nyslfriends Chapter 16 White Ape
Chapter 16 White Ape
Cheng Qing raised his hand to stop the guards behind him who were about to draw their swords.
The clanging of swords in the tavern had not yet ceased; the swords of those wandering swordsmen were still trembling restlessly in their sheaths, as if drawn by some invisible force.
Some people gripped the sword hilt with suspicion, while others stared wide-eyed at the young Taoist priest in the corner.
Cheng Qing wiped the wine off his face, and instead of getting angry, he smiled.
"When you first entered the city, young Taoist, I noticed you after you dodged the wine bowl that was aimed straight at the back of your head. My earlier harassment was actually an attempt to force you to take action and see your skills. Now it seems that I overestimated myself."
Song Quyou dispelled his sword aura, sat back down at the table, ate the unfinished vegetables, and ignored the matter.
Seeing that Song Quyou didn't respond, Cheng Qing waved his hand and beckoned the shopkeeper over.
"Fill this table with your toughest snacks to go with your drinks."
The tavern owner, who had been somewhat worried, nodded happily and said "Yes" when he heard that business had come in.
"Master, please don't be angry. I had no choice. The beautiful wife of the Prefect of Jiannan was kidnapped by a demon while she was out for a stroll. This matter is within my duties, so I had to resort to this desperate measure to find some capable and extraordinary people among the common people."
"Sir, what do you have to say?"
When Cheng Qing heard Song Quyou's reply, he immediately felt that there was a chance. He then recounted how the prefect's beautiful wife was kidnapped by a demon while she was out for a stroll in the suburbs.
"White Rainbow?"
"That's right. The demon came and went like the wind. When it was abducted, its servants all said they saw a white rainbow."
Were any other items left at the scene?
"There was only one bright white hair, nothing else."
At this moment, the food was served, and Cheng Qing pushed away the snacks to go with the drinks, saying:
"The food is still hot, please eat, Taoist priest."
"Since you have left behind something, you can find two or three hunters to go into the mountains and forests and you will surely find the demon. Why bother coming to me?"
Cheng Qing sighed softly, "That demon is as swift as the wind; our arrows are hard to hit it. The government chased after it when it abducted women before and found some clues, but in the end, they still couldn't catch that scoundrel."
Song Quyou frowned slightly, picked up a piece of braised pork rib from the table, ate it with relish, and shook his head, saying, "In that case, I will accompany you. However, this demon is fast, and I will have difficulty catching up with it, but if it fights, I will definitely be able to take it down."
"That would be excellent."
After a satisfying meal, Song Quyou followed Cheng Qing to the military camp.
The military camp was located at the drill ground north of the city. As dusk settled, campfires were already burning between the tents. Song Quyou followed behind Cheng Qing with unhurried steps, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers on duty around him. Although there weren't many armored soldiers in the camp, their formation was impeccable, clearly indicating that this captain was no ordinary commander.
In the central command tent, Cheng Qing gestured for Song Quyou to take a seat and ordered his personal guards to prepare a pot of tea.
"Master, please rest in the military tent for the night. Tomorrow morning, I will select ten archers to go up the mountain together."
Cheng Qing suddenly pushed a wooden box towards them.
"This is what the demon left behind," Cheng Qing said in a low voice.
"On the day the prefect's wife was abducted, all the surrounding grass and trees fell down, but this item was left in the wooden pavilion."
Song Quyou took it and opened it, and saw a glistening hair inside. He reached out, picked it up, and sniffed it.
"Does the Taoist priest recognize this item?"
"The fur has a faint monkey smell, so the demon must be a white ape."
"A white ape?"
"Mountain spirits that cultivate themselves to become spirits will turn white, and there are even folk tales of thousand-year-old demons shedding their impurities and returning to their white state."
"A thousand-year-old demon, wouldn't that be...?"
Song Quyou closed the wooden box and pushed it back, shaking his head and laughing, "It does indeed turn white, but it's just an isolated case. If this demon had a thousand years of cultivation, it wouldn't be hiding like this."
Cheng Qing breathed a sigh of relief.
……
The next day, Song Quyou walked out of the military tent early, looked at the rising sun tearing through the thin mist in the east, and took a deep breath.
There was already movement in the military camp. Cheng Qing was selecting archers on the drill ground. The ten elite soldiers were all skilled archers in the army, with hard bows at their waists and two quivers of feathered arrows on their backs.
"Master, we can set off now." Cheng Qing led two horses. "The mountain road is difficult to travel, and I have prepared the horses."
Song Quyou mounted his horse, and Cheng Qing gave the order. Ten archers filed out, and the group headed into the mountains along the official road north of the city.
After traveling several miles, the terrain gradually rose, the forests became denser, and the official road turned into a winding mountain path.
"That's where the prefect's beautiful wife was kidnapped." Cheng Qing pointed to an open area by the water, where several hunters stood, surrounded by yellow and white hunting dogs, their tongues lolling out.
Beside it stands a dilapidated wooden pavilion, and the surrounding vegetation does show signs of being uprooted, but the traces have been diluted by time.
"White apes, having become spirits, prefer to live deep in the mountains and forests. They are naturally swift, and with their acquired skills, they are indeed difficult to catch," Song Quyou said as he walked into the forest. "Has the Captain sent anyone into the mountains to search?"
"We searched three times." Cheng Qing followed. "The first time we found a towering ancient tree with the clothes of the kidnapped woman hanging on its branches. The second time we found footprints by a mountain stream, chased it for half a day, but it shook us off. The third time... we lost three skilled men."
Song Quyou paused, "Three people were killed?"
Cheng Qing's face was grim: "That demon didn't confront people head-on, but instead threw stones from the shadows to injure them. The stones were extremely powerful, breaking bones and tendons. One of the three died on the spot, and the other two, though carried back, didn't survive more than two days."
"They are indeed cunning." Song Quyou nodded and continued on his way.
They followed the hunter's hound for another half an hour.
The mountain became increasingly steep, and the trees blocked out the sun. The hunting dogs barked but did not move; the caravan stopped.
Song Quyou strode forward, squatted down, and parted the grass where the hunting dogs were barking, revealing a series of deep footprints. The footprints were very far apart, indicating that the demon could take a step of more than ten feet.
"Looks like we've found it. Let's keep going."
As the group ventured deeper into the forest, the hunting dogs' barking grew increasingly urgent, their tails held high, clearly indicating they had caught the scent of prey.
Song Quyou walked at the front, his steps seemingly casual, yet he always maintained a just-right distance from the people behind him.
Cheng Qing followed closely with his sword drawn, and the ten archers spread out in a fan shape, the arrows in their quivers gently clattering with each step.
They only stopped when they were stopped by a mountain stream.
Song Quyou raised his hand in a gesture of silence, indicating that everyone should be quiet. He listened carefully to the laughter of the women, which was being drowned out by the sound of the flowing water.
After listening intently for a moment, Song Quyou cupped his hands to the crowd and said, "Please remain silent, everyone. I will be right back."
Suddenly, he swayed and stepped on the rocks and trees, crossed the ravine, and leaped several feet away.
Across the mountain stream was a dense patch of ancient vines and old trees, and the woman's laughter could be heard intermittently, sometimes near and sometimes far.
But as they got further and further away from the mountain stream, the sounds of their playful laughter became clearer and clearer.
Song Quyou walked swiftly through the dense forest, where a wide-open space opened up before him, and the rich fragrance of flowers reached his nose.
In this late autumn, although there are still remnants of green in Jiannan, there is still a hint of golden autumn.
However, this place is completely different from the norm. The lush green grass and vibrant flowers are too unusual. In late autumn, there is no sign of withering or yellowing. Coming here is like entering the height of summer.