Journey to the West: Life Simulation of Sun Wukong

"So, shall I go ahead and prepare, little brother?" Zhang Muzhi stood up, "Could I ask the brothers to help out a bit?"

"It would be my pleasure, I dare not refuse."

Su Jie smiled as he sent people to assist Zhang Muzhi in selecting suitable corpses.

After Zhang Muzhi left the hall, Zhang Manman walked in and said, "Everything has been arranged, a part will stay in the stronghold, continuing to educate the villagers, while we will follow Zhang Muzhi back to Goose City to participate in the final battle against Huang."

The spark had been planted, but not all the students could return to Goose City, otherwise, that small spark would be extinguished. Not all winds fan a spark into a flame; some might snuff it out completely.

Therefore, it was necessary to have someone stay behind to watch over things.

"This is the best choice," Su Jie nodded in agreement.

Once Zhang Muzhi had chosen the corpses, he returned to Goose City along with Su Jie, Zhang Manman, Chen Tian Yuzi, and others, while Liang Zhichao, Li Feng, and others stayed at the stronghold continuing to instruct the villagers they had rallied.

On the way back, Zhang Muzhi was silent the entire journey, contemplating how much damage he could inflict upon Huang this time.

Huang of Goose City must die.

"Master, it's bad news, the county magistrate and his men have returned," Hu San and others had been scouting near the outskirts of the city and, upon seeing Zhang Muzhi's figure, ran panicked into Huang's fortress, which was riddled with scars.

Although the holes in the fortress had been repaired, the different colors made it look like a face plastered with many plasters, eliciting an involuntary disgust from onlookers.

"Returned?!"

Huang cursed loudly, "How is that possible? All those martyr soldiers failed to kill Zhang Muzhi? Were the explosives on them fake?"

Of course, they weren't fake.

At noon, everyone in Goose City also heard the rumbling from afar. That was the sound of gunpowder exploding, which couldn't possibly be faked.

Could it be that Zhang Muzhi truly survived the explosion?

Was the effort with so many human bombs all in vain? ReadaheadandgetupdatesatM*V*L*E*M*P*Y*R.

Just who exactly is Zhang Muzhi?

"Master, besides the county magistrate, Sun Mingyi's wife, the wives of Li Da'er and Widow Ma from the city, their son, and so on, have all returned," said Hu San, a bit fearful.

"You're talking about those red bandits?" Naturally, Huang remembered those like Sun Mingyi who had left Goose City and whom he had propagandized as bloodthirsty bandits who killed without blinking and ate without salting. He had not expected that they would also return with Zhang Muzhi.

Of course, Huang would not believe anything had to do with Sun Mingyi and the others; instead, he figured that all this was part of Zhang Muzhi's plan.

That county magistrate!

Under his very nose!

Had recruited a group of idealists willing to follow him!

He had once thought that Sun Mingyi and the others had simply hidden too well, but now it seemed that the county magistrate had been pulling strings right under his nose, establishing his own faction.

Although he still didn't clearly understand how those two hundred martyr soldiers had died, it no longer seemed important.

The county magistrate was back!

Moreover, he was bringing back the corpses of the "hemp bandits," making the matter extremely troublesome.

He knew exactly what Zhang Muzhi would do next: he would exploit the fact that the martyr soldiers had been strapped with bombs in order to oppress him.

And he wouldn't have much opportunity to argue against it.

Mainly because those two hundred martyr soldiers, being masked and with concealed identities, couldn't be shown to anyone. Otherwise, the common people in the city might truly rebel.

On normal days, no matter how much he skinned those city dwellers, they would never resist, enduring everything. On occasion, if he took a dislike to someone and suppressed them, or even stealthily took them out of the equation, no one would dare to speak up.

It wasn't their concern.

But these two hundred were tied to too many of the city's common folk.

If those people's identities were to become known, and the families of the two hundred started causing trouble, perhaps other city dwellers might not be able to hold back their agitation and consider overthrowing Huang.

In short, he had to swallow this loss.

However, Huang was certain that Zhang Muzhi wouldn't openly turn against him, because in terms of numbers, he still had more people. If a real fight broke out, they would also suffer heavy casualties.

As long as not all Goose City stood against him, Zhang Muzhi would have no chance.

Unless, Zhang Muzhi wanted to become another him!

If that were the case, even if he died and went to the Netherworld, he could wait for Zhang Muzhi to come down, and then mock him to his heart's content.

"Let's go! To the city gates to welcome them!"

At Huang's command, a large group headed toward the city gates. The local gentry were also mobilized, and courtesans with heavy makeup were arranged to beat drums and gongs at the city gates, welcoming the county magistrate's triumphant return.

"Boom boom boom!"

"The county magistrate is mighty!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"The county magistrate is brave!"

From a distance, Zhang Muzhi and his people could see the bustle at the city gates, which was related to them, yet unrelated.

With a full smile, Huang approached with a bow, flattery at the ready: "County magistrate, truly powerful as if you could uproot mountains and your spirit covers the world. You have actually succeeded in eradicating the red bandits. Congratulations are in order."

Looking at the rough-faced corpse, identified by its pockmarks, Huang confirmed that Zhang Muzhi had indeed pulled Sun Mingyi and others into his fold.

After all, this "Zhang Mazai" was one of his own men.

"Master Huang, although the bandits have been suppressed, the casualties are extremely heavy," Zhang Muzhi spoke with a grave expression, "May I ask Master Huang to explain why your people would explode?"

"This is naturally for the safety of the county magistrate, they are all willing to carry explosives, to commit meaningful deeds with their otherwise useless bodies."

Huang's face bore a look of sorrow, but not a single tear welled in his eyes. He merely wiped a hand over his face and then turned to Su Jie and the others, "These people are from the city, they took it upon themselves to go out and eradicate bandits half a month ago. But I hear they have joined the Red Bandits, how come they are with the county magistrate?"

Zhang Muzhi said cheerfully, "Master Huang, don't judge others by your own standards. These folks are all heroes, working undercover in the bandit stronghold, which enabled me to capture them in one fell swoop. It's just a pity for Master Huang's family members, with only nearly a hundred intact bodies remaining, the rest became mincemeat and had to be buried on site."

Huang shuddered.

They really all died!

This county magistrate, more ruthless at heart than he!

Yes, for someone like him, while he has a compassionate heart, for success, he would not show mercy.

Compassion in the heart and ruthlessness in action are not contradictory.

In Huang's eyes, Zhang Muzhi had become even more of a problem.

"To be buried by the hands of the great county magistrate is their honor," the sorrow on Huang's face flashed away, turning into joy. His twisted face resembled one crawling with maggots as it crumpled and writhed, "I have already prepared a feast for the magistrate's triumphant return, please."

"Master Huang, please."

Zhang Muzhi knew that he would not be able to inflict more losses on Huang through the explosives affair, and was ready to deal with him for some time more.

Meanwhile, Su Jie and the others returned to their respective homes according to their identities.

But then, a large crowd from the city approached menacingly.

"Did you really go undercover with the bandits?"

"It seems that only half of you have returned, are the others dead?"

"My son!"

"My husband!"

The crowd was in uproar. Su Jie stepped forward and said loudly, "I know you are all grieving, but I have something to tell you—the bandits outside the city are actually Huang's men!"

"We saw with our own eyes, Hu San going to make contact with the bandits!"

The city residents were shocked.

They knew nothing of the concept of exploitation and only knew that Huang was a bad man, but they were helpless. They had not expected that even the bandits outside the city were Huang's men.

"How could that be?"

"When my grandfather went out in the past, he was killed by bandits, and all along it was Huang's doing!"

"That Huang, skin-flayer! Deserves to die!"

In indignation, everyone was incensed.

But when Su Jie suggested they take up arms and resist Huang, the crowd fell silent.

Resist Huang?

Are they dreaming?

Perhaps, it's because they have become accustomed, accustomed to Huang's oppression, and merely resigned themselves to this being their ill fate, willing to be driven.

Without courage, even if they took up arms, they would only follow the victor.

Nothing would change.

"Why do you remain silent?" Su Jie challenged.

"..."

The response was still silence.

Someone wanted to speak but merely opened their mouth, hesitant to utter words, and finally, an elder stepped forward and said, "It's not so easy to deal with Huang, they have guns."

"But you have hoes," Su Jie said calmly, "In more than two thousand years of history, our ancestors, countless farmers, would rise up with their hoes and wield them towards the emperor, knowing full well that they likely wouldn't succeed."

"..."

The response was still silence.

"Disperse."

Su Jie said calmly, and the crowd that had gathered dispersed instantly, afraid to have any further association with Su Jie and the others, even the husbands and wives they had replaced, hurried away, severing ties with their own spouses.

Zhang Manman said, "They're all weathercocks, not taking sides until Zhang Muzhi and Huang have determined the victor, they'll side with whoever wins."

After a good while, Su Jie slowly spoke, "This is one of the saddest things, it means they don't hold their own beliefs."

"Let's not talk about this, how did you get on with your assignment?" Zhang Manman asked.

Hearing this, Chen Tian Yuzi also became concerned.

She hadn't written a single word.

"I've already written it," Su Jie handed a notebook over to Zhang Manman, two centimeters thick.

"This thick?" Zhang Manman was surprised, but thinking of how Su Jie had fully immersed himself in this illusory realm, she was somewhat understanding.

In this era, if one truly sank into it, there would indeed be many topics to discuss.

Even for her, observing from the sidelines, she felt profound emotions and had much to say, yet she didn't know where to start.

Upon opening it, the first page that met her eyes was about the issue of women's rights in that era...