117: Chapter 117: It seems I've trained you quite well!

Wang Donger fell silent.

She no longer argued, only burying her face deeper into Lu Jing's neck, soaking in his reassuring scent, trying to dispel the chill in her heart.

Although she was unwilling to admit it, her reason told her that Lu Jing's analysis was not without foundation.

Those "coincidences" were truly too many, too perfect, perfect like a meticulously designed script. The way Ah Yin was "settled" after her sacrifice, furthermore, revealed a kind of extreme coldness that made one's bones go cold.

"Perhaps... just as you said, sometimes, when there are too many coincidences, they are no longer coincidences..." Wang Donger's voice came muffled from Lu Jing's shoulder, carrying a kind of resigned exhaustion and a trace of imperceptible helplessness.

She finally let go of that tightly stretched string that had been trying to defend her past beliefs, acknowledging that bloody possibility.

I don't know how much time passed, but she took a deep, long breath, and then slowly exhaled, as if trying to expel all the stagnation and chill in her chest.

Then, she gently lifted her head from Lu Jing's embrace. Her azure eyes looked a bit red and swollen at this moment, misty with moisture, but deep within her gaze, there was an unprecedented clarity and resolve.

She looked at the Blue Silver Emperor, which was placed aside by Lu Jing and quietly emitting a faint glow, her eyes complex, and asked in a low voice:

"Then... Lu Jing, this Ah Yin... what should we do now? Could it be... we just keep her by our side, or find some place to just leave her?"

Lu Jing did not answer directly, but instead asked back, his gaze falling calmly on Wang Donger's face, as if scrutinizing her true inner thoughts: "How do you want to handle her? Or rather, what kind of ending do you hope she has?"

"I..." Wang Donger was stumped by the question.

She stared blankly at that Blue Silver Emperor, complex emotions intertwined in her heart.

There was sympathy, pity, anger, confusion, and also a trace of fear towards the truth.

She was silent for a long time, so long that Lu Jing thought she wouldn't answer and was just about to speak, when she suddenly sat up straight.

The silk quilt slid off her body, exposing a large expanse of snow-white skin to the cool air, which emitted an alluring luster under the dim light of the soul guidance lamp.

But at this moment, Wang Donger seemed completely unaware, all her attention focused on this question.

On her stunningly beautiful face, her expression was unprecedentedly serious, even carrying a trace of sternness.

"I want to..."

Wang Donger's cherry lips parted slightly, her voice not loud, but exceptionally clear, carrying a kind of determination after making up her mind, saying: "I want to... resurrect her."

A flash of surprise crossed Lu Jing's eyes; he hadn't expected Wang Donger to make such a decision.

"Resurrect her? Why?" He asked, his tone calm, unable to discern any emotion.

"If... if what we speculated is true, that Tang Hao really did those things to her, used Ah Yin's feelings, ultimately leading to her sacrifice, and even after she sacrificed herself, imprisoned her life core to awaken Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Spirit..."

Wang Donger's voice trembled slightly, not because of fear, but because of a strong sense of injustice and anger, saying: "Then she is just too pitiful. She shouldn't be treated this way. She is a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor, the Empress of Plants, possessing endless life and possibilities. She should have her own choices, should have the chance to see everything clearly, and then..."

She paused, a cold as ice light flashing in her azure eyes, saying word by word: "Then, have the chance to seek justice from those who deceived her, used her, and imprisoned her! Even if that person is Tang Hao, or even... the Clear Sky Sect! If you do something wrong, you should pay the price, shouldn't you? This has nothing to do with who I am!"

These resolute words, carrying a near-cold determination, came out of Wang Donger's mouth.

She no longer projected herself into the identity of the Clear Sky Sect Young Sect Master, but rather viewed this matter from the perspective of an independent, impartial observer.

She sympathized with Ah Yin's plight, hated the potential schemes and utilization, and believed that regardless of who it was, everyone should be responsible for what they had done, no matter how "great" their original intention was, or how "special" their identity was.

Of course, this could only be chosen by Ah Yin herself.

Looking at the young girl before him with clear eyes, a firm expression, and even a hint of "hating evil like an enemy" stern aura, a light of undisguisable gratification and appreciation slowly bloomed in Lu Jing's eyes.

He smiled, that smile no longer the usual playfulness or gentle doting, but a smile from the bottom of his heart, seeing what he had expected, full of a sense of accomplishment.

"Good, very good." Lu Jing's voice carried a trace of imperceptible excitement; he reached out and rubbed Wang Donger's hair again, the force a bit heavier than before, carrying encouragement and affirmation.

"Donger, I am very happy that you can think this way. Not being bound by past identities and emotions, being able to distinguish right from wrong, and upholding the morality in your own heart. This is the real you, the independent and strong you."

He paused, looking at Wang Donger's cheeks slightly flushed from excitement and determination, and that snow-white, delicate body trembling slightly in the air, stirring the blood, the smile in his eyes deepened, carrying a trace of teasing: "It seems I have 'trained' you quite well."

Wang Donger was stunned at first, then immediately realized what the "trained" in his words referred to, her pretty face flushed completely red in a flash, all the way to her earlobes.

Only then did she realize that she was almost completely naked at this moment, she exclaimed in shyness, scrambling to grab the quilt again, wrapping herself tightly, revealing only a bright red face and a pair of watery big eyes, glaring at Lu Jing in embarrassment and annoyance: "You... what nonsense are you spouting! I am talking to you about serious matters!"

Lu Jing laughed out loud, no longer teasing her, but the appreciation and satisfaction in his eyes grew even stronger.

He reined in his joking expression and said seriously: "Alright, let's talk business. You want to resurrect her and give her a chance to make her own choice; I support you. This matter will be decided by you, and led by you. No matter what you want to do, I will help you."

Having received Lu Jing's affirmation and support, the last trace of hesitation in Wang Donger's heart dissipated.

She nodded vigorously, but immediately a trace of worry emerged: "But... resurrecting a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast, especially the Blue Silver Emperor whose life source has been severely damaged and whose intelligence is almost completely dormant, must be very difficult, right? What should we do?"

"Human effort can achieve anything."

Lu Jing calmly spat out the four words, his gaze falling once again on the Blue Silver Emperor, his eyes deep, saying: "Although Ah Yin's life core is severely damaged, the Blue Silver Emperor itself has extremely tenacious vitality. Coupled with the nourishment on Sea God Island over these four years, and... me occasionally using the power of destruction to help her sort out the chaotic death aura, her source has actually stabilized and even begun to slowly recover. It just lacks an opportunity, a sufficiently vast source of life energy to awaken her dormant intelligence and reshape her body, such as the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

"As for your worry about whether she will listen to us after resurrection..."

Lu Jing smiled lightly, his smile carrying a trace of coldness, saying indifferently: "We don't need her to listen to us, and we don't lack her as a person. We just need to give her a chance to choose, let her see the past clearly, and then... let her make the choice herself. Whether it is revenge, forgetting, or something else, it is all up to her to decide. We just want to know how she will choose, isn't that so?"

Wang Donger nodded vigorously again, her heart suddenly enlightened.

She was no longer lost, no longer troubled by her past identity.

She was now just Wang Donger, Lu Jing's partner, and what she had to do was follow her own inner judgment and principles.

Looking at the firm light re-ignited in her eyes, Lu Jing felt gratified, but also had a trace of complex emotions.

Whether it was the Tang Wutong before him, or her younger brother Tang Wulin, before becoming gods, they had all experienced too many hardships.

Especially Tang Wulin, who had carried the curse of the Golden Dragon King bloodline since childhood, struggled to survive amidst the crises of the Douluo Continent, experienced countless life and death separations, and finally, in order to protect the continent, fought a decisive battle against the Abyss Plane, paying an unimaginable price.

His growth history was almost a history of blood and tears, filled with sacrifice and unyielding Spirit.

But, what was the result?

When he had gone through all kinds of hardships and finally ascended to the God Position, becoming the Dragon God, what people remembered and talked about seemed to be more about his identity as the son of the Sea God, and the glory of inheriting the Sea God's bloodline.

It was as if all his efforts, all his struggles, and all his sacrifices had ultimately become a foil under the halo of being the son of the Sea God.

His personal struggles and achievements, in the face of the innate label of being a child of a god, appeared so... insignificant.

Isn't this, also a kind of tragedy?