Chapter 213: Chapter 211 Are You the Clown Invited by the Monkey? Chapter 213: Chapter 211 Are You the Clown Invited by the Monkey? “Hahahaha!”

The usually expressionless old man, who was toying with the Pai Gow, threw them onto the coffee table and slapped his thigh, laughing heartily.

The people sitting on the sofa also laughed out loud, their eyes filled with surprise and curiosity. In contrast, Ermao and Senior Hetao’s first reaction wasn’t to laugh or express much surprise, but rather to breathe a sigh of relief.

Luckily the cat was capable and didn’t suffer any losses, Ermao thought.

Zheng Tan didn’t bother with the people by the sofa but rather watched the recent attacker that he had flung away.

The attacker who had just ambushed Zheng Tan wasn’t human, but a monkey dressed in a little suit. It seemed to be the kind of macaque often shown on TV, a species widely distributed in the country and relatively common, but not many were legally certified to raise them, except for in circuses, zoos, and certain tourist spots. Up to now, Zheng Tan had only seen this one.

This macaque had already climbed up and ran next to a person, chattering and screaming. Zheng Tan did not understand what it was saying, but, from the monkey’s gestures pointing at Zheng Tan and then its suit, he guessed it was probably tattling.

God damn it, you dare tattle after attacking first?!

The mood in the room became lively again, some discussing the move Zheng Tan used to throw the monkey, others mocking the monkey. Most notably, they had made a bet when Ermao went to find Zheng Tan, betting who would end up losing. Strangely enough, apart from the monkey’s owner and two others, everyone else, including Senior Hetao and the old man, had bet on Zheng Tan. Now they were busy collecting their money.

“What were they saying earlier?”

“Wu—Song—fighting—the—tiger—hahaha!” Senior Hetao and a few others who won the bets roared in unison.

These people really have lousy personalities. Zheng Tan grumbled silently.

Ermao also took a moment to chat with Zheng Tan about the monkey.

The monkey’s owner, also a fellow student of Wei Leng and Ermao, was He Tao’s junior, named Pei Liang, who had also been a soldier. After being discharged, he returned to his hometown and opened a shop. Pei Liang’s house was located in a tourist area, near the mountains, and catered to tourists; they lived quite well. However, one day while delivering goods, a small monkey suddenly ran over, climbed up Pei Liang’s leg, and clung to his arm, refusing to let go.

Later, it turned out that a tourist had encountered a motherless young monkey during a trip and decided to take it home for fun. However, seizing an opportunity, the young monkey escaped and somehow fixated on Pei Liang’s arm and wouldn’t let go.

Afterward, the tourist left, and a local official took the young monkey back to the mountains. Yet, after a while, the young monkey found its way to Pei Liang’s house, running over every so often. The nearby residents occasionally encountered monkeys too, but generally not often, and sometimes took measures to prevent mountainside monkeys from coming down and stealing things. Frequent monkey visits like Pei Liang’s were rare.

This monkey at Pei Liang’s house was an exception. It gradually became acquainted with Pei Liang’s young son, engaging in activities like fishing and bird catching, and even helped the kids dig pits by handing them shovels, accompanying them wherever they went to stir up fun.

However, it could not always be left unchecked, so at his son’s insistence, Pei Liang found someone to handle the necessary paperwork, as private breeding of national protected animals without approval from forestry administrative authorities is illegal.

While naming it, Pei Liang wanted to directly call it Great Sage Equalling Heaven for its majestic sound. But the elders in Pei Liang’s family believed the name should not aim too high, so they omitted “Heaven” and “Sage,” leaving only “Qi,” which sounded a bit like a family boss. Annoyed by the cumbersome naming process, Pei Liang added another “Da” to the end, resulting in the awkward name, Qi Da Da, that Zheng Tan found hanging over this macaque for life.

At home, Qi Da Da held a not insignificant status, protected by the children and pampered by the elders. Pei Liang’s mother even personally sewed a set of “Great Sage Equalling Heaven” clothes while wearing her reading glasses. As Ermao put it, it looked like something out of a drama.

Monkeys, being smarter than some animals, naturally learned a few things from frequent interactions with humans, growing more cunning and quirky over the past five years. Thus, during Wei Leng’s wedding, Pei Liang dared not let it out. Qi Da Da had learned too many bad habits from the kids, and with Wei Leng having just married, any trouble would definitely be blamed on Pei Liang.

Later, when a film crew came to Pei Liang’s place to shoot a movie, Pei Liang’s son took Qi Da Da to join the fun, and it caught someone’s eye. After negotiations, they paid a sum of money for Pei Liang to get Qi Da Da to make a cameo. Originally, a trained monkey was prepared, but it did not seem as smart as Qi Da Da, prompting a last-minute change. It proved to be a good decision as Qi Da Da got along well with the crew during that time, always making people laugh.

Following that, more groups came to film movies, TV dramas, do location shoots, and record documentaries and promotional videos. Whether the crews communicated with each other or not, they all sought out Qi Da Da. This monkey became quite a sensation, boosting Pei Liang’s family business significantly for a long period.

Now, many tourists visiting the area would curiously check out Qi Da Da, even snapping pictures. Qi Da Da enjoyed posing for photos, its pretentious poses naturally coming out whenever it saw a camera.

“Did you hear that, any family pet more capable of making money than people? That’s also raising a family!” Pei Liang reflected and boasted loudly, trying to salvage some pride for his monkey. Qi Da Da, nearby, chirped in agreement.

However, hearing Pei Liang’s earlier comment about “a pet making money to support the family,” Ermao and Senior Hetao glanced at Zheng Tan simultaneously but said nothing. Some of the people around noticed their actions and asked a few questions, but Ermao kept it vague, only saying that this Black Cat also earned money to support the family and was rich.

“That means this local cat is even more badass than Qi Da Da, and that’s way too low-key. We haven’t even heard about this cat in the news,” one person commented.

“That’s because its Cat Dad doesn’t let it show off,” Ermao replied.

“That’s right!” the master exclaimed with a smack on the coffee table.

Everyone glanced at the table to make sure it was not damaged before they continued laughing and chatting. They each muttered to themselves, wishing the master would lose his habit of slamming the table. Fortunately, he knew better than to damage the hotel’s property.

The master didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about his behavior and continued, “This is about protecting cats. Nowadays, some people are blinded by greed and would do anything. Moreover, animals don’t enjoy the same protections as humans, especially those not covered by national conservation laws. They just have to bear it, so it’s better to protect them. Pei Liang, you should learn this!”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Pei Liang nodded. “It’s because my place is in the mountains, not a big city like here where there are lots of prying eyes. I’m not the only one raising a monkey there.”

“Does anyone else’s monkey stand out like yours?!” the master glared.

“No,” Pei Liang wilted. “I’ll be careful!”

“Ahem, well, speaking of which, that cat really is strong.” Someone caught Pei Liang’s desperate look and changed the subject.

Indeed, as soon as they started talking about the cat, the master stopped pestering Pei Liang.

“What’s so strange about that? Cats, you know, can’t be judged by ordinary standards. My cat once caught prey several times its own size!” the old man said matter-of-factly.

The speaker just now pursed his lips silently. Anyway, whatever the master said was always right, and no one was allowed to argue. As for the master’s cat… Looking at the Black Cat not far away and then thinking about the master’s cat, could they really be the same?

“Besides strength, the cat’s reactions just now were also very quick. That Black Cat had only just made a move when Qi Da burst out. Its reaction was really fast,” someone noted.

“Ermao, did you spill the beans? Told the cat there was a monkey inside?” another person asked.

“No, absolutely not! I just told it to be sharp,” Ermao denied.

The master nodded approvingly, “This cat has been on alert since it entered the door. I knew it sensed Qi Da the moment its ears twitched. It must have known the monkey would try a sneak attack from behind and was ready for it.”

Zheng Tan: “…” That’s too much praise, I really can’t manage to deal with that damned monkey.

Besides, from a human psychological perspective, Zheng Tan didn’t really like being compared to other animals. It felt a bit like bullying the weak.

“You guys!” the master raised his hand and pointed at Ermao and the others one by one, “are not even as good as a cat!”

Ermao and his fellow disciples all had a choked look and neither of them argued back. Fine, any topic seemed to end up in a lecture.

Zheng Tan listened to these guys chatting and noticed that the old man did nothing else but scold people and praise his cat. Having experienced it himself, Zheng Tan knew that whatever was said at home always sounded wonderful, but you only realized the pitfalls when you met the real thing.

Qi Da, who had been shoved away earlier and was now sticking close to Pei Liang, dared not approach Zheng Tan anymore, probably realizing that Zheng Tan was not a pushover but a risky foe. He kept provoking from a distance, like tossing melon seeds or peanuts at Zheng Tan. As soon as Zheng Tan angrily approached, Qi Da would hide beside Pei Liang, chirping and squealing.

Later, Zheng Tan just couldn’t be bothered anymore, so he changed his spot and leaped onto the back of Senior Hetao’s couch, where Qi Da dared not throw anything. If by chance he hit a senior by mistake, both the monkey and the person would be reprimanded.

After having lunch in the afternoon, everyone went back to their own homes. Er Mao and the others were clamoring to make a racket at some wedding celebrations, but Zheng Tan was not in the mood to participate; what business did a cat have in blurting in.

Originally, Zheng Tan thought he would not see that monkey again after Wei Leng’s wedding. But a week later, Ermao asked Zheng Tan if he felt like hanging out because Qi Da missed him.

Turns out, this time Pei Liang brought that thing to Chuhua City, partly to attend Wei Leng’s wedding and partly because a drama crew was shooting nearby, and Qi Da was going over for a cameo with a significant acting fee. They went to shoot the day after the wedding, returned just yesterday, and in two weeks, there was a wildlife program in Beijing that they were joining. In the meantime, Pei Liang would be staying at Senior Hetao’s house.

Er Mao drove Zheng Tan to Senior Hetao’s place, “That monkey must hold a grudge. Probably plotting some revenge this time, Black Coal, you better be cautious not to get beaten up.”

Beaten up? How could that happen?! With that monkey?!

Once they arrived at Senior Hetao’s place and just as they entered, Zheng Tan heard a noise and looked toward it. Qi Da was riding on a big dog, looking very smug at Zheng Tan and raised its chin.

Zheng Tan suddenly felt compelled to say to the big dog, “Are you the comic relief hired by the monkey?” (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, subscribe, and support me. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep