Unicorn Apes

About ten days had passed since I began living at Gyorei Cave when, unusually, inner disciples visited the Wallside Hall. They were two men in their late twenties named Ni Rikyou and Fei Kanru. The two of them gathered the outer disciples together.

“We are here to convey Elder Tsuen’s instructions. Recently, the stock of Banshou Healing Ointment has been running low. Outer disciples are to go to the demon realm and gather Shishirua grass.”

The outer disciples immediately began chattering noisily. Among them were Koan Zengu, who had passed together with me, and a girl named Mou Ashin, another of those who had passed.

Zengu and Ashin came over to my side.

“Does this kind of thing happen often?”

He asked me, since I had arrived before Zengu.

“No, this is the first time. I do not think it happens that often.”

Ashin asked in a quiet voice.

“Do you know what Shishirua grass is?”

I had memorized the medicinal herbs that could earn money, since I thought they would be necessary for earning pocket money. Shishirua grass was a medicinal herb that looked like a dandelion, and in this season it bloomed with yellow flowers. Its medicinal effect was in the roots, so it had to be gathered with the roots intact. I explained that to the two of them.

“Want to go together?”

Zengu suggested it. It seemed he was not confident just from hearing about it. When I nodded, Ashin said she wanted to come along too.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to go with the senior women?”

When I asked, Ashin shook her head.

“There aren’t any seniors I’ve gotten close to yet.”

Since Zengu and Ashin had only just come to the Wallside Hall, they often asked me things. I thought it was odd since I was younger, but I was probably easier for them to talk to than the seniors.

The three of us went to the armory to borrow weapons. As expected, I borrowed a one-handed sword and headed for the demon realm.

“Aren’t you going to get your own weapon?”

Ashin asked.

“I plan to buy one eventually, but I do not have the money right now.”

Ashin said her parents had bought her a mace. At the end of its handle, which was about sixty centimeters long, there were many steel spikes. It was a vicious-looking weapon. Seeing petite, cute-looking Ashin holding it so happily put me off a little.

Zengu was tall and had a trained body, and he said his parents were martial artists. He had learned the sword, spear, and staff, and among them he was best with the spear. Today he had brought a spear from home.

“What is the name of your swordsmanship, Kou?”

“It is called Meisen Swordsmanship. What about what you learned, Zengu?”

“My spear art is called ‘Longstar Spear Art.’ Apparently it is a martial art passed down in my family for a long time.”

Zengu seemed confident when it came to martial arts.

We followed the mountain path midway up Mount Gyorei and came out on the far side of the mountain. From there, we descended the mountain and reached the outer edge of the demon realm. Shishirua grass was supposed to be in this outer area.

The three of us headed west along the outer edge. No matter what, we would not go deeper into the demon realm. The seniors had told us that as long as we followed that rule, we would not encounter any strong yōma.

“Isn’t that it?”

I spotted some grass that looked like a dandelion and approached it. When I turned over the leaves, there were distinctive white veins. Those veins meant it was Shishirua grass.

“So this is Shishirua grass. Let’s gather a ton of it.”

After seeing the actual plant, Zengu raised his voice eagerly. After that, we found Shishirua grass one after another, dug around the base, and collected it. The Shishirua grass we gathered went into our carrying bags. They were similar to backpacks, but simple things made of cloth and cord.

When we had gathered about half of our target amount, I sensed something approaching from ahead. Since I suddenly drew my sword, Zengu and Ashin hurriedly braced themselves.

“What’s wrong?”

Zengu called out.

“Something is coming closer. Be careful.”

Ever since my qi level had reached the Third Tier, I had become sensitive to presences. As we watched, two large monkeys emerged from the shade of the trees. They were about one hundred sixty centimeters tall, bigger than me.

“This one has a single horn on its forehead. It’s a Unicorn Ape.”

Apparently it was a yōma Zengu knew. I had thought it strange for an ordinary monkey to be that large, but so it was a yōma. The Unicorn Apes came closer. By then I had already raised my qi level to the Fifth Tier, and I was ready to fight.

One of the Unicorn Apes leaped and attacked from above. Zengu thrust his spear out to intercept it. At the same time, I circled around and drove the tip of my sword into the Unicorn Ape’s side.

The Unicorn Ape blocked Zengu’s spear tip by swatting it aside with its arm, but it could not respond to my attack. The sword tip sank into its side and wounded its lung. The monkey yōma screamed and tried to flee. At that moment, Ashin ran in and slammed her mace into its head. As the staggering Unicorn Ape wobbled unsteadily, Zengu’s spear delivered the finishing blow.

Seeing that, the remaining ape roared and lunged at Zengu. The Unicorn Ape tried to tear him apart with its sharp claws, but Zengu blocked it with his spear. I leaped in and slashed across the Unicorn Ape’s back. I felt the hit, but the Unicorn Ape’s muscles were hard and the wound was shallow.

The Unicorn Ape turned and reached its claws toward me. At that moment, Ashin smashed her mace into the back of its head. It was my chance. I slashed the Unicorn Ape’s neck with my sword.

“Phew, somehow we managed to defeat them.”

As I muttered that, Zengu was looking down at the fallen Unicorn Apes.

“The meat on these guys tastes awful.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It stays tough whether you boil it or grill it.”

I stroked the Unicorn Ape’s fur. It felt better than I had expected. And it looked warm.

“Let’s skin them.”

“Huh? What are you going to do with the skins?”

Zengu did not seem to get it.

“It’ll be getting cold soon, so I’m thinking of spreading them over the bed in place of bedding.”

Zengu and Ashin nodded, looking impressed. Then, with some difficulty, we skinned the Unicorn Apes. To turn these into proper furs, we would need to ask a professional craftsman.

“We’ll need about three of them to make a proper mat.”

Zengu said. Hearing that, Ashin nodded.

“In that case, we’ll need nine for the three of us.”

It seemed Ashin had also started wanting a fur mat. Since gathering Shishirua grass would likely continue for several days, we would probably be able to collect enough for nine.

The gathering of Shishirua grass continued for four days. During that time, we killed twelve Unicorn Apes and asked a leatherworker to process their hides into fur mats.

Since I asked the craftsman to make four mats, Zengu tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t three be enough?”

“The extra one will be sold and used to pay the craftsman.”

When they heard that, Zengu and Ashin laughed.

“Kou, you really are dependable. I can’t believe you’re only ten.”

It took a little time, but the completed fur mats had been sewn together into rectangular shapes. The feel was satisfying, and they were dozens of times better than straw mats.

And when we sold the extra one, it brought in a decent income. Even if Unicorn Apes were considered weak, their hides were still yōma hides, so apparently they fetched a high price because they were tough. That income went toward paying the craftsman.

“Doesn’t this make a pretty good source of income?”

When Ashin said that, Zengu nodded. The three of us talked it over and decided to continue hunting Unicorn Apes.

“But why don’t the seniors hunt Unicorn Apes?”

Since people like Yingjie did not seem to be hunting Unicorn Apes, Zengu found it strange.

“Come to think of it, bear and tiger rugs are famous, but I’ve never heard of monkey rugs.”

When I said that, Ashin nodded.

“Ordinary monkeys are small, so to make a rug, you’d have to gather a lot of them. Sewing together lots of little pelts to make a rug would take too much work. Maybe that’s why monkey rugs aren’t made.”

Probably no one had paid attention to the fact that yōma Unicorn Apes were exceptionally large. Well, whatever. More importantly, winter was approaching, so I wanted something that could serve as a quilt too.