As soon as I took the small cloth bag, the scorpions and venomous snakes that had been circling my feet seemed to sense the danger and retreated a short distance.
To verify its effectiveness, I brought the small cloth bag closer to the蛊虫 (gu worms). They were genuinely frightened and scattered. Kang Pangzi had to shake his rattle several times to calm them down.
"If you don't need it, just give it back. Don't cause trouble on the side."
I chuckled, "How could I dislike it!" With that, I tucked the small cloth bag at my waist. Anything that made poisonous insects afraid was definitely a good thing.
Kang Pangzi curled his lips, a look of utter disdain on his face, then began walking towards the valley entrance, shaking his rattle.
As he moved, the poisonous insects resting on the grass also stirred.
Squeak—
Hiss—
Click—
The sounds of various venomous insects intertwined, resembling an army about to march into battle.
At this moment, Kang Pangzi was their commander-in-chief. He led the way, shaking his rattle, with this army of poisonous insects following close behind. The sight made my scalp tingle and also made me want to laugh.
It reminded me of my master's old hen, with the hen leading the way and a brood of chicks trailing behind. Except, Kang Pangzi, this "old hen," was followed by a swarm of extremely venomous蛊虫 (gu worms).
About two hundred meters from the valley, Kang Pangzi stopped advancing. He continuously shook his rattle, and the dense mass of蛊虫 (gu worms) surged into the valley like a tidal wave.
As soon as these蛊虫 (gu worms) entered the valley, a series of "squeak" sounds could be heard, seemingly coming from small holes on the valley walls.
I quickly took out my binoculars and saw a mountain ape leaping up and down, sending signals into the valley.
"These brutes, they even set up sentries at the entrance?"
Kang Pangzi cursed softly, then shook his rattle. A bamboo viper, the length of a chopstick, flew towards the bushes as if it had wings. In an instant, the mountain ape's cries ceased.
However, in those few short breaths, the mountain apes within the valley had already taken notice.
Squeak—
Countless mountain ape screeches echoed from within the valley. Just as I was preparing to turn and flee, a different kind of cry, distinct from the mountain apes', reached my ears.
Roar—
This sound directly suppressed the other mountain apes' cries. After this roar, the entire valley fell silent. There was no need to say anything; it was undoubtedly the mountain ape leader's voice. Only it could silence the other mountain apes.
I expected that after its roar, countless mountain apes would rush out of the valley, and then it would be our turn to flee frantically. However, this scene did not unfold.
Instead, the army led by Kang Pangzi descended into chaos. Some attacked each other, some ran in all directions, and a scorpion the size of my palm, holding its two large pincers, charged towards me, completely unfazed by the secret medicine on my body or the small cloth bag Kang Pangzi had given me.
I drew the Yin Ironwood ruler from my back and smashed it into a pulp. Looking at Kang Pangzi, who was struggling to control the蛊虫 (gu worms) and prevent them from scattering, I asked, "What now?"
Kang Pangzi, who had been calm and composed, now wore a distressed expression.
"I can only keep the蛊虫 (gu worms) contained here. If we get any closer, they might all scatter at the mountain ape leader's roar, and our plan will be ruined. How about you go in and lure them out!"
Kang Pangzi's words almost made my eyeballs pop out and fall to the ground.
"What? You want me to lure the mountain apes out? Are you kidding me?"
You want me to lure out mountain apes? That's practically asking for my death! Forget about being in the forest; even on flat ground outside, I couldn't outrun four-legged mountain apes, let alone in this dense forest.
My face immediately changed. Damn it, you want me to act as bait to lure mountain apes? Isn't that trying to kill me? In these deep mountains and old forests, who could outrun something like a mountain ape?
"The things in that cloth bag will make the mountain apes temporarily not dare to attack you. But you have to be quick, or I won't be able to control these蛊虫 (gu worms) for much longer."
As we spoke, a small portion of the蛊虫 (gu worms) were already scattering, and Kang Pangzi's rattle could no longer fully control them.
Damn it, I'll risk it.
I applied the Tian Qiao Seal to myself, which gave me a bit more confidence. However, I didn't unleash the speed of the Tian Qiao Seal. Instead, I ran towards the valley at my normal speed.
As soon as I reached the valley, I saw countless mountain apes, large and small, perched on the trees. They were all under the leadership of a particularly large mountain ape, watching my arrival. The mountain apes standing closest to the valley looked somewhat different from the others.
It squatted on a tree, appearing half my height. If it stood up, it would be no shorter than me, and certainly not much shorter.
Unlike the other mountain apes' gray fur, its entire coat was snow-white. The color on its face was also different from the others. Most other mountain apes had blue, white, and red on their faces, while its face was a pale gold. If you encountered it suddenly at night, you might mistake it for a person squatting in a tree.
When I looked at it, it noticed me too. Without a second thought, I made an international gesture of contempt towards it and then performed a few actions that would be considered provocative by mountain apes.
After completing this series of actions, I prepared to run, because the ensuing scene would undoubtedly be countless mountain apes rushing out of the valley to tear me to shreds.
But as I prepared to turn and flee, I found that apart from the initial noisy calls when they first saw me, these mountain apes had no intention of charging. A few that appeared larger plucked some wild fruits from the trees and threw them at me.
"What the hell is going on?"
I was completely baffled by these mountain apes. Mountain apes were the overlords of the forest, capable of fighting tigers and leopards. Why were they now acting so out of character, squatting in the treetops and watching me perform a monkey show?
I tried picking up a stone and throwing it at the mountain ape king. However, because my arm strength was not as great as theirs, the stone stopped halfway, causing the mountain ape crowd to erupt in excitement.
Although mountain apes cannot speak, they are primates, and the most intelligent among them. Even if I were slow-witted, I could see that my action was met with mockery from the mountain apes.
The other mountain apes were calling out loudly, but only the white-furred mountain ape remained silent, its eyes darting back and forth over me like a human's.
The mountain apes' abnormal behavior not only made me feel incredulous, but Kang Pangzi, who was still suppressing the蛊虫 (gu worms), could no longer hold back his voice.
"Song kid, what are you doing? Why haven't you lured the mountain apes over yet?"
I helplessly waved my hand at him, "I don't know what's going on. You should come and see."
When Kang Pangzi saw the scene before him, he was also somewhat stunned. He almost dropped the rattle in his hand.
"Damn it, this is like seeing a ghost! When did these mountain apes become so obedient and well-behaved?"