Chapter 22 Lure

The next day everyone woke up late. Xin Ruo allowed them some well-deserved rest after the results they had shown in the past week.

When everyone was excited to start another day of fighting monkeys, Feng Yan appeared before them empty-handed. Even though Feng Yan was empty-handed, the kids didn't lower their guard. Instead, they had heightened their vigilance.

This was all the result of the devious means Feng Yan had used to prevent the kids from relaxing their vigilance. He had sicced the monkeys on them at many unexpected moments.

While eating, while sleeping; still none were as unlucky as Chu Qing. Feng Yan had released Monkey on him while he was out for a poop.

Even now they still expected Monkeys to jump on them even though Feng Yan was not carrying any.

Feng Yan was pleased with the vigilance the kids had shown.

"You can relax. Today I am going to train you in another aspect of being a cultivator."

But instead of relaxing, the Kids became more guarded. Ikasa even wondered whether this was the result of training or mental trauma.

"I said relax!" Feng Yan yelled.

"Yes, Sir!" All the kids stood stiffly in their position focusing their attention on Feng Yan instead of searching for threats in the surroundings. After all, the biggest threat was right in front of them.

Feng Yan took out a small booklet and passed it to Pei Yuan.

"Look at the pictures in the book carefully. I want you to memorize the items in there and look for them when you search the other Outer Area later."

Everyone huddled around the book. There were images and short descriptions of the items depicted.

When Ikasa skimmed through it, he recognized most of the items. There were stars with five arms, motherboards, chipsets, and numerous other things which techies could identify precisely.

What amazed him was he also saw a Wifi Dongle in the images. He furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement.

'Is there internet in this world?'

But seeing the amazing feats of his Printer as well as the chipset sold in auction, Ikasa no longer discarded this thought.

When Ikasa closed the book after looking at all the images, he heard Feng Yan's instructions.

"Xin Ruo, you take the kids to the outer area on the other side to search for any one of the items in the book. Ikasa, you stay at the junction of the two outer areas and the inner area and manage the communications between them and me."

Xin Ruo and the kids nodded in acceptance. Ikasa, who was still curious about last night's conversation, probed Feng Yan.

"Will you be on standby in case an accident happens or do you have some other plans?"

Feng Yan gave him a careful look. Ikasa's mask of curiosity didn't crumble under his scrutiny.

"I will sweep this outer zone."

Feng Yan gave Ikasa a meaningful glance and then dispersed the group.

–

Ikasa accompanied Xin Ruo and the kids to the large gap in the outer area's wall near their campsite. They would have to circle all the way to the other outer area's gate from outside the ruins.

"Xin Ruo, if you see any unusual people or creatures, immediately call for me. I will bring Feng Yan over to rescue as soon as possible."

"You, too. Be careful alright?"

Seeing her genuine caring eyes, Ikasa deliberated whether to warn Xin Ruo about her father and his accomplice. He chose not to but still decided to give her a heads up in case an unexpected situation arises.

"Yes. Now listen to me. If you hear a commotion coming from this side, don't panic and come over okay? Your dad is strong enough to protect himself as well as me, but if he has to protect kids too he might have an accident."

Xin Ruo's eyes narrowed. She was already suspecting something. She was usually a naive and charming lady, but one cannot forget she grew up in some of the harshest possible conditions.

"Tell me what's up. I can be of help."

Sweat drops formed on Ikasa's head as he thought of a way to assuage her worries. He cooked up a lie that would seem closest to the truth.

"Don't worry. I heard your dad was planning to raid the monkeys' homes. It might cause them to chase after him and cause a lot of noise. So don't come over before I call for you. And look after the kids."

Xin Ruo visibly relaxed. What Ikasa said fit with her dad's personality. And his words were also very reasonable. She left with the kids after reminding Ikasa to be safe once again.

As Ikasa watched Xin Ruo leave, he was filled with trepidation and excitement about what was to come.

–

*Ke Ke* *shriek*

"Why the hell are the monkeys causing so much fuss?"

Ikasa muttered as he yawned and stretched his body. Then suddenly he became alert as a thought came to his mind.

'Don't tell me Feng Yan really went to raid the Monkeys' homes!'

Ikasa was currently at the right corner of the outer area. The source of cacophony was the left wall, where the only intact watchtower of this area was.

Curiosity pushed Ikasa into motion. He stealthily crept towards the Left wall to get a better view of what was happening.

Even before he could get visuals on Feng Yan he saw Wu Nan running towards the Inner area's barrier. He quickly hid himself.

What he saw caused his eyes to widen with amazement. Wu Nan had disappeared as soon as he had touched the Barrier!

Ikasa waited for a few moments. Seeing no changes, he approached the wall with caution. For the first time, he studied the wall up close.

Though the wall was made of beige sandstone, dirt had accumulated on it over the years, turning it brown. Every stone in the wall was rectangular with identical size and shape; as if it was not stone but bricks made in a factory.

When Ikasa reached the place Wu Nan had disappeared, he discovered an anomaly. In the mix of rectangular stones, there was a single square stone.

Ikasa raised his hand to touch it but retracted it quickly. He was curious about what lay beyond but he was more worried about his safety. The threat was not only the unknown ruin but also Wu Nan.

'Should I or should I not?'

___

Soon after Feng Yan set out in the morning, he met up with Wu Nan.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Wu Nan asked with apprehension. Feng Yan nodded affirmatively.

"Can you handle so many of them at once?"

Feng Yan looked straight ahead at the monkeys who were climbing and jumping from the Watchtower's wall. They had truly turned it into their home.

"If I had to fight them, I wouldn't be confident. But I can distract them for however long you want."

"Okay then. You lure all of them out and I will sneak inside."

"What about the Monkey King? Can you handle it?"

Wu Nan smirked in response.

"I have something special planned for it."

When Feng Yan looked at him in question, Wu Nan did not answer. Feng Yan didn't press for the answer either.

"I am going. Be ready to sneak in."

Feng Yan reminded Wu Nan, before running up, on the wall. He proceeded to spread a pinch of the red powder to get the monkeys to focus on him. He proceeded to gather all the monkeys in the area.

Once he reached the entrance to the watchtower, every monkey in the vicinity was chasing after him. Before he could escape, he noticed an open pouch of red powder fly over his head and land inside the watchtower.

Moments later, a roar sounded from inside.

"That fucking bastard!"

Feng Yan cursed as he weaved his way out while leading the frenzied monkeys out. Feng Yan still thought everything was going according to plan. However, his expression changed when he saw Wu Nan run away from the watchtower, toward the Inner Area.

"Die well Feng Yan! I'll take good care of Xin Ruo!"

Hearing those words, Feng Yan realized he had been tricked. He stopped stalling for time and instead chased after Wu Nan. He was just about to escape from the encirclement of the monkeys when he felt a dangerous aura.

The Monkey King had arrived!

Feng Yan abandoned all thoughts of defense and brutally broke through the lines of many monkeys. He sped up and increased distance but to no avail. The monkeys were still coming after him.

And leading the chase was the Monkey King itself!

–

When Ikasa was contemplating whether he should go inside the Inner area of the ruins or not, he saw a dust cloud in the distance. Even before he saw Feng Yan, he noticed the horde of monkeys.

And in the lead, he saw a larger than average red-faced monkey wearing a crown of bird feathers.

"RUN"

Ikasa detected Feng Yan only after hearing him shout. Seeing Feng Yan change directions to avoid endangering him, he yelled,

"Come here, quickly! I found the entrance to the Inner Area of Ruins!"