Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

That last speech was an emotional outpouring from Su Jie, but in that sudden moment, he also understood how he should deal with... treat the Feng Family and the Jiang Family going forward.

He would make them his friends, not his enemies.

"Whoosh—"

Returning the control of the illusionary realm to Zhao Xinglong, Su Jie exhaled a breath of foul air, feeling as if his spirit had become even more fulfilled, the brilliance in his eyes was so intense that Zhao Xinglong found it hard to meet his gaze.

"Okay, let's continue."

Zhao Xinglong let the illusionary realm proceed.

When Zhang Muzhi and others arrived and saw the young lad lying in a pool of blood, their eyes flashed with a chilling intent to kill, and Zhang Muzhi fired at Hu Wan.

But the shot went astray, only shattering one of his ears.

Zhang Manman said, "Although Ma Bangde was there trying to stop it, with Zhang Muzhi's marksmanship, it is impossible to only hit an ear—he still had his wits about him."

"Exactly," Zhao Xinglong nodded, "Plus, with Ma Bangde there persuading him, Zhang Muzhi, while still pointing the gun at Hu Wan, had actually calmed down inside. At this moment, he had already decided to uproot Huang completely."

"His resolve, after the death of that young lad, was stronger than ever."

"He already realized that killing one Hu Wan wouldn't change anything, and if a real fire fight broke out, Zhang Muzhi and his people only numbered six at the moment. That Ma Bangde is a fair-weather friend, Zhang Muzhi kept him around seeing that the guy still had a bit of conscience, but with a not-so-high moral bottom line."

And so, this farce, ostensibly brought to a hasty end by Ma Bangde's persuasion, concluded.

The young lad was buried, but that gravestone marker—

A fist symbolizing "six,"

made the students quite curious.

What was supposed to be a solemn funeral ended up feeling somewhat comical with such a marker, even dispersing the solemn and respectful atmosphere entirely.

"To find joy amidst sorrow is commendable," said Zhang Manman as she approached the marker, then scrutinized Zhang Muzhi and the others, with Ma Bangde being the most agile, even his prayer was about making money.

In a sense, this guy was also "staying true to his original aspiration," solely focused on making money.

After the prayers were over and before the sky turned dark, Zhang Muzhi, accompanied by Ma Bangde, went to Huang's home, also discreetly instructing his five brothers to wait outside for an opportunity to strike.

"Sister Manman, is your great-great-grandfather about to avenge his son?" asked Chen Tian Yuzi.

"He's just from my great-great-grandfather's generation, not my great-great-grandfather himself. As for revenge..." Zhang Manman glanced at Su Jie, "If this had been before, I might think so, but now I understand that this Zhang Muzhi is not that impulsive sort of person. Entering into an armed clash with Huang, their chances of being wiped out are actually higher."

"However, with Zhang Muzhi's current mindset, a life-for-a-life, mutually assured destruction with Huang is not out of the question."

"Their comrade's son was harmed by the other party, the thoughts in one's heart can become extremely extreme, and eye for an eye is most in line with the logical thinking under a state of rage."

Following behind Zhang Muzhi, Su Jie and the rest, under the lead of Zhao Xinglong, as if shrinking the ground beneath their feet, also arrived on the outskirts of Huang's stronghold.

A black iron gate separated two worlds.

As the gate opened, there lay a cobblestone path leading directly to the main door of the stronghold, flanked by lush bamboo groves, yet devoid of birdsong or insect hum, silent and utterly lifeless.

This didn't resemble a heavily guarded castle, but rather a ghastly house that sucked blood and devoured marrow.

Entering the castle of the middle-world, the students walked freely under watchful eyes to understand the interior layout, but most still followed closely behind Zhang Muzhi, Ma Bangde, or to be more specific, Su Jie.

Huang, with a smile on his face, invited Zhang Muzhi into the hall, didn't bother with pleasantries, and got straight to the point, "The death of Sixth Master was heroic. Today's visit by the county magistrate is to seek justice for him."

"If it was indeed at my behest, then I'll disembowel myself here just like the Sixth Master, in full view."

"Not only will I take my own life, but I implore you, the county magistrate, to act as my kaishakunin and decapitate me, to hang my head high atop the Brilliant Sunshine Building."

"If it wasn't me, then it means someone has deceived the county magistrate—"

He walked over to the bound martial scholars, Sun Shouyi, and Hu Wan, and with the long sword in his hand pointed at them, said coldly, "You execute yourselves or three lives will pay for one; or reveal me anytime, and I stand ready to die."

This was actually a provocation toward Zhang Muzhi.

Because Huang wanted to convey to Zhang Muzhi a fact—that as long as he lived, not one person would dare utter a word.

The expressions of the three men varied.

The martial scholar looked slightly furrowed, Sun Shouyi appeared uneasy, and Hu Wan's expression was the most intriguing, seemingly indifferent, even numb, as if disregarding his own life and death.

From Hu Wan's current expression, all the students could see that Su Jie's analysis earlier was spot on.

Having killed his former self, his heart had died yet again, leaving him devoid of spirit.

The current Hu Wan resembled more a puppet taking orders from Huang, his life and death meant nothing to him, hence no light in his eyes.

Chen Tian Yuzi sneered, "Huang does not understand seppuku; seppuku should be performed with a short blade."

"Actually, he does understand," Su Jie revealed the truth, "To become the tyrant of Goose City, one wouldn't only rely on rough methods, and certainly, he isn't just a brutish man. Moreover, in the manner he held the blade, there was a short sword on top."

Chen Tian Yuzi was puzzled, "Then why would he hold a long sword?"

Su Jie looked at Zhang Muzhi and then Huang, saying, "Just as Hu Wan used to be the young Sixth Master, perhaps, this Huang was once like Zhang Muzhi."

"Perhaps the moment Huang saw Zhang Muzhi, he realized that Zhang Muzhi bore some resemblance to his former self and thus wanted to use the process of seppuku, to test Zhang Muzhi's true identity."

"After all, Huang's knowledge of a kaishakunin proves he's fully aware of the seppuku ritual. Most modern people only know about seppuku as a form of suicide, not that it requires a kaishakunin to be present."

Why do Japanese people arrange for a "kaishakunin" when committing seppuku?

Because seppuku is a slow death process, not guaranteed to be instantaneous with a single stab, but a death from excessive bleeding.

Even if the knife were to penetrate the heart, it wouldn't result in instant death.

And the "kaishakunin" is a sort of insurance.

What insurance?

It's because the person committing seppuku might, out of fear of pain or even a desire to escape, fail to complete the act, at which point the "kaishakunin" would have to step in.

If you can't maintain dignity, I'll help you maintain it.

That's the general idea.

Latter, Zhang Muzhi corrected Huang's mistake, and his response to Huang's challenge was loaded with another layer of meaning: If you don't wish to die, I'll help you die.

"Zhang Muzhi's purpose is very clear, but why didn't he act directly?" Zhang Manman also detected the implied meaning in Zhang Muzhi's words but was more curious.

"Because through this probe, Zhang Muzhi also sensed that Huang's identity wasn't that of an ordinary wealthy landowner, but one of them, one of those who'd overthrown the old class."

Su Jie, observing Zhang Muzhi's slightly puzzled expression, spoke faintly, "He wants to know why someone who once shared the same ideals would take a different path and betray those very ideals."

And by now, Huang had also confirmed that Zhang Muzhi had studied abroad in Japan.

"Considering the context of the era, who could go to Japan for study?"

"Revolutionaries exposed to new ideas."

"But Huang betrayed the revolution and became part of the ruling class that the revolution aimed to overthrow."

At this point, Huang, feeling admiration born of a desire to recruit, took a liking to Zhang Muzhi. Because both had gone abroad and studied, they had common ground to discuss."

For Huang, despite being the dominant force in Goose City, he couldn't help but feel like he was casting pearls before swine. He could gauge the thoughts of everyone in the city, but deep down, he also yearned for a true confidant because almost no one from the old times could truly understand what was in his heart."

He, too, was lonely." To support our work, please read on M|V|LE_MPYR.

As attitudes on both sides changed, the idea of initiating a conflict was temporarily put aside.

Indeed.

As they spoke, each became aware of the other's identity, and then Huang, with a smile, invited Zhang Muzhi to the dining table.

After sitting down, Zhang Muzhi broached a subject, saying, "This county chief, Ma someone, he's bought."

"Hm."

Huang wasn't surprised; instead, he sipped his wine, squinted his eyes, and nodded profoundly.

"Buying office is all about making money," said Zhang Muzhi, looking at Huang, "but Ma someone doesn't like to make money from the poor."

"So whom do you want to make money from?"

"Whoever has money, that's who."

"And who has money?"

"You have money." Zhang Muzhi's face carried a slight smile as he raised his hand to point at Huang, essentially questioning why Huang had become what he was now.

Why choose "making money" as the topic?

Because there was a "Ma Bangde" on the scene, and it wouldn't be appropriate to speak plainly.

Huang's response was straightforward, playing dumb: "Hahaha, what has the county chief taken a fancy to in my place? Feel free to take."

Following the clues provided by Su Jie earlier, his classmates could deduce Huang's real thoughts—he was making concessions, meaning he had plenty of money, and Zhang Muzhi could take as he pleased.

But could Zhang Muzhi agree to this?

Of course not.

Zhang Muzhi scoffed and said, "Taking money directly, that's banditry. Buying office and making money has to be justifiable."

"Well said!"

Huang held up two fingers, "In Goose City, we have two major families selling people to America to build railroads, all earning dollars."

This was an even larger concession.

If previously allowing Zhang Muzhi to take whatever he wanted was giving money, then bringing up the two major families of Goose City was yielding power.

First of all, trafficking people was a traitorous act, dishonorable.

Huang had a grip on the two families' vulnerabilities, which enabled him to secure his position as the tyrant of Goose City. Now, by telling Zhang Muzhi about the families, the implication was—

He was willing to give Zhang Muzhi the dirt on the two families, whether for extortion or to expose evidence, to make a show of authority, at Zhang Muzhi's discretion.

As long as Zhang Muzhi was willing to get on the same boat with him.

At this moment, Ma Bangde, who had been silent until now, spoke up...