: Great Victory, Great Leftovers

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-07-31

Monkey Head Gang.

The monkey corpses were gathered and laid out in a row.

The gang's higher-ups assembled, each wearing grim expressions as they looked at the numerous monkey bodies on the ground.

One elder bent down to inspect them, then formed a hand seal to draw out the toxins from the corpses.

The pitch-black poison drifted into the air like a plume of dark smoke, causing the surrounding air to grow noticeably warmer.

"It’s fire toxin," someone remarked.

"That makes it difficult to trace."

The Blazing Persimmon Mountain was saturated with endless geothermal heat, crimson flames, and fire toxin.

In fact, fire toxin was incredibly abundant. Before the mountain was sealed off, any cultivator entering the Crimson Flame Demon Cavern could easily condense fire toxin.

With such readily available raw materials, producing fire toxin was straightforward for cultivators. This made it nearly impossible for the Monkey Head Gang’s leadership to follow this clue in their investigation.

Yuan Er’s face was dark with anger.

He had just rallied all the elders, emphasizing the gang’s critical predicament. At a time when they desperately needed to demonstrate their value through their monkeys, a third of their monkey pets had been killed!

The elders turned their gazes to Yuan Er.

Their eyes held concern, but also expectation and scrutiny.

Compared to his father, Yuan Yi, Yuan Er had not been in power for long. Without significant achievements to his name, he had yet to earn the group’s full respect.

Now, with the entire gang facing a crisis, could this young cultivator steer the ship?

"Gang Leader, what should we do now?" an elder asked pointedly, testing him.

Yuan Er thought for a moment. "We can’t afford to lose our monkeys!"

"If we can’t prove our worth, the Blazing Persimmon harvesting business will no longer be ours."

"Hurry and capture or buy more monkeys to replenish our numbers!"

The elders frowned.

"Even if we do that, we can’t train them properly in such a short time."

"At best, it’s better than nothing."

"No, I think rushing will only make things worse. If these monkeys aren’t trained well and fail during the Blazing Persimmon Festival, causing an explosion in the persimmon grove, the consequences would be even more disastrous for us!"

"Some of you may not know yet, but monkeys are scarce in the market now. Many near the immortal city have already been hunted," another elder spoke up.

"Is that true?" The others were surprised, and Yuan Er also looked over inquisitively.

The elder who spoke nodded. "Recently, the Demon Hunting Association has received many orders to capture wild monkeys alive."

"Even on the black market, monkey pets are being bought at high prices."

Yuan Er narrowed his eyes. "Who’s buying them?"

"Could it be the same party that poisoned our monkey pets?"

The elders fell into thoughtful silence.

A chill ran down their spines.

"Gang Leader, someone is targeting us."

"This is a trap. Someone is setting us up!"

"Who could it be?"

One elder stared directly at Yuan Er. "Gang Leader, the enemy has pushed us this far. Why hesitate?"

"Find them and eliminate them!"

"If the old gang leader were still alive, he wouldn’t hesitate."

Yuan Er’s face turned ashen, barely stopping himself from cursing aloud. "Nonsense!"

How could they fight?

Based on the current situation, the most likely culprit behind the poisoning was the Flying Disk Workshop.

The workshop’s master, Chen Cha, was the mechanical cultivator who designed and created the mechanical Blaze Monkeys.

If the Monkey Head Gang performed poorly during the Blazing Persimmon Festival, his mechanical Blaze Monkeys would seamlessly take over the market, monopolizing the persimmon harvesting business and earning massive profits.

Chen Cha wasn’t the main issue; the real problem was the man behind him—Fei Si.

Everyone who had lived in Blazing Persimmon Immortal City for long knew Fei Si, the ruthless and venomous Golden Core cultivator.

Yuan Er was deeply worried that if his investigation led to Chen Cha, he would be in an awkward position.

Pursuing the matter was out of the question.

But if he didn’t, he would appear weak and disappoint his followers. His position as gang leader would be severely undermined.

Yuan Er glared at the elder who suggested going to war, feeling an intense urge to strangle him.

He knew this elder had long coveted the gang leader position.

Such was the nature of gangs.

They weren’t families or sects. Without blood ties or master-disciple bonds, everything revolved around利益 (profit)—who was strongest, who could lead everyone to prosperity, and who deserved to be in charge!

The elder was skilled in manipulation, and with just a few words, he had backed Yuan Er into a corner.

Yuan Er’s mind raced as he feigned deep thought. "That’s not the priority right now."

He glanced at the monkey corpses on the ground. "Many of these monkeys were descendants of Uncle Monkey. With such a major incident, we must first seek his opinion."

Instantly, the tense atmosphere of pressure and confrontation dissipated.

Although the old gang leader, Yuan Yi, had passed away, he left behind his spirit pet—Yuan Dasheng!

This Fireblend Demon Ape had fought side by side with Yuan Yi, building the Monkey Head Gang from the ground up. Now, it was the pillar of the gang.

Mentioning Yuan Dasheng silenced all the elders.

Most felt a deep sense of awe and reverence.

Yuan Er secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave. "Uncle Monkey is still sleeping. I’ll go wake him."

The others hurriedly劝阻 (advised against it). "Let Monkey Elder sleep until noon. Don’t disturb his rest."

But Yuan Er insisted. "That’s for you. I can wake him without any issue. Don’t follow me, or Uncle Monkey might get angry and beat you up."

Yuan Er strode away confidently, and none of the elders dared to follow.

Alone, his retreating figure radiated smug satisfaction.

Many elders couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: "Relying on the monkey’s power to act tough!"

Yuan Er entered the tent.

Inside, an old ape lay on its side, fast asleep.

It was massive, with thick, deep-red fur and an incredibly burly frame.

Scars of all sizes covered its body, giving the old ape a weathered, formidable aura.

Yuan Er instinctively softened his footsteps as he approached. "Uncle Dasheng, Uncle Dasheng," he called gently.

"Great Leftovers, Great Leftovers…"

Yuan Dasheng’s breathing was slow and steady. In his dreams, he faintly heard his old master, Yuan Yi.

Yuan Yi, ragged and disheveled, returned holding a wooden bucket, his face beaming with joy. "Look what I managed to get!"

"Leftovers from the Radiant Red Pavilion! I timed it perfectly—they hadn’t thrown them out yet. I snatched a whole bucket!"

"What a feast, what a feast."

Yuan Yi rushed to the ape’s side and set the bucket on the ground.

"The name I gave you is perfect! Great Leftovers, Great Leftovers—every meal, you get to enjoy so much. What a blessed life."

The ape was still growing and had a huge appetite.

It had already caught the scent of the food and eagerly buried its head in the bucket, devouring everything ravenously.

Soon, it had finished every last bite.

As it sat back, it heard Yuan Yi’s stomach growl loudly.

The ape froze.

Yuan Yi grinned. "Heh. I already ate, I already ate!"

The ape’s cheeks were stuffed with the final mouthful of food.

It slowed its chewing.

(End of )