Follow me

"AGH! The piggy is coming!"

"Haha! Still ugly as ever." (You gonna regret it)

The kids playing soccer nearby teased the pink-haired girl.

She didn't say anything, just looked at the kids her age and continued walking.

"Haha! This pig is such a coward!" The boy said loudly to make sure the girl heard.

"Hasn't she always been like that?" The boy next to him said.

"Yeah, no surprises there. Piggy are always like that," the boy continued, then turned back to play soccer with everyone else.

The pink-haired girl walked for a while then turned back to look. She felt envious seeing the boys playing together while she was always alone.

"..." she remained silent, then turned away.

She reached the village gate, and the guards, seeing her, showed disdain but didn't stop her from entering.

After all, even if this girl was some kind of monster, she was still very weak and wouldn't harm the village.

So they let her in, but there was still a reason they let her go to the village.

"Oops, sorry!" A nearby guard kicked her leg, making her fall.

They enjoyed humiliating the girl.

She didn't say anything, just got up and walked through the gate.

While the half-demon creatures were much more resilient than humans and could withstand attacks from regular people without much harm, they still faced endless humiliation and hatred.

She kept walking, and those around her showed faces of disgust. Some mothers even covered their children's eyes.

Other kids laughed and immediately threw stones at her.

She continued walking.

After a while, she arrived at a food stall.

The owner, seeing her, frowned and angrily cursed at her.

"YOU AGAIN! DO YOU KNOW EVERY TIME YOU COME HERE, MY SHOP LOSES MONEY AND FEWER CUSTOMERS COME? GET OUT! I WON'T SELL TO YOU!"

"But..."

"NO 'BUTS', GET OUT!!"

She remained silent, leaving the stall.

She wandered alone, continuing to search for another place to buy food to cook.

But each time she went anywhere, she was always harassed.

Her stomach growled loudly, but she had to endure.

Being a half-demon pig creature, hunger would come very soon, and she would eat a lot. If she didn't eat enough, hunger would plague her all day.

Luckily, there was a nearby store with leftover food near the trash bin.

Her mouth watered at the sight. She approached and took the leftover food, putting it in a bag.

Humans couldn't eat things marked or dirty, but monsters had no problem with it, and neither did half-demon.

Then, she looked at the trash bin, deciding to rummage through it to find more food.

"Oi."

A voice came from behind her, causing her to turn and look.

It was Mr. Gao.

He took out a fairly large box of meat from his pocket and handed it to her. Being the village chief, he was the wealthiest person in the village, so getting high-quality food was easy for him.

The girl took the box of meat and looked at Mr. Gao as he walked away. She smiled for the first time and then left.

She went outside the gate and headed towards the forest. Deep within the forest was a simple and rundown wooden house.

She opened the door, and the creaking sound woke up someone inside.

"What did you get...?" A tired and weary female voice came from the bed.

"Um... meat and..." She checked the box of leftover food and looked at the woman in bed. "Fried rice."

"I don't remember giving you enough money to buy meat and fried rice. Did you steal it...?"

"No, the fried rice I found near the trash bin, and the meat was given to me by someone."

"Trash bin...? You wretch, do you want me to eat that filthy thing?"

The woman's voice was filled with anger this time, and she threw an object nearby at the girl's head.

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll eat the fried rice, and you can have the meat."

"If you knew, then you should have done that from the beginning. I'll wait."

The girl went to the kitchen to prepare the meat. Their house only had salt and cooking oil, so the dish was very simple. But its deliciousness came from the incredibly high quality of the meat.

After cooking, she handed the meat dish to her mother, who didn't say anything either. Her mother took the meat with a fork and began to eat.

The girl then went outside and took the box of leftover fried rice. She ate it with her hands since the spoon was reserved for her mother.

After finishing her meal, she put the box back into the black bag and left it near the tree branches.

But then she noticed something.

"What's this? A book?" She picked it up and read the title on the cover.

"The Honored one and... the Poor Girl?" She read it but didn't understand, It was the first time she had come across such a strange title.

She then went inside, lay down on the simple straw bed, and opened the book.

That's when she became engrossed in the story.

The story seemed captivating to her, depicting a proud young man who falls in love with a humble girl of low status. Her eyes sparkled as if she had just read a masterpiece.

Gradually, she became obsessed and dreamy after reading the book.

She always imagined a handsome man who would come to rescue her from this endless fatigue.

So, she kept hoping.

And if no one came... well, then she would do it herself.

***

Zhu Bajie sat on a rocky ledge, gazing at the stream. She remained silent, having heard those gentle words and cried a lot.

Now that she was released, she didn't know what to do next.

Her only goal from the beginning was to find a handsome husband, but she was hindered by an arrogant monkey and then forgiven by him.

She was deeply moved, it was the first time anyone besides Mr. Gao had treated her kindly.

He even called her beautiful, a phrase she never thought she'd hear, no matter how much she dreamed, as she knew she wasn't worthy of being called beautiful.

Lost in thought, she was suddenly hit on the head by a staff.

"OUCH! What was that?!" She held her head, turning to look.

It was Wukong, who put banana in her mouth, holding a peach in one hand and the staff in the other.

"...What do you want?" Zhu Bajie asked irritably, looking at him.

"I want to humiliating you," Wukong replied, sitting right next to her and mischievously tossing a peach to Zhu Bajie. She took it but didn't understand Wukong's intentions.

"Eat it," Wukong finished his banana and then looked at the stream.

Zhu Bajie remained silent, then took a bite of the peach. Both of them gazed at the flowing stream.

"How is it to travel with him?" Zhu Bajie suddenly asked.

"How is it? Quite interesting, especially when teasing him," Wukong rested his chin on his hand and smiled.

"Tch, it must be nice to have someone like him as your master," Zhu Bajie said sarcastically.

"Definitely, keep jealous." Wukong smirked at Zhu Bajie, Zhu Bajie really want to punching monkey in the face.

"If you coming for all of this, then go away. I hate you" Zhu Bajie tried to shoo Wukong away.

"Not surprised at all, there are plenty who don't like me anyway," Wukong replied casually.

"Then just leave," Zhu Bajie insisted.

"How rude," Wukong retorted.

"Not as rude as you," Zhu Bajie shot back.

"What's this? Getting angry? Not surprising for a pig," Wukong teased, provoking Zhu Bajie further.

Zhu Bajie was genuinely annoyed, but she remained silent and endured.

"Today, my master and I will leave," Wukong announced.

"Oh, so that's it..." Zhu Bajie couldn't help feeling sad. Just when she finally met the man she love, he had to leave.

"What's wrong? You're coming along too," Wukong added.

Zhu Bajie was startled by this revelation and looked at Wukong in surprise.

"Why the surprised face? You should know that it's because your damn golden ring in your fucking head that my master and I have to drag a pig like you along." Wukong's expression turned to disgust.

"Are you serious?!" Zhu Bajie immediately stood up.

"Yeah," Wukong confirmed.

"100%?"

"200%."

"LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Zhu Bajie shouted enthusiastically before rushing towards the village of Gao.

After running for a while, she arrived at Mr. Gao's house and saw Tang Sanzang talking to Mr. Gao.

Mr. Gao, now looking twice as old, fainted upon hearing Zhu Bajie's revelation that Gao Cuilan had collaborated with her only to escape from home following her childhood friend's advice.

"Thank you for letting me stay here for a day," Tang Sanzang thanked Mr. Gao.

Mr. Gao smiled and then went back into the house.

Tang Sanzang was about to call for Yu Long, who was eating apples on a tree branch, to continue their journey and then he saw Zhu Bajie.

"So you're come" he remarked.

"I'm really going with you, right?" Although she had heard Wukong say so, she was still anxious.

"Of course," Tang Sanzang smiled.

"Really?!"

"Why do I feel like you've said this before? And yes, really," Tang Sanzang confirmed.

Zhu Bajie burst into tears again and immediately hugged Tang Sanzang.

"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!!"

Wukong also returned and, seeing Zhu Bajie hugging Tang Sanzang, felt uncomfortable.

However, she didn't do anything, just jumped onto a tree branch and took out an apple to eat.

"So Zhu Bajie, please follow me, Yu Long and Wukong to journey"

"Yes! Master!" She smiled.