Friends

"Yes, I know it."

Pang Jian admitted softly.

The gray ape in the cage was the current leader of a troop in the Cenji Mountains. Before it had become an ape king, it had been severely wounded in a fight with a white bear, only to be saved by a young Pang Jian and his father.

Back then, the reason his father had been willing to intervene was that he saw the gray ape possessed a high level of sentience.

Afterward, this gray ape with its distinct ice-blue eyes became his companion in the Cenji Mountains.

In the years that followed, he never hunted the troop under the gray ape's command, and whenever he encountered danger while hunting, the gray ape would often appear to help him.

Two years ago, after he had hunted a mountain leopard alone, he suffered malicious targeting from other veteran hunters in Linshan Town.

The old hunters bullied him for his youth and, seeing that his father had been missing for a long time, wanted to seize the leopard he had brought down.

Just as he was fighting back with all his might and nearing defeat, he received help from the gray ape and its troop.

After that conflict, the three hunters who were notorious in Linshan Town disappeared into the forest forever.

Seeing the gray ape confined in an iron cage and reduced to a prisoner of the Shangguan Family, Pang Jian, who had been hiding behind the others, suddenly stepped out.

"That gray ape?"

As he moved, Zhou Qingchen was startled. He looked at the solemn expression on Pang Jian's face and asked in surprise, "You recognize it?"

"A friend," Pang Jian answered with a serious face.

"A friend..."

Zhou Qingchen was lost in thought.

Shangguan Qin, who had arrived before the group, wore a strange look on her charming face and said casually, "This gray ape and its subordinates attacked us not long ago. The troop under its command had not been tainted by the evil power within the strange fog, so we cleared them out quickly."

"As for this gray ape with the ice-blue eyes..."

Shangguan Qin pursed her lips, glanced at Pang Jian, then at Zhou Qingchen, and smiled. "It seems to have gained sentience."

"Gained sentience?"

Zhou Qingchen was slightly moved.

Shangguan Qin nodded gently, her eyes shimmering as she explained with a smile, "After we captured it, we tested it with various methods and confirmed it possesses high intelligence. As you know, apes are already quite intelligent, but this one is far beyond the ordinary."

Zhou Qingchen realized, "It seems it has mutated into a spirit beast."

There were many precedents for wild beasts undergoing metamorphosis in places rich with heaven and earth spiritual energy or under the shroud of the "strange fog."

Beasts that could not cleanse the filth within the spiritual energy, while extremely savage and powerful, were defined as fierce beasts because they could not communicate.

Fierce beasts were difficult to tame or discipline and held no value for cultivators to keep alive.

Spirit beasts were different.

Once a spirit beast was tamed, it could become a cultivator's partner and be driven to perform many tasks.

Shangguan Qin had captured this gray ape alive, likely intending to fully tame it after leaving the mountains so it could be used by the Shangguan Family.

"A friend, you say..."

Zhou Qingchen stroked his chin, looking alternately at the gray ape in the cage and at Pang Jian. He weighed the value of both, wondering if he should redeem the ape from Shangguan Qin.

A sentient gray ape in the hands of the Shangguan Family was naturally of high value; he feared he would not get it back without paying a price.

Yet, the ruthless intensity Pang Jian had shown while assassinating He Ziren, combined with his familiarity with the Cenji Mountains, held a certain value, and he did indeed have the intention to recruit him.

It was just that Pang Jian's cultivation talent was truly poor; unless he encountered some heaven-defying miracle, his future achievements would be limited.

After some deliberation, Zhou Qingchen felt a touch of compassion because of the word "friend." He said, "Aunt Qin, could you part with this gray ape? You heard it just now; my little brother here says it is his friend."

Ning Yao, Ning Yuanshan, and the others felt it was incomprehensible, not understanding why Zhou Qingchen was suddenly looking at Pang Jian in a new light.

When they first met, Zhou Qingchen had clearly not taken Pang Jian seriously, yet after the bloody incident at the rock pile, he had taken the initiative to send food and even gifted him a dragon-patterned spear.

Now, he was even asking for that gray ape from the Shangguan Family for Pang Jian's sake?

Ning Yao and the others did not know the reason.

The gray ape in the iron cage seemed to truly understand human nature. After Pang Jian uttered the word "friend," its pair of ice-blue eyes stared at him for a long time without moving.

"Who is he?" Shangguan Qin asked curiously.

"A hunter who knows the Cenji Mountains better than anyone. All our future exploration of the mountains will depend on him!" Zhou Qingchen replied.

"Just... a hunter?"

Shangguan Qin was surprised and puzzled.

She thought for a moment, looking at the bones near the Indeterminate Ferry, the Blood Moon symbols on the clothing, and the pitch-black banner fluttering in the wind on the ferry, then suddenly changed the subject. "Qingchen, how long have you been here? And how did they die?"

"We just arrived not long ago; it was like this before we came. When we arrived, all the artifacts on the corpses were still there. I suspect they were also ambushed and killed by beasts, and their flesh was devoured," Han Duping said obsequiously.

"You all know the relationship between our Shangguan Family and the Blood Moon."

Shangguan Qin rubbed her forehead, putting on a troubled look as she gazed at the massive Indeterminate Ferry.

"How about this: the artifacts you scavenged from the Blood Moon corpses—I hope you will sell them to our Shangguan Family after we leave the Cenji Mountains. As for what lies below, we will search this Indeterminate Ferry, and everything inside, including the ferry itself, will be presented by our Shangguan Family to the Blood Moon."

"How does that sound?"

Shangguan Qin merely looked at Zhou Qingchen for his answer.

She chose to ignore the opinions of Ning Yuanshan, Ning Yao, Han Duping, and the others entirely.

"How can this be?"

Han Duping could not hold back, feeling that the conditions Shangguan Qin had set were truly too harsh.

The Indeterminate Ferry was massive in size; without the secret arts of the Blood Moon, it was nearly impossible for anyone from the lower realms to pilot it into the sky.

The Zhou Family would likely find it difficult to seize this special ferry, and even if they did, the Blood Moon would not let the matter rest.

Yet, if there were any gains to be found within the cabin, the Zhou Family, being the first to arrive, should naturally be entitled to a share; they could not let the Shangguan Family, who arrived later, take all the benefits.

A gray ape that had only just gained sentience possessed no obvious potential and little value; Shangguan Qin's demand was nothing short of extortion.

"Very well."

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Qingchen agreed without hesitation. He pointed toward the iron cage and signaled to Pang Jian, "It belongs to you now."

"Thank you."

The usually taciturn Pang Jian offered a sincere expression of gratitude this time, saying in a deep voice, "I will give serious consideration to what you mentioned in the stone pile."

That Zhou Qingchen would sacrifice such significant interests for the sake of the gray ape he cared about truly moved him.

After offering his thanks, Pang Jian walked his horse toward the iron cage under the curious gazes of the crowd.

The burly man, whose muscles were as knotted as a tower, saw Shangguan Qin nod in approval. He handed the iron chain attached to the cage to Pang Jian, preparing to complete the handover.

Pang Jian shook his head, declining to take the chain, and instead looked at the gray ape in front of the cage.

The gray ape, with its icy blue pupils, watched him from within the cage as well. A sense of sorrow flickered in its cold, dark eyes, as if it were still grieving the death of its kin.

After locking eyes with the gray ape for a moment, Pang Jian unlatched the lock on top of the cage and lifted the lid.

"Hmm!"

Many of the onlookers displayed expressions of astonishment.

"Hide, and go far away. Do not show yourself again for a while," Pang Jian whispered to the gray ape in the cage.

The gray ape seemed to understand his words; it gave a human-like nod the moment he finished speaking, then bolted out and charged toward the dense, wooded mountains.

From time to time, it looked back at the Shangguan Family's cultivators, its icy blue eyes filled with ferocity.

"This gray ape is dangerous. Its intelligence is increasing rapidly. I'm starting to regret this."

Under the ape's fierce gaze, Shangguan Qin felt an inexplicable chill, fearing that letting it leave so easily might bring trouble upon herself.

"Alright, you may go and search the Indeterminate Ferry now."

Zhou Qingchen kept his word. He first had the servants loyal to the Zhou Family leave the sailing ship, then beckoned to Pang Jian, signaling for him to return to his side.

Pang Jian waited until the gray ape had vanished without a trace and confirmed that the Shangguan Family would find it difficult to pursue, only then returning to Zhou Qingchen.

"Making friends with a sentient ape king—that truly surprises me." Once Pang Jian arrived, Zhou Qingchen laughed heartily and said, "Pang Jian, you are quite an interesting fellow."

In his mind, Pang Jian, who had been hired by the Ning Family, was already his man.

Ning Yao saw this as well.

Although it was she who had hired Pang Jian with a bag of silver, given the attitude Zhou Qingchen was displaying, it seemed Pang Jian was destined to walk with him.

"You, you, and you few!"

Shangguan Qin waved her snow-white arm, pointing at several people loyal to the Shangguan Family, and ordered, "Go into the Indeterminate Ferry and search carefully to see what is inside."

The group nodded in acknowledgment and immediately set into motion, heading straight for the sailing ship moored on the withered branches and wood chips.

Without a mount, Shangguan Qin left the others where they were and walked to the side of Zhou Qingchen and Ning Yao.

Only then did she seem to finally notice Ning Yao. Her gaze flicked toward Ning Yao's slightly prominent chest as she remarked with a suggestive tone, "Oh, little Ning, you've grown up, haven't you?"

Just as Ning Yao stiffened, ready to respond, Shangguan Qin's expression suddenly turned cold, her tone icy: "Ning Yuanshan, you're not dead yet?"

Ning Yuanshan offered a hollow, insincere laugh, choosing not to entangle himself in a verbal dispute with her.

Everyone could see that Shangguan Qin and the Ning Family were at odds; they likely had some history of grievances.

"Qingchen, did you discover anything on your way here?"

Seeing that Ning Yuanshan did not take the bait, Shangguan Qin did not press the issue and instead chatted casually with the young master of the Zhou Family.

As they spoke, the Shangguan, Zhou, and Ning families all kept a close watch on the Indeterminate Ferry, observing the men loyal to the Shangguan Family as they climbed the wooden ladder to the deck and slipped into the ship's cabin.

Pang Jian also learned from their conversation that the Shangguan Family had entered from the east side of the Cenji Mountains and had encountered numerous attacks from wild beasts along the way.

Like them, the Shangguan Family had only rushed over after seeing the giant, towering withered bones from afar.

"Bang! Bang! Bang-bang!"

Just as they were discussing the mysteries of the Phoenix Bone, terrifying sounds of flesh exploding echoed from within the cabin of the Indeterminate Ferry.

Shangguan Qin's expression changed abruptly, and the others were equally horrified.

Soon, thick, viscous blood could be seen shooting out from the cabin like blood-tipped arrows, carrying a strange and bloody aura as they injected themselves one by one into the Blood Moon pattern on the black silk banner.

The blood-red crescent moon, fluttering in the wind, began to swell slowly within the banner as it swallowed the streams of blood.

The gradually brightening blood-red light was released outward through that crescent moon, which transformed into a full moon in a short span of time.

It looked like a demonic blood-red eye embedded within a pitch-black banner, peering eerily toward the location where everyone stood.

The bizarre transformation of this "Blood Moon" made everyone feel a chill run down their spines; every person who looked at it felt a stinging pain in their eyes, as if two steel nails had been driven into their temples.

"Eye of Imprint!"

After the initial shock, Shangguan Qin was surprisingly the first to calm down, and she raised her hand toward the pitch-black banner, which had turned from a crescent to a full moon as it seeped with blood, and screamed.

She was incredibly agitated, her eyes filled with anticipation and longing, as if waiting for the favor of an evil deity.

On the banner, that terrifying blood-red eye slowly rotated, searching for a target to lock onto.

Suddenly, Pang Jian felt a heat in his chest, and his pupils were instantly dyed a thick blood-red.

He immediately locked eyes with that demonic blood-red eye, and scenes suddenly surfaced in his mind, as if he were being forcibly infused with certain memory images.