Future Pet Shop

Chapter 336: Chapter 336: Xiaoliu

The drunk monkey patted the little monkey’s head, looking reluctant to part. Soon, the entire troop gathered near the big tree. The drunk monkey stuffed the bamboo tube back into the tree hollow and fumbled for a long time before managing to get half a tube of wine out. Shen Yibin cringed with embarrassment. He hadn’t realized he’d accidentally drunk all the wine it had worked so hard to brew; there wasn’t even enough left for a proper farewell.

The drunk monkey also scratched its head sheepishly and handed the bamboo tube to a little monkey. The little monkey’s mouth watered, but it couldn’t bear to drink it. It scurried down the tree and passed it to another monkey. That monkey gave it a gentle lick before passing it to the next, who did the same before passing it on.

After all the monkeys had a taste, only a shallow layer of wine remained in the bamboo tube. The drunk monkey looked at the tube, its eyes rimmed with red. It knew the troop had deliberately left this for it. Wiping away a tear, it downed the rest in one go.

Once the wine was gone, the monkeys swarmed up the big tree one by one, placing specially picked fruits at the drunk monkey’s feet. Soon, the fork of the branch was piled high. They had prepared food for its journey.

The drunk monkey took a few of the fruits and handed them to Shen Yibin, who accepted them and put them in his backpack. The drunk monkey stuffed the rest into the tree hollow, then pulled the little monkey over and chattered at it for a long while. It looked like it was passing on the method for brewing Monkey Wine. The little monkey, its eyes red, nodded as if it understood.

The farewell drinks were finished, the fruit was packed, and the method for brewing Monkey Wine had been passed on to a suitable successor. There was no need to worry the troop would go without wine in the future. The drunk monkey leaped down from the tree, ready to leave. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er quickly fell in line to lead the way. And so, Shen Yibin—along with a monkey, a panda, and a hamster—set off on the path out of the mountains.

’Huh, to get out of the mountains, we have to go west. The car is still at the hotel on the west side.’ Leading three pets on a journey to the west... The thought made Shen Yibin hum a tune. "You carry the load, and I’ll lead the horse..." ’Our team has a monkey, and chubby Hah’Er can be Pigsy, but who’s going to carry the luggage? Maphario’s tiny body definitely can’t handle it. Looks like I’ll have to work harder, try to level up sooner, and get a bigger pet for the team.’

The group of four made their way through the jungle. The drunk monkey swung effortlessly from tree to tree. Maphario stood on Hah’Er’s shoulder, leisurely nibbling a sugar wafer and enjoying the scenery. Shen Yibin and Hah’Er, on the other hand, were struggling. One was slow, and the other was weighed down by a massive backpack. Fortunately, with the drunk monkey scouting ahead, the journey was at least easier than when they had been fumbling their way in.

The monkey troop followed reluctantly from behind. The drunk monkey turned back several times, waving its arms to shoo them away, but they wouldn’t leave. It had no choice but to let them be. The troop only began to disperse and return to their own territory in the valley when the sun was about to set, the point at which it would become dangerous for them to linger.

Shen Yibin’s group walked for a while longer. Once they were sure the monkeys were no longer tailing them, they found a suitable spot to set up their tent for the night. At this pace, they would probably be out of the mountains by nightfall tomorrow.

"Sigh, we’ll have to make do with this for now. I’ll make you guys something delicious once we’re out of here." The energy bars, compressed biscuits, and luncheon meat in the backpack were running low. Fortunately, with the fruit from the monkey troop, they had enough to last until they got out of the mountains. Shen Yibin divided the food between Hah’Er and the drunk monkey. As for Maphario, it just kept nibbling its sugar wafers; its food took up no space at all.

With their bellies full, Shen Yibin lay down in the tent to rest. The drunk monkey poked its head inside curiously, but it seemed to find the tent uncomfortable and scampered back up a tree to lie down on a cozy branch, leaving just Shen Yibin, Hah’Er, and Maphario inside.

Shen Yibin didn’t close his eyes right away. Instead, he began to ponder an important matter. ’What should I name this monkey? Wukong? It doesn’t look like a monk at all. Great Saint? This monkey looks like a total weakling, nowhere near as majestic as the Great Saint...’ He mentally ran through all the familiar names he could think of but still couldn’t find a suitable one.

So, Shen Yibin put the matter aside for the moment and posted a photo of the drunk monkey in the pet shop’s WeChat group. Sun Qian, Sakai Kaori, Sylvie, and Xia Shixuan immediately erupted with excited comments.

After the commotion died down, Sun Qian suddenly started a private chat with him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Shen Yibin asked, "I see you’ve been to a bunch of music festivals lately. Any new developments?"

"A few of the offers are getting very close to what I’m looking for, but there are still some minor disagreements. I’m not in a rush, so I’ll wait and see," Sun Qian replied, sending a smiley face emoji. "Oh, by the way, a production company recently approached me about being in a TV drama, but I didn’t accept."

"What kind of drama? What role did they want you to play?" Shen Yibin asked curiously.

"A company is doing a remake of *Book and Sword, Grudge and Enmity* and wanted me to play Luo Bing. I thought about it and felt it wasn’t a good fit, so I turned it down," Sun Qian said.

For some reason, the moment he heard Sun Qian was offered the role of Luo Bing, an indescribable feeling welled up inside Shen Yibin. "Yeah, that’s not a great fit. Luo Bing is a mature, married woman. You’re a little too young; the image doesn’t quite match. Maybe in a few years."

After exchanging a few more messages, Shen Yibin put his phone down, plugged it into his power bank to charge, and closed his eyes, intending to get some rest. He still had a full day of hiking ahead of him.

For some reason, after hearing what Sun Qian had said, characters from wuxia novels kept popping into Shen Yibin’s head. It seemed he was trying to figure out which role would be a good fit for her. ’Huang Rong? The version in *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* might work, but the one in *The Return of the Condor Heroes* is a definite no. Little Dragon Girl? Sun Qian is hardly the cold and icy type. Guo Xiang? Sun Qian’s a bit too old for that role now. Ren Yingying... now that one seems...’

’Wait a minute, Ren Yingying... Linghu Chong?’ A flash of inspiration struck Shen Yibin. ’Didn’t Linghu Chong also drink Monkey Wine? And didn’t that monkey end up with his sixth junior brother, Lu Dayou? Lu Dayou even got the nickname Sixth Monkey from it.’

’So, should I just call this monkey Sixth Monkey? But it’s already a monkey, so calling it Sixth Monkey sounds a bit awkward, doesn’t it? What if I change it a bit... maybe Liu’er? No, that doesn’t sound very good. How about Xiaoliu? After all, it is the sixth pet provided by the Future Pet Shop, so the name is more than fitting.’

’Xiaoliu it is, then.’ Shen Yibin was quite satisfied with the name. And yet, for some reason, he had a subconscious urge to buy a yamen runner’s uniform for Xiaoliu to wear once they got back.