At this, Wukong's brow suddenly twitched.
He turned and glanced at Guanyin Bodhisattva.
"That nephew of mine?"
Guanyin Bodhisattva looked at him too, and Wukong turned away.
Jade Flute paid no attention to those around him. Recalling the past, he said slowly, "Yes."
"Master was delighted when he received the letter. He knew our eldest martial aunt had always wanted a child. Our eldest martial uncle had searched everywhere for a way, but had never succeeded."
"So he took Pipa and me over to celebrate with them."
"We all got to see the baby."
"Pipa really liked that child."
Jade Flute smiled. "Normally, she could never sit still."
"But those few days, she stayed beside the baby the whole time."
"Even our eldest martial aunt complained that she was stealing her baby. She said if Pipa liked children so much, she should have one with her husband."
"Pipa froze when she heard that."
The smile on Jade Flute's face slowly faded.
"She'd never thought about it before."
"She only wanted to be with Master."
"To marry him."
"To be able to call him her husband every day."
"But those words from our eldest martial aunt seemed to remind her."
"A married couple could have a child, too."
"After we went back."
"She told Master she wanted a child as well."
The fruit Bajie had just picked up stopped at his lips. "Your master wasn't willing?"
Jade Flute shook his head. "It wasn't a question of whether he was willing."
"He panicked."
Bajie frowned. "What was there to panic about? She liked him, and he didn't dislike her. They were living perfectly well together. What was wrong with having a child?"
Jade Flute gave a bitter smile. "Master said it was because he'd never forgotten why he'd said yes to