Chapter Seventeen: Boasting and Nonsense!

Chapter 17: Boasting and Nonsense!

The canyon where the bull tribe resided was known as Buffalo Valley. As the Lewd Monkey had claimed, it was normally inhabited by nearly thirty thousand bull-beasts or bull-soldiers. While this number was vast, it was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the entire Demon Race.

The canyon walls reached hundreds of meters high. Zhou Yu and the Lewd Monkey slid down from a massive boulder at the top. Although they were both tough-skinned and thick-fleshed, neither wished to have their bodies come into intimate contact with the jagged rocks of the canyon walls. Zhou Yu stood on his Bull-Fork as if it were a skateboard; after roughly a year of cultivation and combat, his physical coordination had reached a high level, allowing him to navigate with ease.

The Lewd Monkey, driven by a whim, tried to mimic Zhou Yu by stepping onto his golden staff. He wanted to strike a similarly "badass" pose. However, the golden staff was cylindrical, making it incredibly difficult to maintain balance. Furthermore, the canyon walls were steep and uneven. Without paying attention, the monkey lost his footing, swaying left and right on the staff. As they passed a protruding rock, both the monkey and the staff were sent flying into the air.

"Damn it!" The Lewd Monkey flailed his limbs in the air, cursed, and began to plummet. Watching the ground rush toward him, he couldn't help but squeeze his eyes shut.

Zhou Yu burst into laughter at the sight and shouted to the rapidly falling monkey, "Lewd Monkey! What’s the rush?"

With his eyes still closed, the Lewd Monkey extended his middle finger toward Zhou Yu, followed by a loud "boom" as he crashed into the valley floor. He slammed into the gravel-covered ground, creating a monkey-shaped crater and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Just then, for reasons unknown, the already chaotic situation in Buffalo Valley turned into a frenzy. The Lewd Monkey’s landing was like a drop of water hitting a pan of hot oil, triggering a violent reaction.

From the moment the monkey hit the ground to when Zhou Yu landed on his Bull-Fork, only a few seconds had passed. Yet, nearly half of the bull-beasts were already fleeing through the exits at both ends of the canyon. The valley was in absolute chaos; the simple mud huts where the buffalo lived were crushed, crude tools were trampled, and many weaker buffalo were stepped on, ground into mere pulp. Old buffalo cursed, young ones wailed—the scene was as chaotic as could be.

However, the center of Buffalo Valley remained strangely quiet. Zhou Yu stood in the middle of this open space.

The area was paved with gravel, and in the center stood a relatively high stage made of piled stones. Atop the stage was a wooden pillar as thick as a water vat, from which hung a tattered red flag bearing a crudely drawn, crooked bull’s head.

Zhou Yu looked up at the ragged flag for a long time and sincerely remarked, "This drawing is too abstract! Even Van Gogh couldn’t compare. It seems art knows no borders, and no race either."

"Damn it!" The Lewd Monkey climbed out of the crater, brushing the dust off his body as he muttered, "I’m so unlucky!"

Zhou Yu gazed at the bull-soldiers fleeing in panic all around them and asked, "What is going on here?"

The Lewd Monkey looked around blankly, scratched his head, and said, "I don’t get it. Logically, it shouldn’t be like this."

Suddenly, a one-eyed bull-soldier dragged a large bag of hay, running past Zhou Yu and the Lewd Monkey in a panic.

Zhou Yu shouted, "Hey handsome! Why are you running away?"

The one-eyed bull-soldier, flustered, turned his head and gave Zhou Yu a fierce glare, roaring, "Handsome, your bull-dung! I’m a lady!"

Zhou Yu was instantly petrified. Only after noticing the two cowhide brassieres covering the bull-soldier's chest did he realize it was indeed a female. The bull tribe generally had human bodies and bull heads, and since these soldiers were usually covered in thick fur, they all looked similar to an outsider, so Zhou Yu couldn't be blamed for his mistake.

"Then, my lady, why are you running?" Zhou Yu wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow.

The female bull-soldier shouted while running, "The Lewd Monkey is here! Don’t you know? The Lewd Monkey killed the Great King! He’s definitely here to conscript us! Plus, we heard someone shouting that the Lewd Monkey had arrived! Everyone is busy running for their lives!"

The Lewd Monkey was furious upon hearing this. He asked, "The Lewd Monkey killed the Buffalo King, so he is your new Great King! Why are you running? Do you intend to disregard the traditions of the Demon Race that have lasted for thousands of years?"

The female bull-soldier was already far away, shouting back without looking: "Don't you know the Lewd Monkey is a big braggart? As a lady, of course I have to run!"

The Lewd Monkey was stunned into silence.

Zhou Yu patted the monkey on the back, sighed, and struggled to hold back a burst of laughter.

Suddenly, a male bull-soldier rushed by in a panic, shouting, "Honey! Wait for me!"

The Lewd Monkey lunged forward, blocking the bull-soldier, and demanded fiercely, "Damn it! The female said she’s running because I’m a braggart, but why are you bulls running?"

Perhaps the male bull-soldier was too tense and anxious to flee, for he didn't hear the monkey clearly. He shoved the Lewd Monkey aside and shouted while running, "Are you from out of town? You don't know the Lewd Monkey? He doesn't just boast; he talks nonsense! I'm a male, I have balls—how could I not run?"

"Wahahaha! Your reputation is truly terrible!" Zhou Yu finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He clutched his stomach, collapsed to the ground, and rolled around, kicking his legs in the dirt.

The Lewd Monkey stared with bloodshot eyes, watching the bull-soldiers continue to flee in all directions.

"Wah wah wah!" The Lewd Monkey suddenly roared, swinging his golden staff at a nearby mud hut. With one strike, the hut was smashed into flying mud.

After destroying one, the monkey leaped like a flash of golden light to another hut and struck again.

"Rumble!" The Lewd Monkey went mad, destroying the crude mud huts one by one. The valley was filled with thunderous booms. Rows of huts were demolished, and the dust stirred up by the collapsing structures filled the sky, shrouding half the valley.

Zhou Yu choked on the dust and coughed, cursing, "Have you lost your mind?"

The Lewd Monkey screamed at the top of his lungs, "Wah wah wah! I refuse to accept this! Why did I kill the Buffalo King, yet they refuse to acknowledge me as their king?"

"I’ve been injured so many times! So many times, so severely! I survived! I survived by eating mud! I’ve wandered everywhere, constantly hunted by them, and now that I finally have a chance to become a king, why is it still like this? Ah! I am not resigned to this!" The Lewd Monkey shouted, smashing another sturdy hut to the ground.

His chest heaved violently from anger and agitation. He gasped for air, his eyes bloodshot and filled with madness.

Zhou Yu watched him spiral into insanity and couldn't help but feel a sense of pity. He realized it was wrong of him to have mocked him earlier.

"Lewd Monkey, I’m sorry," Zhou Yu said.

"You have nothing to apologize for! It’s my own fault! They’re right! I’m the one who likes to boast, who likes to talk nonsense! I clearly almost died at the hands of White Bone Ku, yet I always claimed to have fought her for three hundred rounds to a draw. I’ve clearly been beaten by almost every Demon King over the years, yet I insist on saying I’ve challenged them all!" The Lewd Monkey roared toward the sky, his arms gripping the golden staff tightly, his muscles bulging.

Under the immense mental stress and rage, every blow the monkey struck used nearly all his strength.

After his frenzied venting, the Lewd Monkey was exhausted. Suddenly, with a "clang," the golden staff slipped from his hands and embedded itself deep into the gravel-paved square. The monkey dropped to his knees, head bowed, his hands hanging limply. Tears filled his eyes as he murmured, "Why, why..."

Zhou Yu stepped forward, looking at the monkey with concern, not knowing how to comfort him.

It was true; over the years, the Lewd Monkey had endured countless hardships, brushing with death more times than he could count. Yet, he had never been this dejected. The string that had been keeping him taut finally snapped. He had thought that once he grew stronger, killed a Demon King, and recruited his subordinates—all while the five Great Demon Kings and the Demon Emperor White Bone Ku were away on an expedition against humanity—he could eventually organize a force that would pose a threat to White Bone Ku.

He hoped to coordinate with the humans to strike from both sides, seize leadership of the Demon Race, and at the very least, cause enough trouble to take her down.

Before long, the bull-soldiers had all scattered. The vast canyon was now empty.

The wind blew in from the canyon entrance, dispersing the dust. The Lewd Monkey knelt on the ground with his staff before him, his body trembling as he tried to suppress his tears.

But the pain of years past and the shattered hope of today finally broke through like an unstoppable flood, crushing the strength he had so desperately maintained.

Tears streamed down uncontrollably.

Crying was not a sign of weakness; it was the result of being strong for too long.

Zhou Yu understood this pain deeply. Back on Earth, he had worked so hard, risked everything, and saw the hope of success, only for it all to turn to ash in a single night when his beloved woman left him. That pain was etched into his heart.

He knew that after the pain came strength, and a clearer understanding of what was truly important and worth cherishing. Zhou Yu had realized this only when he faced the Sky Wolf at the peak of the snowy mountain, on the verge of death.

Now, seeing the Lewd Monkey’s sorrow, Zhou Yu felt it too. He silently vowed to return home alive! He would keep getting stronger until he could protect the family and friends he held dear.

"Stand up!" Zhou Yu extended his right hand toward the monkey.

"You must stand up! Be unyielding like Sun Wukong, never admitting defeat! You must believe that one day, you will be the greatest Demon Emperor in history. You will lead the Demon Race to glory and bring them unprecedented peace and prosperity!"

"Not kneeling and crying like this, like a female monkey!" Zhou Yu extended his hand a little further.

The Lewd Monkey choked back a sob and looked up. His eyes were red and filled with tears. He looked at the hand offered to him, wiped his tears away with his right hand, and grasped Zhou Yu’s hand.

Zhou Yu pulled hard, hoisting the monkey up. The man and the monkey slammed their chests together with a sound like clashing metal.

"Damn it all! One day I will be a 'Big Boss'—and not just a 'big talker'!" After venting his grief, the Lewd Monkey, encouraged by Zhou Yu, opened his arms and shouted to the sky.

The sound echoed through the canyon for a long time. Suddenly, the golden staff that had fallen to the ground began to tremble, emitting a humming sound. The golden paint flaked off, revealing a more vibrant, blood-red color beneath.

The golden staff turned blood-red, and five large, glowing characters slowly appeared upon it.