Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 500: The Causes and Consequences of the Matter

Sun Wukong and Chen Nuo didn’t speak either; one was Tian Peng’s boss, the other his brother. Under normal circumstances, they could intervene in matters, but in a situation like this, they truly couldn’t.

The incident had already ended, and their silence didn’t indicate a stance, but as soon as they spoke up, their position would become quite clear, especially since most of the people present were close to Tian Peng. Speaking out could very likely boost their morale, which would be unfair to Chang’e.

The mentor and apprentice wisely chose to keep their mouths shut. This matter could be slowly discussed after returning.

"Let’s not talk about it anymore. Indeed, the fault is mine, and even if Fairy Chang’e, you were to request the Jade Emperor to punish me, I would have nothing to say," said Tian Peng.

Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow, initially thinking that Tian Peng was just timid and afraid of trouble, but unexpectedly, he showed some fortitude in this matter.

Chang’e didn’t intend to take the matter to the Jade Emperor, even though she wasn’t at fault. Still, she always remembered the divine official who had encouraged her to give Tian Peng a chance.

If those words hadn’t been said at that time, perhaps the current situation would not have occurred, so she genuinely believed she also had some responsibility in this incident. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"That won’t happen. I won’t tell the Jade Emperor about this matter, and you won’t be punished by him. I’m simply choosing not to forgive you on my own, and it has nothing to do with anything else."

With those words spoken, the Military Officers and Immortal Officials who were previously clamoring for Chang’e to accept Tian Peng’s apology fell silent.

They couldn’t say much more even if they wanted to since she didn’t plan to take any action against him, but just chose not to forgive on her own, which was a mild consequence. They felt that causing such a stir about this was really pointless, so they left in twos and threes.

Tian Peng was shocked that Chang’e wouldn’t report the matter to the Jade Emperor. "Why? Even if you were to report it, it wouldn’t matter; I would harbor no complaints."

"I have my reasons. However, after this has passed, I think we will no longer have any dealings with each other. Let us each live well," Chang’e said coolly. "I don’t want any of my actions to cause a misunderstanding or a price that I truly cannot afford."

Tian Peng’s lips quivered, but he didn’t speak. He simply nodded heavily and turned to leave.

The onlookers had already dispersed, and once Tian Peng had left, the farce finally came to a real close.

Chen Nuo and Sun Wukong stepped forward. "Fairy Chang’e, I didn’t manage my employee well, allowing you to be startled. It is my mistake. From now on, whenever you’d like to eat at my restaurant, I can give you a twenty percent discount."

Chang’e bowed in thanks to Chen Nuo. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Chen, even though he is your employee, it’s his own fault for what he did; there’s no need for you to apologize on his behalf."

"No, the apology still needs to be made," said Chen Nuo. "After all, the banquet was advertised in my name; both sentimentally and rationally, I’m inseparably linked to it. If you don’t accept, I’ll take it that you are unwilling to accept my apology."

Having said that, Chang’e had no choice but to accept. "Alright, I accept."

"But still, I must thank you on his behalf. If this matter were really brought before the Jade Emperor, I’m afraid Tian Peng would be in a situation where he couldn’t ’eat and walk away’, incapable of leaving properly."

Chen Nuo looked around the backyard, noting many of the rabbits had run away due to the immortals’ arrival, making the place seem even more desolate.

"Although Tian Peng was wrong first, I feel like it’s also inseparable from me," Chang’e suddenly said.

"Fairy, where is this coming from? His fault is his own; it has nothing to do with you," said Sun Wukong.

"No, this matter in fact has to do with me," insisted Chang’e.

Sun Wukong thought she was just being polite and was about to say more when he was stopped by Chen Nuo, who was observing Chang’e’s expression. It seemed that something indeed had happened.

"What happened?"

"Actually, it’s because of the time I bought milk tea before. It wasn’t because the milk tea making skills were bad; he felt very insecure and then the more nervous he got, the worse the milk tea turned out..." said Chang’e.

Sun Wukong nodded, he did recall that incident, but Tian Peng’s skills had indeed improved a lot since then. He had himself mentioned to Wukong before, that the words of encouragement Chang’e said to him had inspired him greatly. Afterwards, not only did he gain more confidence in making milk tea, but his skills had also greatly improved.

"But this, it isn’t much, I believe that even if it weren’t Tian Peng making milk tea, if you were in such a situation, you would also speak words of encouragement," Sun Wukong said.

Chang’e shook her head, "Not necessarily."

Chen Nuo was somewhat surprised, "Why? Since you said it to Tian Peng, why would you do such a thing if you didn’t like him? This was indeed the fuse; he thought you had a fondness for him because of it."

"I was originally indifferent towards him. After he harassed me before, I was actually a bit scared of him. If it hadn’t been for Shopkeeper Chen vouching for him, there wouldn’t have been another opportunity for us to meet," Chang’e explained.

"Later, when the milk tea shop opened, I liked milk tea very much and often bought some. Aside from paying and getting the milk tea, I didn’t have any other interaction," Chang’e recounted slowly.

Indeed, even when buying milk tea, the two had no opportunity to interact. Moreover, the shop was so crowded that even if Tian Peng wanted to do anything, he couldn’t.

"And what happened after that?"

"Chef Wukong and Tian Peng had two different service windows. I usually lined up at Chef Wukong’s, but one day, I noticed that Tian Peng’s line was quite short. Not wanting to wait too long, I decided to queue there," Chang’e continued, recalling the state of things at the time.

"Then what?" Sun Wukong asked, her words reminding him that Tian Peng’s line was short because many knew he was slow and prone to making mistakes, which is why few people queued there.

"But how does this relate to you encouraging him?"

Chang’e went on, "After joining the line, I realized it was moving very slowly. I wanted to leave, but having already waited for so long and being near the front—with your line being still quite long—I feared the rabbits back in the palace might start nibbling at the walls, so I was eager to return. The couple in front of me turned around and asked if I wanted to switch places with them."

At this point, Chen Nuo’s keen observational skills came into play. He could tell that Chang’e’s words of encouragement to Tian Peng must have had something to do with that divine official.

Sure enough, Chang’e continued, "The divine official told me that because of my status, I was very special to Tian Peng, and he hoped I could say a couple of words of encouragement. He said that afterwards, Tian Peng would be very diligent; his mood when making milk tea would be different and both his skill and efficiency would increase."

This sounded highly unreasonable; there was no reason for that divine official to be so crazy about doing something like that for Tian Peng.

"I wasn’t planning to agree at first because it felt rather strange, but then he immediately took my place in the line, pushing me to where he had been standing. Just as I got there, the people ahead of me left, and I was too late to change my mind," she said at a slower pace.

"So, I thought, since I had taken his place, I should do what he just asked me to do. So I thought up a couple of sentences off the top of my head, never expecting it to result in the situation we have now," said Chang’e softly.