Mortal Bones

"Mm."

The green gourd shook slightly before continuing:

"However, it will still take another day or two for them to fully mature. Only then can they be taken out."

Fairy Ling Yue had previously explained this to Xu Taiping.

After this awakening, her remaining soul would reside in this green gourd to slowly nourish and restore herself, no longer needing to rely on the earth fruit.

"Little Taiping, although I don't know exactly what treasures lie in the other two gourds, the energy they are emitting is quite powerful. There might be a surprise this time," Fairy Ling Yue added with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"I agree. I think there will be a surprise too," Xu Taiping nodded in response, equally looking forward to the treasures that might emerge from the second fruiting of the earth fruit.

After chatting with Fairy Ling Yue about some of his cultivation concerns from the past few months, Xu Taiping returned to his room, played a few rounds of chess with the little monkey Ping'an, and then headed back to his bedroom to continue his evening cultivation.

Now, he didn't want to waste any time.

As Xu Taiping began his cultivation, the little monkey Ping'an, very obediently, played alone in the yard. It mimicked Xu Taiping's movements, throwing punches and climbing up and down the old banyan tree, enjoying itself thoroughly.

"Grumble..."

Just before nightfall, Ping'an's stomach began to rumble.

As a Mountain Ape, its appetite was enormous. Even though it had eaten an entire roasted leg of lamb at noon, by this time, it still felt unbearably hungry.

But even though it was weak from hunger, it didn't disturb Xu Taiping. Instead, it hung itself from the tree with its tail and swayed back and forth, murmuring the Three-Character Classic that Xu Taiping had taught it:

"The monkey's nature is good, similar by nature, but distant by practice. Yellow lamb meat, big chicken legs, roasted bear paws..."

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Just as the little monkey Ping'an could no longer hold back and was about to grab a handful of leaves to shove into its mouth, a knock sounded at the gate.

The little monkey's tail twitched, its body swaying as it landed on a branch. It then shielded its eyes from the glaring sunset and looked toward the gate. It saw a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe standing outside.

"Excuse me, is Xu Taiping at home?" the middle-aged man called out.

"Chirp..."

The little monkey leapt down from the tree, hopped onto the gate, and began gesturing and dancing toward the middle-aged man.

"Little monkey, is your master around?" The middle-aged man smiled at the monkey.

Hearing this, the little monkey suddenly remembered that it could speak human language. It shook its head and said:

"No, he's not here. Go away. Xu Taiping has no interest in joining the Cloud Tower Society."

The monkey had just learned to speak, so it could only form short sentences.

"I see..." The middle-aged man nodded thoughtfully, a glint of cunning flashing in his eyes. He then raised his head to look at the little monkey again and said:

"Little monkey, I have two spirit peaches. Would you like to eat them?"

With that, he pulled out two plump, fist-sized peaches from his wide sleeves.

A unique fragrance of the spirit fruit immediately filled the area as the peaches were exposed.

"Chirp..."

Upon smelling the fragrance, the little monkey could hardly resist. It started scratching its head and fidgeting around.

"Little monkey, if you want to eat, come out and take it yourself." The middle-aged man said, taking a big bite of one of the peaches.

"Chirp chirp..."

The little monkey, tempted by the peaches, almost jumped down, but thinking of Xu Taiping's earlier warning, it ultimately restrained itself. After a few muttered complaints, it returned to the banyan tree.

"Alright, I'm too lazy to tease you. Take the peaches if you want them." The middle-aged man smiled, placed the peach on the ground, and then turned to leave without looking back.

"Chirp..."

Seeing the middle-aged man leave, the little monkey immediately hung from a branch with one hand, swinging like on a swing, and looked around to make sure the man had truly gone. Only then did it feel relieved.

It jumped to the ground and quickly picked up the spirit fruit.

But at that moment, as if the middle-aged man had vanished and reappeared, he suddenly appeared beside the little monkey.

"Chirp..."

Before the little monkey could even shout, it was grabbed by the middle-aged man and knocked unconscious with a slap.

"Little one, if you refuse the drink, you'll have to take the punishment," the middle-aged man said, glancing up at the plaque above the gate that read "Qingzhu Residence." He then flicked his wrist, sending a dart from his sleeve, which struck the plaque and pinned a letter to it.

After doing all this, the middle-aged man vanished once again.

...

"Taiping, if you want to retrieve your spirit pet, come to Peach Garden Ridge in three days. Cloud Tower Society, Jian Yuan."

When Xu Taiping saw this letter, it had already been a while since the events unfolded.

He had been deep into his training at the crucial moment and hadn't noticed what had been happening outside.

"Why would they do this? I'm just a mere Opening Door Realm cultivator, with no grievances against the Cloud Tower Society..." Xu Taiping thought as he read the letter, heading toward the medicinal garden.

"What happened, Taiping?"

At this moment, Xu Taiping had already arrived at the medicinal garden, standing beside the gourd vine.

"A sect called the Cloud Tower Society took my little monkey and told me to visit their residence within three days." Xu Taiping recounted what had happened that day, as well as the repeated invitations from the Cloud Tower Society, to Fairy Ling Yue.

"They're probably after the herbs in your garden," Fairy Ling Yue deduced, quickly realizing their likely motive.

"That's possible. The herbs I planted this year are all rare and precious," Xu Taiping nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Taiping. Since their goal is your herbs, they won't harm Ping'an before meeting with you. And tonight, the three gourds will mature completely. You should take the treasures first to be more secure. Then I'll accompany you to Peach Garden Ridge," Fairy Ling Yue suggested.

"Mm, that seems to be the only option." Xu Taiping nodded.

That's why he hadn't rushed out immediately but instead came to the medicinal garden.

...

That night, when the moon reached its zenith, with a "plop," the green gourd that Fairy Ling Yue resided in fell from the vine first.

Then Xu Taiping saw the glowing green gourd float toward him.

"Little Taiping, you'll need to help me guard this residence from now on," Fairy Ling Yue's playful voice came from the gourd, and then the gourd opened. A slightly translucent figure floated out.

Who else could it be but Fairy Ling Yue?