0025 Dragonhide Gloves

The monkey seemed to be struggling.

Fearing it might be discovered if it stayed on the wall too long, Jiang Mingzhe grew anxious and muttered, "Come down quickly! Freedom is precious, but a centipede is priced even higher. Hang out with me, and you'll eat bananas every single day!"

A-Zi whipped her head around to look at Jiang Mingzhe, her large eyes filled with amazement.

"Big Ginger, are all you people from Qufu this talented? You’ve written another poem! I think this one is even better than the one you wrote for me! I don't even need anyone to explain it; I can understand it all by myself!"

Her eyes then flashed with a hint of craftiness. "Hey, since you and I are so close, why don't you gift this poem to me? How about it?"

Jiang Mingzhe didn't quite understand, but he nodded anyway. "Why not? If you like it, it’s yours."

"That’s wonderful!"

A-Zi’s large eyes instantly curved into crescents. She looked at the monkey, smiling, and recited word by word: "Freedom is precious, but a centipede is priced even higher. Hang out with sister, and you'll eat bananas every single day!"

Only then did it dawn on Jiang Mingzhe that "gifting it to her" meant she wanted the copyright. By changing one character, it became her own original work.

After reciting it once, A-Zi turned back to ask, "Big Ginger, is the banana in this poem the fragrant 'tooth-banana' from the Southern Frontier?"

Jiang Mingzhe was actually stumped by the question, so he replied vaguely, "Um, something like that."

A-Zi nodded, swallowed, and said, "When Master returned from the Southern Frontier last time, he said those fragrant bananas are incredibly sweet—yellow skin, white flesh. If I ever get the chance, I’m going to eat my fill of them."

With that, she cleared her throat and recited it again with great feeling, not forgetting to explain to the monkey: "The banana is the fragrant banana from your hometown. If you follow us, we will definitely take you back home to eat your fill."

Whether it was the temptation of food or the monkey being truly moved by A-Zi's poetic talent, it suddenly began to move on all fours along the wall. The wall was riddled with holes and pits—the result of A-Zi practicing her hidden weapons.

The monkey turned its rear around and, using the dents in the wall, slowly climbed down. After hesitating for a moment, it shuffled sluggishly to a spot about two or three meters in front of A-Zi.

"It really came! It understood the poem we wrote for it!"

A-Zi was so happy she wanted to jump, but she forced herself to restrain it for fear of scaring the monkey. Her face was beaming. Jiang Mingzhe was certain that if she had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now.

Drawing on his experience with feeding cats, Jiang Mingzhe slowly squatted down and instructed A-Zi to do the same. "Squat down, hold out the centipede, and call its name."

A-Zi squatted down as told, looking at Jiang Mingzhe in a dilemma. "It doesn't have a name. Master just calls it 'Poison Monkey,' which I think sounds terrible."

Jiang Mingzhe laughed. "Then just give it a name."

"Right!" A-Zi’s expression brightened, and she began to rack her brains. Seeing that the humans hadn't given it the centipede after such a long time, the monkey clutched its head with both hands and let out a frantic, high-pitched squeak.

The red centipede, which had been struggling vigorously, suddenly shuddered and went limp, hanging from A-Zi's hand like a noodle.

"Got it! I’ve got it!" A-Zi’s eyes lit up, and she said with a giggle, "It shall be called Little Ginger from now on. After all, you are its master in name, and since you are Big Ginger, it naturally becomes Little Ginger!"

"Little Ginger?" Jiang Mingzhe looked at the yellowish-white fur on the monkey and felt it actually suited it quite well.

By now, A-Zi was already calling out to it. She extended her hand and whispered, "Little Ginger, Little Ginger, come and eat the centipede."

Jiang Mingzhe reminded her in a low voice, "Senior Sister, don't forget that its fur is covered in poison. Make sure you know how to handle it."

A-Zi nodded and continued to call for Little Ginger.

The monkey seemed to sense that the two meant no harm. It crawled slowly forward, reached A-Zi’s hand, glanced at her, snatched the centipede's head, and ran off.

Its movements were sluggish; even when "running," there was no sense of agility. A-Zi figured she could catch up in two steps, so she didn't move.

After running a few meters, the monkey turned back. Seeing that A-Zi and Jiang Mingzhe hadn't followed, it felt safe enough to stop and take a bite of the centipede's head.

With that single bite, it severed the entire head and chewed away with puffed-out cheeks.

Jiang Mingzhe found it quite interesting.

Although the centipede head wasn't large, it depended on what you compared it to. For a slow loris of this size, the way it bit off the head—especially in the moment it opened its mouth—was strikingly similar to the famous scene of a pig being eaten in three bites.

After crunching and chewing for a long time, it finally finished the head. The slow loris picked up the rest of the centipede and continued to eat. After consuming a full half, it seemed satisfied. It wrapped the remaining half around its waist, but since it couldn't tie a knot, it had to hold it firmly with its little paws, looking increasingly silly and cute.

A-Zi laughed until she almost fell over. "It’s well worth the name Little Ginger. You use a snake as a belt, and it uses a centipede as a belt—you two are truly a match made in heaven."

She waved her hand again. "Little Ginger, come here. Since you’ve eaten our food, you’re our monkey now. In a couple of days, when your master has mastered his martial arts, we’ll take you into the mountains to catch plenty of scorpions and centipedes to eat."

Whether it was because the monkey had had enough of starving or because it recalled the days of having plenty to eat and wear while kept in captivity by Ding Chunqiu, or perhaps because it realized after escaping that it could never find its way home—in any case, at A-Zi’s beckoning, it hesitated for a moment and then actually began to walk over slowly.

"It’s coming, it’s coming! Little Ginger is really coming!" A-Zi squatted on the ground, swaying with joy like a fully charged dancing doll. She quickly fished two black gloves out of her pouch, put one on her right hand, and tossed the other to Jiang Mingzhe.

"Quick, quick! These are made of dragon skin. No poisonous insect can bite through them, and they're waterproof, too. Once you put them on, you can touch it."

Dragon skin? Jiang Mingzhe felt a sense of awe and quickly took them. He noticed the surface of the gloves was covered in tiny, hard, granular bumps. Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but smile.

Jiang Mingzhe had once bought a Bulgari bag to thank a female client who had helped him sign a deal. The sales assistant had specifically introduced the material to him, and it was—not to say identical—but exactly the same as these gloves.

It was actually the skin of a stingray, known as the "pearl ray." The back of the fish has an oval patch of skin densely packed with round, mineralized protrusions that are fine and hard. When it comes to wear resistance, it’s like using a cheat code compared to any other leather.

Furthermore, these granules increased friction, making it very handy for grabbing slick, poisonous insects.

As for being waterproof—fish skin being waterproof was a given.

Jiang Mingzhe didn't say much. He put on the gloves and felt that the lining was as smooth as silk, the touch extremely comfortable. He thought to himself that stingray skin wouldn't have such a fine texture; it was likely eel skin, known as "ocean silk."

A-Zi was already impatient. "Big Ginger, hurry up! Hold Little Ginger so I can pet it."

Jiang Mingzhe picked up the slow loris as instructed. The monkey was quite docile, lying quietly on his palm and letting A-Zi pet it. Perhaps finding it comfortable, it fell asleep before long, not even noticing when its centipede belt fell off.

By now, the sky had turned completely pitch black. A-Zi finished petting the monkey, stood up, and stretched. "Let's go to your room and see how to settle Little Ginger in. I’ll go get some more food, and you can feed it slowly."

Jiang Mingzhe cradled Little Ginger and followed A-Zi into the room. A-Zi lit a candle and rummaged through boxes and cabinets. Before long, she had collected seven or eight centipedes and a dozen scorpions, which she put into an empty jar. She then found a wicker basket, pushed open the courtyard door to peek outside to ensure no one was around, and slipped out like a thief. With a wave of her small hand, she hurried toward the Yi-One building.

Once they arrived at Jiang Mingzhe’s place, A-Zi headed straight for the second floor. Without hesitation, she confiscated the clothes Jiang Mingzhe had just changed out of, saying righteously, "These have your scent on them. If Little Ginger sleeps on them, it will naturally grow fond of you."

She spread the clothes on the floor, and Jiang Mingzhe gently placed Little Ginger on top of them, with the half-centipede left beside it. A-Zi covered it with the wicker basket and placed the jar of poisonous creatures on top to keep it down, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She grinned foolishly at Jiang Mingzhe. "Big Ginger, don't forget to feed Little Ginger these next few days, and don't let your martial arts practice slide. In a few days, when Master goes into seclusion, we’ll take Little Ginger out to catch the most dangerous poisonous insects!"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded and took the opportunity to ask, "Senior Sister, speaking of martial arts, there is something I don't understand that I would like to ask you about."