Chapter 36: Chapter 30: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain (Part 2)

Flora Bloom breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the sight.

The sudden departure of the three guards left Leigh Atwood and Luna Thorne bewildered, but they still didn’t dare to move. Two enormous monkeys were still patrolling nearby. ’Will those monsters kill us if we try to escape?’

Just as the two monkeys were swapping patrol positions, Flora Bloom tossed a small stone toward Leigh Atwood and the others. The stone wasn’t large and made only a soft sound when it landed, not enough to startle the little white tiger, but just enough to make Leigh Atwood and Luna Thorne notice her.

Sure enough, Luna Thorne and Leigh Atwood looked over and spotted Flora Bloom hidden behind a tree. Hope instantly flooded their eyes.

’Flora Bloom is here to save us!’

Flora Bloom gestured toward the two monkeys, then pointed to herself and made a throat-slitting motion. Then, she pointed at them and made a running gesture.

The meaning was clear: she would fight the two monkeys while they made their escape.

The two women seemed to understand Flora Bloom’s intentions. Though their legs still felt weak, they managed to stand up and prepare to flee.

Flora Bloom thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered she had a bunch of bananas in her space. ’Don’t monkeys love bananas?’

Drawing on her control over the space, Flora Bloom broke off a single banana and materialized it in her hand.

As one of the monkeys passed in front of her, she gently tossed the banana, landing it perfectly at the monkey’s feet.

The monkey was startled at first, but after seeing what was on the ground, it quickly picked it up, peeled it in a very human-like way, and then swallowed the entire banana in one go.

It then looked around, as if wanting more.

Seeing that the monkey had eaten the banana, Flora Bloom immediately took out another one and tossed it a short distance from the monkey’s feet. This time, she threw it a little closer to herself.

The monkey, seeing another banana, happily walked over, picked it up, and ate it.

When it finished eating and looked up, it saw Flora Bloom standing right out in the open, not far in front of it.

Just as it was about to attack Flora Bloom, another banana appeared in her hand. This time, Flora Bloom had soaked it in Space Spirit Water for a few seconds.

The monkey twitched its nose, as if it had smelled the most exquisite delicacy, and sprinted toward Flora Bloom.

Flora Bloom stood her ground, unmoving and tense. Just as the monkey leaped in front of her, it stopped abruptly. It stared at the banana in her hand with a drooling, covetous expression, then looked up at Flora Bloom pitifully.

Gripping the banana, Flora Bloom nervously extended her hand toward the monkey.

The instant the monkey’s hand touched the banana.

"Collect!"

With a flash of intent, the monkey vanished from before Flora Bloom’s eyes, reappearing a second later inside her space.

Flora Bloom’s legs gave out, and she slumped to the ground.

She had succeeded.

At the exact moment the monkey entered the space, a Spiritual Imprint from the space itself appeared in the monkey’s mind. Now, Flora Bloom knew this evolved monkey belonged to her.

She summoned the monkey back out, only to be met with extreme dissatisfaction from the space’s newest resident. The reason, surprisingly, was that it had just taken a few sips of water from the river when Flora Bloom called it out.

Flora Bloom touched her forehead, marveling once again at the wonders of the Space Spirit Water. But there were more pressing matters at hand that had to be dealt with first.

She used her mental link to communicate with the monkey.

"You’re the second monkey in my space, so from now on, I, your master, will call you Monkey Two."

At the moment, Monkey Two couldn’t care less about its name; it was just antsy to get back into the space. The Spiritual Energy was abundant there, and there was spiritual water to drink.

"Go get your monkey companion. Bring it here quietly, and don’t startle the little tiger. If you do, I’ll let you both into the space to drink your fill." Upon hearing this, the monkey immediately agreed. Without another word, it ran and leaped toward the other monkey.

Soon, Monkey Two appeared before Flora Bloom with the other monkey in tow.

To bring a living creature into the space, Flora Bloom had to touch any part of its body. She reached out, about to touch the newcomer, but this monkey seemed suspicious of her. As her hand drew near, it bared its teeth, scratched at itself nervously, and backed away.

Flora Bloom paused, then immediately pulled a banana dipped in spiritual water from her space and offered it to the monkey. The moment the banana appeared, the new monkey smelled the spiritual water and leaped forward to grab it.

"Collect."

And with that, both monkeys were dealt with. The effort of capturing the two had left Flora Bloom drenched in nervous sweat.

As for Vert, Flora Bloom knew through their mental link that its battle would be over soon.

So, Flora Bloom stepped out from behind the tree and waved to Luna Thorne and Leigh Atwood.

Seeing that both monkeys had vanished, the two women finally mustered their courage and ran toward Flora Bloom.

Meanwhile, the little white tiger sleeping some distance away was completely oblivious that its five minions had disappeared and its two meals were about to escape.

"Flora Bloom, this is wonderful! You came to save us."

The normally stern Luna Thorne was about to throw her arms around Flora Bloom and have a good cry, but Flora stopped her. She said softly, "Teacher Atwood, Luna Thorne, follow that path down the mountain. Oscar Owen and Neal Wallace will be at the stables to meet you."

Luna Thorne held back her sobs, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Flora Bloom. Leigh Atwood, however, just frowned and asked, "Aren’t you coming with us?"

Flora Bloom smiled and shook her head. "I’m still looking for someone. You two go on ahead; it’s not safe here. That tiger is powerful. If you stay, you’ll just slow me down."

Flora Bloom’s words left no room for argument. They could only nod in agreement, tell her to be careful, and then start heading down the mountain.

By now, the sky had completely brightened. The sun was already high in the sky.