Who Gets the Last Laugh

Martial Uncle was stunned.

He knew many people would answer eight Monkeys, or perhaps two Monkeys.

But he had not expected seventy-one Monkeys.

"You... tell me your reasoning."

Zhao Ritian smiled faintly and looked smugly at Lu Chengwen and Long Aotian.

Using a grass stalk, he wrote on the ground, "Seven plus one equals six plus two, or five plus three, and fifteen plus..."

"Martial Uncle, stop him," Lu Chengwen said. "He can work on this problem all day."

Martial Uncle hurriedly pulled him up. "Ritian, good boy, stop calculating."

"I'm almost there. Give me another three hours, and I can explain it perfectly..."

"No, no, good boy, let's not calculate anymore. Keep calculating and I'll beat you to death."

Martial Uncle asked Long Aotian, "Your turn. Seven Monkeys in the tree, one Monkey on the ground. How many Monkeys are there in total?"

Long Aotian smiled faintly. "Martial Uncle, there's no need for this joke, right? If there are seven Monkeys in the tree and one Monkey on the ground, then there are eight Monkeys."

"It's my turn..."

"Wait!" Long Aotian said. "I'm not finished yet."

"If it's one Monkey riding in the tree and one Monkey on the ground, then there are two Monkeys."

"Then my answer is..."

"If one Monkey is pregnant and one Monkey is riding in the tree, then there are three Monkeys."

"If one Monkey is pregnant and there are seven Monkeys in the tree altogether, then there are nine Monkeys in total."

"In short, if none of the Monkeys are pregnant, then there are either two or eight Monkeys. Every additional pregnant Monkey adds one more Monkey to the total."

Long Aotian smiled smugly. "Martial Uncle—is that right?"

Ming Disha was clearly a little dizzy.

Zhao Ritian was completely dizzy by now, sweat