The Immortal’s Poison

The monkey who stood no taller than twenty inches was towing the foothill-sized divine pangolin behind him. When it entered within the line of sight, it stopped short from the group. It opened its mouth and out came a dry and jerky voice, “Can you really kill every single bug here?”

Although Wen Leyang had prepared himself, his skin still crawled upon seeing the creature. The monkey scratched at its ears and cheeks in embarrassment; it spoke in Mandarin and not in the Tibetan language.

The monkey had a fire red body and big blue eyes, which glowed faintly under the golden light of Gu Xiaojun’s torch. They looked cold and sharp, like ice crystals.

The giant pangolin was laying down beside the monkey and did not move, half his body had sunken into the carrion swap. One could not be sure if the pangolin was still alive.

Tang knife in hand, Qin Zhui pointed it at the faraway monkey as he asked the others in a low, puzzled tone, “A fiery red monkey? What kind of demon is that?” Gu Xiao took aim from behind Qin Zhui’s back, training his gun and flashlight on the creature. It was too far away though, .the handgun would be useless from this range.

Head lama Rangjung shook his head. He has not come across this kind of monkey before either. He spoke hesitantly in low voice, “Under heaven, you will find four spiritual primates. The first is the Intelligent Stone Monkey, of flexible wit and extremely skilled in battle. The second is the Red Bottomed Horse Monkey who understands Yin and Yang, cheating death and prolonging life. Long-Armed Ape Monkey is the third monkey, the master of time and space. The final one is the Six Eared Macaque, he hears and knows everything under the sun. I think this monkey is…”

Gu Xiaojun, who was still pointing his torch at the monkey, sounded delirious as he finished the head lama’s sentence. “The master is right. Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal of Heaven. He was the Intelligent Stone Monkey, he who wreaked havoc back in the Heavenly Kingdom but Master… the four types of primates that you have just mentioned… don’t they come from the play of Journey to the West? That isn’t a very dependable source is it?”

‘Oh’, said Rangjung as he chuckled. “I have only heard of this from the mouth of others. This demon is foreign to these lands, thus I do not know much. Let’s try to get close and I will cast my Tibetan Buddhism Sect spell of the Five Eyes and discern its true body.”

The few people there had been on edge before they met the enemy. Now upon spotting the other party, they all let their guard down. Nobody bothered with answering the monkey’s question, instead was engrossed in their own speculating.

The monkey was in no hurry though, it took the opportunity to observe the five of them. Its round eyes shifted from person to person. The monkey’s gaze stopped on Gu Xiaojun’s hand, looking very interested in the flashlight that he held. It tugged on the giant pangolin behind him. “This thing is one of your allies?”

At the mention of Po Tu, the dwarf Taoist priest could not hold back any longer. He took one step forward and said to the monkey in a booming voice, “Return the divine beast, then we can talk!”

The dwarf Taoist priest knew that this monkey of strange origins was not to be taken lightly. He also knew that his treasured divine beast would not be returned to him so easily. He only said as he did to make the other party talk more. He wanted to asses the pangolin’s conditions, whether it was dead or alive.

The monkey unexpectedly parted its lips into a smile. It nodded its head eagerly. “You can have him!” It jumped up and threw the pangolin. Po Tu, which was bigger in size than a house, came flying straight towards them!

Luckily, the people on Wen Leyang’s side were top elites. Although this happened quickly, their reaction speeds were even faster. They all yelled and leapt up to meet the pangolin. The dwarf Taoist priest, Qin Zhui, and head lama Rangjung smoothly caught the pangolin while Wen Leyang charged to the front, anticipating a sneak attack from the monkey.

The giant pangolin flipped as it went through the air. Wen Leyang, who stood at the front, managed to dodge the pangolin. His senses heightened as he spread out his physic fog, fixed intently on the fiery red monkey at the edge of his vision.

The monkey did not move. It grinned and chuckled while it watched them. As Qin Zhui, the lama, and the dwarf priest were about to receive the pangolin, the monkey squawked loudly. It rushed towards the group, faster than lightning, leaving only blurry red afterimages in Wen Leyang’s mind.

Wen Leyang did not even have time to warn the people behind him. He only caught the glimpse of a red shadow before his eyes. He launched his Faulty Punch and Metal Poison Stream but not before the enemy made it past his line of defence. Shouts erupted behind him, accompanied by the bang of shots fired!

When Wen Leyang gritted his teeth. He turned around to give chase and aid his comrades when a giant shadow flew across his face. A strong wind blew past him. Before Wen Leyang stood only the other four of his party.

The monkey had returned to its original spot. The giant pangolin was back at his side, it’s condition unknown. It was as if nothing had happened. However, in the monkey’s hands were two extra objects. Gu Xiaojun’s flashlight and handgun!

Everyone looked like they had just been forced to swallow a bucket full of lemon juice.

The monkey had first tossed the pangolin to distract them, then only made its move when they were about to catch the divine beast. It rushed past Wen Leyang, snatched back the pangolin and plucked the items out of Gu Xiaojun’s hands.

Gu Xiaojun, who was on Qin Zhui’s back, was dumbfounded. He stared in disbelief at his empty hands. He had felt little sparks of fire on his hands and could not help but open them in alarm. In the blink of an eye, he had lost possession of his only two weapons.

Old Gu returned to his senses. He called to Wen Leyang, “Can you carry me instead please?”

Old Gu felt unsafe on Qin Zhui’s back.

Wen Leyang did not object and allowed Old Gu to climb onto his back once more. Together with his other three comrades, they took slow and careful steps towards the monkey.

The red monkey was completely engrossed in his new toys. Ignoring the others, it sniffed at the objects, even trying to take a bite out of them. After tinkering for a while, the monkey pointed the flashlight towards its own big round eyes, as if wanting to understand how it was producing the blazing light.

The military grade flashlight should have caused an instant loss of vision when directed towards the eyes at close range but the monkey seemed completely unaffected. It toyed joyfully with it for some time before turning and aiming it at Wen Leyang. Wen Leyang immediately stopped in his tracks. Gu Xiaojun, who was on Wen Leyang’s back, tried to give the monkey a smile but only managed to look like he was crying in desperation.

The monkey knew its manners and returned a smile to Old Gu. It looked scarier than a ghost, displaying all its teeth. Its voice was dry, sounding like two sandpapers rubbing against each other. “What magic weapon is this?”

If he had been Wen Buzuo, he would have told the monkey that the flashlight was the ‘Vairocana Demon Chasing Buddha’s Light’ or something like that. Old Gu was not as childish as him though. He merely squinted his eyes, choosing not to answer.

The monkey was indifferent. It started playing with the handgun. After taking a few nibbles, it realized it was not edible. He then aimed the barrel at its eyes… and ‘bang’! The handgun went off!

A puff of green smoke rose from the barrel.

Wen Leyang could not help but grind his teeth. Only he and head lama saw it, the moment the monkey had pulled the trigger and fired, its head had instantly snapped out of the way and dodged the bullet. The point-blank shot had missed its eyes!

The monkey commented dully, “It makes a great deal of noise but it’s too slow!” It tossed away the handgun and flashlight with a wave of its hands. Its gaze returned to Wen Leyang and the others. The monkey chuckled and asked, “What else do you guys have?”

The monkey may have acted playful and restless but its voice lacked any youthful vigour.

Qin Zhui, who was pointing his Tang knife at the monkey, was taken aback at this question. He immediately hid his Tang knife behind his back.

The red monkey shook its head at Qin Zhui. “That’s not something good-” It said with a smile before its expression suddenly became agitated. It waved its skinny fists and struck at the wet and slippery grounds of the carrion swap. With a loud boom, a dozen huge dung beetles were sent flying.

Wen Leyang and the group had no time to react, only catching flashes of red crisscrossing in front of their eyes. Popping sounds erupted all around them. In a few seconds, the bugs that had been sent flying had been smashed to pieces by the red monkey!

The monkey did not seem pleased and continued to jump and shriek. It only settled down after every bug had been torn to pieces. The monkey then returned to its original spot once more, stomped and cursed, “B*stards that can’t be wiped clean!” It waved towards Wen Leyang and the others. “This place is too filthy, let’s talk further inside.” It turned around and ran with nimble steps deeper into the giant beast carcass, still dragging the giant pangolin behind him.

Wen Leyang and the others looked to each other. Nobody spoke as they followed behind the monkey. Wen Leyang stooped down a pick up the handgun and flashlight, under heavy please from Gu Xiaojun.

The monkey moved at a pace that was neither fast nor slow, pangolin in tow. It was at a speed which even the slowest amongst them, the dwarf Taoist priest, could keep up only after exerting his full strength. They passed their surroundings in almost complete silence, only the blunt dragging sounds of the giant pangolin could be heard. The light of Gu Xiaojun’s torch wandered about in the dark.

The slick, rotting flesh beneath them gradually gave way to firmer meat. Thick blood vessels, tendons, and bones intertwined under their feet. The stench, which had assaulted their nostrils earlier, also dissipated considerably. The lower half of the giant beast had yet to rot, the flesh still remained fresh.

Wen Leyang grunted under his breath. The head of this giant beast, which had been suppressed under Tuer Town, had been reduced to just its skull. Its neck and chest had been in the advanced stages of decay, containing remnants of decaying flesh and dead skin. He did not know whether this was the abdomen or the buttocks, but it was still in perfect condition. Decay had not set in yet.

The red monkey found a spot that was relatively dry and finally stopped. Its big eyes rolled around, its gaze scanned the faces of the new intruders.

The monkey seemed to read their thoughts. It patted the giant pangolin as it laughed hoarsely. “This thing isn’t dead yet, I can assure you.” It extended a finger and pointed it at head lama Rangjung. “You wish to kill me, hehe!”

It then pointed to the dwarf Taoist priest. “You want to save your monster.”

The Taoist priest looked slightly stunned, then grunted heavily. Compared to the monkey, the pangolin was no monster.

The monkey’s finger then pointed to Wen Leyang, Old Gu, and Qin Zhui. “You guys came down here in search of answers! But…” The red monkey lifted up its chin as if in deep thought. “You guys don’t even know where to start asking and you still want to look for answers?”

The monkey’s mimicry of human gestures was hilarious, but at that moment, nobody could bring themselves to laugh. The red monkey had revealed everyone’s thoughts in just a few short words, especially the thoughts of Wen Leyang and his original companions. They had posed as nine-head snake believers and came to this town. They had wanted to find out the reason for the evil cult’s gathering, reaching this town and entered the ‘elimination battle’, then being told to stay back to fight an enemy. Now, they had followed head lama Rangjung and broke the mandala seal left behind from millions of years ago. Seemingly unrelated matters had taken place one after the other. Up until now, Wen Leyang did not know whether the order from the Tibetans for them to stay behind in Tuer Town was related to the mandala seal or not.

A monkey that had been sealed away by the mandala. A monkey that was capable of capturing the divine beast Po Tu. A monkey that lived inside a giant beast carcass. A monkey that knew how to speak Mandarin. A monkey that hated dung beetles. A monkey that knew how to read minds?

Qin Zhui’s eyes were full of fear. He stared at the monkey and asked, “You.. you can read our minds?” He turned and looked to Gu Xiaojun who was beside him. “We should have brought Fei Fei with us. We’re in the blind like this!”

Now that their surroundings were drier and the flesh under their feet firmer, Gu Xiaojun hopped down from Wen Leyang’s back. He cursed at Qin Zhui, “Nonsense! You can’t expect Fei Fei to read a monkey!”

The red monkey unexpectedly shook its head. It answered Qin Zhui in a gruff voice, “Read your mind? I’m not a god, I can’t do such a thing.”

Qin Zhui shook his head in protest. “Then how do you know what’s on our minds?”

The monkey stood up like a human as it looked up and laughed. “Yes, I may have been sealed away by the mandala of the Tibetan Buddhism Sect. I have not seen the blue skies in a few thousand years but I can clearly see what goes on in that town.” The monkey stared at the direction of the sky as it said this, scanning the town. “Twenty-six Taoist priests are sitting like tree pickets. The small-eyed boy is sleeping soundly. The little girl is…”

Its expression was one of puzzlement as it mentioned Fei Fei. It places two fingers on its lips and made a gesture of puckering its lips together before continuing, “puffing out smoke?”

Wen Leyang was shocked. He turned and looked at Old Gu. “Fei Fei smokes?”

Old Gu gave a half smile. “To be able to see through the hearts of men; anyone who learns this skill cannot hope to be happy again. This child can’t find any outlet other than taking the occasional smoke when nobody is looking.”

Qin Zhui glanced at Old Gu and Wen Leyang in wonder. He did not understand how these two stayed so casual in the face of a great enemy. Gu Xiaojun was pardonable, his role now like that of Tang Seng in Journey to the West. To put it plainly, he was nothing but a sitting duck. He could only rely on the others to do his fighting, he wasn’t of much help. Like Tang Seng in Journey to the West, he was never anxious.

Wen Leyang however had been confident ever since they had come down from Tuer Town. Qin Zhui did not know what ace Wen Leyang was hiding up his sleeves.

After speaking to Wen Leyang, Gu Xiaojun quickly lifted his head and looked at the red monkey. “You can see what is happening in the town. Do you know what has happened before this as well?”

The evil cult followers had gathered in this town on the plateau, something else must have happened even before that. Gu Xiaojun and his party had travelled here in search of the truth.

The red monkey revealed a satisfied look. It put on airs as it nodded. “If you guys want to know what happened, feel free to ask me. If baldy there wants to kill me then come. If the short Taoist priest wants this demon, that’s negotiable. However…” The monkey squinted at Wen Leyang. “Can you really wipe out all those bugs?”

The monkey was acting like an elder in front of him, putting on an act like it was Buddha. This made Wen Leyang feel helpless and uncomfortable.

Wen Leyang did not say anything but Old Gu answered for him. “He’s an expert in poison. You’ve seen the methods he used to kill those bugs firsthand. If he can’t kill all those bugs, no one else under heaven can!”

The dwarf Taoist priest snorted and reverted the topic back to the pangolin, “If the divine beast is unharmed, then we’ll talk.”

The monkey quickly yanked out a handful of scales from Po Tu’s backside. Po Tu who had been silent all this while wailed out. His huge body twisted in agony then fell down again with a crash, fainting once more.

The dwarf Taoist priest burned with anger and roared, “How dare you, you demon!” He drew his flying sword and was about to risk his life when his shoulder suddenly felt heavy. Head lama Rangjung, who had stood by silently, held him back. He shook his head with a grim expression. The words he spoke next baffled everyone. “He’s not a demon. He’s a man.”

The group was stunned into silence. A series of shrill, long laughs flew out of the monkey’s mouth. The monkey laughed hysterically as it pointed at Master Rangjung with a finger. “Good lama! You can see that I’m a man. Good good good!”

The three consecutive ‘good’s echoed within the giant beast’s body, shaking it like thunder. Deep dissatisfaction and hatred were expressed in those few words.

Gu Xiaojun threw Wen Leyang a look as he instructed in a low voice, “We must get to the bottom of things.” He then turned to Master Rangjung. “What’s going on here really?” Wen Leyang nodded. He rummaged through his pockets. Instead of a carrot, to Old Gu’s surprise, Wen Leyang pulled out his cellphone.

When the mandala had been set up to seal away this monster, it had not sealed away a mobile cell tower with it. A cellphone was practically useless here but Wen Leyang smiled as his nimble fingers flew across the keyboard.

Master Rangjung slowly produced a bone mala as he stared at the red monkey coldly. He answered Old Gu dryly, “We can only ask him.”

The monkey’s laugh vanished. It’s expression quickly returned back to normal. Its big eyes were cunning, like that of a shrewd merchant. It extended its five fingers and counted, “I have the giant pangolin, the lama wants to know about my origins before deciding on whether to off me, you guys want to know what happened in the town.” After it had finished counting its own bargaining chips, it started counting the bargaining counters of Wen Leyang’s group. The monkey only said four words. “Destroy all those bugs.”

Although Wen Leyang did not understand the monkey’s hatred for these huge dung beetles, he still made a proud face. “Wiping out the bugs will be a piece of cake. Tell us everything you know and I’ll help you wipe out the bugs.”

The head lama frowned and wanted to say something. Before he could do that, he was cut off by Wen Leyang raising his cellphone to the front of his face. A few lines were written on the screen, “After we get to the bottom of this, if we must, we will kill him.”

The head lama shook his head. He took Wen Leyang’s cellphone and typed out a few words. “We can’t believe everything the demon says. I will perish together with him.”

Head lama Rangjung’s intentions were clear. He would not believe a word coming from this man who dressed up like a monkey. After Wen Leyang had asked all that he wanted to know, he would risk his life and bring down the enemy, sacrificing himself if he must.

Head lama Rangjung had not planned to return alive since he had jumped down that hole. The demon which even King Gesar could only seal but not kill, it would take extreme measures to be rid of it.

Wen Leyang had not expected that Rangjung knew how to operate a cellphone. He looked at the lama in surprise. He smiled and shook his head. He typed out a few more words. “I am here, may the Master relax.”

Gu Xiaojun laughed uproariously and said anything that came to mind. He was trying to cover up for Wen Leyang and the head lama, giving them time to type.

The red monkey ignored Gu Xiaojun. It simply extended its neck and looked at Wen Leyang with a smile. It waited patiently for them to finish their typed conversation before asking in a steady tone, “Discussing how to kill me?” It coughed. “You don’t need to be so secretive. Let’s make this simple. I’ll tell you guys everything you want to know and I will return the big pangolin to you. You guys help me wipe out those bugs, not even a single is to be left, and then we’ll talk about other matters.”

The monkey pondered before continuing, “After the bugs are wiped clean, I’ll be in an extremely good mood. You guys should seize that opportunity then to beg for my forgiveness, and I may just let you go. Remember, if you miss that timing, even I can’t help you! If you guys insist on trying to kill me… forget it. You guys really can’t touch me.” Its expression was sincere as it spoke, his tone even eager.

Gu Xiaojun nodded and said to the monkey. “We’ll see how it goes… Since this is a business transaction, every word of yours must be true.”

The monkey wore a proud expression. Now, it was no normal monkey but instead a high and mighty monkey (Author’s note: Kindly ignore the monkey parts from here on…). “I have no need for lies. You guys aren’t even worth the effort.” It could not suppress its excitement. It anxiously wanted to start the deal and waved its arms. “What do you want to know? Ask away!”

The price of this deal had been clearly laid out. Wen Leyang and the others were to get rid of the bugs, the monkey will then return the giant pangolin and tell them everything it knew. Then, they will no longer owe each other. Wen Leyang felt that there was something off though.

‘Wait!” Qin Zhui called out suddenly. He looked at the red monkey. “Will it be difficult for you to catch and subdue us?”

The monkey shook his head as if the question bored him. “I’ll be honest, it’ll be as easing as raising my one arm.”

Wen Leyang’s face lit up. He understood what was off. As expected, Qin Zhui questioned, “Then why do you have to make a deal with us? Wouldn’t it just be easier to capture us and make us kill them?”

Wen Leyang nodded in agreement. Among his group, Qin Zhui was the least manipulative. The questions he thought of were the most simple and direct.

The monkey’s reply was terse and brash, carrying only five words, “It’s more fun this way!”

Qin Zhui was amused. This answer had surprised him and left no ground for a retort. He changed the question, “After we wipe out the bugs, your powers would increase tremendously-?”

He had not yet finished his sentence when the monkey shook its head impatiently. “It’s nothing like that. These bugs have nothing to do with my powers. This matter can’t be explained simply. If I wanted to capture all of you and kill you right now, easy peasy! It would make no difference to you guys if my powers increase upon the death of these bugs.” It waved its arms, grabbed at the giant pangolin, and tossed it towards the group. “The abilities of all of you combined would not even add up to this pangolin, and this pangolin is nothing but a kitten in my eyes!”