Ah Li’s tearful outburst instantly ignited Sakurako’s fury. As the saying goes, a daughter takes after her father. Back in the day, Mr. Nangong’s temper could flare up with just three words at home, and that same volatile spirit was now manifesting completely in Nangong Xing.

She began uncoiling the iron chain wrapped around her waist, loop by loop, as she trotted toward the cave entrance. When she reached the mouth of the cave, she pushed aside the small trees concealing the opening. Seeing Xing’er sitting alone on a rock, next to him a large monkey resting and panting, with several purplish-red whip marks visible on its backside, Sakurako’s temper shot straight up.

“What did you do to the monkey?” Sakurako demanded, eyes wide with rage, pointing at the monkey’s rear end. The chain slipped from her grasp and clattered to the ground.

“Mom, nothing, I just took it out for a ride,” Xing’er said nonchalantly, spreading his hands toward Sakurako with an air of innocence.

Sakurako squatted down and examined the great ape from head to toe, discovering several bruises near its inner thigh, not just on its hindquarters. Her anger surging, she grabbed Xing’er and hauled him up. “Did you whip those marks onto the monkey?”

“En,” Xing’er mumbled, nodding, daring not to argue now that his mother was furious.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing his simple nod, Sakurako abruptly released her grip on Xing’er, covered her face, and sank onto the ground weeping. She looked utterly wronged, as if it were she, not the monkey, who had been whipped by Xing’er.

Clearly, in Sakurako’s eyes, her son’s actions were beyond remedy. He only knew that whipping the monkey would make it run faster, oblivious to the severe harm he was inflicting. Even if Sakurako retaliated by using the same whip to lash Xing’er in return, unless he could genuinely share the creatures’ feelings, compelling him to treat them with compassion was impossible.

With a sigh of resignation, Sakurako picked up the chain from the ground and proceeded with the plan she had formulated earlier. She pinched the topmost ring between two fingers, and with a crisp ceng sound, the loop sprang open. Sakurako knelt beside Xing’er, took one of his small feet, and guided it into the open snare. Xing’er, unsure of his mother’s intent but intimidated by her earlier wrath, trembled as he complied, pushing his foot inside.

In just a second, the loop tightened snugly around Xing’er’s ankle, making it impossible to withdraw. Then, mimicking what Da Mao had done moments before, Sakurako forcefully tossed the other end of the chain onto a large boulder. With a resounding kuanglanglang crash, Xing’er looked down at the chain securing his foot and saw it was now firmly locked to the stone.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing, his expression a mixture of utter shock. “How am I supposed to go out and play now?” he cried.

“Wait until you figure out what you can do, and what you absolutely cannot do, then you can go out and play,” Sakurako said, wiping the tears from her eyes before turning and walking out of the cave. Da Mao, who had been squatting quietly nearby, watched the entire scene unfold. When Xing’er turned to him with a look of desperate appeal, Da Mao also quietly turned his back and walked away.

Only Ah Li, having forgotten the pain once the injury healed, burrowed in from outside carrying several bunches of bananas, thinking he would share them with Xing’er that evening. He was startled when he saw Xing’er locked to the massive stone, blurting out, “You’re locked to the rock? How are you going to play now?”

It seemed Sakurako had judged Xing’er as beyond saving too hastily; he still shared some common ground with the others. At least Ah Li considered him a decent playmate, even if he occasionally did terrifying things.