Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 538: Regretting the Past, Now I Can Only Sell Grains
Actually, there were quite a few refugees on the road, and when asked where they were headed, they only mentioned going to Luoyang, indicating that Luoyang probably had set up a place where refugees could seek help.
Tian Peng thought this was quite good, at least there was some consideration for the refugees.
He had been walking for several days, drinking the water he brought when thirsty, eating the dry food he carried when hungry, all the while asking for directions, and soon arrived at Kaifeng.
Upon reaching Kaifeng, Tian Peng looked at Kaifeng Prefecture and saw indeed a thriving appearance, much better than their little town by far more than just a bit.
"Excuse me, could you tell me the way to Kaifeng Prefecture?" Tian Peng randomly stopped someone on the road to ask.
The person, seeing Tian Peng’s attire, mistook him for a beggar and showed some disdain, intending to brush him off and leave, but then he looked up and saw Tian Peng’s appearance.
The man had an air of nobility, and he was quite tall and well-proportioned, not looking like an ordinary citizen at all. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
His hand, which he had been about to dismissively wave, he now lowered, thinking this person might just have a fancy for such things.
After all, there are so many wealthy people in the world, and naturally, many have their peculiar habits; some like to keep concubines, some enjoy gambling, others fancy drinking.
There was surely someone like this man who loved to wear ragged clothes, and since he was from out of town, it could not be ruled out that a big shot of Kaifeng Prefecture might be his relative, so the man didn’t dare to show impatience anymore.
Tian Peng had no idea that the passerby he casually grabbed had just had such a burst of imagination upon one glance at him, and he was still waiting for the man to tell him where the Prefecture was. However, after that one look, the man fell silent.
"What’s the matter, young man, why aren’t you speaking?"
Tian Peng also gave him a look, seemingly detecting a lot of emotions in his eyes, yet for some reason, he just wouldn’t speak.
After pondering for a moment, Tian Peng had a sudden realization, "Oh! I get it now, you can’t speak, can you? My bad, how could I be so coincidentally inconsiderate."
After saying this, Tian Peng apologized to the man, then let go and went to find someone else to ask for directions.
Just as the man had completed his mental narrative, he was taken aback when, before he knew it, Tian Peng had walked away, leaving behind a remark questioning if he couldn’t speak.
"Hey, no, I... I can speak," he said.
Regrettably, it was too late; Tian Peng had already found someone else to ask for directions, and the man sighed silently, feeling as if he had just missed a significant opportunity in his life.
Tian Peng randomly stopped another person on the street for directions; after getting the information, he was about to leave, but for some reason, he suddenly caught a whiff of a tantalizing aroma that seemed to be wafting from a small stand on the side of the road.
Drawn by the scent, Tian Peng made his way over to find that the small stand wasn’t selling anything special—just simple fried mantou slices with hot chili oil.
Fried foods always had an inexplicably delightful smell, and even Tian Peng was finding this hard to resist.
Having eaten plain wheat cakes for so many days, he now really wanted to taste something with flavor, especially since this food was hot.
After inquiring about the price, just as he was about to negotiate, Tian Peng suddenly remembered he didn’t have any money on him at all, only Spirit Stones and grain in his Silken Pouch.
With no choice, Tian Peng scratched his head and asked, "Brother, do you know where the grain shop is? I came to sell grain; I’ve run out of money and need to exchange some grain for a few Silver Taels at the grain shop first."
"Oh, looking for the grain shop? Easy to find, easy to find, just up ahead, not far at all. Walk forward and when you see a yellow sign, the grain shop will be right across from that sign, on the right side." The vendor didn’t seem to mind Tian Peng’s lack of money, and readily gave him directions.
Tian Peng offered his thanks and then found a secluded corner. He took a bag of wheat and a little fine flour out of the silken pouch, and headed straight for the grain shop.
Arriving at the grain shop, Tian Peng saw the shopkeeper busy with his accounts and flashed him a smile, "Shopkeeper, do you buy grain here?"
"We do." The shopkeeper began, glancing up as he spoke, and upon seeing Tian Peng’s attire, he hesitated, then shook his head, "No, we don’t."
Tian Peng was about to put the wheat on the table when the shopkeeper unexpectedly said he wasn’t buying, "What’s going on, shopkeeper? You just said you were buying and now you say you’re not, are you playing a joke?"
His voice still carried a commanding presence, bearing a tone that was forceful and heavy.
It was a tone that often berated Heavenly Generals and soldiers, which now seemed almost unbearably intimidating to an ordinary mortal.
The shopkeeper’s heart trembled as he looked at Tian Peng with a hint of fear and silently motioned to his clerk.
Of course, Tian Peng’s keen observations did not miss this; as the clerk touched his shoulder, he turned to face him, "What are you doing?"
The clerk, startled by Tian Peng, stumbled and fell to the ground. After scrambling back to his feet, he quickly shook his head, "Nothing, nothing, I didn’t mean to do anything."
Tian Peng then turned back to the shopkeeper, "What’s the matter with you? I came here to sell grain. You initially said you would buy and then you said you wouldn’t. That’s fine, but then you plan a sneak attack? What kind of grain shop is this? A bandit’s den?"
"No, no," the shopkeeper hurriedly explained, "I, I actually, I actually forgot earlier. Our shop hasn’t been doing well lately, and even if we bought grain, we wouldn’t be able to sell it, so we are not buying grain now. I just blurted it out without thinking earlier."
"Really?" Tian Peng looked at the other clerks, "Then what’s this about your clerk trying to ambush me?"
"This..."
The shopkeeper’s mind raced, then he quickly added, "Oh no, I wasn’t trying to ambush you. I’m just not good with words and since I was behind the counter, I actually wanted the clerk to explain things to you properly, which is why he was behind you just now."
If the clerk had been in front of him, Tian Peng might have given him the benefit of the doubt, but being behind and making such obvious signals was not something Tian Peng could ignore as if nothing had happened.
"Do you take me for a fool who’d fall for a trick that would deceive a three-year-old child? Do you think I’m oblivious to everything?" Tian Peng asked angrily.
"No, no, it really is as I said. How could we dare to deceive you," the shopkeeper said.
"Don’t think I didn’t see you making signals just now. Are you trying to steal my grain when I’m not looking?" Tian Peng glared at the shopkeeper, "I’m already on my way to report to the Kaifeng Prefecture officials. Might as well include your plot in my report."
"Please don’t, young man, how can you think of people like that? I really have no intention to steal your grain," the shopkeeper said in haste.
And he wasn’t lying.
The man was dressed in ragged, tattered clothes, with plenty of mud stains on them. Even his shoes were badly worn.
The shopkeeper was actually more afraid that the man had come to rob the shop of grain. After all, there were many refugees from other places, and naturally, some had made their way into Kaifeng Prefecture.
Having been at a loss in such situations before, he had become somewhat fearful.
Besides the ragged clothes, the man was tall and robust. If he decided to steal the grain, it was likely that none of the shop’s clerks could match him, which would mean preemptive action was necessary.
"So what do you intend to do?" Tian Peng inquired.
