Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 570 - 569: To be honest, you are a hero

This side is closer to the county, and they too heard the thunder, originally thinking that rain was approaching and came out happily.

But after two claps of thunder, all fell silent, and just when they were about to return home disappointed, Tian Peng and the dignitaries from Kaifeng Prefecture arrived with a contingent of elite troops.

"Is this true?" the village chief asked again.

Tian Peng laughed, "Of course, it’s true. Why would I lie to you, do you think I find this amusing?"

The villagers chief, upon hearing the affirmative answer, began to cry.

With a voice choked with sobs and trembling fingers, he said, "Heaven has eyes, heaven has eyes, at last it has punished this evil-doer."

Tian Peng laughed upon hearing this, "Hehe, it wasn’t heaven that punished the wicked, it was this person."

He was referring to the dignitary from Kaifeng Prefecture.

The dignitary also knew about the two bolts from the blue and, hearing what Tian Peng said, felt somewhat embarrassed and hastily added, "What are you talking about? I didn’t send down the thunder, all I did was arrest the County Magistrate. Sending down thunder is heaven’s doing."

It wasn’t heaven’s doing at all; it was all Tian Peng’s work.

Tian Peng had no desire to argue with the Kaifeng official over such matters and said, "My lord, since the village chief believes we are here to help, should we find a place for him to reveal the crimes first?"

His words reminded the official of what was important, and he nodded, following the village chief home.

Despite their poverty, with so many visitors arriving, they still prepared food for them.

Tian Peng and the Kaifeng official repeatedly declined, "Old sir, we have brought our own provisions; there’s no need for you to prepare anything for us."

"No, you are here to punish the County Government Office; you are our benefactors. Since you are treating benefactors, you must be hosted well."

Tian Peng and the Kaifeng official, having no other choice, let them prepare the food, deciding not to eat it themselves.

All this food was saved bit by bit by the villagers; it would have to be returned to them later.

"Village chief, please state the County Magistrate’s crimes, and we will record them. You must lay out the charges without reservation, the more detailed you are, the better we can adjudicate his crimes."

After hearing what the Kaifeng official said, the village chief nodded gratefully and began to relate the County Magistrate’s offenses.

"When this County Magistrate first arrived here, we hadn’t had any serious calamities. Occasional flood damage to the crops or no rain for a few days were usual occurrences, but we were prepared for them and could still live peacefully."

This place, being quite remote, hadn’t been under the jurisdiction of any County Magistrate since the change of dynasties.

Tian Peng was aware of this as well; it was for better governance that they had assigned a County Magistrate here.

The village chief continued, "After his arrival, he started to collect taxes. At first, he took only what was demanded by the higher authorities, but in recent years, he began to heavily tax us."

The village chief’s voice trembled with anger as he spoke.

"At that time, we had just suffered a flood, and all the crops were destroyed by the water. With no crops, where would we get the money to pay taxes? If we didn’t pay taxes, he’d start beating people, and later, one strong and healthy man was even beaten to death by him."

The Kaifeng official frowned, realizing there really had been such incidents.

"When he beat that man to death, at what time did this happen, and why did you not go to Bianjing to report it?"

The village head sighed, "Who would dare? There were those who wanted to report to the officials, but he has arranged for people to oversee the area around the village, and we are interrogated whenever we leave for a distance."

"Can’t you unite and fight together?" the Kaifeng official asked.

Had they united and fought together from the beginning, perhaps the outcome wouldn’t be as it is now.

The village head sighed again, "Actually, it’s our fault. At the time, everyone thought it was none of their business and no one paid any attention to it."

"Foolishness!" the Kaifeng official exclaimed angrily, "It is in such times that you should unite. Everyone thinks it doesn’t concern them because the fire hasn’t reached them yet, but when it does reach them, it will be too late."

The village head, hearing what the Kaifeng official said, felt extremely guilty.

Back then, he didn’t offer help because he was afraid of the county magistrate; he did realize the problem, but by the time he did, it was already too late.

"It’s all our fault," the village head blamed himself. "Since then, his treatment of us has only become more severe. We are all afraid of him. We give him whatever money he demands; those without it get cursed out, but we have no choice."

The Kaifeng official knew that getting angry now was pointless, so he softened his tone and asked, "Apart from violent tax collection, how many people has he killed over tax issues? Do you know this?"

The village head paused, as if thinking, then after a moment said slowly, "Over the years, just from our village, there have been four or five at least, all the strongest men from our village."

The county magistrate specifically targeted these individuals to prevent them from resisting him, and Tian Peng knew the county magistrate had always targeted him for a reason.

"Good, I’ve taken note of the situation in your village and will report it truthfully," the Kaifeng official said. "Old man, rest assured, the emperor is also very angry about this matter and will definitely punish him."

The village head nodded gratefully, sighing incessantly, "Ah..."

Leaving the place, the Kaifeng official let out a deep sigh; his appreciation for Tian Peng grew stronger.

Tian Peng felt the gaze upon him, as if an invisible pressure had been placed on his shoulders.

He slowly turned his head, wondering why he was being looked at like this. Could it be that some great responsibility was about to be entrusted to him?

"Young man, I was wondering how someone like you emerged from here, but now I see, you must be the hero of this place," said the Kaifeng official.

"You’ve spoken out with the wishes of everyone in your hamlet. With a hero like you, your village can free itself from the clutches of evil," the Kaifeng official continued.

Tian Peng pushed up the corner of his mouth; he wasn’t that great. He was only helping them incidentally, to earn himself some Merit Points for his ascension.

"No, it’s just that the county magistrate has gone too far, and I couldn’t stand by," Tian Peng said, trying to deflect the high praise, a cap he couldn’t and didn’t wish to wear.

"Young man, regardless of what you think, you helped them, and in their hearts, you are a hero," the Kaifeng official said.

"As the saying goes, ’A hero is not asked about his origins.’ As long as you’ve done good deeds, no matter who you are, in the eyes of those common people, you are a hero," the Kaifeng official added.

Tian Peng smiled; if that was the case, he really didn’t know what to say and offered no rebuttal.

There were several other villages below, each needing investigation.

Even though the investigation in one village was enough to punish the county magistrate, they still wanted to understand the situation in other villages. Only by understanding each one could they know what to do when it came time for relief.

However, by the time they finished dealing with the issue, the sky had already darkened. Tian Peng thought it over; his place truly wasn’t fit for living. He should find an inn in the town to stay for a while since he had other matters to handle.