To deal with the aggressively approaching monkey king, Yan Ji and Yan Fei had no choice but to abandon their search for the zombie for the moment and stride out side by side to meet it.
The roots beneath the old banyan tree were tangled, and the light was dim. Such terrain favored apes and monkeys, but not humans.
If they were going to fight, it was best to do so outside.
A powerfully built, white-faced ape bounded through the woods, using its momentum to swing more than a hundred feet at a time.
It landed nimbly on the slope. Spotting the two men, it wasted no words, drawing the wrought-copper staff strapped to its back and bringing it down viciously with all its strength.
Yan Fei had wanted to show his mettle and stepped forward, intending to pit the curved saber in his hand against the monkey king. But when he suddenly saw that heavy, powerful strike whistling toward him, he knew that however sharp his blade might be, meeting a heavy weapon head-on with a short one would put him at a disadvantage.
He hastily changed his mind and leaped aside.
Thud!
The copper staff slammed into the ground with a dull thud, sending dirt flying.
Had that blow landed on a person, would it not have shattered flesh and bone?
Yan Fei could not help paling.
He knew that different Demon Beasts each possessed their own innate traits. Some were cunning and treacherous, some had copper skin and iron bones, and some were born with divine strength...
The monkey before him actually belonged to the last kind, and it was exceedingly agile as well, not clumsy in the least.
Watching from behind him, Yan Ji was delighted rather than alarmed: the smarter a Demon Beast was and the better it performed, the greater its value.
This monkey king already knew how to use weapons and wore clothes, so its intelligence had to be very high. If they captured it alive, bound it, and took it back to present to the Holy Maiden, that would be a great contribution, enough to offset his younger brother's dereliction of duty.
At that thought, he shouted sternly, "Yan Fei, don't use poisoned darts."
He was worried that poisoned darts had no eyes, and a careless throw might poison the monkey king to death.
Hearing this, Yan Fei could only put away the darts in his hand, disgruntled.
After its first blow missed, the monkey king swept its staff sideways at waist height without a second thought.
As a Demon Beast that had never studied under a master, it naturally knew no martial arts routines. With its staff, it either struck, smashed, or swept-just those few moves in the end. It paid no attention to variations, relying chiefly on brute strength. All it needed was to land a hit.
As for actual combat experience, it had little of that either.
Once, it had fought a chaotic battle with the weasel; once, it had fought a fierce battle with the toad.
The former had involved some clever use of force, while the latter had been purely a head-on clash. After all, the toad was a hardheaded one too.
Thus, its so-called "staff technique" was really just crude brawling.
Yan Ji and Yan Fei, by contrast, had practiced martial arts since childhood. They were well trained and had ample combat experience. Moreover, they worked seamlessly together, hemming the monkey king in from front and rear and wearing down its stamina bit by bit, waiting until it ran out of strength to capture it.
The monkey king was no fool and soon saw through its opponents' intentions. Yet when it tried to break out, it found that doing so was already difficult.
It had originally led the monkeys to another stretch of wilderness to forage for food to see them through the bitter winter. On the way back, it received a report from a fleeing monkey and learned that outsiders had invaded their territory and killed their companions.
The monkey king flew into a rage and immediately rushed back, launching into battle to kill the enemies.
It had not expected these two men to be so capable. Fighting one against two, it struggled to fend off attacks from every side and soon fell into a disadvantage.
Slash, slash!
Cold blades flashed past, splitting skin and drawing blood.
Yan Ji had told Yan Fei not to use darts, but sabers were allowed. Whenever an opportunity arose, their blades wounded the monkey king's limbs.
They were all flesh wounds.
Their main purpose was to keep wearing the monkey king down until it lost its ability to fight, leaving it no hope of escape.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
A large troop of black-furred mountain monkeys had returned. Seeing their king trapped in a bitter fight, struggling desperately, they immediately picked up stones and hurled them with all their might to lend a hand.
These flying stones were not to be underestimated. A hit from one would be no light matter and might even split a head open.
Yan Fei hastily dodged. Anger rising within him, he raised his hand and threw his darts, hitting two or three mountain monkeys that failed to get out of the way.
The darts' poison sealed their throats upon drawing blood. The mountain monkeys let out agonized screams, rolled on the ground in pain a couple of times, and soon stopped breathing.
The remaining mountain monkeys were horrified and hurriedly retreated, no longer daring to approach and help.
But that brief interruption finally allowed the monkey king to find an opening. It charged out with all its might and ran toward the old banyan tree.
Although it did not know why the immortal master had still not appeared, it understood that only the immortal master could save it now.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Yan Ji gave chase at speed. At some point, a coil of rope had appeared in his hand. He threw it forward, nearly catching the monkey king around the neck.
Fortunately, the monkey king performed a "lazy donkey roll" and narrowly evaded it, its body already tumbling beneath the old banyan's canopy.
The light dimmed.
Missing with the noose made Yan Ji somewhat anxious.
The old banyan was a forest unto itself, and the conditions within were quite complicated. Once the monkey king escaped inside, it could use the branches to dodge and maneuver, making it difficult to catch.
Fortunately, they had already left quite a few saber wounds on the monkey king. With its blood flowing nonstop, the beast would not last long.
Yan Ji charged inside with a torch, while Yan Fei stayed outside to guard the perimeter.
"Eek!"
The monkey king cried out and chose to climb the tree, intending to reach the crown and see whether the immortal master was up there.
Yan Ji frowned, but did not climb after it.
That would leave him far too passive, because the monkey king could leap down again at any moment.
Instead, he chose to wait on the ground.
Suddenly, a sinister wind stirred, carrying a stench of corpses that he could smell distinctly.
Startled, Yan Ji whipped around and saw a zombie that had appeared silently behind him. He had nearly been attacked.
By the light of his torch, he saw its appearance and was greatly shocked.
This White Zombie was actually draped in an antique blue-green kasaya. He had no idea where it had obtained it, much less how it had managed to wear it properly.
If not for the burial robe underneath, its bluish face, and, most importantly, the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman between its brows, he would almost have failed to recognize it as a zombie at first glance.
Wasn't it supposed to be a White Zombie?
How had it grown red hair?
Even black hair would have been understandable, but red, of all colors...
In that lightning-flash instant, countless questions flashed through Yan Ji's mind. But he reacted extremely quickly, immediately opening his mouth to chant:
"Heavenly soldiers suppress Baleful Intent, the Northern Dipper binds yin; enter caves upon meeting mountains, cross bridges upon meeting water; my art issues its command, obey what is ordered and cease what is forbidden... kneel!"
When he reached the final word, his voice abruptly rose, imbued with incomparable majesty.
This was the "Yan Household Corpse-Driving Incantation." Members of the stronghold had to cultivate to the fourth realm, "Aperture Opening," before they could study it. Once mastered, it could be used to control and enslave zombies.
Chanting the incantation, Yan Ji took a copper bell from the pouch at his waist and shook it rapidly, making it jingle.
The ringing mingled with the chanting, layer upon layer, forming a strange wave of sound:
"Wretched creature! Kneel at once!"
Yan Ji stepped forward and roared, pointing the hand holding the copper bell straight at the White Zombie's brow.
In an instant, the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman seemed to come alive, giving off a faint red glow.
It was working.
He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this trip would not only bring the escaped zombie back, but also net them a monkey king. Two gains in one stroke-not bad at all.
He just wondered where that boy Yan Li had gone...
"Not... kneeling..."
The next moment, the zombie opened its mouth and spoke human words.
Though it struggled to articulate them, its voice dry and hoarse, it was unmistakably speaking.
"What?"
As though struck by lightning, Yan Ji froze on the spot, unable to move.