"Listen Brother! We must act with respect! We have a lady in our hands!"
The two yaoguais kept on laughing while they were dragging you somewhere, far away from your friend and protector.
Everything happened so fast that you couldn't register the events: the Destined One, and you had to head to the location of the second relic, which you knew was in this desert. It seems easy at first; you thought that you just needed to be as careful as the last time, but something went wrong!
How could you not notice those scouts?! Maybe they were more used to the state of the place; maybe the dust covered the smell for your friend; what you know Is that in a couple of minutes your monkey was now on the ground, his chest pierced with arrows, agonizing yes, but still alive! You tried to help him with the gourd that you carried with you with your healing wine, but before that, those rats had already captured you. You kept on struggling and fighting as much as you could, but instead they had other plans for you.
"Our second prince will love this snack! I heard that this one is a really good catch."
"Ah! Please! Maybe he'll give us a bite!"
They were planning to give you for lunch to their prince.
If it was them or him, you didn't care; what you did care was to survive and help your monkey out of that mess.
You were so focused on trying to break free from care where they were dragging you, but you started to think that it must have been an indoor when the scorching sun wasn't burning your head anymore.
It looked like a cave, maybe a temple inside the mountain based on the carvings on the walls. Columns made of pure stone, stalagmites, and stalactites decorated with sacred figures and prayers, commemorative candles near statues of Buddha and his disciples.
The ones that built the city must have used the caves in order to obtain more spaces, maybe?
You didn't get enough chance to ask since the two rats didn't show any kindness when they literally threw you on the ground.
"Shouldn't we... I don't know...cook her or something?"
"Ah! The prince and the king live their food fresh and squirmy! Now let's go; he doesn't like being seen while he eats."
And while you were Just pick up yourself from the ground, you Heard their soft and fast footsteps, leaving you in this new side of the cave. There were objects, quite a lot even, all of them around, like some small mountains of trinckets and stuff.
Furniture was around, but those were so damaged and old that you questioned if someone could even use it like that. On the walls of the cave, someone had put some decoration—canvases that had almost lost all of their colors, rusted weapons that were long lost—lost the care that they used to, for the exception of a scary giant Chui that was resting on the ground, ready to be picked.
Whoever was able to hold it must have been a quite herculean creature.
There was such a short source of light, coming from one hole in the ceiling of the wall and...from the way they took you in! There was no door, no bars, nothing!
You didn't want to waste anymore time, and so you sprinted in the same direction that the two rats had left you, until a rumble on your feet almost tripped you for the second time.
There was another, then another one.
Footstep, something big was walking towards you.
Two giant feet, covered in fur and some claws that you swear could rip apart your flesh, incased you. The armor was old and marred but still held some remembrance of his rank and position in his kingdom.
A large and long tail and a pointy mout... it was a rat, but it was grotesquely big. His yellow eyes scrutinized you, while his nose was sniffing the air in your direction.
Without thinking twice, you bolted so fast to escape from that thing, but you didn't get enough time since he was fast enough to grab you from your ankle and raise you up like an old ragged doll. You tried to kick it, scratch it, and try to punch it, but he didn't budge a little; it was like a mosquito bite for him.
"LET ME GO! STOP!"
Despite your plea, he just stood there, looking at you and sniffing more closely. A few of your hair sucked in his nostrils, and so I kept it up for a few more seconds. You couldn't see it, but it seemed... curious. He decided to change your position, holding you by your waist, trying to see you better from another angle.
You were beyond terrorized; from near, he was even worse! AND THAT SMELL! You shivered in his grasp, too afraid to move another punch or kick while he studied you. He finally stopped moving when your face hit a direct ray of sunlight from the hole in the ceiling. You gasped, tried to cover yourself, and then...the ground.
He didn't tossed you at all; he just putted you down. It was incredible to notice that you didn't even feel any pain in your abdomen from where he had grasped you. At that point, he just started to emit something that reminded you of some kind of giggle, a few snorts, and he looked...excited? He trotted to one of the small trinkets stacked near the bed that you assumed was his own. starting to move things around.
He was distracted. That was your chance! You slowly start to pick it up from where you left it to get out from there, when you felt again his enormous hand on your back, grasping the back of your shirt from behind, rising you up again like a kitten.
"Stop it! I don't-"
And then, again, you were seated...in front of what once was maybe a nice tea set. His throat was emitting a strange sound while he started a small fire and put a big iron pot of water on it. He was...humming...while making tea? And there were two pairs of small cups, old and dusty, and one was for you?
You didn't muttered a word, preferring to stare at that strange creature that was now putting some dried herbs; you wondered if it was even tea in the pot, still very small for something of his size.
"Wha...what are...you doing?"
"Making tea...for the guest!"
Okay, now it was a really good moment to freak out; he thought you were a guest?! HIS GUEST?!
"I thought you were supposed to..."
You held your tongue, reminding him about the fact that you were lunch for him; it may be quite a problem. You tried another time to move away, but suddlenly got back in place when some kind of conckut was versed in your cup. A few big drops spilled; he wasn't so versatile in this.
And then he looked at you. No, staring. He was there, staring at you, waiting for a response, and you looked at the staff in your cup. Imagine the food infection that it would cause. You kept on staring at it, trying to come up with every possible excuse to avoid the ingestion of the brooth, but three meters Yaogauis don't leave room for so many options. You gulped the content of the cup, trying to hold the near vomit coniate.
Oh was... please, like a lot. He started to clap, happy, drinking directly from the pot.
After that, he started again to act strangely. But this time it wasn't about taking care of the guest, but just...pile up staff...on you.
He made sure that you were comfortable, as much as you were, but his actions reminded you of a child that is showing you staff. At some point he even tried to put a necklace around your neck, but your sudden shriek made him desist, only for him to put the garmet in your hand. It was an old and broken jade pearl necklace; maybe there was a pendant in the middle since the space, but it was long gone. The small gems were broken or ruined, but it seemed to be once a really nice piece of jewelry.
At some point, your fear just became boredom and hassle, especially when he kept on showing you staff. At some point, what really caught your eye was a rectangular piece of wood that had previously fallen from one of the piles next to you. Covered in dust and mud, it must have seen better time, but, on the front, something was still visible: it was a piece of paper plastered with something on the wood, and, on it, three figures standing, one sitting in the center of it. The three standing figures seemed young, each of them with something to distinguish them from each other, the one sitting on a small chair wearing instead some regal robes.
"Ah, a painting...why did you keep it with you? Do you like drawing?"
The rat suddenly stopped, pointing his finger towards you and the draw.
"Me! Me and brothers! And my papa too! You found it, so good."
He seemed delighted, clapping his hands and making again those strange sounds. You, instead, cannot stop looking at the drawing confused. Him? Wait...one of them had a Chui next to him, and some traits, by using a lot of imagination, made him similar to your gaoler.
"Wait...this is you? You are him?!"
You pointed the figure, and he just...nodded, vigurusly.
"But," you continued, "how?! How it happened?! You were a man! How did you become a... Yaoguai?"
You said, avoiding using the word rat, opting to not make remarks on his looks further.
"Master!" He just chirped "Master! He did it! Everyone rats now! Little brother left, searching for help for turning in rats...still missing...older brother...not so good...he acts violent...daddy like master! So I follow too! ....But not like, like, daddy."
"Master?...what master?"
"Sage! Wind sage!"
"Hold on, the...the yellow wind sage did this to you?" He kept on nodding; this time it was slower than before; maybe it was something that he wasn't proud of?
"Did it hurt you? I mean,. you didn't have a tail before. It was painful. I'm...sorry..." Your tone was softer this time, wondering how much pain that poor creature must have endured all this time. He seemed to be remembering his old life as a man; maybe, by having you in, he tried to recreate some old habits of him? Did you remind him of someone that he had lost? He didn't even try to eat you at all; he was just being nice.
He kept on looking at you, sensing the change in the room after this knowledge, and he just...poke you. You looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Was he trying to cheer you up?
"Even rat, help Daddy! Master will be back, Daddy happy, and finally Daddy will notice my work! Me protect people from tigers! Not many thanks, but still do!"
And now you felt worse! How could someone say so casually that their father doesn't give them enough credits?! He was just a big guy. Yaogaus truly were strange, from some friendly horses to a rat prince.
"I'm sorry to know that you have to endure all of this... But, you know, me and my friend, we're searching for AH!"
Trying to understand this creature, trying to get a chance to flee, and trying to not faint for fear made you forget the first reason why you were there in the first place. You rose from your spot, causing him to back away in surprise.
"The relic! The wind sage...MONKEY!"
You put down the cup; how could you stay here taking tea while your friend was somewhere pierced by who knows how many arrows?! You started to move away from there, trying not to fall from the various junk that he had put around you.
"I'm sorry! I need to leave! My friend needs me; I need to help him! I AGH!"
When he grabbed you, this time he was more scared and aprehensive, trying to stop you from your exit.
"No! You must stay! Other kill and eat, I protect and care! You too, nice! You stay!"
The fight that you left before restarted again, this time with much more vigor from you. You won't have let your friend die in that dump place!
"Put me down! I don't want to stay here with you! LET ME GO!"
His attempt to keep you in place resulted in both his giant hands holding you and trying to keep your kicking feet away from his face. He was starting to panic. Why did you have to leave?!
The struggle continued, and both of you did not notice a figure approaching fastly in your direction until you just heard a huge STOMP. The rat started to move around like a drunk man, then collapsed in a huge cloud of dust and sand. This time, you didn't have to taste the ground since two strong arms were ready to capture your fall.
"You look like you were in need of assistance, my Bián huá!"
"...Monkey!"
His furry face welcomed you once you opened your eyes from the fall with a smile and, instinctively, you launched your arms around his neck for an hug. But you remembered his wounds at the last moment.
"AH! I'm sorry! Your wounds!"
"I'm fine! See? Not a scratch!"
He showed you his chest, untouched and without trace of any wounds or arrows.
"But I saw it... Did the healing wine help you?"
"Not exactely. I've found a helping hand that...
Will let you lose your head!"
"...it's strangely specific."
He just laughed it off but regained his seriousness once he heard some moan of pain from the rat Yaogaui in front of him. He let you down, then took back his staff.
"Wait!" He looked at you surprised. "Let's just leave him. You gave him a concussion already. I don't think he'll be a problem soon."
"All right, I don't know what happened here, but you look like you had a blast. Let's move now; more rats will come after the commotion!"
You nodded, but you still looked back at the prince with the same sorry expression from before.
"I'm sorry. It's an urgent matter. I promise to apologize better when we'll take the relic. Thank you!"
And so you and the Destined One left hand in hand the cave, noticing in a rush moment the look of pain in the prince's eyes. You wondered if the pain was for his head or something else.
The one minute unboxing is viewable on Instagram and TikTok. I’ll be posting individual reviews for these products soon. But you can watch the Ginseng Sun Serum review on Instagram or Tiktok now. I have to give a special shout out to the matte spf, because not everyone likes the look of ‘dewy’ or ‘glowy’ skin. That picture of me in my red shirt is after a couple of hours of wear and I felt like my skin still looked pretty matte in comparison to most other SPFs I’ve tried which can make your skin look more shiny. I also had no pilling with it. But I highly recommend all three SPFs from this brand! The two with no white cast were the sun stick and the Red Ginseng sun serum, and the Relief Sun Cream blended out easily and I didn’t see much of a white cast with that either (especially compared to a lot of American brands).
I felt so sorry for the prince rat. It's like, little baby needs to be protected at all costs and urgently needs a friend. 😭😭🤲❤️
Wouldn't it be a bother to continue? I just want to see a happy ending for the rat prince (I'm not pressuring you!).
"Came on, everybody! Togethere!"
"HEAVE-OH!"
A big number of small monkeys, cubs, and youngster were frolicking the old well at the edge of the forest. With the help of the rope, they were trying to take up the water. Or, better say, something in the water.
You were on your way back to the mountain; being the only human gave you free access to the mortal village, holding one Bing Tanghulu in your hand and another in your mouth, already half eaten, and it was there that you noticed the crawd of monkeys, busy in that activity. The well was used by them, and the small basket of water wasn't such an issue to rise up, so something was on there.
"Hi little ones! What are you planning this time?"
"Miss y/n! You're back from town!"
"We're trying to get the funny thing out of the well!" Said one of the smallest ones in the group, holding the rope rather than pulling with its brothers and sisters.
"Trying to get the funny thing out of the well, uh?" You poked your face near the edge of the rock structure. "Well, that's one I never heard before!"
And, as you ended that sentence, a low moan escaped from the same well, letting you loose the grip of the candy from your hand.
"OH GOD, THERE'S SOMEONE DOWN THERE?!"
Without another request, you grabbed the rope, helping the monkeys to rise whoever was so unlucky to fall in a well. Finally, a silhouette started to appear from the shadow, and... Two pairs of yellow irises, an old and rattled prestigious armor, a furry face with some rodent features.
There, face to face, you were dragging out the same rat prince that you met at Yellow Wind Ridge.
His eyes suddenly got bigger, fueled with refound glimps.
"FRIENDY!"
You screamed, alongside the children, loosing the grasp on the rope and letting the giant creature fall back in the well.
//////
"Ok everyone, ready for everything!"
Now, the youngest were replaced by the oldest ones, stronger and ready to attack the intruder of their land. Yuán Fèn, the destined one, was covering you with himself, his staff ready to strike at every chance of danger for you, while you were trembling, wondering how that creature was able to follow you two to Mount Huagou.
The group was able to rise the Yaoguai like before, but this time. Once out, the creature searched for something, and, once he had laid his eyes on you, he found it.
"FRIENDY!" He freed himself from the ropes, fell ungraciously on the ground, and started to move with that same level of agility towards you.
You gasped while your monkey friend was ready to point his weapon at the unwanted guest, making him stop in his tracks.
"Not another step! You seem to remember my staff, so you better keep your distance!"
The gargantuan rodenmt seemed concerned by the warning of the simian but kept on moving, hoping to get a glance at you, while you were still shielded by Yuán Fèn and garded in distance by others, all of them armed with their own staff.
"How the heck did he find this place?! How was he able to follow us?!"
"Maybe he followed your smell, Y/N; you stayed in that cave for some time, and he must have memorized!"
"Hihi, rats have the best smell! But they're not big as this one here!" The children, mischievous as always, didn't fled like the second time and watched from the trees the scene in front of them. Since they were used to normal kinds of rats, a Yaoguai one like that must have been news for them; that's why they were calling him the funny thing when they were recovering earlier. You, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic about his presence since your last encounter.
"My, oh my...our Bián huá had cought quite the catch, um?" An old and calm voice emerged from the small corwd; the elder monkey appeared, laughing a little, observing the scene that was unfolding.
"I swear! It wasn't my intention! He just...followed me here!" You pleaded, hoping to not have endangered the monkeys.
"Oh, he's not something to be bothered about. I was most interested in how this distinctive creature had followed you two."
You both explained the happening: the destined one falling in an ambush, you being captured, and this Prince behavior. The eldest, listening, had sniockered a few times, mostly for your ignorance on the rat's intention, but kept shut.
"Clearly," Yuán Fèn said, "he can't stay here. This is not a place for him, and his people still need him, especially since his older brother and his father abscence."
"I believe," the elder continued, "that he won't go away even on his own." He gestured towards another attempt of the prince to grab you or touch you with his tail, always prevented by a move from you or from Yuán Fèn.
"And I REALLY don't want to set another foot at Yellow Wind Ridge; they'll believe we have abducted him or something!" You said again, finally deciding to scoff away the tail with a small kick.
"Um, if he can't go back...and we can't accompany him...someone has to come and fetch him, don't you think?" The leder seems to have someone in mind; he has been always kept informed of all of your adventures and meetings, and he must have already had someone in mind.
"The third prince, maybe?" Yuán Fèn suggested, remembering the man that you two met at the Pagoda realm.
"Oh! You right!" you suddenly gleemed again. "We can inform him! He's his brother; he's his responsibility after all! And, besides, it could be a good way to get his family together, no?"
It seemed like a reasonable idea! Even if you were a little afraid of the possibility of the third prince tò refusing.
"In that case," the elders keep it on. "Why don't send him a message about it?" In the mean time..." He took a little pause; that reminded you more of a dramatic pause. "Y/N, why don't you help him around?"
"ME?!"
Yuán Fèn instantly got beat the elders; even he didn't like that idea. It was one case if it was having a Yaoguai running around and making a mess; another was all of these things and having him following you like a shadow!
"Old One, this is impossible! He clearly doesn't have good intentions; leaving him with the Bián huá is a danger to us and the mission!"
"Or," he stopped the younger, "he'll behave...and act properly...as the same Bián huá asked." No?"
He looked at you, arching on of his hairy eyebrown.
You looked at the rat; you know he had understood everything all of you had said; in fact, he was... It was a puppy face? He was making a puppy face to convince you?! You let a sigh escape from you; there's no way out of that.
"I guess... I can try to make him eat any monkey...
The elders smiled, patting your shoulder with a satisfied voice.
"Let's send the letter right away then."
And so, without if or but, you were stuck... with him. It wasn't easy for Yuán Fèn either, with all his brothers and sister snickering at the idea of the prince stealing his girl.
/////
"No! This is my room; you can't get in!"
Fighting with a giant rat that is trying to bring an entire plum tree in a small crevice into another one is quite hard, especially if you're just a human.
For the last week, you've been the only caretaker of the big fella. And oh boy, your entire adventure and task seemed like a nice walk in the park.
Hua and Fang, the two female monkeys who occupied the room with you, were utterly scared by this creature trying to get inside, only causing more ruckus from the other females.
"Present! Nice flowers for friendy!"
"You can put them outside! Stop! I'm coming, okay?! Cut it out already!"
You apologized to the two and tried to get the prince far away from the sleeping area. From a branch, observing with some worry, Yuán Fèn couldn't shake the idea that you've been far too soft on him. This wasn't the first time that he had crossed a line; man, the worst was when he started to follow you and the other female to the bathing zone. At least he and the other males were ready to stop him with some food, a second thing that could help them to get you some free time. From the rest, he seemed like there was zero chance to get you alone.
You took him away from the place that you helped him, with the assistance of the others, to make him a surrogated house for that time, a simple fabric, some sticks, and an old mattress for him. You had to stop up on a rock to look at him in the eyes.
"Listen up, big guy," he seated down, understanding the seriousness of your tone. "You can just keep doing this! Bursting into everyone's room, my room! Oh, and don't let me start with the bath story; I know everything! Have you any idea how many mess you caused? And how many of them do I have to clean?!"
You massaged your temples; he seemed hurt, but it was unclear if the message cut through.
"I know you just want to be nice; bring gifts and what you catch in the woods, but...listen, I just want some time for me!"
There was a moment of silence where you thought that he didn't get a thing of what you said; he always heard what he wanted to hear. But maybe he got that you felt frustrated, and he started to shake the tree, still in his grasp, gently over your head. A soft and gentle rain made of petals started to fall over you, the sunset only making the colors shine more. After some seconds, you giggled, covering your mouth.
"Is that a way to say sorry?"
He didn't hear a thing; as usual, he was only there, admiring your smile.
//////
Despite his attempts to take you out of the water, every time you just shove him away. Everyone was supposed to help the community, and today you were supposed to catch some fish.
He seemed agitated, like a dog that can't reach his owner, and kept on crying and howling to get him back.
"He's going to scare away all of the fish like this!" Fu, the young male, was right. You both were there for more than an hour and didn't get anything. Sooner or later, you both have to return to the village and confess your unluckiness since your guest didn't like the idea of you in the water.
"Prince, please, I'm fine! Let us catch the fish in piece, then we can go back!"
Here some silence, finally! The two of you started to come back to your duty when a huge splash and a thunderous blast made both of you lose your balance and fall.
"WHAT THE F-" another blast, more splashing water.
The prince must have thought that, by helping you get more fish, you would have finished sooner and came back with him! So he started to use a huge log to hit the water, causing the fish to be hurt by the wave from it. Soon, the net was full of very much dead fish.
"Well, look at that! We're full for the day!" said Fu, with a frefound joy.
You laughed, and when he got closer, you hugged the prince's arm.
"You see?! You're amazing! Good job!"
//////
The moonlit was coloring the dark skies. Sitting in the grass, his tail tried to warm you up while you were too connected to look at the stars, maybe searching for a deity that wandered too far from the celestial court.
"I wonder if people are missing me at home." You finally spoke, ending the silence. "I've been away from home. I hope they're all okay."
A moan made you change your gaze from the sky to the prince. He had never looked at the sky once, to be fair.
"And you? Don't miss home a tiny bit." He just shoked his head. "I guess they miss you instead. You cared for them, and they do it too. They're just rodents, I guess."
You sighed; they seemed to care, so they wanted to feed him with you. It has passed an entire week now, and still no response from his younger brother. You started to worry that they had forgotten him, or worse.
His finger poked your face, worried from your expression.
"Home away," he spoke. "You here now. Me happy. You here. Very happy."
You smiled again, touched by his words, unaware of a bird coming to the village.
/////
The next day, Yuán Fèn seemed to be pondering, a little in his own world and not too far connected to his surroundings. That was an easy catch to let get away.
"BOO!" While almost trip from the stone, you laughed holding your stomach.
"Ha ha, laugh as much as you want. I'll take my time next time a Yaoguai tries to eat you."
"We both know that you would never do that." You sat next to him, holding him a khaki. "And I'm here with GREAT knews! The third prince responded to our letter and is coming here!"
"Oh! How long till he reach Mount Huagou?"
"He said he'd be on his way immediately, so I guess he'd just be near! Your vacancy away from me is almost over; savor the last days!"
"You hurt me!" he laughs, putting an arm around your shoulders. "I do enjoy our time together! I would like to not prepare for your way back home even."
"Hehe, I know, I know, I keep forgetting that I have to go back sooner or later. In that case, I'll savor these moments with you!"
And while the two of you shared a nice moment, a pair of eyes watched with jealousy, and some ears listened with grief.
////
That morning, when you woke up, you thought to find your new friend around, waiting for you to follow you around like every day by now; instead, no one was there. Did he decide to leave you alone? Strangely, every demand had passed through his ears.
"Hey," you stopped An, another of the youngest monkeys. "Did you see the Rat Prince?" He's usually here at this time."
She pondered a little rather than remembering.
"I heard him going to the training ground!"
Oh, so he wanted to train a little? Not exactely.
In that moment, Yuán Fèn was taking care of his duty by helping the youngers to train with their weapons, like mostly of his days there on the mountain, and heard the giant footstep of the rat. Despite their past, in these days he tried to be as gentle as you with him, even if he met only some poorly manners towards him, but he passed every one of them.
"Ah, look who's showed up here! Are you here for?" Before he could finish his sentence, a powerful blow from the prince Chui hit him with a direct blow that threw him away. The other monkey started to scream, showing teeth and trying to get closer, but the prince had nothing but his prey in mind.
Before he could have struck another blow, Yuán Fèn was fast enough to summon his staff and stop him in a stall. A small blood drop escaped from the simian mouth, trying to match the strength of the prince with his own.
"Did you lose your mind?! What are you doing?!"
"We settle! Me fight you! If I win, I take Y/N away! She won't leave; she stays with me! You disappear!"
So that's what he wanted?! A fight over you?! He knew you wanted to go home, that the mission needed you, and you wanted to help. What all of this against your wishes?! Yuán Fèn was enraged, not for the fight itself but because everything was born from the egoistical desire of that monster.
"As you wish!" And so the fight began. The two, under the watchful eyes of everyone, fought with surch brutality that they feared for the worst. That rat had proven to his people that he was strong, but he had never fought the destined one. He wasn't just strong; he was capable of many tricks and faster. No matter how many blows he received, he was ready to get back on his feet.
More blows were shared, more avoided, and some not, but the fight wasn't made to last.
"PRINCE!"
Your voice echoed, and the Rat stopped his last shot, allowing Yuán Fèn to get more space between himself and his opponent. You were there, at the entrance of the training ground, looking at the scene in disbelief.
"What...what are you doing?! Why are you fighting Yuán Fèn?!"
"Me settle! So we can stay together! Home, with me!"
"...W-what?" You looked at him confused, giving him the chance to get closer. Now, his enraged expression was more soft.
"You don't need to leave; you stay forever with me! We stand at the village; we are happy!"
"But... I don't... I don't want to..."
His look changed again; something hurt this time.
"I want to go back home, I told you! ...I need to stay and help the Destined one!"
"But I want you with me; we can be happy together!" He reached his hand towards you, one that you smacked away, offended by his words.
"I said I stay! I don't want to follow you!"
He looked at his hand. You had never smacked away like that. He grabbed your arm again, pulling it with violence. The sudden move was the last straw for Yuán Fèn; he had heard the clear sound of something broking and your scream. Before the prince could loosen his grip on you, the staff of the Destined one launched a last strike that launched the rat away, and he immediately took you in his own arms.
"You...VILE BEAST! Enough is enough! We had let you stay, we had fed you, and we allowed you this because of her, and you are repaying us with this?! HURTING HER?! I swear, if I even see your mutt at the entrance of the village, I'll kill you!"
Your pained scream echoed while Yuán Fèn rushed you to the elder monkey, aware that now he looked more like a rabid animal than the one that had vowed to protect you.
The prince, stuck in his tracks, could only see the crow disappear.
////
In the follow days, just once the prince tried to get near you. He was spared because you begged Yuán Fèn, and that was the last time.
He didn't show up, not even in his small house. He seemed disappered.
You were cured; the healing wine was able to fix your arm, but it still hurt a bit, and your Yuán Fèn never left your side while you were anguishing in your pain. He should have known that that could have happened; it was clear that the prince planned something with you, but he never thought that he could go as far as attacking him or hurting you. Maybe your case was an accident, but he didn't care, not at all.
Finally, the day of the third prince's arrival came, and you had to tell him everything. Everyone wanted to greet him with nicety and some fun; instead, he arived with relief, knowing that he would have brought away his brother.
"I truly apologize; I cannot shake the fact that it's also my own fault. If I had never left my kingdom, nothing would have happened."
"It was meant to happen," said Yuán Fèn, "and we know you'll do what is necessary for him."
He hummed, worried more about your silence than all.
"Y/n, it's something bothering you?"
"I wish we could say goodbye properly." Yuán Fèn looked at you shocked. "I just want things to not end like this! I endulged him; it's also my fault!"
The destine done sighed, looking at the third prince for some assistance. He nodded a little, knowing that maybe you and his brother needed that.
You founded him not far from the village, enough to see you all, or better you, but not enough to get beaten to death by the other monkeys. It was something about you and him, but even in that case, the third prince and Yuán Fèn stayed in close reach to avoid another accident like the last one.
The rat stayed there, too focused on breaking some sticks, unaware even of the presence of his own blood. When he saw you near, he seemed surprised, excited, or even afraid for something.
"Today is the last day; your brother is here." He didn't say anything, just staring at you, meddling with the sticks. "I know that you mean well; I know that you had suffered for a long time, but... the things you offer are not what I want. You must respect that, do you understand?"
He did; this time he did listen to you. But it was painful to him.
"I still want to be your friend. Do you still want to be mine?"
You smiled at him. You graced him again with that gentle smile that could break his heart every time you wanted. He wanted more, but it wasn't what you wanted after all. He toked the hand that you had offered him, holding it gently. It was so small compared to his own, soft and warm. He wanted to be the one to hold it. But it was set there that you belonged already to someone else.
At the end of the day, the two princes and some of their followers left Mount Huagou, leaving the monkeys behind, so they could keep back their daily lives. The second prince left, with a broken heart but a healing friendhip.
"He really did want to keep you with him." Yuán Fèn spoke, watching with you the group merging in the forest, "But I don't think he treasured you enough to know what you really wanted."
"And you?" your eyes met. "Do you treasure me enough?"
The young one decided to not speak, deciding to just hold your hand and squish it.
During your college years, one of your many dreams was to go in the desert during the cactus blooming season. Now the only thing you wanted to do was slap your past self in your head for that stupid idea.
The scarf around your head that one of the Carovana people had gifted you protected you from the scorching sun, but the heat was almost unbearable. You cleaned your forehead, panting from the strain that your legs were making by walking on the sand.
Yuán Fèn, your monkey companion and friend, who was still trying to accustom himself to his new name, raised his dǒu lì, trying to Look forward to the dunes and Wind swirling around the two of you.
A week before your departure, the curious bird that you had retrieved from Black Wind Mountain started to sing a strange tune, forcing everyone that could hear to pay attention to him, especially you and your friend.
The old monkey proclaimed that another relic had been calling upon its sister, and now it was time to prepare for your new objective: the second relic. In front of the same map where you located the first one, your senses made you point in the middle of nowhere... well, not exactly. It seemed to be in a desert... which it was in the middle of nowhere.
"Maybe it's an oasis? I mean, why should it be in the dirt and the sand?"
Ah, you wondered if, at that time, Yuán Fèn was trying to ease your nervousness, because now you just wanted to smack his head. Yeah, a really nice Oasis...
He kept on looking up, noticing another small dot in the sky stop moving and a golden halo.
"Hey, easy with the immobilize back there..."
"I'm getting the hang of it..." You said, your fingers still pointing up.
"I'm not doubting it, but..." He takes a sip of water. "Someone might see it... and rise an alarm..."
"Uuh..." You looked around, dunes from where eyes could reach "someone...where?"
"And..." He continued, extending you the gourd, "I need you in shape. You have to direct me to the relic, remember?"
You took a small sip of water while holding with your other hand your own willow staff. When you returned from Black Wind Mountain, you insisted on receiving training in fighting and magic since you wanted to be more helpful in the mission, but you were still stuck on the basics in martial arts and the immobilize spell. You sighed. Why was it so hard?
Yuán Fèn noticed your demeanor; he did understand your frustration, but for this, like these, you needed patience! And, even if they were small steps, you were pretty talented! Okay, a real fight was far from training with him, but you two had time for that. In the meantime, he swore to be your protector, so he wanted to get through with that.
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" You asked when you had reached the summit of the dune.
"Of course we are! We're just right where you pointed, remember?"
"Yeah, but... what if it's not the right place?"
"Impossible! You found the first one, remember?"
"...Well... yeah, we were lucky... But what if we're not this time? I mean... how can the relics be here in the middle of nowhere?"
"Because," he said with a smirking tone, "there's something in the nowhere!"
You wanted to raise a question, but as soon as you looked in front of you, in the distance, you found your answer in that strange phrase. The desert was slowly changing its nature, leaving the sand and giving space to rocks and mountains. They weren't high or full of life like the previous one, but they were impressive nevertheless, and, by your surprise, they seemed to give home to something! In the distance, even if still small, it was visible. One of those Giants gates that could have been found in some cities, showing that maybe someone lived there!
You both sprinted towards those gates; the hope of finding some solace in the shadow of the mountain and maybe some fresh waters was enough to give you some strength to move on the sands. Unfortunately, that hope was now faltering when you started to notice the state of the wooden gate.
The sun had now completely eroded every kind of color that the wooden structure once had, replaced now by the nude timber color. the sand, moved by the wind, had smothered the decorations that once had adorned the structure, or there was something now It was just made for you both to guess. The few tiles that still were attached to the roof were now broken or completely useless in their first meaning, their fate now in the hand of the scorching sun.
You weren't an expert, but by the looks of it, that gate had been there for years, and no one had taken care of it.
"It doesn't look like a good sign..."
Yuán Fèn looked up, searching for the name of wherever you had ended up.
Usually these gates are made to let travelers know where they are, but unfortunately the name of this place was almost completely erased from it. The only thing he was able to get from it was the word "ridge"...whatever that meant...
"Ummm... Ridge... maybe Yellow... I'm not sure; it's hard to read in that state..."
"Oh! Yellow Wind Ridge!" You exclaimed, looking at a curious monkey. "The last village you visited, they told me that once there was a place with this name!"
"Oh!" He seemed surprised. The name... It rang a few bells in his mind...but it wasn't like he could know everything.
"All right... so... up ahead?" He said moving his staff in front of you. With an uncertain road in front of you, you both start to take the path in the mountain, in the shadow of the rocks, unknowing of what you would find there.
///
Even if it was completely different from Black Wind Mountain, even this desolate place holds a certain kind of beauty in it.
The rock structures stood like the walls of a castle, reaching till your eyes could reach. The color of the rocks changed here and there; sometimes it was a yellow ochre, a remnant of the name of the place, sometimes it was a vibrant orange when the light touched it, and just near to the base you were walking, a deep red like blood.
You once saw something similar in a few photos, but it was a completely different story in person.
"A river must have passed here millennia ago..."
"A River?" Yuán Fèn looked at you curiously.
"I learned that these kinds of rock structures are what is left of the bed of a river!"
"Oh! And... where did the water go?"
"Ummm... evaporated? I'm not sure; I'm not that smart."
He laughed a little. It was nice to enjoy some peace; he didn't know how long it would last, so it was better to savor it.
Despite his carefree behavior, more than once he had stopped in his tracks, almost making you bump into him, looking around and smelling the area. The path had now transformed into a gorge, the sun still hiding behind the walls of the mountain around you. He looked around, his ears piercing, his senses searching for something.
"You okay?" You said in a whisper, wondering why he had stopped all of a sudden.
"...Yeah... I thought I heard... something..."
"Yaoguais?"
"Can't tell... this place reeks of it, but I heard something... I don't know, let's be vigilant now."
And with that he reached for your hand, holding it right, and his staff was now in a fighting position. The peace was over; time to get back to work.
It was amazing how he could perceive the smallest changes in his surroundings. Maybe it was an hermitage of his species or just a product of his training, but he was able to catch even the smallest change in sounds or smell.
Another show of this ability of his own cane was when, suddenly, his hand was now firmly against your chest. He had stopped in his own tracks, making you do the same, and, with a swift movement, his staff was now in front of you in a defensive mode.
"Someone's coming." These were the only words he said, now completely concentrated in front of him. Now, in the complete silence, you finally could hear something coming from the always ahead of you, a sound that looked off. It seemed like someone was dragging something, the clattering of metals, and some pants of fatigue?
He, on the other hand, was prepared for the attack of his new foe...until it came into view. A huge backpack, full of objects, some for traveling and some that were part of a household, pots and pans that clattered together while moving around, tied by a rope around the pile that had been carried, and a figure that, covered in rags, moved steadily and slowly on his feet.
A traveler? It seemed that they were mostly moving away by the amount of stuff.
You sighed in relief since you couldn't spot any kind of weapon on him, and the grip on your own staff loosened. Yuán Fèn, on the other hand, decided to keep his guard up on this new figure appearing. He had learned that everyone could be an enemy, especially in a place like this one.
Once you both were spotted by them, the creature seemed to become quite tense, maybe for the same reason why you two decided to stay on guard and started to slow down on his tracks.
Yuán Fèn never let his guard down, fearing maybe another trick like the one that the bear had done to you the last time, while you were quite curious about this newcomer. Despite it all, it seemed quite harmless, and with all that staff on his back, you wondered what kind of danger it could have brought.
A few minutes passed, and the mysterious figure, who you realized was an old one since the ragged way that he was breathing, and the two of you shared nothing more than a few attentive looks until he surpassed you and then started to get on in his road, realizing that in the end you were just harmless like himself.
"...Do you think he's moving out?"
"I don't know," Yuán Fèn sighed, finally putting his staff back. "At least we still can take it easy."
"We should ask him some questions. It's better to be prepared!"
"I don't think he wants to be disturbed. We can get on and WAIT WAIT WAIT COME BACK, Y/N!"
He was interrupted by your soft trot, following the old man, still covered in all the rags. You were so focused on following him that you barely noticed an old tail like a rat one.
"Hello? Mr.!" He seemed surprised, shocked even, turning around, meeting your more calm demeanor. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my friend and I have been on the road for quite some time. I wondered if we're in Yellow Wind Ridge."
He coughed a little, surprised by the fact that someone still knew the name of that place and that they were mad enough to wish to reach it.
"Ah... And what are you and your friend searching for there? If it's a death by the hands of desolation, you did find it..."
"We're searching for... a certain object." Yuán Fèn stepped in, more to make sure that no harm came to you when you were so casually starting a conversation with that old one.
"Ah!" He laughed, almost like he had heard a joke: "Searching for treasures?! My father once told me the Legend of the Golden Buddhas; they're long gone till the arrival of that master..."
By saying that there was a hint of sarcasm, that raised more of your curiosity. "Master?" Yuán Fèn repeated.
"Uh... yes, a royal sage... an old rat that had mastered the Wind..."
That was the last piece that Yuán Fèn needed to understand. Who were you going to fight this time? The old one coughed hard, holding his chest with his ragged and bandaged hand. Maybe he was sick? He shouldn't move in that condition.
You quickly grabbed your gourd and gently offered him part of your healing wine. He moved his hand, gesturing to you to keep it to yourself.
"No need... old Lil me can handle..."
"There's no village for miles; just a sip will help you regain some strength."
He seemed surprised by this act of kindness. And, for respect, he accepted one small sip, trying not to ruin the wine and your gourd. He sighed deeply, savoring the sweet savor and feeling the sensation of the healing power of the liquid.
"...thank you, young one..."
You smiled; at least he would be able to make it till the next village.
Yes, giving to him a few of your medicines wasn't exactly the brightest idea; you weren't sure what was going to happen after that, but seeing him like that, forced to leave his home, it felt bad, at least for you. A small help wouldn't hurt you, you thought while taking away your gourd.
Yuán Fèn, despite his silent opposition to your gesture, those were your medicine after all, could not find that gesture anything but admirable. You could just walk away, believing that that man had everything under control; instead, there you were, giving him some of your rationed medicines. He shouldn't be surprised; you were a kind soul, after all. He saw you many times show some empathy or kindness around you, and, by so far, he found it admirable from his own point of view.
"Be safe there, you two," said the old man, slowly walking away on the path, "and watch yourself from danger! This place reeks of them! To think that people used to revere that old one...ah...such a shame, such a shame..." He laughed and coughed, slowly vanishing in the shadows of the mountain."
The two of you, after readjusting your stuff, had started to walk back again, taking the road where the old one was coming from, presumably the right path as much as you both could see. When finally the passage between the mountains started to widen up, the sun reconquered your way, illuminating the place that, it seems, the relics were hidden by someone...
The sun makes the view hard, and the dust in the wind colored the sky, which seemed to not have seen rain for months, a grayish blue. You noticed the peaks of the mountain, but sometimes they reminded you more like old palaces that the wind had completely changed shape by the time and sand. If once there was life, it was gone, leaving only the carcasses of old trees, left in that barren land without a chance of survival. The only vegetal life that could grow there was a thick and long grass that grew in small bushes, and if it hadn't been for the protection of your trousers, they would have surely cut your skin at the passage. The area was surrounded by rocks and sand, making it quite a task to move around, and, even if climbing, another small mountain waited to the other side.
What kind of kingdom could even start there in that place, you wondered...
While walking, you make sure to stay closer to your friend. There were so many cliffs and palaces; it was to see if someone was up there! Making you a good target for attacks.
"You know," Yuán Fèn spoke, breaking the silence. "That old one gave us a good lead about who could have taken the relic. Yellow Wind Sage make any sense to you?"
You made a long um sound from your mouth, a good answer to imply that you had zero idea of who this sage was. He chuckled; of course you didn't know.
"What I know about is that was a foe that had tried to eat the Tang Monk back in the journey, "Yuán Fèn started, "and he was quite strong too!"
"Strong? Stronger than Sun Wukong?"
"Well, he had a weapon....the Samadhi wind to help him out."
"Sama...what?"
"What did you learn in your world?!"
"They didn't even teach us how to do taxes; give me a break!" And, after a long ugh sound from him, he decided to let it go. You knew so many staff, but how could the theory of relativity really help you out in a fight?!
"Samadhi is like being unified with a certain element or a god even. It's like the object itself is free from the rule of the world! For example, the Samadhi fire is a TRUE fire! And simple water cannot extinguish its flame!"
"OOOh....wait!" You stopped in your tracks. "Let me recap here: we're going straight to a certain Sage—"
"That is a rat."
"Not needed, but thank you. That can control a very formidable wind that could kill us... Is that what you're saying?"
"...Kinda?" Your hand met your face; you were less shocked than last time, but knowing that maybe this one was a more dangerous foe than the bear didn't help you calm down.
"Do you... at least have a plan?"
"Well," he got closer, using his staff to give you a few small nudges. "I suppose that the Bián huá could make the same trick like last time!"
You looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what he was talking about... then you remembered the old mantle made of pure red silk that, if not for its presence, you would have been roasted like a meatloaf.
"But... last time it was just luck... how do you know that I can do it again?"
"Do I need to repeat myself?"
Ah yes...he believed in you. Well, last time you were able to find the relic, and you were able to survive...maybe you were somehow kind of a little special? But you didn't want to hold your hopes high, especially knowing the so many dangers that you both had to take last time.
"All right, all right... I'll try to believe in my doodle-do magic staff... So, I'll say let's keep going.
"Now you're talking my language!" And, with a sprint, he marched on, giving you a grin like he was challenging you to follow him. And you did.
///
Time lapsed, and despite how much the two of you were able to get inside this new territory, the more you noticed that even Yaoguais seemed to be absent from this place. Besides the old man, you met a body on your road, and that was unnerving.
The fact of not knowing what was waiting, the fact that maybe you weren't that alone like you wanted to believe, had put both of you in a position that forced you to look at every sound like a danger. Because, even if you weren't approached by anyone, the sensation that you were observed was drilling in your head.
Yuán Fèn kept on keeping you close to him, fearing that something could have happened at every second, but the sand and the dirt avoided his nose to perceive the smells and the sound of the wind that roared, covering the sounds. It wasn't a good position; he knew that, but he couldn't risk leaving the road to face an opponent that he couldn't even see or leave you alone like that. So the only option was to just go forward, hoping to meet a better condition.
The area opened up again, and, alongside the same vegetation and the rocks, a body of water stretched around, giving life to some plants that were lucky enough to be nearer and some structures that reminded you of the ones you found at the last temple. The difference was that the ones you found now were far bigger and made of solid stone, and, other than for the time passed under the unforgiving sun, it seemed like they were deliberately destroyed. You wondered what kind of past this kingdom had and what kind of karma it had faced for its act against the Buddha. Well, you weren't in the position to judge; what really caught your attention was the water, colored in a reddish tone.
"We should take some," you proposed, taking yours gourd from your sack.
"It doesn't seem edible..." Yuán Fèn retorted, more inclined to keep it up instead of stopping there.
"We don't know if we'll find any more! And we can still boil it and drink it later!"
It wasn't like your idea wasn't good; in this kind of territory, every drop counts, but he didn't like the idea of staying too much in one place, especially since he couldn't read his surroundings at all.
You started to collect the water from the pond, carefully taking only the one on the surface, avoiding moving it too much. He stayed behind you, looking around, and he started to listen.
It seemed so calm; the wind was blowing over your heads, and the walls made of rock avoided It took an hour to enter through the passage. It was a big area; the sound wasn't covered that much...
He started to concentrate...the wind, the sand that slided around, the water...a piece of wood that got removed from some leather... A string that is getting stretched...
You had just finished collecting the water when his hand grabbed your shoulder, grasping it and pulling.
"We must move, NOW."
"Wha-Why?!"
"We need to take cover; we're—!!!"
Before he could even take another step, an arrow, coming from nowhere, pierced his chest in one strike.
Your eyes widened; suddenly the atmosphere changed, and the pond was surrounded by sounds of voices and arrows that were shot.
"TAKE THE MONKEY DOWN!"
"Leave the girl!"
The sound of squeaking and piercing voices came from the rocks; arrows jeep on Flying towards the two of you.
The pain from the arrow was enough to make To stumble on his feet, but Yuán Fèn only needed now to push you away, allowing you to stay out from the line of fire.
You tried to reach him, but every time another Arrow stopped you and forced you back down while he was still holding his staff up to try to protect himself and you, but the shooters were too many, and the more he defended himself, the more Arrows kept on piercing.
"NO, NO, NO!" You raised your digger, aiming towards the direction of the Arrows, starting to use the immobilize spell. Golden auras came from a few of them, but without a good view of your assailants, you could only stop just a few of them.
"Y/n! Find co-" another Arrow, his mouth started to leak blood and his breath got rugged. He tried again to hold his staff up, but now he only had enough strength to use it to stand up. It was so painful. The attack stopped; the sound of small feet moving around reached the area.
You weren't so careful like him; your only care was to use this moment of calm to avoid falling on the dirty ground and trying to cure him from those many wounds! You started to panic; he had more than ten arrows piercing his body!
"EASY! EASY EASY, I'll fix you! Okay?!"
"Y...y/n...y/n, they're... they're co—" he coughed again while you put him down to rest on a rock. "You need to...leave!"
"I'm not leaving you here, okay?!"
You didn't want to listen to him, as much as you didn't want to listen to your surroundings. What you wanted was only to cure him and help you to take care of those two rats that you had completely forgotten in the panic of the moment.
Holding your gourd, you were ready to use its contents to cure him when a long but slim hand grabbed you by your scarf and pulled you so hard that you were practically dragged away.
Over your head, a pair of big black eyes looked at you with a malicious intent, and a broken and grim smile showed a series of long and sharp rodent teeth.
"Ah ah! Good meat!"
"Something to please our prince brother!"
Oh no! Not again! Fastly, you grasped a full hand of dust and threw it in the face of the one that was holding you, taking this advantage to slip away from the scarf and reach your staff.
DAMN! Yuán Fèn told you several times! Never leave behind your weapon! And you were too drained out to use again the immobilize spell!
You tried to jump in it, but before you could even reach it, the tail of one of the two rats grabbed your ankle, making you face the ground, sand and dirt in your mouth.
"PUAH! Ugh! I hate when they do this!"
"You should have put on your helmet, Brother!"
You shook your head, taking away some of the sand on you, when the same hands from before held you by your arms, raising you from the ground.
"She's a feisty one. I hope the prince will like her as a snack..."
"You're crazy?! Who cares! As long as she's fresh, he'll like the meal!"
You kept on squirming, kicking your two new captors, but you could only reach their armored torso.
"LET me go! Stop!"
Yuán Fèn tried again to move, but the pain from the arrows in his chest created a shock that made him growl. The Teo rat noticed his new attempt, alongside the big pool of blood that now made the ground turn a deep red.
"What about the monkey?"
"The king will not mind some...dried meat!"
The two laughed, starting to head away from the spot, while you craned your neck so much that it hurt, looking in fear towards your beloved monkey.
"YUÁN FÈN! NO! NO, PLEASE STOP! LET ME GO! YUÁN FÈN!"
Yuán Fèn tried again, and again he fell down in pain, panting and feeling his life force slowly drying away.
"Y...y/n...."
He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Your scream started to get more distant and muffled.
"I...need to..."
He loses his senses.
///
The song of a sanxian played somewhere.
He slowly started to open his heavy eyes from the forced slumber. His finger could still feel the sensation of the blood on the ground, now reduced in some kind of mud by the dirt and the sun. He tried to stir his body, but the arrows in his chest must have messed up his muscles.
The music kept on playing, strong; he felt the sound of someone stepping down their foot to keep the beat. Was he dreaming? Why would someone play in such a place? He tried to call for help, but his mouth was dry.
"Yellow Wind Ridge,
A mighty ole' range,
Once buzzin'
With Joy and Glee."
He could only move his head, resting his cheek on the rovent rock, and he saw the source of the sound.
A headless body was joyfully playing a sanxian, tapping his foot on the rock.
Now he saw everything... well, he could tell a nice story to the Enma...
"But the pesky rats took hold,
A sudden unfold,
Turned it all barren and bleak."
Uuuhhg, not a bard! If he really needed to die here, at least he preferred it in a less extravagant way!
He was still curious about the fact he didn't have a mouth to express the words, though...
"The King GOT Denide,
Rules thrown aside,
Evil connived,
Running wild and free."
He was telling about the story of this place. Well, as much as he knew, the only information that he had was about when the Yellow Rat tried to capture the Tang Monk. The old man was right; things were bad there even before...
"Wukong went to the
Bodhisattva to plead,
Granting the Land
A Moment o' Peace."
That was during the journey, well, nothing that he didn't know...
"Yet before long,
Another disaster struck.
The cursed returned
On a killin' spree."
Alright, now things started to get different. What kind of beast started rampaging after the events of the story?
"The hero, he lies there dead,
With the truth hidden
From Ye and me..."
...Truth? Hero?...did he mean...what truth?! Oh, come on! He couldn't die there without knowing! He tried to stir again, fighting against his approaching demise, but his body felt like stone there.
The headless figure, that with that rosary at his neck, reminded him more of a monk now, jumped down from the rock, holding the instrument in his arms, approaching the soon-to-be-dead monkey.
"I reckon I got an idea why ye have come here, me friend."
The monkey coughed a little, finding just enough saliva to moisten a few words.
"A-ah...?... Go....good for.... you t...then..."
"Eh," he seemed amused by the small response of Yuán Fèn, " 'n' ye seems lik' in a ill shape."
If you were there at that moment, he was sure that you would use some sarcastic words against him after having a small stroke for the view of the inside of his neck.
A few strong were pinched, and the sound of the sanxian was heard again. Yuán Fèn noticed only now some strange glows around every time the monk pinched the strings. A few hours started to disappear like dust in the wind.
"Haste makes waste." The monk proclaimed, "I'll lend ye a hand."
And, with one swing of the strings, the sanxian created one beam of golden light that struck the monkey straight in his chest. Atsushi, at the beginning, felt the pain of the muscle contorting, the. The relief of the arrows that started to disappear from his chest, alongside his wounds, and, in the end, he felt his strength come back all of a sudden.
He touched himself, inspecting his body, and found it incredible that a few moments before he was at the brink of death, and now he felt like he could just battle. That monk... wasn't just a strange creature.
The monk laughed, noticing the surprise of the monkey, while he started to stand up from the ground. The blood had disappeared, only some more golden glow floating around.
"Watch your step, eh?" He kept laughing, gesturing around, "Get more shots, and you'll be high and dry!"
But, despite his strangely jovial behavior, the monkey couldn't not feel a sense of havereness around that monk. He started circulating him, watching that curious creature that kept on playing the chords of the instrument, mimicking the monkey move.
"Who are you? Why did you save me?"
He couldn't ready anything about that musician without a face. It was hard, but his fingers seemed to think about the notes to take, like words.
" a' o' this maiter? ah thought ye hud something mair important tae tak' care about!" More notes were played, "like a quine in need o' 'n' hulp? she surely wull catch th' yak o' someone oot there!"
"Y/n!"
The questions and the wondering about this person were immediately cast aside; he had more important matters to attend to now!
He recalled his own staff, and, laying on the ground, he noticed your own weapon, left there when the rats had taked you away. He reached for it and secured it on his shoulder.
From afar, he could hear the sounds of more rats, maybe enjoying the idea of a feast with his own flesh and yours for the future.
"Hold on tight, Y/n... I'm coming for you!"
And, with a sprint, he took the main road, approaching the next battle.
///
Rats weren't the only enemy that he had to face. After the defeat of the young frogs that tried to attack him from the water surface he was passing by, he must have admitted that this challenge was more complicated than the last one.
Atsushi Black Wind Mountain, the Yaoguais worked under a system, a rule of one big leader, and acted in such a way. Here they were erratic and chaotic, following different rules made by different people. Kind of odd, especially knowing that the Yellow Wind Sage was around... if he was around.
Built in the walls of the rock or destroyed around the area, what was left of old Buddhist temples remains, showing the story of attempts to eradicate that belief from that place. But, by the looks of it, it seemed to have backfired...
He kept on running around the rocks and the sands, trying to catch your scent in the air. He must have been down for some time; he couldn't get your trace even with proper concentration. How was he supposed to find you?!
After another climb, another scene appeared in front of him: behind some mountains and dunes, like a column that was erected in the distance, a tornado made of sand stood tall in the distance. It was pretty impressive and scary too; it looked capable of destroying everything in its path... but then he noticed one interesting detail: it wasn't moving at all.
"...could it be...uh..."
He needed to look it up on it, but that wasn't his priority right now.
A pair of stairs, built inside the stone, led him to an area where, instead of rock formations or old statues, houses made of bricks and stone were built, alongside old walls and structures made for the living and more. Despite the fact that there were many, none of them seemed to have been used in years, and he saw no mortal around that could live there! The only ones that seemed to have found a home in that place were the rats, the same ones that were not far from his position right now.
When he heard some more steps coming closer, he had enough time to hide in one of those houses, allowing the two rats that were currently on patrol to come closer. They were casually talking to each other, not on guard like the ones that he had already fought.
"And he kept on bragging about how good they were to have brought that human there to the prince!"
"You know him; what's bad in hoping for a bite?"
"Like he'll even left some spare for us! We'll only get the monkey that was with her..."
A human? They must have been talking about you, and by the looks of it, things were looking pretty bad now, especially since they seemed interested in making you the lunch for... a prince? Their prince?
"You know what's funny? When I passed near his abode, I hadn't heard him eating at all! And you know how he is with food! I even heard someone talking!"
"Maybe he's playing with her? Who knows? He's clearly not the brightest in the bunch.
The two keep on laughing and talking, unaware of the door that was slowly opening behind them. They made a huge mistake by revealing that you were in fact still alive...he held at least. The first one didn't even notice the head of the staff crashing into his head, while the other hand only had the chance to acknowledge the enemy attack.
"WHAT THE—UGH!"
Another blow made him fall on his back, and, before he could even react, Yuán Fèn's staff was ALREADY pointing to his muzzle.
"Scream and I'll split your head open! Where's the human girl?!"
"Wh-what human g—" he stopped when the staff started to brush his teeth.
"The human girl that you were talking about before! The one with the monkey, speak up now!"
There was a moment of silence from the rat, unsure if speaking would have been better than receiving that staff on his head. When he realized that Yuán Fèn wasn't joking about opening his head, he gulped.
"They have her to the prince ...in his abode, in a cave!"
"Where?!"
"North! Just before the cliff, you can't miss it!"
"...good..."
A smack on the rat face was enough to make him lose consciousness. You were alive ; that was all that mattered, and, with that thought in mind, he started to lead North.
///
After the defeat of the next enemy, the monkey started to understand how they were supposed to work around there. While on their last journey, they seemed to go from the less strong to the strongest of their ranks, maybe with the sole purpose of protecting the relics; here they seemed more chaotic or, at least, concentrating in certain areas of Yellow Ridge. He didn't think that he would have found so few Yaoguais protecting their prince, and that maybe was a sign of the strength of that One.
By following the directions of the rat, he found himself following the Wall of another one of those mountains, the Shadows covering his path, allowing him a relief from the sun. The lack of other enemies around was also a lucky opportunity for taking a breath from the ones he had ALREADY fought.
It wasn't that far till he found, as he told him, the entrance of a cave. It was big enough to let him pass or make a living if something big.
What really gave him a cold feel on his shoulder was the amount of bones and objects that unlucky passengers had left behind. Maybe the leftovers of the meal of this prince. What kind of prince a bunch of rats could have?! By the look of the mess, it seemed like he had quite the appetite.
He looked around, searching for the fresh meats for his recent meals, and, with a sigh of relief, he had found nothing that could lead to you. Despite the look, the light of the place was enough to allow him to see around freely without the need of fire or by lighting one of the braziers around the place. And, to his surprise, there were a few objects around that made the place almost bearable… or a mock of a human habitation of some sort. Old vases, broken panels, what it seemed to be a tree sradicated from its roots and posed near the wall like imitating an indoor plant…
What kind of creature could try to do such a thing?
Still wondering, he stopped his exploration when he heard some roaring sound coming not so far from him and…
"No! You must stay! Other kill and eat; I protect and care! You too, nice! You stay!"
It was the voice of a male, hoarse, and it wasn't friendly at all!
He followed it, and, after moving away an old curtain that had seen better days, in front of him there was… well, he surely wasn't just a rat; he was a BIG rat! His armor reflected a few sparkles when the light shone upon it; he moved like he was trying to hold in place something. Resting near the wall, a giant Chui stayed, ready to be held by its owner.
His tail moved like a storm, still trying to fight whatever was in his hands and
"Put me down! I don't want to stay here with you! LET ME GO!"
Yuán Fèn's eyes widened, realizing that what the prince tried so badly to hold on tight to was in fact you. Without another thought, he unleashed his staff and, emitting only a huge STOMP, he bashed his weapon on the head of the rat. Instead of falling dead on the ground, he started to move like a drunk man, obviously kerfuffled by the monkey attack but not dead like he hoped.
That giant started to fall, losing the grip on you, and, by taking that to his advantage, Yuán Fèn was able to catch you in his arms before you could meet the hard ground. Your eyes were shut close, scared for the fall, and he couldn't hold a small giggle for that display.
"You look like you were in need of assistance, my Bián huá!" He said.showing off a little for the rescue.
You opened your eyes; a gleam of happiness reappeared.
"...Monkey!"
Your arms met his neck in a hug, relieved that in fact both of you weren't dead at all. He sighed, holding you closer. trying to calm you down from the huge scare you must have felt back there. Then, you suddenly make some space between the two of you, a mortified look on your face.
"AH! I'm sorry! Your wounds!"
"I'm fine! See? Not a scratch!"
He showed you his chest, untouched and without trace of any wounds or arrows.
"But I saw it... Did the healing wine help you?"
"Not exactly. I've found a helping hand that...
Will let you lose your head!"
"...it's strangely specific."
He just laughed it off; he was sure that, sooner than later, you would understand his words, and, maybe, he couldn't wait to see your face once you noticed the headless monk. But he regained his seriousness once he heard some moan of pain from the rat Yaogaui in front of him. He let you down, then took back his staff; he couldn't let that thing walk around again, not after the danger he had put you through.
"Wait!" Your hands resting on his arm, he looked at you surprised. "Let's just leave him. You gave him a concussion already. I don't think he'll be a problem soon."
Well, that was new… You seemed even sorry for what had happened to that rat. Now, come to think of it, you were practically unharmed. Not only that, but by looking around, he noticed a tea set, now almost completely destroyed on the ground, what it seemed to be tea and a bunch of staff not so far from you. Dared he say, that prince never had any intention of eating you!
"All right, I don't know what happened here, but you look like you had a blast. Let's move now; more rats will come after the commotion!"
You nodded, but you still looked back at the prince with a sorry expression that made your friend more curious than before.
"I'm sorry. It's an urgent matter. I promise to apologize better when we take the relic. Thank you!"
And so you and the Destined One left hand in hand the cave, even if your friend now was quite interested in knowing what had just happened between you and that thing in that cave. Once out, you needed to cover your face from the sun, trying to readjust to its rays even in the dim light of the rocks.
"Hey." His voice made you look at him, noticing something long and dark pointing at you. Your staff…he had kept it all this time...
You smiled, taking from his hand your weapon, promising yourself to be more careful. Your hands shook at the view of your friend dying on the ground… Then, his hand reached yours, making one of the two leaving the staff and giving it a light squeeze.
"Come on... I know the way." He said with confidence.
And so, you followed him.
((GEEEEEEEZE, ugh...sucha ride...it's more a prologue than a part buuut there it is!))
what had happene din that cave between you and the prince?
