Chapter Five: He Is Terrifying Because He Is a Glutton!

The two of them turned to look. It was a wild deer that had somehow strayed into the area, lowering its head to nibble at the grass on the ground. Its ears twitched from time to time, making it seem keenly alert.

The lecherous monkey glanced at it once, then turned back and continued scooping up dirt and stuffing it into his mouth.

Zhou Yu, on the other hand, felt his appetite stirring. He did not actually feel hungry, but after sleeping for more than a month, he had gone far too long without tasting any meat.

He lowered his voice and asked, "How about it? Half and half?"

The lecherous monkey looked baffled. "Huh?"

Zhou Yu nervously glanced at the wild deer not far away, afraid that the monkey's voice had been too loud and frightened it off. Seeing that the deer had not fled, only lifted its head to glance over before lowering it again to graze, he felt slightly relieved.

"I mean that wild deer. Let's kill it together, then eat the meat. How about that?" Zhou Yu pointed toward the deer and whispered.

The lecherous monkey stared at him solemnly, thinking that this fellow really was a monster who ate people without even blinking.

"Deer eat grass, wolves eat meat," he said. "As for me, I have always eaten mud."

In truth, Zhou Yu was worried that the monkey might ambush him while he was hunting the deer, which was why he had suggested taking it down together.

Seeing that the monkey had no intention of joining him, Zhou Yu could only swallow the saliva pooling in his mouth and begin to scrutinize the lecherous monkey carefully.

Being stared at like that, the monkey was startled. Could it be that because I refused to help him catch that deer, this guy has decided to set his sights on me instead, and wants to eat my flesh?

At the thought, every hair on his back stood on end.

"What... what do you want?" the lecherous monkey asked tensely.

"I want meat," Zhou Yu answered honestly.

Finished. Finished. This guy really does want to eat me, the monkey thought.

Being hard to kill did not mean the monkey was not afraid of death, and being unafraid of death did not mean he could accept any manner of dying. Just imagining Zhou Yu biting into some part of his body and tearing at it endlessly made the monkey quake with terror.

Then suddenly, his eyes rolled, and he said, "You want meat, don't you? Then eat that wild deer! Deer meat is extremely delicious, far better than mud by many times!"

Zhou Yu gave an "oh" and thought to himself: are you trying to tempt me so I will get caught by you?

So he said nothing more, only continued staring at the monkey, still worried about an ambush.

The lecherous monkey, being watched like this, had completely lost his appetite. He swallowed the last mouthful of dirt and said to Zhou Yu, "How about I help you catch that deer?"

Zhou Yu thought for a moment. He truly could not figure out what kind of trick this monkey was playing, so he said, "Then thank you."

At that very moment, for some reason, the deer actually began walking toward them while still grazing. The monkey inwardly cried out that this was bad. He had originally wanted to use the chance to go catch the deer as an excuse to slip away, but this stupid deer had come right to him of its own accord.

In truth, this was because the Black Bamboo Forest had once been occupied by that enormous red crab, and the red crab itself was a fusion of the negative emotions and destructive power of Hades, King of the Asuras. Whenever a fierce beast entered the forest and began to exude killing intent and bloodlust, the red crab would detect it at once, and the black mist would transform into thin black cords that pierced through the creature, turning it into the crab's meal.

As a result, the herbivores living here had no natural enemies. Over time, they naturally grew bold. In their eyes, this bamboo forest simply did not contain any carnivores at all.

But now things were different. Though Zhou Yu was not a carnivore, he was even more terrifying, because he was a glutton.

The lecherous monkey saw deep hunger in Zhou Yu's eyes and dared not be careless. When the deer came within only a few dozen meters, he moved.

With one swift leap, he touched down and immediately sprang high again, bouncing up like a marble and continuing toward the deer.

The deer flicked an ear and raised its head to look ahead, but only saw a cloud of dust slowly settling in the air; nothing else was visible. The monkey's second leap carried him higher than its line of sight, and it failed to see him. Just as it lowered its head again to graze, the monkey descended from the sky and landed on its back.

A shrill cry rang out, short and piercing. Though the monkey was not heavy, the force of his weight falling from more than ten meters above still snapped the deer's spine instantly. The deer died on the spot.

This cry did not warn the other beasts in the forest. To them, it was probably only the shout of some fellow too comfortable with life who had accidentally been pricked by something. None of them imagined that paradise had, from this moment on, become hell.

Zhou Yu watched as the monkey dragged the deer back to him and flung it heavily to the ground. Looking at the monkey in surprise, he said, "Your hunting method is excellent, though a bit too violent."

The lecherous monkey said awkwardly, "I... I have no experience with this kind of thing."

Zhou Yu broke off a piece of bamboo, then found fragments of crab shell and carefully ground them smooth. Before long, he had made a bamboo knife. With it, he slit open the deer and dressed it expertly. During the time he had spent in Lost Mountain with the old man, he had done this sort of work many times already.

From a distance, the monkey watched Zhou Yu's practiced movements, and became even more certain that Zhou Yu was a demon who ate people without leaving even their bones. He stared at Zhou Yu's every move with extreme vigilance, afraid that Zhou Yu might decide to eat him. When Zhou Yu was not looking, the monkey quietly retreated to the side and kept his distance.

By rights, if the monkey found Zhou Yu so terrifying, he should simply leave. But he could not leave now. During these past days he had repeatedly harassed the bull-headed men, and they had long since come to hate him to the bone. They simply dared not enter the Black Bamboo Forest, which was why the monkey always fled back here for refuge.

Now the area outside the forest was full of bull-headed soldiers standing guard. The moment the monkey went out, he would be attacked. Even within the forest, if those bull-headed soldiers discovered his trail, countless bull-forks would howl through the air toward him. As the saying went, being sturdy did not mean one liked being beaten, and not fearing death did not mean one could accept any kind of death.

Thus the monkey could only remain in the Black Bamboo Forest for the time being. If Zhou Yu had not appeared, this place would undoubtedly have been the best refuge: the dirt was delicious, the environment was decent, and there was no need to worry about attacks. Its only flaw was that there was nothing very amusing about it.

Monkeys are naturally restless, and the lecherous monkey, unable to bear loneliness, always took the initiative to speak to the big red crab. Even when he received no reply, he would still talk with great enthusiasm. That very morning, he had even walked up and reached out to knock on the crab's shell, which was why this whole matter had happened.

Now the lecherous monkey was in a difficult position. He scratched at his ears and face over and over, trying to think of some way to solve the problem, but found no clue at all. With wolves ahead and tigers behind, he let out a sigh and muttered to himself, "If there's truly no other way, I'd rather be beaten senseless by those filthy bulls than have this guy's saliva all over my body."

"What are you muttering over there about? Did you bring any fire?" Zhou Yu had finished preparing the deer and was threading the chunks of meat onto bamboo strips, hanging them on a simple rack.

The monkey hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. The demon race isn't human. Where would we get fire? Only the royal families of a few clans, such as the fox clan and the wolf clan, use fire to roast food."

When Zhou Yu heard him speak of the demon race, he could not help frowning.

"You mean this is the demon race?"

The monkey nodded. "Not only the demon race, but the depths of the demon race. We are almost at the far northern glaciers."

Zhou Yu set down what he was doing and stood there in a daze, gazing toward the south.

I was actually blasted all the way into the depths of the demon race, and I somehow did not die. It seems I have become even stronger, too. But how am I supposed to get back?

Before, the question Zhou Yu had been considering was how to become stronger and return to Earth. Now, what he had to think about was how to return to the human world, how to make it back south of Lost Mountain.

Zhou Yu understood that he could not possibly keep wandering around in demon territory for long. It was just like a demon beast straying into the human world: no matter how strong or cunning you were, the end would never be good.

At the thought, Zhou Yu suddenly grew alarmed and quickly looked toward the monkey, worried that if the monkey ran out and told other beasts about him, a whole army would come and wipe him out.

He wracked his brain, thinking of how he might keep the monkey from betraying him. This monkey was already fairly strong; if he went and brought more demon beasts back with him, Zhou Yu feared he would truly be finished.

With that in mind, the look he gave the monkey became somewhat complicated.

Being stared at like that, the monkey wondered if it was because he had said there was no fire that he had angered Zhou Yu. In order to stay safely in the Black Bamboo Forest a little longer and get some rest, he said, "Though there isn't any fire, I can make some."

Zhou Yu nodded. "That would be splendid. Then I'll trouble the handsome little monkey to help me with the fire."

The monkey paid no heed to Zhou Yu's flattery. All he hoped was that after eating the venison, Zhou Yu would not turn on him. With twelve parts caution, the monkey slowly walked toward the pile of shattered crab shells.

He picked out a few handy fragments, then gathered some dry grass and a very fluffy plant.

Using two pieces of crab shell, he began rubbing them together. His movements were so fast they were almost invisible. Before long, the portion where the shells rubbed together gave off a faint scorched green smell. Carefully, the monkey touched the edge of one shell to the tuft of unknown dry fluff. A spark appeared, then another.

He blew on the sparks again and again, then fed in the dry grass. The sparks kept spreading, growing more and more numerous, until at last, with one final breath from the monkey, a flame appeared.

By then it was already night. The sudden blaze illuminated everything around them. Zhou Yu rubbed his hands together and praised him without pause. "Little handsome monkey, you're a genius! Even this kind of method works! You're amazing!"

The monkey let out a long breath, handed the fire to Zhou Yu, and withdrew to the side. Watching Zhou Yu happily bustle about, he felt somewhat relieved. Since this fiend was so pleased, he probably would not make a move against me for the moment.

Leaning against a thick black bamboo stalk, the monkey gradually drifted off to sleep.

Not far away, after Zhou Yu had built the fire higher, he began roasting the deer meat with his highly practiced hands.

Before long, the meat over the flames had turned golden. A layer of fat seeped to the surface, glistening brilliantly and looking exceedingly appetizing.

As he kept turning the pieces of meat, Zhou Yu could not help thinking of the old man.

Far, far away, deep within the Southern Wastelands, the old man stood firm with a massive broad-bladed sword in his hand. Blood dripped from the tip of his blade, blood flowed down his body, and blood covered the ground around him. Corpses were strewn across the entire battlefield.

As an itinerant cultivator recruited by the Spirit Realm, he had become one of the first to rush to the aid of the Southern Wind family. Yet before he even reached their territory, he had already suffered harassment and probing attacks. This time, however, he had directly collided with the beast-riding troops of the Beast Sect.

Against the beast riders, the only choices were to fight to the death or surrender. Given the speed with which their mounts moved, fleeing was almost impossible.

The moment they met the beast riders head-on, a brutally savage battle erupted. By now, only a third of the itinerant cultivators in the group still retained combat effectiveness.

"Ha!"

The old man dragged his giant sword behind him, then once again charged at those dozens of riders with the spirit of one who had already accepted death.