Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 571 - 570: The Widow Dies, Tian Peng Feels Ashamed

Chapter 571: Chapter 570: The Widow Dies, Tian Peng Feels Ashamed

After making arrangements for the official from Kaifeng Prefecture, Tian Peng came out of the town and returned to the village.

When he last left, he had told the farmer’s wife that he would come to inform her once he had reported to the authorities.

Now, he had had many things to deal with during the day and had no time, but now that he was free, Tian Peng went to the widow’s door, carrying some pastries he had bought in town.

As he approached, Tian Peng was taken aback. It had just gotten dark; why was there not a single sign of life in the house? Could it be that she couldn’t afford candles and had not lit any lights?

Tian Peng felt puzzled but knocked on the door all the same.

After waiting for a while, there was no response whatsoever. Tian Peng knocked again and called out, "Sister, are you home? I’m back, and I’ve come to bring you good news!"

Still, there was no answer, and Tian Peng’s confusion grew.

If it were not for the fact that he was a man, Tian Peng would have broken in, and as a man, it was not proper for him to barge in to check on the situation. After knocking for a while longer with no response, Tian Peng gave up.

He looked at the pastries in his hand, sighed, and thought about how he wanted to thank that sister properly, but it seemed that would have to wait until tomorrow.

Carrying the pastries, Tian Peng prepared to head back to town and encountered a fellow villager on his way.

The villager saw someone approaching from a distance and upon closer inspection realized it was Zhu Ganglie, the hero of their village.

The news of his return from Bianjing with a troop of soldiers had already spread throughout the village, and the villager greeted him enthusiastically when he saw him.

"Ah, I saw someone coming from afar and wondered who it could be; it turns out to be our village hero. Where are you heading?"

If not for the warm smile on his face, Tian Peng might have thought the villager was being sarcastic.

Upon closer inspection, he realized the man was not mocking him; it was genuine enthusiasm.

"Oh, I came back to have a look."

"Have the Lord and the soldiers already settled down in town?" the man asked.

"Yes, they have already settled down in town. I remembered there were some things I hadn’t taken with me at home, so I decided to go back and fetch them," Tian Peng casually replied.

After all, that sister was a widow, and it would not reflect well on her reputation if people heard he was visiting a widow’s home so late at night.

"Oh, I see," the man said.

The County Magistrate’s madness had spread quickly, and they all knew about it already. Seeing Tian Peng, the villager expressed his genuine gratitude, "You are truly impressive; we struggled against the County Magistrate for many years, but it was nothing compared to your decisive action."

Tian Peng modestly said, "What are you talking about? It’s mainly because he committed too many evil deeds, and even the Heavens couldn’t stand it."

"You’re right, it’s all thanks to those two bolts of lightning," the man said and, seeing something in his hand, assumed it was what Tian Peng had come back home for. He casually inquired, "Zhu, you’ve kept that quite hidden. Right after you left, the County Magistrate went through your house with a group of men, but they found nothing and left disappointed. It’s just unfortunate for the mother and son who lived not far from your house, sigh."

Tian Peng’s forehead twitched, "What happened? Tell me in detail."

The man was startled by Tian Peng’s sudden seriousness and paused before asking, "What? Explain in detail about what?"

"You just mentioned the mother and son who lived next to me, what about them?" Tian Peng asked.

"It’s just that they went to your house and rummaged through everything without finding anything, and then just happened to go next door to the widow’s home, intent on stopping the County Magistrate," the man said.

"Then they burst into the widow’s home and started rummaging through her things. Out of nowhere, they found a bag of grain. The County Magistrate claimed it proved you were having an affair with the widow, but anyone with eyes knew that was impossible."

"What happened next?" Tian Peng asked, desperate to know what had happened.

"The County Magistrate said a lot of things, things I shouldn’t describe to you—they are too filthy for the ears. By then it was already night, and none of us really knew what had transpired. All we knew was that the next day, the widow had hanged herself."

If it had gotten to the point of her hanging herself, it was impossible that nobody knew what had really happened.

Tian Peng’s hand trembled as he held the pastries, feeling as if his throat had seized up. After a long moment, he asked in a hoarse voice, "And what about the child?"

"The child was taken away by the widow’s relatives the next day. We still don’t know exactly what happened back then. In any case, the matter was closed without further ado. We were all waiting to discuss it with you upon your return."

Tian Peng didn’t say a word for a long time. Seeing him like this, the man felt something was off, called out to him twice, but got no response, and finally left, scratching his head.

After the man had gone far, even disappearing into the night, Tian Peng still stood in the same spot.

His arms shook so badly that he could barely hold on to the pastries, several layers of which had already fallen to the ground, yet he seemed unresponsive.

If only he hadn’t left that bag of corn flour when he left, if only he hadn’t asked her to make pancakes before heading to Bianjing, perhaps none of this would have happened.

Tian Peng was now deep in regret, but, alas, no amount of remorse would turn back time.

His steps faltered, he couldn’t bring himself to move, nor did he wish to walk into the town; he just stood there.

After standing until his legs went numb, Tian Peng finally sighed, picked up the pastries from the ground, and left.

Before, he had always pondered on how to ascend to immortality; for him, human beings, even those he encountered, were nothing but fleeting clouds.

They were just acquaintances, and once parted, that was it; he was not really part of the human world, so worldly things held no allure for him.

But after this incident, he realized how wrong he was, gravely wrong. He was in this world now, how could he be unrelated to worldly affairs?

Having been through this, the previous pleasure he took in punishing Huang’an Town’s County Government Office had vanished completely, replaced by endless desolation. He had never thought such a thing could happen.

Yet, it did happen. In the end, he was only thinking about himself and didn’t consider anyone else.

That’s why the widow got dragged into this mess; for the first time, he had the urge to flee from his goal of ascending.

Tian Peng could no longer stay in the mortal world. He fled, like an escape, leaving the mortal realm and, using another Spirit Stone, returned to Chaos Residence.

Upon seeing Tian Peng’s return, Sun Wukong merely lifted his eyelids and asked, "Fool, why have you come back?"

The moment Tian Peng saw Sun Wukong, the defenses he had just built up in his heart collapsed instantly, as if seeing a family member.

No, it should be said that to him, Sun Wukong and everyone in Chaos Residence were indeed like family.

Seeing Tian Peng was not in good shape, Sun Wukong dropped his carefree demeanor.

He straightened his face and asked again, "What’s wrong? Did something happen? If things didn’t go well, then so be it. Could I really mock you for that? Why do you look like this?"