Chapter 353: Great love is without love, great emotion is without emotion

The two looked at each other, the distance so close that for the first time, Tang An began to properly and seriously size up Nezha.

The kid... has grown up, hasn't he?

Unknowingly, from the foul-tempered little brat she first met, he had grown into a graceful... no, a dashing and very handsome young man.

Especially with this youthful air, coupled with a high ponytail, and a long spear as his standard accessory—isn't this the very definition of a dashing martial arts youth?

Nezha's eyes remained fixed on Tang An, not shifting for even a moment. In those eyes, there was no longer a shred of killing intent, only trepidation and a hint of small panic.

He subconsciously covered his chest, where his heart was beating in a chaotic rhythm he had never experienced before.

Tang An was also looking at Nezha, and she even saw her own reflection in his pupils.

Based on her experience from the novels she had read, at such a close distance... if they weren't about to fight, they were about to...

"I, I see in your eyes..."

Nezha's pupils trembled slightly, his gaze brightening, unable to hide his excitement.

"... there's eye boogers."

"..."

Nezha took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and nearly suffocated himself to death.

"I am a god!" he said through gritted teeth.

"So what if you're a god? Can't gods have eye boogers?"

"Hey, what kind of expression is that? Why are you clenching your fists?"

"Are you really thinking of raising a hand against your master?"

"Wukong, come save me!!!"

Sun Wukong flew over upon hearing the call, but he didn't see anyone threatening Tang An's safety; he only saw a Nezha who was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Brother Nezha? What's wrong?"

"Bickering with Master again?"

"Master is still young, just consider it letting her have her way, yeah?"

Nezha:...

Ah!!!!!

Nezha kicked a large rock away, then leaped into the air and ran off elsewhere to sulk.

Sun Wukong blinked his eyes and turned back to look at Tang An.

"Master, why did you have to anger Brother Nezha to this extent?"

Tang An also blinked innocently. "I didn't, I just told him straight that he had eye boogers."

Sun Wukong looked at Nezha, then back at Tang An, and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Master, why must you be like this?"

The smile faded from Tang An's eyes, and she became uncharacteristically serious.

"He is experiencing his first stirrings of love and cannot distinguish between salvation and affection. As his master, I naturally must guide him correctly to recognize emotional issues."

Sun Wukong's expression paused; he already understood Tang An's stance.

"Oh?" Yang Jian's voice arrived at this moment. "Master, when did you notice?"

Yang Jian appeared with a food box, but Xiaotian Quan was not seen returning with him.

"Where is Xiaotian Quan?"

"He was delayed by a small matter on the road; he will return shortly."

Tang An took the food Yang Jian handed over and took out a table and chairs from the Wealth Gathering Ring, telling them all to sit and eat together.

"Master, eat a chicken leg." Sun Wukong broke off a chicken leg for Tang An.

Tang An took the chicken leg and began to feast.

Yang Jian poured himself some wine, not in a hurry, waiting for whenever Tang An felt like speaking.

Once Tang An had feasted and was full of tea and food, she found the feeling of sweeping away hunger and returning to being herself.

"Do we really have to explain this today?"

Yang Jian sipped his wine. "Master doesn't want to talk about it?"

"It's not that I don't want to." Tang An propped up her head and had a lollipop for dessert.

"I truly hadn't noticed his feelings before; I even thought he liked some other little fairy maiden."

"After all, I haven't experienced this kind of thing, and to me, you all are idols from my childhood and the benchmarks for establishing my self-worth and inner world."

"An idol spanning who knows how many years, developing feelings of affection for me? That's ridiculous, even fairy romance dramas aren't filmed like that."

"It wasn't until recently that I discovered Nezha seemed to have truly matured a bit. Combining that with everything before..."

"I'm just slow in that area of emotion; I'm not actually stupid."

Yang Jian nodded, knowing that what Tang An said was not a concealment.

"And what about Master?"

"Me?" Tang An sighed. "I don't know, but I really don't seem to have a root of love."

"I have familial love, I understand friendship, but I have never felt a heartbeat for anyone. Not for Kong Xuan in the past, and not for Nezha now."

She turned her face and began to analyze it as if she were a relationship expert. "And I feel that what Nezha feels for me isn't love, but a palpitation for salvation."

"As long as I guide him more in the future, he will surely be able to see his true feelings clearly."

"Besides, the emotions and bonds between us have long surpassed friendship and romance. It is a bond of life and death, of entrusting our lives to one another."

Sun Wukong listened to Tang An's logical explanation. "So, Master, you have a solution?"

"What solution? I don't have one."

So you're just talking on paper, right?

Yang Jian smiled with understanding; in fact, it was simply this.

Tang An understood Nezha's heart, but she herself did not understand the love between men and women. Thus, she naturally assumed Nezha's palpitation was also a misconception.

As for whether it was an illusion, it wasn't for her to say, nor was it for him to say; only Nezha himself knew best.

Yang Jian also knew that Tang An's heart was filled with too many things; even if she were to understand one day, she truly wouldn't have the energy to spend on romance.

Actually, this was quite good, because as Tang An said, the emotions and bonds between them as master and disciples had long surpassed the love between men and women.

She could disregard everything for them, calculating every move, even if it meant betting her own life.

They could also disregard everything for her, even if it meant risking their lives to ensure her safety.

The words "love and romance" were too small to contain their emotions and bonds.

The words "love and romance" were also too large, large enough to contain all beings in the Three Realms. So much so that great love is without love, and great emotion is without emotion.

Not far away, Nezha sat alone on an old tree branch, listening to their conversation.

He leaned against the trunk, looking up, yet he always found himself unconsciously wanting to look at Tang An.

Actually, he could hear them.

And they all knew he could hear them.

"Third Brother." Yang Jian flashed and appeared before Nezha, standing in the air.

"Second Brother." Nezha took a deep breath. "You did that on purpose so I would hear."

"What must be faced, must be faced."

Nezha leaned his head against the tree trunk, deep in thought for a moment. "Am I... really unable to distinguish it?" He covered his chest, feeling the sharp pain coming from within.

Yang Jian sat on another branch and tossed a bottle of wine to Nezha.

"Whether you distinguish it or not, will your heart to protect Master change?"

"No." Nezha answered without any hesitation.

"Exactly. Your feelings for Master will not shift because you do or do not obtain her."

"Your feelings for Master will not leave her just because you did not receive the response you wanted."

"Even if Master does not understand romance, so what?"

"She will always be her: passionate, lively, mischievous, yet also harboring all the common people of the world in her heart."

"If one day, she lives not for you, not for me, not for anyone, but only for herself..."

"Perhaps then, you will be able to see the clouds part and the moon shine." ===== CHAPTER 354 =====