Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 526: Tian Peng’s Sudden Enlightenment, But The Time Has Not Yet Come

Chapter 526: Chapter 526: Tian Peng’s Sudden Enlightenment, But The Time Has Not Yet Come

Tian Peng felt indifferent, "Why? They didn’t even kneel to me, so can’t I even laugh now? Where in the world is there such a rule?"

"Are you looking for a beating or what?" The County Magistrate didn’t know how to counter, but he felt that under such circumstances, the kid simply shouldn’t laugh. If he did laugh, it would mean disrespect to him.

"Haha, do you think that, in the current situation like this, you can still touch me?" Tian Peng laughed coldly.

Even if the County Magistrate was slow to react, by now he had realized where the real problem lay.

After going round in such a big circle, Tian Peng was just looking for a way to get them to untie him.

"So you were waiting here, you despicable little man!" the County Magistrate cursed.

"I’m despicable?"

Tian Peng, as if hearing a hilariously good joke, laughed so hard he almost couldn’t straighten his waist.

The County Magistrate was a bit scared by Tian Peng’s laughter; to be accurate, he had been scared of Tian Peng for a very long time.

It was only because Tian Peng had been tied up earlier and he knew Tian Peng was powerless to fight back that he wasn’t that afraid, but now that Tian Peng could fight back, his fear started to creep back in.

"You attack me while I sleep at night, and you don’t think your actions are despicable?"

The County Magistrate paused, then argued, "What, just because you, a commoner, do not pay taxes, you think you are in the right? As an official, I obviously cannot let a mere civilian like you overpower me, so I have to punish you, of course!"

"Is that so? I, as a commoner, don’t pay taxes," Tian Peng chewed on that phrase, "How is it that you, as the County Government Office, fail to act when you should, yet only think of collecting taxes when the time comes? Shouldn’t we civilians punish you too then?"

The County Magistrate, hearing what Tian Peng said, grew fearful.

Never mind whether he was going to gather the villagers later, even now, the three of them couldn’t beat Tian Peng alone.

"Don’t be afraid, I obviously won’t touch you," Tian Peng said, watching the County Magistrate hurriedly shield himself with the two officers, amused, "Rest assured, you deserve to die, but not now, nor should it be my hand that strikes."

"You, you, you, what exactly do you want to do?" the County Magistrate asked.

"What, as a County Government Office, you can’t possibly be afraid of me, a mere commoner, can you?" Tian Peng found everything in the world less amusing than the words spoken in this County Government Office.

"I, of course, am not afraid of you!"

"That’s for the best then, when you do become scared of me, I wonder if you’ll still be alive," Tian Peng dropped this line and left the dark, damp dungeon.

Upon emerging from the dungeon, it was already daytime outside.

Unexpectedly, he had spent the whole night in the dungeon; normally, if he had gone so long without sleep, Tian Peng would barely be able to keep his eyes open by now.

But now things were different, with an ideal in his heart, even having gone the whole night without sleep, he still felt spirited and alert.

After leaving there, Tian Peng went directly to the village.

There were hardly any people in the village, and those who were there were out in the fields.

After failing to find anyone in the village, Tian Peng headed straight for the fields.

Although it was just dawn, there were many people already tilling the land.

Tian Peng walked to a slightly elevated spot and said to them, "Fellow villagers, listen to me, our town’s County Government Office is utterly corrupt; they don’t care about our lives at all. How about this? Let’s unite, topple it, and then find someone honest and clear-headed to take over as the County Government Office, shall we?"

His voice was loud and resonant, full of vitality, but those who were working in the fields continued to do so without many giving him any attention.

He thought they hadn’t heard him, so he said it again, but still, no one paid him any attention. Some people did see him, but they just looked up briefly before lowering their heads to continue with their own business.

"What’s the matter with you people, every single one of you!" Tian Peng was getting angry. It was these very people who had begged him to help them, and now that he was ready to start treating them well, they were ignoring him.

"Brother." Just as Tian Peng was about to leave, a little child tugged at the corner of his clothes.

Tian Peng looked down and saw a child not as tall as his thigh. He let go of his anger; after all, one couldn’t get mad at a half-grown child, "What’s up?"

"What did you mean by what you just said?" the child asked, "What good would it do to bring down the County Government Office?"

"Yes, that way, they wouldn’t dare to forcibly collect taxes anymore," Tian Peng said.

"Then, does that mean we could have enough to eat?" the child inquired.

"We always go hungry. Is it all because of the County Government Office? Does it mean that if we bring it down, we can have steamed buns to eat every day and not feel hungry anymore?"

The child’s questions seemed to deflate the fighting spirit that had just risen in Tian Peng.

Indeed, these people couldn’t even eat their fill. The grain they grew each year was barely enough to eat, let alone sell for money,

and these problems weren’t solely due to the County Government Office but were more often caused by natural disasters.

If these issues couldn’t be resolved, they wouldn’t have the spare energy to fight against the County Government Office.

"I understand," Tian Peng said, "I know what I need to do."

The child didn’t understand what Tian Peng had grasped but watched his retreating figure with some confusion before turning and running to someone else’s side, saying, "Brother, what did that brother mean? I didn’t understand."

The man smiled and patted the child’s head, "It’s okay if you don’t understand, it doesn’t matter. Just know that with this brother around, you’ll all be able to have enough to eat in the future."

"Really?" The child was somewhat joyful, "Thank you, big brother, I’ll go tell my dad this news right away!"

The child was about to leave, but the person beside him called out, "Wait a moment."

"What is it, brother?"

The man somehow produced two steamed buns and handed them to the child, "You take these."

When the child saw the steamed buns, his eyes lit up.

He hadn’t had a full meal in a long time, let alone steamed buns, which seemed to be a treat only available during the New Year.

He swallowed, but he didn’t take them.

"Brother, I won’t eat. Getting these steamed buns must have taken you a lot of effort. It’s okay, I don’t need them," the child said.

"I’m not giving them to you for nothing," the man said, "This is a thank-you gift for passing along the message for me."

"But brother, I didn’t use much effort," the child said, puzzled, "My father and the others work hard farming, and when the wheat ripens, we can’t even eat buns as white as these."

"They exert so much effort and can’t eat any buns, whereas I just helped pass a couple of words for you without using much effort."

"It’s alright, I have many buns like these, I won’t run out of them," the man said, "You remind me of my sister when she was little. She was just like you."

"What about now?" the child asked.

"She has grown up now. Although she is still with me, she isn’t like this anymore."