Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 456 Nuwa’s Hang-up

Chen Nuo saw nothing amiss, but Nuwa felt that He Xi wasn’t as naive as she seemed. Nuwa opened her heart but detected nothing; it seemed that He Xi too was wondering why Nuwa couldn’t say thank you.

"It’s not just about saying thank you when someone helps you," Chen Nuo said, "If those officials from the Yamen help you, they won’t say thank you to you either. This is because their status is more distinguished than yours, so it’s okay if they don’t say thank you."

"I see," He Xi nodded, "Is this sister’s status very distinguished then? The sister who turned into a small bird also said that this sister’s status is very distinguished, and that I should kneel and bow when I see her. Is it that kind of distinguished?"

The question seemed to circle back again. Nuwa put her teacup aside; the child’s words appeared very naive, yet they were quite cutting.

Especially to her—could it be that this child was not actually a child, but some kind of specter in disguise?

Nuwa picked up her teacup again, pretending to sip tea while using Divine Power to probe the young girl, but she could find nothing; the child really was just an ordinary mortal. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

"What is it?" Chen Nuo noticed Nuwa’s probing of He Xi and asked, "Do you think there’s something wrong with this child?"

Nuwa hurriedly shook her head, "No, it’s just that I..."

"Don’t worry." Chen Nuo didn’t wait for Nuwa to finish. He understood why others might find it odd upon first meeting He Xi, probably wondering why he would adopt a child and thus being suspicious of her.

Although he understood, he couldn’t sympathize, and it displeased him that these people were initially hostile towards a child, "I checked the child myself when I first met her. Although my mana isn’t very powerful, I was capable enough to conduct such a check."

"I didn’t mean it like that, I just..." Nuwa wanted to explain but didn’t know how, after all she had indeed secretly checked on He Xi.

"It’s fine, it wasn’t just you. My disciple, my shop assistants, they all had their doubts when they first met her. I understand," Shopkeeper Chen said, providing cover. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Nuwa knew that her actions seemed to have truly displeased Chen Nuo; he had lumped her together with others, but she didn’t want that. She wanted to be someone special to Shopkeeper Chen.

"I apologize if my actions have upset you," Nuwa said, apologizing to Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo pursed his lips, "So, you all just think that your suspicions about Xi have upset me?"

Nuwa was stunned, "I..."

Chen Nuo stroked He Xi’s head, smiling as he said to her, "Go fetch a piece of candy from the kitchen, then go back to your room to read. I’ll make you something delicious later."

"Something delicious?" He Xi’s eyes sparkled, and then she nodded, "You better not be lying to me, Chen."

"When have I ever lied to you?" Chen Nuo answered with a smile, "Alright, off you go."

He Xi hopped and skipped her way to the kitchen.

"Actually, I think..." Nuwa felt she should explain herself to Chen Nuo, not wanting him to truly become angry with her. Barely starting to speak, she was interrupted by Chen Nuo again.

"You were suspicious of Xi, why apologize to me?" Chen Nuo asked.

"I am sorry if my thoughts upset you," Nuwa expressed what was in her heart. "I truly only wanted what was best for you. I didn’t realize that my way of thinking would upset you, so I apologize."

Chen Nuo leaned back in his seat, looking at Nuwa with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, "So, that’s what you thought?"

Nuwa didn’t understand why she had explained herself but Chen Nuo was still upset. She knew her approach was wrong, yet it was done considering Chen Nuo’s best interests. Why then did it anger him, especially when she couldn’t use her heart’s voice on him and had to rely solely on her feelings?

"Shopkeeper Chen, if there’s anything you’re uncomfortable with, tell me, and I will change," Nuwa said. Since she couldn’t guess what was in Chen Nuo’s heart, she decided to lay it all out in the open, so that there would be no hard feelings between them.

"Alright, since you don’t know why, I’ll tell you," Chen Nuo said, sipping his tea before setting down the cup. "Xi may be a mortal, but she is an individual, independent, not bound to anyone. Yet every single one of you comes up to check if she has any problems, how sincere she is, and then apologizes to me. Isn’t that ridiculous?"

Nuwa was somewhat stunned by Chen Nuo’s words; indeed, she hadn’t considered things from another perspective, only how to prevent Chen Nuo from getting angry, while indeed neglecting the young girl’s feelings.

"I really didn’t consider that much, I am sorry."

If it hadn’t been for Chen Nuo, Nuwa probably wouldn’t have had many chances to say sorry or thank you.

But having met Chen Nuo, it seemed she had used up all her apologies and gratitude for a lifetime, which for Nuwa wasn’t something to be sad about. After all, this meant that she placed Chen Nuo on an equal level to herself.

Chen Nuo wasn’t dwelling on such things. The feudal society’s mindset couldn’t confine the thinking of a modern person like him, and he himself felt, indeed, that Nuwa had done wrong, but the person she should be apologizing to wasn’t him.

"You see, what had I said before? You’ve forgotten again."

Only then did Nuwa realize that Chen Nuo meant she should apologize to that young girl. Nuwa hesitated, somewhat torn.

If it had been Chen Nuo, she truly could have disregarded much, but facing a young mortal girl made Nuwa hesitate.

Unlike Nuwa’s hesitation, Xuan Feng’s reaction seemed even stronger; she even spread her wings, wanting to stop Nuwa’s actions, her voice louder as she called out.

"It’s just an apology; it seems to you as if it were a punishment," Chen Nuo said. "Never mind, I can understand your point of view, and I don’t want to pressure you. After all, your thoughts and mine are different."

"I..." It wasn’t just Xuan Feng’s intervention; Nuwa herself couldn’t get over this hurdle.

But at the same time, she knew that if she couldn’t get over it, it would become a chasm between her and Chen Nuo.

"I understand that you can comprehend my perspective. While I may not apologize to a mortal, I will still convey my good intentions to her in my own way."

After a while, Nuwa thought of a solution. As long as she explained her thoughts to the mortal girl clearly, if the girl truly had a kind heart and was forgiving, she would surely understand Nuwa’s intentions.

"You just talk to her," Chen Nuo said nonchalantly. "We haven’t known each other for very long, but I understand your character. I know you don’t have bad intentions; just explain things to Xi properly, and she will surely understand."

Nuwa looked up; there was no change in Chen Nuo’s tone or expression from before, but his words gave her tremendous encouragement in her heart.