Chapter 250: Sober Sinking is the Most Insoluble

The Jade Emperor shook his head. "Forcing an intervention is likely to shatter her already dilapidated Heart Realm, achieving the exact opposite of our intent."

Yang Jian frowned, suppressing his anger. "Are you saying there is absolutely no way?"

"There is." Nezha raised his eyes to look toward Lingshan. "Kill everyone on Lingshan and force them to undo the Heart Demon."

"Impossible." The Jade Emperor blocked Nezha. "How do you know they won't choose mutual destruction when the time comes? Or perhaps play more tricks in the shadows?"

"So we just have to sit here and wait, is that it!" Nezha could barely control his emotions, yet to help Tang An resist the Heart Demon, he had to forcibly suppress his rage and stabilize the flow of his Immortal Power.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate, Tang An suddenly stopped crying.

She smiled, smiling very happily, very blissfully.

Yet Nezha felt that this repeated torment of Tang An's emotions was the worst thing of all.

He wanted to reach out and touch Tang An's cheek, but he dared not.

He was even afraid that if he touched her once, she would shatter before him just as she had last time.

"Old Sun has returned, I've returned."

Sun Wukong's voice arrived, and he appeared, pulling Pilanpo along with him.

Pilanpo wore a kind smile for everyone she met, and upon seeing the Jade Emperor, she did not forget to offer a bow.

"Don't bother with those formalities, hurry, hurry." Sun Wukong didn't even wait for Pilanpo to finish her bow before dragging her over.

"Hurry and take a look at Master, hurry and save her."

The moment Pilanpo saw Tang An, the emotions that had remained constant finally showed a ripple.

In her gaze, the three of them—Sun Wukong and the others—all saw a sense of complexity.

"Amituofo."

She took a small box of Pill from her sleeve, walked to Tang An, cradled her in her arms, and fed it to her.

"Grandma."

Tang An suddenly called out "Grandma," and Pilanpo's body stiffened for an instant.

The complex emotions in her eyes deepened, her brows furrowed tightly, as if she were lost in thought.

"Has Master dreamed of Grandma again?"

"Pilanpo Bodhisattva, the Pill has been taken, why does Master not wake up?"

Pilanpo took a deep breath. "She is drunk on her dreams and does not wish to wake."

"Why does she not wish to wake?"

Pilanpo did not answer; instead, she remained hesitant and conflicted, her gaze growing increasingly complex.

"When the time is ripe, I will save her."

"But if you save her, is it truly saving her?"

Her words held hidden meanings, and Sun Wukong and the others did not understand what was going on.

Only upon hearing Pilanpo say she could save Tang An were they finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the dream.

Tang An sat in the small courtyard with her suitcase placed to the side, a chicken leg in her hand, and the table covered with the dishes she loved to eat.

"Grandma, you wouldn't believe it, I had a dream a few days ago, it was so magical."

Grandma was wearing a loose short-sleeved shirt, the clothes washed until they were faded white. She fanned herself, blowing a breeze toward Tang An.

"Eat slowly, the chicken legs are all yours." She placed another chicken leg into Tang An's bowl.

"Grandma, you eat too." Tang An placed the chicken leg back into Grandma's bowl.

Grandma said, "I don't like eating chicken, you know that, just eat it." She placed it back into Tang An's bowl.

"What kind of dream did you have? Did you dream that you were fighting someone again? And that you won?"

"Hehe~" Tang An gave a silly smile. "I dreamed that I became the Destined One from Journey to the West, and Sun Wukong, Yang Jian, and Nezha all became my disciples."

She patted her chest proudly. "I was so powerful, I beat the demons along the way until they were crying for their parents. I even gave Rulai a beating and gave him a trendy new hairstyle."

Seeming to recall Rulai's miserable state, Tang An laughed out loud again.

Grandma laughed along with Tang An, but she asked, "In your dream, did even the Buddha bully you?"

"Huh?" Tang An froze, suddenly feeling that the chicken leg was no longer delicious.

"Psh, who could bully me? I'm so powerful, really." She smiled brightly, not mentioning at all the moment in her dream when she had nearly died.

Nighttime.

Tang An went up to the roof of the flat, sleeping there with Grandma just like when she was a child.

Grandma fanned Tang An, humming that song she knew so well.

"A tiny little cloud slowly drifts over, please take a rest, stop for a while..."

"The mountain flowers are blooming, and I have just arrived at the mountain; so you have come to the mountain too, to see the mountain flowers bloom..."

That was a song Tang An loved very much when she was little. She would pester Grandma to sing it to her, just like other children, hoping to be lulled to sleep.

In the past, she always felt especially at peace listening to Grandma sing, and she would fall asleep quickly.

But today...

Why was she shedding tears?

As she thought of this question, Tang An felt a splitting headache.

"Grandma, my head hurts."

Grandma stroked Tang An's forehead. "Did you catch a draft again?"

She tapped Tang An's head with her fan. "I've told you so many times, don't sit in front of the fan when you're sweating so much, you just never learn."

"I'll go get you some medicine, wait here."

Tang An grabbed Grandma's hand, her eyes regaining clarity, leaving only deep longing and sorrow.

"Grandmother."

"What's wrong? Why are you crying from the pain?" Grandmother was anxious too, and she went to touch Tang An's forehead again. "Come on, let me take you to see a doctor."

Tang An shook her head with a smile, tears swirling in her eyes.

"Grandmother, I missed you." She rushed up and hugged Grandmother, refusing to let go no matter what.

She had already regained her clarity and knew that this was just a dream, an illusion.

She also knew that her emotions were being repeatedly tormented by some force.

But so what?

At the very least, at this very moment, she could truly hold Grandmother in her arms.

She was tired and did not want to worry about those things anymore.

If she could keep living like this with Grandmother, that would be quite nice too.

"Silly child, what are you crying for?"

"You just started university, and you miss Grandmother that much already?"

Tang An rested her chin on Grandmother's shoulder, gave a wronged "Mm," and then hugged Grandmother tightly.

"Grandmother, I don't want to leave anymore; I'm so tired."

"I want to eat the food you make, I want to hear you scold me, I want to buy you delicious things, I want to..."

"I..."

Before Tang An could finish her sentence, she suddenly lunged at empty air.

The Grandmother in her arms was gone, and in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the door of the room downstairs.

The sky outside had also shifted from night to day.

Black Shadow Tang An now looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.

"You remember this day, don't you?"

"You realized long ago that Grandmother was fake. In your memories, by the time I was this age, Grandmother was no longer that young."

"You don't want to face reality, because the reality is that at this time, Grandmother could no longer cook, could no longer eat, and certainly couldn't tuck you into bed anymore, right?"

Tang An walked toward the courtyard, not daring to look back.

"You must be what they call a Heart Demon, right?"

Black Shadow Tang An was somewhat surprised, "So, you are sinking while remaining clear-headed, is that it?"

She suddenly laughed, because sinking while clear-headed is the most unsolvable state of all.

Tang An went up and grabbed her by the throat; at the same time, Tang An felt as if her own throat was being gripped by a force.

"Come on, do it, kill me."

"To kill me is to kill yourself."

"If you don't kill me, you have to turn back and continue to experience the pain of losing Grandmother all over again."

Tang An sneered, black Qi permeating her eyes. "Do you think I don't dare to die?"

"You dare, but do you dare to kill me?" In an instant, Black Shadow Tang An transformed into the appearance of Grandmother.

Tang An subconsciously loosened her grip, but in that very instant, Tang An appeared once again at Grandmother's bedside.