Chapter 45: Fine Wine and Hearty Meat

Chapter 45: Wine and Meat (Part One)

Zhou Yu smiled slightly upon hearing this. He had already figured out the colored monkey's temperament thoroughly. Although the fellow harbored no malicious intent toward him, he was extremely competitive and hated to lose. This time, he probably felt he could defeat Zhou Yu and wanted to establish his dominance right from the start. Little did he know that over the past few days, although the amount of energy within Zhou Yu's body had not increased significantly, his combat skills had improved tremendously. In their very first exchange, he had defeated the colored monkey in a single move.

This was also meant to teach the colored monkey a lesson, sparing him from acting as if he were invincible under heaven.

"Knowing is enough. Withdraw!" Zhou Yu shouted, pulling back all his doppelgängers at once.

The colored monkey rolled around in the snow, then sprang to his feet, rubbing his entire body with his hands while wailing, "It hurts to death, it hurts to death!"

Although his defensive and regenerative powers were formidable, that did not mean he was immune to pain. In such a short span of time, the colored monkey had taken at least several hundred punches from Zhou Yu's clones. If all of those had landed on an ordinary demon king, even the demon king's protective demonic aura would have been shattered.

Yet this monkey only complained of pain without sustaining any serious injuries, which clearly showed how formidable his defensive capabilities were.

Since he had bet and lost, the monkey didn't make a fuss, though he remained somewhat disgruntled in his heart.

With a slight movement, Zhou Yu stepped onto the ox-horn platform and said, "Prepare some breakfast for Xiao Qing and me."

The colored monkey was just about to flare up, but the moment he opened his mouth, a tearing pain radiated from the corner of his lips, instantly bringing him back to his senses. Having just been thoroughly beaten, he had no choice but to reply, "Understood, Big Brother."

Though he wanted to laugh, Zhou Yu held it back and flashed into the cliff cave.

Lawless and audacious as the colored monkey was—fearing not even the Demon Emperor White-Bone Crying—after being brutally thrashed by Zhou Yu today, a faint trace of fear toward Zhou Yu had unconsciously taken root in his heart. Usually, when the colored monkey was defeated by other demon kings, he would comfort himself by thinking it was merely because his strength and level were insufficient. He firmly believed that once he reached the demon king tier, dealing with ordinary demon kings would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.

Yet today, Zhou Yu, possessing the same cultivation level and comparable strength, had managed to defeat him completely without giving him a chance to retaliate in a single move, instilling a profound sense of helplessness in the monkey.

After lingering in the snow for a little longer, the monkey left the valley and obediently went to prepare breakfast for Zhou Yu.

The demon realm respected the strong, and the colored monkey was no exception; it was just that none of the previous powerhouses had ever truly convinced him. This time, however, he was genuinely won over by Zhou Yu.

Before long, the colored monkey returned to the valley carrying food, shouted a few times toward the cliff, placed the food on the ground, and retreated into his own cave.

Hearing the call, Zhou Yu stepped down from Xiao Qing's side, kissed her again, gently squeezed her plump breasts, and then left the cliff cave.

Seeing Zhou Yu come out to fetch the food, the colored monkey called out to him from inside his cave.

Knowing the monkey's temperament well—the two of them had fought countless times, and they usually let bygones be bygones without dwelling on it—Zhou Yu picked up the food and walked naturally into the cave.

"What is it?" Zhou Yu asked.

Looking somewhat flustered and fidgeting for a long time, the colored monkey finally spoke, "Can you... save me some face in front of those monkeys and boar soldiers?"

Zhou Yu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, realizing only then that the colored monkey was worried his image among the demon soldiers had been compromised. Zhou Yu burst out laughing, patted the colored monkey on the shoulder, and said, "What are you talking about? We're good brothers. We just spar normally, winning and losing alternately, which will never affect our relationship. Besides, I truly don't care about things like being a demon king. How about this from now on: in front of outsiders, I'll let you have your prestige; in private, or in front of Xiao Qing, you let me have mine. How does that sound?"

The colored monkey let out a long sigh of relief, his face brightening as he said, "That's the best way! Good brothers are meant to cover for each other!"

Zhou Yu winked at the colored monkey, gave him a thumbs-up, and walked out holding the food in one hand.

The day passed unawares. The boar soldiers at the foot of the mountain remained busily occupied. Although Fatty was absent, he had already established a leadership framework in a short period, and the construction project of Flower-Fruit Mountain was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Looking down the mountain, many thatched huts had already been erected along the mountainside.

At night, heavy snow began to fall again. Zhou Yu sat at the entrance of the cliff cave while the colored monkey stood at the mouth of his cave. Man and monkey remained silent, watching the drifting snow outside.

"What do you think? What are our chances of winning?" Zhou Yu asked.

"How would I know? We'll only find out after we fight," the colored monkey replied.

Zhou Yu picked up a green fruit from his side, took a bite, and cast his gaze through the cascading snowflakes toward the distance.

Suddenly, a snowflake flew obliquely toward Zhou Yu. Subconsciously, Zhou Yu raised his hand to slice at it. The snowflake was erratic, changing constantly, yet its trajectory appeared exceptionally clear in his eyes.

Zhou Yu's palm-blade moved with his thought, cleaving right through the snowflake.

The snowflake was cut in half and continued its descent.

Watching the two slowly falling halves, the corners of Zhou Yu's mouth curled up into a smile.

He had not expected that tonight, a year later, through a sudden flash of insight, his Dao of snow-cleaving would reach complete mastery!

Sensing a subtle anomaly, the colored monkey looked up, but could not discern any visible movement, only feeling as though an extremely peculiar ripple had lightly stirred the air just a moment ago.

Gradually, however, his gaze was drawn to two snowflakes. Like all the others, they were falling slowly, but the colored monkey felt instinctively that these two were different.

He stared intently at them, watching them descend, drift past his head, pass before his eyes, and finally land on the ground.

The colored monkey squatted down and searched the snowy ground diligently. Before long, he found them, because those two pieces were indeed unique—they had originally been a single snowflake, but now they were two.

Upon careful observation, the colored monkey noticed that the cut surfaces of the snowflakes were incomparably smooth, as if they had naturally formed that way.

And upon this smooth cut radiated an unusual aura, one that felt somewhat familiar to him.

Suddenly, he looked up. Zhou Yu's legs were dangling outside, and his right hand was also extended outward, maintaining that exact posture without moving a hair.

Gathering his demonic blade, the colored monkey aimed at a snowflake and slashed. The snowflake shattered.

He slashed again. It still shattered.

Was his demonic aura insufficient? Channeling more energy, the demonic blade flared brightly as he struck out once more.

This time, the snowflake simply dissipated into nothingness.

Annoyed, the colored monkey rubbed the back of his head.

Zhou Yu had noticed the monkey's movements below.

Observing the monkey's actions, a wave of astonishment washed over him. The colored monkey had managed to start practicing the snow-cleaving technique purely by observing those two split snowflakes; such innate talent was something Zhou Yu knew he could never hope to match.

Yet Zhou Yu said nothing more. After sitting for a little longer, he closed the door of the cliff cave and retreated inside to rest.

Xiao Qing was fast asleep; having just transformed into human form, she required a great deal of sleep.

Without disturbing her, Zhou Yu quietly sat to the side, closed his eyes, and tried to summon Du Niang in his mind.

If he could secure Du Niang's assistance, he would have much greater confidence in dealing with that formidable powerhouse. After all, Du Niang's electric shocks could inflict massive damage even on beings of the Five Great Demon Kings' caliber.

However, Zhou Yu was met with disappointment once again. Du Niang gave no response whatsoever.

In the darkness, Zhou Yu raised his right arm and looked at the green mole on his wrist. He was certain Du Niang had not vanished, but had merely transformed into this mole, though for some reason he could not awaken her.

Perhaps his energy was insufficient? Zhou Yu recalled that Du Niang's energy almost entirely came from the sun; Du Niang was, after all, a highly intelligent solar-powered computer.

Although the computer had later undergone miraculous changes, breaking free from the shackles of machinery to develop human-like thought, its energy source had always been the sun.

"It seems that starting today, I need to bask in the sun more often," Zhou Yu muttered softly. With a sigh, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The cold wind and heavy snow outside the cave raged without stopping all night. By early morning, the storm gradually subsided.

Stepping out of the cliff cave, Zhou Yu looked at the vast expanse of white outside, suddenly finding it somewhat blinding.

The traces left by his fight with the colored monkey yesterday had been completely covered up. Down the mountain, the boar soldiers had resumed their work, and cauldrons of various foods were bubbling over the fires.

Zhou Yu let out a slight sigh, muttering, "Who says pigs are lazy? From where I stand, they're all quite diligent, though pig slop is truly awful to eat."

The colored monkey shouted down toward the mountain from the valley entrance, and shortly after, a squad of boar soldiers carried food up to them.

Glancing at it, Zhou Yu mumbled, "Eating fruit every day makes my mouth taste so bland it feels like birds are going to grow in it!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a rich fragrance drifted over. Zhou Yu sniffed the air and sneezed violently.

"Wine?" An excited look appeared on Zhou Yu's face.

Retrieving two jars of wine from the squad of boar soldiers and holding them by their seals, the colored monkey shouted to Zhou Yu, "Found over a dozen jars of wine in the Wild Boar King's cellar! Hahahahaha!"

Good grief! Life had been so tough for the boar clan, yet this Wild Boar King was still brewing wine? Truly a prodigal fellow, Zhou Yu cursed inwardly, though the joy on his face was impossible to conceal.

Letting out a long whistle, he leapt down.

The squad of boar soldiers carried all the wine and food into the colored monkey's cave.

Following them in, Zhou Yu stood grinning foolishly at the two jars of wine placed on the table.

The colored monkey was equally delighted, knowing that wine in the demon realm was the absolute ultimate luxury. Demons were numerous while food was scarce; using grain to brew wine was an exceptionally extravagant endeavor.

Grabbing a jar of wine, the colored monkey cheerfully cracked open the mud seal, set two crude clay bowls on the table, filled them to the brim, and called out to the squad of boar soldiers who had carried up the food, "You brothers have worked hard. Come, come, have a gulp each."

Those boar soldiers were already dying of temptation, drool pooling across their chests. When the colored monkey cracked the seal and poured the wine, their eyes had widened, glowing with a greenish light as they stared at the liquor.

Hearing the monkey summon them, they instinctively wanted to move, but the sudden memory of the colored monkey's ferocity chilled them to the bone. They stood frozen, not knowing what to do, looking at one another, each hoping someone else would take the lead.

Seeing how terrified they were of him, the colored monkey felt even more pleased. He picked up one of the bowls, carried it over to a boar soldier, and said, "As long as you brothers sincerely follow me, we share blessings and bear hardships together. If you don't dare to drink, does that mean you harbor malicious intentions toward me?"

"We wouldn't dare!" the boar soldiers dropped to their knees in a clatter.

"Then drink this wine!" the colored monkey commanded.

The boar soldier closest to him took the bowl, took a gulp, licked his lips, and looked up at the monkey with a complex expression of awe and reverence.

Following that, every member of the squad took a large gulp, and half a jar of wine was gone in an instant.

Yet the colored monkey felt no heartache at all. Casually pouring himself a bowl, he downed it in one breath and declared, "Eating meat together and drinking wine together makes us true brothers!"

How could the boar soldiers ever dare to truly call themselves brothers to the colored monkey?

Waving them away, Zhou Yu laughed and scolded the monkey, "You're getting better and better at buying pig hearts, aren't you?"

The colored monkey chuckled and said, "I just learned it from the stories you told!"

"Which story?"

"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"

Zhou Yu suddenly understood. The stories he told incorporated a great deal of his own understanding of the world, resulting in a heavily altered version, yet the colored monkey had benefited immensely from it.

Right at that moment, with a loud *clatter*, the cave door was struck open by something, and the howling wind and snow from outside rushed violently into the cave.