Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

"Su Jie, have you noticed anything particularly unusual?"

Zhao Xinglong looked at Su Jie again, hoping he could provide a different perspective.

After all, he had great faith in him.

Without hesitating, Su Jie slowly said, "The most unusual person is not the various passersby in this era, but Hu Wan, the man who drove Little Six to his death."

"When Little Six disemboweled himself to prove his innocence—"

"He cried."

"Perhaps everyone only saw that Hu Wan was frightened by the gunshot from Zhang Muzhi, but he indeed cried at the moment Little Six died."

Zhao Xinglong clapped his hands. "Very observant. Can you explain why Hu Wan cried?"

Crying signifies sadness.

However, at this scene, there was only one death, the enemy of Huang, Zhang Muzhi's nephew, Little Six. The architect of this plan, Hu Wan, should have been happy.

But he wasn't.

Was it tears of joy?

Or crocodile tears?

The classmates also had various opinions.

But no matter how they explained it, it logically didn't hold up.

If this were a movie, one could say it was a bug, or perhaps the actor had a condition similar to tearing up in the wind, coupled with the production team's laziness in editing such small details, allowing it to remain.

But this was a real piece of history that had occurred in their world!

After a moment of silence, Su Jie exhaled a breath of foul air and said, "Tears for burying his past self—"

"Could you elaborate?" asked Zhao Xinglong, with the other students also looking forward.

"This analysis needs to start from the beginning, may Teacher Zhao first give me the control of the 'progress bar' of this illusionary realm?" Su Jie asked.

"No problem."

Zhao Xinglong temporarily delegated control to Su Jie, and then a progress bar appeared on the Ming Lun mark in the palm of his hand. By sliding his thumb left and right, he could control whether the illusionary realm's narrative moved forward or backward.

It was as if he was controlling a three-dimensional drama.

Su Jie wasn't surprised, because this historical illusion had already taken place in history. To them, it was a story that had already happened; with access, they naturally could control the timeline of the illusionary realm.

At that moment, time rewound to the beginning:

[Hu Wan sat on a chair, staring at Little Six, and said, "Sixth Master, you ate two bowls but only paid for one."]

["Nonsense!" Little Six angrily pointed at the vendor selling cold noodles, "I ate just one bowl and paid for one bowl."]

[Hu Wan's gaze slightly drooped, his face bearing a half-smile.]

Su Jie paused the image and pointed at Little Six, saying, "From this, we can see that Little Six's reaction was anticipated by Hu Wan. One could say everything about Little Six was following the logic Hu Wan had contemplated."

"We might think Little Six committed suicide over a bowl of cold noodles because he was too young and too impulsive, but that's because we are onlookers, with a sort of god-like perspective, knowing from the start that it was all a scam."

"But Little Six, in the midst of it, didn't know."

"He believed the vendor would give him justice, because previously, during the conflict between the martial champion and the vendor, Zhang Muzhi had delivered justice for the vendor."

"Therefore, he considered the vendor a friend."

"Plus, we also understand the character of Zhang Muzhi, who had his own ideals and pursuit. So as Zhang Muzhi's successor, Little Six must also have ideals similar to Zhang's, and sought the truth."

"Although he was a bandit, he possessed traits not found among the others present here, the characteristics of a revolutionary."

The students fell silent.

Some were disdainful, others thoughtful.

The last statement had a pun intended, mocking the common folk of the era while also meant to inspire these Ming Lun students not to be indifferent.

After a pause, Su Jie, unconcerned with the reactions, continued, "And for Little Six at that moment, what was the truth?"

"A bowl of cold noodles," Zhang Manman spoke up, having understood.

For an idealist pursuing truth, the truth is sacrosanct! T&h&is conte^nt was f&i!rst rel$ease+d* on M*V$_&LE#M-PY#R.@

One is one, and two is two, with no third possibility.

Perhaps most people would mock such individuals for lacking flexibility and constantly facing obstacles.

But a revolution cannot compromise!

Once you compromise, you will keep compromising, and the truth you uphold will degrade and evolve in another direction—those who slay dragons eventually become dragons themselves.

Thinking of spiritual cultivation, it should be the same, consistent throughout, never compromising.

At that moment, Zhang Manman's spirit seemed to undergo a transformation, naturally entering the state of Great Meditation. Although her vitality did not increase, her body, given adequate nutrition and energy, could naturally reach the limits of Great Meditation.

Zhao Xinglong was surprised, then nodded in satisfaction.

Compared with Su Jie, Zhang Manman indeed fell short, but she was also closely following, not far behind.

"Indeed, for Little Six at that moment, a bowl of cold noodles was the absolute truth he needed to uphold. He knew adapting could lead to various possibilities of wrangling with the other party, but as one who pursued truth, he did not allow himself to compromise; he had to persist."

Su Jie's eyes revealed a touch of sorrow.

"It's a pity, the guy who could testify, the one selling the jelly dessert, has already betrayed us."

"This will inevitably lead to one outcome——"

"As long as Xiao Liu follows Hu Wan's thoughts, coupled with his reluctance to betray his own truth, he was bound to die without a doubt."

A student suddenly asked, "Is it that complicated? Couldn't it just be his impulsive nature that led him to his needless death?"

Su Jie said, "Xiao Liu is not without tact; we followed Zhang Muzhi before and saw Xiao Liu's interaction with the County Magistrate's wife, calling her mother without hesitation. Do you think he is not a person who can adapt?"

Yes!

All students no longer had any doubts.

Xiao Liu knew how to adapt, but when it concerned his ideals and truth, he would not compromise, even if he knew it was a trap set by others, he would still step into it step by step.

Because this was his perseverance!

Adaptation was possible, but it could not contradict the ideals he held fast to!

Otherwise, he would rather die!

"Since everyone has no further questions, then I will continue," he said.

Su Jie pointed to the top warrior and said, "Now, Xiao Liu has followed Hu Wan's path, but it still can't fully guarantee that Hu Wan will force him to death, so what's needed is someone to block Xiao Liu's retreat completely."

"The martial scholar."

["How many bowls did he eat?" Hu Wan asked casually, looking toward the jelly dessert seller.]

["Two bowls," the dessert seller replied without hesitation.]

["Smack!" The martial scholar then made an unexpected move, kicking the jelly dessert seller down and said righteously, "How could the County Magistrate's son owe you money for the dessert?"]

At this moment, the scene was again frozen by Su Jie, and the students of Great Meditation could also see the confusion on Xiao Liu's face.

Confused about what?

Why would Huang's men speak up for him?

"Clearly, Xiao Liu had no idea right now that the martial scholar's purpose in doing this was to completely block his way out," Su Jie said.

"The martial scholar emphasized that Xiao Liu was 'the County Magistrate's son,' tying him directly to the County Magistrate while Zhang Muzhi had previously emphasized to the people of Goose City that he was there to do three things: fairness, fairness, and more fairness."

"This blocked the possibility of Xiao Liu buying time."

"He could not play tricks."

Everyone also understood why Xiao Liu could not play tricks.

Because the County Magistrate emphasized fairness, but as the County Magistrate's son, if Xiao Liu were to cheat over a bowl of jelly dessert, then could the County Magistrate himself delay or cheat in other matters?

Would there still be any fairness then?

In this way, in the hearts of the people, Zhang Muzhi would be seen as another Huang because of Xiao Liu's attitude.

The only difference might be that this new "County Magistrate Huang" would be a bit more "conscientious."

"Perhaps Xiao Liu himself might not realize this, but his personality, indeed, was following the only path laid out by Hu Wan," Su Jie said quietly. "So, Hu Wan guided him in the same way afterward."

["He only paid for one bowl but ate two bowls of dessert," the one selling the jelly dessert insisted, even with a hint of grievance in his tone.]

[Hu Wan stood up, loudly declared, "The County Magistrate said he would bring fairness to Goose City. Good! The fairness I seek today is just that!"]

["Right!" cheered some curious villagers and townsfolk.]

Watching this scene a second time gave the audience a different perspective, even feeling ironic.

What does fairness mean?

No one present could explain clearly.

But the most ironic part was that those who did not understand fairness thought they were upholding it.

Cheering, spectating.

This aspect, even in the reality outside, remained the same, as the vast majority of people didn't care about the details of the matter; they only cared about what they saw and wanted to see, then loudly discussed and judged before leaving with satisfaction.

Humans always follow blindly.

If it doesn't concern them, making a fuss, even if they didn't step in when there was excitement, was already considered a great kindness.

And here in this Hall of Tea, delivering judgments because the fairness mentioned by Hu Wan was what people felt was fair on the spot, but it was not objectively fair.

["Whom to ask? Ask the County Magistrate's son," Hu Wan emphasized Xiao Liu's identity as the "County Magistrate's son" again, walking up to Xiao Liu and staring at him directly, "Why? Because he ate two bowls of dessert and only paid for one. That's called unfair!"]

["Since the County Magistrate's son leads by being unfair, then the County Magistrate's words are nothing but hot air!"]

At this moment, Su Jie paused again and pointed to Hu Wan, saying, "Here, Hu Wan reframed the entire topic, asking whom? Establishing the identity: the County Magistrate's son."

"Why do this?"

"To brainwash those who came just for the spectacle, shifting the focus of the topic to the number of bowls of dessert, whether it was one bowl or two."

Su Jie himself was also reflective.

Language, too, is a form of hypnosis!