Pu Feixiang glanced at Mo Mian.
With the way that he was looking at Mo Mian, it was obvious that Pu Feixiang was eagerly awaiting an order to take action.
However, all he received in return was disappointment, as the frowning Mo Mian only continued to watch on in silence.
Pu Feixiang clenched his fists in frustration, but he understood the reasoning behind this inaction as well.
They had yet to locate the monkey demon – the main reason for their presence here at East Stream Village.
If they were to act carelessly in this situation, they might just end up alerting the monkey demon and allowing it to escape.
It was bad enough that they would not be able to complete their mission if they allowed the monkey demon to escape.
But what would be worse was if they left and the monkey demon returned with a vengeance. With them gone, no one would be left to shield the villagers from the vengeful demon.
They might be able to save the man in front of them by acting now, but it would only jeopardise the lives of the other villagers!
On top of that, the man was still hanging in there somehow.
In fact, one could even guess that this was not the first time that this man was experiencing such a treatment. If that were the case, it would also mean that his life was unlikely to be in any immediate danger.
"They are doing what the villagers did to the young monkey demon in the past," Zhao Yunxiao remarked.
His comments caused the frowns on everyone's faces to deepen.
They could not help but recall the notes that had been written by Madam Xie's son.
Indeed, the scene playing out in front of them right now bore close similarities to how Little Blackarms had been treated by the villagers in the past.
Did the villagers laugh and mock Little Blackarms in a similar fashion back then, even as it was being mistreated in its cage?
How the roles had reversed since then!
"Is this revenge?" Pu Feixiang asked.
"No, more like mimickry," Mo Mian disagreed. "Just like how they have learnt to set up traps, they have learnt the villagers' ways of entertainment as well."
"...Entertainment, eh?" Pu Feixiang gritted his teeth in frustration.
How could such a thing be construed as entertainment?
"The man's appearance does not fit the description of Madam Dian's husband, though," Zhao Yunxiao commented once more.
"Madam Dian?" the rest of the party looked at him in confusion.
"She is a villager from East Stream Village. I heard that her husband was the latest victim from the village, so I went to speak to her for a bit," Zhao Yunxiao explained. "But according to her, her husband should have a long scar across his back."
"I see, so this is not the latest villager who has been abducted by the monkey demon..." Chu Han narrowed his eyes.
"So what if he is not the latest one? Does that matter?" Pu Feixiang asked.
"Two possibilities," Mo Mian answered. "The first possibility is that the monkeys have been abducting people from different places, and those from East Stream Village are not the only victims. The second possibility is that the monkeys do not only hold one person at a time. After kidnapping the villagers, the monkeys have been keeping them alive here in this nest."
"It seems like my assumption was wrong," Chu Han added. "That huge stick house in the middle is probably not the monkey demon's abode. Instead, it should be where they hold their prisoners."
All of their attention fell on the huge stick house.
If that was truly the case, the huge stick house would be a key location to take note of when planning their assault on the monkey nest.
Snarl-!
A loud cry caused the cheers to die down immediately.
Even the old monkey appeared to be startled.
Its muscles bulged, and it started pulling on the rope, lifting the wooden cage up from the stream.
"Haa-!" the man within the cage gasped for air before collapsing to the floor of the cage. He looked completely spent in his drenched state, with numerous fresh wounds and bruises all over his body.
The other monkeys watched on in silence as the old monkey kept pulling on the rope.
Snarl-!
The loud cry from before sounded out once more, and the monkeys jumped in shock.
The old monkey did not pull the cage all the way up to the trees, choosing to lay it down on the banks of the stream.
After which, it quickly got down from the trees and waited patiently beside the wooden cage.
The other monkeys got down from the trees as well, just that they did not crowd around the wooden cage and chose to remain where they were instead.
All of them remained silent while facing downstream – the direction where the snarl cry had come from earlier.
Zhao Yunxiao and the members of the Mystic Cavalry crouched down further, making sure that their presences were fully concealed.
And as everyone looked on, a few figures started approaching from downstream.
As these new entrants gradually walked nearer, all the monkeys present lowered their heads simultaneously, a clear expression of deferrence and subservience. The old monkey was no exception, either.
But as for the cultivators, all of them showed different reactions to this scene.
Mo Mian and Gui Longcan frowned.
Zhao Yunxiao and Chu Han smirked.
Pu Feixiang snorted in disdain.
There were three new entrants – all of them monkeys as well.
However, the one in the lead drew in all of their attention right away.
After all, the black hair on its arms was far too striking to miss.
The monkey demon!
That was the thought that went through the heads of all five cultivators.
It was just like what the villagers had said.
If one just ignored the black hair on its arms, it would look no different from any other monkey present.
But that was only when one looked solely at appearances.
Apart from its physical appearance, it was nothing like the other monkeys.
The monkey demon calmly walked over on its legs, with its chest pushed out and its head held high.
There was a cold look of superiority in its eyes, as though it clearly understood the difference in status between it and the other monkeys present.
The other monkeys clearly understood this as well. It would be difficult to explain their attitude towards the monkey demon otherwise.
But apart from this, perhaps the greatest trait that differentiated the monkey demon was that the aura that it exuded was simply unmistakable.
Under the influence of its demon aura, one who possessed a weaker will would find their resolve shaken, preventing them from even putting up half the normal level of resistance!
The monkey demon slowly walked past the others, finally stopping in front of the wooden cage as it looked at the drenched man who was still panting heavily.
It then slowly reached out to pick up a piece of rock lying near the bank of the stream.
"Wait a minute, what's it going to do with that?" Pu Feixiang had a bad feeling.
"Don't do anything rash," Gui Longcan cautioned.
He was worried that Pu Feixiang would lose control of his emotions soon.
In fact, everyone could already guess what was about to happen, but nobody wanted to say it out loud.
However, it was not like things would not happen just because they refused to verbalise it.
With a snap of its wrists, the monkey demon threw the rock at the man who was lying in the wooden cage.
It was only a casual snap of the wrists, but the power generated seemed almost unreal.
Stab-!
"Aaahhh!" the man screamed in pain as he instantly woke up from being on the verge of losing consciousness.
The rock had sufficient force behind it to pierce straight through the man's skin and flesh, directly embedding itself in his thigh!
Blood sprayed out as a result, dyeing the bars of the wooden cage red.
Squeal-! Squeal-! Squeal-!
Wu-! Ar-! Wu-! Ar-!
The monkeys immediately cheered in response, though it was unclear if they were celebrating the man's agony or the monkey demon's strength.
In any case, the monkey demon did not seem to mind the rowdiness.
It only extended an open palm to the old monkey, as though asking for something from the old monkey.
The old monkey immediately understood, quickly fetching another piece of rock from the bank of the stream before respectfully placing it in the open palm of the monkey demon.
"No! Please! Please...!" the man pleaded in vain as he saw the monkey demon holding another piece of rock.
Alas, his pleas were not heeded.
"Aaaahhhhh!" the man let out another scream as another piece of rock pierced his flesh.
"Senior Martial Brother Mo?" Pu Feixiang urged.
He understood the hesitation earlier because they had yet to locate the monkey demon, but things were different now.
The monkey demon was there in plain view, torturing an innocent man right before their very eyes.
What else were they waiting for?
"It's too risky to jump in without a plan," Chu Han explained in Mo Mian's stead. "The monkey demon itself is not an issue. The problem is with the monkey monsters – there are far too many of them. If they attack together, it is difficult even for us to escape unscathed."
Indeed, the monkey monsters were not a menace when dealt with individually.
But because of their sheer numbers, things could get rather complicated.
"I can be the vanguard. I don't mind taking a few hits as long as we can get them out as soon as possible!" Pu Feixiang volunteered. "Hell, I don't even mind taking a few dozen hits if I really have to!"
"Stop saying something so irresponsible," Gui Longcan chided seriously. "You might be willing to die here, but don't drag everyone down with you. On top of that, have you thought about Senior Martial Brother Mo's feelings? Do you think he brought you here thinking that it is all right for you to be injured?"
"Don't worry, we won't let them go unpunished," Mo Mian assured him. "Not a single one of them."
"Tch!" Pu Feixiang could only grit his teeth and suppress his rage.
Looking at this, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel relieved.
At least Mo Mian was still able to remain rational when it counted.
Snarl-!
The monkey demon bared its fangs towards the sky and yelled.
The cheers from the other monkeys continued as the monkey demon turned around and walked away from the wooden cage along with its two companions.
It would appear that, just like the other monkeys, the monkey demon was only torturing the man for fun.
With its two companions following right behind it, the monkey demon climbed a tree to enter a stick house.
Surprisingly, there was nothing of note about the stick house that it just entered, looking just like any other.
Had they not seen it entering with their own eyes, the cultivators would never have suspected that this was the stick house that belonged to the monkey demon.
Squeal-!
The old monkey whistled, and the other monkeys cheered once more before returning to their earlier activities.
As for the old monkey, it leapt up into the huge stick house before pulling the wooden cage up by the rope, eventually keeping the wooden cage away in the stick house once more.
Throughout the process, the man in the wooden cage could do nothing but hold his thigh in pain.
He dared not even pull out the rocks that were now embedded in his thigh, afraid that the resulting loss of blood would be too much for him to bear.
As the door to the huge stick house closed, the cultivators took a deep breath to calm themselves down.
Thankfully, it would appear that the torture of the man had finally ended.
"Let's go," Mo Mian said.
"We are leaving?" Pu Feixiang sounded a little reluctant.
"I know what you are thinking, but don't you worry," Mo Mian answered. "We will make sure to complete our preparations tonight. Tomorrow will be the day that we take down the entire nest, and we will make sure that not a single one of them escapes!"
As Mo Mian spoke, a glint of murderous light flashed across his eyes.
It would appear that, just like Pu Feixiang, he had really been trying his best to suppress the rage that was welling up within him!