Yama Reborn-Chapter 486 - 483: The Storyteller
Chapter 483 The Storyteller
Louise was awakened by the sound of the news broadcast from the television.
The moment she awoke, the young girl immediately turned over with caution, curling her petite body into a tight ball, then she widened her eyes to scrutinize her surroundings.
The room was spacious, even luxurious. Moreover, the so-called luxury didn’t matter much to the five-year-old Louise—a five-year-old girl wouldn’t understand what luxury meant. But what really surprised her was how clean the place was: clean, dry, tidy, and very warm. It was far more comfortable than that filthy, damp, and cold warehouse.
The chandelier above emitted a gentle, warm glow. The room even had air conditioning—a rarity in the eighties. The five-year-old Louise had never seen such a thing before.
Out of curiosity, she got up from the bed and then stretched out her hand to touch the air conditioning vent.
Her fingertips felt the warm air blowing out from the vent, even brushing against the young girl’s face. That comfortable, ticklish feeling made Louise’s little heart flutter slightly.
The bed was soft. Although she didn’t yet understand what luxury meant, the soft mattress and sheets made it clear to Louise: these must be very expensive.
Very expensive, very expensive, very expensive...
She quickly jumped off the bed, and to the girl’s embarrassment, she couldn’t find her shoes.
On the floor were a pair of clean slippers, the plush kind, which also looked expensive.
She stood barefoot on the floor, hesitating to put them on.
At that moment, the bedroom door was pushed open.
Chen Nuo stood at the doorway, looking at Louise with a gentle smile on his face. "Awake?"
"Yes... Yes, sir. I’m awake," Louise immediately stood up straight, looking at Chen Nuo cautiously.
"Don’t worry, there’s no need to be afraid or tense. This is where I live. I promised I would take you away from that warehouse, and then I would settle you in nicely." Chen Nuo walked over and patted the girl’s head. "There’s food outside. You must be hungry."
The dining table in the living room was already set with food: not particularly expensive, but plentiful—bread, butter, a roast chicken, and a bowl of fragrant, thick soup.
Louise hesitated as she approached the table, but then Chen Nuo pushed her into a seat and stuffed a fork into her hand.
"Don’t be afraid. Go ahead and eat."
Louise held the fork dumbfounded.
Chen Nuo, on the other hand, turned around, picked up the pair of slippers from the floor, knelt in front of the little girl, and put them on her feet.
Louise watched all this dumbfounded, and then, her eyes quickly filled with tears!
"You don’t have to worry—although I’ve said it many times, I still have to say, you really don’t need to be afraid." Chen Nuo laughed. "By the way, I actually enjoy spending time with children. I have a younger sister who’s two years older than you. However... when I first met her, she was the same age you are now. Oh right, I also have a daughter."
Louise wiped her tears with the back of her hand and then took a deep breath. "Thank you, thank you so much! Sir!"
It was unclear whether this meal was dinner or something else. Anyway, it was definitely past the regular mealtime.
Louise was trying hard to tackle the roast chicken on the table, and Chen Nuo was browsing through today’s London newspaper.
Actually, Louise was also distracted—it was obvious that the television in the room was what was attracting the child’s attention. What child doesn’t like watching TV? Moreover, since being abandoned, Louise, who had been living alone in the warehouse, hadn’t seen a television in a very long time.
Chen Nuo thought for a moment, walked over to change the channel away from the news station, and stopped after finding a channel airing cartoons.
"Watching TV is fine, but don’t eat too slowly. Hurry up and eat. You’ll have plenty of time to watch TV afterward."
"Yes, sir!"
Louise obediently shifted her gaze from the television and then bowed her head to eat earnestly.
The little girl was clearly very hungry, or perhaps she hadn’t eaten such good food for a long time.
A roast chicken—she had actually eaten half of it and also drank half a bowl of the thick soup.
Seeing that Louise already seemed full and yet still glanced at the butter and bread on the table, Chen Nuo didn’t dare to let her eat anymore, afraid she might get a stomachache.
"Alright, if you eat too much you’ll get a stomachache. Don’t worry, I can assure you that here you can have whatever you want to eat at any time, and you’ll never have to worry about food again."
With that, Chen Nuo went over, picked up a napkin, and wiped the corners of the young girl’s mouth.
After making a phone call to have someone clean up the room, Chen Nuo picked up a cup of water and took a sip.
"Sir, is this... your home?"
"No, this is a hotel. I stay here when I’m in London," Chen Nuo smiled.
"Will you always be here?"
"...Probably not," Chen Nuo sighed. "As I’ve told you, I have family at home. In addition to my sister and a daughter, I also have a mother and a wife waiting for me to return home."
"So... will you be leaving here soon?" The little girl’s eyes looked slightly fearful.
Chen Nuo was at a loss for words.
Actually, he wasn’t unaware of the little girl’s thoughts and fears. But... if this were not the year 1981, if it were Chen Nuo’s own era, he would have adopted Louise without any hesitation. It wouldn’t have been a difficult matter. But... this was not his era. If he returned, he guessed that he most likely wouldn’t be able to take Louise back with him.
"You sit down first. We need to have a serious talk." Chen Nuo earnestly pulled the little girl in front of him and had her sit opposite him.
Following that, Chen Nuo once again carefully and seriously inquired about Louise’s background. He asked with more detail than when they had first met, paying close attention to the details.
However, there was no payoff. Louise’s background was that simple.
Her mother, who abandoned her, had nothing special about her. And that sailor or whatever his profession was—Louise had no memory of her father. But from the occasional cursing and swearing from her mother, he seemed to be an ordinary person from the lower class.
Chen Nuo also carefully asked about Louise’s life after her mother left and she took to living in the warehouse. There was nothing extraordinary, including how she encountered the Gray Cat.
Actually, even up to this point, Louise still didn’t think the Gray Cat was her friend. She thought her friend was the cat servant called Black.
According to Louise, a few days after she started living in the warehouse, one day the "tall, lanky mister" came to the warehouse and gave her some food. The man came a total of three times, each time bringing some food. But the "tall, lanky" gentleman rarely spoke. He was a man of few words—Okay, Chen Nuo understood, Black probably didn’t intend to say much. He was just a cat servant, merely following the instructions of the Gray Cat.
But these events were enough to make Louise feel grateful. In the eyes of a little girl who was abandoned and homeless, Black was a benefactor, a good person who brought food to help her. Even if he was somewhat silent, the child would simply think he didn’t like to talk much.
After another detailed inquiry about Louise’s past experiences, Chen Nuo had to come to a conclusion in his heart: This little girl named Louise was nothing special—it seemed as if all the preparation and arrangements were just to have her meet him.
He even used his spiritual power to probe Louise’s Consciousness Space again.
The little girl was really ordinary. Her Consciousness Space was also at the level of an average person, without anything special. And she did not have the talent of an Ability User.
She was just an ordinary person.
In the evening, Grand Knight Commander Thompson Roderick from the Blade Knights came to visit. He held a stack of documents in his hand. These were all about Louise. Based on Louise’s narration, Chen Nuo had asked the Grand Knight Commander to conduct some investigations.
For a local Level A Ability User team, such a task was a piece of cake, and they quickly uncovered Louise’s background.
"The child’s mother is called Ava; her real name Meryl Swan. Ava is just a stage name. Her job... well, she’s on the roster as a dancer in a dance troupe—not a reputable dance troupe, though. It’s just a makeshift group performing striptease for sailors and drunks in little bars by the docks. So she’s not a genuine dancer. She wears scant attire, shows off her chest and thighs, drinks with the patrons, and for a bit more money, she might also accompany them in other ways. That’s pretty much the situation. However, that woman has run away. She owed a lot of money, so she took off a month and a half ago."
A month and a half? Chen Nuo frowned. Little children do not have a sense of time—clearly, Louise’s "few days" had already turned into a month and a half. God knows how the five-year-old child survived a month and a half on her own without the help of the Gray Cat.
Chen Nuo nodded.
Then, the Grand Knight Commander spoke of another matter Chen Nuo had asked him to investigate. About... Yun Yin.
"We can’t find that woman." The Grand Knight Commander seemed a bit jittery, obviously afraid of disappointing Chen Nuo, this big shot. "We’ve nearly mobilized everyone and every informant we can in London, but no one has seen her again. You know, after the maritime disaster, London was clearly in chaos, and many government departments completely collapsed. The Prime Minister gave two speeches in a row that did not stabilize the situation. Now that supplies transported from North London are entering the city, public outrage has finally quelled somewhat. I heard the department responsible for monitoring maritime conditions is going to be in trouble. Such a big tsunami, and there were no detection warnings..."
"Enough." Chen Nuo waved his hand. "I am not interested in your Prime Minister’s speeches, nor do I care whether your meteorological department is in trouble or not. I just want to find that woman."
"I think she should still be in London," the Grand Knight Commander said cautiously.
"Reason?"
"She..." The Grand Knight Commander looked somewhat troubled, but under Chen Nuo’s scrutiny, he took a deep breath. "According to the investigation results from the past two days, it’s clear that this woman had already been in London for several years, hasn’t she? If we consider the time from when that photographer took her picture, she had already been residing in London for several years. If I may be so bold, I witnessed the battle between you and her myself, and her power is very strong. Obviously, she is also a Controller. A Controller who has been in London for several years... I have reason to believe she considers this place her home. Even if it’s not her home, it’s at least a long-term residence. She might even have a special reason for staying in London for so long. Given all this, I don’t think she would leave easily. Hmm..."
And from the fight between the two of you, it seemed like the person getting beaten up was you. You were running around like a rat with its head down—so she’s clearly not afraid of you, and if she’s not, naturally she won’t move away.
Well, the last two sentences were the Grand Knight Commander’s inner thoughts, but of course, he wouldn’t dare to voice them in front of Chen Nuo.
The young man before him, whether he could beat that woman or not, the Grand Knight Commander wasn’t sure, but beating him up would be a piece of cake!
Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then nodded. "Anyway, have your people continue to search. Inform me immediately if there’s any news—keep looking!"
"Alright," the Grand Knight Commander sighed.
"Also, do me a favor."
"What is it?"
"Find me a new place to stay." Chen Nuo shook his head. "I don’t want to keep staying in a hotel."
"Is it the conditions here that dissatisfy you?" The Grand Knight Commander was somewhat concerned.
"No, there are too many people here," Chen Nuo frowned.
After all, this was in the city area of London and in the affluent West London. The population density was too high.
In case I encounter Lu Xixi again—no, if I run into Yun Yin and we start fighting, innocents will get hurt.
The tsunami, although not large in scale, and having been blocked by Chen Nuo using a Telekinesis storm in the sea before it hit, had still caused damage to the city.
Although he didn’t have much affection for these Westerners, let alone a very good impression, hurting innocents was something Chen Nuo didn’t want to happen again.
"Find a place that’s a bit further from the city center, larger, with a quieter environment."
"Got it, I’ll take care of it right away."
Not only did the Blade Knights send people to search, but Chen Nuo himself was also using his Spiritual Sensing Ability to search the city.
However, there was no response. This wasn’t to say nothing was found. After all, in 1981, London was the second largest city in the world after New York. While searching the city with his Spiritual Sensing Ability, Chen Nuo discovered several Ability Users, but none were his target. Yun Yin showed no trace at all.
Chen Nuo wasn’t surprised. For a Controller of the same level as himself, it was very easy to hide from another Controller’s Spiritual Sensing Ability search. One simply needed to restrain their spiritual power to avoid detection.
Three days later, the Grand Knight Commander completed one of the tasks assigned by Chen Nuo: arranging a new residence.
However, after bringing three potential addresses, Chen Nuo was stunned to see one of them.
This...
The photo showed an ancient manor, located in the northwest suburbs of London.
Chen Nuo paused. Uh... This damn place, isn’t it Lu Xixi’s home decades later?!
"This place belongs to a declining noble family, but now they have fallen on hard times and their financial difficulties have left them unable to repair this manor that has been sitting idle. And... unfortunately, according to what they say, some burglars entered the manor a few days ago and damaged some things..."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo coughed a few times. Burglars broke in? Some things were damaged? Weren’t those the results of the fight between him and Yun Yin?
"They have even less money for repairs. But I think this place suits your requirements very well. The environment is very secluded and quiet, the place is also big enough, so..."
"You bought it?" Chen Nuo looked at the Grand Knight Commander somewhat surprised.
This time, the Grand Knight Commander was a little sheepish. "Well... not exactly bought... The other party wasn’t very willing to sell, so we’ve rented it. The lease is for one year. If you need to stay longer, I can try to convince the family to sell the property!"
"No need. Renting is fine. One year... is definitely enough."
Chen Nuo sighed. He hadn’t planned to stay in London that long. To be precise, he hadn’t planned to stay in this era that long.
"I’ve already sent people to do repairs. I’ve heard the manor’s first-floor hall and windows were damaged, but these repairs will be completed quickly. I’ve also ordered some daily necessities and home appliances, all of which will be delivered as soon as possible..."
"When can I move in?"
"At the latest... after... by tomorrow night!" Seeing Chen Nuo’s gaze, the Grand Knight Commander seriously assured him.
After dismissing the Grand Knight Commander, Chen Nuo returned to the living room.
Little Louise was watching TV. When she saw Chen Nuo coming over, she immediately stood up obediently.
"Keep watching." Chen Nuo sat next to Louise and then smiled. "I’ll tell you something: we’re moving tomorrow."
"?" Louise gave him a puzzled look. "Is this place not good?"
"It’s fine, but that place is more suitable."
Chen Nuo had no intention of explaining too much to a child.
Louise didn’t ask further, but she raised another question.
"There’s something I’ve been thinking about these past two days; I even dreamt about it last night, sir..."
"What is it?"
"That day, when my friend Black came to see me in the warehouse, I..." Louise hesitated for a moment. "I think I saw that the cat he brought with him... it was talking."
Chen Nuo was taken aback. "Huh?"
It was probably Chen Nuo’s reaction that immediately made Louise somewhat timid, and she spoke in a low voice, "I know it might just be my imagination... No, no, no, it must have been my imagination. Cats can’t possibly talk. But... but I really, I swear, I really thought I saw it!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
As she said this, Little Louise looked earnestly at Chen Nuo. "Sir, are there really cats that can talk in this world?"
Well, that... Chen Nuo thought about it, but fortunately, he had ample experience dealing with children. Five-year-old Chen Xiaoye had been living with Chen Nuo for a long time.
"Actually, animals can communicate just like humans." Chen Nuo pondered. "Let me tell you a story."
"Yes!"
Louise immediately perked up, grabbed a pillow to hold in her arms, sat cross-legged on the couch, and looked at Chen Nuo with rapt attention. Which child doesn’t love to hear stories?
"Well... before we talk about whether cats can talk, I can tell you a story about another animal. In this story, there was a person who raised a very human-like eagle. You know what eagles are, right? A very big, very big bird with a fierce temperament. This person raised such an eagle, lived with it, and even treated it as his own brother..."
That evening, Chen Nuo retold the story of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, with some alterations, to Louise.
Without a doubt, among Jin Yong’s novels, *The Return of the Condor Heroes* is most suitable for girls—Jin Yong’s other novels aren’t as well received by girls. But *The Return of the Condor Heroes* is an exception. Because... at its core, it’s actually a love story.
He talked about Yang Guo being saved by an eagle, and then taught martial arts by an eagle...
And finally about what happened sixteen years later...
Louise listened absorbedly, and somehow, she didn’t sleep all night!
The two of them, one daring to tell, the other daring to listen.
Chen Nuo, as a spiritual power strongman, didn’t need sleep, hence he overlooked this point.
Louise was too engrossed in listening, and since she had taken a nap that afternoon, she wasn’t sleepy at all that night.
Unwittingly, they ended up talking through the whole night.
"Sir, I’ve never heard this story before! Did you make it up? It’s amazing!!" Louise cheered at the end.
Chen Nuo’s face twitched. "No, no, I didn’t write it. The author of this story is a writer from Huaxia, who now lives in Hong Kong."
"I know Hong Kong. It’s a city in the Far East."
"So you see, an eagle can be a person’s brother. Then cats can naturally be friends with people too. Although talking... that sort of thing won’t happen, but..."
"I’ll definitely keep lots of interesting animals in the future!" Louise laughed. "This writer, he must have other stories, right? Sir, can you tell me another one?"
"Eh? Another one?"
"Yes, yes! Please tell me another one!"
"Now is not the time." Chen Nuo shook his head in refusal. "We got too engrossed while talking, and now the day has dawned! What you need now is not a story, but sleep! Go back to your room now, take a bath and sleep!"
In the luxurious suite of the hotel, Louise returned to her own room. After taking a bath and changing into new pajamas, a thought suddenly occurred to her. She turned around, ran out of her room, and spoke to Chen Nuo, who was standing at the living room window.
"Sir."
"Hmm?"
"The stories written by that writer, they’re in Huaxia, right?"
"Yes."
"Can I learn Huaxia?"
"Why?"
"I... I think, if you leave in the future and there’s no one to tell me these stories, I can read the novels written by that writer myself once I’ve learned Huaxia."
