Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 688 - 687: Remembering the Past, Not an Ounce of Regret
When it came to this, Tian Peng felt it was indeed necessary and quickly straightened up his body, "Are you really Ao Lie, the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King?" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
"It is me," Ao Lie nodded.
Tian Peng had wanted to ask something else, but then it suddenly came to him; he smacked his forehead,
"Oh! I remember now, I seem to have heard about you before. You burned the Bright Pearl that the Jade Emperor gifted to your father, and then in a fit of anger, your father reported you to the Jade Emperor, didn’t he?"
This was not at all a glorious matter. Being so widely discussed by others, Ao Lie felt hot in the face, whether it was his father reporting him to the Jade Emperor or him burning the Bright Pearl bestowed by the Jade Emperor. Talking about it was rather unpleasant.
"I didn’t do it on purpose. The incident was quite bizarre," Ao Lie explained, "At that time..."
"No worries, no need to explain. Such things, the impetuosity of youth, everyone can understand, and since you have already paid the price, there’s even less reason to bring it up," Tian Peng said with a smile, "After all, some matters only require forgiveness from those directly involved."
Ao Lie was touched by Tian Peng’s words.
The incident, if he were to speak of it, was actually a momentary flare-up of anger on the part of the West Sea Dragon King. He was nearly beaten to death while hung up. His father, too, finally came to his senses and began to plead with the Jade Emperor for mercy.
Since the Jade Emperor had begun to administer punishment, it certainly couldn’t be stopped so easily.
Because of the West Sea Dragon King’s pleas, the Jade Emperor felt his authority was being questioned and doubled down, intent on beating Ao Lie to death. Ultimately, the incident was averted by Bodhisattva Guanyin, who stepped in and appeased the Jade Emperor’s wrath.
However, Ao Lie didn’t get off easily either. Even though the Jade Emperor didn’t kill him, he was thrown into prison. If the Jade Emperor hadn’t cooled off, he would have had to stay there indefinitely.
After several hundred years in prison, no one had come to release him.
Ao Lie had been imprisoned for so long, he started to doubt whether everyone in the world had forgotten about him there.
It was only later that Bodhisattva Guanyin led him out of prison. After his release, he was determined to fulfill the tasks entrusted to him by the Bodhisattva.
More importantly, he truly didn’t want to go back to that place. It wasn’t somewhere he could endure for long; another day might have driven him insane.
"However, I have never seen you before. How could you recognize me?" Ao Lie was certain he had never met this person before.
His memory was fairly good; the quiet man he had indeed seen, but this one, he truly had never encountered.
"What’s with you? You recognize him but not me?" Tian Peng felt a bit disgruntled, mainly because he didn’t want to admit defeat in front of Sha Wujing. That the Third Prince of the West Sea Dragon King, Ao Lie, recognized one but not him seemed ridiculous.
"Sorry, I truly have never seen you," Ao Lie said apologetically to Tian Peng, "Just like he said, it seems we have met at the Flat Peach Banquet."
"But you, I really don’t recall ever seeing at the Flat Peach Banquet. Oh, I’m not saying you haven’t been to the Flat Peach Banquet, it’s just that we usually recognize people primarily based on encounters at events like the Flat Peach Banquet."
Tian Peng knew full well that Ao Lie wasn’t lying. The Flat Peach Banquet in name was for rewarding the immortals with Flat Peaches, but the taste of the peaches was just so-so, and with banquets held several times a year, there was nothing particularly rewarding about them; the event had long since become more of a networking opportunity.
It was no surprise that Ao Lie didn’t recognize him, as his appearance had completely changed from before. He believed that if the former him stood before Ao Lie, Ao Lie surely would have recognized him.
"You don’t recognize me, that’s fine, but you must know who Marshal Tian Peng is, right?" Tian Peng asked.
Ao Lie nodded, indeed, he knew who Marshal Tian Peng was.
In the Heavenly Realm, who didn’t know of Marshal Tian Peng? HoHowever, he wondered why Tian Peng was asking him about the Marshal. Could it be that he was one of the Marshal’s soldiers?
"I do know Marshal Tian Peng, but I really don’t recognize you," Ao Lie said.
"Alright, I already know you don’t recognize me. There’s no need to keep saying it," Tian Peng waved his hand, "Besides, I haven’t properly introduced myself yet. Once I tell you my name, you’ll definitely recognize me."
"Please do," Ao Lie said, waiting for Tian Peng to reveal his identity.
"I am Tian Peng," Tian Peng said.
Ao Lie was originally waiting for Tian Peng to say something else, but when he heard this, he was stunned and then slowly began to register the statement, though not fully comprehending it yet.
"How can you be Tian Peng? I’ve seen Marshal Tian Peng before, and he doesn’t look like you. You’re not joking with me, are you?"
"Of course, I’m not joking with you," Tian Peng said, "Why don’t you believe that I am Marshal Tian Peng? It’s not something to boast about, yet you still don’t believe it."
"Isn’t being Marshal Tian Peng something to boast about?" Ao Lie looked at Tian Peng, unsure whether he was feigning modesty or being serious.
"Sigh, I used to think that this was something to boast about, but later, I realized that there really isn’t much to boast about," Tian Peng said with a smile while talking to Au Lie.
"You see, this identity, in plain terms, is all arranged by the Jade Emperor. Whatever he says goes. He decides what position we are in, and we are in that position. If one day, he says we need to change our position, even if you don’t want to change anymore, it’s not up to you."
Ao Lie listened to Tian Peng and was somewhat confused, "What are you talking about? All this talk of identity—I don’t really understand you."
"Sigh, you..." Tian Peng looked at Ao Lie’s naive face and wanted to laugh, "The way you are, it’s like someone sold you and you’re still helping them count the money."
"What do you mean?" Ao Lie asked. "Weren’t we just discussing why you are Marshal Tian Peng? How did we get to the topic of selling things?"
"You really are naive," Tian Peng sighed, "But honestly, you should be. To tell you the truth, I’ve been demoted to the mortal realm. Now, there is no Marshal Tian Peng left in the entire Heavenly Realm."
Ao Lie was even more shocked, his eyes widened incredulously as he looked at Tian Peng.
"Why? You are Marshal Tian Peng, your position is not something that just anyone can take on. What mistake did you make to deserve such a punishment?"
Speaking of mistakes made Tian Peng want to laugh. He curled the corners of his mouth and said to Ao Lie, "Well, this matter is actually quite easy to explain. It’s just hindsight. At the time, I got carried away and almost did something inappropriate to Fairy Chang’e."
"Then Fairy Chang’e was very angry, but later on, she forgave me. She had already forgiven me, yet the Jade Emperor still wanted to punish me for this matter. Do you think I am wronged or do I deserve it?"
"I..." Ao Lie didn’t know how to answer. To say he deserved it seemed unfair, as Fairy Chang’e had already forgiven him, and it was excessive for the Jade Emperor to demote him to the mortal realm over it.
But if to say he was wronged, he did indeed commit the act.
