Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 20: Meng Laoqi's Monkey Show
"No, I must get rid of Li Hongye as soon as possible!"

"I can't let the dead interfere with my studies!"

"If this continues, my life will be completely over!"

Ran Qing was extremely anxious.

Born into a poor orphan, he has been able to get to where he is today thanks to the school's waiver of tuition, annual bonuses, and the money he saved from doing odd jobs during the winter and summer vacations.

The hope of going to college is that the city gives bonuses every year to students who are admitted to good universities.

For Ran Qing, if he cannot achieve the highest level of excellence, then there is no point.

If he fails to get into a top university or receive the bonus from the city, Ran Qing won’t even be able to afford the tuition for college and will have to return to the village to farm.

He is almost in his third year of high school. After enduring so many years, only the last year is left.

He can't give up all his efforts in the last year!
Standing on the playground with a grim expression, listening to the music from the loudspeaker, Ran Qing moved his body to do exercises, but his brain was working rapidly, trying hard to regulate his emotions.

He could no longer let the fear of death disturb him and had to put aside all distractions. No matter what happened, when he was in school, he had to study and listen to the lectures wholeheartedly and not be distracted.

This desperate hint seemed to have worked.

For the whole day that followed, Ran Qing seemed to have forgotten the evil spirit. He attended classes and studied as usual, and his thoughts were no longer disturbed.

I almost forgot about the evil spirit.

During the lunch break at noon, he did not go back to the rental house to take a nap, but sat on the road in front of the school gate with a book in his arms, watching the people and cars coming and going, and memorizing the words in the book.

He remembered clearly that he was only safe when there were many people.

Ran Qing also listened attentively to the four classes in the afternoon.

When the school bell rang, Ran Qing immediately packed his bag and hurried out of the classroom. Today was Saturday, and he didn't have evening self-study, so he just happened to go to Aunt Liu's house to finish some work.

In order to save time, Ran Qing indulged himself in a rare luxury and had a bowl of fried rice at a small restaurant at the school gate instead of going back to the rental house to cook dinner for himself.

After finishing the fried rice, Ran Qing walked quickly towards Aunt Liu's house.

In the vast white fog, the figures of people coming and going on Zhongshan Street were hazy and floating in the mist.

Ran Qing lowered his head and didn't look around. He walked through Zhongshan Street and came to the old residential area at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain.

Aunt Liu lives here. Ran Qing walked into the narrow and steep staircase, passing through the old houses built in a disorderly manner.

When he passed by the wall where the three wild ghosts were lying last night, there was no trace of the three wild ghosts on the wall.

Perhaps they had been eaten by the bobcat this morning, or perhaps they had been scared away and dared not come back.

Ran Qing was walking downhill in the fog and soon felt the sight behind him.

Something caught up with him.

He couldn't help but quicken his pace as he walked through the narrow, winding alleys, the stench of sewage drifting in the wind.

Soon, Ran Qing arrived at the cement courtyard in front of Aunt Liu's house.

In the white fog, a sickly old dog lay at the door of a cement bungalow, guarding the cardboard and water bottles collected by Aunt Liu.

Hearing the footsteps approaching in the fog, the sick old dog got up and took a look. When he saw it was Ran Qing, he lay down again.

Instead, a strange monkey cry was heard in the fog, which startled Ran Qing.

——He grew up by the Beipan River, where the canyon was full of monkeys, so he was no stranger to this kind of call.

Could it be a mountain monkey?

The first thing Ran Qing thought of was the mountain monkeys that Aunt Liu mentioned. Although he had never seen a mountain monkey and didn't know what it looked like, since they were monkeys, their calls should be similar, right?
Ran Qing took a step back in doubt and moved closer to the old dog lying on the ground.

A macaque wearing a tattered jacket jumped out of the fog.

The filthy macaque had a gaunt face, prominent brow ridges, deep eye sockets, and a mouth that protruded from its nose. Despite its small size, its expression was fierce. Its sharp fangs bared as it grimaced. A thin iron chain was locked around its neck.

The figure leading the macaque wore a grimy black vest, a bulging green cloth bag slung across his shoulder, and a pair of tattered Liberation shoes. His head was tangled with black cloth and hair, forming a strange black hat-like shape. His dark face was covered in wrinkles and weathering, and his unshaven stubble made him look tired and gloomy.

Ran Qing was stunned by such a peculiar clothing style.

Still holding a monkey...is he the monkey trainer performing monkey shows?

There are many mountains and forests in the Qianghe area, and there are also many monkeys. Some villagers will train monkeys and bring them to the market to perform monkey shows and ask for money.

Ran Qing was shocked and confused.

The man holding the monkey looked Ran Qing up and down, his bloodshot eyes filled with fatigue.

"Are you the child adopted by Sixth Aunt?"

The man said tiredly, "When will she be back? I need her help with something."

"Uh..." Ran Qing hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer the strange man in front of him.

The man in front of him gave him an inexplicable sense of danger. He didn't know his intentions and didn't dare to answer easily.

Fortunately, the man did not continue to ask.

Seeing that Ran Qing didn't say anything, the man impatiently pulled the chain in his hand and said, "Tell Aunt Six that Meng Laoqi has gone to the city. I'll wait for her in the tea forest."

"Besides, the mountains are dangerous, so tell her not to go to the countryside unless necessary."

After saying this, the man led the ugly macaque with a fierce look on its face away and disappeared into the fog.

Ran Qing watched the middle-aged man's back as he left, and finally felt a little relieved as he left.

This man is the same type as Aunt Six!
Ran Qing smelled a similar, chilling and penetrating aura on him.

But this person may not be as friendly as Aunt Six.

At least the monkey he was holding was ferocious and weird, and kept staring at Ran Qing's neck, which made Ran Qing very uneasy.

After watching the man leave, Ran Qing sat at the door of Aunt Liu's house and waited for a long time. As the sky gradually darkened, he finally saw Aunt Liu's figure hunched over and dragging a thick stack of cardboard in the white fog.

Ran Qing quickly stood up and helped Aunt Liu stuff the huge pile of cardboard into the pile of cardboard behind the dog.

"Sixth Aunt, a man named Meng Laoqi came to see you just now, holding a monkey and asking for your help."

Ran Qing told Aunt Six what had just happened: "He said he was waiting for you in the tea forest, and that the mountains are dangerous recently, so he told you not to go to the countryside unless necessary."

Tea Forest is a place name on the edge of Yuezhao urban area, between the suburbs and the urban area.

The words that Meng Laoqi said contained some kind of vicious information.

As Ran Qing relayed the story, he secretly observed Sixth Aunt's reaction.

But Aunt Liu still had cold, dead eyes and an indifferent expression.

When she heard that Meng Laoqi was waiting for her in the tea forest, Sixth Aunt even sneered disdainfully.

"That damned Meng Laoqi wants me to work for him for free and play such a petty trick on me... I'm already annoying people, and he wants to annoy me."

"Don't worry about that wild dog. Let's do our own thing."

Aunt Liu walked into the house, took out her small wooden box, slung a small cloth bag over her shoulder, and carried a strange jar on her back.

As she locked the door, she said, "Since you're here, it proves that you've made up your mind to save your father."

"Then I'll help you with the funeral tonight."

Aunt Six looked at Ran Qing sinisterly: "Little boy, are you sure you've thought it through? After tonight, you won't have the chance to regret it!"

(End of this chapter)