Zixiao's heart raced as he looked around, his head darting in every direction. Panic filled his chest as he splashed through the shallow water, rushing toward Mu Feng.
"What's happening?!" he shouted, his voice trembling, water dripping down his face and hair.
"No time to explain—come with me, quick!" Mu Feng barked.
For the first time, Zixiao saw genuine panic on the old man's face. Mu Feng grabbed Zixiao's wrist tightly with his left hand and sprinted toward the curtain of bushes they had come through earlier. His breaths were heavy, urgent.
Once they reached the thicket, Mu Feng crouched down and whispered sharply, "Don't make a sound, okay?"
Sweat ran down his wrinkled face, his usual calm eyes now clouded with unease. Whatever was coming—it wasn't ordinary.
Zixiao couldn't understand what was happening, but the sounds were unmistakable—massive, thunderous steps that reverberated through the entire area. Every nearby creature panicked, fleeing in frantic tides of movement.
Then, on one of the towering mountains that framed the lagoon, Zixiao saw trees crashing to the ground one by one, each landing with a deafening thud that made the earth itself seem to shiver. His heart raced, and a cold knot of fear tightened in his stomach—whatever was coming was unimaginably massive.
A massive foot, pinkish in hue, slammed onto the ground with earth-shattering force. It was nearly half the size of Mu Feng's house, and thick jade-white fur clung to its powerful leg. Another foot, identical in size and color, appeared a short distance away, each step sending thunderous vibrations through the sandy beach.
Though the colossal legs moved slowly, they advanced with terrifying inevitability toward the opposite side of the beach—directly facing Mu Feng and Zixiao.
Then Zixiao finally saw it: a gargantuan ape, almost half the size of the mountain itself. Its jade-white fur coated its pinkish skin, gleaming under the sunlight, and it let out a deafening roar—"ROOOOOAAARRRR!"—so loud that Zixiao's ears rang and his heart pounded uncontrollably.
The ape crouched low on the sandy beach, plunging its massive jaw into the lagoon and drinking deeply. Water cascaded from its face like roaring waterfalls as it rose to its full, terrifying height. For a moment, it turned back toward the forest, but then its nostrils flared—something in the air had caught its attention.
Its eyes blazed with fury. With a ground-shaking roar, it charged across the sandy beach, each thunderous step sending vibrations through the earth. Then, with unimaginable power, it leapt into the sky, soaring high above before crashing down onto the beach where Zixiao and Mu Feng stood.
Sand exploded in every direction, whipped skyward by the force of its landing. The ape locked its blazing gaze onto them, and another roar tore from its throat—"ROOOOOAAARRRR!"—even louder, more ferocious than before, echoing across the forest like the wrath of a storm.
The ape rose to its full, sky-high height and clenched its enormous fist. The air trembled as it swung forward, wind scattering in waves from its colossal arm. The punch came down like lightning—fast, heavy, unstoppable.
"Sorry, hero… I gotta do this," Mu Feng said suddenly, his voice trembling with guilt.
Before Zixiao could react, Mu Feng grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him in front of him like a shield.
"W–wait, what?!" Zixiao cried out in disbelief. Panic flashed through his eyes as he instinctively crossed his arms into an X, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his face away. The air around him grew dense, a crushing pressure that nearly froze him in place.
The ape's massive fist descended—closer… closer—then suddenly stopped an inch from Zixiao's face. The violent wind burst outward, shaking the trees and sending waves across the lagoon.
Zixiao's eyes remained shut, his body trembling. Then, to his utter confusion, the ape slowly unfolded one finger from its fist and… tapped his forehead.
Boop.
The gentle push sent Zixiao stumbling backward, falling flat on the sand.
Seeing this, Mu Feng burst into laughter—and so did the ape.
The massive creature grabbed its stomach with both hands and rolled onto the sand, laughing so hard that the beach itself trembled under its deep, booming voice.
Zixiao just stood there, frozen in disbelief, glancing back and forth between Mu Feng and the laughing ape. It took him several long seconds to even begin to process what was happening.
"Sorry, hero!" Mu Feng managed to say between fits of laughter. "I had to do it!"
Zixiao could only sigh, still half-shocked, half-relieved.
A few minutes later, after things had calmed down, Zixiao stood clean and dry under the sunlight. The giant white ape now sat cross-legged on the sand across from him, smiling wide—its jade-white fur shimmering, its huge teeth showing in a goofy, innocent grin.
"Cough… cough." Mu Feng cleared his throat, forcing down the last bits of laughter. "Well, now that everything's settled… hero, let me introduce you." He gestured toward the ape. "This is my friend. He's actually a Snow Spirit Ape."
Mu Feng's voice softened. "His family was killed by hunters long ago. I just happened to find him—barely alive. So… I raised him here, hidden from the world."
As Mu Feng looked down with a faint, distant expression, the ape also lowered its gaze, as if it understood every word.
"Oh…" Zixiao looked down, a pang of empathy filling his chest. He felt the same pain as the ape—the loss of parents, the endless suffering, the loneliness but most of all Both of them were been rescued by the same kind-hearted man, yet the scars of their pasts ran deep.
He glanced at Mu Feng, who was watching the ape with a wide, gentle smile. "What… what's his name?" Zixiao asked softly.
"Well…" Mu Feng replied, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "I never really gave him one. I always just called him Snow Ape, since… well, nobody else was going to call him anything. Do you want to give him a name?"
"Me?…" Zixiao blinked in surprise, pointing at himself.
"Yeah, since I never gave him a name, you can," Mu Feng said, leaning his left hand gently on Zixiao's shoulder as he crouched down to meet his gaze while looking at the ape.
"Well… how old is he?" Zixiao asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "It might help me come up with a name."
"Oh, he's about 200 years old," Mu Feng replied. "Actually… 196, to be exact."
"One… one hundred and… nin-ninety-six years old?" Zixiao stuttered, trying to wrap his mind around it. Then he tilted his head and pointed at Mu Feng. "Then… how old are you?"
"Well, I'm about 547 years old," Mu Feng said, stroking his long white beard with quiet pride.
"Huh…" Zixiao's eyes widened in surprise. "How have you even lived this long?"
"Relax… hero," Mu Feng said with a small, uneasy frown. "If you ask me that, I feel a little weird about myself too, for some reason."
"But… how?" Zixiao was completely mesmerized.
"Well, it's simple, hero," Mu Feng explained, his tone calm and patient. "As you cultivate, your lifespan gradually grows longer."