Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 479: Bunny? This thing is great!

Seeing Chen Nuo sigh, Sun Wukong quickly asked, "What’s wrong, Master? I told that blockhead that it would have been fine just staying in the store, but he insisted on seeking out Fairy Chang’e. Now look, he’s made Master angry."

"Shopkeeper, I know I was wrong, and I promise I won’t try to charm the fairies again!" Tian Peng hurriedly apologized to Chen Nuo.

Forced to choose between the fairies and being an employee in Chen Nuo’s shop, Tian Peng resolutely chose the latter.

The former hadn’t even started yet, and though Tian Peng wasn’t smart, he definitely wasn’t stupid either. Seeing Chen Nuo angry, he quickly distanced himself from Chang’e.

"It’s fine, after all, you were following your heart. I shouldn’t really interfere," Chen Nuo thought for a moment, figuring it was better to let Tian Peng focus now, but if he were to prevent him outright, it might only lead to a rebellious reaction from Tian Peng.

"No, Shopkeeper, it’s just that I’m a bit lecherous, but I understand the big picture. If you’re unhappy, I absolutely won’t contact Chang’e anymore," Tian Peng, thinking Chen Nuo was too lazy to deal with him, hurried to show his loyalty.

"That’s not what I meant, don’t be nervous," Chen Nuo said.

In the original story, Tian Peng harassed Chang’e after getting drunk, which led to the Jade Emperor banishing him to the mortal realm.

At that time, Tian Peng simply had a fondness for Chang’e, but in reality, the two barely interacted. He drank to gather courage, and, feeling bold, intended to express his feelings to Chang’e. However, his large stature was quite intimidating, which scared Chang’e, who would want to hide whenever she saw him.

Previously, he had met Chang’e once, and at that time Tian Peng was deeply attracted to the dishes and didn’t bother with Chang’e. Unexpectedly, the opening of the milk tea shop gave them another opportunity to interact.

"Actually, I just wanted to go and offer my condolences to Chang’e," Tian Peng said. "But when I got there, I saw that Chang’e was having some minor troubles. She asked me for help and, thinking it over, since it seemed rather simple, I agreed to lend her a hand. Afterward, Shopkeeper, if you don’t want me to have any more contact with Chang’e, then I won’t. It’s just that, before that, I have to fulfill what I promised."

Chen Nuo didn’t think the matter was a big deal, and considering Tian Peng had been with him so long, he shouldn’t lack self-control, "Then you just go ahead and help Chang’e sort this matter out first. The rest will be up to you."

"Thanks for your approval, Shopkeeper," Tian Peng bowed to Chen Nuo, then raised his head with a smile.

Seeing that expression, Chen Nuo knew there must be something Tian Peng couldn’t handle on his own. "I’ll give you some time. If you’re willing, go help her yourself."

"But Shopkeeper, this is really something I can’t handle," Tian Peng said anxiously, seeing Chen Nuo hadn’t asked what the issue was.

"This is something you promised her, why should I help?"

"The matter is troublesome in a way, and yet not troublesome in another. It really depends on who’s handling it," Tian Peng said. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Speak plainly," Chen Nuo wasn’t planning to indulge Tian Peng’s roundabout talk on such matters.

"It’s really not that big a deal. It’s just, you know, Fairy Chang’e has the Jade Rabbit in her palace, right, Shopkeeper?" Tian Peng said.

Chang’e and the Jade Rabbit, even if not part of the Journey to the West story, are a tale well-known to all. Chen Nuo was certainly aware of it, but he didn’t see what the Jade Rabbit had to do with the trouble Chang’e was having.

"What about it? It’s not like, the Jade Rabbit is sick, is it?" Chen Nuo asked.

Tian Peng waved his hand, "That’s naturally impossible."

"What is it then?" Chen Nuo glanced at Sun Wukong.

Sun Wukong immediately picked up on Chen Nuo’s signal and slapped Tian Peng on the head, "Can’t you speak properly? Why are you being so mysterious with the shopkeeper?"

"Ay ay ay, I was wrong, Mr. Monkey, I was wrong. Shall I say it now?" Tian Peng covered his head.

Chen Nuo achieved the effect he wanted and leaned back in his chair, waiting for Tian Peng to explain.

"It’s those Jade Rabbits, well, not just rabbits, but the rabbits in Chang’e’s Guanghan Palace have bred like a plague, so she asked us to help sort it out," Tian Peng summarized the whole situation in one sentence for Chen Nuo.

"Rabbits overrunning Guanghan Palace?" Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by ’overrunning’?"

"Ah, shopkeeper, you haven’t seen it. The sight of it even shocked me! The whole palace was a blanket of white. I first thought it was just light reflecting off the ground, but when I got closer, oh my, it wasn’t light at all, but rabbits everywhere, no place to even step."

"That many, huh." Chen Nuo nodded. Rabbits were quite resilient creatures, and given the vast, sparsely populated area, it was unlikely that Chang’e would let her living quarters be littered with rabbit corpses.

So many years have passed, not a hundred thousand, then surely tens of thousands of rabbits, "Now you tell me, what’s your plan for solving this rabbit issue?"

"Heh heh, you know..." Tian Peng chuckled, "With so many rabbits, releasing them anywhere isn’t a good solution. Mr. Monkey says rabbit meat is tasty, lean with little fat, good no matter how it’s cooked. So, I thought I’d discuss with you to see what kind of delicacy we could make from these rabbits."

"So that’s your angle." Chen Nuo scoffed, "Quite the gift of Buddha using flowers from someone else’s tree. The idea is yours, but I’m the one who’s supposed to do all the work while you reap all the benefits."

"No, I didn’t think that much." Tian Peng just thought there had to be many ways to prepare rabbit meat, and with the shopkeeper’s skill, any method would taste delicious. He really hadn’t considered anything beyond that.

Chen Nuo saw the flustered look on Tian Peng’s face and knew he was the sort not to think things through, probably not having considered much at all. But having him do the work for free was out of the question, even his eldest disciple Sun Wukong hadn’t tried to exploit him in that way.

"Blockhead, all you can do is talk, huh?" Sun Wukong quickly figured out the subtext, "Even when you eat at my master’s, you have to pay. You expect my master to help just by saying thanks with your mouth?"

"Oh, oh! Shopkeeper, it’s my dumb brain. I didn’t think of that at all. I understand now!"

Tian Peng stood up, opened his Treasure Bag, and handed over all sorts of precious treasures he had collected over the years to Chen Nuo, "Shopkeeper, look, these are treasures I’ve collected for many years. Some I scavenged, others are spoils of war, and either way, they’re all precious. I’m giving them all to you now, so please do me this favor."

Chen Nuo looked at the treasures in front of him, then at Tian Peng’s eager face, and sighed, "Maybe she just happened to ask you for a favor. Did you really have to go this far?"

Chen Nuo had, after all, spent some time with him and couldn’t bear to see him like this.

Helplessly, he really couldn’t interfere with Tian Peng’s emotional affairs. He casually picked a couple of items from the treasures Tian Peng offered and then said, "Alright, I’ve understood your intentions. You’ve put a lot of effort into collecting these things. I’ll just take a few as compensation. You should put the rest away."