Misadventures of Monkey King and Lin

Listen To Your Father

"Monkey, please go wash the bowls." Tripitaka asked the king as he helped Lin clear a spot for them to sleep.

Wukong groaned, rolling his eyes. "Why do I have to? Why can't Pigsy do it?" He poked the fire with Stick. His eyes darted over to the two humans, fighting back the urge to laugh as the monk pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Bajie is putting away the food." Tripitaka gave the short immortal an exasperated look. "And Wujing is helping Ao Lie."

"I don't want to." The monkey sang, sticking his tongue out at the mortal. "I'm the powerful Great Sage. Why should I clean dishes?"

Lin snickered, glancing at her brother. "Come on, Wukong. Listen to Father." Tripitaka and Wukong both started sputtering denials while she cackled.

"Yeah. Be a good son, Monkey." Wujing teased, shooting the others an amused grin. Ao Lie's tail flicked as he watched everyone start to poke fun at Monkey and the monk.

"You don't want to disappoint your dear father." Bajie added, pulling out their blankets. "Obedient and dutiful sons prosper."

Wukong shook his head, feeling his cheeks heat up. "H-he's not my father! I'm an original!" Lin sent him a knowing looking, raising a brow.

Tripitaka chuckled, giving in to the gentle ribbing. "I would be honored to be Monkey's father, but I'll settle for being his teacher."

"Master!" The ginger monkey whined, covering his face as Stick hummed loudly. "Don't play along! Shut up, Stick. I am not blushing."

Lin bounded over, elbowing her brother's side. "Aww. Don't be like that, Wukong! We're just teasing you. And Master. You really do act like a tired father, Master." The girl added, facing the monk.

"...I do?" Tripitaka tilted his head, baffled. His jaw dropped when all four of his companions nodded. "I wouldn't know. I never knew my parents."

"Really?" Wujing asked, eyebrows jumping up in surprise. The water demon sat back against Ao Lie's side as he and the horse turned their attention to the new information about their teacher.

"I was raised in a monastery for the first seventeen years of my life." Tripitaka explained with a sad smile. Bajie took a seat next to the monk as Wukong and Lin settled to listen. "The head monk found me in a river when I was only a few hours old. Turned out I had a rather... complicated start at life." The young man's cheeks darkened as he realized everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"He found you in a river?" Lin tilted her head, eyes wide. The king was silent as he gawked at the mortal.

"Do you think your parents abandoned you?" Bajie asked, grunting when Wujing tossed a small rock at him. "What? I was just asking!"

Wujing scolded him. "Don't be so insensitive." Ao Lie nodded in agreement.

Tripitaka held up his hands. "It's alright. And to answer your question, Pigsy. It's actually a rather complicated story." At the other's eager looks he sighed fondly and continued. "My father was murdered while my mother was pregnant. The murderer forced her to pretend he was her husband and stole my father's identity. When my mother gave birth to me he told her he was going to kill me."

"That's awful!" Lin shouted, jumping to her feet. "Why would he do that? Any of that!" Stick angrily hummed with her.

The monk gave her a sad smile. "My mother was a beautiful woman. He wanted her for himself and evil took root in his heart." The girl sat next to the man, upset that someone had harmed her master's family in such a way. "He didn't kill me, obviously. I wouldn't be here if he did. The next day while he was away, my mother snuck me to the river. She wrote a letter about who I was and my family, tied me to a board with the letter, and sent me down stream." At this point Tripitaka paused. "I suppose she also did bite my toe off so she could hopefully find me in the future. Still not sure how I feel about that."

"She... bit your toe off." Wujing suddenly spoke, looking slightly more green than blue. Bajie wasn't looking much better.

Tripitaka nodded, also looking slightly ill. "Yes. It worked. When we met she did use it to confirm my identity. Still not exactly happy about it, but she had been under an immense amount of stress and grief."

"You met her?" Wukong was surprised. "You made it sound as if she was dead."

"She is now?" The young man awkwardly replied. "We met and I managed to get a letter from her to her parents. Her father worked closely with the Tang Emperor and they were able to apprehend the man that killed my father and mistreated my mother." His voice turned somber and bittersweet. "My mother was so ashamed at what happened she tried to take her life. Her father and I stopped her. We took the murdered to the river where he killed my father and had him killed as a peace offering for my father's spirit. She tried again but stopped when my father was returned to the land of the living. Something about a life debt? I'm not sure. I went to finish my studies as a monk and last I heard from my grandfather was that she had passed away."

"That's...." Lin shook her head, eyes wide as she released a shocked laugh. "You weren't kidding about it being complicated."

"And I thought being born from a stone egg was weird." Monkey chuckled, reeling from the unexpected origin story.

Tripitaka huffed, smiling at his students. "I think both are pretty unique."

"Like father like son." Bajie stated solemnly before bursting into laughter at the twin glares Wukong and Tripitaka sent his way.

"Alright, that's enough sitting around." Tripitaka scolded, fighting back a small smile. "We still have to get ready to sleep. Monkey, please wash the bowls?"

Wukong have an exaggerated sigh. "Yes, Master."

"I think you mean 'Yes, Father.' Wukong." His sister giggled, dancing away from his playful shove.

"Wouldn't that make him your father too?" Monkey teased back, collecting the bowls. "Since I'm your brother?" The girl turned to the older looking human with a mischievous grin.

Tripitaka gave a resigned sigh. "This is going to be a thing, isn't it?" The mortal dropped his face into his palms with a quiet groan.

"Absolutely." Lin smirked as her eyes followed the embarrassed monkey. "Father."

"Lin, please." The man mumbled into his hands as he accepted the inevitable.