Lin Yun left Mysterious City, where great changes had taken place. The cause, naturally, was Ye Yunlong. With Lin Yun having escaped right under his nose and the inheritance he obtained turning out to be fake, Ye Yunlong had been driven completely mad with rage.

In his fury, he mobilized all the assassins from the local branch to search for any trace of Lin Yun, not caring that he was offending Iron Blood and the Blood Refining Ancestor in the process. In the end, however, his search yielded nothing.

Furthermore, Ye Yunlong’s actions completely exposed the Death Row Shelter’s assassins. Representatives from headquarters arrived and took Ye Yunlong back with them. The Imprisoned Dragon Young Master went with them as well.

After that, the Death Row Shelter’s branch in Yanhuang Country was deserted overnight. No one knew where they had gone, or if they were even still in Yanhuang Country.

Lin Yun, however, was unaware of these events concerning Ye Yunlong. At that moment, he was staring gloomily at the little guy in front of him.

Over the past month, the little guy’s appetite had grown larger and larger. For the last three days, Lin Yun had been at a complete loss for words. At the rate it was eating, his once-sizable stash of Primordial Stones was about to be depleted.

An entire Tier Two Demon Beast, devoured by the little guy in a single meal! Demon Beast flesh was sold at a high price in restaurants. A single Tier Two Demon Beast was enough to feed about twenty tables of Martial Artists, and its price was as high as one hundred Low Grade Primordial Stones.

"I really don’t know how your stomach can hold so much food," Lin Yun sighed helplessly, looking at the little guy.

Hearing this, the little guy, who was busy wolfing down meat, looked up with a greasy mouth and let out a pair of low growls, as if to say, ’I’m still growing. What’s wrong with eating a little more?’

Lin Yun was exasperated. ’Eating a lot is one thing, but can’t you be less picky?’ The little guy refused to eat anything besides Demon Beast flesh. Every meal cost Lin Yun at least several hundred Low Grade Primordial Stones.

GRRUMBLE... Of the entire Tier Two Demon Beast, Lin Yun had only eaten one leg; the little guy had polished off the rest. It then scampered over to Lin Yun and let out a low growl, as if to announce that it was full.

"Sigh... Shopkeeper, the check." With no other choice, Lin Yun called the Shopkeeper over to settle the bill.

"Sir, that’ll be one hundred and ten Low Grade Primordial Stones," the Shopkeeper said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

In all his years in business, he had never seen such a voracious eater—a single person devouring an entire Tier Two Demon Beast. Naturally, the Shopkeeper had completely overlooked the little guy.

After handing one hundred and ten Low Grade Primordial Stones to the Shopkeeper, Lin Yun glanced into his nearly empty Space Ring. ’I’m broke again,’ he thought. ’This little guy is an absolute money pit.’

SOB... Lin Yun was crying on the inside. ’Just great. The Primordial Stones are all but gone, and the little guy’s appetite is huge. What am I going to do now?’

Back at the inn, Lin Yun planned to sit and cultivate, but the little guy wouldn’t let him. It pestered him endlessly, chittering nonstop, clearly wanting Lin Yun to play with it.

"I really don’t get it," Lin Yun mused while playing with the little guy, his curiosity piqued. "Vajra Divine Apes have golden fur and Heaven-Destroying Demon Apes have blood-red fur. Why is yours black?"

Hearing this, the little guy gestured wildly and chittered twice. Although it had only recently been born, its intelligence was by no means inferior to a human’s. The little creature could understand much of what Lin Yun said.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Lin Yun said, understanding the little guy’s meaning. "You’re still growing, and your fur will naturally change color when you get bigger."

"With an appetite like that, do you even realize we’re out of money?" Lin Yun couldn’t help but sigh as he thought of his empty ring.

But when he brought this up, the little guy confidently patted its chest, as if to say, ’Don’t worry, you can count on me!’

After a couple of low growls, the little guy’s body—which had nearly doubled in size—slowly shrank until it was once again the size of a fist. With a wave of its tiny fist at Lin Yun, it transformed into a streak of light and shot out of the room.

Lin Yun wasn’t worried as he watched it leave. In just one short month, the little guy’s speed had become no slower than his own. Moreover, at only the size of a fist, even Lin Yun would have a hard time catching it. He was therefore quite confident in its safety.

’Time to cultivate.’ Not worried about where the little guy had gone, Lin Yun closed his eyes and began his practice. Daily cultivation was an indispensable part of his routine. On the path of a Martial Artist, persistence was paramount; talent came second.

「The night passed peacefully.」 Early the next morning, the little guy zipped back into the room, leaped onto Lin Yun, and began shaking his arm insistently.

The little guy pulled him to the door. The moment he opened it, Lin Yun was utterly stunned. ’What is all this stuff?’

A small mountain of items was piled outside his door: shoes, blades, spears, clothes... all jumbled together.

"What’s this...?" He picked a piece of red silk cloth out of the pile. A closer look made his face turn beet-red. He dropped the cloth as if he’d been shocked. The little guy had stolen a woman’s underwear!

"You brought all this back?" Lin Yun asked, looking at the little guy.

At this, the little guy immediately puffed out its chest proudly, as if to say, ’That’s right, I brought it all back! Pretty amazing, huh?’

Lin Yun was at a loss for words. ’This little guy doesn’t understand a thing.’ Now what? How was he supposed to get rid of this pile? If anyone found it, they’d think he was a pervert.

Right at that moment, angry shouts began to echo throughout the inn.

"Who? Who stole my damn clothes?"

"Who stole my shoes?!"

"AH! Pervert! Who stole... Who stole my underwear?!"

Hearing the furious shouts, a jolt went through Lin Yun. He instantly stuffed everything into his Space Ring. ’I can’t let anyone see this,’ he thought frantically, ’or I’ll never be able to explain myself.’

Snatching up the little guy, Lin Yun ducked back into his room.

"Little guy... sigh... never mind. I should give you a name. From now on, I’ll call you Little Ape."

"Little Ape, don’t you get it? These things are useless! And what you did is called ’stealing,’ which is wrong! Besides," he continued, exasperated, "if you’re going to steal, at least steal Primordial Stones! What’s the point of stealing clothes...?" Lin Yun lectured tirelessly.

Little Ape, however, just clutched its stomach, putting on an ’I’m so hungry’ expression. After a long lecture, it was clear Little Ape hadn’t taken in a single word. Lin Yun was utterly defeated.

Dejectedly, Lin Yun led the little creature out of the room. Ignoring the commotion still echoing through the inn, he took Little Ape back to the same restaurant as yesterday and ordered another whole Tier Two Demon Beast.

"Sir, same as yesterday, that’ll be one hundred and ten Low Grade Primordial Stones," the Shopkeeper said, approaching Lin Yun’s table after the meal.

Lin Yun glanced into his Space Ring. Aside from a pile of stolen clothes, he only had one hundred Low Grade Primordial Stones left. He looked up at the Shopkeeper, embarrassed. "Shopkeeper, could you... give me a little discount?"

....................

In the end, after much pleading and persuasion from Lin Yun, the Shopkeeper knocked ten Primordial Stones off the price, letting him pay one hundred and leave.

’Broke. Now I’m really, truly broke...’ Completely out of money, Lin Yun felt like crying but had no tears to shed.