Chapter 253: Mutual Salvation, Forming a Perfect Closed Loop

In a daze, Tang An saw a little girl appear before her, huddled in the rain, crying because she had been bullied by her playmates.

A bright yellow figure came to the little girl's side, helped her scare away that group of children, and even handed her a wooden stick.

"Who are you?" Her voice was soft and milky, and still a bit timid.

"Don't recognize me? I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong."

Sun Wukong puffed out his chest proudly and brightly, full of vitality.

"With my Golden Cudgel in your hand, if anyone bullies you again in the future, why fear them? Just beat them all back."

At the same time, Sun Wukong's voice rang out before Tang An.

"Master!"

Through the phantom of her childhood, she saw Sun Wukong running toward her with a grin.

The beliefs and fantasies of childhood had, at this moment, turned into a true mutual salvation, a perfect closed loop.

"Master, do not be afraid; walk forward and do not look back."

Sun Wukong beckoned to Tang An, telling her to walk forward, to walk toward him.

Tang An hesitated for more than three seconds, then took that step.

It was precisely that step that caused the world before Tang An's eyes to undergo a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering change once again.

She became her nineteen-year-old self, holding her grandmother's portrait, standing in the mourning hall, numbly watching the various relatives who had come knocking to fight over the house belonging to her and her grandmother.

When the two of them, grandmother and granddaughter, were living through hard times, there were no relatives.

When the two of them, grandmother and granddaughter, needed to borrow money to save their lives, there were no relatives.

Yet, no sooner had her grandmother died than so many relatives suddenly appeared, all coming to snatch the house belonging to her and her grandmother.

Tang An tilted her head slightly, watching this scene coldly, the sarcastic smile at the corners of her mouth deepening.

She was pushed around and lectured by those unprincipled relatives, and even accused of being unfilial.

It was truly words that pierced the ears and carved into the heart.

"Let's see who can snatch her house today."

Yang Jian appeared at the doorway in a white robe. Holding a folding fan, he was elegant and handsome, appearing so out of place with the scene in Tang An's home.

Yet, just from the one look Yang Jian exchanged with Tang An, Tang An knew that he had come.

"The elder is still here, yet no guests are seen."

"Today, the elder's body is not yet cold, yet you are fighting an orphan for property."

"I advise you all to go home and check your own houses; I wonder if they are engulfed in flames and can still be saved?"

Those relatives were half-believing and half-doubting, and hurriedly ran out into the courtyard to look.

They didn't know until they looked, and they were shocked when they did. From the courtyard, one could see thick smoke rising everywhere in the village!

Only when the people in the mourning hall had time did Yang Jian walk to Tang An's side.

"Master, didn't you say that your black-bellied nature was learned from Yang Jian?"

"Since you've been bullied, not fighting back is not Master's style."

A smile finally appeared on Tang An's face.

"That's right, not fighting back is not my style." Tang An placed her grandmother's portrait down properly.

"Do you mind helping me settle Grandmother before we leave?"

Seeing Tang An's smile, Yang Jian finally felt at ease.

"When it comes to settling family members, I actually have more experience than Master."

Regardless of whether this was an illusion or not, Tang An and Yang Jian dug a dirt pit for Grandmother.

Afterward, Tang An personally placed Grandmother's ashes into the pit, and once settled, they sealed it with earth again.

Yang Jian took a wooden board, made a tombstone for Grandmother, and stuck it in front of the grave.

Tang An knelt before the grave, her face no longer showing sorrow, only a faint smile remaining.

"Grandmother, I am leaving."

"I know that what I see now is all an illusion, but even if it is fake, I still want you to be laid to rest properly."

"The things I need to do are not yet finished."

"The doubts in my heart also have no answers yet."

"I am going to find those answers, and even if the process might be arduous, it doesn't matter."

"As you said, I am a blade of grass, a blade of grass that can grow wildly even when buffeted by wind and rain. A blade of grass that can spring back to life even when wildfires cover the fields."

She kowtowed three times to her grandmother, stood up, turned around, and did not look back.

"Master, Monkey Brother and I are waiting for you up ahead."

After saying this, Yang Jian's figure disappeared from Tang An's side.

Tang An wanted to chase after him to ask for the truth, but when she took a step, the scenery before her changed again.

It was still that hospital from the nineties, still the entrance to the delivery room, that cold-blooded and heartless piece of trash, and that overbearing and pedantic old woman.

"Want to hit someone?"

Nezha appeared at Tang An's side at some point, handing Tang An a cloth bag transformed from the Armillary Sash.

Tang An's eyes lit up, and a mischievous smile began to form.

"Just what I wanted."

The two walked step by step toward the entrance of the delivery room, and the snide remarks coming from Tang An's father made Tang An's fists clench until they trembled.

"Wang Maolin."

This time, it was Tang An who called out the name.

The mother and son turned their heads and saw Tang An with a look of confusion on her face.

"Who are you?"

Nezha took out the Golden Brick, "Since you cannot take yours out, you can use mine first."

Tang An did not stand on ceremony and took the Golden Brick directly.

"You, you two, listen well."

"My name is Tang An, Tang as in Tang Zhenzhu, An as in peace and safety."

"I know this is a fake dream, but I have really wanted to beat you for a very, very long time."

"You must remember this beating you receive."

"One day, I, Tang An, will come to find you. By then, beating you up will be the lightest thing I do."

"I will let you know what the fate of a heartless man is. At the same time, I will also let you experience what a truly inescapable nightmare is."

After speaking, she ignored how the mother and son before her reacted; she directly swung her Heaven-Altering Silk, wrapped it around the heads of the mother and son in one go, and bound the two of them together.

Tang An stretched her muscles and bones, took the Golden Brick, and greeted Wang Maolin's head with it.

What she wanted to beat to death was her Heart Demon.

What she wanted to shatter was her nightmare.

She wanted to wake up, not wake up in a daze, but to face everything directly and never fear similar challenges again.

Nezha helped by throwing a few punches throughout the process, but he still left the initiative of venting emotions to Tang An.

Tang An struck one blow after another, hitting until she was panting and drenched in sweat, only then finally beating the Heart Demon back to its original form.

The Heart Demon, which had originally grown to be the same size as Tang An, now returned to how it was at the beginning: a seed like a small wisp of mist.

Tang An picked up the Heart Demon, "So the initial form of Demonic Qi looks like this."

"You, you, you, you... what do you want to do?"

The Demonic Qi had a miserable feeling of having been dragged around, used, and still facing a tragic death at her hands.

"What do I want to do? I haven't decided yet. But keeping you might still be useful." She released the Demonic Qi and let it break free from her control.

"You really are a lunatic. Aren't you afraid I will control you and torture you again?"

"Afraid?" Tang An shrugged, "A wound hurts the first time it's cut, and the second time, but after being cut enough times, even the scab that forms cannot be pierced by a blade."

"Avoidance cannot solve problems; only by facing the Heart Demon directly can one be fearless."

"What do you think?"

The Demonic Qi had a feeling of being weak yet hard-controlled; it spun around with a "whoosh" and disappeared before Tang An.

Tang An smiled and clapped her hands, meeting Nezha's pair of eyes.

Behind Nezha, Sun Wukong and Yang Jian were walking toward them.

PS:

The data has been really sluggish lately, I need some data to boost morale!

The tipping leaderboard is about to drop, so I can only ask for a wave of tips here to boost morale!

Additionally, underage book fans can help by clicking the free "Powering with Love."

Humbly asking for a wave, it depends on the strength of you darlings!