Chapter 19: Boss, That Monkey Is Here Again

The small rustic inn suddenly gained a monkey, a stubborn ox, and a beautiful fairy princess with an iron fan. In an instant, the farmstead was filled with the vibrant hues of spring. It was lively, as one would expect.

After the sinister purple mist gradually dispersed, noon arrived the next day. The regular patrons—Madam Feng, Four-Eyes, Frog, Toad, and others—came in droves. But when they saw Sun Wukong, the plump ox, and Iron Fan, they were all utterly shocked.

The monkey, who could speak with human tongue, was back. Beside him now stood a rotund man with two horns sprouting from his head, and a stunning fairy maiden as if she’d stepped out from a painting. Everyone thought they must be dreaming.

“It’s the monkey! The same monkey!”
“Is he here again?”
“Boss, that monkey is back...”

It was terrifying—surely, these were true demons.

“Enough! Stop fussing,” Chu Xiaoyu appeared, calm and poised as ever. Seeing their astonishment, she felt compelled to repeat her lie for the thousandth time. “I’ve told you all, again and again—they’re just cosplay enthusiasts. Monkey spirits, demon beasts? Can you be any more neurotic?”

The crowd remained skeptical.
“Really cosplay fans? Their makeup is too realistic!”
No one believed it.
“Continue! Please, keep telling your tale!”
“Boss, please carry on with your performance.”

It was obviously a real monkey! Especially when they looked at Iron Fan—she truly seemed a fairy from a scroll. Such a classical beauty in cosplay—why had they never seen her before?

“Hmph!”
Boss, you are blatantly lying to our faces.

Chu Xiaoyu couldn’t be bothered with their commotion. Believe it or not, she firmly insisted they were just cosplay enthusiasts. To test her doubts, Madam Feng was the first to try—she walked over and tugged at the ox’s horns with force. They felt solid, not like props glued on, but as if they truly grew from his head.

Had it not been for the pact Chu Xiaoyu made with them last night—to keep their identities secret and never reveal themselves in front of outsiders—the situation would have been very different.

Madam Feng’s stubbornness was met with the ox’s foolish smile, playing along in good humor.

---

“Miss, where are you from? How old are you? Are you married?”
Men’s curiosity about women is eternal.

Four-Eyes, Frog, Toad and the others crowded around Iron Fan, their enthusiasm unrestrained, as if stars circling the moon. Their attire was strange, their manners even stranger. Yet Iron Fan was lively by nature; even in this unfamiliar place, she showed no restraint.

Nearly every male guest who entered the farmstead pulled out their phones, snapping photos of Iron Fan non-stop. At first, Iron Fan was bewildered. She didn’t understand what those shiny devices were, why they were pointed at her so often, or why the men clamored to take pictures with her.

Pictures together? What did that even mean?

But as the images appeared, the adorable, confused Iron Fan gradually understood—so this is what taking photos means? She immediately loved it.

Sun Wukong, meanwhile, had somehow procured a cigarette and was smoking away. He remembered when he first tried it, the taste nearly choked him. But now—after a meal, a smoke, and he felt as carefree as a god.

“Hah, you really know how to enjoy yourself, monkey,” Chu Xiaoyu said, watching Sun Wukong puffing, shaking her head with a smile. “Smoking too much isn’t good for you, take it easy.”

Sun Wukong quickly extinguished the cigarette with a finger. He never dared misbehave in front of Chu Xiaoyu. The monkey’s knack for reading faces was unparalleled.

“Wukong, when you return to Flower Fruit Mountain next time, bring me some fruit trees from there,” Chu Xiaoyu said, surveying the rather empty farmstead, thinking it was time to plant something new.

Wukong was surprised. “Uh... Since the Immortal has asked, I’ll obey. But those fruit trees... they’re quite large, aren’t they? How should I bring them over?”

Flower Fruit Mountain—just the name suggested a place brimming with fruit trees. Otherwise, the Immortal wouldn’t make such an odd request.

But if he were to uproot entire trees and bring them over, how many trips would it take?

The monkey was confused.

“You’re silly. I’m not asking you to bring whole trees, roots and all! Here’s a suggestion: collect some seeds, or young saplings, a variety of each—make sure the selection is complete.”

Flower Fruit Mountain in Journey to the West was famed for its abundance of fruits and melons, enough to make anyone envious. Her own farm had lain fallow for so long—it was time to sow some new varieties.

Heh heh!

Once the monkey had access, Queen Mother’s Peach Orchard, Zhenyuanzi’s Ginseng Fruit—her farm must have them all.

Chu Xiaoyu couldn't help but make future plans, bold and ambitious.

---

Sun Wukong glanced sideways, noticing Chu Xiaoyu’s golden eyes gleaming brightly, and he shivered involuntarily.

From her look, it seemed she was about to sell him off like a piglet.

No, no! The Immortal cared for him, cherished him, loved him—how could she ever sell him off? Never!

Pah! His monkey mind was prone to wild imaginings.

The monkey shook his head in a comical way, prompting Chu Xiaoyu to tap him with a finger. “Don’t shake your head for no reason—you look just like a silly child.”

A silly child? The phrase suited him well.

“When do you plan to return?” Chu Xiaoyu asked casually.

Sun Wukong scratched his ear, his eyes twinkling. “When the Gate of Immortals opens, I’ll go back. I won’t forget what the Immortal instructed.”

“Good, that’s best. Too much idleness breeds laziness—everything needs balance.”

“Your teaching is wise, Immortal. I’ll remember it.”

And so, the monkey, the ox, and Iron Fan stayed at the farmstead, playing and lounging for over a month, until the Gate of Immortals opened.

“Sir, I truly hate to leave this place, but I must go,” Iron Fan said, taking one step forward and three steps back, reluctant to part.

The ox, too, was unwilling to leave.

The master’s estate was wondrous, filled with all manner of fun and delicious things to eat and drink—everything one could wish for.

Only Sun Wukong seemed carefree, unaffected.

“Come on, you two, let’s go. It’s not a final farewell. Next time, when the gate opens, we can return.”

Having come and gone so often, Sun Wukong was used to it.

“Sir, we’re leaving now.”

“Good!”

This parting was only to make the next reunion even sweeter.