Super Zoo

"Xiao Kong, you've recovered quite well."

Suming patted the little monkey's head. Just a few days ago, this guy was at death's door, barely clinging to life, but was saved by spiritual power and after a few days of treatment in the infirmary, he was now jumping around energetically, a far cry from the same pitiful creature that had been stuck in the crevice of a rock.

The little monkey bared its teeth at Suming and started to call out with a series of chirps, clearly very pleased with itself.

This guy's face was full of wrinkles; when it smiled, all the wrinkles would squeeze together, making it look like an old lady over a hundred and eighty years old, giving Suming a shiver of disgust.

"Chirp... chitter... chirp..." The white-haired Monkey King somehow produced a section of bamboo tube and handed it to Suming.

A refreshing and rich fragrance immediately wafted out from the bamboo tube.

Suming took a look and saw that the bamboo tube contained a large half-barrel of emerald green liquid, which looked like liquor. The scent was even more fragrant than the Maotai that Suming had once drunk at Wang Hao's place.

"Are you thanking me for saving Xiao Kong? Is this for me?" Suming tentatively asked the Monkey King.

"Chitter... chirp..." The Monkey King nodded, then tilted its head back, placed its hands by its mouth, and mimed a 'drink' gesture.

"You mean, this stuff is drinkable?" Suming felt a bit amused.

Seeing the Monkey King's actions, coupled with the fragrant smell from the bamboo tube, it reminded him of a 'Hundred-Fruit Wine'.

Not everyone may know what Hundred-Fruit Wine is, but this Hundred-Fruit Wine has another widely known name: Monkey Wine.

Legend has it that wild monkeys in the mountains would gather various wild fruits and store them in tree hollows as a winter food reserve. If during that winter, there was no shortage of food or the monkeys happened to forget about their stored fruits, or the monkeys who stored the fruit met with an accident, such as dying or moving away, then the stored fruits in the tree hollow would ferment and turn into a whole hollow of Hundred-Fruit Wine.

This is not just a legend; Hundred-Fruit Wine really does exist. In fact, "loving good liquor and color" is a trait shared by all primates.

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"Huainanzi" records a story where the King of Huainan, who loved to drink, would place a large amount of melons and grains at the foot of the mountains every winter. When he returned to the mountains the following spring, he would often find many drunken monkeys, reeking of alcohol, lying all over the ground, easy to capture.

The King of Huainan sent soldiers deep into the mountains where wild monkeys gathered. They encountered a giant tree, which could only be embraced by several men, with a hollow core. The fragrance of the wine could be smelled from a hundred yards away. Upon closer inspection, the tree was filled with 'extraordinary exotic liquor,' which was the Hundred-Fruit Wine.

Liu An, a polymath of the time, couldn't stop praising the Hundred-Fruit Wine after drinking it and even presented some to the Han Emperor, earning a generous reward.

Later, during the Rebellion of the Seven States, Liu An committed suicide after his revolt failed, and Huainan Kingdom was divided into three parts. The Han Emperor even had the hollow old tree transplanted from Huainan Kingdom to Chang'an.

However, thereafter the old tree never again bore a single drop of Hundred-Fruit Wine.

Of course, it wasn't the old tree itself that produced the wine; it was brewed by the monkeys, with the old tree merely serving as a container. The Han Emperor didn't understand, thinking it was divine tree wine; by planting the tree but not raising monkeys, he naturally never tasted Monkey Wine again.

In martial arts novels, starting from early authors to later ones like Jin Yong, Gu Long, and Liang Yusheng, Monkey Wine has appeared in their books with characters like Linghu Chong and Xiao Yuer having tasted it.

However, such wild brews are the result of chance and were extremely rare even in ancient times, let alone in modern society where the natural environment has been severely damaged.

These days, there are hardly any monkeys left, let alone Monkey Wine.

Suming had seen 'Hundred-Fruit Wine' for sale in the market, which was just a few types of fruits crushed and then artificially fermented to make fruit wine, not the same as the real Monkey Wine at all.

The half-barrel of green liquid in front of him, could it possibly be Monkey Wine? Suming wasn't quite sure and subconsciously looked around.

Scattered around Monkey Mountain were plenty of half-eaten fruits, which seemed to be a plentiful source of ingredients for wine-making.

"Chitter... chirp..." The Monkey King mimed the drinking motion again, urging Suming to drink the Monkey Wine.

The fragrance from the bamboo tube kept teasing his nose, and Suming also found it incredibly tempting, unable to resist wanting to take a sip.

But he was a bit unsure, this stuff certainly smelled good, but who knew if it was hygienic? Might there be germs or something, and if he drank it and it gave him diarrhea or an upset stomach, that would be one thing, but what if it caused partial paralysis or a stroke? How then?

"Chirp..."

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Xiao Kong just couldn't resist the temptation of the wine's fragrance and leaped from the Old Monkey King's back onto Suming, scurrying up to his shoulder with a swoosh while gripping his clothes. Extending a finger, Xiao Kong dipped it quickly into the bamboo tube for two drops of Monkey Wine, then eagerly sucked on that finger.

The wrinkly little face instantly blossomed like a flower, as Xiao Kong joyously squealed, looking blissfully happy, and even stretched his head forward to get closer to the bamboo tube, wanting more Monkey Wine.

Suming fed him a small sip.

After finishing his drink, Xiao Kong smacked his lips, not only unaffected but even more energetic than before, his eyes round and wide, as red as his bottom.

Xiao Kong continued to crane his neck for more drink, but the Old Monkey King swiftly reached out, grabbed Xiao Kong by the neck, and pulled him down, then pointed at the bamboo tube, signaling Suming to drink as well.

"Should I give it a try?" Suming, too, was lured by the fragrance of the wine, and considering that Xiao Kong was fine after drinking it, perhaps it wouldn't be a problem for him either.

Still, it's best to be cautious, drink less to start with—after all, even if it's not hygienic, a little bit of wine shouldn't be an issue.

Suming dipped his finger into the wine and tentatively licked it.

"Holy cow!"

An odd sensation immediately bloomed on his tongue. The Monkey Wine was so fragrant and rich it was almost tangible, filling his mouth and giving him a sense of clarity throughout his body.

He took another small sip.

This time it was even better, exactly like the descriptions in books—after just one sip of wine, it was as if he had consumed a Ginseng fruit, feeling refreshed through all 48,000 pores.

Not only that, Suming was astonished to find that his spiritual power seemed to have increased slightly as well.

Besides that, there were no other feelings of discomfort.

"It can actually enhance spiritual power?!" Suming was surprised. The delicious taste was one thing but for him, the increase in spiritual power was far more important.

The stronger the spiritual power, the more control one has in terms of range and quantity of animals that can be influenced. Suming could previously only increase his spiritual power little by little with continuous practice over time, never expecting such a shortcut.

The slight amount of Monkey Wine he had just tasted brought an improvement to his spiritual power that exceeded the effect of an entire day of practice.

If Monkey Wine helped to enhance spiritual power, it naturally couldn't contain any viruses. Otherwise, having used spiritual power daily, he surely would have been done for by now.

Suming forcefully restrained his urge to drink another sip, waited more than half an hour, and felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he was full of energy!

So without further hesitation, he drained all of the Monkey Wine from the small bamboo tube in one go!

"Ahhh, that's the stuff!"

Suming burped contentedly, the rich and fragrant Monkey Wine not only tasted sublime but also provided a significant boost to his spiritual power, a dual pleasure for both body and spirit!

This wine must have had around thirty-odd degrees of alcohol because after finishing the little bamboo tube, Suming's cheeks flushed a gentle red. He casually handed the bamboo tube back to the Old Monkey King and asked, beaming, "Is there any more?"

As soon as he asked the question, Suming suddenly realized a problem: where did the wine come from?

Although Monkey Mountain was abundant in food, there wasn't a place for monkeys to make wine. With the scent of Monkey Wine so strong it could be smelled from meters away, had it been brewed on Monkey Mountain, the zookeepers who came and went daily would have surely discovered it long ago. How could it be his turn then?

"Chatter chatter chatter..." the Old Monkey King gestured excitedly with his hands and feet.

"Burp... I'm not a trash player..." Suming, feeling a bit tipsy, laughed foolishly.

"Chatter chatter chatter... squeak..."

Standing on his two feet, the Old Monkey King positioned himself atop Monkey Mountain and let out a long howl, one that bore a commanding air reminiscent of a fierce ape howling at the moon.

From the various caves of Monkey Mountain, suddenly about twenty or thirty monkeys emerged.

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