After so much walking through the mountain, even though they hadn't talked much since then, the Monkey King was cheerful and smiling, while Erlang was quiet and thoughtful until he finally decided to ask the other something.

"So... you've almost never tried meat? Just fish?"

Wukong was quite puzzled by the question and turned his head to meet the dark-haired one's gaze. "We... have never thought of hunting other animals, besides trying to fish. The rest are our friends."

"Huh, I see..."

"Don't worry, young Erlang!" Wukong reassured him, waving a hand. "With all this fish, and now that I know how to do it, I'll teach the others, and we'll have much larger food supplies, and... and..." Suddenly, Wukong began to feel incredibly heavy and tired, as if the weight of the entire heavens and earth was on his shoulders. He let out a loud yawn and shook his head, trying to stay awake, but despite all his efforts, after just one step forward, his knees buckled, and he collapsed on the ground, falling into a deep sleep from which he couldn't wake. The fish in his basket spilled everywhere, and Erlang was forced to react quickly.

"Monkey! ...Hey, Monkey, wake up!" Erlang exclaimed, kneeling beside him and trying to wake him, shaking him and giving him light slaps on his face, but the Monkey King didn't want to wake, looking as sound asleep as if it were midnight.

"Come on, Monkey... it's not time for a nap. Wake up!" Erlang demanded, growing increasingly nervous at seeing he wasn't waking up, and felt compelled to open his eyelid, trying to force him to look.

As he opened it, Erlang realized that the Monkey King's eye didn't even react to the light, and it quickly closed again, continuing to sleep inexplicably. This was serious... he had no idea what might be happening to the monkey, so he decided to pick up the fish that had fallen out of his basket when suddenly...

"Don't touch our merchandise, boy!"

Erlang was startled by some gruff laughter and raspy voices, and as he turned, he saw a pair of foxes—one holding a club and the other a type of hanging incense burner emitting dense smoke.

"I can't believe the incense worked; that monkey went down as if he'd died, haha!" one laughed.

"But we didn't know there were already humans on the mountain..." growled the other, pointing the club at Erlang. "Kid, step away from the monkey and leave. It's not in your best interest to stay on this mountain."

Seeing the foxes approaching, Erlang quickly got up and set his basket down, looking at them seriously, feeling his body tense for a possible fight. "Why should I?"

"We had a score to settle with this disgusting monkey! He stole some of the fruit from our mountain border just to feed 'his little ones.' How ridiculous! We also struggle to eat; he had no right to steal our food—what a thief! And he dares call himself the king of the mountain... what a joke," scoffed the fox with the incense, shaking his head.

"That's right, but thanks to his great effort in catching these fish, our pack won't go hungry for a while, and we'll feast on the flesh and innards of this shameless monkey!" declared the fox with the club, stepping closer, even kicking a fish out of his path so as not to step on it. "Get off this mountain and leave us to our business, kid... this is your last warning!"

Erlang couldn't help feeling alarmed as he saw the foxes continuing to approach, showing no hesitation to give him a beating if he didn't move. Even though this would be his first fight without powers, super strength, or even weapons... Wukong was vulnerable now; they had worked hard to catch the fish and make the baskets, and besides... he had a promise to keep with the Monkey King. So he darkened his gaze and took a step forward, positioning himself in front of the brown-furred monkey, who was still deeply asleep.

"You have no right to pull such a dirty trick... if you want a direct fight, you'll have it, but with me, not him," he declared, raising his fists into a guarded stance.

"You were warned... now we'll taste human flesh too!" shouted the first fox, and as he held the club, he wasted no time charging at the dark-haired young man. Erlang dodged to the side to avoid the first swing, then jumped back to evade another horizontal strike, and as soon as the fox finished his swing, he wasted no time rushing forward, delivering a punch to his opponent's face.

The fox staggered back with a growl but quickly attacked again, swinging the club with both hands. Erlang blocked the hit with his arm and used his elbow to land another blow on the fox's snout.

"Aaah, my nose!" he cried, but he had no time to recover as he received a knee to the stomach, and Erlang shoved him roughly, causing him to roll on the ground. The fox hadn't dropped his club but was at a disadvantage.

Erlang quickly turned, remembering he had another opponent, and saw the other fox holding the incense and dragging Wukong's body by the foot, likely to take him away. He rushed over and delivered a kick to the fox's stomach, causing him to double over and release the monkey's ankle. Erlang was about to land another blow to his face, but the fox quickly blocked it with his bare hand.

"!!!" They locked eyes, and the fox snarled, baring his fangs and lunging to bite at Erlang's neck.

The young man ducked quickly, and since the fox still held his fist, he made him bend down too and kicked him in the side, pushing him away from both himself and Wukong.

"Damn kid!" growled the fox with the club as he stood up, blood smeared on his snout, and once again charged forward to give him a beating.

Erlang prepared not only to block the blow but also to grab the club with both hands, and after twisting it, he snatched it from the fox. Now, with a weapon in hand, he could fight back more effectively. Without hesitation, the dark-haired young man struck the first fox in the side with the club, knocking him down, but immediately raised his arm to block a swipe from the second fox, feeling a stinging scratch on his skin.

"Ngh!" Although he grimaced in pain, it only fueled his adrenaline, and he countered with another club strike—not to the face, but to the fox's shoulder, knocking him down as well.

"F-fuck... this kid's crazy! Let's get out of here!" muttered the fox who had held the incense, shaking his head in pain as he began to back away.

"We'll meet again, psycho..." growled the second fox, agreeing to retreat but not without a warning for Erlang. The two foxes stood up as best they could and, even on all fours, scurried away from the scene, running as best they could, grumbling and cursing as they disappeared into the undergrowth. Erlang watched them leave, panting heavily and starting to notice his own cuts and bruises, so he dropped the club, bringing a hand to his side where he'd taken a hit, letting out a groan. But more importantly, he knelt to check on his companion.

"Monkey... hey, Monkey." He tried calling to him, but it was in vain; his friend was still under the sedative effects of the incense, so he had no choice but to let him lie there while he picked up all the fish that had fallen from Wukong's basket.

After gathering everything, Erlang carried both baskets and dragged the Monkey King by his foot, pulling him away from there as he sensed they might still be in danger for some reason. He took the monkey upstream, through the mountain, until they finally reached his little shelter. Until the monkey woke up, there wasn't much he could do besides cooking some portions of their own fish, letting Wukong keep sleeping since, if he knew anything about sedatives, it was that those subjected to them couldn't be forcibly woken.

Once inside, he set the baskets on the ground and finally dragged the Monkey King's body to what served as his bed: a pile of palm leaves. He looked at him, breathing heavily for a moment. Even sound asleep, though he was a complete wild one, sleeping he seemed so... passive, so quiet and calm, making a stark contrast with what he'd seen of him. Needing to check his own wounds, he removed his white robe, draping it over his friend to keep him warm, then returned to a small stream nearby to wash the scratches and bruises on his torso and arm from the club.

Erlang truly couldn't believe that the incense's effects would last the rest of the afternoon..