Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 603 - 602 Tian Peng Seeks Mr. Monkey’s Help

Chapter 603: Chapter 602 Tian Peng Seeks Mr. Monkey’s Help

"Mr. Monkey, I had my reasons for agreeing to help," Tian Peng began to explain. "As I passed by the Land Temple, the Local Deity actually recognized me, and he didn’t know that I have become a mortal. What if I tell him everything and he goes back to inform the Jade Emperor?"

The importance of this matter was not lost on Sun Wukong either.

"Hmm, you have a point," Sun Wukong nodded. "So you came to me because you want me to deal with the Strange Insects, right?"

Tian Peng nodded, "This matter is really difficult to handle, and I don’t even know what to do. The Strange Insects seem to be armored, too tough for chickens and ducks to eat. They can only be minced before feeding, and I heard that even after being minced, they leave behind some yellow fluid. It’s particularly disgusting."

While Sun Wukong felt repulsed by the description, he had already promised to address the issue and was thus committed to resolve it.

"Alright then, I will accompany you to have a look first, to see what these Strange Insects are like for myself," Sun Wukong said, emerging from the house to perform a Dharma with Tian Peng and descend to the mortal world.

"This is the place," said Tian Peng. "Look, these are the Strange Insects. They began to overrun the place starting from the creek. They need water but don’t necessarily perish without it, spreading everywhere they crawl."

Sun Wukong looked at the myriad of Strange Insects swarming the village and felt a bit queasy too. How these creatures came to be, he wondered, to grow into such a state—covered in bumps and all red.

Sun Wukong wasn’t as dramatic as Tian Peng, but still, the sight of the creatures was unsettling.

And the villagers had it tough indeed, having to endure these beasts.

"What do you think, Mr. Monkey? Are these Strange Insects particularly revolting?" Tian Peng noticed Sun Wukong’s reaction and quickly asked.

Indeed, they were disgusting. There was no need for Sun Wukong to put up a pretense, so he just nodded along with Tian Peng’s words. "How did these things even come to be, to end up looking like this?"

"I don’t know either. The Local Deity said that these creatures are not the result of a demon’s sorcery; they are either a naturally proliferating species or something else. The local villagers are suffering greatly because of them. They are quite troublesome to deal with. Mr. Monkey, do you have any good solutions?" Tian Peng asked.

Sun Wukong scratched his head, unsure of what to do. Was he to gather them all and burn them?

"Perhaps we should just burn them all," Sun Wukong answered. "I’ll go find the Bull Demon King and bring Red Boy over to set a fire here. I believe it will all be burnt up quickly."

"Not so fast, Mr. Monkey!" Tian Peng hurriedly interjected. "If we really set fire to them, not only will the Strange Insects be burnt, but this whole area will be destroyed."

"The Local Deity asked for our help, surely to protect the village and the villagers. Anyone can burn them down with fire."

Sun Wukong gave him a blank look, "Then what do you propose we do? I can’t think of any good method. Maybe you should figure it out yourself."

"That... I don’t know either," Tian Peng said with frustration. Sun Wukong had already become angry because of his objection and was now ignoring him.

Tian Peng scratched his head. If he could think of a solution, why would he need Sun Wukong’s help?

He would have resolved it already and wouldn’t have had to go to Chaos Residence specifically to seek Sun Wukong’s assistance with the problem.

One monkey and one man; one standing with his head turned away in silence, the other frantic and scratching like mad. Curiously, the still one seemed more like a person, and the one scratching like a monkey.

This issue was indeed difficult. Aside from gathering them and burning them all, it seemed there were no other options. But even collecting them was not an easy task.

These creatures weren’t only in the creek; they were in the villagers’ fields, homes, and on the roads—everywhere.

They moved without pattern, emerging only to find food, heading wherever sustenance could be found. Finding something to lure the Strange Insects with was not easy.

Tian Peng was on the verge of giving up. Maybe, like with Chang’e’s rabbit before, they should just eat these things.

He had considered this possibility in his mind, but reason had vetoed it.

Just looking at that thing made his whole body shudder, let alone eating it, and besides, who would dare to eat it? Could that thing possibly taste good?

"How is it going, have you not figured out how to deal with it yet?" Sun Wukong turned his head away for a while, and then turned back to ask.

Actually, he wasn’t truly angry, he just felt that his status had been infringed upon.

Usually, in front of Tian Peng, his word was law, and now to have him dare question himself, Sun Wukong was very angry inside.

But seeing how anxious Tian Peng was, Sun Wukong also knew that Tian Peng was genuinely worried and wasn’t actually trying to challenge his status.

Sun Wukong lowered his stance to ask him again, being a superior, he should show some tolerance.

"Not at all, Mr. Monkey, I thought of several methods but none of them will work," Tian Peng said.

"What if we set them all on fire?" Sun Wukong suggested, "We first figure out a way to lure them together, then set them on fire, putting an end to any future troubles."

Tian Peng nodded, unable to think of any other method, the only solution seemed to burn them.

But the problem they faced now was how to gather all these creatures together.

"I heard that these creatures eat rotting flesh; how about we find a piece of it to place somewhere, then burn them afterwards, how does that sound, Mr. Monkey?" Tian Peng asked.

"If we find a piece of rotting flesh, these creatures don’t move very fast," Sun Wukong pointed out, "Will that piece of rotting flesh last until all the Strange Insects have crawled over?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Tian Peng started to have difficulties again; Sun Wukong’s point made sense.

They needed rotting flesh, and they had to wait for all the Strange Insects to come together—that would require a large piece of rotting flesh.

If one method didn’t work, they would think of a second.

Tian Peng watched as the Strange Insects crawled chaotically on the ground. It had rained a few days ago, and there were a lot of puddles on the ground.

As the Strange Insects crawled, they suddenly encountered a puddle and fell in, taking a while to crawl out.

Witnessing this scene, Tian Peng had an epiphany and excitedly pointed at the puddle, shouting, "Mr. Monkey! I know how to solve this!"

Sun Wukong picked at his ear, which had been somewhat agitated by Tian Peng’s shout, and asked, "What is it, what kind of method have you thought of?"

"This!" Tian Peng pointed at the puddle, "Look, Mr. Monkey, when the Strange Insects fall into a small puddle, it takes them a while to climb out. So, we dig a huge pit, throw the rotting flesh into it, the Strange Insects will be drawn to the smell and crawl over, and once we accumulate enough, we set them on fire—wouldn’t that be perfect?"

Indeed, it was a good idea, Sun Wukong thought about it and felt that there was some sense in what Tian Peng said, and nodded, "Not bad, that’s a good idea, you have indeed surpassed my expectations, Tian Peng."

"Truly, the years you spent in the mortal world have not been in vain; your mind has become much more nimble than before."

Tian Peng, somewhat embarrassed by the praise, scratched his head and then said, "Heh, I’ve been in the mortal world for a long time, after all the ups and downs, you’ve got to grow a bit smarter."

"Then let’s do it that way," Sun Wukong said, "I will find a piece of rotting flesh in a bit, you find a place to dig the pit, once everything is ready, we can start."

"All right, Mr. Monkey, leave the digging to me," Tian Peng assured with a slap on his chest, taking up the task.