Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 61 Monkeys Picking Greens

It was the same three little monkeys that were being promoted on the street that afternoon.

They skillfully performed various comical actions on the stage, imitating people bowing and making gestures, which drew laughter and applause from the audience, especially the children.

A man with triangular eyes, holding a long whip, walked onto the stage.

He cracked his whip, and the three little monkeys immediately stood at attention.

The man directed several workers to bring up three iron rings of different sizes and place them in the center of the stage.

The man used a torch to light the oil-soaked cloth strips on the iron ring, and the flames shot up high with a "whoosh" and burned fiercely.

Monkey jumping through a ring of fire!

The three little monkeys began their performance, directed by the man's whip and cheered by the audience.

Riding unicycles, forming human pyramids, playing with small balls... their skillful movements and perfect teamwork drew cheers from the crowd.

The most thrilling part, jumping through the fire ring, has begun.

The little monkeys took turns running and nimbly passed through the burning iron rings. Their movements were thrilling and precise, and each success was met with thunderous cheers and applause.

Audience members started throwing coins and fruit onto the stage. The little monkey, riding a unicycle, nimbly weaved through the stage, picking up the coins and fruit, and even bowing to thank the audience who threw things, looking utterly adorable.

Xiuer was also enjoying the show. She took out a few copper coins from her purse and threw them onto the stage.

A little monkey, quick as a flash, did a backflip in mid-air and caught the coin steadily. It even made a face at Xiuer's private room, eliciting laughter and cheers from the surrounding audience.

Just as the atmosphere was getting lively.

From the window of the adjacent VIP room number two, Ba Qing leaned out halfway, holding a snowflake silver ingot weighing at least two ounces.

Instead of throwing the silver ingot onto the stage like the other audience members, he placed it directly on the outer edge of the second-floor box window!

The silver glittered under the light.

The meaning is quite clear...

The little monkey has to climb up and get it himself!

Just like the lion dance's "picking the greens," it's an extra test and a lucky draw.

The audience's attention was immediately drawn to it.

"Wow! Young Master Ba is really generous!"

"Can the little monkey get it?"

"Climbing to the second floor is no easy feat!"

Seeing this, Xiu'er pouted and said with dissatisfaction, "That Ba Qing is so annoying!"

"Isn't this deliberately making things difficult for the little monkeys? They usually perform on flat ground, but the pillars in this theater are slippery. How are they supposed to climb up?"

From next door came Ba Qing's smug, slightly lisping voice: "If you've got the guts, come and take it! If not, get lost!"

"My money isn't so easy to earn!"

The triangular-eyed man on the stage frowned slightly, but after glancing at the silver, he suddenly swung his whip!

"Snapped!"

The tip of the whip was pointing at one of the slightly larger monkeys.

The little monkey seemed to understand, squeaked twice, and then nimbly darted to the edge of the stage, starting to try to climb the wooden pillars supporting the stage and the carved decorations on the walls, heading towards the window of Baqing's box on the second floor.

It climbed carefully, its claws gripping the protrusion tightly.

The audience below held their breath, looking up at the screen.

Halfway up the mountain, as it approached a smooth, vermilion-lacquered crossbeam, the little monkey's paw suddenly slipped!

"oops!"

"Be careful!"

Amidst the gasps of the crowd, the little monkey failed to grab on and plummeted straight down from mid-air!

Fortunately, the audience below dodged in time, and the little monkey fell onto the empty seat, making painful "squeak" sounds. It curled up into a ball and couldn't get up for a while.

"Useless thing!"

The man on the stage, holding a whip, had a livid face. He stepped to the edge of the stage and lashed the little monkey that had fallen to the ground with his long whip without any mercy.

"Snapped!"

The whip struck the little monkey, tearing off a tuft of fur.

The little monkey let out a mournful scream and scrambled back to the backstage area, leaving behind a trail of wailing.

Xiuer was heartbroken, her fists clenched: "This is too cruel! How could you hit it like that!"

Ba Qing, in the next private room, let out a smug, leaky laugh.

The man holding the whip looked even uglier.

He swung his whip again, pointing it at another little monkey.

The little monkey seemed frightened by its companion's experience, its body trembling slightly, but under the man's stern gaze and the threat of the whip, it had no choice but to try again.

This time, it was more careful and moved more slowly.

Several times it was a close call, its claws almost slipping.

The audience was on the edge of their seats.

Finally, after a long climb, it successfully reached the window sill of the private room, stretched out its claws, and grabbed the silver ingot.

Ba Qing revealed a mocking smile.

He picked up the cup of scalding hot tea on the table, seized the opportunity, and splashed it at the little monkey's paws that were gripping the windowsill!

"squeak--!"

The scalding hot tea was poured onto the little monkey's furry paws, instantly causing it to let out a piercing scream!

The claws instinctively loosened, and the whole body fell downwards again!

"Be careful!"

Xiuer screamed and, without thinking, leaned half her body out of the window, stretched out her arm, and narrowly caught the falling monkey, pulling it into her private room.

The little monkey landed on the floor of the private room, its two front paws already burned red. It was trembling with pain, its eyes filled with tears, and it kept blowing on its paws, making pitiful whimpering sounds.

Xiuer felt extremely distressed and quickly squatted down, dipped her handkerchief in cold water, and carefully applied it to the little monkey's scalded paw.

He then took out a tael or two of silver from his purse and stuffed it into the little monkey's uninjured paw.

"Sweetie, it doesn't hurt anymore. I'll buy you something delicious."

The little monkey looked at the silver in its paws, then at Xiu'er's concerned face, and large tears actually welled up in its red eyes.

It gently touched Xiuer's hand with its uninjured paw, as if to express its gratitude.

Xiuer picked up an orange from the table, peeled it, broke off a segment, and held it to the little monkey's mouth.

The little monkey hesitated for a moment, then carefully ate it. The sweetness seemed to relieve some of the pain, and it calmed down a bit.

Just then, two crisp cracking sounds of whips rang out from the stage!

It was the man with the triangular eyes, whipping his whip towards the private room, clearly urging them on.

The little monkey shuddered violently at the sound of the whip, and the fear that had just subsided in its eyes surged back up.

It huddled in Xiuer's arms, its paws gripping Xiuer's sleeve tightly.

Xiuer hugged it, looked up at Huang Shujian, and pleaded in her eyes, "Young Master...can we...can we keep it here for now? It's injured and can't be beaten again..."

Huang Shujian hadn't even had a chance to speak.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

On the stage, the man with the whip lashed the ground again, making a piercing sound, carrying a clear threat and urging.

The little monkey trembled violently with fear.

It looked at Xiuer, then at the window, its eyes filled with reluctance and fear.

It gently squeezed Xiuer's fingers with its unburnt paw, as if saying goodbye.

Then, it suddenly broke free from Xiuer's embrace, enduring the pain in its claws, and jumped out of the window again!

It struggled back up the platform, following the path it had come from, but as soon as it landed, it was met with a fierce lash of a whip!

"Snapped!"

The whip struck its back, leaving a red welt.

The little monkey let out a short cry of pain, dared not linger, and scrambled to hide behind its companions, trembling with fear.

Xiuer leaned on the windowsill, watching the pitiful little monkey after it was beaten, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"This circus troupe...it's too cruel." She bit her lip, her voice choked with sobs and anger.