145: Corrupt Official

Tang Ku rode on Brick's back, flying all the way towards the Gao Family Village in Ü-Tsang.

Actually, bringing Brick along wasn't just to give the gluttonous fellow some exercise; more importantly, it was because he was broad-shouldered and powerfully built. If Pigsy's body was truly there, only he would be able to carry it back.

The journey wasn't unfamiliar, but having walked on the ground before, they followed the original path from the Two Realms Mountain—which was the Five Elements Mountain—then to the Guanyin Temple where the Black Bear Spirit was subdued, and finally headed straight for Ü-Tsang. The general direction was always correct, and with the incredible speed of one person and one beast, they basically reached the border of Ü-Tsang in less than half a day.

Noticing that the scenery ahead looked somewhat familiar, Tang Ku ordered Brick to descend.

After a quick look, they were standing next to a forest. Further ahead was a small river, with strange rocks standing by its side. Among them was a huge, perfectly flat stone. It was here that Gao Cai was grabbed by Sun Wukong to ask for directions. This meant that not far ahead, they would reach the territory of Gao Family Village.

Brick had a strange ability: his body could change size, from as small as a wild dog to several zhang tall, like a Qilin descending to the world.

It was already sunset, so everyone in the village should have been resting. However, to completely prevent Brick from scaring anyone, Tang Ku had him transform into his smallest state. Even if one looked closely, people would think it was a strange-looking Pekinese dog.

Following Tang Ku, the two walked along the stream and soon arrived at a seemingly luxurious manor.

Well, in fact, half of the Gao family's fortune was earned by Pigsy for him, and now, many people who re-read Journey to the West feel that Lord Gao was increasingly unrighteous.

Of course, this was also because Young Miss Gao disliked Pigsy's ugly appearance. In reality, if Old Pig were conscious every day, changing into a beautiful skin would not be difficult. Tang Ku guessed that Lord Gao did not want this live-in son-in-law to seize his family's property, so he deliberately depicted Pigsy as an ugly demon.

However, it was a fated encounter after all, and in the end, Lord Gao didn't truly shortchange Old Pig. When Old Pig set off with Tang Seng, he didn't forget to get him a new set of clothes and some gold and silver for travel expenses. Of course, it might also have been due to inner guilt.

As for whether there was true affection between Gao Cuilan and Pigsy, Tang Ku couldn't say for sure.

Tang Ku sighed, standing in front of the manor. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he stopped his hand.

Frowning slightly, he listened intently. There seemed to be some commotion in the manor, sounding very noisy.

"The Gao family has some influence in this area. Who would dare to disturb them in the middle of the night?"

Hearing the clamor, which seemed to be someone causing trouble, Tang Ku couldn't help but furrow his brow and, with Brick, flew onto the rooftop.

Their movements were naturally undetectable by Mortal eyes. Tang Ku looked down and saw a group of burly men in black clothes, holding weapons, fiercely holding a knife to an old man's neck. One of them, whose clothes were noticeably more Advanced, was sneering at the scene, holding a steel saber and pointing in another direction, saying, "Tie up that Gao Cuilan and bring her to the superior... Hmph, truly ungrateful... Listen, Old Man Gao, your family is harboring a demon, causing suffering to the people of this entire prefecture. The great lord said that as long as you hand over the demon and offer your daughter as a sacrifice to appease the spirits, all past offenses will be forgiven, and your entire village's lives will be spared. But you refused to listen. Haha, now look, everyone in your village will die because of your foolish actions!"

Countless people in the village screamed and wailed, shaking the heavens and earth, as they were one by one dragged out and tightly bound by these black-clad soldiers.

Tang Ku couldn't help but curl his lips, saying, "Their prefectural lord is also a corrupt official. Even if they harbored a demon, they shouldn't kill everyone in this village!"

"Bah, shameless scoundrel! You're just relying on your influence to try and seize my daughter. There's no need to find such high-sounding excuses!" Lord Gao spat at the leader and cursed loudly, "This old man hasn't done many sensible things in his life, but today, at the end, I'm not confused. Even if my ugly son-in-law truly died, my daughter will remain a widow for him for life. Even if our family dies, we cannot let her be defiled by bandits and villains!"

The old man's brows were furrowed, his eyes wide, his beard and hair bristling, as he cursed fiercely.

"Oh, so that's how it is!"

Tang Ku narrowed his eyes in thought, then turned to Brick and said, "You go down in a bit and scare them away... Hmm, I don't need to tell you what to do, right? Protect the Gao family people, understood?"

After explaining twice, Brick finally understood, nodding and saying, "Run fast, run fast!"

Well, what he meant to express was, "Understood, understood!"

The officer glared fiercely at the old man, then sneered, "Very good, very good, old man, you're really tired of living. I'll kill you first and send you to accompany your dead son-in-law!"

With that, the officer leader raised his long saber and chopped down towards Lord Gao. Behind the old man was Old Lady Gao, crying out and trying to rush forward, but she was kicked down by a soldier.

However, just as the gleaming saber was about to fall, and Tang Ku was about to wave his hand to command Brick to jump down and save the person, the ground suddenly shook violently.

Boom!

A deafening roar, like thunder, made the entire Gao Family Village seem to tremble. The man holding the saber was startled, almost dropping his weapon. After finally steadying his saber, he suddenly heard a tragic shriek, like a wolf's howl, yet also like a ghost's cry, and upon closer listening, it resembled a pig's squeal, piercingly unpleasant.

Suddenly turning his head, two green lights flickered erratically in the darkness.

All the soldiers looked towards the darkness in panic, their hearts pounding, swallowing saliva, their faces ashen, clearly terrified.

"A demon... a demon is here... a demon... is here!"

A soldier could no longer hold back, let out a wild roar, threw down his saber, and fled.

His escape spread like a plague. The soldiers let out a cry, scattering and fleeing in disarray.

"Calm down, calm down... Damn it, do you even look like soldiers anymore? Bastards!"

The leader shouted loudly, but once the fear in these men's hearts erupted, there was no holding it back.

Seeing this situation, his legs also began to tremble, but as the saying goes, extreme fear turns into anger. The fellow was instantly filled with rage and courage, raising his steel saber and roaring as he charged towards the figure in the darkness.

"Roar!"

Another shriek, and a huge shadow, with all four hooves on the ground, suddenly charged out, slamming into the leading soldier and sending him flying. He crashed into the wall, embedding himself in it, and his screams only stopped then. Blood flowed from his mouth and nose, his head lolled to one side, clearly dead.

Tang Ku's heart skipped a beat on the rooftop, and he thought to himself, "What a huge wild boar!"