The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

After Sweetie treated the giant python, the old monkey led her, surrounded by a group of little monkeys, back to the tree hole where Sweetie had slept.

"Squeak, squeak." The old monkey pointed to the cave entrance, indicating that she had worked very hard to save the giant python and could rest in the cave for a while.

But Sweetie didn't crawl back into the hole.

She sat on the rock where the old monkey had sat before, her hands supporting her chin, gazing longingly at the towering cliffs in the distance, a sorrowful expression gradually appearing on her face.

Seeing her downcast expression, the little monkeys exchanged glances, then approached her. Some touched her hair, some tugged at her clothes, and others made faces and winks, trying to cheer her up.

Another one scurried up a tree, and soon came down with two wild fruits, stuffing them into her hands.

Sweetie took the fruit, picked up one, took a bite, and immediately her brows furrowed from the sourness. The little monkey looked at her face, which was scrunched up like a bun, and burst into laughter, squeaking and rolling around on the ground.

But Tian Tian couldn't smile.

She looked up at the sky above. The sky was so high, the cliffs so steep, and without Sun Wukong's help, how could she find her father?

"Daddy..." she whispered, her nose stinging, "Why hasn't Daddy come to find Sweetie yet..."

The old monkey appeared beside her at some point, squatted down, and patted her head with its furry paws. Its bright yellow eyes gazed at her, as if silently comforting her: Don't cry.

Sweetie sniffed, turned around, and nestled into the old monkey's arms, hugging his neck tightly. "Grandpa Monkey," the little girl said helplessly, her voice choked with sobs, "Sweetie wants to go home...Sweetie misses her dad..."

The old monkey, held in her arms, gently patted Sweetie's back with its paws, while the little monkeys chirped and gathered around, as if they were all trying to comfort her.

With the monkeys' company, Sweetie's low spirits improved slightly, though tears still welled in her eyes. The old monkey thought for a moment, then picked her up and started walking back the way they had come yesterday.

Sweetie, confused, peeked out and saw the monkeys arrive at the spot where she had fallen off the cliff the day before. The old monkey raised its paw and pointed upwards, as if asking, "Do you want to go up from here?"

As it moved, the monkeys all raised their heads.

The towering cliffs pierce the sky, their tops invisible, appearing both dangerous and terrifying.

Sweetie bit her finger, a sad look in her eyes.

"It's too high," the little girl said, sounding aggrieved. "Sweetie can't climb up!"

The old monkey didn't speak, but just glanced at one of the little monkeys.

The little monkey understood immediately. With a swift movement, it grabbed the drooping vines with its claws and leaped several meters high in a few quick movements, as agile as a gecko on the rock face.

A glimmer of light appeared in Tian Tian's eyes. It turned out that the little monkey was teaching her how to climb mountains.

"Little monkey, you're so clever! But...but Sweetie's still so small, what if she falls down before she can learn to do it?"

"Little monkey, you're so clever! But Sweetie is still so young, she might not be able to learn it."

"Squeak!" the little monkey called out to her, as if to encourage her.

Looking at her chubby little hands and feet, and then at the almost vertical, frighteningly steep cliff, Tian Tian felt her heart pounding.

But then she thought of her father, who must be extremely worried about her right now, and she didn't want him to be sad because of her.

She clenched her little fist and nodded vigorously.

"Okay! Sweetie, give it a try!"

The little girl walked over, and imitating the little monkey, she reached out her little hand to grab a vine, and used her feet to push against the rocks to climb up.

But he had only climbed two steps—

The vine broke!

With a "thud," she fell to the ground, landing hard on her bottom, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.

"Waaah..." Sweetie didn't want to cry, but her bottom hurt so much that she couldn't help it.

The little monkeys gathered around, some scratching their heads, some squeaking, as if they were worried for her.

The old monkey walked over, looked at her pitiful little face, then at the cliff wall, and seemed to be deep in thought.

It suddenly squeaked a few times at the group of little monkeys.

Upon hearing this, the little monkeys scrambled back up the cliff. This time, they didn't just grab onto the vines; instead, they used both their hands and feet to grip the protruding rocks and use the momentum to push upwards. In just a few moments, they had climbed very high.

The old monkey pointed at the little monkey, then at the cliff face, and then at Sweetie.

Sweetie understood.

Grabbing the vines alone won't work; you need to use the stones to help pull.

"Will this work?" she asked hesitantly. "Won't Sweetie fall down?"

If I fall again, my butt might be split in eight pieces.

The old monkey pointed to the rocks and led Tian Tian to the gentlest part of the cliff face—it was called "gentle," but it was still fifty or sixty degrees, but it was the best spot in the entire cliff.

The old monkey first demonstrated it himself.

It used its hands and feet to climb up the protruding rocks and grab onto the hanging vines. In a few moments, it climbed up to a height of two or three zhang (about 6.6 meters) and then slid down to land next to Tian Tian.

It crouched down, took Sweetie's hand, placed it on a protruding rock, and then lifted her foot, placing it on another rock. Then it released her hand, took two steps back, and looked at Sweetie.

Sweetie took a breath, tilted her little face up, and shouted to the sky, "Go!"

Encouraged by this naive slogan, she finally began to climb.

"Puff, puff," she crawled three steps, feeling sweet and okay.

"Puff, puff," I climbed to the fifth step, and my hands were starting to ache.

"Puff, puff," when she climbed to the seventh step, the stone under her feet was too slippery and she almost lost her footing. She was so scared that she clung tightly to a stone, her heart pounding.

"Squeak!" came the squeaking of a little monkey from below, as if it were cheering her on.

Sweetie gritted her teeth and continued climbing.

When she had climbed to about two meters high, she ran into trouble. The rock in front of her was too big; she couldn't reach the handholds or find a foothold. She was hanging there, unable to go up or down, and her arms began to tremble.

"Grandpa Monkey..." The little girl didn't know what to do.

In the midst of the chaos, a furry figure darted up from the side—it was the old monkey!

It climbed up to Sweetie's side at some point, stretched out a paw, grabbed her wrist, and lifted her up so that her feet could just reach another crevice in the rock.

Panting, Tian Tian found a new place to stand.

The old monkey was right next to her, pointing up and then to the right with its paw, as if giving her directions.

Sweetie nodded and followed its guidance, climbing up little by little.

She climbed another dozen or so steps, but she was completely exhausted.

Her small arms trembled violently, and her legs began to weaken. The little girl lay on the rock wall, her face pressed against the cold rock, panting heavily.

"Grandpa Monkey, Sweetie can't climb up anymore, boohoo..."

At this moment, Tian Tian felt both regret and fear. It was all her fault for sneaking out in the first place, which led to so many things happening afterward. Now, she didn't have the strength to climb back, and her father couldn't find her either. What should she do?

The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and tears streamed down her cheeks. A wind began to blow at the foot of the mountain, rustling Sweetie's clothes, and she felt as if she might fall at any moment.

The old monkey could see that she was both scared and tired, so it let out a soft call and slid down the rock face to her side. Then, it hooked its hind paws and tail onto the vines, freeing its two front paws to hold Tian Tian in its arms.

Her sweet little body fell into a strong, warm embrace. She quickly wrapped her little arms around the old monkey's neck and whispered in his ear, "Grandpa Monkey, thank you!"

The old monkey shook his head, held her tightly with one hand, and gripped the rocks and vines with the other, continuing to climb the mountain. Going uphill was much more strenuous than going downhill. The old monkey led her up for more than twenty meters before stopping to find a protruding tree branch to sit on and rest.