Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

"I was wrong."

Ma Bangde could only say that, for he hadn't yet completely grasped the situation at hand.

"You were very wrong."

Zhang Muzhi seemed helpless; his stance was different from that of opportunistic fellows like Ma Bangde, which would never change.

The smile on Huang's face resembled that of a sly tiger as he said to Ma Bangde, "We follow the county head's orders, split it fifty-fifty."

The implication was clear, no matter how they split it now, he wouldn't make good on his promise when the time came.

Therefore, it was all pointless.

Still, he gave a final warning, "Since you want to exterminate the bandits, why should I believe you can do it?"

Both of them knew that the so-called "Zhang Mazai" was Huang's own squad.

Which meant, to exterminate the bandits was to take down Huang!

The underlying meaning of Huang's words was a challenge to Zhang Muzhi: did he have the strength to confront him?

If not, better to meekly admit defeat.

"Master Huang, I'd like to ask you a question. If Zhang Mazai can intercept your goods, why can't he enter your house?" asked Zhang Muzhi.

With pride, Huang boasted, "This fort of mine is as secure as a citadel, easy to defend but difficult to attack, he can't get in."

A smile appeared on Zhang Muzhi's face, for he was Zhang Mazai, and he was already inside: "Then how can you be so sure that only my advisor and I have entered your fort?"

Then, Zhang Muzhi whistled, mimicking the sound of a bird.

At the same moment, a sound similar to the hooting of an owl resounded from outside the fort.

"Do you hear that?" Zhang Muzhi asked.

"I hear it," Huang replied, his eyes curved like crescents, emanating a chilling intent to kill.

"In a place Zhang Mazai can't enter, I can; when Zhang Mazai doesn't want to die, I can make him die," Zhang Muzhi declared, effectively declaring war.

However, Zhang Manman's gaze fell on Ma Bangde's face.

Blinking, bewildered, and stupefied.

At that moment, he truly couldn't understand what was happening.

Pop!

Just then, another person "died," and a splash of red appeared on the curtain.

"Another one dead," Ma Bangde was scared.

Among the students, someone went to check and reported back, "He's not dead."

As everyone expected.

Of the three, aside from Sun Shouyi, Huang wouldn't kill the others, so there was nothing worth seeing.

"You can turn me in, don't strain yourself," Huang had implicitly admitted he was the mastermind behind the murder of Little Six.

Why no longer disguise it?

Because he knew that Zhang Muzhi was resolved to eliminate him, with no chance of negotiation, leaving no reason to hide.

"County Head's extermination of bandits, impressive!"

"However, I must warn the County Head, those who set out to exterminate bandits face a high likelihood of death."

Huang threatened.

"Oh? And how so?" Zhang Muzhi asked.

"Zhang Mazai is no ordinary man; twenty years ago, we had a chance encounter," Huang recalled fondly.

"Such a fate? Where did it begin?" Zhang Muzhi's tone grew slightly sombre.

Huang said, "Among the dim light of lanterns, he suddenly turned back, whereas I was hidden in the shadows."

"And at that moment?" Zhang Muzhi probed.

"Just like this moment right now," Huang said, locking eyes with him, as if with fervent passion.

Zhang Muzhi, curious, "Oh? Could it really be... so similar?"

"Very much so," Huang asserted firmly, then raised a finger, "But there's one difference, you won't play the fool."

At this point, Ma Bangde was utterly confused about what was happening between the two men, his face full of bewilderment.

Zhao Xinglong paused the scene and asked, "Can anyone explain why these two are exchanging such meaningful words?"

Zhang Manman raised her hand first and said, "Earlier, I saw a calendar in the city, and the backdrop here is the year 1920, which means twenty years ago was 1900."

"During that period, the JW War had just ended, and the Qing Dynasty realized its own backwardness, hence they began to learn from Japan, sending many students to the Japanese Army Officer School."

"Japan, wanting to elevate its status among the great powers and coveting the land of China, knew that force alone wouldn't suffice. To swallow a whole elephant, you need the hearts of the people. Supporting local forces and cultural influence was the way to power. Therefore, they allowed the Qing Dynasty to send people for study."

"And this group was clearly the main force behind the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, the primary army of the XH revolution."

"However, it's a pity that they only overthrew the Qing Dynasty and did not overturn the decayed system. Within themselves, quite a large part became the beneficiaries after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, which is just another type of emperor,"

When Huang and Zhang Muzhi first met, they used the Japanese samurai custom of seppuku as a probe, testing each other's identity, both belonging to the same group of people, even having some sort of past acquaintance,"

"It's just that one became a bandit in the mountains, while the other became a local emperor."

"As Su Jie said, Huang might indeed have once been Zhang Muzhi; his nostalgia was also, to some extent, his last warning. If Zhang Muzhi didn't recognize the current trend, the fate of the little sixth son would be his fate,"

"Hu Wan can shed tears for burying his past self, so can Huang mourn in advance for burying his former self."

Clap, clap, clap!

Zhao Xinglong applauded: "Understood very thoroughly, and, Huang actually also has feelings of regret for Zhang Muzhi, who was once a revolutionary like him. After all, Zhang Muzhi doesn't play dumb, that is, he's not slick, not accident-prone, preferring to be a bandit than to betray his former self."

Su Jie sighed, "It's difficult to achieve not pretending to be confused."

He himself knew that he understood a lot of principles, but to truly comprehend them was a different matter.

Just like Zhang Muzhi.

Can you say he's not slick at the dinner table?

Slick,

but every sentence pierces Huang's heart. Forabetterreadingexperience,

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Thousands of years of dining culture, every phrase is a struggle, with ulterior motives, both men have their minds on things other than the wine, only Ma Bangde, the only one thinking about making money, is playing peacemaker.

As an outsider in this dinner scene, his only goal was to make money, and then to build a more suitable bridge for the two, to prevent a conflict.

The reason Zhang Muzhi brought this fellow along was also for this reason.

He feared that his anger would cloud his judgment, leading to a tit-for-tat exchange with Huang, possibly one-for-one or one-for-many.

Nevertheless, Ma Bangde felt he was also part of Zhang Muzhi's group and wanted to take the initiative, at least to make money, but unfortunately, Zhang Muzhi and Huang were like fire and water, incompatible.

Suddenly, Chen Tian Yuzi asked, "But Zhang Muzhi clearly has the ability to kill Huang, given that his brothers can come into the bunker without the patrol knowing, then it would be very easy to find Huang and assassinate him, so why not just kill him?"

After all, no matter what, they are bandits!

Do bandits need a reason to kill someone?

Su Jie shook his head slightly and said, "It seems you still don't understand, this is a class struggle, not just about one person like Huang."

"For Zhang Muzhi, killing Huang would be very easy, no matter how many doubles he has, but then there will be Li and Wang, there will always be someone who becomes the new dragon."

"Zhang Muzhi wants to kill Huang, and perhaps also attempt to awaken the numb citizens of Goose City."

"If we were in his position, the first thing we might think of would be to use our own strength to kill Huang and his accomplices."

"But it's meaningless because there will always be someone who becomes the next Huang, and even we, after killing Huang, may replace Huang and sit in that position."

"But Zhang Muzhi won't; as he seeks revenge for little sixth son, he also wants to try to solve the 'Dragon Slayer who eventually becomes the dragon' cycle, to complete the most thorough revolution."

"So, Huang can't just die simply."

After Su Jie's explanation, Chen Tian Yuzi naturally understood the main point of this history lesson.

The XH revolution was a failure!

It was far from successful, and in fact, it can't be considered a revolution at all, but merely the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and nothing more.

If there were no foreign powers involved, this would just be a change of dynasties, a cycle of feudal monarchies.

Even now, within this land, in some places, there are still beneficiaries like Huang, and not to mention in other countries.

Take her homeland, Japan, for example, where the paths to upward mobility are completely blocked off. Ordinary people don't have the slightest chance – officials' sons become officials, company presidents' sons become company presidents.

The purpose of learning history, apart from studying the past, is also to remember. It's not about being blinded by hatred for the country, but rather about not forgetting one's original intent and continuing to strive forward."

This struggle is not about race, nationality, or region, but a class-level struggle.

With her thoughts as swift as lightning, Chen Tian Yuzi felt that she had completely understood the knowledge points she couldn't comprehend before and could only memorize mechanically.

Zhang Manman put her hand on Chen Tian Yuzi's shoulder: "It's easy to destroy a person's flesh, but to destroy a person's thoughts and spirit, or even the class they represent, is very difficult."

Zhao Xinglong laughed: "That's why, Ming Lun, although it's a martial school, besides the arena and possible future accidents, we do not advocate resolving issues with people by using force."

Force is indispensable because truth emerges from the barrel of a gun.

But we cannot coerce through force.

Because once tasting the sweetness of forcing people through violence, there will be no more thought to use the brain, and without thinking, all sorts of confused actions will occur.

It was at this moment that the scene at the dinner table came alive again.

Among the three, besides Ma Bangde, who was still discussing money matters, Zhang Muzhi and Huang were genuinely wishing death upon each other, but in the end, they appeared harmonious.

Huang even called for a girl named Daiyu Qingwenzi.

She was an Eastern girl, dressed slightly revealing, holding a box in her hands with two gemstones inside.

This was the "courtesy" before an eventual confrontation.

Zhang Muzhi refused, but eventually, it was Ma Bangde who accepted it, after all, he was considering it for Zhang Muzhi: a man who wants neither money nor women is even feared by emperors.

Unfortunately, although Ma Bangde heard something from the conversation between the two, he did not know that they had long been locked in a fight to the death...