The Monkey Head gang.
The bodies of the monkeys were laid out in a row, arranged neatly.
The gang’s upper echelon gathered around, each member looking at the numerous monkey corpses on the ground with somber expressions.
One elder knelt down, inspected them, then made a series of hand gestures, drawing out the poison from the monkey bodies.
The toxin was pitch-black, drifting in the air like black smoke, and the surrounding air grew slightly heated.
“It’s fire poison.”
“This will make things difficult to investigate.”
Fire Persimmon Mountain was filled with boundless geothermal heat, scarlet flames, and fire poison.
It could be said that fire poison was highly abundant.
During times when Fire Persimmon Mountain was not sealed off, any cultivator entering the Demon Lava Cave could easily gather fire poison.
With raw materials so plentiful, cultivators could make fire poison with great ease, making it extremely difficult for the Monkey Head gang’s upper echelon to trace this lead in their investigation.
Yuan Er’s expression was dark.
He had just rallied all the elders to explain the gang’s current critical crisis.
At a time when they urgently needed to utilize the monkeys to demonstrate their value, a third of their monkey pets had been killed!
The elders all looked at Yuan Er.
In their eyes, there was a mixture of worry, expectation, and scrutiny.
Compared to his father, Yuan Yi, Yuan Er had not been in his position long.
Having few accomplishments to his name, he had not yet won over the crowd.
Now, with the entire gang facing danger, could this young cultivator hold the helm?
“Chief, what do we do now?” an elder directly asked, testing him.
Yuan Er thought for a moment. “The monkey pets cannot be reduced!”
“If we fail to demonstrate our value, the business of harvesting fire persimmons will no longer be ours.”
“Quickly, go capture or purchase more monkeys to bolster our ranks!”
The elders frowned.
“Even if we do that, we can’t train these monkeys to maturity in such a short time.”
“We can only say it’s better than nothing.”
“No, I think haste will only make things worse. If we send untrained monkeys, they’ll fail to harvest fire persimmons during the festival and may cause explosions in Fire Persimmon Forest. That outcome would be even worse for us!”
“You might not know yet, but there aren’t many monkeys left on the market. Even around the Immortal City, many monkeys have been hunted,” one elder added.
“Is that so?” the others reacted with surprise, and Yuan Er looked at him inquiringly.
The elder nodded. “Recently, the Demon Hunters Association has received numerous orders to capture wild monkeys alive.”
“Even on the Black Market, monkey pets are being bought up at high prices.”
Yuan Er narrowed his eyes instantly. “Who is buying them?”
“Could it be that the ones poisoning our monkey pets are the same people?”
The elders frowned in thought.
They all felt a chill run down their spines.
“Chief, someone’s targeting us.”
“It’s a setup—a plot to harm us!”
“Who could it be?”
An elder fixed his gaze on Yuan Er.
“Chief, with the enemy treating us like this, what are we waiting for?”
“Find them and eliminate them!”
“If the old chief were still here, he wouldn’t hesitate.”
Yuan Er’s face darkened, nearly cursing out loud. “Nonsense!”
How could they fight?
From the current circumstances, the power behind the poisoning of their monkey pets was most likely the Flying Disc Workshop.
The workshop owner, Chen Cha, was the very mechanical cultivator who had designed and manufactured the mechanical fire explosive monkeys.
If the Monkey Head gang underperformed at the Fire Persimmon Festival, then his mechanical fire explosive monkeys would take over the market, snatching up the business of harvesting fire persimmons and making a massive profit.
Chen Cha himself wasn’t the real issue—the real threat was Fei Si, backing him.
Fei Si, a golden core cultivator, was notoriously ruthless.
Anyone who had been in Fire Persimmon Immortal City long enough knew his reputation well.
Yuan Er was deeply concerned that his investigation would lead straight to Chen Cha.
That would be embarrassing.
Pursuing this matter was certainly out of the question.
But if he didn’t pursue it, he’d appear weak and disappointing, potentially destabilizing his position as the gang leader.
He stared fiercely at the elder who suggested they go to war, with a strong impulse to strangle him on the spot.
He knew that this elder had always coveted the gang leader’s position.
That was the nature of a gang.
It wasn’t a family, nor a sect.
There were no blood ties or bonds of master and disciple; the main factor was profit.
Whoever was strongest took the lead; whoever could bring prosperity to the gang became the head!
The elder was skilled in playing political games; a single jab had already pushed Yuan Er into a dilemma.
Yuan Er quickly weighed his options, assuming a contemplative pose. “This is not the main issue right now.”
He looked at the numerous monkey corpses on the ground.
“Many of these monkeys are the offspring of my Uncle Dasheng. With such a serious matter, we must first consult his opinion.”
In an instant, the tense atmosphere of probing and pressuring dissipated.
Though the old gang leader, Yuan Yi, had passed away, he had left behind his spirit pet—Yuan Dasheng!
This Fire Fusion Demon Ape had fought alongside Yuan Yi, helping him build the Monkey Head gang’s foundation from scratch, becoming a pillar of the gang.
Today, it was the backbone of the gang!
The mention of Yuan Dasheng immediately silenced all the elders.
Many felt a profound sense of reverence.
Yuan Er quietly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave. “Uncle Monkey is sleeping; I’ll go wake him.”
The group hastily replied, “Let him sleep until noon; let’s not disturb his rest.”
Yuan Er insisted, “That’s your concern. If I wake him, he’ll be fine with it. You all stay here, lest Uncle Monkey gets upset and beats you up.”
With that, Yuan Er left leisurely, and the elders dared not follow.
Yuan Er’s retreating figure radiated a sense of satisfaction.
Many elders couldn’t help but murmur internally, “Truly, a man empowered by his monkey.”
Yuan Er slipped into a tent.
Inside, he found an old ape lying on its side, sound asleep.
It was massive, with deep crimson fur, and a powerful, burly frame.
Its body was covered with scars of varying sizes, adding a weathered, fierce air to the old ape.
Yuan Er instinctively softened his steps as he approached, gently calling, “Uncle Dasheng, Uncle Dasheng.”
“Dasheng, Dasheng…”
Yuan Dasheng’s breaths were steady, and in his dreams, he faintly saw his old master, Yuan Yi.
Yuan Yi, ragged and disheveled, clutched a wooden bucket, his face beaming. “Look at what I’ve brought back!”
“It’s leftovers from the Scarlet Pavillion! I arrived just in time before they threw it out, and I managed to snag a whole bucket!”
“We’re in for a treat, a real treat.”
Yuan Yi ran over to the ape’s side and set the bucket on the ground.
“The name I gave you fits perfectly! Dasheng, Dasheng, every meal you get to eat this much leftover food. How lucky you are.”
The ape, still in its growth stage, had a massive appetite.
Drawn by the aroma, it plunged into the bucket, devouring the food ravenously.
In no time, it had finished everything in the bucket.
Just as it sat down, it heard Yuan Yi’s stomach grumble.
The ape froze in surprise.
Yuan Yi grinned, “Hehe. I already ate, I already ate!”
The ape’s cheeks puffed up, filled with the last mouthful of food.
It began to chew slowly.