Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 520: I love you

"We were thinking that since that wild boar gave birth to five offspring, and there’s still one without a soul, why don’t we just exchange the soul in the found woman’s body for it? Then, wouldn’t everyone be happy?" Xiong Daoren shared his previously thought-out plan with Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo chuckled, a smile on his face but not in his heart, "This ’everyone being happy’, just who exactly are the ones being happy?"

"Us, Tian Peng, and..." Xiong Daoren found himself unable to finish.

Indeed, it was impossible to say. If the soul was really exchanged, the soul that was originally supposed to be reborn as a human would now become a pig fetus.

It would be fine while living in the world, but once death came, the soul would surely have to settle its account with Yama, and that account would eventually fall upon Tian Peng’s head.

"But right now, Tian Peng is what matters most," Xiong Daoren said.

"Then Master, if this won’t do and that won’t do, why don’t I just go to the Heavenly Court and confront the Jade Emperor himself!" Sun Wukong said he would do it and immediately prepared to set off.

"Go ahead, if you do, you’ll fall right into the trap set by Tathagata and the Jade Emperor. Once they capture you, it will be easy for them to make you and Tian Peng become sworn brothers on the Journey to the West."

Seeing that Sun Wukong was about to leave, the Three Demons immediately prepared to follow him. Chen Nuo sat still and said indifferently.

Hearing what Chen Nuo said, Sun Wukong and the Three Demons stayed put.

They didn’t have any solutions either; truly, they had no idea what to do in the current situation and could only wait for Chen Nuo to dictate a plan.

"Find any impoverished area," said Chen Nuo, "ideally a place with many refugees. See if there are any dying infants, and after the infant passes away, place Tian Peng’s soul into the infant’s body, allowing Tian Peng to survive by borrowing the infant’s body for now."

Sun Wukong and the Three Demons looked at each other. Xiong Daoren slapped his thigh, "Right! Shopkeeper, you’ve thought of what we failed to consider. This way, even if Yama comes looking for trouble, he can’t do anything to us."

"Exactly, using an empty shell—if anyone really does come looking, at most they’ll give a verbal reprimand. This way, Tian Peng won’t have to survive in the body of a wild boar. Shopkeeper, thanks to your guidance, we’ll get going right away!"

As the Golden-Winged Great Roc spoke, he cupped his fist toward Chen Nuo, then, pulling the Roc Demon King and Xiong Daoren with him, got ready to leave.

They thought about how much time had passed and that if they couldn’t find a good resting place for Tian Peng soon, it might be too late.

"Go ahead, but since it is an impoverished area, you will all have to take care of Tian Peng’s daily needs, don’t let him starve to death," Chen Nuo said.

"Shopkeeper, rest assured, we know what kind of people we are; we wouldn’t really let Tian Peng starve," the Roc Demon King declared earnestly as he thumped his chest.

"Of course, don’t go too far," Chen Nuo reminded, "I don’t care what becomes of Tian Peng in the future, but, you cannot change the destiny of others."

In the Huang He (Yellow River) region, after just a few years of flooding, a drought began. The alternating floods and droughts brought unbearable suffering to the nearby people.

With no seeds for spring planting, there was even less to harvest in the fall.

The people were starving, their faces gaunt from hunger, repeatedly reporting to the county magistrate in town, begging for disaster relief and food distribution.

But the county magistrate didn’t care about these matters at all, not only refusing to distribute food but still insisting on collecting taxes.

The people couldn’t even afford meals, so where would they find the money to pay taxes?

The county magistrate was indifferent; his only concern was collecting taxes. If he didn’t see money, he would take away all the valuable things from people’s homes.

The people in the region grew poorer and unable to pay taxes, and they were beaten with clubs. Some couldn’t bear it any longer and thought of leaving the area to go to Chang’an to appeal to the Emperor.

The Emperor wasn’t so easily approached—getting an audience was hard enough, and it wasn’t even certain if one could make it to Chang’an at all.

Many people in their hearts longed to travel to Chang’an and see His Majesty, but due to the ongoing famine, they could not make it even to the Yellow River without starving to death on the road; such scenes were common.

In such a region lived a household, though it could hardly be called that anymore, as all the adults had died, leaving behind only a fifteen-year-old boy. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Though he was called a boy, his body was muscular and large in stature, surpassing even the strength of fully grown men who had reached the age of thirty.

Every year when the officials came to collect taxes, the boy only had one thing to say, "No money, and you can’t have my life either."

This attitude infuriated the local County Magistrate, but because the boy was incredibly strong—not only was he physically imposing, but he also had the strength of ten—he was untouchable.

The men at the disposal of the County Magistrate were only slightly better off than the average folks, capable of having a full meal, but standing no chance against such a boy.

There had been thoughts of attacking him under the cover of night, but somehow, as if the boy had eyes in the back of his head, every attempt led to the assailants being discovered the moment they reached his rooftop.

From the age of fifteen to seventeen, the boy remained undefeated, even causing several bailiffs to lose their lives.

Eventually, the County Magistrate gave up trying to subdue the boy and let him be.

"Tian Peng, you shouldn’t just focus on filling your own stomach. Look at all these people around us. Haven’t you ever considered helping them?" said a gigantic man, three meters tall and all muscle, speaking to the boy who sat eating before him.

It turned out that this boy was none other than Marshal Tian Peng, who had been banished from the heavens.

As promised to Chen Nuo, the Three Demons had taken Tian Peng’s soul down to the mortal realm.

But Great Tang was well governed, with hardly a place suffering from famine.

The Three Demons searched all over Great Tang and were nearing the end of their journey with no luck in finding such a place.

So they mobilized many of their brethren in search of a place rampant with deaths, ideally where both parents also wouldn’t live long, to refrain from interfering with Tian Peng’s development.

If it had been up to them, they would have simply placed Tian Peng’s soul into a vessel and killed off the parents.

After all, they were demons, and whatever they did would seem as if it was in their nature.

However, Tian Peng was different, as he was destined to become an immortal. To cause harm to innocent people for his reincarnation would be an indelible stain, even if he were to ascend to the Heavenly Court.

The Three Demons, cautious in the extreme, finally found such a location.

It turned out to be an excellent choice, meeting all their expectations, including the vessel and both parents.

Both of whom were victims of the famine, and the child was stillborn. Thankfully, they managed to instill Tian Peng’s soul just in time, bringing the child back to life and giving Tian Peng a place to dwell.

Once they found this vessel, they immediately reported to Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo had a favor owed by Yama, so he took the opportunity to check the life spans of the parents.

It turned out they were both destined to die within five years, so the Three Demons patiently waited, guarding Tian Peng for five years.

By the time Tian Peng was five, they took over in shifts, neither revealing their presence to Tian Peng, nor disrupting his peaceful growth.

And so, life went on until Tian Peng was fifteen when the Three Demons appeared and returned his original memories to him, and another two years passed in this way.