Great Bamboo Peak.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows across the wooden bed.
Zhang Xiaofan felt as though Da Huang had taken a vicious bite out of his head. It hurt like hell.
He struggled to open his eyes.
The familiar roof beams came into view, and the air carried a faint bamboo fragrance.
"Eek!"
A gray blur suddenly sprang from the head of the bed and landed directly on his face.
It felt furry and carried a wild, warm heat.
Zhang Xiaofan jolted in fright and instinctively reached out to grab it.
His hand closed around a soft, fluffy pelt.
"Awake?"
A lazy voice came from the doorway.
Zhang Xiaofan pulled the "gray bundle" off his face and took a closer look.
It was the monkey he had seen on the back mountain yesterday.
The monkey was baring its teeth at him, a pinecone it had stolen from somewhere clutched in its hand.
Hugging the monkey, Zhang Xiaofan sat up and looked toward the doorway.
Ye Xuan leaned against the doorframe, casually tossing a green fruit in his hand.
The sunlight stretched his shadow long behind him, making him look especially tall.
"Seventh Senior Brother..."
The moment Zhang Xiaofan spoke, he realized his throat was terribly hoarse.
Ye Xuan casually tossed the fruit over.
"Moisten your throat."
Zhang Xiaofan caught it in a fluster.
"Senior Brother, what happened to me?"
Rubbing his temples, Zhang Xiaofan's memories remained fixed beside that deep, secluded pool from yesterday.
That pitch-black short stick, and the nauseating stench of blood.
Then everything before his eyes had gone black.
"Nothing much."
"You were struck by the baleful aura of that Firewood Stick."
Ye Xuan entered the room, pulled over a chair, and sat down, casually crossing one leg over the