As Li Qiu stood there in a daze, he heard a few monkeys chattering squeakily from the trees by the stream. Looking up, he saw them dragging the giant fish up into the tree. In the blink of an eye, the monkeys made short work of the three-foot-long fish, devouring every last bite, and tossed the spirit stone from the fish's belly right back to Li Qiu.
The monkeys acted as though they had not tasted such a delicacy in ages, looking thoroughly unsatisfied. They pulled triumphant, goofy faces at Li Qiu, laughing and chattering in blatant provocation.
Finding that his prey had been stolen by a gang of monkeys, Li Qiu surprisingly felt no anger at all. Instead, he called out in a clear voice, "Could it be that you brother monkeys, much like myself, woke up hungry in the dead of night? I suppose you are the masters of this domain, and it is only right that I pay some rent for catching fish here. If my monkey brothers don't mind, how about we strike up a friendship? I'll catch a few more fish shortly and share them with you all."
Chapter 64