After a few minutes, (Y/n) had to switch her spot on the Horse's back to Nian Zhen, the poor girl was getting exhausted. And it was a sunny day, so (Y/n) also lent her the straw hat she made.
"Good thing honestly." Monkey said as he placed her on the animal's back. "Or else we'd take a break every five minutes."
"And what about it huh?!" she glared at him, holding the mane for support. "Thank you Horse." she pet him.
"Yeah, thanks Horse."
He neighed as a 'you're welcome'.
"See?!" (Y/n) pointed at them. "The name rolls off the tongue!"
"You're still upset about that?" he blinked twice.
"Yeah, we already moved on from that like five minutes ago." Nian Zhen added.
She scoffed and turned away, now even more embarrassed. She picked up the pace to walk in front of the group and to hide her face from them.
"Aww~!" Monkey rushed up to her and wrapped his arms around her neck from behind, pulling her closer. "You know I love you Peaches!" he poked her cheek.
She frowned and smacked his hand away. He snickered.
"Come on~ say it back!"
She huffed and tried to keep walking, even though his weight was holding her back.
"C'mon~!" he swayed from side to side, taking her with him.
Nian Zhen watched, cringing. The Horse suppressed a laugh.
For the next few days, a certain routine settled within our new group of protagonists. The Horse really was a nice addition, now, anytime they were attacked - by bandits, or demons, or demons bandits - Monkey and (Y/n) would fight them off while the Horse would take Nian Zhen to a safe space. Too fast for the enemies to catch him. The young demon girl would regularly check on him, using her special lens to see if the parasite's egg has hatched. He would get headaches sometimes, as an after effect of the corruption - and they'd take breaks or Monkey would carry him whenever that happened - other than that, he seemed to be fine.
"Why not turn into a dragon then?" Monkey asked at some point. "Before it hatches."
"We don't know when that'll happen though, better not take risks." she said. "And, for all we know, maybe using more of his powers could speed the parasite's development."
"But isn't he already...disguised?" (Y/n) asked.
"Shape-shifting takes very little energy." he explained. "Which explains why this weakling can keep up that appearance." he pointed at Nian Zhen.
"Look, I like looking like this!" said young woman gestured to herself, up and down. "Gimme a break!"
He just snickered.
"He doesn't seem to mind at least," (Y/n) looked at the Horse and smiled. "that's good."
He moved his head up and down a couple of times, his tail wagging.
"You know, despite being a horse, he kind of acts like a dog sometimes."
"It's not a horse (Y/n)!" Nian Zhen frowned.
"The point stands kiddo!" Monkey frowned back.
(Y/n) ignored that and petted the Horse, her hands on either side of his face, he seemed happy about it.
Later that day, they approached a small town in the middle of a wide meadow with a river. Something was clearly off however. A big crowd was gathered outside of the town, chattering amongst themselves, they all looked either panicked or annoyed. Our protagonists looked at each-other, confused before asking them what was happening.
"Soldiers have arrived from Heaven!"
"What?!" they all exclaimed, shocked (except the Horse of course, but he looked like he would say it too).
"They surrounded this sad old man who moved here a few days ago." a second one said. "We don't know why, they just asked us to leave until they were done."
"But they've been at it since this morning!" a kid exclaimed. "I'm hungry!"
"Wait." another one stepped closer to Monkey. "You're the Great Sage Sun Wukong aren't you?! Can you help us please?" they joined their hands together. "They'll listen to you for sure!"
"Oh please help us Great Sage!" everyone pleaded.
This of course put Monkey in a good mood. With a big smile and a huff, he rubbed the underside of his nose with his index.
"Step aside people." he moved his arms to either side and the crowd followed his movement, like opening curtains without touching them. "I got this." he said with a smirk and walked inside the town.
"Hey, we're going too!" (Y/n) and the rest of the group followed. "Something big must be going on if the Army of Heaven is there."
"They only answer to the Jade Emperor I think." Nian Zhen added. "Wonder what that old man's deal is."
"The emperor probably didn't like his shoes or something petty like that!" Monkey cackled.
"I'd recognize that obnoxious cackle anywhere!" a fourth voice said.
They all looked over to see a soldier running over to them. With his fancy shiny armor, he was clearly one of the soldiers they were talking about.
"Sun Wukong!" he looked at (Y/n). "Golden Cicada!" he looked at Nian Zhen and the Horse. "Uh..." he looked back at the couple. "You have to help us!"
Nian Zhen and the Horse made a similar face, frowning slightly with their nose turned-up.
"We've tried everything. At this point, you're our last hope." he continued.
"Why? What happened?" (Y/n) asked, concerned upon seeing his panic.
"The Jade Emperor! He-" he quickly looked around before leaning closer. "A while ago, he ran away." he said more quietly. "We've been looking for him everywhere...and we've found him...And it's even worse than we imagined."
There was a moment of confused silence, until, the group gasped.
"No way!!!" Monkey exclaimed, the only one here with a wide excited smiled.
The Jade Emperor, wearing raggedy clothes, was kneeling on the ground in front of a vegetable patch with no vegetables, only dry dirt. He has concealed his bright celestial aura and looked like a normal depressed human. He was crying, and surrounded by soldiers, who weren't trained to deal with such a situation.
"I can't do anything right!" he sobbed loudly. "I don't even know how potatoes work!"
"Y-your Imperial Majesty!" one of the soldiers said. "Please come back! You'll have all the potatoes you wan-"
"I don't want them! I want to grow my own!"
He sniffed the snot back in his nose, took a small rake and mindlessly turned the dirt over.
"Oh my Lord." (Y/n) said, stunned as her and the others watched from a distance.
"I think he's going through a crisis." Nian Zhen whispered to her.
Monkey was leaning on the Horse, his back turned to them and covering his mouth so as to not laugh too loudly. But he couldn't stop giggling.
"Monkey please." (Y/n) hit him on the shoulder. "This isn't funny."
He looked at her with his eyebrows raised. The corner of her mouth slowly went upwards.
"It's not-" she contained a laugh. "It's not funny!" she said with a big smile.
"Come *on* you two!" Nian Zhen tilted her head.
"You're right, you're right." she walked over to the Emperor, she leaned over and placed her hands on her knees. "Um...Your Highness?"
"Ah!" he looked at her, then back down, turning over the dirt sadly with a whine. "What horrible ways fate cares for me, bringing you here to remind me of my ill deeds."
"What's wrong? Why are you, crying over a, bunch of potatoes?" she suppressed a laugh.
"After you and Wukong defeated the Three-Horned Demon Lord - fantastic job by the way- I was reminded of what you said, and I came to the conclusion that I'm a horrible emperor, a horrible man, and now also a horrible gardener!!!" he cried some more. "How do the servants in Heaven do it?!"
"They use their powers your Highness!" one of the soldiers said. "I-If you use yours, you'd have a stunning garden in no tim-"
"You fools!" he pointed at them. "If I can't even do what a human peasant can, than I don't deserve *anything*!"
"Oww..." she furrowed her eyebrows, now feeling a bit bad for him. "You're trying to redeem yourself. Why do this though, instead of simply apologizing to all the people you've wronged?"
He sniffed and looked down. A moment passed and he didn't give an answer. She sighed and stood straight.
"And you've been at it for days?" she looked over the patch. "It looks dry, when was the last time you watered the dirt?"
He slowly looked up at her with big eyes.
"Water?"
'Oh...' she pursued her lips. 'This really is bad.'
"I must have water immediately!" he exclaimed. "Fetch me some water- No, wait! I must do it on my own! Get back here you lot!" he quickly stood up and ran after the soldiers who have already left upon hearing his command. "I'll do it first!"
(Y/n) let out another big sigh before returning to her group.
"He *is* going through a crisis!" Nian Zhen pointed at him, a bit in disbelief. "The Jade Emperor himself...."
"Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner." Monkey wiped a tear away with a small huff.
"W-well this is bad! Really bad! It must be chaos in Heaven right now!"
"You know what kid, you're right." he stroked his chin, his grin turning into more of a smirk. "Who's gonna rule over Heaven, now that the position is available...?"
His three companions looked at him with big eyes. Despite two of them not knowing Sun Wukong for very long, it was plenty enough to figure out exactly what he was thinking. It was written all over his face anyway.
"Monkey no!" (Y/n) furrowed her eyebrows.
He cackled.
"Look I'm not saying 'let's abandon this journey', but imagine traveling as the ruler of the Celestial realm! It would open so many doors for us! It will be so much easier and fun for me-us, everyone! Thinking of the group here. And you'd get to see the Heavenly palace again!" he gestured towards her. "'Cause I know that last time, you didn't really get to see much of it. Think about it," he leaned closer, talking under his breath. "it would be my second house~."
She made a face, humming all the while, hesitating. It was hard to say no to him when he was so close to her.
"Look," he leaned back. "it's either: come support your awesome boyfriend as he becomes the ruler of Heaven; or stay here and deal with that."
He pointed with his thumb at the Jade Emperor in the distance, wrestling with the soldiers to get ahead of them. He was failing terribly at it, and they could easily push him away, but they didn't, out of respect and politeness. So the whole thing looked really awkward. She inhaled through her teeth before turning to face Nian Zhen.
"Nian Zhen," she placed a hand on her shoulder. "You and the Horse stay here and keep an eye on the Emperor."
"Are you serious?!"
"I have to make sure Monkey doesn't cause another war against Heaven." she whispered. "You two make sure the poor man doesn't hurt himself, okay? I know he looks pathetic but..." she trailed off a bit. "Think of him as a sad grandpa."
The young demon sighed, her shoulders dropping.
"Fiiiine." she mumbled.
"I trust you two on this-."
"Great! Let's go!" Monkey exclaimed as he wrapped an arm around (Y/n)'s waist and pulled her against his chest.
He summoned his somersault cloud and hopped on it. As soon as they were on, they flew in the air with incredible speed, all the while he laughed and she screamed. The Horse looked at them go and jumped up and down.
"Don't you leave me alone too!" Nian Zhen gave him a small hit on his flank. "You stay here!"
Now that the circumstances were "better", (Y/n) could now admire the beauty of the place, and so she took a good look at the palace's front before Monkey called for her to follow him. She did, as he casually walked up to the front gates, his staff resting on his shoulders, behind his head, and his wrists resting loosely on the staff. As soon as the guards noticed him, they started to shake, anxious.
"Hello boys~!" he smiled at them.
"Sun Wuk-Uuuuh..." one of them started to say but then one of his colleague gave him a discreet hit with their elbow. "M-Monkey King! Great Sage Equal to Heaven!"
"Heh, that's right~." he muttered.
"What uh... What are you doing here?"
"Not that you need a reason for being here!" another soldier quickly said.
"Yeah, you're always welcome here!" they all nodded.
"Well, me and my beautiful girlfriend here-" (Y/n) blushed. "-have heard of the situation with the Jade-y old man, and we came running!"
"The...The Jade Emperor?" they looked at each-other confused.
Our two protagonists shared a glance, coming to the same conclusion: these soldiers didn't know what was happening. The ones they encountered earlier did seem to be of a higher rank, so the situation was probably being kept secret.
"Yeah him!" (Y/n) didn't give them time to think about it. "We came to see him about that, so let us in please."
"(Y/n), come on now." Monkey chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tilting his head. "We're in Heaven, there's no need to ask for permission! Just walk right in!"
He started walking, bringing (Y/n) with him, and the soldiers instinctively stepped out of his way.
Our two protagonists went to the throne room, where they last saw the Emperor. On the way there, everyone they passed by either avoided them or stopped to congratulate them on defeating the Three-Horned Demon Lord. Once they reached the room, just as they were about to open the doors, they were politely stopped by a nearby bureaucrat.
"They said that the Jade Emperor shall not be disturbed. Rumor has it he's ill, and that's why we don't see him much these days."
"Friendly reminder: I'm Sun Wukong, and I do not care." Monkey said before pushing the double doors wide open.
These doors must've been soundproofed really good, because as soon as he did, booming voices filled with panic hit them like a gust of wind. High ranked officials were running around, talking to each-other fast, while the majority of them were surrounding a large map of China hovering in the air, most of which was crossed out. Monkey confidently stepped in and (Y/n) followed, quickly closing the doors behind her before the bureaucrat could see any more and put two and two together.
"Hello there my future subjects!" Monkey talked over everyone with his booming voice.
The room fell silent and everyone stared at him as he walked across the room, taking his sweet time.
"Sun Wukong." an old man glared at him.
"Gold Star of Venus." he nodded as a hello.
'*The* Gold Star of Venus?!' (Y/n) covered her mouth, her eyes wide. 'The voice of reason in moments of crisis?! How will he handle this?'
Unknowingly, she decided to stay in her corner, wanting to see how this will play out. Her fangirl side was showing a little bit...
"I see you guys are still looking for the old man." he walked passed the group.
"How do you-" his eyes widen. "You've found him!"
"Oh we found him alright," he walked up the set of stairs towards the throne of jade. "and he seemed *very* happy with his retirement. Pretty sure he'll never come back. So yeah I'll take his place now."
He tried hopping on the throne, but suddenly, it disappeared into the wall behind it and the stairs turned into a slide, so he fell with a surprised monkey-yelp, then slid down the slide and across the clean floor a little bit too. He groaned, annoyed and glared at Lao Tzu the alchemist, who he just knew was the man behind this contraption.
"You can't just take the Emperor's place, Wukong." the Star of Venus said in a stern voice.
"Watch me!" he jumped and landed on his feet. "I almost did it once and I'll do it again!"
"Don't make us call upon the Buddha."
"Go ahead! You'll still have no emperor on the seat!" he pointed at him.
He narrowed his eyes, he knew Monkey had a point.
"It's only a matter of time before the people outside this room hear about this." he continued, raising an eyebrow with a sly grin on his face. "And the word will spread throughout this realm, then the other two. You'll need a replacement~."
"Anyone *but* you!" another official exclaimed.
"Hey! In terms of raw power and strength, I am *widely* overqualified for this job!"
"Being a good ruler isn't about strength, even less for the ruler of the Celestial realm!"
(Y/n) kept watching as they kept arguing, looking out for the moment when things get too heated and turns into a fight. Only then will she step in. And just then, the doors beside her - that she and Monkey came in through - slowly but quietly opened. She looked over and saw a man walk in and discreetly close the door behind him. He looked to be middle-aged, but judging by his dark pink hair and his pointy ears, he was not human, and so was probably much older than that. He had a drawstring bag around one shoulder and a long thin blade of grass hanging from the side of his mouth. He first looked at the commotion that was going on, and then he noticed her.
"Ah, Golden Cicada." he smiled, his voice rough.
"Um, yes?" she frowned slightly, confused. "Who-?"
"Ssssh~." he raised an index to his mouth and winked at her.
She blinked twice, taken aback. Casually, he started to look around the room, and it allowed her to take a better look at him. He had olive green eyes, and he was tall, despite hunching a little bit. He couldn't be an official here in Heaven, she thought, his clothes were worn out and even torn in some places, like he's been wearing the same thing everyday for a while. Yet his hair, although messy, looked clean and even fluffy. And apart from the big scar across his nose and cheekbones, his skin looked flawless. Also, if it wasn't for the bandages covering almost his entire upper body, (Y/n) would've blushed, since he was wearing an open robe (he did have pants on, for clarity sake), with a sash belt keeping it in place. Whoever this man was, he left her perplexed. At some point, he saw how tall the ceiling was and he whistled, impressed, and only then did he catch the attention of everyone. Now, finally, the room was silent again.
"Nice place," he said, still looking around. "cozy." he looked at them. "Oh, don't mind me." he smiled, waving a hand. "Just lookin' around."
"Who are you?" Lao Tzu said, pressing on his words. "How did you get here?"
"A little birdie told me that the Jade Emperor has resigned." he spoke in a calm, unbothered tone. "Being the ruler of Heaven sounds neat, so I came over. As to how I got here, I told the guards in the front what I just told you, and then they got panicky and ran inside. Coast was clear so I just walked right in." he shrugged.
"What?!"
The officials rushed over to open the doors, and booming shouts of panic hit them like a powerful gust of wind. It actually knocked some on them backwards. People were running around, not knowing what to do now that their leader has gone missing, and not knowing what his absence meant for Heaven, along with the whole realm, and along with the other two. It was chaos. (Y/n) and the other officials were horrified, she glanced back at the stranger, he noticed her glance and smiled at her with a little wave of the hand.
'He's being way too casual for my liking.' her eyebrows furrowed.
Monkey hasn't moved since then, glaring at the stranger.
At some point, Nian Zhen couldn't take the awkwardness of the scene anymore and stepped in.
"Sir- Uh, your Highness." she raised an index. "You don't even have a bucket to put the water in or anything."
Him and the soldiers froze.
"...Oh."
He then walked back, dragging his feet with his back hunched over. He sat in front of his vegetable patch with a long sigh. The soldiers rushed away to get water, now that the coast was clear.
'Man. This is hard to watch.' Nian Zhen thought, inhaling through her teeth.
She walked back to the Horse but then noticed the nasty look he was giving her. She shrugged and mouthed 'what?'. He nodded towards the Jade Emperor. She looked back at him, then back at her friend and shook her head. The Horse nodded again, with more rigid movements this time. She shook her head more intensely and mouthed 'no!' He glared at her.
"Well *you* do it then!" she whispered and pointed at him.
He huffed with his chin held high, and walked passed her and towards the sad old man.
"W-wait no. I was kidding. Nonononono."
She grabbed on to his mane but that didn't stop him, instead she was dragged along with him. Once he reached the Emperor, he laid on his stomach beside him, making Nian Zhen fall onto his back with a 'oomph'. It caught the attention of the old man and he looked at the horse.
"Oh great, they have a horse now." he looked away. "I bet it's a dragon too."
"It is actually." Nian Zhen said as she stood up.
"Amazing." he sarcastically said. "Everything's coming up Wukong and (Y/n). But nothing's coming up Jade Emperor." he sniffed and looked down. "I'm a failure." he said in a tiny voice.
"Oh come on Sir, don't say that." she sat on the other side of him. "You're just not good at...this." she gestured towards the patch of dry dirt. "That doesn't make you a failure. You're good at other things I'm sure. Like, y'know, ruling over Heaven?"
"Anyone can do that."
"I don't think that's correct." she shook her head.
"I don't even know how agriculture works."
"Why should the Jade Emperor know about that stuff? That's not your expertise."
"I'm a disgrace, can't even know simple facts like dirt needs water."
She sighed, her shoulders dropping. Just then, the soldiers came back with water. They changed the shape of the end of their spears to use them as buckets.
"Your Imperial Highness! We've got the water you need! Now *please* come back! We beg of y-"
The small squad bumped into a force field surrounding the garden and the house that came with it.
"Leave me alone." the Emperor waved a hand, signaling them to go away. "Let me wallow in my misery."
Nian Zhen and the Horse exchanged a look. They were allowed to stay? She didn't dare ask, and the Horse wasn't talking so...
"You're giving up?" she looked back at him.
"I'm letting myself starve."
"...Aren't you immortal?"
He slowly looked at her, then down at his lap and covered his face before laying down fetal position, whimpering.
"I'm such a fool~." he said under his breath in an even higher-pitched voice.
'Okay this is getting ridiculous.' she took a deep breath. 'This guy's a lost cause.'
She was about to stand up - already one knee off the ground - when the Horse nudged the Emperor with his nose. He sniffed and sat up to pet him. Nian Zhen pursued her lips and sat back down. She sighed.
"Why are you even doing this?" she asked. "Like (Y/n) said: why not just apologize?"
A moment passed, during which the old man kept petting the Horse.
"...I thought that, if I was strong enough to live as a low-life, then I would be strong enough to deserve forgiveness."
Her eyes widen a little bit, a gaze wandered as she processed his words. Another moment passed before he spoke again.
"I realize... It's pretty foolish now that I say it out loud."
"N-no I get that!" she waved her hands. "Trust me, I get it."
He looked at her.
"But..." she searched for the right words, fiddling with her sleeves. "You're not gonna- I don't think you're going to become a better person by trying to be something you're not. Although I'm sure the effort is appreciated." she quickly clarified. "Maybe, work more on becoming a better emperor instead, like, learn from your people and try to understand what they need, so that you won't repeat your mistakes...or somethin'." she glanced away, becoming bashful as she realized she was going on a monologue and both he and the Horse were staring at her now.
"...Do *you* want to become Emperor?" he tilted his head.
"No! God dammit!" she stood up with a huff. "Come on Sir. I get that you may not be the best man out there, but what ruler is?!"
"The ruler of Heaven *should* be!"
"You're not the Buddha!"
"We love you just the way you are Sir!!!"
The three of them looked over and saw the brigade of soldiers pressing their faces onto the force field, crying from what they've heard.
"You just want to rule in peace! We're sorry you can never enter retirement!"
"Sir, even though you're not the biggest personality in the realm, you're great in your own way!"
"Oh wow. Really?' Nian Zhen blinked twice. 'Does he have another side that no one knows about?'
"Without you taking your daily strolls through the gardens, they just look...*empty*!"
"You always eat the same things everyday, it's so comforting to the cooks! They know they can never mess up with you!"
"Whenever you're stuck on a puzzle game, you ask anyone who's around for their opinion, whatever their position."
"That one time, you asked my brother, and he's never felt so smart."
"And you are the best mahjong player I've ever seen in my life!"
"Oh." Nian Zhen frowned.
'They make him sound like a grandpa. Not really helping there with making him feel useful.'
She looked over at the Jade Emperor, he was weeping out of joy.
'Nevermind!'
"Really?!" he asked, covering his mouth with his fist.
The soldiers nodded in unison, he sniffed and removed the force field.
"Okay," he stood up. "then I'll consider coming back."
They cheered. Nian Zhen and the Horse sighed, relieved (each with their own reasons).
"But first!" he turned towards the vegetable patch. "I must finish what I've started!"
"With your powers?"
"Goodness no! I've given myself a challenge!"
The young demon woman groaned.
'This will never end!'
"We could help you Sir!" the soldiers rushed over to him. "We won't even use our powers if you won't use yours."
"Do you lot know anything about vegetable-growing?" he asked.
"...no."
"Then why should I entrust you with this task?!"
"Multiple brains are better than one you know?" Nian Zhen shrugged.
"Who asked you?! Do *you* know anything about vegetable-growing?!"
"Hey! I surely know more than you! I know you need water!"
"That is a low blow, making fun of a moment of weakness no less! If I was the Jade Emperor, you'd answer for your words."
"You *are* the Jade Emper- Horse?"
"How dare you call me a-?!"
"No! The Horse. Where is he?"
They all looked around. Indeed, the Horse was nowhere to be found. Before she could start panicking, the Horse came back, with a few of the townsfolks following him, confused.
"Uh...This horse looked like he wanted us to follow it, so..." one of them said.
Nian Zhen's eyes widen as the Horse walked back by her side. He looked proud of himself.
"Ooooh~ Horse! You're a genius!" she whispered, intensely petting his neck.
"Where's Sun Wukong?"
"He had an emergency." she told them. "Look, this old man needs help, does any of you know how to maintain a garden?"
"What do you think you're doing right now?" the Emperor spoke through his teeth.
He looked angry, but he was probably just embarrassed. She looked at him.
"You want experts? They're the experts." she said quietly. "You could learn from them."
He pursued his lips, conflicted.
"Yeah, we all have our own gardens here," one of the humans spoke. "although the previous owner of this house couldn't grow anything. Called himself cursed. Is that why that one's been crying for days?" they pointed at him.
"That doesn't explain why these soldiers from Heaven came looking for him though..." another one said, stroking their chin.
"Uh..." Nian Zhen's eyes darted around. "Well, you see-"
"I've got it!" the Emperor stepped in with a raised index. "I am actually a very important royal figure, but I've ran away from my past, in search of my true calling!" he spoke with big dramatic movements. "Which I have found to be: growing a vegetable patch."
Nian Zhen covered her eyes with her hand, getting second-hand embarrassment from this. However, everyone else was listening intently.
"I have been on my own for the first time in *ages*! And although I've been handling it like a champ-"
Everyone glanced at the patch of dry dirt.
"-my people were so worried that they've called upon the Heavens themselves to search for me!" he placed the back of his hand on his forehand and turned towards the sky. "By the gods how worried they must be!"
Nian Zhen rolled her eyes.
"They must've prayed so hard and so many times for my return! They must love me and need me so very much." he pointed at the guards without looking at them. "Am I correct?"
"Absolutely!" they agreed immediately.
"But we've seen how passionate you are about this garden project and now we want to help you!" one of them said.
"But we don't know anything about gardening either!" another added.
"Oh what must we do?!" the Emperor lamented.
The humans looked at each-other, eventually, one of them sighed.
"If we teach you, will we be allowed back in our own town?" one of them asked.
"Of course!"
"What the- Let them back in now!" Nian Zhen exclaimed.
"Y-yes! Now!" the Emperor nodded.
"Then alright." they smiled. "Let's get started."
His face lit up but then he noticed how none of them moved.
"What?"
"We said we'd teach you, but you'll have to do the gardening on your own. You and your little friends there." they pointed at the soldiers, making small circles with their index.
"What?!"
"Ya wanna learn?!" a beefy woman glared at him. "That's how ya learn! Now get ya tools ready!"
"O-okay! Alright! Geez..."
Nian Zhen and the Horse stepped back in their corner by the house.
"I can't believe that worked." she mumbled.
The Horse nudged her and nodded, smiling. She sighed.
"I bet you Wukong's already taken over Heaven by now. If (Y/n) hasn't convinced him otherwise that is..."
The two of them looked up, looking for flames in the sky. Truth was, none of them knew who in the couple will win in convincing the other.
"Man." she exhaled and looked at the Horse. "At least they won't have to worry about others applying for the job. 'Cause I doubt Wukong would let anyone take his place. I mean, imagine wanting to go against Sun Wukong, you'd have to be *insane*."
The Horse narrowed his eyes at her and looked back up. Why did he feel a certain sense of irony in this conversation...?
Back in the Heavenly Palace, it was still very bad. Officials and soldiers in the hallways were trying to get into the throne room. Said they wanted to try their luck and apply to be the next Emperor.
"You're not coming in." the Gold Star of Venus shook his head, staying calm.
"Hey! It's only fair to give everyone a chance! Let us through!"
The crowd started to get agitated and eventually, they tried to push their way in. Thankfully, (Y/n) and the other higher-ups could handle them.
"Wwwell," the pink-haired stranger rolled his eyes, still carefree of the chaos he has unleashed. "I'll be taking the throne now if you don't mind." he started making his way to the throne, his hands in his pockets.
"Ohohohoho!" Monkey stepped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks, and pressed the tip of a tiny version of his staff on the man's chest. "Look here buddy, love the ambition and all, but that throne belongs to the most powerful of beings."
"I know I may look tough but..." he said, his tone unchanged, as he took the blade of grass out of his mouth. "I'm actually really touch." he glanced down at the small staff. "Nice toothpick."
Monkey's eyes widen. Meanwhile, one guard managed to slip through and stumbled into the room. And he was so proud of himself until he saw Sun Wukong facing a pink-haired, dirty-and-clean looking man. The tense, menacing energy coming from these two was heavy enough for this guy to slip his way out of the room. (Y/n) noticed him leaving in a panic and looked back.
"Oh..." her eyebrows furrowed, growing nervous. "Oh this can't be good."
She tapped the shoulder of the Gold Star of Venus, making him turn around, and soon enough everyone was looking at these two. Monkey's will to kill this guy was showing all over his face, and although the stranger's smile was still there, there was a spark in his eyes that said he knew exactly what he was doing. Not even the blind could be this bad at reading the room. Monkey smiled and every person watching took a step back.
"You like it?" he said, taking a couple of steps back. "Here!"
He raised the staff above his head and suddenly made it go back to its normal size before swinging it down towards the stranger's head. The stranger simply raised a hand. The shock of the impact was enough to create yet another gust of wind. (Y/n) protected her face with her arms, and when she looked again, she gasped, along with some of the officials. The rest was speechless. The stranger was still in one piece, the staff resting on his hand.
"He stopped it." the Star of Venus said under his breath.
"Um... How heavy is this thing again?" she asked with a quiver in her voice.
"Around eight tons."
"Now I'm not the best at math." the stranger glanced back at them. "But that's heavy right?"
The expression on their faces made him let out a small 'heh', before looking back at Monkey. Who was just as shocked, but it quickly turned back into rage. The stranger took a hold of the staff and moved it away. (Y/n) covered her mouth.
"Is that what I gotta do to become the boss around here?" his faint grin turned into a smirked. "Old school style, I like it."
Monkey huffed, and smirked too.
"Same."
Then, as they charged up their powers, their hair and clothes began to float in the wind-less room. The calmness on the stranger's face has disappeared, now he looked as manic as Monkey. He got in a fighting stand while the stranger just placed his feet a bit more apart. Soon enough, the floor cracked under their feet. As scary as this sight was, it left everyone dumbfounded. Whoever this strange man was, he was powerful. To watch Sun Wukong battle someone on equal foot would truly be something to behold, but really, was it worth it? If they are on equal foot, he might go all out. Things will get messy.
"We must stop them." the Gold Star of Venus said under his breath.
"S..." (Y/n) broke out of her stunned state. "S-Stop it, stop!!!"
"Aaaaarh!!!" Monkey held his head and dropped on the floor.
The stranger's smile dropped as he watched him wiggling around.
"...Huh."
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean t- Wait no, I did mean it!"
When she said 'I'm sorry', the pain stopped and Monkey sat up, rubbing his head. She rushed over to stand in between them.
"If you're gonna fight, do it somewhere else where no one could get hurt!" she glared at Monkey.
She then turned towards the stranger, a bit more hesitant about yelling at him. She lightly clenched her fists.
"You... Who are you?" she asked.
He blinked twice, then smiled, his shoulders dropping a little bit.
"The name's Qiuyu." he placed the blade of grass back in his mouth, leaning back. "Qiu'er if we hit it off." he winked. "Pleasure to meet ya lil Lady."
She frowned.
"You, both of you, either settle this calmly like mature beings, or fight *outside*." she pointed at the door.
There was a moment of silence. The two men looked at her, then at each-other. Monkey stood up.
"No powers other than flying."
"No weapons."
Listing the rules to each-other, they made their way outside. The officials of Heaven let out a sigh of relief while (Y/n) rubbed her face, exasperated.
"No one chooses diplomatie around here." she mumbled.
"A direct hit to the head is double points!"
"A pointing system? Heh." Qiuyu smiled. "Where I come from, it ends when the other can't fight no more."
"Same." Monkey gave him a side-eye, smirking. "But if we go with that, you'd be dead within seconds."
"I appreciate the concern, but that's not really Monkey King warrior-like of you, now is it?" he gave him a side-eye as well.
Looking at them, (Y/n) could swear she could see them sending lightning bolts at each-other through their glare, despite the two of them smiling. She went to the Gold Star of Venus.
"So, how do we stop them?"
"Child." he place a hand on her shoulders. "Throughout the years, we people of Heaven have learned something: When Sun Wukong is adamant on fighting someone-"
"Just be out of his way!" a plain looking official exclaimed.
"No. If he is this - as he puts it - 'hyped', he will be solely focused on the fight. Therefore providing us with a distraction. Lao Tzu." he turned to face him. "Do you still have your diamond snare?"
"The thing that helped you capture Monkey?!" her eyes widen.
"Yes," he nodded. "but I only have one."
"Not only that but..." she added. "It's been centuries, he's much stronger now. And we don't know anything about that Qiuyu guy."
"True." the Gold Star nodded. "We must be strategic about this."
"Or!" the alchemist raised an index. "We could use the new artifacts I've been making for the last centuries in case the Monkey King would go on a rampage again! To my lab!" he pointed forward.
(Y/n) suppressed a squeal, her cheeks dusted with pink, with a twinkle in her eyes.
The humans' gardening class has been going on for a couple of hours now, and the Emperor's vegetable patch already looked more lively.
"The key is to take your time. Nothing of quality will come out of a rushed job."
They had to select what vegetables they wanted to grow - it all depended on the climate and the space available - then they had to prepare the soil.
"You shouldn't plant all your seeds at the same time."
"What? Why?" the Emperor frowned.
"Makes sense." Nian Zhen said. "I assume not all plants grow at the same speed, right?"
"That's correct Green-girl!"
"Green-girl...?" she frowned.
"You wanna join? You and the horse could help."
"How could the Horse hel- no thank you." she waved a hand. "We're good."
The Horse looked down, a bit sad.
"You know what guys?" one human said. "With all the rumors about this cursed garden, I was expecting something out of the ordinary. But this is very much...in the ordinary."
"Yeah right." the beefy woman placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe the ol' man couldn't accept his failure. Anywoo, we done here." she turned towards the Emperor. "Keep the soil moist until ya start to see sprouts, keep the bad weeds out and reap what ya sow. Be proud of it. Ya got this ol' man." she gave him a thumb up, smiling.
"Th...Thank you." the Emperor sniffed, his eyes glassy. "No one has ever believed in me like this before."
'That's sad.' Nian Zhen thought, and - upon seeing the irony here - added: 'For the Ruler of Heaven.'
"Your High- uh, Sir Man?" one of the soldiers asked, kneeling in front of the patch. "The soil's dry."
"Wait, already?" the woman asked.
She kneeled down in front of the patch as well and gently tapped the soil. She frowned.
"Dry as a desert."
"That can't be right." Nian Zhen frowned too, walking up to her to look at the garden too.
"Could the rumors be true then? The house and its garden are cursed?!" someone asked.
The Horse tensed up. The beefy woman looked up and sighed.
"No such thing as a curse here folks." she stood up and pointed up. "Just unfortunate placing. Look at the Sun."
Everyone looked up and instantly looked away, their eyes hurting. The woman ignored that and explained.
"The garden is placed in a way that the Sun constantly shines on it, from sunrise to sunset." she pointed East, then West. "It's the farthest away from the river and it doesn't rain often in these parts. So basically, this garden's cooking 24/7. With his old age, maybe the previous owner didn't notice that."
"It's an easy fix though." Nian Zhen said. "Just install a tablecloth above it and it'll be fine."
"And it'd also gather the morning dew!" she smiled. "Great thinking Green-girl!"
"Please don't-"
"You know what to do people!" she looked at the Emperor and the soldiers.
"Yes ma'am!" the soldiers stood at attention.
The Emperor however hunched over with a small groan.
"More work? Why is something as essential as growing food so tedious?"
"It's a human thing." Nian Zhen whispered to him as she went back to her spot.
And so, the amateur gardener squad worked together on setting up some sort of tent above the patch, all with the advice and encouragements of the humans. Looking at it, Nian Zhen got a flash of inspiration for a water gathering system for when the morning dew builds up on top on the cloth. But did she really want to get involved in a project with a bunch of people she didn't know? Would't it just be a lot of unnecessary efforts?
'Unnecessary?' she thought, her gaze landing on the Jade Emperor. 'Everything about his situation is unnecessary. He doesn't even seem to like it. It's all stupid... But he's still doing it. Because he wants to be better.'
She pursued her lips.
"Say..." she began to step forward. "I have an idea on how to-"
Suddenly, a meteor came down from the sky, crashed through the tent, reducing it to ashes, and onto the vegetable patch. No one got hurt, but everyone gasped in horror. The meteor couched and cackled.
"That obnoxious cackle..." the Emperor said under his breath.
"Wooh~!" Monkey sat up, not even acknowledging the presence of the people around him. "Thanks to this tent and acceptable vegetable patch, my fall was even less of an inconvenience than it wasn't already!" he jumped and landed on his feet, looking up. "Now we can start for real!"
He summoned his somersault cloud and hopped on it before flying away in a flash. Everyone watched as he went straight to another flying person. Although they were to far to see, one could spot their pink hair.
"Who the hell is that?!" Nian Zhen asked and looked at the soldiers. "Are they with you?"
"N-No!"
"Then who-?" she looked back up. "Oh nonononono!" she held her head.
But she couldn't do anything but watch. Up in the sky, the two opponents sure were having fun, being all smiles and all. But that only made things worse for the people around them. Birds and dragons flew as far away from the area as possible, which for the two fighters meant a clear sky with no other distractions.
"I'll give it to you." Monkey rolled his shoulders. "You are tough."
"And I'll give it to ya." Qiuyu nodded. "You're not as stale as I thought you'd be. With being trapped for years 'n all. Again."
Monkey huffed.
"The only stale thing here will be your dead carcass after I'm done with you!"
He charged towards him and jumped in order to kick him from above. Qiuyu easily dodged by moving to the side, but he was then kicked in that same side by a duplicate. Caught off guard, he aimlessly flew for a bit before facing him again. He smiled, despite the few drops of blood coming from his forehead.
"Thought we said no powers."
"Did you really think I'd stick to rules?!" he asked with a huge grin, showing his sharp teeth. "Have you forgotten who you're dealing with?! Also, you forgot to check your surroundings."
Qiuyu's eyes widen and he glanced around. His vision focused and now he could see some brown-orang-y hair floating in the air around him. Which, transformed into clouds of smoke. From all angles, duplicates jumped out of the clouds and towards him. With one swiping movement of his arm, Quiyu sliced them all in half, making them disappear. A bit farther away and above, Monkey stood tall on his cloud, his arms folded.
"See though, despite all that..." Qiuyu smiled, shrugging. "I never had to use my powers once." he took a fighting stance. "What does that say about you?"
Monkey's eyelid twitched.
"Oooohohohohoho!" he laughed, then laughed harder. "Oh you're funny!!!" he said as he turned into his giant ape form, taking his staff out of his ear and made it grow to fit his size.
"And you might be just the one I'm looking for." he whispered.
As Monkey swung down the giant staff (the tip of which was now on fire for extra damage) towards him.
'Okay... I might have gone ahead of myself there.'
Calmly, he placed his blade of grass back in his mouth and raised his hands. The staff came at him fast, then it slowed, and then it stopped, right in front of him, the fire going out. He didn't even tense up.
"Um, what are you doing?" Monkey raised an eyebrow. "Are you summoning spirits or something?"
"I give up. You win."
"What?!"
"Enough!!!"
With this booming voice, the sky flickered on and off, from nightlight to daylight, before going back to normal. Back on ground level, everyone looked at the Jade Emperor, who has gotten rid of his disguise and appeared as his celestial self.
"The...The Jade Emperor?!" the humans stepped back. "And we were ordering him around this whole time?! We're so sorry!"
They all kneeled before him, and Nian Zhen could see a sad look on his face as he watched their reaction. But quickly, he faced the sky and flew up to face the two men, who looked at him with blank expressions.
"What are you doing?!"
In a puff of smoke, Monkey turned back to normal.
"We're fighting to see who takes over your job old man!" he pointed at him with his staff.
"You fools! Why even bother the mortal realm over this?! You've destroyed our garden!"
"That was yours?" he pointed down. "That can't be, it looked like something could actually grow from it."
"Exactly! That is, before you destroyed it!" he shouted, his face red with anger.
"Mister Emperor Sir." Qiuyu raised a hand, leaning to the side to catch his attention. "Sorry for the disturbance, we needed space and the Heaven people told us to leave."
"I could not care less about that! Go apologize to the humans!" he pointed down.
"I'm not gonna do that." Monkey folded his arms.
"Sure, I'll go." Qiuyu shrugged and slowly descended, readjusting his sash belt and running a hand through his hair. "It is my fault, I'm the one who knocked him down there."
"Knocked me?! Oh please!" Monkey followed him, although staying above him. "I blocked it!"
"I hit you."
"I *let* you hit me! Wanted to see if you were all talk. I didn't even feel it."
"Didn't seem like it from the way you burst into flames while falling."
"I burst into flames all the time! Just like you could've if you didn't give up like a loser!"
"I gave up 'cause you cheated."
"There are no rules when it comes to fight! It's not cheating! It's making sure I win!"
"That's definitely cheating!" Nian Zhen exclaimed.
"Huh?"
Monkey looked over and realized that they've reached the ground. Time flies by when you argue. Qiuyu walked up to the beefy woman.
"Hello there ma'am." he nodded. "You seem to be the leader here, based on the overall way you carry yourself. So I'll be havin' the pleasure of addressing you."
"Oh my." she fanned herself with her hand.
"I would like to offer my deepest apologies." he bowed. "I should've watched where I threw my opponent."
"Nonono!" Monkey pushed him away and took his place. "He didn't throw me, I let him hit me to test his abilities. I should have finish the job quickly, so it's *my* fault!" he glared at him before bowing to the woman, going lower. "I apologize."
"We both apologize ma'am." Qiuyu bowed again.
"But I'm apologizing harder."
"I'm sorry." Nian Zhen raised an index before pointing at the pink-haired stranger. "Who are you?!"
"He's a pain in the ass is what!" Monkey clicked his tongue.
"Heh. Pleased to meet ya." he nodded. "My name's-"
Suddenly, a rope made of metal came out of nowhere and enveloped itself around both Monkey and Qiuyu - bringing them together back to back which made them bump the back of their skulls with a cry of pain - with such force that they were thrown towards the garden, making an even bigger mess. The two of them blinked twice, not injured but definitely confused.
"We got them!!!"
Everyone looked over to see (Y/n) coming down from the sky accompanied by Lao Tzu, she was sitting on his shoulders and the two of them were decked with mystical artifacts.
"Stop fighting you two!" she pointed at them. "You're gonna end up destrooo..." her voice trailed off as the duo realized what they've done.
She gasped and quickly hopped down.
"I am so so *so* sorry!" she bowed to the towsfolks a bunch of times. "We thought these two were still fighting!"
"That is unfortunate timing..." Lao Tzu stroked his chin. "At least now I know that the rope is working." he nodded to himself.
She rushed towards Monkey and Qiuyu and pressed the tip of the rope, making it retract to the size of a finger trap.
"Damn (Y/n)," Monkey stood up, rubbing the back of his head, along with Qiuyu. "having a bunch of weapons suits you."
"They're not weapons- It doesn't matter! Did you really stop fighting?"
"Yeah, and I won."
"We were interrupted by the Jade Emperor." Qiuyu nodded towards said man, who was coming back down. "We... The garden was indeed destroyed during our lil fight and an apology was given to the folks here. And it looks like you got your part in it as well now." he smile, an eyebrow raised.
She looked away, blushing from embarrassment.
"Humans." the Emperor said, bringing their attention to him. "I'm sorry I deceived you. I do appreciate all that you've taught me and my men."
The group of expert gardeners looked at each-other. Their leader smiled.
"Well, this outta be the most eventful day of the history of this town. And that lil lesson we gave ya was fun. Thank ya your Highness." she bowed, along with the others.
He smiled, and blinked fast, sniffing.
"And, I'm sorry about the garden." he said.
"Didn't you say it was *your* garden?" Qiuyu asked, looking away and leaning to the side, closer to him. "You're a direct victim here. For once." he mumbled that last part.
But the Emperor heard, and it made his eyes grow bigger.
"...You're right. That means that the person responsible will have to repair the damages! And justifiably so!" he turned towards Monkey.
"Huh?! Why me?! " Monkey exclaimed and gestured towards Qiuyu. "Why not him?!"
"Are you saying *I* destroyed the garden?" he placed a hand on his chest, his eyebrows raised. "That would mean I did throw you down there, wouldn't it now?" he asked with a sly grin.
Monkey slowly gasped, frowning.
"I will kill you." he said through his teeth.
"Monkey, please!" (Y/n) wrapped her arms around his and pulled him away. "There's been enough fighting today, at least we'll get to do it together."
He huffed.
"I guess." he mumbled.
"Now why would she do that?" the Emperor folded his arms. "She's not the one who destroyed it in the first place."
"What?!"
"Really?" she tilted her head. "I don't mind you know, gardening sounds delightful."
"I wouldn't say that if I were you." he came up to her. "It's a lot more tedious and technical than you'd expect. You see-"
He then started to repeat everything he has learned in the past few hours. He looked very confident and she was taken aback by this.
'He looks a lot happier than the last time I saw him.' she smiled. 'Good for him.'
However the Emperor's joy at the idea of getting back at Monkey was short-lived. Monkey called upon the local land gods and demanded that they fixed the garden, which they did immediately. After witnessing his fight up in the sky, there was no way they'd say no to him.
"Why do you have to take the fun out of everything Wukong?!" the Emperor asked as Monkey sat back and watched the gods cleaning up the mess he made.
"Fuck you that's why!" he cackled.
"Monkey!" (Y/n) glared at him, to which he just shrugged, before looking back at the Emperor. "I'm sorry about him."
"It's fine." he exhaled. "As much as I hate to admit it, you get used to his immaturity."
She smiled, her eyebrows furrowed.
Meanwhile, Nian Zhen was talking to Lao Tzu before he'd leave with his artifacts.
"I have to know: Why was (Y/n) on your shoulders?"
"That way the two of us could use both our arms."
"That makes sense I guess. But don't you think you two looked ridiculous?"
"Nevermind ridiculousness when it's in the name of efficiency!"
'Speaking like a true master!' she thought with a look of awe.
"Cool, good job guys." Monkey gave the local gods a thumb up once they were done.
They all nodded and said goodbye before quickly leaving.
"And~ you're welcome!" he faced everyone, his hands on his hips with his chest puffed up.
"So..." (Y/n) looked at the Emperor. "Are you still planning on staying here?"
"...well-"
"Sun Wukong. Qiuyu."
They all looked over to see the Gold Star of Venus walking up to them. Meanwhile, the humans were wondering how many Heaven officials were coming here today.
"We had time to think, and we've decided to accept your applications."
"What?!" Monkey and the Emperor exclaimed, one was excited, the other outraged.
"Now, you just need to actually file and submit said applications. Then, after we've decided who will replace the Jade Emperor, you will have to wait a certain period of time, during which you'll need to send us a few additional documents about yourself. Namely your ruler resume and a letter of recommendation from a fellow lord or monarch. And after that, you will need to go to all departments in the three realms to replace the previous Emperor's name with yours, and to do that, you will need to file an official demand to the-"
"Stop!!!" Monkey shouted, holding his head. "For the love of Buddha and all that is holy, shut the hell up! Aaaaaah!!! So much unnecessarily complicated crap!"
"Mmh?" he tilted his head, acting oblivious. "Am I to understand that you don't want to replace the Emperor anymore?"
"If I *really* wanted to, I would've destroyed the place and stood on top of its ruins as the sole survivor and ruler!" he sent him a dark glare. "Luckily for you guys, I don't want it *that* much! I'm a busy man!" he huffed and turned away. "Man, did you put a curse on me?!" he turned back. "'Cause I swear this headache I'm feeling is terrible! I need a drink," he started walking away. "anyone got alcohol?"
"If you borrow from someone, you'll empty their entire stock," (Y/n) said. "go drink from the river!"
He just waved, without looking back. The Horse followed him, to not leave him alone.
"Is that really the procedure?" she discreetly asked the Emperor.
"I don't know, I've never been replaced and I've never replaced anyone." he took a deep breath and stepped forwards. "I shall leave now, and go back to my rightful place in Heaven. About that rain situation..." he trailed off, as if he just thought of something. "This...was actually an undercover mission!" he said with much more enthusiasm now. "I heard of the rumors surrounding this house and I've decided to investigate it for myself! You've all been a great help, and now that I know what is going on, I'll make sure the weather is more appropriate for your gardening!" he chuckled, proud of himself. "You're very welcome."
In their corner, (Y/n) and Nian Zhen slowly shook their head.
'This man is not a good liar.'
"Woohoo~." Qiuyu started clapping, putting the bare minimum amount of energy into it. "Thanks Emperor."
With this, the humans looked at each-other and smiled as they started clapping as well. Although their didn't seem to believe him either, they still did it so as to not hurt his feelings. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor left with the Gold Star of Venus, who thanked (Y/n) for her visit, "however messy it was", and the humans went back home after thanking Nian Zhen for her help.
"You helped gardening?" (Y/n) asked, pleasantly surprised. "That's great Nian Zhen!"
"I just gave some pointers. It was nothing really." she looked away, her cheeks dusted with pink.
"Well then." Qiuyu folded his arms, standing beside (Y/n) and looking forward. "Looks like everything worked out after all."
"Not everything," she said. "neither you nor Monkey became emperor in the end."
"I can live with that." he shrugged.
"One question left: Who are you?!" Nian Zhen pointed at him. "How did you find out that the Emperor ran away?!"
"That's two questions there miss." he chuckled.
She glared at him.
"Could you answer them, please?" (Y/n) came to the rescue. "I was actually about to ask you that second one."
"The name's Qiuyu, Qiu'er if we're gettin' close 'n personal." Nian Zhen twisted her face in cringe. "As to how I knew, like I said, a lil birdie told me." he shrugged. "Besides, doesn't matter now, does it? Everything's back to normal." he said before walking away.
"Back to normal?" she frowned slightly and followed him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Mmh?" he stopped and looked back at her, smiling.
She could see that spark in his eyes again. Last time she saw it was when he provoked Monkey into fighting. And he didn't react as poorly as Monkey did when he gave up on being the Emperor. Almost as if...
"Did you plan this?"
He just looked at her, his expression unchanged.
"Did you... Did you planned to fight Monkey so that the Emperor would see you and stop you?"
He blinked twice and laughed, his face towards the sky and a hand on his forehead.
"You're giving this old fella too much credit lady." he looked back at her, running his hand through his hair. "You really do assume the best of people."
Once again, she was perplexed.
"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Nian Zhen rushed over to them with a suspicious look.
"Say, you and you friends there are on a journey to the West, aren't you?" he ignored her question.
"How do you know that?" her frown deepened.
"Well, what else can you be doing while traveling with the Monkey King?"
"Doesn't the story everybody knows lies about the ending and saying that he and his companions did make it to the West?"
'Who even made up this story...?' (Y/n) thought, but shook it off for now.
"Really? A little birdie told me otherwise."
"We are traveling to the West." she nodded. "Why?"
"Well." he scratched the back of his head. "How 'bout I come along for the ride."
"Uuuuh~." Nian Zhen looked at her to see her reaction.
She was surprised for sure.
"Wh...Why?"
"Isn't it supposed to be three disciples, a monk and a horse." he pointed at Nian Zhen, at her, then towards the direction the Horse and Monkey left.
"There is no check list for this!" the young demon frowned.
"Still, the more the merrier right?" he tilted his head, then looked back at (Y/n). "Look Lady, I've been traveling on my own for centuries now, I know some nice tricks on how to survive in the wild. And also, the Monkey man approach to things can't work all the time, as we saw today, which is why I'm here."
There was a moment of silence.
"I don't care about what you bring to the table." (Y/n) bluntly said. "Why?"
He opened his mouth.
"And give me a genuine answer." she added, pointing at him.
He closed his mouth. She sighed and Nian Zhen rolled her eyes.
"Genuine...?"
He glanced to the side, tilting his head, and pursued his lips. No one noticed, but he was clenching his fists and jaw.
"Who knows?" he shrugged, smiling again. "Maybe I also have a tragic past that I want to redeem myself from-"
"Genuine!" she exclaimed.
For a moment, they looked into each-other's eyes. Finally, he sighed.
"I've been on my own for a long time Lady." he said with a more neutral expression. "To be quite honest with ya," he looked down and took the blade of grass out of his mouth, then he looked at her with a bright smile and his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I haven't had this much fun in a while."
(Y/n)'s expression softened.
'Alone, for centuries...'
'Nononononono! (Y/n) no!' Nian Zhen panicked internally.
"But hey," he tilted his head and put his blade of grass back in his mouth. "it's fine if you don't wanna. I'd respect your decision as the leader of the group."
"Oh, no, I-I'm not a leader." she waved her hands with a bashful chuckle.
"The point still stands." he nodded.
"Well..." her gaze wandered, clearly conflicted.
A moment passed, during which Qiuyu patiently waited. Nian Zhen leaned closer to her ear.
"You are allowed to say 'no' you know?" she whispered.
(Y/n) pursued her lips, and finally looked back at the pink-haired man. She opened her mouth and-
"No!!!" Monkey made a chopping motion between the two of them then faced her, forcing Qiuyu to step back. "We are not doing this again!"
"Doing what again?!" she asked, although knowing what he was talking about.
"Like, the cases before were at least understandable: He was a victim;" he pointed at the Horse nearby. "She's just a kid and she didn't have a lot of options." he gestured towards Nian Zhen. "But *that*," he gestured towards Qiuyu with both of his hands. "is just a shady dude! Need to remind you that the first thing he did was to insult my staff?! And by extension me!"
She took a deep breaths while Monkey and the others waited for a reaction from her. She looked at Qiuyu.
"Excuse us for a moment."
"No problem."
She grabbed Monkey and Nian Zhen and pulled them with her a bit farther away. They stood in a circling, their back facing him.
"What do you guys think?" she asked. "Should we let him in?"
"...No! Obviously!" they both gave her a weird look.
She hummed, her lips pursued and her eyes squinted. Monkey let out a scoff while Nian Zhen rubbed her face.
"(Y/n)." he leaned closer to her. "I'm telling you. I know trouble when I see it, this guy's trouble. Who knows what's going on in his brain?" he glanced back at him.
Qiuyu noticed and waved with a smile. Monkey sent daggers at him before turning back to the group.
"He might even be a demon who just wants to eat you when you least expect it!"
"And also, I'm pretty sure he was eavesdropping on us." Nian Zhen whispered. "How else could he have known about the Jade Emperor situation?"
"You have a point..." she looked down.
Monkey sighed through his nose.
"What do *you* think?"
She looked at him.
"I do think that he's strange and that he's hiding something... Maybe a lot of things. But, I think... I think he's just lonely."
"Lonely?"
"Y-yeah. And, you know..." she rolled her eyes. "if he is trying to eat me, wouldn't it be better to keep him within sight?" she tilted her head.
This seemed to make Monkey think. He hummed and held his chin.
"So, it's less of a recruitment..." he slowly raised his head, his face lighting up. "And more of a kidnapping! That's what I'm talking about!"
As this conversation was happening, Qiuyu sighed, then noticed the horse staring at him, keeping its distance.
"Hey there buddy." he nodded upwards with a smile. "You're not a normal horse, are ya?"
Its ear flicked. Reading its body language, it was curious. Qiuyu reached down to the grass and pulled out a fresh flower, offering it to him.
"You're a smart one." he said, his voice soothing as he slowly stepped towards it. "I can see it in your eyes."
He stopped as soon as the Horse moved his head to snif the offering. His ears flicked again and he ate it. Qiuyu chuckled and petted his head as he was chewing.
"You look like a Jielin, but you're almost as big as me." he chuckled. "You're a niiiice specimen aren't ya? You know, I know a lot of people who would-" he stopped himself and sighed, shaking his head with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "Look at me, falling back into old bad habits."
The Horse softly neighed and looked at him, as if to ask what he meant.
"Alright you pink bastard- Get away from the Horse!" Monkey exclaimed.
Qiuyu stepped back with both of his hands raised. Monkey faced him.
"Ground rules. Break a single of of them and I kill you on sight."
"Many have tried before, but you're welcome to be next in line." he said, amused.
As quick as lightning, he ripped off one of his hair, turned it into a rope (the same kind he used with the Horse), and wrapped it around Qiuyu (who didn't seem surprised), holding one end of it.
"Is the rope necessary?" (Y/n) asked, her eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes it is." he looked back at her, then back at him.
"...Alright. Go ahead and lay them on me." he said, with his arms stuck to his sides, he could only move his hands.
"You walk in front at a certain distance from us. You go *exactly* where we tell you to go. If you're out of my sight, I find you and kill you. You try anything funny, I kill you. If the group ever has to split up, you go with me and you do *exactly* what I tell you to do."
"If I wasn't tied up I could write this down."
"The rope stays on!"
"How long exactly?"
"However I think necessary!"
"Oh so *you're* the leader?"
"Obviously-" (Y/n) elbowed him. "Not! There are no leaders here."
"As soon as we know for sure that you won't try and kill us, you'll be free to move." Nian Zhen said.
He chuckled.
"Well, it's still a pleasure to go on such an important journey with you: Monkey man," the nickname made Monkey's eyelid twitch. "Green girl-"
"Again with that?!" she whispered to herself.
"Horse." he nodded to the three of them as he called them, but bowed once he got to (Y/n). "Little Lady."
"Okay! One more rule!" Monkey once again stood between them. "Don't talk to her, don't even look at her! Look down!"
"It's alright Monkey." (Y/n) gently pushed him aside. "I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."
"Yeah that's right! She's with the most powerful guy in the three realms!" he pointed at himself with his thumb.
"Can a man not just respect a woman?" Qiuyu asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry Lady, but... you're not really my type."
"O-oh..." she scratched her cheek and looked away, embarrassed to have assumed otherwise. "And what is your type?"
"Available."
"Oh!"
The two of them chuckled. Monkey picked up Qiuyu, holding him high in the air and started walking away.
"Let's go already! If we get to an inn, he sleeps outside!"
"Oh Lord..." she mumbled.
Her and Nian Zhen sent each-other a look, the Horse started to walk too and they followed.
'Well then,' Qiuyu thought. 'this day sure took an unexpected turn. But hey, at least, it's sure to be fun.' he smiled.
[oh right I drew him with a cigarette...just imagine the producers censored it or smth XD]
[Alright, I got four very important announcements to make!
Number one, I got a job now, at a museum! It's just a two months thing but it is pretty intense (that's what I get for getting hired in the middle of summer xD) However I'll make sure to write whenever I have days off so don't worry~
Number two! Jade made a fuckin ANIMATED TRAILER and it is AMAZING!!! 𥰠Go send her some love!
Number three! I ALSO made a video thing! A voice cast thing for the funsies!
(I'll put the links in the comments)
Number four! ...
I printed out the first ten chapters of JTSN (around 200 pages)!!! The hardcopy was delivered to me like two days ago! ð©ðð This is more of a prototype tbh, I deliberately did a rushed job so that I could get the printing process down and see the changes I have to make so that next time, it'll look like a real book x) Just a nice thing for me to have really, still, I'm showing it off 'cause I'm SO HAPPY ABOUT IT!!! ð¥°ð¥°ð¥°
Alright we're done now, the squad is complete and we're off to adventure! Byeeee! ð]