Bananut and White Ape

The big round white fruits was shining with slightly yellow sheen, it looked truly tempting. Yan Xiu looked for his whip and took it up, he locked on to a fruit dangling from the lowest branch.

Thankfully, the tree was not high, the tallest branch was only seven meter from the ground. Yan Xiu swung his whip and tangled it to one of the fruit and yanked it. He caught the fallen fruit and began checking it.

The fruit was heavier than he thought, from the touch, Yan Xiu could tell the skin of the fruit was quite thick. But the thick skin couldn't impede the nice smell leaking out of the fruit. This fruit reminded him of a fruit his father once gave him.

Yan Xiu put the fruit to his nose and took a deep breath, taking in all the delicious milky taste. He realized that there was a faint smell of Banana on it, he also could hear a pleasant sound of water inside the fruit. 'It's really similar to that fruit.' Yan Xiu thought. Imagining the fruit juice inside the fruit, drool flooded Yan Xiu's mouth. He couldn't wait anymore.

Yan Xiu went to Chen Hanchen and borrowed one of his knife to skinned the fruit. Chen Hanchen dully nodded and gave Yan Xiu his knife. Chen Hanchen was puzzled, he couldn't associate the Yan Xiu who cheerfully skinning the fruit before him with the injured and exhausted Yan Xiu from a moment ago.

'Is he just that tough or is he a glutton that can revive as long as there's food?' Chen Hanchen wondered. While Chen Hanchen was thinking useless stuff, Yan Xiu already skinned the fruit. The skin of the fruit was truly thick, about 2cm thick.

The inner skin wasn't dry and hard like the outer skin, maybe because the water inside the fruit, it felt cool and damp. 'It really is coconut or something similar to it.' Yan Xiu cut a small hole on the inner skin, in that moment, the true fragrance of the fruit was released.

It wasn't like the aroma Yan Xiu has been smelling, it was thick and dense milky aroma that come rushing like a flood. It was different from the smell of dairy milk, it was sweeter and without any weird odor. Inside it, the fragrance of fresh cheese and banana mixed in. Yan Xiu became intoxicated when he smelled it.

Yan Xiu sipped a little of the fruit juice and paused for a moment, then the small sip became big gulps as he chugged down the whole fruit down. The coconut water tasted like dense milk but it wasn't suffocating, it was easy to drink and left a light after-taste. The cheese and banana taste mixed in harmony with the coconut water, the three different tastes were complementing each other.

Not only it was delicious, the taste also reminded Yan Xiu of one of the drinks his mother made, the one called Banana Smoothie. Yan Xiu licked his upper lips after he was done drinking the fruit, he closed his eyes as he relished both the fruit's taste and his memory.

The one in the background, Chen Hanchen, was wondering if the fruit was truly that good. He felt Yan Xiu was exaggerating but looking at Yan Xiu's elated expression, he couldn't help but wanting to taste the fruit himself. With a throw of his knife, the fruit dangling from the branch fell and landed on his hand.

Mimicking how Yan Xiu skinned, Chen Hanchen soon opened one of the fruit. 'The aroma is delicious but it isn't anything special though.' thought Chen Hanchen when he smelled the fruit aroma. For the taste, it was good but a tad too sweet for him.

He couldn't get what so special about the fruit, so he just chalked it as a kid, Yan Xiu, was more expressive. Suddenly Chen Hanchen felt something closing in and the presence was not weak, Chen Hanchen turned around and went to battle mode.

Sensing the urgency, Yan Xiu grabbed his whip and looked at where Chen Hanchen gazed at. The sound of something heavy walking to them, from the presence alone, Chen Hanchen could tell the thing coming toward them was not weak. He considered to ran away but it was too late, Chen Hanchen could feel the thing gaze on them, running now was just going to gave the thing chance to jump on them.

When the thing became visible, the first thing Chen Hanchen and Yan Xiu saw was a luscious white fur. The thing body was covered with white fur except hands and feet, face, chest and stomach. It skin was black with blue eyes, just from looking at the thing's square chest and abs, that the thing was muscular with great strength.

"White Ape..." (CH)

Murmured Chen Hanchen, Yan Xiu saw Chen Hanchen's face relaxed a little after he recognized the thing, the White Ape.

"Little Xiu, that is called White Ape, it's a demon beast. It's strong, but like Wood Snake, if we don't provoke it, it won't do anything to us. So slowly walked back but don't break eye contact." (CH)

Whispered Chen Hachen, Yan Xiu nodded as they slowly backed away. But from the looks of it, the White Ape won't let them went away. When they took a step back, the White Ape went forward a step. It gaze never left them, staring them intently.

Chen Hanchen didn't know what they did that provoke it, but if it wouldn't let them off, he would fight it. He didn't want to as there was no benefit in hunting the White Ape, but the situation asked for it. The air grew heavy, Chen Ganchen took his stance while the White Ape, feeling Chen Hanchen intent, also growled at him, revealing it's white fangs.

Yan Xiu, however, realized the White Ape focus was not at the two of them but the fruit in Yan Xiu hand, which he forgot to threw away. There, Yan Xiu figured out why the ape was following them. It wanted the fruit.

Yan Xiu then went to the tree and picked another fruit before skinning it. Chen Hanchen was shocked with Yan Xiu's sudden move before running toward to protect him, afraid the ape would attack the little guy.

"Little Xiu, what are you doing?! This is not the time to-" (CH)

"It's okay, senior brother. We were wrong." (YX)

"What are you talking about?! Listen, I'll distract it, so just run back to the village. I'll catch up with you later!" (CH)

"Senior brother, it's okay. Trust me, it's just a misunderstanding." (YX)

Without waiting Chen Hanchen next word, Yan Xiu put his whip away, went past Chen Hanchen and put the skinned fruit, Bananut, on the ground before the ape and stepped back to Chen Hanchen. He already cut the lower part of the fruit flat so it wouldn't fall, Yan Xiu called the fruit that because it's similarity with coconut and banana taste.

The ape looked at the weaponless Yan Xiu smiling at it without any hostility as he stood in front of Chen Hanchen, as if reassuring it that Chen Hanchen won't attack it.

Chen Hanchen was about to berated Yan Xiu but stopped when he saw the ape lowered it's head to sniffed the Bananut, despite Chen Hanchen in front of it. When a beast was in front of potential danger, it would be impossible for it to ignore it and focused it's attention on other thing. And yet, the ape ignored Chen Hanchen and sniffed the fruit. It was either it was confidence in it's prowess or it recognized Chen Hanchen wouldn't attack it.

Chen Hanchen looked at Yan Xiu with question and a bit of surprise, he already knew the boy was not a normal boy from the way Yan Xiu carried himself and his talent. Plus there was also the matter with Yan Xiu's father, Chen Hanchen wondered just how much surprise the boy have. Yan Xiu looked at Chen Hanchen while smiling and pointed at the whip on his waist, getting Yan Xiu signs, Chen Hanchen put away his knifes.

Confirming there was nothing wrong with the fruit, the ape reached for it and drank it. Tasting the sweet juice, the ape closed it eyes in relish. Went it's done, it let out a happy yell.

"Uho uho!" (WA)