Family
Isolated by the sea hides the island paradise that is home to a kingdom of demon monkeys. Its miracle-producing land has caused many to eye the land, but the forces of Demon King Hunshi were the most vile and most prominent. The two forces have been fighting with one another for almost fifty years. It was on this anniversary, during the Monkey King’s hundredth birthday, that everything changed.
Just as the birthday banquet was about to begin, golden lights streaked the clear blue skies, almost like the heavens were also celebrating the occasion. For the mortals, they all saw this as an auspicious omen from the heavens. Everyone saw these signs in many different ways. Some took it as an opportunity, and some took it as a chance to celebrate.
Self-absorbed in their own worlds, none but two macaques noticed the changes that were occurring in Huāguǒ Shān. The rivers began to flow backward, towards and up the mountaintop where a floating boulder sat above a rippling and growing pond. Soon, the forests and lands shook along with the huge boulder as if greeting it delightfully. It did not take long for golden beams of light to burst through the boulder, quickly tearing it apart like a chick breaking through its shell.
In one swift motion, the large boulder explodes into tiny fragments as a golden light envelopes the mountaintop, rivaling a majestic firework. From the light emerges a simian with golden light fur far too similar to the golden light the stone once emitted. Curious and beautiful sky-blue eyes opened up to the world for the first time, along with her infectious and thunderous laughter. The leftover pieces of her birthstone returned to her side, transforming into clothes. And thus, a juvenile legend was born.
Curious about the world around her, the golden simian quickly began exploring the land around her. It did not take very long for the inhabitants of Huāguǒ Shān to notice her presence, especially with her abnormal and eye-catching fur and eye color. Feeling the gazes on her, the stone simian would try to approach them, only for them to run away in fear.
She felt a mischievous desire to scare them again, yet their unchanging reactions also brought another indescribable emotion within her. Unable to define them, she went to continue her exploration of the land, playing pranks here and there before ultimately leaving. After a couple of swings and leaps, she found her way to a large gathering of simians. She hid herself in the trees so as not to disturb them and cause them to run away again. She sat in the trees, observing them silently as they ate and partied.
Seeing them doing this made another unknown emotion swell up within her. The feeling obviously distressed her, but she had no idea how to get rid of such an uncomfortable feeling. Maybe it was because of her strong emotional distress or due to the other’s accumulated prowess, the old simian with a wooden staff subtly turned towards her direction, alerting her.
Worried that she had been discovered, the golden simian naively hid deeper into the tree’s leaves. Obviously, this old simian was different from the rest. He grabbed a few peaches before leaping into a nearby tree, placing the peaches on the branches before returning to the rest.
Seeing that the little simian did not move, he then proceeded to tell everyone while subtly and specifically eyeing her, “Come, everyone! Eat! Eat! Everything is of the ripest and tastiest fruits. You won’t regret tasting it!”
Taking his hint, the golden simian went to the tree and took the peaches. Once she bit into it, she could tell the old simian wasn’t lying. With great enthusiasm, she quickly gobbled down the other peaches with an over-the-moon smile. Now, being very curious about the old simian, she ended up sneaking into their cave where everyone was gathered.
Stepping forward to the old simian sitting on the throne, the maroon-colored horse-monkey cupped his hands and respectfully asked, “I say, Your Majesty, shouldn’t you pass down an order about that stone monkey? We should probably order everyone to stay away from it in case of danger.”
Keeping a relaxed and bothered expression, the Monkey King calmly probed his generals and marshals, “Oh, and what is that danger, General Ba?”
“It isn’t a true simian! It isn’t like us!” General Ba responded, causing the eavesdropper to widen her eyes in shock at their blatant rejection.
“Just because she looks different means that she will hurt us?” The old macaque questioned, knowing full well how to poke holes into the other statement.
“We all know just how much ruckus it caused when it transformed from a stone to a monkey. If that is what happened to the land, what would happen to us if we faced it head-on?” A large, light brown furred macaque added, expanding on their current worries to their king.
“It might even have more powers than what General Beng had surveyed. With that much power at birth, who knows how much power this thing actually has?” The white-furred horse-monkey added in.
“That is a possibility, Marshal Liu, but we aren’t sure if she has that ability or not. Ever since it was born, nothing extraordinary has occurred.” The tall, dark brown-furred macaque argued.
“That’s just the problem, Marshal Ma! We don’t know anything! We can’t be sure of its intention or its strength, that is why that thing is dangerous.” Marshal Liu declared as he stood up.
Dangerous? She was dangerous? The golden simian didn’t understand the gravity of the word, but she could understand that it wasn’t a good word if it meant that the simians were cautious towards her.
“And by the time we find out, everything will be too late.” General Beng nodded in agreement.
“Better yet, why don’t we just chase it out of Huāguǒ Shān?” The General Ba suggested.
“Yeah! Great idea, General Ba! That way, we don’t have to worry about it.” Marsha Liu agreed.
Drive her out? They were this concerned that they wanted to chase her out this badly? She didn’t understand why. Why was she so dangerous ? Why was it such a good idea to drive her out of this… place? Why did they feel this way towards her?
Many indescribable yet strange emotions swirled inside her. As she was just born yesterday, she did not know how to relieve or control them. This sort of feeling only caused another sense of discomfort for this newly born simian. She couldn’t understand why she was experiencing these emotions or why they tormented her like so.
What she did know was that she didn’t want to leave, but what could she do? She wanted to stay with them for a reason she could not explain. Even though she did not know what the outside world was like, she felt a deep desire to stay here on Huāguǒ Shān. This sense of belonging, comfort, and tranquility, she had a feeling that she would never get that exact feeling anywhere else in this world.
Just as she was trying to figure out these feelings, the Old Macaque King unconditionally stood up for her. “Why?” The king asked, pausing to give the others a chance to answer, but no one could say anything, they were simply speechless.
Seeing their expected reaction, the Monkey King proceeded to berate them with great emotion. “This is her birthplace! This is her home! Just like how Huāguǒ Shān is our home! Demon King Hunshi tries to drive us away, and yet we resist to protect it because this place is our home. If we drive this stone monkey away, what does that make us?”
An unknown warmth coursed through her as all the previous emotions were washed away by the old simian’s words. He cared. He cared about her in an unfamiliar yet comforting way. It was hard to describe this wonderful emotion that was invoked by the Old Macaque King. Unconsciously, her gaze upon the king turned soft and tender, clearly conveying similar emotions that the other had towards her.
The rest of the simians, on the other hand, were stuck in silence for quite a while after hearing their king’s words. Not only did they respect their Monkey King so much that they didn’t want to confute him, but the words the old simian had spoken were also hard to refute. However, their concerns were still heavily lingering in their hearts, preventing them from letting this matter go so easily.
“But it isn’t even a beast, celestial, or demon. That is not to mention that it isn’t a citizen of our kingdom. It is unsettling, to say the least.” Marshal Liu commented, trying to explain their concerns and discomfort to their wise king.
“If you all are so worried, then we can just investigate her to see just what she will bring to this place. There is no point in looking towards the future if you have yet to deal with the present.” The king suggested, causing the others to become enlightened and begin discussing who should take on this task.
Excited and impatient, the golden simian jumped out of her hiding place, finally debuting herself in front of the simians. With gasps and trembling bodies, the simian citizens parted ways for her. Wanting to test out her boundaries, she decided to play a game with the simians. She slowly approached them as they backed away in fear. Seeing this, she decided to change tactics and began chasing after them, causing everyone to scream and run in terror.
Feeling an intense gaze upon her, she stopped and caught a few curious children staring at her. Being a mischievous simian, she tried making faces at them to invoke “funny” reactions. As unpredictable as children are, instead of reacting in the way the golden simian wanted, they started to giggle and even squeal in excitement.
Although she was surprised by their unusual reactions, hearing their laughs brought a bright smile to her own face. Feeling elated and enthusiastic, she focused her attention on entertaining the children. It was at this moment that the Old Macaque King made his way through the crowd to her.
Standing straight up, she waved innocently to the king with a bright smile. “Hi!”
“Hello, little Shihou.” The king smiled back while he continued to walk over with his staff.
“Shihou?” She repeated with a puzzled head tilt.
“That’s what everyone’s calling you. It is a fitting name, isn’t it?” He answered as he finally stopped in front of her.
“Shihou is my name?” She repeated once more before jumping in joy, “My name is Shihou!”
Over the next several days, the generals and marshals kept a careful eye on the golden simian as she interacted with the rest of the citizens. Even with the King’s words and her harmless actions, her unknown origins, and abnormal fur color still instilled fear in the citizens. That was on top of her lack of common sense in addition to her mischievous nature.
Thankfully, there was just the right simian nearby that would help her through these difficulties. Tucked far in the corners of the simian kingdom hid a dark-furred macaque with the most colorful six ears in the world. He sat in his own little world, in the shadows, surrounded by the serene forests and rivers, unbothered by the likes of the world.
Or that would have been what it should have been. As the unpredictable and energetic stone simian, Shihou had managed to find him nevertheless. It was during her usual exploration runs that she accidentally bumped into his presence. Of course, with the macaque’s extraordinarily sharp hearing, he had already heard her coming his way.
The moment she got close, he was already swinging and leaping away from her general direction with deep annoyance. ‘Fuck, how did this simian even manage to find me? Doesn’t everyone avoid this area? Who stupidly went over here?’
He was already irritated enough that he had to move from his second favorite spot on this island, but the other simian just had to chase after him as well. This caused the macaque to speed up, confident that he would easily lose this insolent simian with his extraordinary strength. What he did not expect was that the other simian was able to keep up with his speed. This only made his annoyance and frustrations grow.
Finally snapping, he finally confronted his pursuer. “Stop following me!”
He thought he conveyed his obvious disdain thoroughly, but the ignorant simian only brushed his words under the rug. “Why are you running away? Come on! Let’s play!” Although Shihou was finally standing still to not scare the other away, her tail could not hide her inner excitement by wagging like crazy.
What she didn’t know was that her spike in volume only caused the macaque to flinch in pain, causing his initial irritation to go through the roof. “I don’t want to play with you! Go find someone else to bother!”
At his blatant hatred and rejection, the smile she had on her face instantly vanished. Her carefree and cheerful self could almost be mistaken for an illusion with how fast she changed her attitude.
“Fine, whatever! It’s not like you’re the only person I can play with!” As soon as the words came out of her mouth, her buried anger, frustration, and dejection quickly mixed with her loneliness, leading to an ugly emotional outburst.
Feeling absolutely pathetic and hopeless, she slammed her fist through a tree in frustration. “Damn it!”
Hanging her head down, she tried her best to smother those disturbing emotions to no avail. The stone simian wasn’t accustomed to hiding her emotions, so it was futile to even try. Tears welled up in her eyes as all the built-up emotions came bubbling out.
She tried her very best to fit in with the others. She tried her best to learn the dumb and bothersome rules and traditions, but everyone still didn’t want to get close to her. Except for the infants and the Macaque King, no one had shown her genuine respect, acceptance, and kindness.
She was beginning to lose hope of finding a place she could call home and people whom she could call friends. She had been silently enduring this until this moment when it came pouring out. Wiping away her endless tears, she began voicing out her frustrations even though she knew very well that the other would just ignore her just like the others.
“Why? Why?! Why does everyone hate me? I never hurt anyone. I don’t plan to! All I wanted… was just friends… I just wanted to be friends, is that so hard?!” She declared with crystal-like tears enhancing her ocean-blue eyes, stirring unknown emotions in the other when faced with it.
Although it should have been distressing seeing her cry, it actually caused the macaque to blush and heat up from how beautiful the other looked while asking the most innocent question. Shihou actually resonated with him on a very deep level, ignoring the weird emotion she brought.
He knew what it was like to be alone yet still longing for companionship. He knew just how upsetting it was to be outcasted and to be unfairly discriminated against. The difference was that he had long grown accustomed to this sort of feeling, to this sort of isolated life. He was once in her very shoes.
Sighing, he scratched the back of his head as he tried to explain himself. “Stop crying. There’s no point in doing that. All you will be getting is pity and nothing more. …I don’t hate you like those ignorant kids.” Now feeling embarrassed, he turned his face away to subtly comfort the other simian. “...I just hate loud and noisy things…”
With a hiccup, she noticed the rainbow-colored six ears on the macaque and understood his reason. She unlatched her cape and then began moving towards the macaque, causing him to immediately back off. “What are you doing?” He asked, baring his fangs as a warning.
“Just… stay still,” Shihou replied as she tightened her grip on her cape, feeling a little embarrassed at her plan.
He should have rejected her demand, but the way the other averted her eyes with a light blush under her cheeks made his body involuntarily burn up and freeze in place. Her clear blue eyes showed no malice and no impurities; it was just filled with a desire to help. It was hard to reject those eyes, especially if those wondrous blue eyes belonged to this certain golden simian.
Getting his dubious consent, Shihou proceeded to wrap the cape around the other’s neck like a scarf. She then lifted her cape to cover his rainbow six ears. “I don’t really want to hide your beautiful ears, but this should help somewhat, right?” Shihou said shyly, feeling overwhelmingly embarrassed at her own actions.
‘Beautiful?’ No one had ever complimented him like this before or even acted this way towards him before. Feeling her warmth and kindness, the macaque extended his hand towards her with the tips of his ears turning pink, trying his best not to sound too forward or arrogant. “...I don’t mind your voice.” Actually, he found her voice very pleasing.
Knowing what the other was implying, Shihou’s eyes widened before a blinding smile reappeared on her face. It was obvious the other was over the moon at his offer, and that made the macaque feel almost equally glad. The golden simian took this opportunity to grab his hand to pull him along to finally play with her.
“My name is Shihou, what is yours?” She asked giddily.
“Liu’er Mihou. You can call me Liu’er …Shihou.” He said as he pulled the scarf to his nose. ‘Smells of peaches.’
From that day on, everything began to change. With the help of Liu’er, it wasn’t long before she was assimilated into the community. With Shihou’s sunny and strong personality along with Liu’er’s scrutinizing and sharp tongue, it was quite hard to find their usual faults with the stone simian.
“Are you seriously trying to scold Shihou when you haven’t even bothered to explain why she shouldn’t get close to the traps?” Liu’er, for the hundredth time since he met the golden simian, stood up for her.
Although General Ba couldn’t refute the other’s words, he was more preoccupied with a more serious matter. “I have no time to deal with the two of you! Demon King Hunshi’s invasion is right on the horizon. We have no time to play around! You kids should be preparing the shelter with the others rather than here on the battlegrounds.”
Still not understanding the gravity of the situation, Shihou stood innocently beside the dark macaque, looking around and swishing her tail around in boredom. Liu’er could already tell that whatever the general was spouting was going through one ear and out of the other. With a sigh, Liu’er took the other’s hand and pulled her away.
Although Shihou was still very curious about what everyone was doing, she could sense the serious nature of what they were doing. The heavy atmosphere, anxious faces, and brave fronts made her feel awkward to act in the open. Not knowing what to do, Shihou decided to stick close to her very first friend, not like they ever really separated.
That is… if the mischievous side of the golden simian is never evoked. Once both simians made it to the shelter, they busied themselves by preparing the shelter. It was while Liu’er was distracted that the stone simian sneaked off. Covered by the sounds of other simians, Shihou was easily able to make her way back to the battlefield without being noticed by the six-eared macaque.
Hiding in the trees or bushes, Shihou silently observed the other simians set up traps and go through their various plans. Every movement and trap was meticulously set up and intentionally planned. It was obvious just how serious they were regarding this invasion.
Although everyone else was anxious, the stone simian’s curiosity actually made her excited to see this unknown, powerful enemy. Along the way, she found herself at the border of their territory. Just before Shihou was about to find herself the most optimal location to watch the showdown, Demon King Hunshi’s army finally arrived just before the border.
With her extraordinary eyes, she was able to take a quick scan of the Demon King’s troops. ‘They don’t seem that strong. Maybe everyone is worried because of their numbers?’
Just as Shihou was about to leave in disappointment, her eyes just happened to catch sight of the last arrivals from the Demon King’s army, imprisoned simian citizens. Seeing their state, being in chains, dispirited faces, and being locked up in a tiny barred cage made the stone simian’s blood boil.
Without a second thought, she snapped a large tree branch before launching herself towards their general location. Leaping across several branches, Shihou landed right in front of the cage. In one swift motion, she easily broke through the bars and alarmed the enemy of her presence.
The demon army was quick to try to apprehend them, and it was at this point that Shihou realized that she fucked up. “RUN!” She shouted as she began to fight off the incoming army while the others retreated.
Shihou did her very best to cover their backs as they were retreating, but there was only so much she could do when hundreds of demons were after them and surrounded them at a frightening speed. Thankfully, there was always one person who would help her out of trouble.
“This way!” Liu’er shouted from somewhere far and high above.
Without hesitation or doubt, Shihou maneuvered her group toward the familiar voice. Feeling as if the simians were getting further and further out of their grasp, the demons’ movements became more aggressive. Seeing that they were catching up and increasing their numbers, Liu’er had no choice but to personally jump in.
Joining Shihou’s side, he tossed the golden simian a spear and began his own onslaught of enemy demons. Feeling a surge of confidence and power, Shihou changed from defensive offense to full-on slaughter. With the pair united, the battlefield was rapidly dyed red from the blood of their enemies.
The two were doing a great job at not only holding them back but also demolishing this side of the demon army. However, there is only so much the other normal simians could run. Thankfully, one of them had an actual plan. Once they reached the destined location, the dark-furred macaque backed off and covered his ears.
“Get down!” Liu’er’s voice rang through the stone valley, which caused Shihou to tackle the other simians to the ground without hesitation.
In the next second, thousands of arrows came raining down upon the demon army, causing them to immediately call a cohesive retreat. Not wasting this opportunity, General Ba and General Beng ordered a follow-up attack with their troops.
Marshal Ma diverged from his troops to retrieve the previously imprisoned citizens, trying to ensure their safety before returning to the front lines. He was also trying to take the two adolescent simians to safety, but the initial adrenaline rush was still flowing through their veins.
“Nope, we’re going with you to the front lines. It is more interesting over there than at the shelter.” Shihou stubbornly insisted.
Shaking his head at the childish notion, he obviously rejected her. “You are still a child. You do not understand the true nature of the battlefield. Be obedient and go to the shelter where you should be.”
Although the general’s concerns were reasonable, from Liu’er’s perspective, Shihou’s words also had some weight. “I think we would be more useful on the battlefield rather than hiding in the shelter. You guys saw our fight. We can handle ourselves on the actual battlefield.”
Before Marshal Ma was going to reject them once more, the Old Macaque King stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder. Looking at the two of them, unwavering and confident, the king could only say one thing to them, “Go.”
Shihou’s expression immediately brightened. “You’re the best grandpa Monkey King!” With a jump and a skip, the overly excited stone simian was off to the front lines.
Seeing her reaction, Liu’er could only sigh at the future trouble the other was going to cause. “I better go after her.” With a light and quick bow, the macaque was off and after the golden simian.
It was only after the pair disappeared in the distance that Marshal Ma finally spoke up before his king. “Your Majesty, is it truly wise to send the children off to the battlefield like that?”
“They may be children, but they aren’t ordinary children, Marshal Ma. Their destiny is beyond anything we could ever dream of… but that also means that the hardships they will face are incomprehensible and perilous. That is why we must support them the best we can. We must prepare them for what is to come and protect them when they truly need us. If they are confident in their abilities, then why not let them explore and grow?”
Although Marshal Ma could not fully understand the king’s words, the marshal wasn’t foolish enough to doubt their wise king. It wasn’t long before the wise king’s decision was proven correct once more. From the words of their simian soldiers, this battle was more than victorious.
Many had already assumed Shihou’s battle prowess and strength, but Liu’er Mihou’s was truly a surprise. Sure, he was abnormally strong as a child, but as quiet as he had been in years, everyone seemed to forget about the potential he had. Now, together with the mysterious stone simian, the two were nearly unstoppable on the battlefield.
Their close relationship has caused each other to blossom like no other, and everyone could easily see that. Without the six-eared macaque, the stone simian would never have learned to socialize with them, to feel emotions, and to help them. Without the stone simian, the quiet macaque would have never opened up to them and uncovered his true strength to them.
It was after this battle that the once muddy water was finally cleared. The stone simian was no liability nor danger to them; instead, the value she held was so much more than they had ever expected. On top of that, they discovered that the neglected stone they held was actually a shining diamond. Their zero-to-hero story instantly did a 180 to their statuses in the kingdom.
After a few more victorious battles, their status solidified even more. Thanks to their combined efforts, the Demon King finally gave them a moment of peace after their numerous failures and retreats. Although this was a good thing for the majority of the citizens of the kingdom, the soldiers knew this was far from being over.