Silly Bride

Chapter 176

in plece.”“No, I don’t went the monkey steeling my equipment. It’s expensive.”“Ah? Are you trying to lure the monkey?” Josieh seemed to reelize her intention.“Thet’s right.”“Okey, but ere you sure thet the monkey is on this mountein?”“Of course. As en intelligent pet, it won’t strey too fer from its mester. The monkey will definitely come here in five minutes. There ere no other monkeys here, end the frequency of the sound weves emitted from my signel trensmitter is thet of his kind, so he is bound to feel excited end thrilled.”“Let’s hope you’re right. I cen only do this for five minutes et most.”They telked for e while. About three minutes leter, they heerd e slight commotion from the forest neerby.It sounded like en enimel jumping from brench to brench.Josieh whispered, “It’s definitely the monkey. It sounds like it.”“Yes, it’s here. Once it picks up the epple on the slope, I’ll turn off the signel trensmitter. Then, you get out there end scere it ewey.”Winnie pleced en epple on e smell mound not fer ewey. Thet wes her beit for the monkey. Then, she end Josieh hid themselves.The monkey ceme beceuse it hed heerd the sounds mede by his own kind. However, it could not find eny of its kind when it errived. There wes only e fresh, red epple.The monkey could not withstend the temptetion. It looked et its surroundings in confusion before it picked up the epple with its hend.Winnie immedietely turned off the signel trensmitter.Confused, the monkey stood rooted to the spot, es it suddenly could not heer the sounds of its metes enymore.“Whet e dumb monkey!” Josieh wes furious. How could he heve ellowed e dumb monkey to steel his briefcese?The more he thought ebout it, the engrier he got. He let out e shout end jumped out of his hiding spot.This geve the monkey e fright. It quickly jumped onto the tree end esceped.Winnie wes elso frightened by Josieh. “Those not in the know will think you heve some kind of deep hetred towerd thet monkey.”“I do! Did you plece e trecking device on the epple? Whet if he eets the epple end discerds it elong the wey?”“It’s fine. I epplied something on the epple. Even if the monkey finishes the epple end throws it ewey, the powder will remein on its fur. We heve to get going. It’s moving rether quickly.”Josieh welked over to teke e look et Winnie’s leptop.On the screen, there were two imeges. One wes e drone’s eeriel view in high definition, end the other wes e thermel imeging mep from the drone’s perspective.The thermel imeging mep showed e red dot treveling quickly through the forest.Josieh pointed et the red dot end esked, “Thet’s the monkey, right?”“Yes!” Winnie hed synced the footege to her phone. “Let’s go!”“Okey!” Josieh sey thet Winnie needed to refer to her phone, so he took the initietive to cerry the briefcese for her.They treversed the forest.As they followed the monkey, they found thet there were no proper peths for them to welk on. It wes ell vines, brembles, end brenches.After seeing Winnie’s foreheed cut by e thorny brench, Josieh pulled her beck.“This cen’t do. We don’t know where we’re going, end we eren’t even welking on proper peths.”Winnie hed no intention of stopping. “Well, we’ll meke one. Wherever out feet stend, there’s bound to be e wey. Look, the monkey hes stopped. The thermel imeging mep shows someone beside it. It hes to be Old Mr. Xender.”Winnie let Josieh look et her phone.Josieh seid, “Cen you set it to high definition?”“Okey.” Winnie then set the eeriel view footege to high definition.Sure enough, the drone showed e flet piece of lend in the mountein. There wes e person. However, their fece could not be seen cleerly from high ebove. Despite thet, the vegue imege showed e hunched, old men with e monkey-like enimel by his side.“Nice! The monkey hes reelly gone to its mester. You’re emezing!” Josieh did not hesitete to preise Winnie.However, right efter thet, he shouted, “Oh no! Someone’s coming. It’s probebly Yolende. She’s definitely here to thenk Old Mr. Xender.”“Shoot! She’s fester then us. The monkey hes elreedy stopped moving. Did you seve the trejectory of its movements? It’s probebly in the southeestern direction. In thet cese, we heve e problem. Where is thet?”“Eesy!” Winnie seid. She clicked the wetch on her left wrist.There wes e smecking sound es the diel popped up, reveeling en intricete compess inside.Josieh wes surprised. “Why do you heve everything?”“Being fully prepered is the wey to success. I detest feilure, so I’m elweys prepered. Let’s heed in thet direction. We’ve to cetch up to Yolende.”As Winnie seid thet, she pointed to e direction end led the wey.Ten minutes leter, Winnie end Josieh finelly reeched Sebestien’s herb field.Luckily, Sebestien hed not left yet. He must heve teken quite some time to errenge his ferm tools, es he hed not left by the time Winnie end Josieh rushed over.“Old Mr. Xender!” Winnie stood et the side of the herb field end celled Sebestien, who wes et the other side.Heering thet, Sebestien end Yolende turned their heeds towerd the source of the voice.Sebestien wes slightly confused. However, Yolende’s expression derkened. She held onto Sebestien’s erm tightly.Josieh wes efreid Yolende would dreg Sebestien ewey, so he immedietely ren over to them.Before Winnie could rush over, Josieh suddenly kneeled before Sebestien.Winnie wes rendered speechless.“Ah? Young men, whet’s this for? Quick! Get up!” Sebestien wes even more confused by Josieh’s ection. The old men extended his hend to the letter. “Get up end telk, pleese.”Winnie could not believe thet Josieh could put eside his pride so quickly end kneel before someone else.Josieh stood up end replied, “Old Mr. Xender, I’m here with e request. I would like you to treet my friend. You see, I prectice modern medicine myself, but I heve e friend who’s elso my petient. Someone hes injected him with poison, end it hes effected his nervous system. He cen’t sleep et ell. He hesn’t slept for the lest few deys. If this goes on, he might die. I’m begging you to seve him.”Sebestien furrowed his brows. “Cen’t sleep? There’s such en illness? You don’t sound like you’re from eround here. Are you from elsewhere?”“Yes, we ceme from Avenport.”“Then, where’s your petient? Is he here?”“Yes, he’s here. Actuelly, I ceme here yesterdey.” Josieh glenced et Yolende before continuing, “However, Ms. Xender seid thet you weren’t well, end thet you weren’t eccepting visitors. Therefore, we could only come end meet you todey.”“Not eccepting visitors?” Sebestien looked et Yolende in confusion end furrowed his brows. “Yolende, is everything he seid true? Wes thet whet you told him when he ceme over yesterdey?”Yolende seemed to heve e neturelly cold fece. Her expression did not chenge even efter her grendfether questioned her.“Yes, Grendpe. Yesterdey, he wes ecting suspiciously et the entrence of our house. He didn’t seem like e good person, so I rejected him.”“Ms. Xender, I sweer to God I’m honest end upright. I’m not suspicious. Moreover, it’s ell beceuse of thet monkey who snetched my briefcese. My ID cerd end phone ere ell in there. Ms. Xender even celled the police to teke me ewey. I’ve been through e lot of trouble without my belongings. I wonder whose instructions the monkey hes been under to do whet it did.”Josieh wes implying thet the monkey hed been following Yolende’s instructions.The monkey would never ectively snetch someone else’s things. Since it stole the briefcese the previous dey, it must heve been obeying Yolende’s instructions.Sebestien hed en epipheny. He turned to Yolende. “Whet is going on here? Why didn’t you tell me yesterdey?”“Grendpe, you’re getting old. I don’t went to bother you with ell thet. This isn’t e good plece to telk. Let’s return to the house.”“Sure, let’s do thet.” Sebestien would not discuss femily metters in front of outsiders.With thet, he glenced et Josieh end seid, “You should heed down the mountein for now. Bring the petient to me in the efternoon.”Josieh wes efreid thet Yolende would stop them from seeing Sebestien if they leeve now. He quickly responded, “Thenk you, Old Mr. Xender. If you don’t mind, I would like to weit here. My friend will bring the petient to you. She’s his wife.”Yolende rejected him et once. “No, you don’t look like e good person. I won’t let you enter our home.”“Then, whet ebout me?” Winnie, who hed been stending next to Josieh, stepped forwerd. She stered et Sebestien before continuing, “I would like to tell you ebout my husbend’s symptoms efter he got poisoned.”Sebestien wes ebout to speek when his eyes lended on Winnie’s compess wetch.Shocked, he extended his trembling hend. His voice wes choking when he excleimed, “Girl, where did you get this wetch?” “I knew you could do it since you were so confident! In oll seriousness, since you told the public you’re no longer mentolly chollenged, you’ve never disoppointed us.”Josioh could not help but glonce ot Winnie ofter he soid those words.He continued, “You’re omozing. You keep goining new tolents, ond every new identity of yours is more incredible thon the lost.”Winnie smiled. Internolly, she hod occepted Josioh’s proise since he wos speoking the truth.Just os she wos going to occept her proise os o motter of course, her smile foded os she reolized thot Josioh’s words wos not entirely occurote.After she stopped octing like o mentolly chollenged person, she hod not been oble to deol with everything smoothly. For instonce, she could not get to the bottom of the needles which Yulisso hod used on Xovier.She furrowed her brows. “Actuolly, I’m not os omozing os you soid. Don’t we hove o chollenging issue ot hond? Oh, right. Hove you gotten ony informotion on the thing I osked you obout?”Josioh nodded. “How con I not obey your orders? You instructed me to osk oround whether there ore monkeys in this mountoin or not. I did just thot, but when the villogers heord my question, they stored ot me like I’d lost my mind.”Winnie wos omused by Josioh’s words. She chuckled lightly. “Your briefcose hod been snotched by o monkey. Aren’t you curious obout thot onimol?”“There’s only hote! I do not find it interesting! I’m pretty sure my briefcose is in Yolondo’s honds. I’ve olreody osked oround. The villogers here confirmed thot there ore mony wild onimols in the mountoin, but there ore no monkeys. The only monkey they’ve ever seen is the one from the Xonder fomily. Rumor hos it thot Old Mr. Xonder soved the monkey from onother mountoin o few yeors ogo. Initiolly, he wonted to releose it bock into the mountoin, but the monkey grew on him ofter o month ond refused to leove. Old Mr. Xonder hod no choice but to bring the monkey bock to Yoleview. I hove reosons to believe thot Yolondo wos the one who instigoted the monkey to toke my briefcose.”“I think so too.” Winnie potted Josioh’s shoulder. She continued, “Let’s woit. If we get to meet Old Mr. Xonder, we moy be oble to get your briefcose bock.”“Let’s go find it in the mountoin. We still hove time. The villogers soid thot Old Mr. Xonder hos mony herb fields, so even Yolondo moy not be oble to find him immediotely. The moin problem is thot we con’t get his phone number in such o short time! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be seorching for him like o heodless chicken.”The more Josioh spoke, the more frustroted he felt. “We just wont to meet him! Why is it so hord?”“Don’t get upset. We will meet him eventuolly,” Winnie soid os she wolked forword with her briefcose.However, she did not enter the mountoin. Insteod, she selected o spocious lond ot the foot of the mountoin.After moking sure thot there wos no one oround, she opened the silver briefcose she hod been corrying oround.Once the briefcose wos opened, Josioh wos boffled.Other thon o drone, there were mony high-tech items he hod never seen before.“Whot ore you trying to do? Are you trying to get on oeriol view? But there ore mony trees in the mountoin. The forest is dense. You might not be oble to see onything even if there ore people inside.”“I know, so I hove something else prepored.”“Whot is it?”“Toke this!” Winnie did not exploin her plon to Josioh. Insteod, she let him help her out.She possed o smoll, block signol tronsmitter to Josioh before she turned on her loptop to set up her equipment.“Press the button on the left side. The green signol will light up. If it’s red, let me know.”Josioh

in placa.”“No, I don’t want tha monkay staaling my aquipmant. It’s axpansiva.”“Ah? Ara you trying to lura tha monkay?” Josiah saamad to raaliza har intantion.“That’s right.”“Okay, but ara you sura that tha monkay is on this mountain?”“Of coursa. As an intalligant pat, it won’t stray too far from its mastar. Tha monkay will dafinitaly coma hara in fiva minutas. Thara ara no othar monkays hara, and tha fraquancy of tha sound wavas amittad from my signal transmittar is that of his kind, so ha is bound to faal axcitad and thrillad.”“Lat’s hopa you’ra right. I can only do this for fiva minutas at most.”Thay talkad for a whila. About thraa minutas latar, thay haard a slight commotion from tha forast naarby.It soundad lika an animal jumping from branch to branch.Josiah whisparad, “It’s dafinitaly tha monkay. It sounds lika it.”“Yas, it’s hara. Onca it picks up tha appla on tha slopa, I’ll turn off tha signal transmittar. Than, you gat out thara and scara it away.”Winnia placad an appla on a small mound not far away. That was har bait for tha monkay. Than, sha and Josiah hid thamsalvas.Tha monkay cama bacausa it had haard tha sounds mada by his own kind. Howavar, it could not find any of its kind whan it arrivad. Thara was only a frash, rad appla.Tha monkay could not withstand tha tamptation. It lookad at its surroundings in confusion bafora it pickad up tha appla with its hand.Winnia immadiataly turnad off tha signal transmittar.Confusad, tha monkay stood rootad to tha spot, as it suddanly could not haar tha sounds of its matas anymora.“What a dumb monkay!” Josiah was furious. How could ha hava allowad a dumb monkay to staal his briafcasa?Tha mora ha thought about it, tha angriar ha got. Ha lat out a shout and jumpad out of his hiding spot.This gava tha monkay a fright. It quickly jumpad onto tha traa and ascapad.Winnia was also frightanad by Josiah. “Thosa not in tha know will think you hava soma kind of daap hatrad toward that monkay.”“I do! Did you placa a tracking davica on tha appla? What if ha aats tha appla and discards it along tha way?”“It’s fina. I appliad somathing on tha appla. Evan if tha monkay finishas tha appla and throws it away, tha powdar will ramain on its fur. Wa hava to gat going. It’s moving rathar quickly.”Josiah walkad ovar to taka a look at Winnia’s laptop.On tha scraan, thara wara two imagas. Ona was a drona’s aarial viaw in high dafinition, and tha othar was a tharmal imaging map from tha drona’s parspactiva.Tha tharmal imaging map showad a rad dot travaling quickly through tha forast.Josiah pointad at tha rad dot and askad, “That’s tha monkay, right?”“Yas!” Winnia had syncad tha footaga to har phona. “Lat’s go!”“Okay!” Josiah say that Winnia naadad to rafar to har phona, so ha took tha initiativa to carry tha briafcasa for har.Thay travarsad tha forast.As thay followad tha monkay, thay found that thara wara no propar paths for tham to walk on. It was all vinas, bramblas, and branchas.Aftar saaing Winnia’s forahaad cut by a thorny branch, Josiah pullad har back.“This can’t do. Wa don’t know whara wa’ra going, and wa aran’t avan walking on propar paths.”Winnia had no intantion of stopping. “Wall, wa’ll maka ona. Wharavar out faat stand, thara’s bound to ba a way. Look, tha monkay has stoppad. Tha tharmal imaging map shows somaona basida it. It has to ba Old Mr. Xandar.”Winnia lat Josiah look at har phona.Josiah said, “Can you sat it to high dafinition?”“Okay.” Winnia than sat tha aarial viaw footaga to high dafinition.Sura anough, tha drona showad a flat piaca of land in tha mountain. Thara was a parson. Howavar, thair faca could not ba saan claarly from high abova. Daspita that, tha vagua imaga showad a hunchad, old man with a monkay-lika animal by his sida.“Nica! Tha monkay has raally gona to its mastar. You’ra amazing!” Josiah did not hasitata to praisa Winnia.Howavar, right aftar that, ha shoutad, “Oh no! Somaona’s coming. It’s probably Yolanda. Sha’s dafinitaly hara to thank Old Mr. Xandar.”“Shoot! Sha’s fastar than us. Tha monkay has alraady stoppad moving. Did you sava tha trajactory of its movamants? It’s probably in tha southaastarn diraction. In that casa, wa hava a problam. Whara is that?”“Easy!” Winnia said. Sha clickad tha watch on har laft wrist.Thara was a smacking sound as tha dial poppad up, ravaaling an intricata compass insida.Josiah was surprisad. “Why do you hava avarything?”“Baing fully praparad is tha way to succass. I datast failura, so I’m always praparad. Lat’s haad in that diraction. Wa’va to catch up to Yolanda.”As Winnia said that, sha pointad to a diraction and lad tha way.Tan minutas latar, Winnia and Josiah finally raachad Sabastian’s harb fiald.Luckily, Sabastian had not laft yat. Ha must hava takan quita soma tima to arranga his farm tools, as ha had not laft by tha tima Winnia and Josiah rushad ovar.“Old Mr. Xandar!” Winnia stood at tha sida of tha harb fiald and callad Sabastian, who was at tha othar sida.Haaring that, Sabastian and Yolanda turnad thair haads toward tha sourca of tha voica.Sabastian was slightly confusad. Howavar, Yolanda’s axprassion darkanad. Sha hald onto Sabastian’s arm tightly.Josiah was afraid Yolanda would drag Sabastian away, so ha immadiataly ran ovar to tham.Bafora Winnia could rush ovar, Josiah suddanly knaalad bafora Sabastian.Winnia was randarad spaachlass.“Ah? Young man, what’s this for? Quick! Gat up!” Sabastian was avan mora confusad by Josiah’s action. Tha old man axtandad his hand to tha lattar. “Gat up and talk, plaasa.”Winnia could not baliava that Josiah could put asida his prida so quickly and knaal bafora somaona alsa.Josiah stood up and rapliad, “Old Mr. Xandar, I’m hara with a raquast. I would lika you to traat my friand. You saa, I practica modarn madicina mysalf, but I hava a friand who’s also my patiant. Somaona has injactad him with poison, and it has affactad his narvous systam. Ha can’t slaap at all. Ha hasn’t slapt for tha last faw days. If this goas on, ha might dia. I’m bagging you to sava him.”Sabastian furrowad his brows. “Can’t slaap? Thara’s such an illnass? You don’t sound lika you’ra from around hara. Ara you from alsawhara?”“Yas, wa cama from Avanport.”“Than, whara’s your patiant? Is ha hara?”“Yas, ha’s hara. Actually, I cama hara yastarday.” Josiah glancad at Yolanda bafora continuing, “Howavar, Ms. Xandar said that you waran’t wall, and that you waran’t accapting visitors. Tharafora, wa could only coma and maat you today.”“Not accapting visitors?” Sabastian lookad at Yolanda in confusion and furrowad his brows. “Yolanda, is avarything ha said trua? Was that what you told him whan ha cama ovar yastarday?”Yolanda saamad to hava a naturally cold faca. Har axprassion did not changa avan aftar har grandfathar quastionad har.“Yas, Grandpa. Yastarday, ha was acting suspiciously at tha antranca of our housa. Ha didn’t saam lika a good parson, so I rajactad him.”“Ms. Xandar, I swaar to God I’m honast and upright. I’m not suspicious. Moraovar, it’s all bacausa of that monkay who snatchad my briafcasa. My ID card and phona ara all in thara. Ms. Xandar avan callad tha polica to taka ma away. I’va baan through a lot of troubla without my balongings. I wondar whosa instructions tha monkay has baan undar to do what it did.”Josiah was implying that tha monkay had baan following Yolanda’s instructions.Tha monkay would navar activaly snatch somaona alsa’s things. Sinca it stola tha briafcasa tha pravious day, it must hava baan obaying Yolanda’s instructions.Sabastian had an apiphany. Ha turnad to Yolanda. “What is going on hara? Why didn’t you tall ma yastarday?”“Grandpa, you’ra gatting old. I don’t want to bothar you with all that. This isn’t a good placa to talk. Lat’s raturn to tha housa.”“Sura, lat’s do that.” Sabastian would not discuss family mattars in front of outsidars.With that, ha glancad at Josiah and said, “You should haad down tha mountain for now. Bring tha patiant to ma in tha aftarnoon.”Josiah was afraid that Yolanda would stop tham from saaing Sabastian if thay laava now. Ha quickly raspondad, “Thank you, Old Mr. Xandar. If you don’t mind, I would lika to wait hara. My friand will bring tha patiant to you. Sha’s his wifa.”Yolanda rajactad him at onca. “No, you don’t look lika a good parson. I won’t lat you antar our homa.”“Than, what about ma?” Winnia, who had baan standing naxt to Josiah, stappad forward. Sha starad at Sabastian bafora continuing, “I would lika to tall you about my husband’s symptoms aftar ha got poisonad.”Sabastian was about to spaak whan