Yama Reborn-Chapter 497 - 494: [Ms. Xiao Sun’s First Day]

Chapter 494: [Teacher Sun Keke’s First Day]

A welcoming lunch at noon was simple yet sincere. A deputy town mayor in charge of science, education, and culture attended, along with the village leaders, Old Sun, and the principal of the village’s elementary school.

Sun Keke didn’t join the lunch. She didn’t want to be labeled "Principal Sun’s daughter."

In fact, when Old Sun brought Sun Keke, he didn’t specifically introduce her as his daughter. He let Sun Keke assume the identity of a "young teacher here for an exchange and support program" for her internship.

Sun Keke had a simple meal in the school’s cafeteria.

Actually, the conditions here were quite good. After all, this province wasn’t in the central-western region; it was an eastern province with generally good economic conditions. It wasn’t one of those remote mountainous areas for teaching support programs.

The village-run elementary school also had fairly complete infrastructure. Although the cafeteria was small, it could provide lunch.

However, throughout the entire lunch, a little girl called Erya kept following Sun Keke, making it somewhat difficult for her to manage.

Why does she keep asking me about that Chen Xiaoguo, that bastard! What does he have to do with me? Nothing at all!!

In the afternoon, after Old Sun and the leaders finished their social engagements and thanked the local leaders for their support of the charity project, they left by car without specifically saying goodbye to Sun Keke, just sending her a text message after getting into the car.

After a brief chat with Sun Keke, the principal introduced her to a teacher from the lower grades. Following the work arrangements, Sun Keke was assigned to the lower grades.

As a newly arrived exchange teacher, and knowing that Sun Keke was just an intern who wouldn’t stay long, it was customary not to let her teach the main subjects. Sun Keke would stay here for two months—that is, until the end of this semester.

Her job was divided into two parts.

First, the school happened to have two harmoniums—the kind quite common in that era, resembling simplified pianos, played with hands while pumping pedals with feet. You could think of it as a sewing machine that can make piano sounds. Sun Keke had learned a little piano, so she was capable enough. For the time being, she could teach music to the lower grades.

Second, Sun Keke would serve as a student life teacher. Among the lower grade students, there were eight whose families were in special situations: their parents worked in the city, and elderly grandparents were at home. This meant they usually had both lunch and dinner at the school before going home. Sun Keke, as the student life teacher for the lower grades, would be responsible for looking after these eight students during lunch and dinner at school—which wasn’t really much trouble.

Sun Keke happily accepted the assigned work. However, she also proposed an idea of her own—something she had planned before arriving. Sun Keke’s suggestion was to start an extracurricular reading guidance program. After all, she had studied liberal arts.

Sun Keke’s idea was simple: cultivate an interest in extracurricular reading from the lower grades by having them read books beneficial for improving and consolidating their Chinese language foundation. She had genuinely put her heart into it, even researching a reading list in advance—which she had selected from the recently donated books.

The school had no objections, merely asking Sun Keke to discuss with the subject teachers and homeroom teachers to adjust the timetable.

Sun Keke felt that everything in this place was so fresh. She had actively requested to come here. Besides wanting to get away from Jinling and put some distance between herself and that Chen Xiaoguo—a rather petty, personal wish—she genuinely wanted to be a good teacher. She had two role models for being a good teacher right beside her: her father and Old Jiang. Therefore, coming to provide grassroots teaching support, even for a short period, seemed like a good choice.

She wasn’t very familiar with them at lunch, but by dinnertime, Sun Keke had already begun intentionally interacting with the eight students she was responsible for as their student life teacher. After all, don’t they say attractive people are usually well-received? Over just one meal, the eight elementary school students were already happily crowding around Sun Keke, calling her "Teacher Sun" at every opportunity.

The dinner prepared by the school was simple: one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and staple foods like rice and steamed buns, all rationed. It was enough to fill the children, though—this too was sponsored by a charitable project. After dinner, Sun Keke even made a special trip to escort the eight children back to the village—the trip wasn’t far, just a seven or eight-minute walk.

The countryside in the evening was actually quite beautiful, with fields and irrigation channels between the ridges. Free-range dogs, chickens, and ducks wandered through the village. Laughter and joyful voices always accompanied the children, and Sun Keke felt her mood lift considerably compared to her time in Jinling City. She even took the time to carefully observe each child’s family situation after escorting them home before she left.

On her way back, at the entrance to the village, she ran into Erya.

"Little Auntie Master, I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time." Just as Erya was about to raise her hand in a martial arts salute, Sun Keke pressed her hand down.

"Stop! If someone sees you bowing to me like that, how am I supposed to live in this village?" Sun Keke sighed. "And what’s with ’Little Auntie Master’? Don’t use that term again. I... I’m no longer involved with your martial uncle."

"You broke up?"

"Yes."

Erya’s eyes twitched, but she seemed unfazed. "Oh. You had a fight then."

"It’s a breakup! A breakup!" Sun Keke insisted through gritted teeth.

"Got it, you had a fight."

"It’s a break... Forget it! You wouldn’t understand even if I explained." Sun Keke shook her head. "What did you want to see me about?"

"I came to invite you to our home. My master said the living conditions at the school are too harsh and invited you to stay with us at our sect for a while, especially since our place has better conditions."

Sun Keke shook her head. "There’s no need. I’m here for an internship; I don’t want to be treated specially. Besides, the school has dorms."

"That’s not ideal, is it? A young and beautiful girl like you, staying at the school alone at night... There aren’t many people there..." Erya tried to persuade her.

"Is it... unsafe here?" Sun Keke suddenly became nervous.

"That’s not it," Erya said with a smile. "In our village, there are no delinquents. If there ever were any in the past, my master’s wife and my senior martial brother beat them until they reformed."

Sun Keke was stunned.

How... How am I supposed to interpret that?!

"Fine, if you want to stay at the school, then stay there. My master said it wasn’t compulsory. If you need anything, just let me know." Erya smiled, then added, "I also attend the elementary school; I’m in the fifth grade. If you need anything during the daytime, you can find me at school."

Sun Keke was disconcerted!

You? You’re still in school? Thinking back to the first time I met this little rascal, she was so small yet acted all grown-up, making a fist-and-palm salute and going on about ’Situ Beixuan of the Qingyun Sect...’ She really had the airs of a disciple from a reclusive sect... And it turns out she’s also in elementary school? Fifth grade? Has she even joined the Young Pioneers yet?!

"It’s nine years of compulsory education," Erya sighed. "Master said if kids don’t go to school, the village authorities will intervene, and there’s a fine for not attending."

Erya accompanied Sun Keke back to the school and then took her leave, but not before giving Sun Keke her family’s phone number.

At night, the school was really empty, with only one streetlight on downstairs, and everything around was pitch black. Fortunately, two older teachers, a married couple, also lived in the dormitory. Sun Keke had met them during the day. They were locals whose home was in town, so they usually stayed at the school. They had greeted each other earlier and made small talk during meals; they seemed very nice. The male teacher was the physical education teacher for all grades and also taught geography. The female teacher was the homeroom teacher for the upper grades and taught Chinese to the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. In small schools like this, with few students and classes, teachers were often versatile.

Sun Keke went back to her dormitory to rest. In fact, she had already looked at the room during the day and dropped off her luggage. The room was very small, just a single unit. A private bathroom? Don’t even think about it. There was just a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk—and the desk was actually a student’s desk moved from a classroom. It was makeshift, but it worked. The room, though simple, was clean. Sun Keke personally spread the bedsheets and comforter she had brought on the bed, then checked the door lock and windows. The couple lived next door, which provided some extra peace of mind.

After Sun Keke finished tidying up, she took her washbasin out to fetch water from the outdoor tap, washed up briefly, and then lay down on the bed fully clothed. It was hard to fall asleep on the first night in a strange environment. Lying in bed, Sun Keke aimlessly flipped through a novel, hoping it would calm her mind and allow her to gradually drift off. But who would have thought... The novel was so captivating that the more she read, the more hooked she became. By two in the morning, Sun Keke knew she had to stop. This wasn’t home or her own school. She had work in the morning. It wouldn’t be good to appear lethargic with dark circles under her eyes for her first class. After setting her alarm, she reluctantly turned off the light and forced herself to sleep.

She didn’t know how long it took, but she eventually dozed off. She didn’t know how long she’d been drowsing, but she was eventually woken by noise. In the countryside, before dawn, some family’s rooster started crowing. Seriously, when one rooster crows, the whole village follows suit! Roosters throughout the village began crowing one after another, creating a cacophony akin to a symphony orchestra. Sun Keke, awakened by the noise, tried to muffle her ears with a pillow and go back to sleep—only for the village dogs to start barking.

Finally, Sun Keke got out of bed.

Sitting on the bed, she took a moment to collect her thoughts before realizing where she was. She surveyed the unfamiliar small dormitory: it was probably a bit smaller than her bedroom at home, with plain white walls and a cement floor.

Sun Keke got up, yawning and throwing on her jacket before heading out with her washbasin to freshen up. Just as she opened the door, she saw the couple from the neighboring room also coming out.

"Teacher Sun, up so early?" the female teacher greeted with a smile.

"Morning... Teacher Wu." Sun Keke greeted politely. Thank goodness I remembered her name from yesterday; that avoids any awkwardness.

"You could have slept in; there’s no music class this morning. It would have been fine even if you’d gotten up just before noon," Teacher Wu said with a smile.

"No, no, I usually don’t sleep in anyway," Sun Keke hurriedly explained, then grabbed her washbasin and dashed to the sink.

The couple behind her had already finished washing up and were dressed, heading straight for the school’s teaching building. Sun Keke felt an inexplicable restlessness. She washed up in a hurry, ran to the public toilet behind the dormitory, then returned to her room to put on a plain-looking tracksuit jacket she had prepared. She didn’t put on makeup; her hair was simply tied into a ponytail. She stood in front of the mirror and gave herself a quick once-over.

Hmm, ponytail, no makeup, tracksuit jacket, jeans, white sneakers. Looks good.

Tucking the teaching plan she had prepared under her arm, she ran out the door.

She had just sat down in the cafeteria with a steamed bun and a bowl of millet porridge. She’d only taken a bite of the bun and a couple of sips of porridge when the music for morning exercises started playing outside. She gulped down the millet porridge and shoved the bun into her pocket, then took off running outside!

During the morning exercises, Sun Keke stood at the back of the student formation, watching the other teachers participate and making a few token gestures herself. I must go to bed early tonight and get up earlier tomorrow! she reminded herself.

In the morning, Sun Keke spoke with the homeroom teacher of the lower grades about scheduling her extracurricular reading guidance class. The outcome was unexpectedly smooth. The list of books she had prepared and the teaching ideas she had mentally rehearsed weren’t even questioned.

After a brief glance at the book list, the teacher returned it to Sun Keke. This homeroom teacher for the lower grades was quite frank: "We didn’t have this class before, but more reading is always beneficial for the students’ language learning—I have no objections. As for the book list, Teacher Sun, you’re a top student from Jinling Normal University; you’re undoubtedly professional, so I won’t question it. For scheduling, let’s say for the lower grades, every Monday afternoon during the third period, and for the upper grades, every Wednesday afternoon during the third period."

Sun Keke was a bit dazed. Is it really all settled just like that?

"Any questions, Teacher Sun?"

"No! No questions!"

"Okay, you’re responsible for teaching music, right? Since there’s no music class today, you can go back and prepare your lesson plan for the extracurricular reading class. That’s all for now. Oh, and if you have any personal difficulties, feel free to tell the school—Teacher Wu and her husband live right next door, so you can talk to her anytime."

"No difficulties! Everything’s very good!"

Sun Keke straightened her back. I’m determined to overcome any problems on my own as much as possible and not give them the impression that I’m some ’delicate girl from the big city.’

However, Sun Keke was secretly thrilled not to have any of her own classes today. An extra day to familiarize myself with the environment would be nice, she thought.

Predictably, the unexpected occurred.

That morning, as Sun Keke was in the office writing her teaching plan, the principal walked in.

"Teacher Sun, please substitute for a class."

"Huh?"

There was supposed to be a physical education (PE) class for the upper grades that morning. After all, with the physical fitness test for middle school entrance approaching, the school took PE very seriously. Other elective courses simply had to make way. However, there was a problem with the PE teacher—Teacher Wu’s husband, who taught PE to all grades and geography. He had gone out that morning to purchase supplies for the school and, on his way back, his bicycle had swerved into a ditch, leaving him in a rather sorry state. The injury wasn’t serious, but his ankle was sprained, so naturally, he couldn’t teach PE. The Chinese teacher had other classes, and the math teacher had gone to the town school on an errand. With Teacher Sun, their music teacher, available, the principal had a sudden idea and decided to make a switch. Today’s PE class would be replaced with music, and tomorrow’s music class would be replaced with PE.

Hurriedly clutching her music textbook, Sun Keke walked into the music classroom. Students from two grades were seated before her—in total, just over forty children. Sun Keke was somewhat nervous.

"Hello everyone, I’m your music teacher, you can call me..."

"Hello, Teacher Sun!" a cheerful voice called out.

Sun Keke focused her gaze and saw—Situ Erya!

Great, now I’m even more nervous, she thought.

Next, while teaching them songs and playing the harmonium, Sun Keke knew her first few attempts were clumsy. After all, I’m not a professionally trained music teacher! I’ve only learned a bit of piano and hardly ever played it at school. Luckily, she was pretty and young, and the kids expressed their fondness for her unconditionally. Sun Keke only began to calm down about halfway through the lesson. But she mentally added another item to her to-do list: After class today, I need to find time to practice the harmonium.

Sun Keke, School Belle Sun, Sun CC, Sun Fatso...

Here, it seemed all those old nicknames had drifted far away.

Here, she had gained a new title, the only one used for her:

Teacher Sun.

That evening, Sun Keke finally visited the Qingyun Sect. After all, she had met them before and had dealings with them; they were quite familiar with each other. It was one thing not to visit on her first day, but it would be impolite not to visit at all. After school that afternoon, Sun Keke informed the other student life teacher that she would be out, then left with Erya for the Qingyun Sect.

Wu Daodao watched Sun Keke arrive with a curious smile. The middle-aged woman beside him, however, remained indifferent.

"So this is the girlfriend of your philandering junior martial brother? Such a fine girl, what a pity."

Wu Daodao frowned but didn’t dare object strongly, only lightly tugging at the middle-aged woman’s sleeve.

"Why pull at me? Did I say something wrong?"

The middle-aged woman waved him off and then directly pulled Sun Keke down to sit. "I could tell at a glance you’re a good girl. That Chen fellow, really, you shouldn’t bother with him."

"Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this. Let’s eat, let’s eat!" Wu Daodao quickly interjected, and several young disciples brought the food to the table. Unlike the last time when Chen Nuo paid a visit, today’s meal was very lavish, complete with chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

Sun Keke didn’t have a large appetite. After eating less than half a bowl of rice, she put down her chopsticks and watched the young disciples scramble for chicken legs. The middle-aged woman, however, remained utterly serene, as if oblivious to the commotion. She then got up to brew tea and led Sun Keke away from the dinner table to sit and drink in the main hall. Her demeanor remained cool, but her attitude was noticeably more accommodating.

"Erya’s math... and Third Fatty’s Chinese..."

Well, I’m actually starting to feel like a teacher making a home visit! Sun Keke thought. She racked her brain to answer the middle-aged woman’s questions about the children’s education, drawing on all the professional knowledge from her studies at the normal university. Luckily, the middle-aged woman was satisfied with the answers, and her attitude towards Sun Keke softened further.

After finishing her tea, Sun Keke realized she had unwittingly agreed to another of the woman’s requests: to help Erya with her English. In this era, urban elementary schools had begun teaching English, but rural township schools like this one had not. However, the middle-aged woman had heard that English was a major subject and a compulsory part of the middle school entrance exams. It was a matter of preparing in advance; she had even managed to buy a set of English textbooks. Sun Keke’s English was quite good; she had passed the College English Test Band 4 in university, so she was more than capable of teaching Erya the basics. She didn’t refuse—in fact, she felt a little eager to try.

However, things took an unexpected turn the next day.

The next morning, thinking about the previous day’s events, Sun Keke got up early—the roosters hadn’t even stopped crowing. She had just picked up her washbasin and opened the door when she saw Mrs. Wu from next door brushing her teeth by the water tap.

And then she saw Situ Erya!!

The girl stood in the courtyard, her feet set in a firm stance. She wore a short traditional jacket and cloth shoes, her hands hanging by her sides. As soon as she saw Sun Keke emerge, a glint flashed in her eyes. She took a deep breath, qi rising from her dantian, her hands forming the taiji symbol, then she bowed deeply to Sun Keke.

"Disciple of the Qingyun Sect, Situ Beixuan, pays formal respects to my Teacher!"

As she spoke, she also bent down to pick up the two bundles she had brought with her and placed them before Sun Keke. Lifting the hem of her jacket, she promptly knelt down!

Sun Keke was stunned!!

Mrs. Wu by the water tap, mouth full of toothpaste foam, also widened her eyes in shock.

Sun Keke: "..."

When Sun Keke finally came to her senses, she hurriedly went over and pulled Erya up from the ground!

"You... Don’t do that! What are you doing?! What will people think if they see this?!" Sun Keke was red-faced.

Mrs. Wu beside them was already laughing so hard she could barely stand straight.

"Erya! Why are you doing this to Teacher Sun again!" Mrs. Wu said, laughing as she came over, helping Sun Keke out of the awkward situation. "Don’t worry, this kid just likes to play pranks. She’s done this to all her previous teachers—her family says they’re teaching her ancient rites. Sigh, they’re just peculiar."

Mrs. Wu seemed unfazed and even helped Sun Keke inspect the gifts Erya had brought as a token of respect. One bundle contained dried preserved mustard greens, and the other was a strip of pork.

"It’s good; it would be perfect for making pork belly with preserved mustard greens." Mrs. Wu laughed and sighed. She pulled Erya from Sun Keke’s grasp and patted her shoulder. "Alright, go on home now! Go change your clothes first. You can’t wear this to school."

Erya giggled, bowed, and then turned to run away.

Seeing Sun Keke still dazed, Mrs. Wu came over, waved her hand in front of Sun Keke’s face, and then whispered, "It’s the child’s kind gesture; it’s not good to refuse it to her face. So, tonight, when you’re walking the other children back to the village, make a little detour to Erya’s house—it’s that courtyard on the hillside... Sun Keke was about to say, I’ve been there. But Mrs. Wu quickly whispered, "Take twenty yuan with you and give it to her parents. After all, as teachers, we can’t just accept gifts of meat and vegetables for free. It’s not right. Um, you have money on you, right? If you didn’t bring any, I can lend it to you first."

"I have money..." Sun Keke sighed.

Mrs. Wu stifled a laugh and patted Sun Keke’s shoulder. "It’s quite amusing, isn’t it? A pretty young lady like you probably hasn’t encountered this kind of situation before."

Actually, Mrs. Wu... I have seen it before... Sun Keke wanted to cry inwardly. Not only have I seen it, I’ve seen far stranger things! I mean, have you ever seen a soul-summoning ritual?!

"No way! I’m going to return this to her right now!" Sun Keke bit her lip and quickly chased after her. After running out of the school gate, she saw Situ Erya strolling towards home.

"Erya!"

No response.

"...Situ Beixuan!" Sun Keke reluctantly called out her formal name.

"What are your instructions, Master?" Erya immediately turned around and bowed.

Sun Keke ground her teeth! Sun Keke mentally recited the laws on the protection of minors several times. Oh, how she wanted to hit her!

Stepping in front of Erya, Sun Keke grabbed her arm. "Can you please not do that to me anymore! I don’t want people to think I’m some kind of freak, okay?"

"But the etiquette between master and disciple..."

"No buts!" Sun Keke said sternly.

"Then, when I see you, Master..."

"I’m not your Master! Just call me Teacher Sun!"

"Then the salutation..."

"No need to salute!"

"But that’s not proper..."

"Then just salute like the Young Pioneers!!"

Sun Keke felt like she was going to lose her mind. Why is everyone associated with Chen Xiaoguo so completely abnormal?!

Finally, Erya nodded her head, and Sun Keke breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the sky that wasn’t fully bright yet, and then at the school behind her, she said, "Come on, I’ll walk you home."

Erya shook her head. "No need, Mas— Teacher Sun! I can get home faster by myself. You’d only slow me down if you came with me."

"Huh?"

Erya smiled, quietly recited an incantation, then stamped her foot.

WHOOSH!

Sun Keke rubbed her eyes hard!

The kid was already five or six meters away!!

With another blink, the kid had jumped back.

Alright, so they really are all freaks, Sun Keke conceded to herself.

Sun Keke exhaled, "Do you all have this kind of ability?"

"We’ve learned it since we were kids."

Sun Keke pondered for a moment—actually, she was a little intrigued.

"This... this skill for moving so fast, does it always have to be so dramatic? Jumping five or six meters in one go?"

"Not necessarily. It’s controllable. You can go fast if you want, or cover shorter distances. It’s called the Light Body Skill."

Sun Keke thought it over. This skill seems pretty good. If I learned it, even if I couldn’t jump five or six meters, I could at least run faster in the school’s physical fitness tests.

"Is it... hard to learn?" Sun Keke asked, a little embarrassed. "If it’s a secret of your Qingyun Sect, then just pretend I didn’t ask."

Erya laughed. "Of course you can learn." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Others might not be able to, but you’re not just anyone. Our own Junior Martial Aunt—is she an outsider? Definitely not!

"I’ll teach you an incantation. I remember your spiritual power is quite good. Practice it a few dozen times, and you’ll learn it. This basic Light Body incantation mainly depends on the strength of your willpower. After practicing it dozens of times, you’ll become proficient, and then you can test your maximum leaping distance. After that, you can control your speed by adjusting the amount of willpower you channel into it. I know one shouldn’t be too conspicuous in the mundane world."

With that, Situ Erya taught Sun Keke the incantation. The incantation consisted of twelve lines and wasn’t short, but Sun Keke memorized it after hearing it just once.

"Try it now while I watch. It’s still early and no one’s around. I’ll guide you through it a few times, and then you..."

Erya was smiling as she spoke, but suddenly her face changed!

Because Sun Keke, after reciting the incantation just once...

"Master!! HOLY CRAP!!" Sun Keke screamed...

She had taken off into the air!