"Uh....hey." a shadow was casted on her, shielding her from the sun.
She looked up to see someone looking down at her, only now did she remember that she was in the center of the city and that there was people around. She quickly stood up, stumbling a little bit and feeling some back pain.
"S-sorry. I'll get out of the way."
"Do you need help?"
She looked at the man, hair in a low ponytail with a little mustache, with bags under his eyes. She recognized him as one of the men who mugged her and Monkey, and the only one that survived. She became wary and he noticed it.

"I-I owe you this much." he shyly said. "You did save my life." he extended a hand. "My name is An-shi."
She looked back and forth between him and his hand, but she eventually shook it.
"I'm (Y/n)." she said before getting her hand away. "And, I appreciate it, but I don't think you can help me."
"Are you sure? What's the problem exactly?"
She pursued her lips, not sure if she should tell him. She wasn't feeling really open at the moment.
"I heard you and your...friend? Talking about saving a baby, were you talking about the Earth God Ch'ien found a while ago?"
"...Yeah. What do you know about that?"

The two of them went to sit in a park, they would've sat in the nearby tea shop if it wasn't so expensive.
"A week ago, the two heads of the Ch'ien company left on urgent business overseas." An-shi began explaining. "They put their right hand men in charge, but then their son decided to step in, boosting up the prices and acting like he's the king."
(Y/n) thought back to the kid's entourage, they must be these right hand men.
"Why didn't they stop him if they were left in charge?" she asked.
"That's the problem, Taio is infamous for making a scandal every time something isn't going his way. If his parents learn that there is a scandal, they'd of course believe their son over us poor people. And people are afraid to lose the jobs they desperately need, so they just let him do whatever he wants. One day a little Earth God just walked in the city, and as soon as Taio heard about it, he ordered everyone to bring it to him. Now he just keeps it as a toy."
"I saw that yeah." she nodded. "When are his parents coming back?"
"They're going overseas. As of now they're still on the way there, and they'll stay there for like a week."
She sighed, her head hung down.
"How am I supposed to do this by myself?"
"Well...you don't have to do this by yourself."
She pursued her lips, Monkey's words echoing in her head. He lightly tapped her shoulder, leaning over a little bit to see her face.

"I know someone who could help. She's a demon."
She suddenly looked at him with big eyes.
"A demon?"
"Yeah, she's known for ruling over the slums."
"The slums?" she awkwardly looked away. "I'm not sure about that."
"Trust me. If you want a chance to beat Taio, you gotta go to her."
She looked into his eyes. Even though he tried to mug her only a couple of hours ago, it's true that he did owe her. And he looked like he genuinely wanted to help.

Monkey, standing on top of a roof, watched as (Y/n) and An-Shi walked away. He didn't understand, first he didn't punch her and now he was following her, he felt pushed into doing this, something inside him prevented him from leaving. He placed a hand on his forehead.
"What is your deal with her man?" he asked himself, as if he'd get an answer from his future self.
But of course, he didn't get any. He sighed and kept following her from the rooftops.
"And now she's going with a guy who threatened her. What an idiot."

Meanwhile, (Y/n) kept her bag close to her as the two of them walked through the slums.
'If mugging people is a frequent occurrence on the main streets, imagine how things are here.'
Although, when they walked by some restaurants, the smell of the food made her stomach grumble loudly. She froze and held her stomach, she hasn't eaten anything since this morning after all. An-shi looked back at her embarrassed expression and laughed.
"You can treat yourself here. The Ch'ien company doesn't own anything in these parts so it's much more affordable."
He saw she was hesitant and decided to pay for her. He ordered a bowl of kung pao chicken and (Y/n) read the sign.
"Three coins?!" she exclaimed as she took the bowl An-shi handed to her, still hesitant to eat it. "For a meal, there's no way!"
"Like I said," he said, taking a piece of chicken and eating it to show her nothing was wrong. "everything's cheaper here."
She gulped, her mouth watering, and began eating. She hummed, it was good. He smiled seeing her enjoy her meal but then he noticed a little girl sneaking up on her and slowly extended a hand towards her bag, An-shi clicked his tongue, getting the kid's attention, and shook his head. The little girl looked disappointed but then (Y/n), who heard An-shi, turned around and startled the girl. She noticed how skinny she was.
"Do you want one?" she asked, showing the bowl.
The girl was surprised, but she nodded. When (Y/n) gave her a fresh bowl, she nodded again as to say thank you, looking a little guilty, and quickly walked away.

After eating, they stopped at a tavern called 'the Red Turtle'. Music could be heard from inside. An-shi knocked and whispered a password to the bouncer before the door opened, the music increasing in volume as soon as it did. A big room with a stage, a dance floor and tables, with people drinking, eating and dancing. The band reminded her of Dishi and Jia's band, except this time they were all handsome boys and they were all dancers and singers. The music was really catchy and lively, it was her want to dance, but right now, she focused on following An-shi to the back room. He knocked on another door.
"Mama? It's me."
The door opened and they entered the room, a light cloud of red smoke floating above them, coming from a long cigarette a woman was holding. Sitting on a giant pillow and playing a card game with a few other people. (Y/n) was taken aback. It was clearly by her size that she wasn't human, she wasn't just large and tall, she was literally twice the size of a normal human. Wearing a fancy hanfu custom to fit her like a glove and a lot of jewerly. She wasn't like all the pretty girls and ladies (Y/n) has seen before, this woman was clearly born a man, but she was gorgeous in her own way. The way she commanded the room, (Y/n) instantly bowed as soon as she laid eyes on her.

"An-shi~." she smiled. "Who's that cutie with you?"
"H-hello ma'am!" she stood straight.
"Now wait a minute." she pointed at her and looked at him. "Isn't that the girl who saved you this morning?"
"Yeah, found her alone outside Ch'ien Tower."
"I was told you could help me." (Y/n) said.
Mama stood up and slowly walked up to her.
"Aww~" her eyebrows furrowed. "has Wukong deserted his master?"
"You...You know about him?"
"Honey I know about everyone in this city." she huffed, proud of herself as she walked back to the table . "I heard he wasn't quite himself though, what's the deal with that?"
"We were attacked by a demon who turned him back to his twenty-year-old self."
"My, that's not good." she waved a hand and the players quickly cleaned up the table and left. "He was a real piece of work when he became King."

She sat on her giant cushion and gestured the two of them to sit at the table. They did, An-shi sat beside Mama while (Y/n) sat across from her. (Y/n) explained everything that happened, during which Mama ordered drinks.
"And so you want my help, is that it?"
"..." she looked down. "I can't do this on my own can I?"
"You may be up against a child, but Taio is still very powerful. And I heard that, after your little meeting with his, he doubled the guard. A single human can't take him down, even if she's Golden Cicada." she playfully smirked.
(Y/n) sighed and yawned.
"Well you know what they say, everything's clearer after a good night of sleep. Lucky for you, we have rooms available upstairs. Come back to me tomorrow will you?"
"Thank you ma'am."
"Oh please, everyone calls me Mama." she waved her hand. "'Ma'am' makes me feel old."

(Y/n) chuckled and opened her bag to get her wallet.
"How much?"
"All service included, twenty-five copper coins a night."
"What?!" she looked at her big big eyes. "I really thought it'd be more expensive here."
"'course not." she extended a hand.
"...I don't understand." she said as she gave her the money. "If everything's so cheap here, then why is everybody feeling forced to work these horrible jobs, even mug people, on the main streets?"
Mama and An-shi blinked twice, as if the answer was obvious. And indeed it was.
"Because this is the slums."
"...oh, right."

Once (Y/n) settled in her room, she went to take a much needed bath. When she came back, wearing her pyjamas and her hair still wet, it was getting dark and she froze when she saw Monkey sitting by the open window. He looked at her and for a moment, neither of them moved nor said anything.
"Your name." he finally broke the silence. "You never told it to me."
"...(Y/n)."
There was another short moment of silence
"Are you actually my master?" he asked. "Or was that a lie?"
She shifted in her stand, a bit uncomfortable.
"It's spoilers."
"It's a yes or no question. Just tell me."
Her eyes shifted away from him. She didn't expect that question and was looking for the right words.

"...Your former master is gone." she looked back at him, matching his cold expression. "And I'm the one replacing him... Whether we want to or not."
"...When I look at you, I feel no fear in my heart whatsoever. (Y/n)..." he paused, slightly shaking his head. "I can't tell if you're the master of anything."
She pursued her lips, her eyebrows twitching upwards, she slowly inhaled just as she felt this pain in her heart. Not waiting for a response, Monkey just looked out the window again in silence and she walked to the other side of the room. She laid down, her back facing him, and she clenched her fists, bringing them close to her chest as her eyes filled with tears. Still she bit her lower lip, refusing to cry over something *he* said.
With everything that happened today, plus the party going on downstairs, she had trouble sleeping. However it didn't take long for her to hear Monkey loudly snoring behind her.
'Falling asleep first? Now that's new.'

The next morning when she woke up. Monkey was shirtless in front of the mirror, struggling a bit to look at the seal on his back. He completely ignored her as she stood up and changed.
"Bye (Y/n)." he said as she opened the door to leave, glancing at her when he said her name to see her reaction.
But she didn't give him the satisfaction of one, she just looked at him with a neutral expression and with a short 'bye' she left. He clicked his tongue.
"Lame." he said before looking at his golden red eyes, before a regular dark brown. "Don't get me wrong I love it, but what the hell happened?!"
'I'm used to him calling me by my name.' she thought. 'But the fact he did it to annoy me kinda ticks me off.'
She went downstairs to the large room to eat breakfast as saw Mama, still smoking her red smoke cigarette, talking to the band of handsome boys who were rehearsing.
"Mama!" she called out, walking up to her. "Monkey came back, I didn't know he'd sleep here too. I'm sorry, I'll pay for hi-"
"It's okay hun." she smiled, waving her hand. "Sun Wukong gets a freebie."

"Really?"
"Naturally. Wanna meet the band?" she put a hand around her shoulders and turned towards the band on stage. "Say hi to (Y/n) boys."
"Hi (Y/n)~!" they greeted, some with a piece sign, some with a wave, some with a wink.
"Uh haha hi." she bashfully waved back, not knowing where to look. "And you are?"
"The next number one boy band in China!" one of them exclaimed.
"Remember our faces!" another one said, pointing at himself. "You'll see them everywhere soon!"
"Boy band? Isn't it just a band?" she tilted her head.
They laughed.
"Nah, boy bands are the new hot thing." the one most likely the leader, explained. "We focus on singing and dancing."
"I saw yeah, you guys were great." she smiled.
"Thank you~!" they bowed.
"Alright alright, back to work with you guys." Mama clapped her hands. "You won't become number one if you keep flirting."
They chuckled and said bye to her. (Y/n) blushed, not realizing that's what they were doing (it wasn't, Mama was joking), but said goodbye back and went to a table to eat her breakfast.

"I apologize for the noise last night." Mama sat with her. "Night life, you know how it is."
"It's okay, I'm used to sleeping with noises around me, and I heard I'm a heavy sleeper."
She smiled and rested her chin on the back of her hand as (Y/n) was served and started eating.
"So, came up with a plan?"
"...I have an idea, but it might take a while." she looked up at her. "You rule over the slums right?"
"That I do. Why?"
"Because my plan requires a whole rebranding if that's okay."
Mama raised an eyebrow, interested to see where she was going with this.
"Go on."

"Okay." the lead dancer watched his bandmates rehearse their dance routine and now gave them feedback. "One thing I noticed, Lin? You're copying Zhu to a tee."
"Well you know I have trouble with the routine, and he knows it better than me so..."
"Yeah but by copying him so well, we're losing *you*." he tapped his chest. "You gotta take the moves and make them your own. Put some of that Lin flavor into it."
"But...he's much better than me."
"Hey man." the leader placed a hand on his shoulder. "Zhu's great and all, but no one one can do Lin like Lin does!"
"Thanks man." he smiled.
"Just enjoy yourself." Zhu tapped his arm with the back of his hand. "Even if you mess up, nobody will notice if you're having fun."
"Alright, from the top!" the lead dancer clapped his hand.

Meanwhile, (Y/n) has finished explaining her idea. Mama wasn't smiling anymore, she was serious. She took a long hit of her cigarette, held it for a second before exhaling the red smoke through her nose.
"Don't get me wrong," she said. "it's a good plan. But you'd be asking a lot from me and from others. And the thing is, although if this works, there will be profit to be made, you yourself have very little to offer."
"Oh but I do. A promise."
She burst out laughing, leaning back.
"You really think people will go through so much risks with just your words?"
"Considering what I'm promising, I believe it to be worth it."
She raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Alright, what is it that you're promising."

Ever since he 'left', Monkey's been following (Y/n) from a distance. He watched as she'd go out and go from store to store, accompanied by Mama. At first they'd look skeptic but they'd always end up accepting whatever she was proposing. After a few days, almost the whole slums were undergoing some kind of spring cleaning, to at least look presentable.
"Kids! Come here!" An-shi called out.
The kids gathered around him and (Y/n), the little pickpocket girl in the front.
"Guys," (Y/n) crouched down to be at eye level. "we have a very important mission for you. And I'm sorry, but it requires you guys taking a bath. Do you think you can do it for us?"
The kids nodded, unexpectedly enthusiastic, and she gestured them to come closer and told them her plan. Soon after their makeover, they scattered around the city's main streets to try and buy various food and products. But of course they didn't have the money for it.
"That sucks!" they'd say. "It's like three coins in the slums!"
"Obviously, it's the slums!" they'd be told. "Go enjoy your trash food instead!"

"That's what they said!" the kids, disappointed, reported back to (Y/n) at the Red Turtle while she and the employees there were making dozens of tiny cards.
"It's okay, you did great." she smiled. "You planted the seed, that's step one."
She turned towards the band of boys on the stage.
"Guys!" she said. "It's almost time for your debut."
The next day, on one of the city's main squares, a little street concert was improvised (although they were all very prepared). Sponsored by the Red Turtle. If the handsome boys didn't get people's attention, the food at only three coins a bowl surely did. (Y/n) would give out a little business card with every bowl with a different store's name from the slums on it.
"Great job guys!" she gave the boys two thumbs up on the way back. "Lin, you were amazing!"
Said young man placed a hand on his heart as his bandmates hyped him up.

After that performance, people were curious. A lot were still cautious and only a few went to visit the slums.
"What the heck? It looks way cleaner than I thought!" they said to themselves.
This was plenty enough for the word to spread, sure enough, the main streets slowly emptied and the slums filled up with customers. One day, store owners from the main streets paid Mama a visit.
"I don't know what you did, but me and my boys want in. We'd rather have low prices and lots of customers than the opposite."
"For this, you might wanna talk to the leader of this operation." Mama smiled and looked at (Y/n), who handed them a contract, saying they'd be under the management of Mama's company.
"You'll have to help us clean the slums too." she said.
"Wait, extra work? We're not cleaning ladies!" the spokesperson frowned.
"I know. Read the contract."
The group read it, as they did, their eyes widen.
"Ohohoho~ Okay!" they signed and shook her hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" she smiled.

"What is she doing exactly?" Monkey mumbled to himself as he watched her visiting more stores to give them her business speech. "Did she give up? Is she gonna live here now?"
He scratched his head, not able to understand why she was doing this. But she looked very determined and confident in whatever her plan was. This went on for a week and a couple of more days, during which he did notice that the slums looked way cleaner, he also noticed that now people called this part of the city 'Mama's area' and (Y/n) made sure the word would spread even beyond the city, with the help of Shu-hui's brother.
Meanwhile, just as (Y/n) would come back to the Red Turtle every evening, Monkey would sneak in their room by the window and would either pretend he's been relaxing in bed the whole day, or he'd join the party downstairs.

"Um... Mister Ch'ien Sir?" one of Taio's playmates entered the meeting, holding a bunch of scrolls, while the kid was busy poking his plushie from outside the cage. "There's a problem. The amount of revenu the company gets from our businesses is rapidly decreasing as we speak." he said while reading the scroll.
"So? Increase the prices. Ask for more money, you get more money." he said like it was the most obvious thing ever.
"W-well, that's the problem sir. People stopped buying."
"Then they'll starve to death. Are they stupid? Is this some poor people thing I'm too rich to understand?" he stopped poking the baby god and look at his playmate.
"Sir." the man said, annoyed that Taio wasn't getting the gravity of the situation. "They're buying elsewhere."
"What? Where?" he frowned. "We own everything, there's nowhere else to buy."
"From Mama's Area."
"What?" his frowned deepened.
"I-I mean, the slums."
"The poor people place?!"
"They've...rebranded sir." he looked back down at his reports. "A large pourcentage of our businesses actually left our company to partner with Mama's because of that. The leader of this rebranding operation is a young woman named uh...(Y/n)?"
Taio's entourage began to whisper among themselves, shocked, and Taio was simply speechless.
"Since then, there's also been an increase in tourism-"
"Great! Make them buy our stuff!"
"Well actually, the tourists in questions came in the city *because* of Mama's Area. They heard of it by word of mouth."
"Get our businesses back!"
"We tried sir, even gave them a hefty amount of money. But they all refused."
"Why~?!" he began whining.
"They said they were proposed something way more valuable. Sir, the economy is growing as fast as your company is going under." he paused. "And by your, I mean you parents'."
Taio felt a twist in his stomach, along with the stares from the adults in the room.

"What is this woman's deal! Tell her to stop!"
"We also tried that. She said she'd only speak to you."
"Then go get her!"
"She insisted it should be you who comes to her."
"What?! Why should I-?!"
"Taio." his father's right hand man, one of his playmates, said, shutting him up. "I don't think you're in a position to argue here." he offered his hand. "We're going, and you're gonna handle this like the head of a company should."
Taio gulped and took his hand. The little pickpocket girl was watching over the tower's entrance when they came out. She gasped and ran across almost the whole city, going through various shortcuts she knew by heart, to the Red Turtle.
"Miss (Y/n)!" she called out, and stopped in front of her, panting. "Taio's coming!"
(Y/n) and Mama exchanged a smile.
"Thank you Ai." she ruffled her hair. "Get yourself something to eat."
"It'll be on the house." Mama added as the two of them walked out. "You go (Y/n), I'll go get the others."
"Are you sure I can say 'my'?"
"'Course you can! You've earned it."
She nodded and hurried to one of the city's main square. Once there, she sat on a bench by the fountain.

"She said she'd be waiting here." Taio's employee said as they approached.
They stopped once they saw her, the boy looked at the two adults with him. The employee awkwardly left and his dad's friend gestured him to go to her. His hands shaking slightly, Taio walked up to her.
"Oh hi there." she casually said, only saying hello and not showing any sign of greeting.
Taio sniffed, his eyes filled with tears.
"Give me back my stuff!"
"Well, now it's *my* stuff." she shrugged, looking disinterested. "So unless you wanna buy it back-"
"Take the plushie! That's what you wanted right?! Take it and go~!"
"...Nah."
"Wh-what?!"
"Miss." his father's friend spoke up. "Need to remind you that we're talking about a young Earth God. He is much more valuable that what we're asking for. This is a completely fair trade."
"But I want an unfair trade."
"Why~?!" Taio whined.
"Because you're desperate."
She looked down on him, and for once, he felt small.

"How did you even manage to beat me~?!"
"I made a promise that no one in this city could refuse."
"What is it?"
Just as he asked that, people gathered around them, most of them were business owners, even some of his employees were there. (Y/n) smiled.
"Your public humiliation. I promised everybody that they'd get to see the look on your face you are making right now."
At this point, even his father's friend stepped back. Taio looked around and began to sob.
"What do you want~?!"
"I want you to give half of your properties to Mama, lower the prices, and get someone more competent in charge. And of course release the baby."
"Whatever!!!" he ran away.

Everybody cheered on Taio as a way to rub it in his face. (Y/n) went to his dad's right hand man before he could leave.
"And don't try to buy it all back." she pointed at him. "Learn from your mistakes."
He nodded and quickly left. She sighed, smiling as the people started celebrating among themselves. Suddenly she heard a loud noise of something falling and turned around. Monkey just landed on his feet from somewhere very high and was now walking up to her with big decisive steps, she couldn't decipher the expression on his face.
"Wukong...?" (Y/n) took a nervous step back, her hands over her chest.
He took her hands in his, bringing them closer to him.
"Will you be my queen?!" he looked at her and asked, with a big smile and stars in his eyes, his cheeks dusted with pink.
"Wha...Huh?! Queen?!" she exclaimed.
Monkey has watched everything played out and only now did it all made sense to him, every seemingly non-sensical move she made was actually a specific step in her plan. And the fact that it took so long only made its outcome all the more sweeter. Revenge is better served cold and she made him understand that.
"I have never seen someone being so badass without throwing a single punch!" he said. "You've totally captured my heart!"
"Monkey please!" she pushed him away, her face red. "Ah, sorry, Wukong."
"It's okay," he said, a lovestruck smile still on his face. "you can call me whatever you want Peaches!"
"Peaches?"
"Yeah, I love peaches!"
He leaned in, giggling, and she leaned back.

"W-well, I'm not interested in being queen." she looked away, his stare making her flustered.
"(Y/n)~!" she looked over to see Mama walking up to them. "First of all congratulations for you two getting back together!"
"Thank you~!" Monkey said, hugging her from the side and pressing his cheek against hers.
She pushed his face away, but he was tightly holding her
"Hey, we're not-!"
"I want to thank you for expanding my business."
"Oh," she gave up and let Monkey hug her. "you don't have to thank me. You've been so nice to me and everyone else."
"Heh, you're welcome. Now that I have half of the businesses in the palm of my hand, it's only a matter of time before I control the entire city."
"...What?"
Just as (Y/n) seemed uncomfortable, Monkey stood in front of her, ready to fight. Mama laughed.
"I'm kidding~!" she waved a hand. "Shall we go?"

"Right. Monkey?" she took his hands and gently removed them.
"Mmh?" he tilted his head, smiling innocently.
'From bloodthirsty maniac to negligent jerk, and now this?! I just can't keep up!'
"I'm going with Mama to Ch'ien tower," she said. "she has a deal to close and I have to pick up the baby Earth God. I don't think it'd be a good idea to let you in considering...what happened." she quickly glanced to the side. "So do you mind keeping an eye on the Red Turtle while we're gone!"
"No problem!" he puffed his chest and placed a closed fist over it. "I shall destroyed the tavern-!"
"No, no~." she held up an index. "Monkey? No~."
"I shall...protect the tavern?" he slowly said, his eyes narrowed.
"Right, good, good." she nodded, making his face beam with excitement.

"Can I give him a treat?" Mama asked.
"Please don't give him a treat, he's not a pet."
"I wouldn't mind a treat if it's from you Peaches."
"Monkey!"
"Oh my." Mama put a hand over her mouth, smirking.
"You gotta stop!" (Y/n) kept going, her cheeks red again.
"What?" he tilted his head, a bit confused.
"S-sometimes, you say things that are...ambiguous, and people can misinterpret it!"
"...So no treats?"
"Get your own treats! Sweet Buddha." she walked away, mumbling. "This monkey I swear he's just impossible whatever age he is. Come on Mama let's go!"
Mama chuckled and followed her.

"Pleasure doing business with you!" the two women said as they existed the tower, the baby god in (Y/n)'s arms and Mama holding a few scrolls.
The sun was going down, the sky turning into a pink-ish orange color.
"Your dad will be so happy to see you." she said, caressing its head. "I'm sorry it took so long."
"Are you serious?" Mama raised an eyebrow. "You've done all of this on record time. I should hire you as my right hand man."
"It wasn't just me though. That's what happened when you use people's commun hatred for a brat to beat him at his own game." she smiled.
When they came back to the Red Turtle, Monkey was sitting cross-legged on a windowsill opened by the front. As soon as he saw (Y/n), his face lit up and he jumped down, landing in front of her. She and the little god yelped in surprise.
"You're back!"
"I-I am yeah."

"I wanna apologize for that time I called you soft." he scratched his head, looking away. "Well, you still are but like- you can also be super strong! But like not in the way I'm super strong- I don't how to explain it! You just...are! How do you do it?!"
She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Always be kind, always be understanding. And remember: there is nothing to gain in being a pushover. I know I may be soft, but if someone punches me I punch them back! Whether I'm... successful or not." she chuckled, her eyebrows furrowed.
His eyes widen in admiration, blushing.
"Please be my queen!"
"I said no already!" she blushed too.
"Why not?! You're pretty," her face became redder. "I am stunning," she couldn't help but snicker at that. "and what's a king without a proper queen?!"
"You managed very well on your own!"
"That's spoilers!"
"Aaaah!" she covered her mouth.
Seeing her reaction, he hugged her, burying his face in her hair. Mama laughed.

The next morning came the lively goodbyes from the people at the Red Turtle. (Y/n) had to decline multiple times Mama's proposition of working for her. And Monkey kept her away from the boyband. It was clearly taking all his energy not to punch them. Thankfully, no one took him seriously this time, since one word from (Y/n) was enough to stop him. After this little party, our two protagonists left the city and went back to the forest. They went to the spot where they found the first baby. The two siblings reuniting was really cute to watch. They brought them back to Shu-hui's brother, his house being inside the trunk of a very large tree.
"My dear children!" he hugged them tightly. "I beg of you to be more careful next time!"
"That's two down, twenty-three to go!" (Y/n) gestured Monkey to follow her, which he gladly did.

What followed was a scavenger hunt throughout the forest, looking for the baby Earth Gods. The first one they found was on the highest branch of the highest tree. Monkey heard it with his sharp earring.
"Why doesn't it just poof down?" he asked.
"It must be terrified, I know the feeling." she said as she put her bag down and walked towards the tree, stretching her wrists.
Before he could even ask what she was doing, his jaw dropped when he saw her climb this giant oak tree like it was nothing, pulling stunts even he couldn't have thought of. Once on the branch, she gently reassured the little god, convincing it to get on her back and then she carefully climbed back down.
"Phiew!" she said when she hopped back on the ground, wiping sweat off her forehead. "I think that was the highest thing I've ever climbed yet." she smiled, proud of herself.
Monkey was speechless for a moment, during which (Y/n) put the child down and made sure it was okay.

"Are you sure you don't wanna be my queen?" he finally asked.
She frowned, her cheeks a bit red, and just walked away, the little god following her.
"We'd be the most amazingly awesome power couple in the three realms! We'd be unstoppable!" he exclaimed, rushing after her. "Like come on~ picture it!"
"I am picturing it and it all sounds very exhausting! I don't wanna be involved in your-!" she stopped before she could say any spoilers. "Your shenanigans."
"Come on Peaches! It'd be so cool! I kick ass, you kick brains!"
She ignored him.

Another one was being bullied by birds and has found refuge in the ground, his little leaves still visible. But even when Monkey made them go away by waving his staff around (without hitting them), the child refused to come out. (Y/n) tried to get it out of the earth like a carrot, but it wouldn't budge, so Monkey turned into a mole and started digging around it to then push it upwards, which worked!
Others would hide by turning into rocks or plant, some would try and run away which was weird to watch but Monkey would of course catch them every time. Some were a bit more cunning, they'd leave clues and puzzles for them to solve. One turned into a maindenhair tree leaf and placed itself on a pine tree. Another one dug out a big bolder off the ground and placed it somewhere where our two protagonists noticed that one side was covered in moss and the other in dirt so they had to take the bolder and found its hole like a piece of puzzle. One time there was just a rock in the middle of the path so Monkey picked it up. Suddenly the little god appeared, it startled him and he dropped the rock on it. (Y/n) screamed in horror, thankfully the little god poof out of there just in time and re-poofed on top of the bolder, mad at Monkey.

Soon enough, all twenty-three children were following (Y/n) closely, they'd take turns to be carried by her in her arms. And of course she didn't complain, though it was kinda hard to walk without kicking them. Monkey however was growing more and more jealous.
"Why don't you pick *me* up?!"
"Because you can walk by yourself just fine. These little guys can't do it with such short legs." she said, not looking away from the child in her arms, gently pinching its cheek and making it giggle.
He groaned and started piling the children in his arms, on his shoulders and on top of his head. Thinking of it as a game, they started laughing and the one (Y/n) was holding jumped in.
"There! Now everyone is being held!"
She couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous he looked with this pile of adorable Earth Gods on top of him.
"Aw that's cute." she said without thinking, still smiling.
Monkey blushed as he felt his heart skip a beat.
"Will you be my queen?!" he said, also without thinking.
"Again, no! What is wrong with you?!"

Although the weight meant nothing to Monkey, this sure was cumbersome. When they brought them back to their dad, he just wanted to drop them on the ground but he knew that would upset (Y/n) so instead he gently put them down and they rushed to their father who hugged them all with open arms.
"Thank you so so much!" the Earth God bowed before them.
"Oh it was a pleasure really sir." (Y/n) bowed back.
"Please, call me by my name: Shufen." he smiled.
She quickly sent a look towards Monkey that said 'Dude did you hear that?!' Seeing her excitement, a lovestruck smile naturally formed on his face.
"V-very well, Shufen."
He gestured her to come closer, she crouched down.
"I hope you didn't have much trouble..." he whispered, nodding towards Monkey.
"Um...It did get complicated at some point." she smiled, her eyebrows furrowed. "But it all worked out in the end."
"I can see that yes. I could hear his proposals from my house." he chuckled.
She blushed and cleared her throat as she stood up.

"Anyway, now that my kids are all here, I just need to give them the instructions for turning young Sun Wukong here back to his present age. It'll take a moment. Come along children." he gestured them to follow him.
As they walked away, Monkey loudly sighed.
"I don't wanna leave~!" he hugged her.
She didn't push him away this time, she was used to it at this point.
"Well you may not be leaving technically, you're just turning back to normal."
He gasped and took a step back.
"Am I not enough for you?!"
"No offense but, I am much more used to the Monkey I know."
"And love?" he leaned closer, finishing her sentence or so he believed.
She frowned, not saying anything.

"Before I leave," he said. "I wanna say I'm sorry."
"Huh? You already apologized."
He shook his head. He was much more calm than usual, which made her listen more closely.
"I... I was w... I was w-wrong." she snickered, seeing him struggling with saying this sentence. "I thought one must be ruthless, be feared in order to mark their name on the face of the world. I thought it was the only way. But you, you do it with acts of kindness, by helping others instead of bringing their doom." he smiled. "I get it now, you don't command fear. You command respect."
(Y/n) slowly inhaled as a rush of feelings went through her, all mixed up into a warmth inside her chest. She sniffed, smiling.
"Thank you." she said in a breathy voice.

"And you know what," he continued, a bit more casual this time. "this whole 'being cunning and tricking people' thing is actually pretty cool." he looked up, thinking with a mischievous smile. "Maybe I'll make use of it someday. With my awesome powers I could push it to its full potential!"
She smiled seeing him this enthusiastic.
"I...I'm sure you'll do great. You're *the* Monkey King after all!"
"...Can I ask you this one question Peaches?"
"Mmh?"
"Are you and my future self dating?"
If she had a drink, she'd be chocking on it.
"Ah- You- Do you even know what dating is?!"
"I didn't before, but then Mama said we looked like we were dating so I asked her about it." he tilted his head. "So?"
"No! No we're just fr-"
Before she could finish expressing her denial, Monkey suddenly pulled her close and kissed her. He was aiming for the cheek, but he did touch the corner of her mouth. Not that he was complaining. He backed away, his face still close to hers. She was expressionless, her mind blank. Seeing her reaction, he chuckled and stuck out his tongue.
"Then he's a fool. You can always use a crystal to turn me twenty again." he winked.
Before she could say anything. Shufen and his children came back.

"Alright, Sun Wukong if you may."
Monkey walked up to them, still holding (Y/n)'s hand until it was out of reach.
"I have to tell you," Shufen said. "there's a change it might hurt."
"Oh please." he rolled his eyes. "Just get on with it."
"Okay then, go ahead kids, just like I told you."
The little gods circled Monkey and held hands. As they started to recited a sutra, which in their little god language sound more like music, a yellow light gently glowed from underneath him. He looked back at her.
"I'll see you soon (Y/n)." he smiled, making a peace sign.
"...right." she said under her breath, nodding.
The light became brighter and brighter, to the point where she had to look away and shield her eyes.
"Wohwohwohwoah!" she heard Monkey say, going from this higher pitched voice to his lower regular voice.
When the light disappeared, she looked back and saw Monkey, turned back to his normal age. He looked beyond confused.
"Monkey!" she ran up to him and jumped to wrap her arms around his neck.
"What the- What's your deal?!" he exclaimed, taking a step back in surprise but his putting a hand on her back so she wouldn't fall.

"Thank the gods in Heaven above you're back!" she let him go and raised her hands.
"What are you talking about?! Where's the bear?!" he looked around. "And why am I surrounded by god babies?!" he gestured towards the children as he stepped out of the circle.
"The bear turned you into your twenty-year-old self!"
"...No!"
"Yes!"
"Oh my lord I am so sorry!" he rubbed his face. "This is so embarrassing, I swear if that guy was in front of me right now, I would punch him in the face!"
"You know what, can't really blame you." she smiled.
"For how long...?"
"A week or so."
"Oh lord!" he leaned closer to her with a grave expression. "Tell me every single detail of what happened."
"Funny you say that because I do *not* wanna talk about what happened!"
He groaned lightly.
"Look, whatever stupid thing he did, I'm sorry."
"It's cool, you apologized."
"...He did?"
She nodded. For a moment, he was shocked but then he let out an impressed 'heh'.
"Wow, that's something. What exactly did you do to make him apologize?"
"Oh it's a long story," she placed a hand on her forehead. "like I said I don't wanna talk about it, not right now at least."
'Even when I do, I'll have to leave out some parts.' she glanced away.

She and Monkey bowed to Shufen and his children.
"Thank you so much for helping us."
"And I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." Monkey added.
"Not at all, thank *you* for bringing my children back to me. You're always welcome here."
"Oh thank you Shufen!" (Y/n) bowed again, her hands over her heart.
The children hurried towards her, some even poofed to be in her arms, hugging her goodbye. She let out a long 'aww~!' and hugged them all back. Now for some reason, Monkey felt irritated although he couldn't deny the cuteness of the sight before him, this hug was taking a while.
"Alright alright, that's enough!" he waved his arm to make them poof away.
They looked disappointed but went back to their dad.
"Don't worry guys," she smiled. "we'll see each-other again soon. And I know you'll all grow up to be super strong!" she waved. "Be nice to your dad okay?"
They all waved back, making squeals that she could tell meant 'goodbye'.

"I've been here before on my journey to the west." Monkey pointed forward. "I know a demon working at a tavern in the nearby city. We could go ther-"
"Yeah we've been there, we don't really need to go back!" (Y/n) waved her hand, her voice louder than expected. "We've met Mama, she was really nice, and we stocked up our food and money! We can go!"
"Oh, I still wanna say hi to that old turtle."
"But the thing is- uh..." she inhaled, calming herself. "Her business expanded like crazy, so she'll be super busy for a while until she uh, finds adjusts to this big change."
She slowly nodded, as if she was convinced herself by her words. Monkey raised an eyebrow, skeptic.
"Heh, fine." he smiled and began walking. "Come on Peaches, let's g- huh?"
He stopped walking, confused. (Y/n) suddenly became tense, her face red and her eyes wide open.
"Peaches?" he repeated. "What am I-?"
"Yeah you're right we gotta go!" (Y/n) quickly walked passed him.
He watched her go for a moment before shrugging it off and following her.