If you were an eight-eyed monkey crying blood beside me, would you ask if I was one of them or not?
The answer is no. I am not one of the eight-eyed monkeys perched with me on top of the tall white trees, which are like pine trees but denser and have pale purple, thorn-shaped leaves.
If this weren't the Bloody Valley, I'm sure many people would like this place because of the very, very unique forest scenery.
Pale white trees that bleed red when scratched. Their leaves, which are already like leaves from hell, are pale purple. Sharp thorns on every branch. Besides being white, their bark has unusual carved patterns, unlike typical trees. Many circular spiral patterns cover the entire tree trunk.
Does this tree bear fruit? Judging by the eight-eyed monkey eating the fruit of the tree whose branch I'm standing on, the answer is yes. The fruit of this tree is also no less terrifying in shape. Like a baby's head. It has a human face that is screaming and smiling widely.
And when the monkey bit the fruit, a thick, red, fishy-smelling liquid came out. In the past, when I found and ate this fruit, I briefly thought I was eating human flesh because it tasted similar. Besides that, I started laughing hysterically like a madman. This fruit has an effect that makes people lose their sanity. A strange tree.
And these trees fill the entire Bloody Valley. There are only two types of trees in this valley: the white fruit-bearing trees and the dark red non-fruit-bearing trees.
Ah, if you want to have a peaceful night in the Bloody Valley, you should hide under the roots of the dark red trees. Because that tree always eats any living creature—except insects—that is within ten steps from it. But it cannot sense what is too close to it.
The dark red tree has bark with a sharp, razor-like texture. And its roots move like legs. Not only its roots, but its stiff and twisted branches can also move like arms. The tree has no leaves, its full of wood, including its roots.
Although not as tall as the white trees, the dark red tree is only five times Shun Jin's height. And again, that tree moves from one place to another. Fortunately, that strange tree only moves at night. And when it moves, it will not look for prey for its body's nutrition. So taking shelter under it when it moves is the safest option to cultivate peacefully in this cursed valley.
The movement of the dark red tree is not very fast. The tree moves slowly like a turtle, but it definitely moves.
"Hey, share." I held out my hand to the eight-eyed monkey who was busy chewing on the white tree fruit. The monkey turned to me silently. After making sure I didn't seem to be a threat to him or her (i don't know this monkey gender, probably a male), he gave me the half-eaten fruit in its hand and picked another fruit from under its feet.
The eight-eyed monkey and I watched the scene below. The terrain of this valley is uneven. Wavy up and down. But, from up on this thorny branch, I could clearly see Shun Jin walking cautiously, her hand trembling as she held a slender sword.
Her head turned right and left every second, and front and back every two seconds. She looked like a frightened deer, knowing it was being terrorized by wild beasts hiding behind the forest trees from whatever direction she walked.
Shun Jin walked and stopped when she heard something rustling in the bushes. She regulated her breathing while fearfully pointing her sword towards the bushes beside her.
The bushes here are sharp, full of needles, and black with blood-red spots. I suggest never disturbing the bushes here. Because nine out of ten times, something will emerge from the bushes. Like a human-headed, tailed snake spitting acid, or a large, round-eyed scorpion with a tail whose venom can kill an elephant-sized animal in an instant.
Or other strange things, like a laughing and crying human head rolling around. Or running feet with hands. The bushes here are like a mystery box. Just now, Shun Jin thrust her sword into the bushes and a swarm of human-finger spiders immediately scattered from within.
The girl immediately shivered and held back her scream, spontaneously running away from the human-palm-sized finger spiders.
I jumped from one branch to another and met another eight-eyed monkey watching Shun Jin run and stop leaning behind a high earthen hollow. She took a breath there and tried to sit down to cultivate because it seemed that the dark qi here had further contaminated her dantian and her muscles felt like they were burning. Shun Jin even started to have a nosebleed.
Perched while eating a strange fruit from a white tree next to the eight-eyed monkey beside me. I watched Shun Jin cultivate for a while in that earthen hollow.
"Huff.. huff.. I must stay calm.. the air here makes me hard to breathe.. hah... And my whole body feels unusually hot and painful... Like someone is constantly pulling the flesh inside my body until it almost tears... Hah.. hah.."
Shun Jin sat cross-legged on the ground, not caring that her blue and white robe was dirty. She immediately regulated her breathing and closed her eyes to purify the dark Qi she had inhaled throughout the journey.
"She'll get used to it soon. Won't she. Monkey?" I held out my hand, asking for the fruit he was eating. The eight-eyed monkey picked a new fruit and gave it to me. Continuing to chew on the baby-head fruit that cried when eaten.
"Uu. U. Uu. Uu." The eight-eyed monkey said something while pointing at Shun Jin.
"What? You want to attack her, monkey? Good idea, you can give her the experience of not cultivating carelessly in the open."
The eight-eyed monkey beside me jumped from one branch to another very quickly. Its movements were not like an ordinary monkey.
And within a few seconds, it was in front of Shun Jin's face. Breathing its foul breath onto her nose.
"Smelly.. it feels like smelling a corpse's bad breath.."
Then she opened one eye.
Shun Jin was immediately surprised, very, very surprised. She even jumped backward only to hit the earthen hollow behind her.
She was about to raise the sword in her right hand, but the eight-eyed monkey first gripped Shun Jin's hand so tightly that she let out a suppressed scream of pain. I was sure her wrist was cracked or even broken because I heard the sound of cracking bones just now. But she held back her scream because she knew it would attract the attention of other dangerous, uninvited creatures.
The adult human-sized eight-eyed monkey lifted Shun Jin's right hand high so that her feet were off the ground. The monkey then seemed to put on a creepy smiling face and licked Shun Jin's cheek.
"Uu! Uu! Uu! U! Uu!"
"Agh! Disgusting! Let go of me!"
Shun Jin squirmed, trying to break free, but couldn't. The grip on her right wrist was very tight and she felt immense pain when she moved her body. She tried to release the sword gripped in her right hand and catch it with her left hand.
"I won't die here!"
Shun Jin thrust the slender sword in her left hand under the eight-eyed monkey's chin until it pierced through to the back of its head. Black blood splattered onto her face.
"Uu!!! Uu! Uu..."
Both immediately fell to the ground. Shun Jin grimaced silently, holding her wrist which had turned purple and seemed severely fractured. She could barely move any fingers on her right hand anymore.
Shun Jin stood up, walking with irregular breaths while dragging the slender sword in her left hand on the ground.
"Only a few hours have passed here. And I'm already severely injured. From now on, I must be more careful. Everything in this valley can kill me in an instant."
Shun Jin, with unyielding eyes, continued to walk with faltering steps, enduring the pain throughout her body, in addition to her right wrist. She became more vigilant of her surroundings and made sure that within a one-kilometer radius, she was not being watched by anything or anyone.
I was almost seen by her, so I quickly hid behind a tree trunk. My lips curved into a small smile.
"Yes, that's the attitude you should have, Shun Jin. You must always be vigilant and never let your guard down for a moment. Otherwise, tonight you will end up living with regretful spirits."
***