Only 2 days later, he discovered the reason behind Jojo's hard work.
Long-eared Monkeys began appearing one after another. This puzzled Yuan for a while before he realized what was happening. In just a few minutes, hundreds of Monkeys gathered in the open space, signaling the start of their annual tradition.
During this time, young males of the tribe competed against each other, with the stronger ones getting the first pick of mating partners of their choice.
Actually, it was simply the mating season of the Long-eared Monkeys clan to which Jojo belonged. This clan had resided in the northern hills of this valley for generations. The reason this valley was called Monkey Valley was because of their presence.
When Yuan first arrived in the valley, he didn't know Long-eared Monkeys called this place home. He happily built a small house. But one day, Jojo suddenly appeared and threw him out of the house. This led to numerous playful fights, and Yuan got his ass kicked every single time.
After enduring a series of defeats, Yuan realized he couldn't win against Jojo in a fight and hatched a new plan. After many attempts and using many different methods, Yuan finally managed to convince Jojo and helped him build a bigger house right next to his own. Since then, Jojo has lived in the bigger house.
As they practiced together, Yuan noticed that despite Jojo's speed and agility, his fighting style remained quite basic—mostly fists and kicks. Though he saw Jojo using a wooden pole sometimes, that was all.
Yuan decided to teach him how to use a pole properly as well as how to fight using a bow and arrows. He even gifted him a Bronze Spear. This spear became Jojo's primary weapon, significantly enhancing his strength. Later when Jojo broke through from peak Level 1 to Initial-stage Level 2, his strength grew more, making him the strongest among the younger Long-eared Monkeys.
In any Beast Clan, strength was what was respected the most. Thanks to Jojo, the younger generation of the Long-eared Monkeys respected Yuan greatly, though he wasn't particularly interested in their admiration.
Yuan began evaluating young monkeys while watching excited fights. All the monkeys were targeting Jojo as the tallest tree bears the heaviest winds, but Jojo was still an absolute leader. After a few fights and getting heavily beaten by Jojo, monkeys understood they were not his match and began competing for the 2nd best position, leaving the top for Jojo.
Jojo grinned slyly. He chose a robust female monkey in front of them, brought her to the larger house, and began lovemaking. (Monkeys making maybe.)
This excited other monkeys and fights grew more intense.
Yuan taught some basic pole techniques to the younger monkeys who weren't yet eligible to participate in this year's competition.
However, as time passed, he began to grow bored. Jojo was busy making love with one female monkey after another as if he was on steroids. On top of that, Yuan didn't need to go out and hunt for food as Jojo had assigned other monkeys to handle that.
5 days into the event, Yuan decided to leave the valley and head back.
*****
An hour later, Yuan came across a human body or more accurately, pieces of a human body. His heart shuddered seeing how badly mutilated it was. He had seen dead bodies before in the forest, but never this bad. Not a single body part was intact. He immediately grew more cautious as well as increased his speed.
He wanted to get away from the blood scent as it would only agitate the beasts more, but soon he saw the second body, followed by the third, and so on. All of them were mutilated beyond recognition.
An impending feeling of doom gripped his heart as he walked forward. The more he grew nearer the exit, the cautioner he became.
Yuan suddenly halted as Red alerted him of the danger ahead. He immediately restricted his aura further as he climbed to a high branch of a towering tree, Red perched silently beside him. His eyes locked on the bushes 100 meters away ahead.
The bushes rustled, and suddenly, like a nightmare taking form, a terrifying beast stepped into view. Its dark fur gleamed under the scattered sunlight, and spines, like jagged daggers, ran down its back—a Dragon Hound. Its eyes glowed with an unnatural, fiery light—cruel and unrelenting. The beast's fangs were long and sharp, dripping with saliva as it snarled.
Hound slowly moved forward, sniffing the air.
Yuan's heart pounded in his chest. This was his first time seeing such a veracious beast right before his eyes, but he had no time to admire it as his very life hung by a thread. He knew if the hound caught his scent, he would be done for.
He whispered a silent prayer, wishing the beast to turn away and leave.
Suddenly, Yuan's breath caught in his throat, terror freezing him, as the massive beast slowly approached the tree he was hiding on. "No."
The beast finally caught their scent and raised its angular dragonic head, its eyes narrowing.
Yuan's heart sank, his breath catching in his throat as the beast's fiery gaze locked onto him, a predator's stare that pierced him to the core.
A cold sweat broke out across his back as flashes of his life—the faces of his parents, and his little sister Xu'er—flashed before his eyes. "Guess, this is the end. Farewell, Mom, Dad, and Xu'er." He muttered.
But just as despair was about to swallow him, a look of resolve appeared on his face as his survival instincts kicked in. He had no time for fear. He would not go down without a fight.
A plan of action formed in his mind. His plan was straightforward. He would distract the beast, allowing Red to escape. "Red, go," he ordered, the urgency in his voice sharp and commanding.
But to his shock, instead of escaping, Red jumped down from the tree, appearing before the dragon hound, and snarled. The Hound's angular head snapped back toward him, its fangs bared.
Yuan's face changed. "Damn it, go." He roared as he jumped down from the tree, ready to face the oncoming battle.