Capítulo 5: Chapter 5 The Little Monk Goes Up the Mountain
Suming glanced at Mr. Song and then over at the little girl's father, saying, "If the family agrees, I can try to go into Monkey Mountain and see if I can save the little girl."
As soon as he had spoken, a wave of gazes turned toward him, and the onlookers unanimously stared at Suming. Several zoo staff members clearly showed disbelief, and one middle-aged woman even said, "Young man, don't be reckless. If our professionals can't do it, what makes you think you can?"
The little girl's mother, however, grasped at Suming like a lifeline, nearly kneeling before him, crying incoherently, "Thank you, thank you..."
Mr. Song waved his hand to cut off the middle-aged woman and others, his expression stern as he looked at Suming: "Macacas can become extremely dangerous when enraged. A few of them can even fend off wild wolves..."
Just then, the crowd of onlookers suddenly let out exclamations of shock.
Accompanied by the cries of the little girl, the Monkey King seemed to regain consciousness and realized that what was in his arms was not a 'little monkey' but a human. He pushed the little girl onto the ground and started howling at her, baring his teeth and swinging his arms violently.
"There's no time!"
Without waiting for Mr. Song to finish, Suming flipped over the fence through an opening and quickly climbed down the ladder into the enclosure.
Seeing someone approaching, the monkey troop seemed provoked, and a chorus of screeches erupted from Monkey Mountain. A few monkeys close by even launched themselves straight at Suming.
Far from dodging them, Suming instead rushed toward Monkey Mountain, taking long strides in the direction of the monkeys.
At the same time, he utilized his ability as a friend of animals, releasing spiritual power toward the monkey troop.
An atmosphere of restlessness permeated the monkey troop, so Suming quickly conveyed that he meant no harm, trying his best to soothe them.
Several monkeys had already leaped from the mountain. The closest one let out a strange cry, catching a tree branch and swung toward Suming, its long arm reaching for his face.
"Be careful!" burst a cry from the crowd of onlookers, as Mr. Song and the little girl's father shouted simultaneously.
At that moment, something astonishing happened: the monkey suddenly retracted its hand in mid-air, staring at Suming with wide, round eyes, curiously, and then let out a 'squeak... squeak... squeak...' sound.
As primates, macaques possess intelligence that surpasses recognized 'smart' animals like pigs and dogs, and can sometimes use simple tools, undoubtedly standing out in the animal world.
The monkeys in the zoo, often in close contact with humans, had seen more people than all the people present had seen monkeys; hence, they were not unfamiliar with the species 'humans.'
However, in the moment it was about to seize Suming, the monkey suddenly felt a sensation from Suming that it would normally only feel amongst its own kind. Instinctively, it sensed that this young human before it would not harm it, and might even be friendly.
More than that, the spiritual power emanating from Suming even made it feel a faint trace of fear. It was the natural intimidation that higher animals hold over those lower in the hierarchy.
"Squeak squeak squeak…" The monkey, in its own language, wanted to ask Suming what he was.
Suming was about to explain to the monkey brother using spiritual power, but before he could, several other monkeys following closely crashed into the air, colliding with the lead monkey.
The monkeys tumbled over one another, rolling down Monkey Mountain in a heap, their bodies thudding to the ground. The leader got the worst of it, being knocked straight into the pool.
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This little "accident" was nothing to the monkeys, who tumbled and frolicked in the mountains and forests all year round; several monkeys quickly got up, and the leading one climbed out of the pool, shaking off its damp fur.
However, this time, the monkeys did not attack Suming but maintained a certain distance from him, and did not even show any intention of attacking; instead, they followed curiously behind him.
Suming seemed like a monkey charmer, walking towards the top of Monkey Mountain with a few monkeys trailing behind him.
As he passed by, the surrounding monkeys at first chattered and seemed ready to attack, but as he got closer, they calmed down, stopped showing their fierce faces, and began scratching their ears and cheeks, curiously sizing up Suming.
Some of the bolder monkeys even joined the 'procession' following Suming.
The number of 'tails' behind Suming grew, and the monkeys followed him, hopping about on the artificial rocks; some even pointed at Suming, making chattering noises to each other as if discussing something.
The people around Monkey Mountain were astonished by this bizarre scene, their mouths agape, completely dumbfounded.
The little girl's mother was so excited that she covered her mouth; through the safety barrier, she watched Suming with hope, while the girl's father was incredibly nervous with every step Suming took, gripping the barrier tightly with sweaty hands.
Mr. Song was also an expert with animals and knew some methods for interacting with and pacifying them but had never seen anyone who could get along with animals so harmoniously, blending into a troop of monkeys like a real animal.
It was understandable, though, as many reports around the world showed humans and wild animals coexisting peacefully under specific conditions, and research had also proven that animals are very sensitive; if humans can truly be without malice, then it is possible to approach them.
But understanding is one thing, and witnessing is another; Mr. Song was deeply shocked.
As Suming walked along, he suddenly realized it was very quiet around him, devoid of 'human' noise, leaving only the incessant chatter of the monkeys. He looked outside Monkey Mountain instinctively and saw that everyone was staring in awe.
"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated? Raising suspicion like this is not good." Suming's eyes darted around, he pressed his hands together, bowed his head like a monk and walked towards the top of Monkey Mountain, making strange gestures as he went.
The monkeys kept chattering, emitting an air of confusion, as if they were asking Suming, what are you doing?
Suming's gestures were for the people above to see and naturally had nothing to do with the monkeys.
However, there's a saying that in the deep forest temples often have monkeys, and when devout men and women see the monkeys while paying their respects at the temples, they tend to feed them, so the monkeys have always lived peacefully with the monks and even considered them their "bread and butter."
It is said that one year when Mr. Jiang visited Mount Emei, on a sunny day, while Mr. Jiang and his guards were walking up the mountain, a troop of macaques suddenly appeared. Mr. Jiang, who was leading, broke out in a cold sweat out of fear; in his panic, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow, and that's when the monkeys scattered. Apparently, when Mr. Jiang took off his hat and revealed his bald head, the monkeys thought he was a monk and naturally dispersed.
So, with Suming's palms pressed together, in Mr. Song's eyes, this was linked to the anecdote of impersonating a monk. Of course, it was just an amusing tale and not at all unusual, whether it worked or not.
Monkey Mountain was really just a slightly larger artificial hill, and Suming, like a devout little monk with hands pressed together, head bowed, quickly ascended to the peak as if praying.
The Monkey King, seeing his territory invaded, immediately forgot about the little girl and turned around; it placed its forearms on the ground in front of it, raised its red bottom, bared its teeth at Suming, and menaced him fiercely.
"Chatter... chatter chatter chatter..." The Monkey King howled loudly, its saliva nearly spraying onto Suming's face.
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