Chapter 174

Is she, Tang An, such a petty person?

She is.

Just because she chased them the whole way and didn't manage to catch a single disciple, she almost went crazy and exploded.

Then, she simply demanded that her disciples praise her the whole way; once she felt comfortable, she didn't hold a grudge anymore.

Of course, Nezha was the exception.

Why was he the exception? Because he either didn't speak, or he wanted to kill someone. The word "praise" was, in his world, as rare as a single drop of water in the ocean.

Therefore, combining the previous small punishment she wanted to give Nezha with the fact that he had kidnapped her again this time, it could only be a punishment on top of a punishment.

What to punish him with?

Punish him by reading and memorizing "One Hundred Ways to Praise People in Fancy Styles," to be used as a reserve for the vocabulary he would use to praise her in the future.

Nezha was helpless; he sighed and took the book, saying he wouldn't memorize it, he wasn't willing. But in private, he would still occasionally sneak a look at it using magic.

He could recognize all the basic characters now, but those flowery words of praise were really... impossible to say out loud!

"Hey! Hey, why are you holding your breath until your face is red?"

"If you can't memorize it, you can't memorize it, that's fine too. Look at how anxious you've made the child."

Tang An signaled for Nezha to return the book, and she flipped through it twice herself.

"Isn't praising people quite simple? You learn it as soon as you try."

"And this doesn't need to be learned at all; your Master is self-taught, okay."

"Don't believe me? If you don't believe me, come here."

Tang An looked at Wukong and cleared her throat. "Wukong, your Master feels that in this world, besides you, no one else is worthy of the prestige of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven."

"After all, our Wukong is truly righteous, hates evil like an enemy, is unyielding, decisive, has bones of steel and tendons of iron, charges forward, and shows great divine power!"

She didn't even stop to take a breath after that string of praises.

"And then there's our Yang Jian, the way you serve as the Judicial God is truly a blessing for all living beings in the Three Realms!"

"Look at you, you're a man of talent, peerlessly handsome, and your temperament is even more outstanding. You have great strategy, are both wise and brave, and enjoy immeasurable Merit."

Sun Wukong and Yang Jian were praised by Tang An with one set of words after another, and they truly couldn't keep their mouths shut; they were about to lose their cold, aloof personas.

Their hearts were blooming like flowers, and their whole bodies felt like they were floating in the clouds, feeling light and airy.

Nezha saw them being praised like that, and the anticipation in his heart couldn't be suppressed.

It was his turn, it was his turn.

Tang An came to Nezha's side, teasing him on purpose.

"As for our Nezha..." Tang An patted his forehead lightly. "So cute."

？？？？？？

Just? Cute?

Just? That's it?

"Hey, look, why are you bursting into flames now." Tang An was so scared she quickly withdrew her hand. "Look, I'm praising you, isn't that enough."

"Our Nezha is the Great God of the Three Altars of the Sea, the bravest of the three armies, the number one person to stabilize the morale of the three armies with his strength. When fighting, he is fearless and unstoppable!"

"And, he's also a good child who dares to love and hate, and is righteous and brave."

As she spoke, she smoothed down Nezha's hair that had stood up; if you ruffle the child's feathers, you have to smooth them back down.

"Hmph." Nezha raised his head slightly, his eyes full of secret delight. "It's the truth, so it doesn't count as false praise."

"However... I'm not a child anymore."

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm the child, I'm the child, okay?" Tang An took out a handful of lollipops. "Want one?"

Nezha swallowed. "Yes."

"There we go." Tang An gave them each a lollipop, even Jiuyue and Xiaotian Quan had one.

However, Yang Jian put his lollipop into his robe and didn't eat it.

"Do you not like that flavor?" Tang An noticed this detail and asked.

Yang Jian shook his head. "I don't really like sweets, but it'll be useful for coaxing Chenxiang later."

"Then I'll give you mine too, here." Sun Wukong, hearing it was to coax a child, gave his lollipop to Yang Jian as well.

Tang An then remembered: "Last time you asked Xiaotian Quan to invite the Sanshengmu, but because you couldn't explain the reason, you didn't manage to invite her."

"Is she feeling unwell? Should we find some immortal maidens to look after her? Is she full-term, about to give birth?"

Although the Sanshengmu entered godhood with a mortal body, she ran around between heaven and earth, so no one knew exactly how many months along she was.

Yang Jian looked at Tang An with some surprise; she seemed very nervous about this matter, even more nervous than he was.

"According to Master's instructions, everything has been taken care of."

"If Sanmei is about to give birth, someone will send word."

Tang An nodded. "How about we go see her after we pass this tribulation?"

"Okay." Yang Jian didn't ask further, just agreed.

But speaking of this tribulation...

Tang An took out the map. "Oh! Look, it's been delivered to our hands again, hasn't it."

"Jisaiguo, tsk, good, very good."

"I remember the King of Jisaiguo is neither wise in civil affairs nor good in military ones. Yet he has the Nanyue Tuoguo, Beigao Changguo, Dongxiliangguo, and Xiben Boguo paying tribute."

"And all of that, to put it plainly, is just because of a pearl. It's said to have auspicious signs, emitting a glow at night that people have seen from ten thousand miles away."

"That's why there's the talk of the four barbarian nations paying tribute."

"But by the time we get there, that treasure should already be lost. The monks in the temple have all been imprisoned and punished because of it."

In this tribulation, the King doesn't seem to value Buddhism.

And the purpose behind Tang An and her group's westward journey is clearly to help those monks solve their problems, save people from danger, and resolve the issue of the stolen treasure.

One reason is to make the believers more sincere, and the second is to make the King start to value Buddhism because of it.

It's equivalent to the four of them indirectly spreading the faith.

But if you call it spreading the faith, what Tang An is spreading is definitely not Buddhism.

"Oh, we're here." Jiuyue stepped onto a high slope; looking down from here, one could see the city and landscape of Jisaiguo.

There was a pagoda standing in the city, which could be considered a feature of the city.

"Let's go, let's go check in and borrow a place to stay; this tribulation officially begins now."

Outside this place, at the underwater mansion of the Wansheng Longwang in Bibo Tan of Luanshi Shan.

In the mansion, there was a handsome man with what looked like nine snakes coiled on his head, giving off a charming and eerie feeling.

Beside him were two little demons; only their bodies had taken human form, while their heads were still those of a catfish monster and a black fish spirit.

"Is the source of the news accurate? Has the Destined One really come to Jisaiguo?"

The person speaking was none other than the Wansheng Longwang's son-in-law, the Jiutou Chong. Also known as the Nine-Headed Fuma.

Benbo'erba nodded clumsily. "That Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, is truly easy to recognize; you can spot him at a glance."

"Oh?" Jiutou Chong stroked his chin, a plan forming in his mind.

"You two go and guard the Jinguang Si today. If the Destined One goes to investigate the whereabouts of the treasure, you two must kidnap her."

Benbo'erba's eyes were clear but filled with stupidity: "Who? Kidnap who?"

"You, you two, go kidnap the Destined One."

Benbo'erba and Babo'erben exchanged a glance and said again: "Who? Kidnap who!?" This exclamation was clearly filled with a sense of disbelief amidst their breakdown.

Jiutou Chong slapped each of their heads with one hand, then grabbed their ears and shouted loudly: "You, you two, go kidnap the Destined One!"