Chapter Text
"Do you know where you're going?"
You whispered to the demon in front of you, looking around the dense forest and pulling the top of your hood down. A human in a well known demon territory was the same as throwing treats to dogs, and you knew the demon in front of you would run away instead of defending you.
"We’re close, we’re close."
He whispered back, snorting in irritation as he didn’t think about why you would be scared, but kept a slow pace so you both could be aware of your surroundings.
“I can’t believe you would be scared of a forest, did you forget all that we’ve faced!?”
“I’m sorry, we’ve never physically entered a home of a demon and placed me on a frying pan with a sign saying free food!”
Mount Huaguo was well known as a demon’s homeland. No human would ever step foot on the mountain due to the many tribes of different demons and hidden areas that only the demons or celestials would know about and the treasures that they may contain. Demon hunters and kings with armies came to try to ‘cultivate’ the mountain for the human race but were quickly disposed of, so now at the bottom of the mountain are many signs stating "DANGER" and "DEMONS LIVE HERE"
So why were you here?
"Do you hear that?"
Your companion whispered while looking up, and you did the same, seeing shadows traveling through the tall trees above you. The large leaves blocked you from seeing their bodies, but the sound of screeching and clicking noises answered what they were.
"Monkeys!"
"I told you we were close."
You rolled your eyes at your companion for his smug tone before pushing him forward as he snorted in surprise.
"We don’t have time to spare, Bajie. The longer we’re gone, the more time we’re giving the demons that are trying to eat shifu."
"Don’t rush me; you’re not the one that elder brother would be mad at. He’ll hit me so hard if he sees me."
"I wasn’t the one that convinced Tripitaka to recite the Tight-fillet spell because you wanted to have one over on wukong."
You said, gritting your teeth as the pig demon dug his feet into the dirt to stop you from pushing him forward. When Sun Wukong killed the demon disguised as an old lady, Bajie was able to convince the monk to discipline Wukong by reciting the chant that would tighten the filet on Wukong’s head. You could still hear the screams of pain that Wukong gave, and afterwards, the monk banished Wukong, believing that the two demons and human he still had with him would be enough to keep him going on his pilgrimage, but sadly, this was not the case.
"We just have to convince him to come see Tripitaka like old friends revisiting each other, and when he sees that the monk is in danger, he’ll get angry and help him. That's the plan Bai Long Ma devised, and that's what we need to do. "
The sound of chanting was heard, and Bajie grabbed you and pulled you with him to hide behind a large oak. You were surprised at what you saw as troops of monkeys and apes walking four by four with banners and weapons in their hands as they chanted something you couldn’t understand.
You watched them march on before realizing something and looking over to Bajie with a grin.
"Now is your chance."
You whispered to Bajie and pushed him to get his attention.
"What do you mean, my chance?"
"You are always saying you're as good as Wukong and can transform like him. Transform into an ape and follow them. You will be able to get closer to Wukong than I can."
Bajie looked at you then at the troops of monkeys before looking back at you and quickly shaking his head.
"No way!"
Frowning at the pig demon’s cowardice, you grabbed his large pig ear and pulled, and Bajie had to cover his mouth, so the monkeys couldn’t hear his squeal of pain.
"If the monk dies, it will be your fault, and Bodhisattva will go after you, not me."
Bajie grunted in pain when you pulled his ear again, and he quickly grabbed your hand and pushed it away. Bajie was debating in his head which would be worse, the wrath of his elder brother Sun Wukong or the Bodhisattva who tasked him to protect the human monk.
"Fine! But you stay hidden. I will not save you if a demon finds you."
Bajie said, pointing to you before clapping his hands together, and in a large gush of smoke, Bajie’s body transformed from a large pig man to a Proboscis monkey. Grabbing his iron rake, Bajie quickly went to the back of the ranks as the last troop of monkeys went by, and you let out a relieved sigh. For a moment, you thought Bajie was actually going to run away.
The sound of something rustling in the trees, causing the leaves to fall, made you look up, and you felt your body freeze when you saw a pair of eyes staring at you from a branch. It was a small monkey, with a cloth wrapped around his waist and a basket on his back, he stared at you while plucking fruit and putting it in the basket.
You two stared at one another, you in panic and the little monkey with curiosity.
“Uh, hey, little guy.”
You said awkwardly with a little wave, and the little monkey finally stopped picking fruit and moved to take a closer look at you. You shook your head and moved away.
“No, no, go back to getting fruit, pretend I'm not here.”
You said trying to shoo the monkey away, but it seemed that just made him want to get closer, you took a few steps back trying to keep the distance but when the back of your foot hit an overgrown root you fell backwards, you're head hitting the forest floor first, and you let out a groan of pain.
With you on the ground, you looked up to the tree line and felt your heart stop when you saw many eyes staring right back at you.
“Oh come on…”
We do not know what will become of you, let us follow the middle disciple and listen to the explanation in the next chapter.