Besides, Stone Mama's night of bluster had had some effect after all.
The "Great Sages Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong" all declared that they wanted to become disciples and learn.
Soon, they invited Zhang Ming into the grand, luxurious cave.
There was even an underground river inside. Dozens of boulders stood scattered across the shallows, clear springwater burbling between them. Schools of little fish occasionally stirred the surface around the stones, and a few ripe wild fruits fell from branches on the cliff.
It really did look like Water-Curtain Cave!
As the monkeys' population grew, they had split into quite a few communities, which occasionally engaged in diplomacy.
Thus, the Three-Tailed Monkeys had developed their own customs for receiving guests.
Several large monkeys resembling "elders" took some sour wild fruits and tossed them onto a rock.
Among the wild fruits was something resembling a pomelo. It tasted like a sweet fruit with the texture of rice cake, and was actually quite good.
This fruit contained large amounts of starch and was the Three-Tailed Monkeys' favorite food. Of course, its yield was low. Only monkey kings and clan elders could enjoy it; ordinary monkeys filled their bellies with leaves.
Old Zhang had not quite had his fill, but felt too embarrassed to ask for another helping.
There were also two female monkeys, only 1.3 meters tall, standing beside Zhang Ming and grooming him, apparently trying to pick out lice. Their technique was rather good, though their large, hairy hands occasionally scratched his neck. Perhaps they were curious why Old Zhang had no fur.
"What capitalist behavior!" Zhang Ming marveled as he enjoyed the service of monkeys from another world.
However, after searching for ages, the female monkeys failed to find a single louse in Old Zhang's hair.
Deprived of their source