The Monkey Head Gang base.
Yuan Er glared at the messenger in shock and anger: "What did you say? You want me to hand over the monkey corpses? To give—give them to that refining workshop?!"
He was so furious his hair stood on end, and his eyes were bloodshot. When he shouted, it was as if he wanted to devour someone.
The messenger remained expressionless: "This is an order from Lord Fei Si. Your Monkey Head Gang has deeply disappointed the lord. So many monkey pets have died; how can you shoulder the lord's expectations?"
"On the contrary, it might be better to use these monkey corpses well and produce more mechanical monkeys."
"This year's Fire Persimmon Festival is extraordinary! Even the City Lord is watching closely. You need to think from the big picture."
The mention of the "big picture" immediately made Yuan Er's face pale.
He gritted his teeth and said: "I—I need to think about this carefully…"
The messenger interrupted: "You don't need to consider this, just execute it. This is an order!"
Then, he glanced at Yuan Dasheng, who was lying nearby like a tiger. He slightly narrowed his eyes and softened: "However, I understand your difficulties. I'll give you some time to accept it."
"I'll be waiting at the door. I won't leave empty-handed this time."
"I hope you can adjust quickly."
The messenger left the room and closed the door.
After he left, Yuan Er, in a fit of rage, grabbed everything at hand and smashed them to the ground in a frenzy.
The crashing sounds echoed incessantly, reaching the ears of the messenger outside, who only snickered coldly.
"This is too much, it's simply too much!"
Yuan Er roared: "It's the work of that refining workshop! They are the ones buying up wild monkeys in large quantities. They are the ones offering huge rewards to lure demon cultivators to attack and kill our monkey pets. They're the ones attempting to assassinate me!"
"They have their eyes on the fire persimmon harvesting business. They want to uproot our Monkey Head Gang."
Yuan Er roared, his voice gradually breaking into mournful sobs.
Yuan Dasheng remained very calm throughout.
Since the assassination attempt on Yuan Er, it had moved in and stayed with him.
To prevent its soul from being extracted and imprisoned, it periodically injured its own soul, avoiding the soul-binding mechanism (Yuan Dasheng's speculation).
Looking at Yuan Er before him, Yuan Dasheng felt like he had gone back in time.
Yuan Yi had been ambushed and severely injured.
The assailant had left their name brazenly and said bluntly: "You're just a beggar, and you want to marry my family's young lady? Ha!"
"Give up on that idea."
"To be honest, the young lady sent me."
"This time is just a lesson. Stop dreaming and take a good look at yourself."
Seeing Yuan Yi lying on the bed, barely clinging to life, Yuan Dasheng had been furious and wanted to rush over and clash with the enemy.
Yuan Yi had held him back tightly: "Dasheng, Dasheng! Calm down."
"Anger won't solve anything!"
"That young lady, I am determined to marry her. Only a marriage alliance can give our gang a foothold and allow us to form coalitions with other gangs."
"So, even if I am humiliated and ambushed, I will act as if it never happened."
Yuan Dasheng had glared at Yuan Yi, struggling to break free, and then grabbed anything within reach to smash in a rage. His furious energy had seemed to distort the air around him.
Yuan Yi had leaned against the wall, panting for a long time, with fresh blood soaking through his bandages again.
He had patiently waited until Yuan Dasheng had calmed down a bit before walking back to his side.
He had placed a hand on his shoulder, his voice hoarse and heavy: "Dasheng, I know you're angry."
"Seeing me humiliated is more infuriating to you than being humiliated yourself!"
"But I tell you, I tell you…"
"Being born humble is not a shame. Being flexible is the mark of a true man!"
"I will marry that woman; her father is already inclined to cooperate with our Monkey Head Gang. This is not something she can decide."
"We can't cause a scene, or it'll ruin everything."
"But I promise you, today's humiliation will be repaid manifold in the future."
"We must get through this, Dasheng." Yuan Yi had patted the monkey's shoulder forcefully, "We must climb up, we must fight our way up. One day, we will stand very high!"
Calmed by Yuan Yi's words, the monkey's flushed face and raised brows had gradually relaxed, revealing an expression of old age and weariness.
Its monkey offspring had been poisoned to death, and they hadn't even been given the dignity of a burial but were used as materials for the enemy's mechanisms!
Yuan Dasheng had a raging fire of anger in his chest, but his face had remained calm.
He had quietly watched Yuan Er smashing everything in rage, thinking of old friends who had once fought side by side.
Sadly, they were no longer here.
Thus, the monkey's anger had been tinged with a sense of sorrow.
He had slowly stood up and walked to Yuan Er's side, placing his hand gently on the latter's shoulder.
Yuan Er had trembled, and seeing Yuan Dasheng, had immediately collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down his face: "Uncle Monkey!"
...
Magma Fairy Palace.
The puppet Ning Zhuo had been waiting quietly for some time now.
Finally, he believed Yuan Dasheng would no longer enter the Immortal Palace.
"The plan worked!" Ning Zhuo thought.
Whether it was luring demon cultivators to attack the Monkey Head Gang's monkey pets by offering high prices or deliberately failing in the assassination attempt on Yuan Er, it was all to put pressure on Yuan Dasheng.
Now, it seemed to have worked well.
Yuan Dasheng had realized the approaching storm, and being targeted, how could he still focus on exploring the Immortal Palace?
"This way, the four major powers wouldn't discover Yuan Dasheng in the short term."
"On the other hand, Yuan Dasheng wouldn't notice other competitors and would misjudge the situation in the Immortal Palace."
"And I myself, am I not also in swirling storms?"
The arrival of Zhu Xuanji of the Divine Hunter Office had come much earlier than Ning Zhuo had anticipated.
Although Ning Zhuo had been prepared.
"The two major spells mastered by the Divine Hunter Office members are the Heart-Illuminating Warning Technique and the Trace Back Method."
"The former is the source of the Alert Heart Bell's spell prohibition, while the latter can unearth closely related items."
As long as Ning Zhuo attacked the Immortal Palace, under the Trace Back Method, he would definitely be exposed. To solve this problem, Ning Zhuo had intentionally revealed himself, contacting Chen Cha with his true body, and purposely exposing the mechanical Explosive Flame Monkey.
Now, this preparation had taken effect.
"But how long can it be concealed?" Ning Zhuo didn't know. Perhaps the next moment, he would be exposed and captured.
He had long been resolved.
He could only race against time and continue moving forward.
"Now, we wait for the Fire Persimmon Festival."
...
Zhu Xuanji and Chi Dun concealed their forms and walked out of the black market.
Chi Dun was puzzled: "Lord Zhu, what's going on? Under your Golden Eyes, they can't lie. But no one has recently purchased a large amount of Fire Essence."
Zhu Xuanji was silent for a moment, then smiled slightly: "It seems the culprit is well-prepared."
"From the mechanical monkeys, we can see that the culprit is specifically guarded against our Office's Trace Back Method."
"None of Persimmon Fire City's markets, big or small, have suspicious buyers purchasing large quantities of Fire Essence. Either they've sourced them from elsewhere in bulk, or they've bought them in batches."
"Whichever it is, it's thoroughly premeditated!"
Chi Dun: "So what do we do next?"
Zhu Xuanji touched his chin and let out a sigh: "Next, we prepare for the Fire Persimmon Festival!"