Chapter 109: Chapter 107: The Long-armed Ape That Wants to See Its First Love

What’s going on?

Does she know me too?

Yang Qi searched his memory carefully, certain that he had never seen this little girl before.

She looked to be only six or seven years old, so it was even more unlikely they would have had any contact.

Fortunately, a woman in her thirties sat next to the little girl—her mother, it seemed, her face etched with obvious fatigue. She noticed her daughter’s odd behavior, gently pulled the girl’s hand, and whispered something to her.

Only then did the little girl retract her gaze, lowering her head to fiddle with the stuffed rabbit in her arms.

Yang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and looked away, but his perception remained focused on them.

After the bullet train began running smoothly, Yang Qi noticed that the little girl would still sneak glances at him whenever her mother wasn’t looking or was dozing off.

When the train arrived at the Provincial Capital, passengers stood up one after another to grab their luggage and prepare to disembark.

Yang Qi noticed that the mother and daughter were also getting off at this stop.

As her mother led her by the hand, the little girl kept looking back at him from time to time, until they disappeared around a corner.

’My aura has changed a bit since I started cultivating, but isn’t my charm getting a little too widespread?’

Yang Qi muttered to himself, scanning his surroundings.

Many of the girls walking toward him were sizing him up, some secretly, others openly, their eyes filled with admiration and affection.

This was a "side effect" of his cultivation that Yang Qi had grown accustomed to. ’Is it just more obvious today?’

He pushed the thought aside, took out his phone, and made a voice call to Zhou Jing.

Following Zhou Jing’s directions, Yang Qi went to the designated station exit.

He didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes before a flashy red BMW slowly pulled up and stopped in front of him.

The window rolled down, revealing a pretty face brimming with youthful energy. It was Zhou Jing, whom he had met before.

Today, her hair was in a high ponytail and she was wearing casual sportswear, making her look exceptionally energetic.

"Over here!"

Zhou Jing waved with a smile.

Yang Qi opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

The car was filled with a faint, fresh fragrance.

"Sorry to trouble you," Yang Qi said politely as he fastened his seatbelt.

"No trouble, no trouble at all! It’s my pleasure."

Zhou Jing started the car and merged into traffic. As she skillfully handled the steering wheel, she couldn’t help but turn her head to glance at Yang Qi a few times.

"Don’t look at me, watch the road," Yang Qi reminded her.

"Oh, right, okay~"

Zhou Jing’s face flushed slightly as she quickly turned back to face forward. But after a few seconds, she couldn’t resist sneaking another peek. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity, she spoke up.

"Um... Yang Druid, I feel like... you’re even more handsome than when I saw you in Donghua? Your skin is amazing, too. What brand of skincare products do you use?"

"That...? Maybe it’s the face mask I put on before I left? I don’t really look into that stuff."

Yang Qi gave a casual reply, then changed the subject. "Let’s talk about the gibbon first. What exactly is going on?"

"Alright, alright."

Zhou Jing stuck out her tongue playfully, then her expression turned serious. "The one with the problem is an adult male Western black-crested gibbon named Ah Wu. About a week ago, his appetite dropped significantly. He just didn’t want to eat."

"After the veterinarian examined him, all his vitals came back normal, and they couldn’t find any external injuries or obvious illnesses."

"Then, two days ago, he started refusing all food. He wouldn’t even touch his favorite bananas or the special fruit puree, only drinking a tiny bit of water. His spirits have been getting lower and lower, and he just stares outside blankly."

She paused, then continued, "The zoo has tried everything: changing his food, adjusting the environmental enrichment, even trying to play sounds from their native habitat. Nothing’s worked."

"Although Ah Wu has no organic diseases, if this continues, it will eventually become a major problem. My aunt found out and recommended you to the zoo."

’So it really was Tong Xiaoyue!’

Yang Qi thought to himself and nodded. "I understand. I hope I can help."

...

The car soon entered the urban area of the Provincial Capital. After another twenty-minute drive, they arrived at the Red Star Zoo, located in the suburbs.

It was much larger than the Donghua Zoo, and its buildings and environment also seemed more modern and professional.

Led by Zhou Jing, Yang Qi went directly to a small conference room in the zoo’s research and administration area.

Five or six people were already seated inside—some were veterinarians in white coats, others were researchers in casual clothes with a calm and serious demeanor.

When they saw Zhou Jing enter with Yang Qi, everyone’s gaze fell on him, filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

Just as Zhou Jing was about to make introductions, a middle-aged man sitting next to the head seat spoke up first. He looked to be in his forties or fifties, wore black-rimmed glasses, and had a scholarly air about him.

"You must be Yang Qi, Mr. Yang from the Donghua Zoo? Mr. Yang, have you conducted in-depth research on the ethology and physiology of gibbons, especially Western black-crested gibbons?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhou Jing quickly whispered a reminder, "This is Huang Leqing, Teacher Huang. He’s one of the nation’s leading experts on gibbons and a consultant for our zoo."

Yang Qi understood immediately.

He instantly understood. This man was "outside help" just like him, but the difference was that he was a proper academic expert. In this man’s eyes, Yang Qi was probably just a zoo employee with some "unorthodox" experience.

Knowing the other man’s identity, Yang Qi wasn’t intimidated. He replied calmly, "Hello, Teacher Huang. I can’t say I’ve researched gibbons, but I do have some familiarity with them. However, I have a bit of my own experience when it comes to communicating with animals and trying to understand the motives behind their behavior."

"Animal communication?"

Huang Leqing’s brow furrowed. The term sounded far too "unscientific."

Upon hearing this, the other veterinarians and researchers in the room had varied reactions. Some wore amused expressions, while others simply shook their heads.

They clearly didn’t approve of such a method, even finding it to be a bit of a joke.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.

Just then, the conference room door was pushed open, and Tong Xiaoyue walked in.

"Vice Director Tong."

"Professor Tong."

"Teacher Tong."

"..."

Everyone in the conference room stood up to greet her.

"Teacher Tong."

Yang Qi called out as well.

Tong Xiaoyue nodded to the crowd, her gaze landing on Yang Qi with a smile. "You’re here. Let’s go. We’ll head to the site and see the situation for ourselves."

"Okay."

Yang Qi responded immediately and quickly followed her.

Zhou Jing hurried to follow as well.

Seeing this, Huang Leqing and the others, despite their private reservations, had no choice but to suppress their doubts and get up to follow, since Tong Xiaoyue had spoken.

The group soon arrived at the Gibbon Hall.

The environment here was designed to simulate a tropical rainforest, with dense vegetation and open space.

In a relatively separate enclosure, separated by transparent, high-strength glass and metal railings, Yang Qi saw the gibbon in question, Ah Wu.

He was alone beneath a thick perch, his arms wrapped around his knees. His back was to the visitor walkway, and he faced a huge glass wall that looked out onto the sky and trees.

His figure looked somewhat hunched from behind, his fur seemed to have lost its sheen, and he was completely still. He just stared blankly at the sky outside the glass, showing no reaction to the group approaching from behind him.

In an adjacent, connected enclosure, a female gibbon was pacing back and forth restlessly, casting worried glances at him from time to time.

Tong Xiaoyue walked up to the enclosure, pointed at Ah Wu inside, and briefly explained the male gibbon’s recent abnormal behavior and the physical ailments that had been ruled out. Then she looked at Yang Qi and asked directly.

"Do you want to go in for a closer look? Do you need any special preparations, or is there anything we can do to assist?"

Getting close to a depressed and potentially aggressive wild animal was risky.

"I need to go in."

Yang Qi nodded decisively. "No special preparations needed. I’ll go in by myself."

"By yourself?"

Huang Leqing couldn’t help but speak up, his tone filled with disapproval.

"Teacher Huang, let him try."

Tong Xiaoyue raised a hand to cut off whatever else Huang Leqing was about to say. Then, she motioned for a staff member to open the service-passage door.

Under the astonished, confused, and even nervous gazes of Huang Leqing and the others, Yang Qi walked into the enclosure alone, his steps steady.

He didn’t approach Ah Wu right away.

Yang Qi stopped about five or six meters away from the male gibbon. Channeling his Magical Power, he quietly activated the Basic Spirit Communication Technique.

"Hey, what are you looking at? Did a big bird fly by?" Yang Qi asked, his tone light and curious.

Ah Wu’s body seemed to tremble ever so slightly, but he didn’t turn around. He just let out a low, almost inaudible call from his throat, subconsciously responding in the "language" of gibbons.

[No.]

The moment he responded, he seemed to freeze, taking a few beats to process what had just happened.

’This Two-legged Beast...’

’He seems to understand what I’m saying?’

’And he can "talk" back in a similar way?’

Ah Wu whipped his head around, his tired and bewildered brown eyes staring at Yang Qi in astonishment.

He released the arms hugging his knees and began gesturing excitedly with his long arms, letting out a series of rapid, clear calls.

[You... you can speak the language of us apes?]

[You can understand me?]

Yang Qi didn’t directly answer his astonished questions. Instead, he followed up on his own previous question, continuing to ask gently.

"I heard you haven’t been eating lately. Why is that? Can you tell me about it? Maybe I can help you figure something out."

The astonishment in Ah Wu’s eyes slowly faded, replaced by a deep, inconsolable melancholy.

He lowered his head, his long fingers unconsciously picking at the bark of a nearby perch. After a long silence, he finally lifted his gaze to Yang Qi, gestured, and let out a low, clear call.

[I want to see her.]

"Who do you want to see?" Yang Qi’s spirits lifted. ’A breakthrough!’

’As long as he’s willing to share his thoughts, there’s a chance to communicate and solve the problem.’

Ah Wu seemed a little shy. He scratched his cheek and let out another call.

[My mate.]

’Mate?’

Yang Qi was puzzled. He looked over at the female gibbon in the next enclosure, who was watching them with concern, and asked, "Isn’t your mate right there? She’s very worried about you."

[Not her.]

Ah Wu shook his head, his gaze drifting into the distance as if piercing through the glass wall to some nonexistent place far away. His call was now tinged with reminiscence and an even deeper longing.

[It’s my first mate. I want to see her.]

First mate?

’A first love?!’