Chapter 130: Even an Old Man Has Sentiments

Qin Tian was somewhat taken aback; he had not expected to find so many monkeys here. Moreover, his Big Monkey seemed to have become the king of the mountain, with the entire troop obeying his commands.

"Little brother, you're a badass!" Qin Tian said, patting Big Monkey on the shoulder with a look of gratification. He was truly a monkey worthy of being his own!

"Chirp, chirp!" Big Monkey immediately wore a look of immense pride. With a wave of his hand, the troop scattered, each returning to their own business.

This display of showmanship from Big Monkey left Jiang Yingying and Shen Xiaoqing stunned. Was this really just a monkey? It barely seemed like one at all; it was practically human. It made the theory that humans evolved from monkeys seem somewhat plausible.

"Big Monkey, do you know the whereabouts of Big Wolf?" Qin Tian sat down on a rock, stroking the monkey's head. Big Monkey sat down as well, scratching his ears and cheeks for a moment before shaking his head, indicating that he and Big Wolf had been separated.

Qin Tian sighed. He knew where Big Tiger was—eating and living well at the Huangli Circus, so there was no need to worry. Big Monkey seemed to be doing fine, too, having established his own domain here. The only one left to worry about was Big Wolf. After all, Big Wolf was a wild beast, and its size made it a large target; it couldn't simply crawl into a hiding spot like Big Monkey to avoid being found or captured. Qin Tian was genuinely worried that Big Wolf might be killed.

Previously, Qin Tian and Lin Jian had tracked a wolf, but it was later confirmed that the mutated giant wolf was not Big Wolf. Qin Tian still felt a sense of lingering fear when he thought about that creature; it was not only carrying a virus but was also exceptionally ferocious. He wondered who had created it.

Qin Tian chatted with Big Monkey for a while longer before preparing to head back. He told Big Monkey to stay put for now; it was quite safe here, and he felt at ease leaving him. The power of a monkey troop was not to be underestimated—if any ordinary person tried to break in to capture Big Monkey, they would likely find themselves in trouble.

"Brother Tough Guy, can you help me talk to Big Monkey? I want a baby monkey," Shen Xiaoqing asked timidly.

"Huh? You want to have a baby with him?" Qin Tian’s eyes widened.

"Have a baby with your sister! I want to keep a monkey as a pet!" Shen Xiaoqing retorted, speechless.

"That's not realistic," Qin Tian shrugged. Keep a monkey? How could that be possible!

Ultimately, Shen Xiaoqing left the dense forest with great reluctance. After returning home, she and Jiang Yingying kept discussing whether they should get a small pet. Qin Tian shook his head; women were like that—when they saw something cute, they were struck by a sudden, short-lived enthusiasm. Once they actually had to take care of it and clean up after it, they would slowly lose interest. In fact, most people were like that, not just women.

The next day, the three of them headed to school as usual. Jiang Yingying and Shen Xiaoqing went ahead, while Qin Tian stopped to buy breakfast. "Yingying wants red bean paste buns, Xiaoqing wants rose-flavored ones, and I'll have meat buns," Qin Tian muttered to himself as he walked.

"Halt! Where are you running, monster? Taste my sword, you fiend!"

"I am the Sword-Wielding Envoy under the Jade Emperor! Since you have fallen into my hands today, there shall be no mercy!"

Qin Tian’s ears perked up; he heard strange sounds coming from a small courtyard nearby. Human curiosity always drives one to do things they hadn't intended to do but cannot resist. Qin Tian stepped onto a rock and craned his neck to peek over the courtyard wall.

He saw an old man wielding a long sword, hacking away at a wooden dummy while muttering incantations. Qin Tian stroked his chin, finding it quite interesting.

"Evil creature! Take this! Hada!" The old man retracted his sword and thrust it forward violently.

Boom!

The wooden dummy actually exploded! Qin Tian was startled and nearly fell off the wall. That was insane! He had pierced the wooden dummy into pieces with a single strike!

"Holy crap, there really are masters hidden among the common folk!" Qin Tian’s eyes widened. This old man’s strength was incredible!

"Grandson! Bring me another wooden dummy!" the old man shouted toward the house.

"Coming, coming!" Before long, a boy of about twelve or thirteen came out of the house, carrying a wooden dummy taller than himself.

"Where are the explosives? Tie them on, and make sure the detonation button is positioned correctly! I felt like it was just a bit off earlier, which made my move feel clumsy," the old man instructed the boy.

"Yes, yes!" The boy nodded repeatedly, then ran back into the house to retrieve several firecracker-like objects and tied them to the dummy.

"Grandpa, does this look right?" the boy asked. The old man measured it with his sword, squinted his left eye to aim, then closed his right eye to align it, and finally nodded with satisfaction.

"Good, go on now, don't disturb my practice. The monsters will return sooner or later; I must master my swordsmanship to travel the world with you!" As he spoke, the old man slashed the air with a few more flashy sword moves.

Qin Tian took a deep breath, fighting the urge to jump in and whack the old man. Damn it, he had been tricked! The old man had just tied explosives to the dummy! He had thought the old man had actually pierced it to pieces with his sword, but it had just been blown apart by explosives! No wonder he had smelled gunpowder earlier; he had thought someone was just firing up a stove to boil water.

"Fellow Daoist! Since you are here, why not come in for a chat?" The old man pointed his sword at Qin Tian, who was still peering over the wall.

Qin Tian was stunned; he hadn't expected to be discovered. That the old man invited him in was a bit of a surprise, but he had to get to school and had no time to chat with this "middle-school-syndrome" old man.

"No thanks, old timer, maybe another time," Qin Tian waved his hand.

"Then we shall meet again, Fellow Daoist!" The old man sheathed his sword with a flourish and performed a dramatic salute toward Qin Tian. You have to admit, despite the theatrics, he really looked the part.

"Until next time," Qin Tian said with a twitching lip, returning the gesture before quickly climbing down the wall and running off.

Watching the now-empty wall, the old man squinted and suddenly threw the sword in his hand; it embedded itself deep into a solid boulder! That rock was genuine stone, not some fake foam prop.

"Grandson, time to work!" the old man shouted toward the house.

"Coming!" The boy came out carrying a bamboo basket filled with odd items and draped a robe over the old man’s shoulders. Only when the old man put it on could one see that it was actually a Taoist robe.

"Who says an old man can't have a sense of romance? Old Kong, this disciple of yours isn't too bad," the Taoist said to the air, as if speaking to someone invisible.

"Let's go! Grandpa is taking you to uphold justice!" The old man patted the boy’s head, picked up the bamboo basket, and slung it over his own back. "This disciple of mine isn't bad at all," he added, patting the boy’s head once more.