Inheritance (4)

Red Monkey gritted his teeth. "I'm going in!"

"You've decided?"

"I have. There's no turning back now. I've come this far, so how could I quit halfway?" Red Monkey said through gritted teeth.

There was one thing he left unsaid.

If he went back out now, someone could easily catch him.

For the sake of his life, he had to tough it out. He might die either way, so he might as well take a chance.

What if it paid off?

"Good!" Bi'an pressed a claw against the gate and pushed it open. "You're the first to enter. I hope you make it through."

Red Monkey didn't dare make any grand declarations. Uneasy, he stepped through the gate. The moment he entered, it slammed shut behind him, making him jump.

Then something else startled him.

He had entered a strange "garden," and the mist was gone. If not for Bi'an's ferocious appearance earlier, he might have thought he'd arrived at a park.

No!

This place was far more beautiful than any park. It was like a fairyland, wreathed in ethereal mist and filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

And then...

"Hiss."

Red Monkey winced. In the middle of this fairyland-like garden squatted three filthy beggars. They were truly filthy, every one of them gaunt, sallow, and dressed in rags. They looked as though they hadn't bathed in years. Even from a great distance, he could see lice crawling through their hair.

The three beggars were squatting beneath a large tree, looking up at it. They hadn't noticed Red Monkey behind them.

Damn. They're ruining this beautiful place.

Almost instantly, a thought rose unbidden in Red Monkey's mind: I need to drive these beggars out.

But he quickly startled himself.

"Damn it, why would I think that? This must be the