Free Web NovelChapter 14: Chapter 14: Just One Word: Regret
When Gu Zhao and the others arrived at their destination, they saw a monkey clutching a camera.
It was swinging it around, clearly having a great time.
"How are we supposed to get that?" Tang Yuexuan, who had been quiet the whole trip, couldn’t help but wonder aloud.
Zhong Mingrui was brimming with confidence. "A few measly monkeys! My Big King can handle them, easy! She’ll make them kneel and surrender!"
Gu Zhao waved her hand humbly. "Easy peasy."
"Don’t mess around. What if a monkey scratches your face? You’re already a little dummy; if you lose your looks, you can’t even be a cute idiot." Gu Xulin grabbed Gu Zhao’s shirt, worried.
"Big King can also be the Monkey King!" Zhong Mingrui raised his hand excitedly.
Gu Xulin was rendered speechless.
"Don’t wowwy, Bwother! Yew’re afwaid of animals, so stay back! Don’t hold me back."
"Here I go~" Gu Zhao ran toward the monkey.
Before she could even say a word, the monkey spotted her and started screeching for backup.
A troop of monkeys assembled in a flash and attacked without hesitation!
Gu Zhao turned and fled. "Yew guys don’t fight faiw!!"
She looked utterly pathetic as she fled. Gu Xulin wanted to give chase, but Gu Zhao was already out of sight!
They were spinning around in a panic. Only Zhong Mingrui remained blindly confident. "Big King has gone to get reinforcements."
Half an hour later, Gu Zhao returned!
She stood with her hands on her hips, cackling like a true villain. "Hee hee hee hee! I’m back fow wevenge!"
The moment Gu Xulin saw her, he ran to her side and gave her a swat on the butt.
Gu Zhao: ?!!!
"Bwother!"
"I’ll teach you to run off like that! Do you have any idea how worried I was..." Gu Xulin looked away, flustered, unable to say what he really felt. "If something happened to you, what would happen to the show?!"
"Bwother, yew should pwobably move away, ow yew’re gonna faint." As Gu Zhao spoke, the monkeys approached, looking menacing.
The monkeys looked at Gu Zhao, their faces full of contempt.
’The loser actually dares to come back!’
Gu Zhao was just as imposing. "Suwwender! Ow face utter humiliation!"
All the monkeys burst out laughing.
’They were filled with scorn for this bipedal cub they had already chased off once.’
Seeing all the furry creatures, Gu Xulin felt his legs begin to tremble again.
He took a sharp breath, trying to steady himself.
’He had a feeling that if he kept following Gu Zhao, he’d be seeing a lot more animals.’
’Looks like I have to get over this fear of animals! Otherwise, how am I supposed to handle this little terror!’
Zhong Mingrui also wriggled free from Zhong Siqi’s grasp, picked up a branch, and ran to Gu Zhao’s side.
"Big King, your subject has come to your rescue!"
Gu Zhao waved her hand. "My monkeys, come on out!"
As she spoke, a troop of monkeys emerged from the woods behind her.
Sunlight glinted off their shining fur.
"Get ’em! Beat them into submission!" At Gu Zhao’s command, her monkeys swarmed forward.
[OMG! Gu Zhao’s ’hee hee hee’ villain laugh is sending me! I’ll be laughing about this until next year! The cute-but-evil contrast is killing me!]
[Monkeys: You think you can be the Monkey King? Gu Zhao: The tables have turned! Never underestimate a cub without an army of monkeys!]
[LMAO, the contrast between Gu Zhao running from the monkeys and her villainous laugh now is just peak cuteness!]
[Is no one going to mention how Gu Xulin, trying to act tough while terrified of animals, looks just like a little kitten with its fur puffed up?]
[Everyone, join me in paying respects to our Great Monkey King! All hail the Big King! Long may she reign!]
[This servant has a report for the throne! The Emei rebels have gone too far! I beseech the Big King to dispatch the Monkey Soldiers to quell them!]
The monkeys screeched and chattered, pushing and shoving as mud flew everywhere.
The chaotic scene lasted for about fifteen minutes before the outcome became clear.
Gu Zhao sat perched leisurely on a tree branch.
Down below, Gu Xulin stood grinding his teeth in frustration.
’That little terror had scrambled up there just like that, with absolutely no regard for her poor old brother’s heart.’
’His heart had been on a rollercoaster all day.’
"Have yew learned yewr lesson?!" Gu Zhao couldn’t help but lick at her gums where her teeth had yet to grow in. ’Talking like this isn’t vewy intimidating,’ she thought.
In front of the tree, a group of monkeys with lumps on their heads and patches of fur missing knelt on the ground. Standing over them were Gu Zhao’s own monkeys, looking fierce and imposing.
Song Yi and Song Zhe gulped. ’Are these the same monkeys that chased us for a mile?’
’So tough before, what happened now?!’
Song Zhe stood with his hands on his hips, gloating over the dispirited, defeated monkeys.
「Meanwhile.」
Ye Zuiyi was crouched in the grass, having picked a large bunch of wild greens.
She plucked another one and looked happily at Ye Zexi, who was picking greens beside her. "Brother! We’ve gathered so many!"
"They might not taste great without any seasoning, but at least we won’t go hungry," Ye Zuiyi said, her face beaming with happiness.
Watching her happy expression, Ye Zexi’s own features softened. A faint smile touched his lips, lending a gentle air to his handsome face.
"Yes, Yibao did a great job."
"Brother, do you think... she’ll get stung? I hope Brother Lin and the others can protect her..."
Ye Zexi’s expression soured at the mention of Gu Zhao. "Her? She’ll only learn her lesson after she’s suffered the consequences."
"She’s probably gotten them all stung by now. When we get back, don’t you go out of your way to help them."
Ye Zuiyi feigned hesitation, but under her brother’s insistent gaze, she nodded.
Her downcast eyes were filled with malice.
’In her past life, Gu Zhao should have been stung by bees and disfigured by now. Why had nothing happened this time?’
She stared at the greens she had crushed in her hand, a cold smirk playing on her lips.
’But it didn’t matter. If the plot had gone off the rails, then she would just have to push it into the abyss herself.’
’She was the center of this world!’
[Someone should rename Ye Zexi to ’Ye the Hater.’ His malice toward Gu Zhao is practically leaking through the screen!]
[Ye Zexi’s bias is so obvious it’s painful! Gu Zhao hasn’t even done anything and he’s already assuming she’s ’up to no good’?]
[Ye Zuiyi is so kindhearted! She’s being picked on but she’s still worried about Gu Zhao’s safety. What an absolute ray of sunshine!]
Meanwhile, the "miserably stung" Gu Zhao they were talking about...
...was leaning against Gu Xulin’s chest, letting him feed her.
A troop of monkeys stood by, holding out fresh fruit.
Gu Xulin forced himself to suppress his fear, trying his best to overcome it.
He reached out, took a banana from one of the monkeys, peeled it, and fed it to Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao enjoyed being fed while she fiddled with the cameras the monkeys had handed over. There were three in total.
Including the one that belonged to the Song brothers.
Gu Zhao turned on a camera, and the first thing she saw was a series of extreme close-ups of the monkeys’ faces... and their butts!!!
’Disgusting! Get rid of it immediately!’
She glanced at Gu Xulin and the others. None of them seemed to be paying attention.
"Bwother, yew can hand out these two."
She picked up another camera and snapped a picture of the monkeys. (Mission Photo +1)
Zhong Siqi and Tang Yuexuan followed a few monkeys to look for a stream.
Zhong Mingrui was holding a stick and... training the monkeys.
Well, more like being trained *by* the monkeys.
Zhong Mingrui stood ramrod straight while a monkey beside him patted his leg, helping him adjust his posture...
Tang Yueying sat not far from Gu Zhao, and Song Zhe and Song Yi were sitting together as well.
Song Yi’s face was a picture of contentment as he ate the fresh fruit. "Bro! Is the reason you’re so unlucky all the time because you used up all your luck meeting me and Gu Zhao?"
Song Zhe rolled his eyes at him. "Meeting you was bad enough; all I got was an empty stomach. (¯﹃¯ԅ)
But meeting Gu Zhao and her crew is great luck! I’m so full! ٩(ˊωˋ*)و"
"Wow! There’s a stream just up ahead!" Zhong Siqi and Tang Yuexuan shouted, running back excitedly.
The two monkeys with them also ran excitedly to Gu Zhao’s side.
"OOH! OOH! OOH!" The two monkeys chattered at Gu Zhao, gesturing wildly as they took turns speaking.
"No way! That’s insane! What happened next? What happened next?!" Gu Zhao’s eyes lit up.
"OOH! OOH! OOH! OOH! OOH!" one monkey chattered, its face a mask of disgust.
"OOH! OOH!" the other monkey added, not to be outdone, continuing to spill the juicy gossip.
It’s unclear what Gu Zhao heard, but her little face turned red with anger. "That’s just despicable! And I even helped them last time!"
"Sigh. Just one word: wegwet."
