Chapter 2004: Absurd Excuse, Yet Someone Believes It

Master Chen still looked incredulous and said, "This King Linggan also said that when these children grow to eighteen, he will send them back to us. He just wants to help these children invoke spiritual power and take care of them for us."

Hearing this, Sun Wukong let out a cold laugh from the bottom of his heart and said, "Why would you believe such an absurd excuse?"

"I fear these children have long since perished in the tiger's mouth!"

Sun Wukong's words left Master Chen and Mistress Chen stunned, their faces full of shock.

Mistress Chen lowered her head and seemed to mutter to herself, "King Linggan is such a good River God, he wouldn't lie to us, would he?"

"What makes us sad is just that we love these two children too much and don't want them to leave our side."

Master Chen then also said, "The little master means that King Linggan is a man-eating demon, but then why has he always ensured our Chen Family Village has favorable weather and done so many good deeds?"

Sun Wukong, for a moment, did not know how to persuade the two of them; after all, many times, even the clearest words cannot wake those who are sleeping.

Fahai's eyes rolled, a flash of cunning crossing them, and he said, "I see that your Chen Family Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides at the back, and only faces the Tongtian River in the front. I am right about that, am I not?"

Master Chen and Mistress Chen heard him say this, still not understanding, but they both nodded.

"Given the terrain of your village, almost all the rainwater comes from the Tongtian River. Therefore, for a demon to occupy the Tongtian River and control the rainfall here is not a difficult thing at all."

"Moreover, this Tongtian River was not originally under the jurisdiction of King Linggan; it was a ten-thousand-year-old turtle. We were able to cross the Tongtian River because of that old turtle, but halfway across the river, wind and waves suddenly rose, and our Master Xuanzang was snatched into the river by him."

Upon hearing this, Master Chen glanced at his two children, his brows furrowed, his eyes filled with heavy contemplation.

Subsequently, he said, "I remember when I was a child, I saw that old turtle in the river once. At that time, he was in the Tongtian River and could speak human language. He also said that he could ensure the peace of Chen Family Village."

"The facts are just as this master said; for many years before, Chen Family Village also had favorable weather. It was only in recent years, for some reason, that Chen Family Village either encountered droughts with no harvest or constant rain and flooding."

"Then we heard King Linggan's voice in the sky. He said he was the River God here and that if we agreed to his conditions, he could ensure the peace of the water and soil here."

Mistress Chen also added at this time, "Our Chen Family Village fled here due to famine, and it was not easy to build a village here and live in peace. Compared to letting the whole village perish in drought and floods, we eventually agreed to King Linggan's conditions."

"Thinking that since King Linggan is a River God and promised to send the children back to our side after they grow to eighteen, many people could accept it."

"Moreover, that day the flood had already risen to half the height of a building. Until one family offered a pair of young children, King Linggan cast spells in the sky, and the flood immediately receded. Because of this, we all believed it without doubt, and many people were even grateful to King Linggan."

Hearing this, Fahai curled his lips into a smile and said with some disdain, "Grateful? Is that really so? Those parents who lost their children must have been very heartbroken all these years, right?"

Sun Wukong, at this moment, could not help but recall that when they first entered the village and were preparing to knock on a door to ask for lodging, that young man was disheveled, his whole person decadent, and his wife had left him. ===== CHAPTER 2006 =====