Chapter 193: Struck by lightning? It

Throughout the journey west, the hair accessory on her head was Nezha's Universe Ribbon.

The wooden stick in her hand was the Golden Cudgel made from a thick branch Sun Wukong had swiped from Yang Jian's home.

This feeling was truly marvelous.

"With the Great Sage's Golden Cudgel, won't I be invincible against all under heaven from now on?" Tang An held the wooden Golden Cudgel and gave it a few swings.

Although the swinging was quite a failure, the movements were a bit awkward, and she almost lost her footing on one leg while trying to strike the final pose like Monkey Brother.

But that didn't matter.

What mattered was that she had finally obtained the Golden Cudgel from her childhood. She could finally learn to swing a staff from Wukong and use it to look cool.

Nezha watched his own Fire-Tipped Spear from the side, pondering for a long time but failing to understand. If she didn't carve a Fire-Tipped Spear when she was little, was it because his spear wasn't cool enough?

Just as Tang An was getting into the swing of learning, suddenly, all of them saw auspicious clouds filling the sky on the horizon.

No need to guess, this was definitely the special effect for a big shot's entrance.

"Jade Emperor, long time no see." Tang An waved her hand enthusiastically to greet him.

The Jade Emperor was dressed in a white robe with golden dragons; even though he had taken the form of a mortal, his aura was still imposingly noble.

"The Destined One has summoned Me down again; for what purpose?" The Jade Emperor stroked his beard, walked into the pavilion of his own accord, and sat down.

Tang An observed the Jade Emperor's subconscious movements and smiled as she tucked the Golden Cudgel back into her Universe Bag.

Looking at his subconscious actions, this shouldn't be his first time here, right? When was it? Was it before or after Yaoji's incident?

"Of course, it's been a long time, so I wanted to find you, Jade Emperor, to have some tea." Tang An walked over and personally poured a cup of tea for the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor examined the teacup in front of him. In this teacup... she couldn't have done something to it, could she?

What had he done recently to offend the Destined One? Nothing, really.

"Don't worry, Jade Emperor. You are the Jade Emperor; even if I were to poison it, it wouldn't harm your dragon body."

The Jade Emperor's mouth twitched slightly. Within the Three Realms, there were truly few people besides her who had the guts to openly discuss poisoning him to his face.

However, given her personality, if she said there wasn't any, there probably wasn't.

"Why is the Destined One being so polite?" Her politeness always made the Jade Emperor feel uneasy.

"Could it be that you are satisfied with the Li Jing matter from before and specifically invited Me here to express your gratitude?"

Tang An smiled, signaling the Jade Emperor to drink his tea and not be so nervous.

"If you insist on saying it that way, that's fine, but that was just you helping me and me helping you; it's only right, so I won't offer extra thanks."

She was quite blunt, wasn't she?

The Jade Emperor really couldn't gauge Tang An's methods, so he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

He figured that even if there were poison in this tea, it couldn't hurt him.

But then again...

The Jade Emperor stopped the motion of bringing the teacup to his face. Her underhanded tricks were far more serious than her poisoning him.

Thinking of this, the Jade Emperor set the teacup down; it was better not to drink it.

Tang An looked at the Jade Emperor's wily, old-fox expression with a gaze that said, "I'm looking down on you, but I won't say it out loud."

Then, she took the teacup in front of her and sipped the tea, signaling that she hadn't done anything to it.

Of course, she didn't explicitly state which cup she hadn't tampered with.

"The tea is good. I should send some more to my Master later; I wonder if Master has finished his tea yet."

Hearing this, the Jade Emperor picked up the teacup again. How could he not understand the meaning behind Tang An's words?

So, it meant that regardless of whether there was poison or a trap in this cup of tea today, he had to drink it?

So be it. He was the dignified Jade Emperor; could he really be afraid of a child?

Thinking of this, the Jade Emperor opened the tea lid and took a sip.

"I just wanted to ask you about the New Heavenly Law."

"Pfft!!!"

The Jade Emperor sprayed out a mouthful of tea and even choked on it.

She did it on purpose; she definitely did it on purpose!

Tang An set down the large pot lid she had been holding—it was clearly prepared in advance—and not a drop of tea had sprayed onto her.

"Oh ho."

"Why is the Jade Emperor in such a rush to drink tea? Did Yang Jian not send you any good tea?"

"I'll have a word with him later. How could he treat you like that, right?"

The Jade Emperor wiped the tea off his body. "You, you, you little brat, how could you..."

"So you do know about the New Heavenly Law, right?" Tang An's constant switching between being unserious and suddenly serious really caught the Jade Emperor off guard.

He wanted to figure out her methods and what she would say next, but he couldn't find any logic to it at all.

"Do you know the saying that Heaven's will must not be leaked?" The Jade Emperor was clearly anxious, feeling terrified just listening to her words.

Tang An shrugged, looking indifferent. "We're sitting here together; if it strikes, it won't just strike me alone, will it?"

"How about I ask Wukong to invite the God of Thunder? Let's see if he dares to strike you, old man?"

Jade Emperor:...

You try to reason with her, and she gives you twisted logic. You try to give her twisted logic, and she reasons with you.

This little girl was truly difficult to deal with!

"So, Jade Emperor, even you, the Lord of the Three Realms, are just one of the chess pieces, aren't you?" Tang An suddenly blurted out that sentence, making the Jade Emperor's expression turn serious instantly.

He waved his hand to set up a barrier, fearing that Tang An might let slip something else that shouldn't be said.

Tang An found it funny to see the Jade Emperor so serious. She picked up the teacup in her hand and stared at it, playing with it.

"The Jade Emperor can stop Lingshan's probing, but I wonder if you can stop the Heavenly Dao's probing?"

The Jade Emperor was horrified. "Do not speak nonsense!"

"So if I continue speaking, it becomes a taboo?" Tang An looked up at the sky.

That place, which should have been vast and boundless, now felt to her like a square, suffocating wall.

"I know you are bold and reckless, but saying some things will do you no good."

"Good?" Tang An laughed. "Do you think Heaven has given me any good?"

"And what good do you think Heaven has given you, or Yang Jian, or Wukong, or Nezha?"

"Do you think that whatever I say, just because it's behind this broken barrier, will prevent those who should know from knowing?"

This sentence caused the expressions of several figures in the void to flicker for an instant.

"And do you think that if I say nothing and just do some things secretly, I won't be noticed?"

"Or perhaps, how do you know that the things you do in secret aren't things that It, They, or She intentionally facilitated, intentionally turning a blind eye to?"

Tang An suddenly stood up, leaning on the table to loom over the Jade Emperor.

"Or do you think that just because you intentionally borrowed Lingshan's hand to secure a glimmer of survival for Yaoji, others don't know, and Heaven doesn't know either!"

This question, delivered with a roar, not only left the Jade Emperor dazed, but even Yang Jian was completely caught off guard.

The Jade Emperor was the one who had personally ordered his mother's death, so why would Master say such a thing?

After Tang An finished speaking, she retreated to her seat. Her face returned to a roguish smile, and as her fingers flicked the teacup, she was secretly pondering in her heart.

Since she couldn't escape the Heavenly Dao's calculations no matter what she did. Since she was just a chess piece no matter how she acted.

Since she, the Destined One, had to fulfill her destiny. Since no matter what schemes she laid, she couldn't escape the control on the chessboard.

Then, from now on, things could be played differently.