Chapter 53 - 52: Hunting the Ghost-faced Ape 2

Chapter 53: Chapter 52: Hunting the Ghost-faced Ape 2

After the people from the Anping Bureau arrived,

perhaps because too many had come, the troop of monkeys that had been squatting on the ground to watch scattered like fallen leaves in an invisible wind.

With a great rustle, they fled in all directions, scrambling up branches and diving into the undergrowth.

All that remained was a mess of claw prints on the ground and a few panicked squeaks.

Lu Jing’an and Chen Xuan also stepped out of the black car.

Their leather shoes made soft crunching sounds on the leaf-strewn ground.

"Sister Wen Ling."

"Sister Qingya." ℴ

As he got out of the car, Lu Jing’an raised a hand in greeting to the two women he knew.

Lu Jing’an was wearing a light gray suit today with a thin woolen overcoat.

Standing outside such a remote, old forest, he looked rather out of place.

And yet, he carried himself with the leisurely calm of one taking a stroll through a garden.

As for Kui Shan, Lu Jing’an’s gaze slid over him before coolly moving away.

Whatever Kui Shan’s reasons were for looking down on disciples from Noble Families, Lu Jing’an saw no point in trying to be friendly only to be met with a cold shoulder.

Weren’t the two beautiful women more pleasant to look at?

For ease of movement in the wild, Wen Ling was dressed in a fitted, light-colored shirt and practical riding breeches.

She wore a pair of knee-high leather boots, and her long hair was tied in a loose bun at the nape of her neck,

revealing her gracefully shaped neck.

Standing there, she resembled a tall and elegant stalk of bamboo.

Lin Qingya, however, was still dressed in her moon-white opera robes,

the sleeves fluttering gently in the forest breeze.

She was as shy as ever.

Especially when Lu Jing’an’s smiling gaze fell upon her.

She instinctively lowered her eyes, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.

She only gave a nearly imperceptible nod in Lu Jing’an’s direction.

Wen Ling smiled and waved back at Lu Jing’an in response.

Although the other four people from the car had never interacted with Lu Jing’an directly,

they all knew he was the Anping Bureau’s recent major patron.

Thus, their gazes toward him were quite friendly.

Wen Ling took two steps forward and proactively introduced the other four to Lu Jing’an.

The stocky, honest-looking middle-aged man who had been driving

was an Artifact Cultivator named Yin Futou.

Another, a young man with round glasses as thick as bottle bottoms that made his eyes behind them narrow to slits,

was a Sight Cultivator, Big Eye.

Next to him was a tall, thin man whose ears were clearly a size larger than a normal person’s

and whose earlobes seemed to twitch slightly.

He was a Ting Xiu, known as Little Ears.

The last one was the most peculiar of all.

A clump of tender green blades of grass, about three inches tall, grew from the top of his head,

swaying gently as he turned his head.

A Plant Cultivator, Plant People.

After Wen Ling finished the introductions, Lu Jing’an politely exchanged a few pleasantries with them.

He was particularly apologetic and gentle when speaking to the Plant Cultivator.

"I wasn’t aware it was your personal collection before, sir. I’m rather ashamed to have drunk so much of your fine tea."

The Plant Cultivator waved his hand, the grass on his head swaying along with the movement. His voice was calm.

"Young Master Lu, your generous support for the Anping Bureau makes a little tea insignificant.

"Plants are meant to nourish people. It is their good fortune to have caught your eye."

With these pleasantries exchanged, everyone was now acquainted.

Next, it was time for the Anping Bureau to begin their capture of the Ghost-faced Ape.

Lu Jing’an and Chen Xuan exchanged a look and tacitly took a few steps back.

They found an old tree to lean against and watch from the sidelines.

Lu Jing’an’s main purpose in coming today was to observe.

Big Eye was the first to act, taking off his heavy glasses.

Behind the lenses, his eyes, which had been narrowed to near invisibility, slowly opened.

His eye sockets actually expanded, and his eyeballs rolled slightly as they gradually stretched the surrounding flesh.

In a mere instant, his eyes had grown to occupy nearly a third of his face.

A faint golden light flowed deep within his pupils.

It was bizarre at first glance, but a closer look revealed a piercing quality that seemed to see through all illusions.

He tilted his head back slightly, his gaze projecting like a physical beam deep into the Old Crow Forest.

It pierced through layer upon layer of branches and gloom, taking in the distant scenery in its entirety.

Not only that, but a ripple of light and shadow, like that on the surface of water, seemed to emanate from his body,

fading and blurring his form and those of the people beside him, as if they were about to merge with their surroundings.

At the same time, Little Ears’s prominent ears began to unfurl.

His auricles thinned and expanded at a visible rate,

becoming like two delicate, flesh-colored fans.

With a gentle quiver,

they captured every sound carried on the wind.

The rustling of the distant monkey troop, the crawling of insects underground, and even the subtle tremor of a dewdrop rolling off a leaf could not escape his hearing.

With one "seeing" and one "hearing," the two quickly pinpointed the Ghost-faced Ape’s exact location.

"Southeast, seven hundred paces, between the pagoda and mulberry trees,"

Big Eye said in a low voice.

"There are seventeen monkey troops in the vicinity. The closest has about fifty, all in the canopy,"

Little Ears added, his ears twitching slightly.

"The Ghost-faced Ape’s breathing is deep and slow, its heartbeat is strong. It is not yet on alert."

Wen Ling nodded, her gaze sweeping over the group.

Everyone immediately and tacitly moved into action.

Lu Jing’an and Chen Xuan remained silent,

quietly following behind the group

while maintaining a moderate distance.

The party slipped silently into the Old Crow Forest.

Just as Lu Jing’an had suspected,

the number of monkeys inside the forest was far greater than it appeared from the outside.

Almost every horizontal branch held two or three gray-brown monkeys.

They weren’t afraid of people; their bright, glittering eyes followed the group’s movements.

Occasionally, they let out short squeaks, as if exchanging information.

The gathering of so many monkeys made the light within the forest even dimmer than outside.

The air was filled with the mixed, faintly gamey stench of rotting leaves and animal musk.

Finally, the group stopped in a relatively flat clearing.

This was the designated center of the trap.

The plan was to drive the Ghost-faced Ape here, where Kui Shan would use his Binding Technique.

Yin Futou took out what looked like an ordinary cattail fan, with a bamboo frame, a silk surface, and worn edges.

Yin Futou held the handle in one hand, formed a hand seal with the other, and shouted in a low voice, "Grow!"

The fan swelled in response, instantly becoming the size of a door panel.

Yin Futou held the giant fan effortlessly

and poured the contents of a pre-prepared bag of White Phosphorus onto its surface.

He held his breath and focused, his biceps bulging as he swung the fan fiercely toward the designated direction.

WHOOSH!

A fierce wind rose from nowhere, carrying the fine White Phosphorus powder with it.

Like a wisp of milky-white smoke, it drifted gracefully up toward the high canopy.

Once the powder reached the designated spot, it was held steady by an invisible current of air,

suspending it in mid-air without falling.

Yin Futou waved the fan again.

This time, the gust of wind was sharp and swift, like an invisible blade slicing through the air.

The intense friction caused the local temperature to spike, instantly reaching the ignition point.

"FWOOSH!"

High in the canopy, a ghastly white flame suddenly erupted!

The fire produced no smoke, but it was blindingly bright.

It burned silently, casting a deathly white pallor on the interwoven branches above.

From a distance, it looked like an eerie heavenly fire suspended over the forest canopy.

The ignition of the heavenly fire disturbed the previously stable air currents,

and the White Phosphorus began to fall.

Wen Ling stepped forward at the perfect moment, her right hand forming a sword-finger.

She pointed toward the blaze and called out crisply,

"Solidify!"

As she spoke, it was done.

The flickering heavenly fire instantly solidified,

as if sealed within transparent glass.

It hung steadily in place, burning fiercely,

yet it neither spread nor fell.

This sudden, pale fire hanging over their heads

sent the monkeys in that area into an instant panic!

Shrill screeches rose and fell as countless gray-brown shapes scurried frantically through the branches.

One shadow, however, had the most violent reaction of all.

It was a giant ape, far larger than its kin, likely standing close to five meters tall.

Its black fur was like steel needles, but the most terrifying part was its face.

It was covered in purplish-red, bulging tumors of varying sizes,

twisted and piled together. In the glow of the pale fire,

it looked like the face of an Evil Ghost that had crawled out of Hell.

It was the Ghost-faced Ape.

It beat its chest furiously, leaping madly through the canopy,

trying to avoid the white flames that inspired a primal fear in it.

But the heavenly fire covered a wide area, and ultimately, it did not dare to pass through.

After a few enraged roars, it had no choice but to leap down from the canopy, a dozen or so meters high.

THUD!!!

Its massive body slammed heavily onto the ground, sending dust and dead leaves flying.

The impact gouged a shallow crater in the earth.

The Ghost-faced Ape landed on all fours and threw its head back toward the sky,

letting out a deafening roar that sent a foul wind washing over them.

The moment it landed, Big Eye made his move.

A golden light flashed in his eyes as he cupped his hands in front of his chest.

A blinding beam of light, so condensed it seemed solid, burst from his palms,

shooting like a sharp arrow straight into the Ghost-faced Ape’s eyes!

Caught off guard, the Ghost-faced Ape was struck squarely by the intense light.

It let out a pained roar and hastily raised its fan-sized hands to shield its eyes.

In that momentary opening,

Yin Futou had, at some point, drawn a gun from his waist.

It looked somewhat similar to a standard rifle, but its barrel was exceptionally thick.

Intricate, dark patterns were engraved upon it, glinting with a cold, hard metallic sheen in the dim forest.

This was his own modified "Mountain Bombardment Gun."

He steadily raised the gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

"BOOM!!"

A massive report, far deeper and more violent than any ordinary firearm, exploded through the air!

A foot-long tongue of fire erupted from the muzzle.

A massive projectile, as thick as a baby’s forearm, shot out,

tracing a faint, fiery arc through the air

and landing a Precise hit on the Ghost-faced Ape’s muscle-bound chest!

The projectile wasn’t solid; it exploded on impact!

Dozens of smaller pellets burst from within,

spraying out in a fan shape

and completely blanketing the Ghost-faced Ape’s entire chest and even its abdomen.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The continuous explosions sounded like a torrential rain beating on a leather drum.

Amidst the Ghost-faced Ape’s piercing shrieks, large patches of the thick black fur on its chest were scorched away.

Its tough hide was blown open, flesh torn and mangled.

Blood gushed from dozens of wounds of varying depths,

instantly dyeing the front of its body dark red.

The smell of blood, mixed with gunpowder and the stench of burnt flesh, filled the air.

Lu Jing’an watched quietly from the side, thinking to himself, ’Powerful, but still a far cry from a real Mountain Cannon. If a real cannonball had landed a solid hit, this Ghost-faced Ape would be half-dead, if not killed outright.’

But even so, the Anping Bureau’s coordinated, seamless assault

still made Lu Jing’an nod in silent approval.

He thought back to how much manpower and resources his own family had expended on that Tiger Demon.

Yet here, the Anping Bureau, with only seven people,

had dealt a major blow to the notoriously fierce Ghost-faced Ape in their very first exchange.

"ROAR!!!"

Having suffered such a heavy blow, the Ghost-faced Ape was completely enraged.

It rose up on its hind legs,

its two freakishly long arms

furiously pounding its own blood-soaked chest,

producing an even deeper, more terrifying "THUMP THUMP" sound,

like war drums on a battlefield,

each beat echoing throughout the Old Crow Forest.

Then, a hair-raising scene unfolded.

From all directions—the treetops, the ground, the undergrowth, from behind rocks—

countless pairs of glittering eyes lit up in the dim forest.

RUSTLE RUSTLE

A sound like the tide washing over a beach grew from far to near, becoming denser and louder.

The entire Old Crow Forest, tens of thousands of monkeys,

as if they had heard their king’s final summons to war, emerged from every corner.

They merged into gray-brown torrents, surging toward the clearing!

The branches swayed, and the ground trembled.

The screeches of the monkey hordes

converged into a soul-shattering, tumultuous wave of sound,

bearing down on them

from all sides.