Chapter 163: Holy cow! Even novels wouldn't dare write it like that

In the evening, at Tang An's Princess Mansion.

Yes, in every new city Tang An conquered, there was a Princess Mansion, specifically left for her by the Tang Emperor.

So that no matter when Tang An returned, or from where she returned, she would have a decent place to stay.

Tang Emperor Li Shimin even wanted to tell Tang An that no matter where she was in the future, as long as she returned to the Great Tang, the Great Tang would always be her home, and she could stay there whenever she wanted.

"Sister, the Tang Emperor is truly good to you as a princess."

"My father never doted on me like this." Jiuyue was extremely envious, jumping around the mansion, admiring the full view of the Princess Mansion.

Tang An was stunned for a moment; although this was earned by her own merits, there was indeed nothing else to say about what the Tang Emperor had done for her.

She asked for a temple to be built for Li Jing, and it was built; she asked for people to guard it, and they were guarded. Whenever she returned, the Tang Emperor always received the news immediately and arranged for someone to take her back to her Princess Mansion.

Except for the fact that he hadn't finished his official duties and didn't have time to see her, it was truly as much as a biological father could do.

"Hmm?" Tang An looked up, and Nezha had already stuffed a candy into her mouth.

"Monkey Brother hasn't returned yet?" Nezha changed the subject.

Tang An didn't mind. "Bodhi Patriarch finally decided to show himself, and after this, he didn't intend to keep avoiding him, so Wukong naturally wants to stay there for a few more days."

"But then again..." Tang An looked at Yang Jian. "Did the Jade Emperor and Laojun and those other great gods know from the very beginning that Wukong was Bodhi Patriarch's disciple?"

Yang Jian thought for a moment and said, "Actually, everyone knew it without saying; it would have been hard not to know."

"Hmm? How so?" Tang An had never thought about this from the perspective Yang Jian mentioned.

Yang Jian sat in the pavilion, and palace maids immediately came to pour them tea.

He opened his folding fan, fanning himself, and looked at the rockery in the distance. "After all, from the moment he was born, he was just a stone monkey between heaven and earth."

"Although the heavens and earth shook when he was born, he had no one to teach him; even with heaven-like intelligence, without any skills, he couldn't have stirred up such massive waves."

"At the time, the Jade Emperor had also sent people to track and observe his movements, but suddenly one day, he disappeared near Lingtai Fangcun Mountain."

"This disappearance lasted for several years, and when we met again, he already possessed heaven-shaking and earth-shattering abilities."

"I say it like this, you might not have a concept of it. But from the perspective of heaven, it was only a few days; a stone monkey that hadn't yet opened its wisdom suddenly had the ability to contend with heaven."

"Who could his master be to allow such rapid progress?"

"Clap!" Tang An clapped her hands fiercely. "Wukong only started learning skills after seven years of apprenticeship, which means he only used three years to..."

Tang An was shocked into silence. "Which means... in heaven's time, Wukong only practiced for... three... days..."

"Oh my god!"

It was too terrifying; even a cool novel wouldn't dare write it like that.

Yang Jian smiled and shook his head, already long since accustomed to it. "And that Great Immortal Art of the Supreme, the Seventy-two Transformations, and the Somersault Cloud he possesses—one look and you know who his master is."

Tang An suddenly realized again. "No wonder, no wonder when I first met Zhenyuanzi at Wuzhuang Temple, he believed me as soon as I mentioned Bodhi Patriarch's name, and couldn't wait to drag me and Wukong to become sworn brothers."

"So those great gods had already figured it out?"

"So Bodhi Patriarch didn't let Sun Wukong mention his name not because he was afraid of being implicated, but because he was afraid that if he mentioned it, no one would dare touch Wukong!?"

"That's not right." Tang An was even more confused. "If that's the case, why did the Heavenly Court dare to touch him?"

Yang Jian sipped his tea, his eyes looking distant and eternal.

"Some things are destined to happen. No matter what, that was his destined calamity; it couldn't be avoided."

"For example, Master, your calamity this time is also a destined one."

"Think carefully, if we hadn't actively provoked Lingshan, would this calamity have happened?"

"Maybe there wouldn't have been a confrontation with Lingshan, but how do you know that without the Lingshan calamity, it wouldn't have been replaced by another one?"

"Or to put it another way, do you really think that us standing on opposite sides of Lingshan today is just a coincidence?"

"..." Tang An was speechless; her CPU had already burned out.

Nezha looked at Tang An. "Chentang Pass, Taoshan, Huaguo Mountain, Lingshan—all are our destiny."

"Cannot escape, cannot avoid."

"Only by facing the difficulty can it be solved."

Tang An frowned, stood up, and held Nezha's face, turning it left and right to look.

Nezha took a sharp breath and turned his head to dodge.

Tang An pulled his face back. "Speak, who possessed our Nezha!"

"You're blushing! It must be Nezha's Primordial Spirit fighting with you, right?"

Tang An said this and went to the Universe Bag to find the Golden Brick. "Nezha, you wait, Master will help you immediately..."

"Eh? Where's Nezha?"

Yang Jian's mouth was stretched almost to the back of his head; he really wanted to maintain his persona, but he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

Just then, a group of people entered from the Princess Mansion.

The leader was a eunuch who had come by imperial decree; as soon as he saw Tang An, he bowed.

"This old servant greets the Princess."

"Eunuch, no need for formalities. What brings you here?"

"Replying to the Princess, this old servant has come by imperial decree to invite the Princess to the palace for a chat."

"Ah? Can I not go?" Tang An didn't want to go to such a formal place.

"Princess, this old servant is someone who serves by His Majesty's side, and I hear him mention you from time to time. He worries whether you'll be bullied by demons, or whether you'll be troubled when negotiating with other countries."

"Now that you've finally returned, and His Majesty has finally finished his official duties, you should go and see him."

Tang An looked at Yang Jian, seemingly asking for his opinion.

Actually, Tang An could see Nezha's awkwardness regarding emotions, and Yang Jian could see Tang An's awkwardness regarding emotions.

It was as if the bystander sees more than the player.

"Go." After Yang Jian responded, he shouted to the sky, "Third Brother, let's go."

Nezha then appeared again, stepping on the Wind Fire Wheels, arms crossed, acting cool.

Night fell, and the Emperor's palace was brightly lit.

Tang An, Yang Jian, Nezha, along with the human-formed Jiuyue and Xiaotian Quan, arrived.

"An'er." The Tang Emperor often received Tang An's letters and reports of victory, but it had indeed been over a year since he last saw Tang An.

The sound of "An'er" made Tang An freeze.

"Are you... calling me?"

"Quick, come, let Father see. Why do you look thinner? Have you been bullied by demons? Did any country give you trouble along the journey west?"

Tang An was clearly unable to handle Li Shimin's enthusiasm.

Before, when she set off from the Great Tang, the feeling was different from now—completely different.

"What's wrong? Your eyes are red? Were you really bullied?"

Tang An turned around, blinked her eyes, and when she turned back, she had adjusted her state. "It's nothing, who could bully me?"

Seeing this, Yang Jian exchanged a look with Nezha.

Nezha said, "She was bullied by Lingshan."

Yang Jian said, "Seriously injured, almost to the point of death."

Li Shimin's pupils shook. "How... you..."

Tang An always reported the good news and not the bad, and that was a matter involving all the gods and Buddhas, which mortals couldn't know. So he had no way of knowing about her injuries.

If it weren't for Yang Jian and Nezha speaking up, he probably wouldn't have known for the rest of his life.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please take care of your health." The eunuch could tell at a glance how furious Li Shimin was.

Li Shimin signaled the eunuch not to say anything more; he turned his back to adjust for a few breaths before turning back.

"Someone, summon General Li to see me."

"At the same time, notify the military camp to prepare overnight. I have no other business, only to march toward that Lingshan!" ===== CHAPTER 164 =====