Chapter 20: Golden Silk Little Monkey (Please add to favorites! Please keep reading!)

Shao Heng remembered reading in the classics at Miaofa Pavilion that night that human cultivators had created the Path of Puppetry.

Paper folding to imbue spirit, puppet mechanics... these were all branches of the Path of Puppetry, which could be used to replace repetitive labor.

The *Discourse on Heterodox Ways* mentioned that the puppets crafted by the most masterful puppeteers were indistinguishable from living humans; they possessed independent thought and could absorb spiritual qi to cultivate automatically.

Shao Heng could afford not to be greedy for now; she only needed a single puppet capable of replacing her in repetitive labor, such as tending to her spiritual fields.

"Where can one buy puppets? I wonder how much they cost?"

As a newcomer, she hadn't even walked through the entirety of the Zhenyi Sect's outer sect. She would have to go out and gather information later; after all, her spirit stones were precious, and with only one hundred and nineteen in her hands, she couldn't afford to be swindled.

Shao Heng did not rush to leave the spiritual field. The layer of white mist acted like a barrier, isolating her from external prying eyes, so she took the golden paper out from her storage ring.

After turning it over three times, the wordless heavenly book remained a wordless heavenly book; Shao Heng could not find a single anomaly.

She rubbed the paper. The texture was somewhat similar to gold leaf but much tougher; even after being crumpled, it left no wrinkles, remaining smooth and pristine.

"What exactly is this golden page?"

Shao Heng grew a bit bolder. After all, even if it truly were an exceptionally precious treasure, if its mysteries could not be uncovered, keeping it in her hands would be nothing more than holding a piece of scrap paper. It would be useless to her, so why cherish it?

"Decree of Fire, come."

She directly formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, performing a Fire Induction Technique. Using spiritual qi as fuel, a small orange-red flame flickered from her right fingertip, roasting the golden page.

Fire, water, ice—nothing could affect this golden paper.

Shao Heng even steeled her heart and, like in the storybooks, pierced her fingertip with her magic to smear a few drops of blood onto the paper, yet there was still no change.

After several fruitless attempts, she could only sigh and put the golden paper back into her storage ring.

Shao Heng took one last look at the lush green rice fields, turned, and walked out of the white mist toward the disciple quarters.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice where she was going until she heard a strange noise.

"Heave, ho! Heave, ho!"

As golden thorns shifted, the gates of the Beast Garden were revealed. Four disciples in yellow robes emerged, together carrying a massive iron cage.

Shao Heng caught a whiff of a musky, foul stench and the scent of blood. She immediately covered her nose in disgust; having senses that were too keen could sometimes be a disadvantage.

"Ying, ying..." "Roar!" "Awoo! Awoo!"...

Inside the large iron cage, there were at least seven beasts of different species. They were actually trapped in the same cage, clearly showing that the Beast Garden didn't care whether they fought one another.

One of the four men complained, "This is so annoying. Dealing with these demonic beasts is such a hassle. In my opinion, they won't live much longer anyway; we might as well just end them with one strike and bury them in the dirt."

A female cultivator with a calm face, appearing to be around thirty years old, replied, "Enough. We took this task from the Law Enforcement Pavilion, so this is what we must do. This is the simplest among the second-class tasks. If you don't want to do it, why don't you go take a task to hunt demonic cultivators instead?"

The man immediately chuckled. "Oh, Senior Sister Song, I'd definitely rather do this. One trip back and forth gets me five contribution points."

"Hunting demonic cultivators is too dangerous. At the same cultivation realm, demonic cultivators often possess superior combat strength. I still remember Senior Sister Tang; she was at the late stage of the first realm, but she only went to deal with a mid-stage first-realm demonic cultivator, and when she returned to the sect, she was heavily injured, having lost more than half her body."

The man spoke with lingering fear, as if he were the one who had been injured, a look of dread crossing his face.

The female cultivator addressed as Senior Sister Song was named Song Xuan. Hearing this, she said, "Then you had better do this task well..."

Suddenly, Song Xuan stopped mid-sentence and looked at the yellow-robed youth walking toward them.

"Junior Sister, is something the matter?"

Among the four, Song Xuan was the implicit leader. Shao Heng smiled at her and asked, "Greetings, Senior Sister and Senior Brothers. I am a newly joined disciple. I was curious—are these demons? Why do they all... look so bloody?"

She put on a look of slight trepidation.

One of the men, named Li Yutang, frowned and said, "Since you've just joined, you should go listen to the lecturing elders properly. Don't stand here obstructing our business."

Shao Heng's expression remained unchanged, though her fists tightened slightly.

Fortunately, Song Xuan interrupted in time, saying, "Alright, how much work can she actually delay?"

She looked at Shao Heng with a gentle expression and replied, "These are demonic beasts from the Beast Garden that were heavily injured in combat and cannot recover. Because their realms are low and their bloodlines are weak, they aren't worth the cost of nurturing, so we are delivering them to the Inner Sect. They will likely be used to prepare spiritual meals to nourish the blood and qi of the Inner Sect disciples."

Because these beasts became more feral when heavily injured and were prone to counterattacking, causing accidents, they were escorted by disciples.

Shao Heng's gaze swept over the seven beasts. She didn't recognize most of the species; their appearances differed from ordinary animals—some had wings on their backs, some had two heads, and one even had deep purple flames burning at the tip of its furry tail.

With some confusion, she pointed at one of them, a small monkey that was whimpering.

"Senior Sister, was this beast also injured in a fight?"

This little monkey did not look extraordinary. Its body was quite small compared to the other beasts, likely a cub. Its golden fur had been stained by blood, congealing into patches of dark red scabs.

Large gashes had been torn into both of the monkey demon's shoulders. Its amber-like eyes were filled with tears, and its whimpering sounded incredibly pitiful.

Song Xuan shook her head. "The species of this monkey demon is unknown. The Beast Garden Elder speculates it is a hybrid of a Golden-Haired Monkey and another monkey tribe. Its potential is limited, but its temperament is quite docile. It was accidentally caught in the crossfire when those fierce demons were fighting."

Shao Heng immediately showed a look of pity, appearing to struggle with her decision before saying, "Senior Sister, it's so pitiful. Can I... can I buy it?"

She had read in the information on her jade slip earlier that young demonic beasts in the Beast Garden could be exchanged for by disciples using spirit stones or contribution points.

Song Xuan replied patiently, "Technically, yes. The sale price for these injured beasts is only half the normal price. This monkey demon would originally have cost forty spirit stones, so the current price is twenty. But if you truly want to heal it, you will need to purchase additional healing spiritual medicines. In the end, the total cost will be much higher than buying a normal young beast."

"It's alright, Senior Sister."

"I want it."

Shao Heng looked at the monkey demon with 'pity,' causing Li Yutang to let out a low sneer, though he said nothing more.

Song Xuan made a gesture, and the four of them lowered the cage together.

Since she held a position in the Beast Garden, she was responsible for transactions. If these outer sect disciples failed to promote to the Inner Sect but wished to remain in the sect, they would have to undergo an elder's assessment after reaching the second realm; choosing a place of employment in advance would always provide some convenience.

Song Xuan did not try to dissuade her; she simply took a sheet of white paper from her storage ring and channeled her magic to manifest a Demon Contracting Incantation upon it.

Meanwhile, as Shao Heng looked at the little monkey demon, she already had other calculations in mind.

*A half-price discount is quite good. I've tasted the [Azure Emperor] liquid beads before; the life essence within them is rich and possesses healing properties, so I won't need to buy extra spiritual medicine. Furthermore, monkey demons have bodies similar to humans and their intelligence is generally higher than other demon races, making them easier to command. I don't care if its bloodline is powerful; being docile and obedient is enough.*

*The 'Discourse on Heterodox Ways' said that puppets are generally expensive and most are very rigid. Compared to that, this monkey demon is the best choice to manage my spiritual fields!*

The little monkey cub, which had clearly been on the verge of losing consciousness due to weakness, suddenly gave a small shiver.

The Monkey (Before becoming a beast of burden): My fate is in my hands, not in the heavens!

The Monkey (After becoming a beast of burden): I don't think I want to live that much after all...