Nezha · chat.title

Highly recommending JianZha. In *Fengshen Yanyi*, when Nezha saw Yang Jian transform into the marten, he loved it dearly: "Yang Jian gave his body a shake and instantly turned into a Flower-Fox Marten leaping about the ground, making Nezha overjoyed with delight" (the dynamic between the senior and junior disciples here is exceptionally endearing—Yang Jian even hops and scampers around just to amuse his junior brother).\n\nAt first, Nezha said, "Brother Yang, you were already dead, how have you arrived again?" But later, he firmly believed "Yang Jian has his own designs." When Yang Jian told him to halt and not pursue, he obediently braked his Wind-Fire Wheels, leaving Yang Jian to give chase. Upon returning to camp, Yang Jian would also remind Jiang Ziya, "Had it not been for Nezha today, several of our men would surely have perished."\n\nSeeing tough adversaries, Yang Jian would tell Nezha that these two weren't fighting fair, so the two of them should head out together. Hearing that the Five Marchmounts had fallen, he would ask Nezha, "What abilities does Zhang Kui possess? Why hasn't the Vanguard gone out to meet him?" When Jiang Ziya told him to go forth alone to earn merit, he insisted that going with Nezha would make the endeavor far easier.\n\nNezha feels completely transparent in the novel—his origins, parents, family, past experiences, his naughtiness, temper, obedience, bravery, love, and hatred are all laid bare by the author like an open dossier.\n\nYang Jian, on the other hand, appears right from the start as the True Lord of Pure Wonder and Dao. When he was born, how he became the disciple of Master Yuding, how he mastered the Eight-Nine Mysterious Cultivation—none of this is explained by the author. Yang Jian is mysterious and unfathomable, maintaining an almost detached coolness throughout this Shang-Zhou war.\n\nYet in Nezha's eyes, Yang Jian is certainly not cold at all. When Lü Yue spread the plague, Nezha—who could still muster a few comforting words for Huang Tianhua when both were captured—felt completely safe showing his panicked side, asking Yang Jian: "With their army surging upon us, how can just the two of us hold back such a vast host?" And Yang Jian truly went above and beyond to reassure him: "Do not fret, I have my own strategy to repel the troops." Then he "hastily grabbed two handfuls of soil and grass, tossed them into the air, and shouted: 'Swift!' At once, the walls of Xiqi were lined with burly warriors, marching back and forth in an intimidating display of martial might."\n\nIn battle, Nezha usually charges furiously, refusing to yield an inch. Yet when paired with Yang Jian, upon seeing Dai Li's ferocious red bead hurtling toward him, he didn't stubbornly force the issue; dodging with his spear, he withdrew from the fray, leaving the rest to Yang Jian, who rode forth shouting, "Fiend, show some respect! Here I come!" Whenever Nezha suffered a setback, Yang Jian was almost always there to settle the score for him. Furthermore, during the incident with the Blood-Transforming Blade, even though Lei Zhenzi was also involved, from Nezha's perspective, Yang Jian truly was the only one willing to risk life and limb to secure the antidote for him.