Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 641 - 640: River Demon

Tian Peng stared at the retreating figure, seeing in it a tragic determination to meet death head-on, of course, it would have been even more convincing if the person jumping into the river hadn’t looked exactly like himself.

That figure began to slowly make its way toward the middle of the riverbank, pretending to search for something as it walked.

Tian Peng asked in confusion, "Shopkeeper, what is this for?"

"Oh, I told him to act as if he had dropped something into the river and then to search for it," Chen Nuo explained. "If he just plunged straight into the river, it would seem a bit too fake."

Tian Peng felt that Chen Nuo made a lot of sense, only it seemed like something was missing, "But Shopkeeper, why is there a motion of searching for something, but no motion of something falling down?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo paused for a moment and then replied with an unchanged expression, "Forgot."

Indeed, the Shopkeeper was worthy of the name, maintaining such composure even when having forgotten something. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Tian Peng looked up at Chen Nuo’s erect figure with respect. It seemed he had much to learn in the future. At the very least, he couldn’t match the Shopkeeper’s aura and psychological quality.

As the figure pretended to search, he kept moving further into the center of the river. While walking, he suddenly seemed to be yanked by something that grabbed his foot, pulling him downward, and he started floundering dramatically.

With his thrashing, the splashes grew larger, and the river, which had been calm, began to churn more violently. Tian Peng watched the changes grow more significant, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Shopkeeper, this river seems to be different from before."

It indeed was different. The river that was once as calm as a pond had begun to surge wildly with the figure’s fall into the water.

As the river heaved more intensely, the figure that was already struggling to stay afloat in the middle of the river could no longer stand. In the blink of an eye, the figure had disappeared.

Tian Peng leaned forward to look, but couldn’t see anything. "Shopkeeper, the dummy is gone. What do we do now? We haven’t caught it yet, and it’s already vanished. What are we going to do?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Chen Nuo said with a smile. "Why do you look as if you’ve never been around the block? What have you witnessed during your time at the Heavenly Court that you’re still so inexperienced?"

"When I was at the Heavenly Court, all I did was patrol and patrol," Tian Peng said with a hint of grievance. "As you know, the Heavenly Court is usually very stable. If we’re talking about experiences, probably the guards at the South Heavenly Gate have seen more than I have."

If that was the case, then his lack of experience was genuine, and it could only be attributed to how limited his job scope had been.

Chen Nuo didn’t tease Tian Peng about it and explained, "That dummy is a transformation. The river demon will realize it’s a dummy when it starts to eat."

Tian Peng nodded and looked towards the river surface, continuing to wait.

The frantic Flowing Sand River gradually slowed down a lot, returning to a state of calm as if nothing had ever happened, only the two onlookers knew exactly what harrowing event had just transpired.

The two started to wait on the riverbank. At first, they could still make out some light, but eventually, it became too dark to see anything.

It was already night, and with the darkness setting in, only their enhanced night vision allowed them to see the scene clearly — it would have been pitch black to any mortal.

After the duration of an incense stick, the river that had returned to calmness once again became turbulent.

A head slowly emerged from the center of the river, rising until the neck and shoulders were visible.

The figure looked around and finally spotted the two people on the bank, diving energetically from the Flowing Sand River and rushing up to them.

Chen Nuo extended his right hand, and a barrier glowing with radiance formed with the opening of his palm, blocking the attack from that figure.

The figure stopped in front of the barrier, its body covered in fur so much that, if not for the red glow in its eyes, it was impossible to distinguish its front from its back.

Gasping for air, it roared in a hoarse voice, "You aren’t mortals? Who are you?"

"You attack us outright and still wish to know my name?" Chen Nuo’s mouth curled into a smile, yet his voice carried an authority that made it difficult to even lift one’s head upon hearing it.

"This is my territory; you trespassed and disturbed my peace, and now you blame me for attacking you?"

The figure was greatly angered, knowing that it stood no chance against the man before it without a magic artifact.

It opened its hands towards the direction of the Flowing Sand River, and an artifact resembling a Crescent Moon Spade rose slowly from the middle of the river, eventually flying towards him and landing steadily in his grasp.

"If you had stayed here peacefully, it would have been one matter, but since you’ve consumed humans, no matter where this is, you ought to face punishment," said Chen Nuo.

"What now? It’s not like I ate people from anywhere else. The person came onto my territory on their own volition, presenting themselves as food for me. Why shouldn’t I eat them?" the figure challenged in response.

"These mortals were supposed to follow the life course set by the underworld. Since you’ve eaten a human, you’ve disrupted the mortal order and should be punished," Tian Peng stated firmly.

"Ha ha!" The figure laughed. "So, you’re saying you’re the Immortal Officials in charge of maintaining the mortal order?"

Tian Peng hesitated, knowing that if he agreed, it somehow didn’t seem accurate.

He had come here to subdue this demon and accumulate Merit Points for himself, but admitting that seemed somewhat less honorable.

The figure didn’t receive an answer, but it realized the truth on its own, "You’re not the Immortal Officials responsible for this? Then why come here and meddle in business not your own?"

"Regardless, what you’re doing is wrong, and we have every reason to subdue you!" Lacking a proper reply, Tian Peng could only rebuke loudly to cover his guilt.

"Ha ha, so you see, you came here to conceal your own selfish desires. How are you any different from me?" The figure chuckled hoarsely, its voice becoming even more terrifying within the context of the environment.

"I’m not like you at all, I’m doing a good deed, ridding the people of a scourge!" Tian Peng felt he was on the side of righteousness, clearly justified.

"Doing a good deed? It’s only a good deed when you expect nothing in return. How does what you’re doing count as ridding the people of a scourge?" the figure asked laughingly.

"I’ve been here for thousands of years. I’ve seen more than one or two like you. But do you know what became of them?"

"Well, they were eaten by you, of course!" Tian Peng could guess what the figure was about to say—if he truly managed to subdue this demon, he wouldn’t be around to see what became of it anyway.

"You’re quite clever," the demon remarked.

"Thank you for the compliment," Tian Peng said, and then realizing something was amiss, he quickly corrected himself, "Anyway, you’re thinking that even if we’ve come to subdue you today, we won’t succeed, right?"

The demon hadn’t yet spoken when Tian Peng had already assumed everything on its behalf.