Just as I expected, the monkey followed me, chasing right after. The moonlight tonight was particularly bright, and this monkey looked ferocious, far more menacing than any zoo monkey I’d ever seen.

I studied its appearance and quickly realized—this creature was likely a low-level monster. It didn’t have full consciousness yet, but it definitely wasn’t just an ordinary monkey anymore.

This was actually my first time facing off against a demon, so I was a little nervous, though not overly scared. I mean, come on, I’ve been learning Taoist arts for four to five months now. How could I be afraid of a monkey? It’s not like it’s Sun Wukong or something.

The Mei Hou let out a screech and lunged at me with its legs pumping like pistons. In one leap, it soared three meters into the air, its sharp claws swiping directly at my face.

That scared the hell out of me! This monkey was too fast. Anyone who’s seen a monkey sprint knows how swift and nimble they can be. I dodged left just in time and slapped a Fire Talisman toward the monkey’s head. But the monkey didn’t even flinch. It just clawed at my face with a death-or-glory attitude.

Seeing those sharp, two-centimeter-long claws coming for my face, I cursed in my heart. There’s no way I was going to trade blows with this beast—my handsome face couldn’t afford even a scratch! Gritting my teeth, I veered left to dodge, but the monkey was unbelievably agile. Its claws sank straight into my right arm.

A searing pain shot through me. Its right claws dug deep into my arm while its mouth clamped down on my shoulder. Those four long fangs pierced right through the flesh of my right shoulder, and the monkey threw me to the ground, gnashing at my arm like it was trying to rip off a chunk of flesh.

“Damn you!” I snarled, gritting my teeth against the pain. I grabbed another Fire Talisman and slapped it onto the monkey’s back. The moment it touched the talisman, the creature looked startled. It yelped and let go of me, turning to flee.

I shouted, “Five elements converge, the law commands! Chi!”

With a roar, the talisman ignited, and the monkey burst into flames as if doused in gasoline.

The creature screeched and rolled around on the ground, its cries sharp and grating. It didn’t last long—within half a minute, it was reduced to a charred lump of ash.

Relieved, I exhaled, but the pain in my shoulder reminded me there was no time to rest. Clutching my bleeding shoulder, I slowly made my way back to the temple. By the time I pushed the door open, the others were already awake, huddled around a small fire with wary expressions.

Brother Xiang froze when he saw me. “Hui, you okay?”

“Does it look like I’m okay?” I shot back, gesturing to my wounded shoulder. Fortunately, Jin Xishan had prepared well for this trip, knowing the mountains were full of dangers. She quickly pulled out some first aid supplies and bandaged my arm and shoulder.

Once I was patched up, the others surrounded me, firing off questions about what had happened.

I played it cool. “It’s no big deal. A wild monkey wandered in. I tried to chase it out and got bitten.” Hearing that, everyone seemed to relax a bit. It turned out they had been woken by the monkey’s dying screeches. Coupled with Jin Xishan’s earlier ghost story about the Mei Hou, they’d been worried the monkey had dragged me off or something.

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. What am I, a toddler? A monkey couldn’t just drag me off!

Once they heard I’d chased it away, everyone settled down and prepared to go back to sleep. But something kept nagging at me. The moment Mei Hou died, I felt my heart racing, as if something bad was looming.

“Crap! Monkeys are social animals!” I suddenly blurted out, whipping around to Jin Xishan. “We need to leave right now and head to your grandfather’s village!”

“No way! It’s at least a three-hour hike from here,” Jin Xishan replied, frowning. Xia Yumeng chimed in, “Yeah, and it’s pitch dark in these mountains. It’s way too dangerous. Let’s wait until daylight.”

But the longer we stayed, the worse I felt. This wasn’t just paranoia—I could feel the heavy, oppressive atmosphere creeping in.

Brother Xiang abruptly stood and sniffed the air, his face darkening. “There’s a ton of demonic energy around.”

“Monkeys! So many monkeys!” Little Fatty burst back into the temple, tripping over himself. His belt was still unfastened from when he’d gone outside to pee.

Outside, the screeching began—sharp, relentless monkey cries, so densely packed it sounded like there were dozens of them. My face turned pale. Judging by the noise, there had to be at least fifty of them. If just one had left me injured, fifty of them would tear the nine of us into pieces!

“Brother Xiang, Little Fatty, Liu Tianyi, Tai Long—you guys take a window each. Don’t let the monkeys in. I’ll guard the door!” Han Sifan barked, pulling a peachwood sword and four thunder talismans from her bag before rushing to the front door and slamming it shut.

Brother Xiang and Tai Long didn’t hesitate, immediately taking their positions. But Liu Tianyi frowned and pointed at me. “Why should I go? What about him? He just gets to watch?”

“Can’t you see he’s injured? What’s the matter? You scared?” Xia Yumeng shot back.

“Scared? Me? Hah!” Liu Tianyi snorted before heading to the east window. Tai Long guarded the window near the door, while Brother Xiang and Liu Tianyi covered the sides.

“Brother Hui, take my spot! I’m too scared!” Little Fatty pleaded, trembling.

I glanced at him and sighed. The guy was genuinely terrified. If I forced him to guard, he’d probably collapse at the first sign of danger. “Fine. You stay and protect Xia Yumeng and the others.”

With that, I ran to the back of the stone statue, where a large window faced outward. It was closed for now, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I noticed a man-sized hole nearby. If the monkeys came through there, we’d be in big trouble.

I quickly found a wooden plank and sealed the hole as best as I could. Then, the nine of us settled into a tense wait.

I couldn’t see what was happening at the front from behind the statue, and I didn’t dare move away, afraid that something might slip through the hole.

After about three minutes, the attack began. I couldn’t see the action directly, but I had a clear view of Liu Tianyi and Brother Xiang. Armed with wooden sticks, they carefully guarded their windows.

The paper-covered windows didn’t offer much resistance. The monkeys tore through them with a single swipe and leaped inside. Liu Tianyi and Brother Xiang swung their sticks like baseball bats, whacking each monkey right back out.