother burst into renewed self-reproach. “I should never have laid eyes on that child! Such a precious, adorable child, and I’ve brought about his demise. In this lifetime… how can I ever face anything lovely again?”

“You must be mistaken,” the white-haired beauty retorted, her voice strained. “I’ve scoured every inch of the lakebed, and there’s simply no sign of Tou!”

Beneath the pale moonlight, the white-haired beauty, Yue Ye Si, furrowed her brow in deep concern. She had meticulously searched every corner of the lakebed, even slaying several formidable demonic beasts in her relentless quest. Despite the arduous hours spent, she had unearthed absolutely no trace of Tou.

This grim reality left her with only one undeniable conclusion: Tou was not in the lake at all.

But where, then, could he have gone?

A fleeting suspicion had crossed her mind that Qiao Qiao’s mother might have abducted her young apprentice, deliberately leading her on a wild goose chase in the water to allow accomplices ample time to flee.

Yet, upon further reflection, this theory crumbled. Qiao Qiao’s mother’s entire family resided here; such an act would undoubtedly invite catastrophe upon them all.

Furthermore, if she had indeed abducted Tou, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to remain here, much less openly divulge the news of his disappearance.

After much stammering and hesitation, Qiao Qiao’s mother could only reiterate her certainty that Tou had indeed sunk into the lake’s depths.

Refusing to waste another moment, Yue Ye Si resolved to first search the lake’s periphery, hoping to find any clues Tou might have left upon emerging from the water.

It wasn’t long before her keen eyes spotted a small, chipped canine tooth—Tou’s, undoubtedly—along with a tell-tale puddle of blood on the ground.

A more meticulous examination revealed two other, remarkably faint footprints nearby.

Their size alone confirmed they could not have belonged to Tou.

Tou had most likely been… the blood on the ground indicated he was injured. It appeared he had been knocked unconscious and forcibly taken!

To dare to inflict such harm upon her cherished apprentice! Yue Ye Si’s fury ignited, a cold rage simmering beneath her calm exterior.

Yet, this was not the moment for unbridled rage. She had to find Tou swiftly; her precious little Tou would undoubtedly be terrified to death without her presence!

Wasting no more precious seconds, Yue Ye Si began to track the subtle footprints leading deeper into the dense forest.

****

“Bananas~ Oranges~ Apples, these apples are far too tough to bite into!”

Within the monkey cave, Tou was surprisingly content, lounging like a veritable monkey king on a stone slab, leisurely munching on bananas and grapes while observing the younger monkeys perform their playful antics.

Having lost one of his small canine teeth, apples were currently off-limits.

To amuse himself during this makeshift meal, Tou expertly broke an apple into several pieces, then began pelting them at the monkeys.

His greatest delight was watching the monkeys leap and deftly catch the apple fragments he tossed.

However, should a monkey fail to snag an apple he had thrown, the repercussions were invariably severe!

The offending primate would be mercilessly pelted with apples by Tou, yelping and screeching until it finally managed to catch one of his thrown fruits.

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

Just as Tou was fully immersed in his playful meal, the monkeys abruptly erupted into a cacophony of shrieks and frantic scurrying, instantly plunging the cave into disarray.

“You wretched creatures, quiet down… quiet down… Ahhh!”

Tou, about to chastise the unruly troop, suddenly froze as his gaze fell upon a truly terrifying sight.

Outside the cage, a colossal dark silhouette loomed, its form accentuated by glaring crimson eyes and monstrous, fearsome fangs…

Terrified, Tou instinctively merged into the frantic, fleeing horde of monkeys.

It was only then that a chilling realization struck him: he was trapped within a demonic beast’s lair! And surely, when these beasts fed, they would undoubtedly select the plumpest prey.

Given how much he had just consumed, he was undeniably the fattest one here now—and thus, the most unfortunate.

“Don’t eat me! I’m nothing but skin and bones! Wah wah wah wah!”

‘Thump!’

In his headlong rush, Tou failed to discern what lay ahead, colliding abruptly with an unseen object.

Surprisingly, there was no pain; instead, he was enveloped by something soft and remarkably comfortable.

Cautiously, he pried open his eyes…

“Ah! Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah-bah…”

He realized he had been seized by enormous hands! He was going to be prepared as a meal! The terror sent shivers of uncontrollable trembling throughout Tou’s entire body.

Overwhelmed by sheer terror, he let out a choked sound, his eyes rolling back as he mercifully succumbed to unconsciousness.

“Chirp~ Chirp~”

“Ah~~ Ah~~ Ah~~”

Tou emitted a prolonged, listless groan.

He felt as though he had been relentlessly shaken by the large monkey that had so abruptly appeared.

Indeed, it felt as though the shaking had commenced the very instant he lost consciousness.

At this point, Tou was far beyond fear; he cared not whether he would be steamed, braised, grilled, or even devoured raw!

Tou felt utterly miserable, his stomach so violently churned that his intestines seemed to knot, leaving him with the agonizing sensation of needing to vomit but being unable to.

“Chirp chirp chirp!”

Observing Tou stir to consciousness, the three small monkeys below him erupted into joyous chirps and playful leaps.

The large monkey then gently placed Tou back onto the ground.

Tou staggered precariously, and just as he seemed poised to collapse, a small monkey nimbly caught him, preventing a nasty fall.

“Ah~~ Ah~~ Ah~~ What in the world is happening?”

Tou was utterly bewildered.

Had he become a mere plaything for these monkeys, to be discarded once they grew tired of him?

The discomfort was immense.

‘Wuwu~ Master, please come save me! Wuwu~~’

To Tou, being treated as a mere plaything felt even more terrifying than the prospect of being devoured!

It was still the dead of night! This should be his time for sleep! Yet that accursed monkey had shaken him to the brink of vomiting! If this was to be his daily torment, he would rather perish!

“Ahhh! I want to escape! I want to escape!”

Unable to bear the torment any longer, Tou began to resist, his hands drumming furiously against the small monkey he was inadvertently pinning, much like a frantic drummer.

The little monkey yelped in distress under his relentless assault.

Once more, Tou found himself hoisted aloft, clutched in the large monkey’s grasp like a helpless chick.

“Roar~~”

“Ahhh!! Don’t eat me! Please, don’t eat me!”

The colossal monkey let out a thunderous roar, its immense breath whipping Tou’s hair straight back.

Petrified, he thrashed his limbs wildly in a desperate, uncoordinated struggle.

“Prrr—prrr—”

How utterly revolting~

The foul-smelling monkey licked Tou several times. He honestly would have preferred to be devoured in a single gulp.

Thus, Tou simply surrendered to his fate, abandoning all thought—

He hung limp, like a lifeless chick, cradled in the large monkey’s paw.

Yet, Tou was not eaten. Instead, he was returned to the stone slab.

Then, the large monkey tossed in a massive leaf, laden with an assortment of fresh fruits.

“What in the world is happening? Is this monkey intending to fatten me up before devouring me?”

Tou peeled a banana, took a bite, and pondered this terrifying possibility.

Terrifying, indeed.

But now, surprisingly, it didn’t seem terrifying at all!

As long as he avoided gaining weight, he wouldn’t be eaten! Furthermore, if enough time elapsed, his Master would surely track him down. At that point, it would be the monkeys who ended up as dinner.

Hahahahaha!

A wave of renewed cheerfulness washed over Tou. Grasping two apples, he hurled them directly at a small monkey that had dared to eye his feast.

Everything within this cave was his; those monkeys were only worthy of the mere apple scraps he deigned to toss their way.

As he watched the small monkey scramble away, yelping in protest after being struck, the corners of Tou’s mouth curved into an even wider, more satisfied smile.

‘This little monkey, it should really exercise more often, run around, and build up some solid muscle. Only then would it be truly delicious.’