Chapter 893: Pump it up…
As Zhen Hai refused to go down without a fight…
[You’re either very enchanting, or this primate is very drunk.]
‘I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult.’
[To be fair, would you want to be able to attract the attention of ape-like aether beasts on the regular through the power of dancing?]
‘Not really, no.’
[There ya go then. That said, when you’re acting like an idol, you must be able to act as if every person in your audience is the most important person in your life. After all, an idol without fans is like…a fish without water? No. A bee without flowers? Maybe.]
‘Ya know, it’s a good thing that this all happening at the speed of thought, otherwise I’d find this to be too distracting and probably forget to continue this dance routine.’
[I got it! An idol without fans, is like a king without subjects. Pointless and normal!]
‘This explains…so much about Xiao Liu…’
…
“OOK,EEK,OOK!”
“EEEE!”
For the first time in decades, the Drunken Frenzy Ape had felt…something.
Well, something other than drunkenness, that is.
“Ook, ook!”
At some point in his life, the Drunken Frenzy Ape had reached this point of utter apathetic boredom.
It was unknown if this apathy could be attributed to the fact that he had managed to carve out his own little niche domain within this jungle temple, the fact that he had managed to reach the limit of his abilities or the simple fact that he had gotten quite old over the years and lost his youthful spark. What was known was that he was essentially burned out with the prospects of adventuring and cared more about filling his gullet with booze and food, while occasionally throwing out scraps for the young primates who had decided to join him on his eternal booze trip.
But now, like a bolt from the blue, like a sudden wildfire, like a form of divine intervention, something interesting had finally happened to him again after all of these years of utter monotony.
And that something interesting, came in the form of a strange platform covered in dazzling lights that blinked like fireflies, music unlike anything any bird or insect could ever produce and a strangely captivating dancer that moves to the rhythm of a song he could never hope to properly decipher.
That didn’t matter though, because now that something had finally stimulated that part of his brain that recognized novelty and joy, nothing in the world could drag him away from this moment fo fleeting joy.
Well…nothing short of someone or something ruining his stuff, but who would be daffy enough to do something like that?
…Meanwhile…
“Come on, come on! How much longer do we gotta wait?!”
“You know that complaining about it won’t speed it up, right? So, hush!”
“Gah!”
At the edge of the main grove of [Eternal Spring Calabash Trees], Zhen Hou, Zhen Xi and Zhen Feng had finally managed to get in close enough to use the temporary spatial storage array scroll on one of the aforementioned trees.
They initially had plans to secure the biggest of the lot, i.e., the one that was being used as the personal resting bench for the Drunken Frenzy Ape, but they quickly shelved that idea after Zhen Yue opted to risk her neck out for them.
Many years of living the hunter’s lifestyle taught them that it was sometimes better to go after the slower boar than the leader of the pack. While the rewards weren’t as great, the risk were significantly lesser.
That said, they were still a little on edge due to them noticing that not all of the local primates were as enraptured with Zhen Yue’s performance as they have hoped.
Aside from the obvious delight being displayed by the Drunken Frenzy Ape, there were a few smaller ape and monkey aether beasts that had opted to mill about their original location, were passed out drunk from earlier, or even dare to get closer to the [Eternal Spring Calabash Tree] grove.
It was under these conditions that Zhen Feng was tasked with activating the temporary spatial array and stowing one of the trees, while Zhen Hou and Zhen Xi kept watch of the area.
While it was very likely nothing was going to happen, it was better to be cautious and safe than it was to be reckless and suffer.
“How much longer on the array?”
“Two minutes. Tops.”
“Ugh…”
Granted, it was still rather painful having to wait a full ten minutes for the array to finish its job so that they could get out of there.
A part of Zhen Hou and Zhen Xi wanted to simply uproot the tree right there, and then run like hell, angry primates be damned.
They opted against this idea though once they saw just how dangerous the Drunken Frenzy Ape actually was. There was also a whole ass other treasure they had to worry about.
Regardless, as Zhen Hou and Zhen Xi kept watch over the latter’s son as he used the spatial array scroll, they decided that they might as well converse a bit to pass the time. It was better than stressing over something out of their control. Granted, there was also one other reason they wanted to talk with each other.
A reason that was interrupted the last time they tried to talk about it.
“Hey…Zhen Hou,” Zhen Xi decided to start, “when Xiao Liu’s puppet do that…thing from earlier as it jumped inside of Zhen Yue…did that by any chance seem…familiar?”
“You mean when Xiao Liu did that exact same trick on himself during that main branch tournament?”
“Not exactly…,” Zhen Xi trailed off while rubbing the back of his head, unsure on how to approach this matter. “Alright, so this is gonna sound weird…but while we were travelling to and we’re in Roaring Tide, did you by any chance have any weird…lapses in consciousness. Like one minute you’re going about your business, the next you’re -”
“Passing out into a weird mental landscape where you meet with a strange entity that pokes and prods your memories and mental scars, leading you to somehow develop a more potent cultivation base,” Zhen Hou interjected to Zhen Xi’s delight and horror.
“Yeah…that. Exactly. How the hell…”
“While back, when we were at the Cozy Maple Hotel, I was going downstairs to get a nightcap. Next thing I know, something beaned me in the back of the head and I ended up talking to this weird looking, dapper bug woman who had me relive the moment I got kidnapped as a child. Weird evening to say the least. On the plus side, I somehow became more familiar with Aeroqi aether.”
“Similar thing happened to me!,” Zhen Xi told his brother. “One minute, I was going to go feed the hogs. The next, I get blasted in the back of the head and end up talking to some warrior woman in a volcanic warrior’s hall, talking about my lack of ambition! I was, uh, also the reason for that sudden patch of glass appearing in the desert.”
“That was you?”
“Yeah!”
“Huh…”
“Ookie?”
“Uh oh.”
Evidently, Zhen Xi and Zhen Hou were so caught up in their conversation about realizing that something weird was going on with the Zhen Clan as of late, that they failed to notice a Copper-Furred Howler Monkey had decided to peel off from Zhen Yue’s impromptu performance in order to explore the grove of [Eternal Spring Calabash Trees].
They honestly could care less about why the little beastie decided to show up to the grove, the two of them just know that unless they moved fast enough to stop this thing from screaming they were going to be in-
*Sound of howler monkey about to take the biggest breath.*
“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAA!”
“FUCK!”
-a fuckton of trouble.
…
“BOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAA!”
“Ook?”
“Eek?”
“Huh?”
An ear piercing screech rang through the air for a moment and interrupting the song coming from Zhen Yue’s stage, causing the primates watching Zhen Yue to pause so that they could fully register the sound. Unfortunately, this also included the Drunken Frenzy Ape.
Physically, Zhen Yue had stopped her dance, stunned by the sudden sound but not looking physically composed.
Mentally, she was panicking like crazy.
…
‘Shit, shit, shit! What happened?!’
[Huh…looks like your father, cousin and uncle had more or less secured the tree…but had neglected to notice that a wild howler monkey looking thing had rolled up next to them and freaked out. Unless you do something fast, the hoards of primates here are gonna be upon them like chickens on organ meat. Not pleasant, to say the least.]
‘Me? I can’t fight all these primates at once! Even with your help, whatever that entails.’
[I’m not saying you should fight, I’m saying that you’re current in the middle of a concert and that one of your speakers blew out. And that you must now do what every professional worth their salt would do in situation.]
‘Which is?’
[Motherfucking improvise.]
