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Chapter 1208 - 1202: Who is Tang Monk’s Birth Father?

Chapter 1208: Chapter 1202: Who is Tang Monk’s Birth Father?

"So, Mr. Li, you believe you’ve understood ’Journey to the West’?" Professor Cai sneered repeatedly; he had been studying ’Journey to the West’ for over thirty years and was hardly comparable to a youngster like Li Changlin.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, Li Changlin smiled unfazed and calmly said, "Before answering Professor Cai’s question, I would rather answer the first question first. Previously, Director Wen and Professor Luo mentioned that they liked the character Sun Wukong, while Professor Ma said he liked Tang Monk, but my favorite is Zhu Bajie, and the one I admire the most, however, is Sha Seng."

"Hmph, liking a slick talker like Zhu Bajie indeed fits your character perfectly!" Professor Cai scoffed disdainfully after hearing Li Changlin’s answer.

Li Changlin, unfazed, replied with a smile, "Then, I would like to ask Professor Cai, what kind of person do you think Zhu Bajie really is?"

"Zhu Bajie was punished for flirting with Chang’e; he is naturally a lecherous person!" Professor Cai found Li Changlin ridiculous, thinking even a three-year-old could answer such a question, and yet Li Changlin dared to question him with it, was he not inviting humiliation?

"I disagree with Professor Cai’s views," Li Changlin said with a chuckle, shaking his head, and without waiting for Professor Cai to speak, he continued, "Comrade Zhu Bajie from Cloud Ladder Cave at Mount Fuling, at that time, was portrayed as a ’bandit’ at the bottom of society. Comrade Zhu Bajie, having no decent livelihood, survived merely by eating humans."

"When Zhu Bajie was a bandit, he lived by eating humans, merely surviving this way."

"From this, we can see that Comrade Zhu Bajie as a bandit adhered to principles of not killing or looting needlessly, he was merely trying to resolve the most basic problem of survival."

"When the Goddess enlightened him, she said: ’The ancients said, if you want a future, do not become a hopeless man. You have not been punished severely in the Upper Realm, nor should you now harbor malice, committing murder and sin, wouldn’t that merit double punishment?’"

"At that time, Comrade Zhu Bajie said, ’Future, future, if I follow you, you’ll have me starving! There’s a saying, execution according to official laws, starvation according to Buddhist laws. I’m leaving, I’m leaving! It’s better to catch a traveler and have a fatty feast on his mother! What do I care about double or triple sins, or a thousand sins!’"

"From this, we can see that Comrade Zhu Bajie is actually very straightforward, he does not believe in Buddhism, he only believes that filling his stomach is better than committing any number of sins; he is a practical person!"

"A practical person, also a deceitful person!" Upon hearing this, Professor Cai sneered repeatedly.

"Professor Cai, that’s prejudice!" Li Changlin shook his head and said, "If you approach ’Journey to the West’ with such an attitude, then I must say, you’ll never truly grasp the essence of ’Journey to the West’!"

"Oh, look who’s talking about a mystery now, why don’t you say ’Journey to the West’ was written by you, Li Changlin, in your past life!" Professor Cai couldn’t stand Li Changlin’s pontification, and instantly started mocking him.

Li Changlin, not wanting to argue, said very calmly, "To understand ’Journey to the West’, we must rely on some methods of logical reasoning for interpretation. Earlier, Professor Cai mentioned that there are parts of the book that cannot be explained by common sense, so here we can engage in a discussion to see if we can interpret the truth using logical reasoning."

"Good!" Upon hearing this, Professor Cai immediately clapped his hands and laughed in agreement.

"Then, please pose a question, Professor Cai." Li Changlin could see Professor Cai’s ill-intent but he was prepared and would not show weakness.

The gleam in Professor Cai’s eyes flashed as he calmly said, "Then I’ll ask a simple question. Mr. Li, please tell me who is Tang Monk’s biological father?"

"This... Professor Cai, isn’t this confusion!"

"Yes, why ask such a simple question?"

"Isn’t it known that Tang Monk’s father is Chen Guangrui, the top scholar?"

"Yes, why does Professor Cai ask such a question!"

"This question is too simple!"

As Professor Cai threw out the question, many audience members below the stage immediately couldn’t help but discuss it.

These voices were naturally heard by Li Changlin and Professor Cai; Li Changlin was unmoved, while Professor Cai kept laughing.

If you really think this question is simple, then you are greatly mistaken.

According to the book, Chen Guangrui should indeed be Tang Monk’s father.

However, he is just a father, not a biological father.

Why say so? In fact, if someone reads Journey to the West carefully, they can discover that Miss Yin Wenjiao married scholar Chen Guangrui and gave birth to Tang Monk after just over three months.

How can there be such a thing as giving birth after just three months of pregnancy in this world? Although Journey to the West is a mythological story, this is too miraculous.

Moreover, if you read the novel carefully, especially the part where Chen Guangrui goes to assume office in Jiangzhou and passes by the Hong River Ferry, you will find the Sculler Liu Hong and Li Biao, driven by lust, kill Chen Guangrui and his servant, and then Liu Hong forces Miss Yin to comply.

Miss Yin, out of options, reluctantly agreed to Liu Hong.

At that time, a bizarre event occurred; Liu Hong actually put on Chen Guangrui’s robes, took the official documents, and together with Yin Wenjiao, went to Jiangzhou to assume his post.

How strange is this situation? Liu Hong, a river bandit, dared to impersonate a court-appointed official, and furthermore brought a living witness to take up an official post; wasn’t he afraid that Miss Yin might harm him?

Of course, at this time, some readers might say that Miss Yin was worried about the child in her womb, but we need to consider, how long had Miss Yin and Chen Guangrui been married? How could she have known she was pregnant?

Alright, even if Chen Guangrui was incredibly potent, hitting the target with one shot, the timing does not add up, because generally, it takes at least a month or more for a woman to realize she is pregnant.

Miss Yin Wenjiao and Chen Guangrui had only been married for a short time; isn’t it obvious that Yin Wenjiao must have been pregnant beforehand, hence the necessity to throw the embroidered ball to find a husband?

If not for this reason, how could the daughter of a Prime Minister resort to throwing an embroidered ball to find a husband? Based on the principle of social matching, Chancellor Yin would definitely find a similar family for marriage.

So, the fact is not that simple.

However, Li Changlin wouldn’t immediately divulge everything; he first glanced at the audience, then lightly smiled at Wen Chengzai and said, "Director Wen, how about we play a little game?"

"Oh, Mr. Li, what kind of little game do you want to play?" Although Li Changlin seemed to be stealing the show, everything was still under control, and the audience below seemed very interested. Hearing Li Changlin propose playing a little game, he was momentarily intrigued.