Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

Dawn was breaking, and the roosters crowed.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Startled by the sound of drums and gongs, the crowing roosters got a fright and tumbled off the walls.

On the main street, a group of people, filled with righteous indignation, beat drums and gongs as they followed Su Jie's lead, weaving through the streets.

In the crowd.

There were boys and girls, as well as young men and women.

There were people carrying vegetables, others carrying manure, housewives, and teachers.

They beat their gongs and drums, full of righteous anger, and made their way to the open space in the square. Under the puzzled eyes of the onlookers, they took to the wooden stage at the center of the square—one that had endured wind and rain, was riddled with wormholes and appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

"Fellow villagers!"

Su Jie got straight to the point, "We have suffered under the scourge of bandits for too long, so we thirty-eight people are willing to take the initiative to strike out, leave the city to eliminate the bandits, and return to everyone a clear and bright world!"

"What?!"

"They're actually going to fight bandits!"

"Husband! Are you going to leave us widows and orphans?!"

"Wife, I was wrong, don't do anything foolish ah!"

"My son! Don't go!"

In an instant, all the onlookers who were drawn over were profoundly shaken.

Shock, contempt, fear, and concern were abundant.

After all, the identity of the students descending into this world was closely related to these NPCs, some of whom had husbands, wives, and sons—how could their "wives," "husbands," "parents" willingly let their loved ones go to their deaths?

This also made the students realize the level of intelligence these NPCs possessed!

Apart from not having real souls, their thought processes were indistinguishable from real people in the outside world.

But for the students, this was merely a test, how could they be stopped by the words of NPCs?

As a result, the "NPCs" who rushed up all ended up failing to persuade.

Su Jie's reason for giving this speech here was also to catch Zhang Muzhi's attention, hoping to get him to join forces with them to deal with Huang later on.

After all, in Zhang Muzhi's eyes, their actions represented youths who had been oppressed for too long, wishing to burst out in silence and carve out a path for themselves.

If it were just one person, Zhang Muzhi might suspect that person to be a trap set by Huang, but thirty-eight people were enough for Zhang Muzhi to give a corresponding level of trust.

Even though this number was very small compared to the whole of Goose City, and Huang could afford to lose this many men, as long as the number exceeded ten, Zhang Muzhi was willing to trust to some extent.

Su Jie intended not only to eradicate the bandits outside Goose City but also those within it.

"What are you doing? Rebelling?"

Just then, Zhang Muzhi and his five brothers, along with Ma Bangde and others, arrived; it was Ma Bangde who spoke.

Today was supposed to be the funeral of his wife!

How could he be in a good mood when these people were causing trouble at this moment?

Even though he was greedy for money, he had developed some true affection for the mayor's wife; she wasn't just a piece of clothing that could be easily discarded to him.

Even now, Ma Bangde suspected that Su Jie and the others were arranged by Huang.

"Ah, Master Tang, let me handle this."

Compared to the grieving Ma Bangde, Zhang Muzhi's demeanor was calm. Although he also felt some sorrow for the mayor's wife's death, it wasn't much.

After all, they were not close.

Not to mention that the personality of the mayor's wife was not compatible with his own.

He could take the opportunity to avenge her when he got rid of Huang in the future, but he wouldn't turn against Huang over her death at such a time.

Moreover, Zhang Muzhi felt that the people before him were not like Huang's agents.

Especially the look in the eyes of that leading youth—

It seemed familiar.

"Child, which family's son are you?" Zhang Muzhi asked with a smile.

"My name is Sun Mingyi; I am the son of Sun Shouren," Su Jie declared his identity, "I want to wipe out the bandits of Goose City, to let the bright sun shine high, and the earth revive."

Sun Shouyi, the son of the jelly vendor?

Zhang Muzhi was astonished.

Even though Sun Shouyi was a key factor in the death of his little sixth brother, Zhang Muzhi bore no grudge against him, for he was just an honest jelly vendor.

What he did not expect was for the jelly vendor's son to have such a broad vision.

The son surpasses the father!

"Big Brother, do not be fooled by him. He is the jelly vendor's son, surely in league with Huang," the third brother whispered quietly.

"Ah, don't judge a noble person by your own low standards," Zhang Muzhi locked eyes with Su Jie at this moment, "Huang's subordinates could not possibly be people like this."

With that one look, Zhang Muzhi saw Su Jie's determination.

Such a person could definitely not be subdued by Huang unless his acting skills were exceptional.

But was that likely?

No, it wasn't.

Zhang Muzhi trusted his own judgment. Uploaded by the M|V|L(EMPYR) team.

However, he wouldn't trust completely.

"You're going out of the city to eradicate outlaws?" Zhang Muzhi asked.

"Yes, to eliminate the bandits of Goose City," Su Jie emphasized again.

Instantly, Zhang Muzhi's expression changed.

Eliminate the bandits of Goose City...

Sun Mingyi could not possibly be unaware that he was the real Zhang Mazai, so these words were loaded with deeper meaning.

It wasn't just about getting rid of the "Zhang Mazai" gang nurtured by Huang from outside the city, it was also about eradicating the real "Zhang Mazai" within the city, Huang himself.

Was it because his father had died that he had erupted?

It made logical sense.

But that gaze, it was not something a seventeen-year-old child could possess... Regardless, this was an ally who could be recruited to stand together against Huang.

This was the opportunity to awaken all the people of Goose City.

Zhang Muzhi immediately seized on this, bowing his hands in respect, "Young and prominent, admirable. But no matter how many people you have, it's hard to stand against the firearm-wielding bandits."

He couldn't let such a talented youth throw their lives away in vain.

Su Jie smiled, "There's no need for the county magistrate to worry. We are from Goose City and very familiar with the surroundings. With proper planning, those bandits will fall easily into our hands."

Zhang Muzhi and the others wanted to persuade further, but Su Jie had already led a large group down the platform, ignoring the obstructions from "family and friends" in the crowd, pushing past them towards the city's outskirts.

Zhang Muzhi wanted to stop them but was already too late.

"Big brother, what do we do now?" Old Seven looked at the retreating figures of Su Jie and his group, frowning, "The way they look, they really seem like they're going out of the city, and not like they are under Huang's control."

"We proceed with the plan," Zhang Muzhi sighed, "We're just six people; we can't stop them. For now, capturing Huang is more important. If everything goes according to plan, we might even be able to go rescue them."

"Understood."

However, the upcoming plan did not go smoothly. Zhang Muzhi failed to catch Huang but captured Huang's body double instead. While they did catch the heads of the two big families in the city and obtained a large sum of money, Zhang Muzhi wasn't feeling pleased.

"What did we come to Goose City for?" Old Seven stared at the table full of silver with gleaming eyes, yet he was somewhat anxious.

"Money, of course," chorused the other brothers, including Ma Bangde, all but Zhang Muzhi.

"Right, since the money's in hand—" Old Seven clapped his hands, looking at Zhang Muzhi, "Big brother, when do we leave?"

In an instant, the atmosphere quieted down.

Only Ma Bangde echoed Old Seven. Old Two, Old Three, Old Four, and Old Five all kept quiet, their expressions slightly somber because they had all sworn an oath to avenge Little Sixth.

Although they too wished to leave, in the end, the decision awaited Zhang Muzhi, the eldest brother, to speak.

Zhang Muzhi glanced at Old Seven, the first to speak of leaving and forsaking the oath of vengeance for Little Sixth, and suddenly saw a resemblance between him and "Tang."

Yet, he didn't mind Old Seven's attitude much.

After all, they were brothers; maybe harboring their own small schemes, but still heeding their big brother's words.

"We're not leaving," Zhang Muzhi stated flatly, "What I want is Huang's money."

"Isn't the money from the two big families money too?" Old Three said helplessly.

"Yes, but also no," Zhang Muzhi said meaningfully, "Sixth, the lady, two lives—they must be compensated by Huang."

"You're playing with your life, a gambler!"

Ma Bangde spoke up, looking at the table full of money, no longer concerned about his wife's life.

Although he had developed true feelings for his wife, they were limited.

"So what do we do with this money?" Old Three asked.

"Give it away."

"Give it away!?" Old Seven exclaimed in shock.

"Give it to whom?" Old Three smacked the table covered with silver, his face showing reluctance, but still prepared to listen to Zhang Muzhi.

"Give it to the poor," Zhang Muzhi said as he lit a cigarette, puffing smoke rings.

"Who are the poor?" Ma Bangde was confused. Weren't they the poor?

Zhang Muzhi exhaled a cloud of white smoke, "Whoever is poor, they are the poor."

Old Two spoke up, "And what about that crowd from the day?"

Old Seven scoffed, "Forget them. It's been a whole day with no news; they're probably all wiped out. Just a bunch of idiots."

Zhang Muzhi's expression darkened.

By that logic, he was an idiot too.

The money was still given away, but an unexpected event occurred—

As dawn approached, Su Jie and his group returned!

Time rewinds to before Su Jie and his group left the city—

"You're saying, the son of Sun Shouyi from inside the city is leading an expedition out of the city to eradicate bandits?" Huang learned of this immediately and laughed heartily, "Has that guy gone mad after his father's death?"

Huang's steward said, "It's unclear, but he gathered a group of people and they have already left the city. The only strange thing is, although those people know each other, they shouldn't have all gone mad together."

"You mean, there's something fishy?" Huang's face grew more serious, "So you're saying, Sun Mingyi, that son of the mung bean jelly seller, has actually managed to gather a faction under my nose and hid it so well that it only came to light today?"

The steward swallowed hard and said with trepidation, "It's possible."

Huang's face soured, "Then why expose it now? Do they think the county magistrate is their hope?"

The steward bowed his head, not daring to meet Huang's piercing gaze.

"Forget it. Send someone to give a notice, make sure they never return. Goose City won't miss those nearly forty people," Huang ordered nonchalantly and then inquired about Hu Wan's situation, "Did that fellow really die? Find him!"

"Understood."