(Y/n) woke up to the sound of Monkey arguing with a group of people on their carriage. Four men and one woman.
"Watch where you're going! You almost rolled on me!"
"Who in their right mind would sleep in the middle of such a narrow road?!" the man driving exclaimed. "Didn't you see the village literally three minutes of walk away?!"
"There wasn't any room left!" he folded his arms.
"Yeah we had the same problem. You know what we did? We stayed inside the village and slept there!"
"Dishi," the woman placed her hand on his shoulder. "let's just go."
The man, Dishi, huffed, him and Monkey kept glaring at each-other. (Y/n) stood between the two of them and bowed.

"I sincerely apologize for my friend's rude behavior. For the record, it was his idea." she spoke in a higher voice than usual and stood straight. "If I may ask, where are you going?"
"To the city at the other side of the valley." the woman replied since her companion didn't seem to want to.
(Y/n) smiled.
"If it's not too much to ask, could we get a ride?"
"Huh?!" both Dishi and Monkey exclaimed. "Why?!"
"You see we've traveled for such a long distance, and we have much more to travel. And we are going in the same direction. If we could get a little break from walking, it would be very much appreciated."
"Of cour-"
"Hey, come on now." Dishi cut the woman off. "Why would we let two poor-looking peasants travel with us?"
"Poor-looking...?" she looked down at her clothes.
They were a bit dirty but...it was her favorite tunic.
"Peasants?! Watch your mouth human!" Monkey pointed at him. "I am the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and I demand your respect!"
"Ha! A sorry-looking sage you are!"
"You think you're one to talk?!" the woman smacked him on the back of his head, shutting him up. "Between travelers, we help each-other!" she smiled at them. "You're welcome to join us. Guys!" she looked back at the other three men in the carriage. "Make some space!"
"Sure thing! Hop on in!" they smiled.

(Y/n) excitedly packed up her things. Monkey leaned closer to her and whispered:
"You got all suck up and polite. What's the real reason why you wanna go with them?"
"I've never been on a carriage before." she smiled widely. "The only horse I've ever seen is the village farmer's, and now there's two of them!"
Monkey sighed, rolling his eyes. She happily sat among the group but Monkey stayed where he was.
"You're not coming?" she asked.
"I've always preferred going by foot." he placed his staff on his shoulder and started walking.
"Did you?"
"Fine by me." Dishi said as he made the horses walk beside him.

The two women sighed and looked at each-other.
"Sorry about him. Oh-" they laughed after they said the same sentence at the same time.
"I'm (Y/n), this is Monkey."
"Hahaha~! Monkey?!" Dishi laughed.
"That's not my real name you cretin! It's Sun Wukong!"
"Oh really? Why aren't up in heaven being all mighty and whatnot?"
"I don't have to give you my whole backstory!"
"It's my nickname for him sir." (Y/n) moved so she could be in his sight. "I would appreciate if you don't mock it." she said in a voice that hid some animosity.
He just hummed.
"Or he can just call me by my name! I know that this guy would say your nickname like it's an insult."

"You can smack him behind the head if you want." the woman said.
"Oh trust me," Monkey smiled. "I would *love* to. But I know that if I did, he'd end up missing his head."
She chuckled.
"I'm Jia." she gestured to herself then to her other companions, an older man and twins in their thirties, the same age as her. "This is Lim, the twins Wei and Wen."
"Are these your real names, or is it just for the almost-the-same twin effect?" (Y/n) asked.
"Stage names." they nodded and said together, making her smile.
"And this grumpy man on the rider seat is my husband, you already know him."
"Husband?!" Monkey exclaimed.
"What? Jealous?" Dishi smirked.
"I'm just surprised that someone would wanna be with your grumpy old ass."
"I'm only 38!"
"Oof."
"I don't think you get to use 'being old' as an insult dude." (Y/n) smiled at him before turning back to Jia. "It's nice to meet you all."
"Likewise."

"Where are you going exactly?" Lim spoke. "With a demon none less."
"Well..." she hesitated. "We're going to Guan Yin's island."
"Woah?!" they all looked at her with big eyes.
"And you're going there with a demon?" Dishi asked without looking away from the road. "That's a recipe for disaster."
"In a way, you're kinda right."
"Hey!" Monkey exclaimed. "The victim of said disasters is mostly me having to deal with her!"
"Monkey also needs her help," she ignored him. "so we decided to travel together. And he's really strong so demons and robbers are no problem."
"Damn right!" he nodded.

"How long have you been traveling?"
"A week or so. What about you? You probably have a lot of experience, having a carriage and all."
"Oh yeah, we go *way* back!" Wei leaned back.
"We're pretty much like a family." Wen leaned back. "And Dishi is the mom."
"You brats!" said man exclaimed, making the whole group laugh.
"Someone has to fill the role honey." Jia shrugged.
"What about you?!"
"Why I am obviously the cool aunt."
He sighed. (Y/n) chuckled, she then noticed the musical instruments.

"Oh! You're a music band?"
"Yeah, we do the music and singing, and the twins do the dancing." Jia explained. "And right now we're heading to our biggest gig yet!"
"Really?"
"There's this annual dinner that the Lord of the place hosts with all his family." Wen said. "And every year he picks a different band to come and entertain them, and if he's satisfied he gifts them this big pot of soup."
"And also a lot of money!" Wei added.
"Soup?" she tilted her head.
"Yeah, it's said to be delicious. I think it's made with peach-?"
"The peach soup?!?!?!"
The carriage came to a halt and everyone shouted in surprise when Monkey suddenly jumped on it and leaned close to the twins, almost bumping foreheads

"Uh-Yeah?"
"Why the sudden interest?" (Y/n) asked. "What's up with that soup?"
"You don't understand (Y/n), it's not just a soup." he turned towards her.
"What? Does it make you immortal?"
"No-look, I went there last time I traveled to the West. Took care of some demon problems, the Lord gave us the soup as a thanks. You know I'm not a fan of cooked food. But this!" he pointed forward. "One of the best thing I've ever eaten!"
"Well if you say that, then it must be really good." she smiled.
"Oh it is." he nodded. "And if one person gets to have some, it's gonna be me." he hopped down. "Everybody come here."
"Huh?" the band looked at him in confusion.
"Whatever your level is right now, let me tell you it's not enough. I wanna see what I'm working with."
"You...You want to coach us?" Jia asked.

"Do you know anything about bands?" (Y/n) asked amore important question.
"I know about entertainment." he faced them leaning on his staff. "First of all, I'm a king, I know what the nobles want."
'Pretty sure you don't fit with most of them...' she thought.
"And also: I've had plenty of times when I turned into a hot lady, snuck into palaces and seduced a bunch of dudes with my sick moves. So yes, I know what I'm talking about."
"We don't have time to waste on your unwanted criticism!" Dishi exclaimed.
"We could show you some quick moves!" the twins happily hopped off and went up to him.

They then performed a short dance routine. (Y/n) was mesmerized while Monkey was observing every little movements they made with a very analytical eye. When they struck their final poses, she clapped and they bowed to her. Monkey hummed.
"Yeah you're alright, but it's missing something." they looked at him. "It's too bland, where's the flavor?!"
"Flavor?"
"If you wanna swoon your audience, you gotta tease 'em a little bit."
"I'm not sure this is the goal here Monkey." (Y/n) said. "They don't want to seduce them, they want to entertain them."
"Potato potato." he waved a hand as a way to dismiss her. "You have to connect with them, give them the look."
"What look?"
"Oh you know." he slowly nodded. "The kind of look that says 'I know you know I'm hot'!"
"Okay now I really think you're misunderstanding this whole situation." she spoke again.
"Oh I'm sorry." he looked at her. "Are you the dancing expert?"
"Are you?"
"Is that a challenge?"
"Whatever it is, we've already wasted enough time." Dishi sternly said. "Wei, Wen, get back here before we get late. We still have a long way to go."

Monkey glared at him and the twins looked at each-other in slight disappointment before walking back to the carriage. (Y/n), seeing the look on her friend's face, shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'.
"You do have a point though." Wei looked at him as they went back on the road. "About connecting to your audience."
"It's essential." he nodded. "Skills without spirit mean nothing."
"What about us?" Jia looked at him. "Think you could give the musicians some tips?"
"Depends, what do you got?"
She grabbed her pipa and positioned it on her lap.
"Please don't play while I'm driving." Dishi said. "I have to concentrate on the road."
"Oh, okay then."
"What?" he went closer to her so her husband wouldn't hear. "This is the most horizontal road I've ever walked on. Why are you listening to him?"
"I don't want to do anything that'd make him uncomfortable."
"You let us tag in for the ride and he wasn't too happy about that."
"Yeah but he was being a stubborn old man." she said. "Don't worry, I'll try to talk to him later."

The group stopped when they stumbled upon a broken bridge going across a river. Monkey checked its depth by dipping his staff in the water to see if it'd touch the bottom, didn't even reach it.
"Oh it's deep alright." he said as he rotated it to dry if off. "And the current is strong too, so you can't just swim across."
"Good, I can't swim." (Y/n) said, standing beside him.
"Yeah me neither."
"Really?!"
"I can breathe underwater, doesn't mean I know how to swim, let alone fight underwater. I just let myself sink to the bottom and walk."
"It's not like we can go across with the carriage." Jia said. "The only way to go is by boat."
"If we can find one big enough to transport us." Dishi said. "There must be another bridge somewhere, if we go along the river I'm sure we'll find it eventually."
"Excuse me travelers!"
They all looked over to see a boatman going up the river on a boat large enough to fit the whole carriage and stopping in front of them.

"I was sent here after the bridge broke down. Here to help out anyone who'd want to go across the river."
"Oh yeah." Monkey turned towards the others, pointing at the boatman with his thumb. "Classic human-eating technique: they break a bridge, disguise themselves as a boatman and once you're far away enough from the shore they drown you and eat you."
"Oh, so he's a demon?" (Y/n) asked.
He nodded and smiled, thinking how refreshing it was to have his companion believing his words so quickly. Meanwhile, the boatman just looked very confused.
"What are you saying?" Dishi asked. "He's obviously human. Why would a demon offer their services like that?"
"Like I said: classic human-eating technique." Monkey said through his teeth. "They know any gullible human would fall for it."
They glared at each-other.
"I'd recommend listening to him on this one." (Y/n) said. "Monkey has special eyes that allow him to see through demons' disguises."
"Oh please." Dishi looked over at his companions and saw that they didn't share his point of view. "You guys believe him?!"
"He is another demon, why would he lie about that?" Lim shrugged.
He clenched his fists and hopped down the carriage.

"Quit playing games will you?" he walked passed him and stood in front of the boat. "Sorry chap, this guy's a sucker."
Monkey started walking towards him in anger but (Y/n) placed her hand on his chest to stop him, which  made him glare at her for a brief moment.
"Sir," she said. "I really don't think-"
"When I'll stand on the other side of the river, then you can talk!" he turned back to the boatman. "How much is it?"
"Oh it's free of course. You know helping people is a reward on its own." he gestured him to get in and he gladly did.
Monkey clicked his tongue as the boat began to go across the river.
"You're going to regret this."
Dishi just ignored him and soon enough he quickly made it to the middle of the river, now out of reach. Just then the boatman turned into a fish demon and grabbed him.
"Bye bye bye~!" the demon waved before jumping in the water as Dishi screamed.

"Dishi!!!" Jia shouted as the others gasped.
Monkey didn't hesitate to jump in. Sticking his staff into the bottom so as to not be caught by the current, he knew he had limited time before Dishi was out of breathe. He saw him struggling in the demon's grasps but to no avail.
"Oh~ lil monkey can't swim?" the demon said when he noticed him. "This should be fun!"
He swung his arm and suddenly the current became much stronger. Thinking fast, he threw his staff towards the demon, anticipating the strong current by aiming more to the side so that it'd hit him right in the face. The demon was knocked out and he let go of Dishi, but the latter was just caught by the current, which was still going strong. Without his staff, Monkey moved his legs to go faster and grabbed him. With one swift move, he threw him out of the water towards the shore.
He flew in the air for a moment before his companions caught him. They laid him down and Jia pressed on his chest as he coughed loudly. (Y/n) ran, following the current.
"Monkey!!!" she shouted as she saw his hand out of the water going back under.

Monkey faced up the river and let himself sink. Once he was at the bottom, he gripped the rocks and began to horizontally climb back up. Slowly but surely, he reached his staff which was laid on the bottom, unbothered by the current. He grabbed it before going sideways to the shore. He stuck it in the ground and used it as leverage so that his arms could get to the surface.
As soon as (Y/n) saw them, she grabbed his wrists and pulled him up with all her weight. Monkey finally out of the water, she fell backwards as he fell forward and they both laid side by side, her on her back, him on his stomach. Panting, they looked at each-other.
"Oh thank gods!" she exhaled, smiling. "I was so scared!"
"I told you, I can breathe under water." he said and stood up, shaking his head intensely to dry himself.
"Yeah but who knows how far that river could've gotten you!" she stood up.

"You saved my husband." they turned over to see Jia bowing. "I can't thank you enough."
"It was nothing." he casually said but then fixed Dishi, waiting for his thanks and apology.
He hesitated, not looking at him directly. But he eventually bowed too.
"Thank you for saving me." he mumbled, sounding a bit shy. "And...I'm sorry for being so rude to you." he paused. "If you have some tips to make our performance better, we'd be glad to hear them."
Monkey sighed, smiling.
"Apologies accepted old man. Hope you're ready to hear the words of a master!"

Thankfully, the boat was still there, and once Monkey carefully pulled it towards them using his staff, they were able to cross the river and get back on the road. Turns out Dishi wasn't making excuses when he didn't want Jia to play while he rode.
"When Jia plays, he listens closely and he gets distracted." Lim explained in a hushed voice.
"Aww~!" (Y/n) placed a hand on her heart.

At some point, the group settled down for dinner. They took this opportunity to practice, under Monkey's teaching.
"Let's do this again boys, step by step!" he turned to the musicians. "Also, there needs to be more energy, and you boy need to really feel the music. Don't dance *to* the music, dance *with* the music. From the top, come on, put it in your body!"
"What?!" (Y/n) exclaimed.
"The music, put it in your body."
"You gotta pick a better way to say that." she slowly shook her head, trying not to mock his enthusiasm. "There's gotta be a better way to say that."
Throughtout practice, she just looked from afar as she chilled with the horses. She didn't expect Monkey to be such a stern teacher, but he did offer good advice and feedback and it did made the band's performance better. After they all dined together, him and the twins entered a dance battle with Lim on the beat.
"Go Monkey! Go Monkey! Go Monkey!" they all cheered as he was obviously killing it.

After this friendly battle, things quieted down as they just sat in a circle and chatted. (Y/n) noticed that Dishi and Jia left, she looked around and then saw them sitting side by side and talking, though they were too far away for her to hear.
"What are they doing?" she asked.
"Alone time." Lim answered. "It's a couple thing, they're on a date so they need their space."
"Do they do that often?"
"Almost every night."
"Aw, that is so cute!" she placed a hand on her chest and turned back.

"I really don't get what she sees in him." Monkey shook his head.
"Sometimes, opposites attract."
"Not when they're complete opposite. He doesn't even act like a husband."
"You'd be wrong about that." they both looked at Lim. "It's actually Dishi who had this idea of alone time."
"Really?" (Y/n)'s eyes widen.
"He always acts tough and grumpy, but we all know that it's not how he really is. He just has a hard time trusting people and opening up to them."
"And Jia knows him better than anyone here," Wei said. "and Dishi knows it!"
"M-hmm!" his brother nodded. "She could be calling his name from the other side of the valley and he'd come to her running!"
As (Y/n) 'aw'ed louder, Monkey glanced at the couple and watched as Dishi placed his head on his wife's shoulder.

"Guys." Monkey said as they stood in front of the lord's house the next day. "You got it," he paused, giving them a thumb up. "the right stuff. You'll kill it in there."
"And when we come back, we'll feast on that soup together!" Dishi smiled. "Just you wait!"
"You better keep your words old man!"
"Monkey, do you not trust me?!"
"Alright you two, we have to go." Jia said as (Y/n) chuckled. "We don't want to keep the lord and his family waiting."
"Good luck guys!" (Y/n) waved.

They waved back and entered the house, the door closing behind them. Now alone, the two of them decided to look around the city. Just like before, people would turn their head and stare at them. But to Monkey, it was different this time. He'd hear them say things like 'impossible' or 'it can't be'. But of course, every time he'd look at them, they'd shut up and turn their head away. He frowned.

"Woa~!" (Y/n) exclaimed as she stopped in front of a clothes shop and looked at the different fabrics. "Those aren't poor-looking!"
"Poor-looking?" he repeated, then remembered where he heard that the first time. "Oh come on, your clothes are fine. Don't waste your money on this."
"I know they're fine, but I do only have this one outfit at the moment." she looked down at her tunic. "Having a spare one would be good."
"Would you like to try some hanfus my lady?" the shop keeping asked.
"I'm sorry, I don't need a hanfu." she shook her head.
"But you'd look so gorgeous in one." she gestured towards the fabrics. "They are of the softest of silk you know? An exceptional quality."
"Well..." she thought for a moment. "It's true that I've never tried one on before." she smiled. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."
"You've never put on a hanfu?! How-!" she cut herself, revolted at first but then she laughed. "Well, there's a first time for everything. Please, come in."
"That is true." she said as her and Monkey followed the shop-keeper inside, one obviously more enthusiastic than the other.

After the band performed their heart out, the lord and his family were at a loss for word for a moment before they clapped.
"Absolutely magnificent!" the lord said. "Why, I haven't been this entertained in years, your group has largely earned our famous peach soup. Someone bring them a pot right away, along with their payment of course." he lifted an hand and a servant bowed before leaving the room.
"Our deepest thanks my lord, you're honoring us." Dishi bowed along with the others. "But I must say, this wasn't without help. We would've been slightly - like 1%, like you wouldn't really notice it, like-" Jia nudged him hard. "Wh-what I mean is: our performance wouldn't have been the same without the help of some people we met on our way here."
"Well if that is the case, then I must know their names."
"(Y/n) and Sun Wukong."
Suddenly the lord stood up, practically knocking off the table, the group looked up as some of the servants gasped. The whole room was silent for a long moment.
"What did you say?" he said with a grave voice.

"Don't buy it."
"But it's so pretty~!"
"You will never get to wear it - And you said that about all the others!" Monkey gestured to the pile of hanfus (Y/n) has been trying on for the past hour.
She sighed and bowed to the shop-keeper.
"I apologize for taking so much of your time and not buying anything."
"Buying?! Nonsense!" she shook her head. "In fact, you can have them all for free!"
"Huh?!" she stood back up.
"Why such a big act of kindness?" Monkey raised an eyebrow, suspecting some funny business going on.
"We-well, she's-"
"Hey you!"

He turned around and looked outside the shop to see three soldiers.
"Are you Sun Wukong?" one of them asked.
He narrowed his eyes and walked out to face them.
"Yeah," he casually said, leaning his head slightly backwards. "what about it?"
"What's the problem?" (Y/n) asked as she joined him outside.
The guards looked at each-other before looking back at them.
"Follow us please."
"Okay. Just let me change firs-"
"Immediately. It is of an urgent matter."

They exchanged a confused glance. (Y/n) quickly grabbed her clothes and shoved them in her bag before the two of them followed the soldiers to the lord's house. As the door opened, the band walked out as they walked in.
"Guys, what happened?" she asked as they walked passed each-other.
"We don't know!" Jia whispered in slight panic. "The guy just heard your names and he-" but there wasn't enough time to explain further as they departed soon after, the door closing behind them.

"What did you do this time?" she asked Monkey, who seemed to be thinking deeply.
"Nothing! I'm trying to remember but..." he trailed off. "Nope, that time I was a good little demon-ass-kicking paragon."
"I bet you misunderstood the situation and tried to seduce the lord's wife." she puffed a chuckle.
"For your information: I would transform into a lady and seduce the husbands."
"That doesn't make it any better and you know it."

After that ice-breaker, they reached the dinning room, where the lord and his family were all sitting at a long table with a large variety of food that made (Y/n)'s mouth water. As soon as they stepped in, some family members and some servants gasped, but all had a look of shock on their face. But what she found weird was the fact that they didn't seem to be looking at Monkey. The lord stood up with a pained smile.
"Oh my dear sweet (Y/n), how you've grown to look like your mother."
Her expression fell and Monkey looked at her with the same shocked expression.
"...I'm sorry what?"