"Fuck your mother, don't let me catch you, if I catch you… I'll peel your skin and pull your tendons, eat your monkey brains!"
Just as I was looking for a ladder, suddenly my eyes blurred, and the old man appeared in the yard. He gave a smile at the monkey on the roof, and without any visible move, a huge hand materialized out of thin air and grabbed the little monkey by the back of its neck, lifting it up. The little monkey was so brazen toward Gu Shi Yi, but in front of the old man, it was extremely well-behaved. Its snow-white body curled up, obediently letting the giant hand lift it, and then it fell into the old man's embrace.
The old man held the little monkey and gently rubbed its belly,
"Hmm, very good... You've fed it well!"
He then looked at the three cows and the sheep, nodding his head,
"Good... not bad!"
When Gu Shi Yi saw the old man come out, his boiling rage immediately subsided as if coming into contact with snowy water, extinguishing right there. He became timid, standing in front of the old man with his head bowed, even forcing a smile and saying,
"It's great that the old master is satisfied!"
The old man glanced at her wrist and said with a smile,
"No harm done, this Flying Macaque is still a juvenile, its fangs haven't yet grown, and the poison glands under its chin can't shoot venom. Just wash the wound with Spirit Water, and you'll be fine..."
He paused, looked at the basket on the ground,
"Did you eat the fruits inside this?"
Gu Shi Yi immediately blushed, muttering,
"That… yes... I ate two..."
The old man asked again,
"What did they taste like?"
"That... one tasted like meat, and the other was peach-flavored..."
Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes flashed with a meaningful look as he sized up Gu Shi Yi and said,
"It's getting late today, come early tomorrow!"
"Yes!"
Gu Shi Yi didn't dare say anything else, obediently responding and leaving the shop with her tail between her legs. When she got back on the boat, she was so tired that she fell asleep immediately, not even having the energy to talk with Li Yaner, who crawled out of the oilcloth bag and sighed with sympathy at the sight of her best friend's sleeping face,
"If I had known, we wouldn't have gone to that shop!"
Shiyi really had deep feelings for her. She had a hard life with neither father nor mother caring for her, but having a loyal and devoted friend like Shiyi made her life worthwhile!
When Gu Shi Yi woke up, it was already daylight. She hurriedly had her breakfast and got off the boat. Old Lady Gu, seeing this, was very curious and went to kick Liu Er's cabin door,
"What have you bunch of stinky men been doing taking Shiyi out? Why has she been coming home as tired as a dog after staying out all day for the past two days?"
Liu Er and the others had been fooling around in the brothel for several days, finally managing to sell off their stock. They were deep asleep when Old Lady Gu woke them up, and they mumbled in response,
"Shiyi? She hasn't been with us. We've been sleeping with girls, she can't do that!"
Old Lady Gu was suddenly puzzled,
"What has she been up to then, going out early and coming back late… Liu Er, are you hiding something from me? Shiyi is a young girl, you guys better not be leading her astray. If she gets spoiled... how is she going to get married?"
"No... not at all…" Liu Er innocently protested,
"Gu Shi Yi… she… aside from looking like a woman, in what way does she act like one! When it comes to matters of men and women, she's even more clear-headed than us; if it weren't for lacking the equipment, she'd be out hustling women more than we do!"
Really, who's corrupting who here!
Of course, Gu Shi Yi had no idea about Liu Er and the guys' claims of injustice. She hurried to the little shop where the old man greeted her with a smile,
"You're quite early!"
The little monkey on his shoulder, who had also been dozing off, opened its eyes when the old man did. Seeing Gu Shi Yi, it immediately bared its teeth and screeched. It gestured with its hands and feet,
"You stinking woman, why are you here again?"
Gu Shi Yi responded by making faces at the little monkey, and after a tense stare-off, the monkey turned and clutched the old man's neck, sporting an expression that said, "I've got backup, just try to touch me." Gu Shi Yi glanced at the old man, who had a smile that was not quite a smile, then at the wound on her wrist and, sensibly, turned her face away,
Old lady isn't going to argue with an animal!
The old man laughed heartily,
"Let's go!"
He led her to the back courtyard, into the kitchen, and pointed at the stove,
"Boil that thing with Spirit Water, add the feces of the Golden-Horned Beast that you scooped up last night, and add these... this... and this... and ten Cleansing Bamboo Leaves, simmer it for half an hour, and then you can use it for that ghost of yours…"