Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 530

Tian Peng’s words were indeed grand, but these stalwart men originally had no acquaintance with Tian Peng, and what’s more, their families—both the old and the young—needed to eat. If there was only work to be done without payment in silver, what would become of their families?

"Hero, to speak to you honestly, we have both old and young in our homes, all waiting for their next meal. If we work for you without pay, even eating will become a problem," said one of the men.

"Right, and it’s not just us. We have to provide for many others in our family. If we don’t have payment in silver, there’s no money for food, so how can our families survive? We might be full of passion, but our family members can’t live on that alone," another man added.

Tian Peng, being a bachelor, hadn’t considered these aspects, but he realized that having them follow him like this wasn’t a good solution.

Thinking it through, he said, "If I provide you with enough food every day, would you be willing to work with me?"

"This..." Hearing the promise of food made the men hesitate.

"And it’s not just food. Everything else will be as I said. The local authorities aren’t doing their job. Once we’ve completed our tasks, we will go to Kaifeng Prefecture, report to the officials there, who are known for their integrity. They will surely report the truth to His Majesty and ensure we receive the payment we’re due."

Hearing Tian Peng say this, the men finally stopped hesitating and agreed to join him.

"Alright, we agree to your terms."

"Indeed, we earn money to buy food. Since you are offering us food, we will work with you. Even if there is no pay later, it doesn’t matter. There’s a severe drought, and the government isn’t taking action; it’s time for us to stand together!"

Tian Peng nodded, "Good, now that you are with me, I will provide you with food. If anyone wishes to work with me tomorrow, come to this spot. I’ll be waiting for you."

The men agreed to Tian Peng’s proposal one by one before leaving in small groups.

Tian Peng had no food to give; if he needed to provide food, he would have to rely on his friends.

He couldn’t trust any of his old friends from the Heavenly Court, in the end, the only ones he could count on were from Chaos Residence.

There was still some spiritual power left in the Nine-toothed Rake. Though it was insufficient for greater deeds, it was more than enough for sending messages.

Just back in his modest yard, Tian Peng picked up the Nine-toothed Rake and started communicating with Sun Wukong.

"Mr. Monkey, I need help. Could you provide me with some extra food? I’m in need of manpower, and without food, I simply cannot proceed."

Upon receiving Tian Peng’s message, Sun Wukong took several hundred bundles of food from the storeroom of Chaos Residence and placed them into a Silken Pouch, then promptly located Tian Peng.

When he saw Tian Peng, Sun Wukong was somewhat surprised, chuckling, "You look great, quite spirited, much better than when you were at the Heavenly Court."

Chen Nuo had informed him about Tian Peng’s situation when he returned, but hearing about it wasn’t quite as shocking as seeing it with his own eyes.

Tian Peng now looked much younger than before, and even his appearance had become more handsome than it once was.

"Once you ascend to the Heavenly Court looking like that, you’ll make all the Little Fairies too bashful to even look at you," said Sun Wukong.

Tian Peng, feeling bashful, turned his head away, "Mr. Monkey, please don’t tease me."

He really hadn’t paid attention to his own appearance, mainly because he was too busy with too many things and simply had no leisure to concern himself with those.

"Look at what you’re saying, who knows better than you what I look like? I remember I’ve never joked with you about this kind of thing before, have I?" Sun Wukong said.

Tian Peng thought about it carefully, and it seemed to be true indeed.

Apart from saying his body was freakishly abnormal, Sun Wukong had never commented on his appearance, and instantly, Tian Peng believed Sun Wukong’s words.

"Really, Mr. Monkey? Then do you think, if I appeared before Fairy Chang’e looking like this, would she fall for me?"

Without any hesitation, Sun Wukong replied, "No."

Upon hearing this, Tian Peng felt even more dejected, "Why, Mr. Monkey? Didn’t you say I look better than before? Even though I’m better looking now, Fairy Chang’e still wouldn’t like me?"

"If this appearance was that of someone else and not you inside, then maybe," Sun Wukong added.

Tian Peng fully understood what Sun Wukong was telling him, which meant that Chang’e didn’t like him as a person, and it had nothing to do with his appearance.

He felt utterly despondent now, not knowing whether this was good or bad.

To say it was good, Chang’e was an upright and honorable fairy who doesn’t judge by outward appearance; to say it wasn’t good was equally true since it implied that Chang’e would never fall for him.

"Alright, you don’t need to dwell on this matter," seeing how downcast Tian Peng was, Sun Wukong consoled him, "Don’t you have more important things to do? Put this romance aside for now, considering the masses in the mortal realm far outnumber those in the Heavenly Court. Who knows, maybe you’ll come to like a mortal someday."

Tian Peng hadn’t thought that far; the place he was in was suffering from a drought, where men, women, young and old all looked gaunt and malnourished, with nothing appealing to the eye.

"Forget it, Mr. Monkey, thank you. I should focus on the important things first. I’ve come to realize that indeed, these matter most," Tian Peng said.

With a snort, Sun Wukong replied, "I’ve noticed you’ve changed a bit indeed. In the past, you would get so excited when we discussed this topic. Now you can even remember to prioritize your duties."

"Mr. Monkey, I do have something very important now. Besides, having gone through so much, if I can’t change, then all the pain I’ve endured would have been for nothing," Tian Peng said.

Although Sun Wukong was busy selling bubble tea at Chaos Residence, he knew a bit about Tian Peng’s situation, but it was mainly through what he had heard from others, and it was not as real as seeing it with his own eyes.

"Alright, since you have very important matters to attend to, I won’t bother you here any longer. Do you still have some spiritual power left?" Sun Wukong asked, "I still have some spirit stones; do you need any?"

Spirit stones were rich in spiritual energy, and in Heavenly Court, they were akin to silver taels in the mortal world. Immortals, with their abundant innate spiritual power, rarely needed spirit stones, but now, he indeed needed them.

With a hehe laugh, Tian Peng said, "Well then, Mr. Monkey, since you’ve offered, I might as well accept graciously. I am now a mortal, and there will be many times when I’ll need spiritual power. The spiritual energy in the Nine-toothed Rake isn’t plentiful, so I’ll just shamelessly accept your generosity."

Sun Wukong took out a few spirit stones and tossed them into Tian Peng’s Silken Pouch.

"By the way, didn’t you need silver taels when you were in the human world? Jin Zha stopped by my shop to visit last time and brought my master a huge golden elephant. My master disliked it, saying it was unattractive, and asked me to melt it down. Besides, gold is too soft to be turned into any kitchenware or dinnerware. Do you want some? If you do, I can give you a bit," Sun Wukong offered.

"Yes, of course I want it!" Tian Peng replied instinctively, then thought about it and decided to refuse, "Nevermind, Mr. Monkey, I need food because I have to distribute it to those who come to help. I can’t let them work for me for nothing. I need spirit stones for emergencies, but gold, let’s just forget it."