Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 595 - 594 Reincarnation of the Snail Spirit

Chapter 595: Chapter 594 Reincarnation of the Snail Spirit

The person at the front didn’t think Tian Peng was declining and turned to the others with a wave, "Alright, let’s not bother the Top Scholar any longer. Let him put his clothes on and quickly return to the palace with us to report back."

The others, upon receiving the order, waited without further action until Tian Peng had dressed, then led him out of the inn’s door.

The palanquin outside had already been prepared, merely waiting for its occupant.

Tian Peng boarded the palanquin, which was then lifted and carried towards the imperial palace.

The palanquin wasn’t tailor-made, just a generic one. Its interior space was ample for the average person, but for Tian Peng, it felt too cramped; he was squeezed uncomfortably inside.

Whoever came up with the idea to put a martial arts champion in a palanquin must have been out of their mind. The air circulation was so poor that Tian Peng was almost suffocated. Fortunately, there were windows on the palanquin; otherwise, he really might have died from the stuffiness.

He hastily lifted the curtain to get some fresh air and looked out the window, noticing the scenery hardly seemed to move. Thinking they might still be preparing something, Tian Peng didn’t rush them.

But after waiting for nearly the duration of two cups of tea, they still hadn’t moved. Passersby kept walking to and fro, unable to help but cast curious glances his way.

Initially, Tian Peng was quite thick-skinned and didn’t mind the onlookers, but as more and more people passed by, nearly everyone peeked into the palanquin.

Tian Peng let the curtain fall, figuring that if they couldn’t see him, there wouldn’t be a problem. Yet, with the curtains down, the stuffiness was unbearable. Either way seemed unsatisfactory.

Finally, after half a pot of tea’s time had passed, Tian Peng could no longer bear it and called out, "Eunuch, when are we setting off? We’ve been waiting so long. Why aren’t we moving?"

"Top Scholar, what are you talking about?" a voice from outside responded. "Haven’t we been walking all along?"

"Huh?" Tian Peng lifted the curtain again, only to see the scenery had barely changed.

No, on closer inspection, there was a slight change. They had been facing the front door of the shop across the street, and now they had passed it.

How could they be moving so slowly?

Tian Peng was full of doubts. Could the bearers possibly be reincarnations of the Turtle Spirit?

They were indeed exerting great effort, but to Tian Peng, it seemed almost as if they hadn’t moved at all.

"Please don’t blame us, Top Scholar. We’re of an older generation. Though there are six of us carrying the palanquin, we are old and our limbs are weak. It’s just that we’re moving a bit slowly. Be patient, we’ll arrive soon," someone explained.

Tian Peng didn’t dare to imagine their interpretation of "soon." It was afternoon now – did they mean that they would arrive at the palace only by nightfall, and that was considered quick?

"You needn’t trouble yourselves any further, honorable eunuchs," said Tian Peng. "Perhaps I should get down and walk by myself?"

"We are responsible for escorting the Top Scholar to the palace. How could we allow you to walk on your own?" the lead eunuch replied.

If he had the choice, Tian Peng would still prefer to ride in the palanquin.

But that was under the condition that the palanquin was spacious and the pace was normal. With such a slow pace and small space, riding in it was nothing but suffering. He might as well walk himself.

"Since I am the martial arts champion, haven’t all previous champions paraded through the streets on horseback? Why must I be seated in a palanquin?" Tian Peng had to ask the question that had been on his mind all along.

"Don’t be offended, Top Scholar. It’s truly because..." the eunuch trailed off, unsure how to continue.

He couldn’t simply tell Tian Peng that it was the emperor’s wish for them to come up with a way to delay the Top Scholar’s arrival.

"Eunuch, why did you stop speaking halfway?" Tian Peng inquired.

He thought his voice might have been too stern, scaring the group of eunuchs, so he softened his tone and rephrased his words.

"Eunuch, please don’t be offended, it’s not that I intend to complain, but I’m rather large, and the sedan is too small to sit in comfortably."

"This is the largest sedan we could find," said the eunuch, relieved at the change of topic. "Top Scholar, you are tall and strong, we really have put you in an awkward situation."

"What inconvenience?" Tian Peng politely brushed it off, but sitting like this was genuinely uncomfortable, thus he continued, "What if we switch to a carriage, eunuch? Carriages are much roomier than sedans."

Carriages, being faster than sedans, made the eunuchs hesitate; if they arrived with the Top Scholar at an inopportune time, they would still face punishment.

"There’s no rush, Top Scholar. We’ll quicken our pace and arrive shortly. Don’t be anxious," the eunuch said.

Anxious? Tian Peng checked the sky; the sun was directly overhead—it must be noon. Though it was autumn, the heat was still intense.

Tian Peng was extremely uncomfortable in the sedan. If they didn’t reach the palace soon, he was likely to suffer heatstroke first.

"I’m not in a rush, but it’s already noon. Isn’t there a time constraint in the palace? Let’s not arrive only to find out the other gentlemen have already left, and be branded with a reputation for disrespect," Tian Peng said.

The eunuch chuckled to himself, thinking a late arrival would actually dovetail with the Emperor’s wishes; how could there be a label of disrespect?

"Our Emperor is a very reasonable person. As long as there’s a good reason, he doesn’t blame others without cause."

"So, it’s okay for us to be late?" Tian Peng asked.

"Of course, the Emperor would absolutely not blame the Top Scholar," the eunuch promptly replied, oblivious to the double meaning in Tian Peng’s words.

"I see now. You’re intentionally making me late, aren’t you?" Tian Peng narrowed his eyes and asked.

Who exactly had bribed these eunuchs to deliberately delay him?

By arriving late, there would be whispers that he was disrespectful to the Emperor. A little eyewash later, and he, as the Top Scholar, would not yet hold office but would already have left a bad impression on the Emperor.

"No, not at all! How could the Top Scholar have such thoughts about me? I came under the Emperor’s orders to fetch you. Why would I purposefully make you late?" The eunuch grew panicked, not expecting the Top Scholar to be so astute as to guess their intentions.

"Really? Lying can bring retribution," Tian Peng said with a smile. "You had better clarify things with me, eunuch. Otherwise, if I were to kill a bunch of eunuchs who have been bribed, I doubt the Emperor would blame me for it."

The eunuch was frightened by Tian Peng’s threat, thinking to himself, Emperor, this has really put your servant in a terrible spot.

"Top Scholar, please don’t be angry; we haven’t been bought," the eunuch hurriedly explained while considering in his heart that if he didn’t come clean, they might soon be risking their lives. To save their necks, best to tell the whole truth.

The eunuch was a man who knew the times, and taking advantage of the fact that Tian Peng hadn’t taken action yet, he immediately confessed everything clearly.

"So, the Emperor intended for me to be late?"

"Yes, I wouldn’t deceive you. Consider this, I am the Emperor’s servant; how could I ever be bought by someone else?" the eunuch said. "Besides, you are the Top Scholar. We wouldn’t dare pull off such a thing even granted ten times the courage."

Hearing this, Tian Peng scoffed, "That’s debatable. After all, I have yet to assume official position, and as of now, I simply bear the title of Top Scholar. But with just one word from the Emperor, I would no longer be the Top Scholar."