A few hours later and we haven’t made much progress. Tripitaka needed a lot of breaks. He sat there, panting on a rock trying to catch his breath, and I sighed as I looked at the setting sun.

  “There’s a place we can camp just a little farther up. Do you think you can make it?” I asked.

  He nodded and stood up, even though he was still out of breath. He was a trooper at least. He hasn’t complained once even though the hike was clearly hard on him.

  We hiked up for another li before we made it to the spot I had in mind. I began building a fire as Tripitaka collapsed on the ground.

  I set a small tripod over the fire with a pot pulled from my necklace. I started preparing ingredients and letting them bubble in the water I summoned from the air.

  The smell of the vegetable stew I was making stirred Tripitaka from his death, and he stiffly walked over and sat, staring at the stew, drooling.

  I chuckled. “Just a few more minutes. The vegetables need to cook through. You’re a vegetarian? Most Buddhist monks are right?”

  He wiped his mouth. “Yes, and thank you. I couldn’t eat at the huntsman’s house because they only had meat available.”

  “Wait, when’s the last time you ate?”

  “Um. Yesterday morning. I had some rice cakes from the saddlebag on the horse before we were attacked.”

  My eyes widened. “What!? Why didn’t you say something?! I could have made you something better at the cabin!”

  He shook his head. “Suffering is a part of the journey. I endure to prove my faith and achieve enlightenment.”

  “While suffering is a part of the journey, that doesn’t mean you should go out of your way to find it. We would have made much better time today if you weren’t half-starved. Here.” I poured out a bowl and handed it to him with a wooden spoon. “Eat all of this, and another bowl. I’ll fix more in the morning, so don’t be shy.”

  “Oh, thank you so much ma’am. You’re very kind.” He began shoveling in the stew, barely letting it cool. He opened his mouth in shock and blew on it and tried to stop burning himself.

  I laughed at his antics. “When you get hungry, speak up. We’ll have a much easier time if you’re not about to faint. And you don’t need to thank me. I’ll be coming with you on your journey, so this is just me doing my part.”

  “You’re coming with me? Not just Sun Wukong?” He’d slowed down, and was properly cooling down his stew before taking a bite.

  “Of course! Wukong is my husband. Where he goes, I go.”

  “I did think the two of you were close at the cabin. But this journey will be dangerous. Are you certain a lady such as yourself can handle it?”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You do realize I’m an immortal right? I’m much stronger than you. If you can get through this journey alive, then I think I’ll be just fine.”

  “Ah.” He went to take another bite, but his spoon scraped against the empty bottom. He looked up at me with wide innocent eyes and I laughed again.

  He reminded me a little of my old friend Luvouse. So innocently curious and a little dopey. I took his bowl and refilled it again.

  “Here. Remember, it’s hot.”

  He nodded and took caution from the start, cooling down each bite. I ate the rest of my first bowl and pulled out a pear to munch on while Trip finished up.

  He ate another bowl, which polished off the stew, and I cleaned up the remains.

  There wasn’t a tent, so I pulled some old clothes out of my necklace for us to sleep on.

  I made up our little makeshift beds, thankful it didn’t look like rain. I’d have to add tents to the list of supplies we’d need when I visited Flower-Fruit Mountain.

  “Thank you Sun Yue. Your thoughtfulness is very kind.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I waved him off. “Please, call me Yue. It’s not right for you to address me so formally when you call my husband by his given name.”

  “Are you sure he won’t mind? We’re already alone together on this mountain. A man and a woman can’t be just friends.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll never understand humans. Ever. I’m not a woman. A woman refers to a female human. I’m a female monkey. The closest term for my gender in your language is ‘lady’. And no offense, but I couldn’t be less interested in you or any other human if I tried. You can bring your concerns referring to infidelity up when there’s a male monkey other than Wukong around.” Even then, I didn’t want them. Wukong was already plenty for me, and he trusted me to stay true to him just as I trusted him.

  “Ah. My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend. Very well, I shall call you by your given name. Yue.”

  I nodded. “Thank you. Now let’s get some rest. We need to start off early tomorrow to make up for the time we lost today.”

  I settled into the clothes, curling up in my dress though it was a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t going to take it off out in the open like this. Nudity was one thing I agreed with the humans on. It was to be kept in private.

  “Thank you again. And goodnight Yue."

  The next morning started early, right as the sun peeked over the horizon. I made some more food as Trip offered prayers and meditated. Once he was finished, we ate and started off again.

  We made much better time today. We were nearing the peak when the sun began to dip lower and lower. I wanted to push ahead as quickly as possible, but I knew it would be a lot riskier in the dark. So while I wanted to free Wukong, it was better to wait.

  I made some more stew, grimacing at our depleted stocks. After we freed Wukong tomorrow, I’d have to fly to Flower-Fruit Mountain to get everything we’d need. Another bag for Wukong, clothes for him, tents, food, more cooking utensils, and sewing supplies. Then I could give everyone the good and bad news. Good news, Wukong was free. Bad news, it was going to be a while longer before we could come home.

  I sighed and shook my head. No point in getting mad over it. It was what it was. Plus, it couldn’t take that long right? Tripitaka was a regular mortal who aged normally. At most this trip could take a human lifetime. That was less than a century!

  I flashed the bowl into my hands and poured some rice and veggies into it. I handed it off to Tripitaka who was drooling again. “Be careful. It’s hot.”

  I added some meat to mine and began munching away. Clouds were beginning to gather, but hopefully it wouldn’t lead to rain.

  “Hm? Yue are you not vegetarian?”

  I looked at Trip, my train of thought breaking. “Huh? Oh, no. I enjoy fruits and veggies, but I also like a little meat to balance out my meals.”

  He seemed confused. “Then, are you not Buddhist? I assumed since your husband was becoming my disciple, you would convert too.”

  “Oh. No. Not at all. I’m sorry, but I don’t plan on converting to Buddhism. I already have another faith, and it’s quite important to me.” Lunus, the moon of my old world flashed through my mind, along with the small temples where we left offerings for those we loved who passed on.

  “Ah, my apologies again. I hope you aren’t upset by your husband converting.”

  I shook my head. “Not at all. We never had the same faith, and couples with different faiths happened a lot where I come from.” The country I lived in was a haven for such people. They escaped the prejudice of their old countries to be together there. Luvouse’s parents were like that.

  “Really? That sounds quite unusual to me. Isn’t it only natural a husband and a wife share a faith?”

  I shrugged. “What exactly is natural about it? As long as they love and care for each other, aren’t they married? Faith isn’t something you can share. It’s personal to every individual. So it seems to me you can marry someone even if they don’t believe the same things. What matters is you respect each other’s faith, and support them in their worship.”

  He paused in his eating and stared deeply into the fire. “I’ve never thought about it that way before.” He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully. “But isn’t it a woman’s duty to serve her husband? Does that mean she should convert to his religion too?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Let me remind you I’m not a woman. I’m a lady. And while I love Wukong deeply, I don’t serve him. I support him. I’m out here with you because he needs me, just like I know he’ll be there for me when I need him. We’re partners, not a master and his servant. Also, like I said, faith is deeply personal. If a woman abandons her faith to be with someone she loves, is that true conversion? Or did she just give up a piece of herself to make room for another?”

  He took the last bite and swallowed, but continued staring into the flames. “I don’t know. I’ll have to meditate on it. Thank you for discussing it with me.”

  “Oh.” Hmm. Usually these sorts of discussions turned into arguments. But Trip seemed to be truly thinking things over and deciding for himself. I think I was beginning to understand why Buddha said no flying.

  Buddha didn’t just want the scriptures in the eastern lands. He wanted someone to teach them. Someone willing to take new ideas into account and think for themselves before forming opinions. This journey was meant to turn Trip into that sort of person. And it seemed Guanyin chose well.

  “Well, thank you for listening to me. If you ever want to discuss things again I’d be happy to talk with you. I’ll even tell you about my own faith and beliefs.”

  His eyes sharpened. “You will?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. But not tonight. It’s getting late and we need to clean up. But we’ll have plenty of time while we’re on the road.”

  “Thank you. I’ve only been taught the basics of theological debate, but I’ll do my best to keep up with you.”

  I chuckled. “Well, you know more than me then! Here, give me your bowl and I’ll clean them off. Let me get the clothes out and you can get them ready for us to sleep.”

  We went about our separate chores, and I smiled. I liked Trip. He was nice. Maybe this journey wouldn’t be so bad after all. I haven’t seen much of the world or met many people besides the monkeys on Flower-Fruit Mountain. Maybe it was time to change that.