Jiang Yao's techniques were unprofessional, but all the men who had experienced them understood - a girl's soft, gentle fingers massaging your forehead feels good no matter what!
Lu Zhe was so relaxed that he fell asleep shortly after.
He slept for over three hours. He expected to have a nice dream, but instead had a vexing nightmare!
He dreamed of monkeys, groups of them leering in the camp with ill intent.
In his confusion, he felt extremely frustrated and bewildered. Suddenly, he heard Jiang Yao exclaim softly, "Lu Zhe!"
He opened his eyes with a start to see Jiang Yao's terrified face and frightened gaze!
Out of the corner of his eye, a monkey was baring its teeth at him and threw a rock in his direction!
Lu Zhe instinctively reached out and accurately caught the rock. He leapt up in one swift movement.
Seeing that Lu Zhe had caught the rock, the monkey immediately turned and ran back into the midst of the monkey troop.
Jiang Yao cried out, "Oh my god, why are there so many monkeys here!"
"No wonder I was dreaming about monkeys, they actually came for a visit!"
"Apparently so!"
Lu Zhe looked around - there were many big and small crab-eating macaques sitting in the banyan tree, on the ground, on the fences. The leader held what looked like a slingshot loot!
The other monkeys also held various pieces of loot in their hands.
There were acorns, crocodile meat, jackfruits and bananas.
At that moment, the monkey swung the slingshot and shrieked loudly, with a smug and arrogant look on its face.
Lu Zhe understood now that the monkeys had gotten hold of his secret weapon, which explained why they were acting so brazenly.
Just then, an even bigger monkey than the rest crawled out of the tree house. The monkey holding the slingshot hurriedly handed it to the bigger one.
The big monkey turned the slingshot this way and that, seeming curious and interested in this toy.
Clearly, that one was the monkey king.
"They broke into our hut!"
"I guessed that they probably saw this tree hut as matching their standards for a quality lifestyle and got the idea to occupy this place as their territory. Where are the others?"
"Elder sister Guo'er went to collect bamboo materials. Squad leader Qianqian went to gather seafood. I just took a short nap and when I opened my eyes, I saw so many monkeys and thought I was having a nightmare..."
"It's like a nightmare!"
"What should we do?"
Lu Zhe noticed they had taken a lot of things, but other than the slingshot, they had only taken fruits and food items. They didn't take any of the more complex tools.
It seemed that after eating crabs, they were not so interested in using more complicated tools. Or perhaps Lu Zhe's tools were too heavy for them.
So his bow and arrows were still there.
That bow was over a meter long and weighed over ten kilograms. It would be too difficult for the monkeys to take even if they wanted to!
Lu Zhe strung an arrow and took aim at the monkey king.
The monkey king also aimed the slingshot warily at Lu Zhe, but unlike Lu Zhe, there was no ammunition loaded in its slingshot.
It let go with one paw, hit the other paw, and shrieked loudly in pain!
The other monkeys couldn't help but let out a few amused sounds. The monkey king got angry and used the slingshot to hit the laughing monkey a few times.
At that instant, Lu Zhe suddenly realized something.
If possible, resolve conflicts peacefully.
Save the cruel heavy weapons for when there is absolutely no other choice.
He lowered his bow. "Yao Yao, stay there and don't move. I'm going to talk to them."
"Be careful, Lu Zhe. They throw rocks."
"Don't worry!"
Lu Zhe walked to about three meters away from the monkey king. The monkey king watched him warily, baring its teeth, its eyes full of distrust.
Yet Lu Zhe remained extremely calm!
"You should trust me!"
His tone was peaceful and gentle, like an announcer, full of magnetic appeal and a yearning for peace and love:
"I'm your friend. I'm a friend to all animals on this island."
Lu Zhe's attitude surprised the monkey king a bit.
It seemed to sense Lu Zhe's attempt to pacify it, which made the monkey feel somewhat smug. It waved the slingshot and let out amused sounds.
"Alright, esteemed monkey king, hand me the slingshot now and I'll teach you how to use it!"
The monkey king seemed to understand his words. It hesitated for a moment before actually holding out the slingshot.
Lu Zhe smiled as well, reaching out to take the slingshot.
But just then, the other monkey cried out again, as if warning the monkey king not to trust him.
The monkey king was startled awake. It quickly snatched back the slingshot, baring its teeth threateningly at Lu Zhe again.
Lu Zhe nodded, "I see you still don't trust me, but soon you'll understand my good intentions!"
Lu Zhe took out the water gun that Little Guo had found.
He filled it with some water and shot out a thin stream, squirting the banyan tree twice and the monkey that warned the king twice.
The squirted monkey shrieked in shock. The monkey king thought it was some new weapon and immediately moved to attack.
But soon it realized the water gun only shot water and posed no threat to his monkeys. Seeing how bedraggled his underling looked, the monkey king even started laughing in amusement.
Lu Zhe nodded, "Fun?"
"Hehehe!"
Lu Zhe generously held out the water gun, "How about I give this to you?"
The playful monkey was clearly tempted by the powerful entertainment function of the water gun.
It pointed suspiciously at its slingshot.
Lu Zhe shook his head, "No no no, not in exchange. I'm giving this to you for free."
He held out the water gun closer, "Go on, take it!"
The monkey king was extremely smug. It immediately reached out to grab it.
But the instant it grabbed the water gun, Lu Zhe lunged forward and seized its hind legs.
The monkey king was caught completely off guard. It cried out wildly as it scratched at Lu Zhe's hand with its claws.
Lu Zhe didn't give it the chance. He swung it round and round before smashing it forcefully into the ground.
Blood and gore sprayed everywhere!
The Hulk would be proud!
The monkey king couldn't withstand such a beating. Its brains were smashed to bits and it died instantly.
All the monkeys in the tree and on the ground froze in shock. Without the familiar commands of their leader, they suddenly didn't know what to do.
Lu Zhe picked up the slingshot, took out a clay pellet, and started shooting at the monkeys in the tree.
With each painful shriek, the monkeys lost all courage to throw rocks. They frantically fled the scene.
The crisis was resolved. Lu Zhe gathered up five injured monkeys and tied them up.
"We could have peacefully coexisted and shared this land. Why must you resort to invasion and conquest? Wouldn't it be nice to just live peacefully on this island?"
The monkeys cried out shrilly, still scratching at Lu Zhe with their claws whenever possible!
"I don't want to kill you either, but if I don't, you'll still cause trouble! I have no choice. I also want a peaceful life! All I can promise is to give you a more comfortable death. I hope you'll be reborn as a friendly golden snub-nosed monkey!"
Should he smash them all to death?
Lu Zhe pictured the bloody, miserable scene and couldn't bear to do it.
Too inhumane!
Was there a more humane method?
He had an idea.
He tied a rock to each monkey, then threw them into the sea hollows near the reef.
Indeed, not a single agonized cry was heard!