[Amazing delicious fanart by SandyArtz on discord 🥰💖
You know, the way I picture working on a story, I usually picture it like a business meeting. This felt like I was in the middle of a construction site, shouting instructions at ppl XD
Okay enjoy!]

It was the middle of the night, in the middle of a dense forest. There was a small campfire burning, its light attracted some bugs that were now flying around it. Some came too close and burnt. A man was sitting in front of it, leaning against a tree. He was wrapped in a thin blanket, sleeping very lightly. There was only the crackling of the fire and the occasional far away animal noise echoing in the night. The air was still, cold, despite the fire...
The bugs all flew away. He immediately opened his eyes and threw something like a dagger, in the direction of the presence he sensed. He heard no sound of impact, and it was too far in the dark to see. Then, he heard footsteps approaching.
"Hello to you too." a small voice spoke.
An old woman stepped into the light, she was holding a flower.
"Is this yours?" she raised it. "A gift to a new friend?"
"Cut the crap, goddess." he spoke with a cold tone. "As if I wouldn't recognize ya."
She huffed and crouched to replant the flower into the soil.
"You should know better than to pick flowers." she said. "They're not made for that."
"If this is yet another lecture, you can save everybody's time and just leave."
"...I'm not your enemy." Guan Yin said as she removed her human disguise.
She shone brighter than the fire for a moment before her light became dimmer.

"I still don't want you anywhere near me." the man leaning back.
"Because I'm against the path you're taking?"
"Bingo." he pointed at her.
"You know, in the end, you'll just-"
"See? The same speech again." he rolled his eyes. "Do you..." he raised an eyebrow as a smirk formed on his face. "Is the Goddess of Mercy infatuated with a nobody like me?"
"No." she immediately replied.
He chuckled. A moment of silence passed. Guan Yin sat by the fire, across from him.
"...Golden Cicada is embarking on the journey to the West."
"Again? Yeesh." he picked up a blade of grass and put it in his mouth. "Doesn't he have anything better to do with his time?"

"She." she paused. "...Your paths will eventually cross."
He looked at her, surprised at what she was insinuating.
"You want me to...?" he laughed, slapping his knee. "Yer a funny woman!"
"I'm not joking. I'm offering-"
"You know where you can shove 'em, your offerings." he waved a hand. "Look. I still can't wrap my head around why you keep comin' to see me. I'm not changing my path anytime soon. Not when I'm so close, after two hundred years." he clenched a fist, his gaze growing distant.
"And once you've achieved your goal, what then?"
"Then...I'll be whole again."
Guan Yin's eyebrows furrowed. She sighed and faded away. The man put his blanket over himself and closed his eyes, only half sleeping.

It was a beautiful sunny day, our two protagonists had just left Guan Yin's island and were flying on Monkey's sumersault cloud, holding together on their way...back to where they came from?
"Aw dang, (Y/n)!" Sun lamented in an exaggerated way. "I see no sign of her, guess she gave up and went back home we should probably just g-"
"Don't be stupid, Monkey." she lightly hit him without looking while her other hand was shielding her eyes from the sun. "Keep looking!"
He hung his head back as he let out a loud groan.
"Can't we just go back to kissing?!"
"I don't know about you, but seeing a friend faint and fall mid-flight doesn't really put me in a kissing mood!"
"It does to me, when that 'friend' was literally helping the guy who tried to kill us multiple times! Also what kind of demon faints mid-flight?! Flying's like running without the ground!"
"Ah! There she is!" she pointed at the ground.
Near a river, there was the girl, laying flat on her back in a starfish position.

"Nian Zhen!!!" (Y/n) called out.
"See, she's in one piece." Wukong said. "Now we can just-"
"I will jump off this cloud if you don't take us down there!" she glared.
"Okay okay! Fine!" he rolled his eyes and landed the cloud.
As soon as he let go of her, (Y/n) rushed up to Nian Zhen's side, who was having trouble breathing.
"Nian Zhen!" she carefully lifted her head and placed it in her lap. "Are you okay?! Breathe!"
The young girl patted around her heavy coat and pulled out a small box from one of her many pockets. She opened it. There were a bunch of pills inside. She took one and swallowed it. A moment passed, and her breathing regulated. She then sat up with a long sigh.
"What's this?" (Y/n) asked, pointing at the box.
"Medicine that my dad gave me before leaving the house." she explained, still panting slightly. "They're energy enhancers, for whenever I use too much power. I took one when we arrived at Guan Yin's island too."
"Oh," she tilted her head, her eyebrows furrowed. "I didn't notice. I was a bit preoccupied by-"
"Something way more important." Wunkong turned to his beloved. "What's the weirdo from the beach doing here anyway?"
"Weirdo?!" Nian Zhen glared.
"It's true that we didn't get to really catch up." (Y/n) tilted her head. "So many things happened so fast."

She sat cross legged, so did Wukong, and she talked about everything that happened on her end, starting with when he literally threw her off Flower Fruit Mountain.
"I did that with love though!" he quickly clarified.
As she went on with her story, he folded his arms, humming while thinking with his eyes closed.
"And after that, Nian Zhen was kind enough to help me get to my birthplace so that I can sort things out over there. Even though she knew flying would take a toll on her." she tapped her shoulder.
"It's fine, whatever." she shrugged, avoiding eye contact.
Finally, Wukong opened his eyes and looked at her.
"You saved the woman I love." he said with a grave expression. "You helped her escape and you took her to Guan Yin's island. Thank you." he bowed his head.
"You... You're welcome?" she leaned back
"But I'm here now, so you can leave and go home."
"What?!" the two girls exclaimed.

"Honey," he stood up and put his hands on (Y/n)'s shoulders from behind. "We don't need anybody else, me and you are the dream team!"
"It's 'you and I' first of all." Nian Zhen pointed out.
"And she's a smartass, we don't need that." he rested his chin on her head.
"Sure, can't have two of you around." (Y/n) ran a hand through his hair.
"And come on..." he whispered in her ear. "Wouldn't you rather that we stay alone together."
She blushed, it made him snicker. Nian Zhen cringed.
"But wait, no!" (Y/n) broke free and went to the young woman, wrapping an arm around her. "Poor thing lost her job, she told me she had nowhere to go." she looked at Monkey with puppy dog eyes. "The journey to the West could be a good replacement, and it would give her redemption!"
"Woah hey now!" Nian Zhen broke free. "I never said anything about going on this journey, I'm just accompanying you to your family!"
Just then, Wukong sensed something that made him straighten up his posture and look at the nearby river.
"Monkey?" (Y/n) looked at him, confused.

"Ah. I see Wukong is finally acquainted with Nian Zhen."
A lotus germ on the river began to grow bigger and bigger, and when it sprouted, Guan Yin was sitting inside, glowing in a golden light.
"Goddess of Mercy!" both (Y/n) and Nian Zhen panicked and bowed to her.
"Guan Yin!" Monkey smiled with his arms open. "We haven't had a chance to talk, what'chu been up to, old girl?"
"I'm happy to see you too, old friend." she smiled. "First of all, congratulations to you two." she gestured to him and (Y/n).
"Thank you." she smiled, flustered.
"Hell yeah!" Monkey picked her up by the waist with a big smile on his face. "We're together now! I could overthrow Heaven all over again! Thrice!"
"Monkey!" (Y/n) hit his head, laughing.
Nian Zhen cringed again. Guan Yin chuckled.

"Now, you're about to embark on the journey to the West." she said. "Before you go, I must further explain the conditions which you must follow."
"There are conditions?" (Y/n) asked.
"The journey to the West is a pilgrimage, you must retrieve the holy scriptures from Buddha's temple on Thunderclap Mountain, located in India. Your journey will be long and full of perils."
"No biggie, Guan Yin!" Monkey waved a hand. "We can just hop on my somersault cloud and-"
"It's a pilgrimage, Wukong. You can't fly your way over there. And it must be performed by a monk."
"You mean..." (Y/n)'s eyes widened. "I must become a monk?" she pointed at herself. "Like Tang?"
"Or maybe, you can become a monk, in your own way." she smiled.
The human pursed her lips with a small frown.
"...You'd think I'd understand what that meant. But I still don't. I remember the years of training and studying the boys in my village went through to become monks. Can this journey to the West really equate to that?"
"That's what a pilgrimage is for, Babe!" Wukong wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's for the monks who don't like reading a bunch of books!" he cackled.

"You already have yourself a new pupil." Guan Yin gestured to Nian Zhen.
"What?!" our three protagonists exclaimed.
"Yes. As a monk on a pilgrimage, those who follow you are your pupils, and you're their master."
"Hey hey hey now!" Wukong pointed at her as he walked to the edge of the river. "Who said the kid was coming with us?!"
"I did."
"Kid?! I'm nineteen!" Nian Zhen glared at him as she went to stand beside him. "But he's right! Why should I come along?!"
"Um, and also..." (Y/n) raised a hand, leaning to the side to look at the goddess since these two were standing in front of her. "I'm in a relationship with Monkey now. Having this master/pupil dynamic... It just doesn't sit right with me."
"Oh!" she laughed, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "I see what you mean. They don't have to be your disciples, but you must still become a monk by the time you've reached Thunderclap Mountain."
"Awesome, great. Why am I coming along?!" Nian Zhen pointed at herself, frustrated to have been ignored the first time.
"Yeah, why's she coming along?!" Sun pointed at her.
'They look like bickering siblings.' (Y/n) puffed out a chuckle.

"Nian Zhen." Guan Yin leaned closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I see great potential in you. You must go on this journey to reach it. Your companions will need you."
"I don't need her." Wukong mumbled.
Having a goddess this close to her and giving her a pleading look, Nian Zhen was speechless for a moment.
"A... All I want is a job." she said in a small voice.
"And you must become a hero."
"Heroes don't get paid."
"If that's your issue. Then you must learn what it means to be a hero." she patted her shoulder and leaned back.
"...Alright." she nodded. "I'll go."

"Hey wait a second!" Wukong frowned. "It should be a group decision!"
"All in agreement?" Guan Yin asked.
Both Nian Zhen and (Y/n) raised their hands. Monkey let out a frustrated groan.
"How will a half-demon possibly provide something that I can't?!"
'Half demon?!' (Y/n) looked at her in shock.
Nian Zhen gasped and glanced at the human who quickly looked away. She scoffed and turned to Wukong.
"How do you know that?!"
"Special eyes, kid." he pointed at them. "And even if I didn't have them, no demon worth his salt would have such a crappy human disguise. I mean, green hair?" he raised an eyebrow, looking very unimpressed.
"Wukong." Guan Yin said sternly, getting his attention. "The golden ring on your head is still there for a reason, You must remember all of the lessons you were taught during your first time on this journey."
He clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.

"And speaking of which," she continued. "every human seems to think that the journey to the West has been completed, that it went on smoothly and without deaths. I've been investigating the matter ever since it started, but I could find no origin to this rumor."
"It's true..." (Y/n) held her chin, thinking. "It all seemed like common knowledge at the time. How could this happen?"
"Why should we care?" Wukong tilted his head. "If anything, it means the bad guys won't expect us!" he smirked.
"I just have a bad feeling about this." Guan Yin shook her head. "Please be careful."
"We will." (Y/n) bowed.
"(Y/n)."
She looked up at Guan Yin, who leaned closer to her.
"Be careful." she said more quietly, with a concerned expression.
"Y-Yes." she nodded, confused.

Guan Yin sighed.
"Onto happier news!" she clapped her hands with a smile. "You are soon to encounter your next companion!"
"Alright?!"
"Another one?!" Monkey exclaimed, not pleased about that.
"Yes." she beamed. "I've appointed him to this pilgrimage for a while now. I'm sure he'll be a wonderful addition to your group."
"I trust your decision, Ma'am." (Y/n) bowed her head. "What's his name? How will we recognize him?"
"You're about to find out." she beamed.
"Wha-?" all three of them started saying, with various degrees of confusion.
They were cut off by a demon flying over their heads with great speed, crashing the trees in his path before finally hitting one final trunk and dropping on the ground, dead. While Nian Zhen was shaking like a leaf, paralyzed, Monkey turned around as if someone simply called out his name. He couldn't sense anyone besides them, so this guy was thrown from really far away.
"...Don't tell me that was him." he looked back at Guan Yin, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Never says goodbye, that one." he shook his head with a smile.

(Y/n) had already rushed to the demon's side to check on him.
"He's dead, Babe. Nothing much you can do."
"I know, I want to figure out who he was." she said, examining his armor.
"Ooooh you clever!" he went up to her. "But y'know, we'd get much more info if we just follow up the current." he pointed at the direction the demon was thrown from.
"You're right." she stood up and the two of them began to walk in that direction.
"Are you serious?!" Nian Zhen whispered harshly.
"Why are you scared?" Monkey glanced back at her. "Aren't you smarty pants supposed to be curious?"
"Not when it means potential death!"
"Welcome to the journey to the West!" he laughed and kept going.
(Y/n) looked at her, waiting, but she just stood there awkwardly.
"...I get that you're scared." she broke the silence. "But really, would you rather stay here on your own?"

Nian Zhen tensed up, her eyes began to dart around. Eventually, she hurried to join (Y/n), who smiled.
"Come on!" they heard Wukong say. "The trail's going cold!"
"It'll get colder if you scream like that." (Y/n) said calmly as the two girls walked.
"With my speed? No way." he huffed.
The trio walked for a short while before coming across a clearing. Well, technically, it was a part of the forest that became a clearing.
Trees were crushed, the grass came off from the body being dragged across it, craters and cracks spread throughout the ground. Around twenty dead bodies, their clothes and flesh torn in various ways, some were missing their limbs but most of them were slashed, dying either instantly or slowly bleeding to death as their bodies were tossed away. In the middle of this carnage was a single man, his clothes red with blood, but intact nonetheless. Pink hair, pointy ears, a big scar across his hooked nose and cheekbones, olive green eyes devoid of light and an expression that seemed neutral in the most chilling way possible.
No weapon could be seen on him, so he either used someone else's, or this was a result of his powers alone. With that in mind, (Y/n) felt a cold sweat on her forehead, so did Nian Zhen who was shaking even more now.

"W-We should probably go." she whispered.
"I have to admit," (Y/n) slowly nodded. "I have no clue what's going o-"
"He's our new companion."
The two girls looked at Monkey with big eyes.
"How would you know that?!" (Y/n) asked.
"I can totally tell. Bloody, seemingly heartless murderer?" he leaned towards her, pointing at the man with his thumb. "Classic pilgrimage disciple."
"No way!" Nian Zhen intensely shook her head. "No way! I'm opposed! I'm opposing!"
"Don't look at me like that." he shrugged. "Guan Yin's the one who posed that guy. Take that up with her."
As the two of them bickered, (Y/n) kept observing the man. He turned to the last demon alive, who seemed unable to walk, on account of the fact that the man has cut his ankles prior to the massacre.

"Did that jog yer memory?" he asked, his voice deep and calm, as he walked towards him.
The demons tried to crawl away, whimpering and whining in pain but unable to clearly say anything. The man stood in his way and grabbed him by the neck with one hand.
"Guess I went a lil too hard. Had a bad day, you see." he said as he slowly lifted him off the ground, putting a blade of grass in his own mouth. "I'm gonna give ya one more chance. Where, is yer boss?" he slowly ask.
The demon started crying. The man's eyes narrowed and clicked his tongue.
"If you wanna die so badly-"
"Uh, hi! Hello!"

The man turned his head. (Y/n) was rushing to get to him but once they locked eye contact, she stopped and gulped.
"Hey there." he said. "'Scuse me, lady, but I'm in the middle of somethin' here."
"I can see that, yes." she nodded. "But what are you-"
The man impaled the demon's chest with his arm with a quick and firm movement. (Y/n) gasped and froze, staring at his hand which had come out from the other side of the now dead body. The man let go of the neck, now that he was lifting up the body from inside the chest – the body barely moved – before swinging his arm and it slid off, like shaking off excess water. (Y/n) covered her mouth, gagging.
"Business over." he shook his hand to get some of the pieces of flesh off, before turning to the human woman. "Can I help ya?"
"I-I... Uh..."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I gotta go. Good talk."
The sound of crying made him look behind her. Next thing he knew, someone wrapped an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him.
"Thank the Heavens!" Wukong sniffed and used his arm to wipe away the snot. "Finally! A brother who's just like me!"

The man quickly broke free and stepped back, in a fighting stance. His eyes widened when he recognized the golden crown on the monkey's head. He looked at the human.
"Golden Cicada...?"
"Did you miss the blue eyes, pinkie?" Wukong pointed at (Y/n) with his thumb. "Yeah it's us, Guan Yin said we'd find you. But I see you've been keeping yourself busy while waiting for us." he looked around. "Love what you did with the place!"
The man let out a long groan.
"God dammit, goddess." he mumbled to himself, holding the bridge of his nose "Look," he faced them. "there's been a misunderstandin' here. Y'see, I don't want to join you guys."
"I don't want you to join either." (Y/n) said sternly. "I don't want a companion who's covered in blood."

"Mmh?" he looked down at himself. "Oh yeah."
He closed his eyes. Slowly, the blood covering him began to disappear without a trace.
"...What d'you do?" Wukong asked.
"Absorbed it all. I was gettin' dehydrated anyway."
(Y/n)'s face turned as white as a sheet, her mouth agape, while Wukong laughed in surprise.
"I like this guy!" he pointed at him. "He'll fit right in!"
"Monkey." she grabbed his sleeve while still staring ahead. "A word?"
"Sure! 'Scuse us a moment."
He took out a hair and turned it into a big tree for them to hide behind.
"Wassup?" he leaned closer. "You wanna kiss?"
"No!" she gave his head a little slap. "Focus! He can't come with us."

"Why not?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh I don't know, Monkey. Why wouldn't I be excited about a violent murderer joining us?"
"Well that's pretty presumptuous. Maybe he has his reasons."
"You just want him to come with us because you're alike!" she pointed at him.
"Not 'alike', I was even more violent and murder-happy when Tang took me in." he tilted his head.
(Y/n) pursed her lips.
"Maybe all this guy needs is someone to teach him the path to peace and redemption." he joined his hands together, closing his eyes.
"...I told Guan Yin I wasn't up to being someone's master."
"If Guan Yin said this guy will join, he will. We don't really have a choice, and neither does he. Welcome to the journey to the West." he smirked and made the tree disappear with a puff of smoke. "So, new guy! We're- Ah. He's leaving."
"Huh?!"
Indeed, the man was now on his way back to the forest.

"H-hey! Wait!" (Y/n) rushed to stand in his way before he exited the clearing.
"Mmh?"
Now that they were face to face, she realized how tall and broad he was. 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 appart from the big scar in the middle of his face, his skin looked flawless. She huffed, putting on a stern exterior, trying to not get intimidated anymore. Even though he was really scary.
"Look. I don't particularly like this either. But we've all been assigned on this journey."
"Don't care. Not interested." he went around her and kept walking.
"Hey man." Monkey stood in front of him, his staff on his shoulders with his hands hanging over it.
The man swiftly stepped back in a fighting stance, glaring. He didn't like being sneaked up on.
"If you keep saying no, we're gonna have to fight." Monkey smirked. "And to be honest, I reeeeally wanna fight you. And hey!" he looked at the human. "If he dies, you both get a good excuse!"
"Don't kill him!" she glared.
"I don't plan on dyin' anytime soon." the man said. "I have business to get back to."
"Business?" she leaned closer.
"Business that isn't yours." he glanced back at her.

"Ooohohoho I know that look!" Wukong pointed at him. "It's vengeance, isn't it?"
The man's eyes widened.
"Vengeance?" (Y/n) asked, surprised, leaning to the side to look at him.
"Yeah, the 'you ruined my life and you will pay' kind of vengeance. I'd see it all the time in my human-eating era." he smirked and looked back at the man. "So who's the guy?"
"Fuck you."
"We could help, y'know?"
"I don't care." he walked past him.
(Y/n) ran up to him and grabbed his sleeve, making him stop and look back at her.

"...What's your name?" she asked. "I just realized that...We haven't even introduced ourselves."
He just stared at her, silent. She gulped.
"I'm (Y/n). I'm sure you know Monkey. And we actually have a third, Nian Zhen." she pointed at the bushes in the distance. "She's nervous."
He shook her hand off of him and kept walking. She frowned while Wukong snickered, they exchanged a look and began following him. In her corner, Nian Zhen scoffed.
"I'm gonna die." she mumbled to herself as she rushed to join them. "I'm going to die."
And so, our trio began following the pink-hair guy through the forest. He did his best to ignore them.
"Why are we following this guy?" Nian Zhen asked quietly.
"You don't know?" Monkey asked. "There's a bad guy somewhere, ruining people's lives!"
"Who? Him?" she pointed at the guy ahead.
"We don't know yet." (Y/n) said. "Still, if such a person is walking around freely, we have to stop him."
"...Why?!"
"He's my target. Back off." the man said without looking back.
"Yeah see?! He'll take care of it! We don't even know his name!"

"That's true." (Y/n) tilted her head before addressing him. "Can't you tell us his name?"
"No!" Nian Zhen groaned. "I meant the pink-hair guy!"
"Maybe we've heard of him before." she continued, ignoring the girl.
"Highly doubt it." he shook his head.
"Oh I for sure met him." Wukong smirked, his staff still on his shoulders. "I lived a loooong life, y'know?"
Hearing this, the man stopped and turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.
"I don't know his name. But he's a red fox demon with one arm missing. Head of a mercenary clan and wielding a guandao."
The girls were taken aback that he suddenly gave out this information.
"A red fox demon with one arm missing... Head of a mercenary clan and wielding a guandao..." Wukong closed his eyes, the tip of his tail tapping his chin. "Mmh... Mmmmh.... Mmmmmh!" the tip of his tail scratched the top of his head. "I dunno." he finally looked at him.
"You don't know?!" the man and the girls repeated.
"I have been traveling for soooo long, and I've seen sooooo many fox demons and half of them I chopped a limb off-"
"I'm the one who got his arm." the man glared. "I missed the head."
(Y/n)'s eyes widened as Nian Zhen let out a scared whimper.

"Tomato potato." he waved his tail like a third hand. "But you know what?" he 'pointed' at him. "A good punch to the head always refreshes my memory. But you're gonna have to land it." he smirked, taunting him. "Good luck with tha-"
(Y/n) smacked the back of his head, her hand glowing blue. The sound it made made Nian Zhen let out a 'Woah!', and the man's eyes widened.
"...Aow!!!" Wukong glared at her, smoke emanating from the impact. "What was that for?!"
"Feeling refreshed now?" she glared back. "Don't use this as an excuse to have a petty fight. You said yourself that this fox demon ruined his life!" she pointed at the man. "Bad enough that he is now causing bloodbaths just to find him. Now I'm still not condoning it!" she glanced at him then back at her boyfriend. "But we can't just walk away, not until we figure out what's going on and help however we can!"
The couple glared at each-other for a moment. Eventually, he clicked his tongue.
"I was going to!" he rolled his eyes. "I was just kidding!"
"Right." she folded her arms with a raised eyebrow.
He huffed and looked at the man.
"The guys you killed were part of his mercenary gang right?" he asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "I noticed the symbol on their armors. Yeah I remember them, their leader came to me when I became King. I don't remember his name, but I remember him being really annoying."

"That was a long time ago, though." (Y/n) said. "How can we know it's still the same guy?"
"Either way, very low chances they've changed their HQ location." he shook his head. "And theirs should be- Hold on a sec."
He jammed his staff into the ground and climbed on top of it before extending it upwards so he could see beyond the trees.
"It'll take just a second." (Y/n) told the man.
He just stared at her, long enough for her to feel awkward and look away.
"I can't believe you hit him." Nian Zhen shook her head. "Hard."
"Wouldn't be the first time." she shrugged. "Sometimes, it's the only way to make him listen." she sighed.
Shortly after that, Wukong slid down his staff like a poll and landed on the ground.
"Good news! What luck! What coincidence!" he sang as he shrunk his staff back to normal. "Their HQ's only half a horizon away!" he pointed.
"Horizon?" Nian Zhen repeated, her and the man confused.

"You sure are excited." (Y/n) said.
"We're about to raid a mercenary HQ!" he sniffed, his eyes glassy. "How nostalgic. You ready pinki- Ah, he's going already."
Indeed, the man had already started making his way to the direction Wukong was pointing at. The trio followed.
"So..." Nian Zhen leaned towards Wukong, whispering. "What is he?"
"What you mean?"
"You have special eyes don't you? Is he like a demon? I've never seen a demon like him before."
"I don't really expect you to have seen a lot of the world."
"Screw you!" she gave him a nasty stare before looking back at the man ahead of them. "He looks too human-like to be a demon. Is he half-demon? What kind of demon absorbs liquid through the skin?!"
"Nature spirits can."

The two girls looked at him with big eyes.
"...No he's not." Nian Zhen leaned back. "You're messing with us."
"That is hard to believe..." (Y/n) said with furrowed eyebrows. "Nature spirits are a part of Heaven's bureaucracy. Why would he look like...that?"
"Yeah, he looks poor as hell."
"The eyes don't lie, ladies." Wukong shook his head. "I'm as surprised as you are. The power coming from this dude... Not like any spirits I've seen before. And the plant kind too! They're usually total wussies. But that guy?" he smirked. "That guy killed a lot of people."
The two girls gulped, one obviously more scared than the other. (Y/n) looked at the man... The fact that she still didn't know his name bothered her.

They arrived at a small village, near the bottom of a tall cliff. The pink-haired man went up to the first villager he saw and held them up by their collar. (Y/n) and Nian Zhen panicked while Wukong snickered.
"Straight to the point, huh?!"
"Where are they?" the man asked.
"Wh-What?!" the poor villager asked.
"The mercenaries." he pulled her closer.
"Th-Th-The cliff! The cliff!" she pointed. "There's a big door, you can't miss it! But-"
The man tossed the villager away and walked towards the cliff. (Y/n) rushed to make sure the poor woman was okay before she and the others went to the cliff.

The pink-haired guy stood in front of a tall metal door, leading to the inside of the cliff. Our trio watched from a distance, to see what his plan of action was.
'The person he's been looking for is right behind this door...' (Y/n) and Nian Zhen thought. 'He must have had scenarios going through his head. How is he going to approach this?'
The man grabbed the door handles and ripped them off of their hinges before carelessly tossing them aside. It was too dark inside to see.
"Stay out of this." he glanced at the three of them.
"Sure, go on." Wukong waved a hand before whispering to (Y/n). "We're giving him a ten second head start."
"Aren't you scared he'll beat everyone up before you?"
"Nah, vengeance's giving him tunnel-vision. He'll go for the leader while ignoring everyone else."
"I'm good to stay here." Nian Zhen mumbled.
"Of course you are." he rolled his eyes.

The pink-haired man ran into the darkness and they started counting. But before they could say ten, he came back running.
"Huh?" he stopped, looking at them with big eyes.
"Huh?" the two girls said while Wukong laughed.
"Ow, you got scared?!" he went up to him. "Came back to ask your pals for help?"
"Wobblin' jawed monkeys like you, I've killed a thousand." he gave him a nasty look.
"If you did, then they were nothing like me." he smirked. "Let me show you how a pro raids a lair." he rolled his shoulders as he faced the door.
Instead of simply walking in, he climbed the wall so he could enter from the top of the door, taking a stealthier approach. He came back out soon after.
"What the-?!" he looked at them with big eyes.
"He actually came back a lot sooner..." (Y/n) commented while Nian Zhen snickered.
"D'you get lost?" the pink guy folded his arms, giving him a smug look.
"I went straight ahead!" Wukong jumped back down and faced the door. "Obviously this is clearly their security system."
"You don't have to say that twice." Nian Zhen shook her head.

And so ensued the pink-hair guy and Monkey trying again and again to enter the mercenaries' lair, trying different angles and different speeds. It was a fun little contest for the two of them but it quickly frustrated them to see that they weren't making any progress. At some point, Wukong extended his staff to try and 'pierce the darkness'. It went in and came out a bit to the right, hitting him right on the nose. The pink-hair guy laughed loudly, along with Nian Zhen.
"That's it!" Wukong shouted as he shrunk his staff back to normal. "I'll just destroy the cliff itself!"
"Not happening!" (Y/n) shook her head, rushing towards him.
"Oh come on!"
"There's the forest at the top of that cliff!" she pointed up. "You could kill animals up there! And there's the village nearby too, what if the debris falls on top of them?! No, there has to be a way in." she looked at the door, thinking. "...What do you think, Nian Zhen?"
"Me? I dunno!" she shrugged. "And hey, looks like nobody's home, so let's just leave the pink guy here to wai-"
"Wait."
"That's what I was going to say, yes."
Wukong cackled.
"It's true." (Y/n) looked at the pink-hair guy. "You ripped off their doors and no one came out to see what happened."
"Yeah, obviously the lair is empty!" the young demon exclaimed.

"...You know something." Wukong looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Me?! No!"
"Oh she definitely knows somethin'." the pink-hair guy went up to her with the same suspicious look. "And you're gonna tell us."
Nian Zhen really wanted to, but she simply couldn't speak, she was stuttering too much. The man sighed.
"Can I try something?" (Y/n) raised her hand.
They all looked at her.
"...Why are you asking?" the man asked, confused.
"Because it requires you to put the doors back."
"I'll do it!" Monkey rushed to pick up the metal doors.
Sadly, the hinges were too damaged to be repaired.
"Try just holding them in place!" she exclaimed, shouting at him and a duplicate who was holding the other door.
She then went up to the doors and knocked.
"The hell..." the man said under his breath with a mocking smirk. "Heh. Humans."

"Who's there?!" a voice came from the other side.
The three demons' eyes widened in shock. The man almost let out a loud 'what the hell'.
"Hello!" (Y/n) leaned closer. "Is this where the mercenaries are?!"
"What do you want?!"
"Is your leader a...." she glanced at the man before remembering. "A red fox demon with an arm cut off?"
"What do you want with him?!"
"Me? Not much, I don't really know him to be honest but-"
"Then go away!"
"Oh but we can't. Could you just open the door, please?"
"Oh for the love of- Lady!" the doors began to open. "I don't have time to-"
The two Monkeys let go of the doors, which then fell down. (Y/n) narrowly dodged them from the middle.
"Monkey!" she glared.
"Woah!" they both let out upon looking inside the cliff.

It wasn't dark in there anymore, they could now see the inside of the lair, the mercenaries now staring at them with big eyes.
"I figured it was a 'you can only access it from the inside' kind of thing." (Y/n) smiled, looking back at Nian Zhen and the pink hair guy.
The latter of which dashed past her and went inside. The alarm rang and the mercenaries went after him. The screams coming from there made (Y/n) gulped. Wukong stood beside her.
"Monkey." she said. "Do you remember any horrible thing these guys did? I just want there to be some justification for all of this..."
"Oh they were terrible!" he shook his head. "You wouldn't believe it. The horrors innocent people went through because of them! I better go in and make sure the new guy doesn't hurt himself." he faced her and began walking backward inside. "Be right baaack love ya!" he waved.
(Y/n) sighed, her eyebrows furrowed. The two girls were now alone.
"...What happens when the pink-hair guy gets his revenge?" Nian Zhen asked. "Are we gonna force him into coming with us?"
"I don't like forcing people to do things."
"...But?"
"That's it." she shrugged. "We'll have to talk to Guan Yin again, there has to be some compromise we can come up with."
'Still don't know his name...'

Wukong was casually walking deeper into the lair, whistling a tune while enjoying the panic and the screaming going on around him. It would seem that by now, the mercenaries understood that the pink-hair guy was just here for their boss and most of them ran away while others stayed out of loyalty. None of them even dared to even touch Wukong.
"'Scuse me." he caught a runaway by the collar. "Where's your boss?"
The demon raised a shaky finger and pointed down a hallway.
"Thanks." he said before knocking him out with a headbutt.
The hallway was littered with bodies, much like the new clearing in the forest.
"Not much variety, huh?" he mumbled.
He walked through a broken door. In the middle of a large room, the pink-hair guy was sitting on top of a red fox demon. The blade of grass he had in his mouth had now doubled in size and turned rigid, he used it as a knife, stabbing and slashing the demon's dead body.

"Oh boy..." Wukong's expression fell and he went up to him. "You got him, dude. He's not going anywhere now."
"He left nothing behind when he was done with me." he said, not looking away. "I'll make sure it's the same for him."
Monkey frowned, confused at first.
"...Oh." he nodded. "Right. Nature spirit."
This actually brought a grimmer picture of what must've happen to him...
A moment passed, during which the pink hair guy kept punching what used to be a head.
"You don't wanna get the others?" Wukong asked. "'Cause they all ran away."
"Just him." he kept going.
'Yeesh.'

The two men walked out of the lair. They were welcomed by all the runaway mercenaries, tied up in groups and beaten, but relatively calm... Until they saw them, that is, they started shaking and some even cried.
"You're back!" (Y/n) smiled.
"What happened here?!" Wukong asked.
"Some of them started attacking, so I fought back. As for the others, I caught them too, just in case."
"Where'd you get the ropes?"
"Nian Zhen has some in her coat." she pointed at her, who was hiding behind a tree but came back now that the fighting was over.
She looked at the pink hair guy. He was a bit farther away, staring into nothing with a thousand yard stare. She placed a hand on Wukong's shoulder, silently asking him to not follow, and went up to the man.

"Hey."
He glanced at her, but only briefly.
"Yeah... I didn't feel any better either." she smiled, but it was bittersweet. "My dad was killed by a demon when I was really young." she looked in the distance, following his gaze. "And recently, I found that demon again."
He looked at her, surprised.
"Of course, as soon as I knew it was the same demon, I wanted nothing more but to make him pay. He was also enslaving half of my village, so that was all the more reason to kill him."
"Golden Cicada, exacting vengeance..." he said under his breath.
She huffed a chuckle and shook her head.
"Monkey did it for me. Him and a friend of mine, who also wanted to avenge my dad. The demon did die. But his death didn't solve anything." her smile faded. "My dad is still dead, me and my friend still have our regrets." she sighed. "I still believe that...the justice of it all justifies it. For me and for you." she gestured back-and-forth between the two of them. "I know I shouldn't, though. Especially on this journey." she ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. "But I do know that...vengeance isn't the solution to...whatever it is that we're going through." she placed a hand over her heart. "These problems aren't the type you can just punch away."
She looked at him, while he's been staring at her for some time now.
"I hope you feel better." she spoke softly, smiling.
Then, she walked away. He kept staring...

"What did you tell him?" Nian Zhen asked.
"What do we do with these guys?" Wukong lightly kicked a group of mercenaries tied together.
"We've actually talked while you two were in the lair." (Y/n) said. "And they've agreed to work with the villagers and help their community, instead of just partying all the time in their lair. Right boys?"
"Yes Ma'am!!!" they all shouted.
"Can't believe I missed that!" Monkey shook his head. "You've never fought so many guys before. And that's what, thirty of them?!"
"It was a lot easier than I thought it would be." she tilted her head.
"Must be because of Wukong." Nian Zhen said. "When you guys shared a body then separated, maybe his martial art prowess stayed with you."
"Ooooh that makes sense." she nodded.
"So it's all thanks to me?!" he pointed at himself before cackling. "I knew you'd be a great addition to the team, kid!" he wrapped an arm around her neck and pulled her close.
She gagged, unable to breathe, and almost immediately turned blue.
"Hole shi-!" he let her go. "Yeesh you're easy to break!"
"Tell me something I don't know." she rubbed her throat, talking in a dry voice.

A laugh made (Y/n) turn around. The trio looked over to see the pink hair guy, standing with them. Nian Zhen quickly hid behind Monkey.
"Wassup, pinkie?" he asked.
"I've been thinkin'." the man folded his arms. "Maybe this westward journey isn't such a bad idea after all."
"Doesn't sound as cool when you say it like that..." he mumbled.
"You... You want to come with us?" (Y/n) asked with big eyes.
"Why not?" he shrugged. "My schedule's wide open now."
"W-W-Wait! Wait!" Nian Zhen pointed at him, still using Monkey as a shield. "You can't go too far, you're a nature spirit!"
Though his smile was unchanged, his eyes became bigger.
"What do you mean?" (Y/n) tilted her head.
"Nature spirits are kinda like Earth Gods, they're tied to a specific area. But nature spirits have a different kind of bond, they're born with the land. They're not supposed to be physically able to leave!"

"Didn't stop me nohow." the man shrugged. "Been traveling China for centuries now."
"There's no way that's true!" she shook her head. "How are you still alive?!"
He just stared at her. She let out a whimper and hid behind Monkey. The man chuckled lowly.
"Who knows." he leaned back. "Might have somethin' to do with all the people I killed. Made me a lot stronger than the rest of my peers."
"Yeah we can tell." Wukong smiled.
The man looked at the human woman. She looked into his eyes with an indecipherable expression that made his smile falter.
Finally, she offered her hand for him to shake.
"I'm (Y/n). This is Sun Wukong, but I call him Monkey. And that's Nian Zhen hiding behind him." she pointed behind her with her other hand.
Monkey nodded upward while Nian Zhen peeked out from behind him. The pink hair guy looked at them, then back at her. Her hand was still raised. He smiled and shook it firmly.
"The name's Qiuyu. Lookin' forward to workin' with ya."
She smiled.

And just like that, our group of protagonists was complete, ready to get on their journey...

[Oh yeah, btw! I have a discord server now! The link's in my bio!
I post writing updates here, if you're interested
Okay bye now! 💖]