Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 572 - 571: Seeking Comfort at Chaos Residence
"Mr. Monkey," Tian Peng began, his voice laced with dejection.
Upon seeing him speak, Sun Wukong let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Hurry up and tell me, what exactly happened? Why are you in such a state?"
"Let’s talk inside," Tian Peng suggested, glancing at the customers still queuing outside.
Understanding the situation, Sun Wukong flipped the ’Closed’ sign around and said to the customers outside, "I’m sorry, I’ve got something to deal with. You see the situation; we’re closed for today. Come back tomorrow, and I’ll open earlier."
If it were someone else, they might have protested, but facing Sun Wukong, no one dared to say a word. They just nodded, muttered ’no problem’, and left the milk tea shop.
Watching the customers quickly disperse, Sun Wukong left the milk tea shop and, grabbing Tian Peng by the head, started dragging him towards the Chaos Residence. "Now can you properly tell me what happened?"
Tian Peng nodded, "When I was in the mortal realm, I couldn’t cook but needed to purchase dry food. I found a farmwife who could prepare the dry food for me."
Sun Wukong glanced at Tian Peng, "Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for that farmwife? Though, it’s fine even if you have. After all, you are human now. There’s nothing wrong with being with a mortal."
Tian Peng hadn’t even considered that direction and quickly shook his head, "No, it’s not that I fell for her, there’s something else."
Sun Wukong, observing his serious demeanor and realizing that Tian Peng had never shown such an expression in front of him before, stopped joking and listened to Tian Peng speak earnestly.
"Back then, I just thought of having the farmwife prepare the dry food for me. I’d give her a gift in thanks; it wouldn’t be a debt to her. But I never imagined that the malicious county magistrate would go after her for it, even humiliating her to death."
The more Tian Peng spoke, the more he felt indebted to the farmwife, who hadn’t done anything wrong and had even agreed voluntarily to prepare the dry food for him.
But he was preoccupied with his own upcoming ascension and hadn’t considered the details, which ultimately led to her disgraceful end.
"Why? Was it because the magistrate found out she was preparing dry food for you?" asked Sun Wukong.
"It was because I wanted to give her a gift," Tian Peng replied, "I knew she wouldn’t accept anything from me, so I thought I was being clever by leaving the gift I had prepared for her in the backyard, which led to her misfortune."
The more Tian Peng spoke, the heavier his guilt weighed on him, and he crouched down, continuously lowering his head.
"Why did I think I was being so clever? If only I had done nothing, I should’ve waited until I had returned to give her the gift! Why! Why!"
"Tian Peng, don’t get worked up. This isn’t your fault; don’t be so agitated," Sun Wukong soothed.
"No, this is all my fault. If I hadn’t prepared food for her, or better yet, hadn’t asked her to prepare dry food at all, none of this would have happened." This time, Tian Peng deeply felt the helplessness of being a mortal.
Sun Wukong didn’t know how to comfort him; after all, he wasn’t the one involved, and he hadn’t experienced what Tian Peng felt or what the farmwife went through at that time.
But seeing his good brother in such pain, even though he couldn’t truly empathize, he also didn’t feel at ease.
"Tian Peng, it’s all right, let it go. Mortal lives are inherently fleeting. How long she could have lived or how she would have died are things that had already been written by the underworld. You shouldn’t blame yourself."
"How can I not blame myself!" Tian Peng said weakly, "I don’t care how others die, but she died because of me. If it weren’t for me, perhaps she would’ve died differently! If it weren’t for me..."
"Even if it weren’t for you, her final fate wouldn’t have changed much."
Upon hearing the voice, both Sun Wukong and Tian Peng raised their heads to look in its direction.
Chen Nuo had already come to understand everything that had happened in the house; he knew why Tian Peng was sad, why he felt remorseful, and why he felt guilty.
However, the death of that woman was a foregone conclusion and it was something that could not be changed.
"Shopkeeper," Tian Peng said softly upon seeing Chen Nuo come out, "I..."
"I know what happened," Chen Nuo said, "You don’t need to explain any further."
"Actually, I..." Tian Peng wanted to say something else but didn’t know how to put it.
Chen Nuo could understand Tian Peng’s mindset, but in such a situation, no matter how one tried to offer comfort, it would all seem empty to him; he could only depend on himself to get through it.
He was very clear that his coming here was not to seek solace but to escape reality, yet one could not simply resolve things by running away.
Chen Nuo gestured to Sun Wukong, signaling him to join them in the reception hall first.
Sun Wukong placed the prepared tea beside Tian Peng and said, "Have something to drink first. You’ve lost a lot of weight. The food over there can’t be as good as what we have at Chaos Residence, right? Look at how thin you’ve become, you’re almost as skinny as me now. Do you want me to make you something tasty?"
Hearing Sun Wukong offer comfort in this way made Tian Peng feel much better in his heart.
He shook his head, "Mr. Monkey, thank you, but no need. I think there are some things I haven’t come to terms with yet. Give me some time, and I’ll be alright once I’ve sorted things out."
Sun Wukong also sighed, knowing that more words would be futile, and so he remained silent, sitting nearby sipping his tea.
Chen Nuo really couldn’t bear to see this; Tian Peng indeed had lost a lot of weight since the last time. It seemed the food in the mortal world really wasn’t up to much, so he asked, "How about I make you a meal?"
After Chen Nuo said this, both Tian Peng and Sun Wukong appeared surprised, looking at Chen Nuo with disbelief.
Chen Nuo had never taken the initiative to cook before, and now he was offering to cook just to comfort Tian Peng.
Sun Wukong, feeling a touch of jealousy, complained, "Master, I’ve been your disciple for so long and you’ve never cooked for me. Now this simpleton isn’t even your disciple, yet you’re willing to cook for him. I find this very unfair."
Chen Nuo glanced at Sun Wukong indifferently, "Otherwise, you renounce asceticism, become a mortal, and descend to the mortal world. Maybe then I’ll cook to comfort you."
Sun Wukong thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I’d better not. I think things are quite good as they are, quite comfortable. I’ll pass on getting involved in such risky business."
Chen Nuo expected Sun Wukong to say this; besides, he was just feeling a little jealous right now—it wouldn’t escalate to anything more.
It was precisely because of Sun Wukong’s expansive nature that many things that might seem abnormal in someone else seemed normal with him.
Tian Peng hadn’t expected Chen Nuo to say such things to him either. He paused for a moment before asking, "Shopkeeper, are you serious? I am completely impoverished now, I have no money or Magic Artifacts to give you."
"Don’t you think I know that?" Chen Nuo retorted.
He said so precisely because he was aware of the situation. Since he was the one who offered, he was surely intending to treat him.
If one volunteers to cook for someone and then ends up asking for money after all, what does that make one?
