Yama Reborn-Chapter 513 - 510 [About Me...]

Chapter Five Hundred and Ten: Me, As a Person...

"HISS!!! Ow, ow, ow!!"

Chen Nuo, with his upper body bare, lay on the bed moaning and groaning. He couldn’t resist turning his head. "Are you putting medicine on my wounds, or are you torturing me... HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!"

Suddenly, his tone changed, and he shouted at the top of his voice, "Lu Xixi! What are you doing! What’s that in your hand! Put it down!!"

Lu Xixi’s eyes narrowed to slits. She stood at the bedside behind Chen Nuo, holding a stick in her hand that, from its thickness, looked suspiciously like a leg from the dining table in the living room.

What made Chen Nuo’s scalp tingle even more was that the Star Sky Empress held a bottle of iodine in her other hand and was pouring it onto the stick.

"W-what are you doing! Trying to hit me? I’m injured, you know!"

Lu Xixi curled her lips. "A stick plus iodine, hitting and disinfecting at the same time—no delay!"

As she spoke, she raised the stick to strike Chen Nuo’s back. Chen Yanluo lunged up and stuck himself to the ceiling, exclaiming, "Lu Xixi! Have you gone mad? I..."

Lu Xixi shook her head. "Not really mad. How many times have I told you? You should tell me everything; don’t keep secrets from me.

"You, however, keep me in the dark about everything, big or small, and go about handling things by yourself.

"If you could handle it, that would be one thing. But you can’t, and I end up being the last to know.

"Do you still consider me your wife? Do you still see me as the mother of your daughter?"

As she spoke, Lu Xixi’s eyebrows shot up, and a murderous aura flashed in her eyes.

Seeing Lu Xixi approaching with the stick raised, Chen Nuo’s eyes widened, still wanting to argue.

Lu Xixi said softly, "Hubby~ Be good, don’t struggle. Just come here and let me hit you a few times. I’m really full of anger tonight with nowhere to vent. Hitting you a few times will make me feel better."

"But I’m injured!"

"It’s fine. The Self-Healing Serum is a slow-release medication; its effects last for two days. I’ll hit you here, and it’ll heal over there."

Chen Nuo shook his head. "If you need to vent, why should it be you hitting me with a stick? Why can’t I hit you with one instead?"

Lu Xixi’s face flushed when she heard this. Then, she gritted her teeth. "Still talking such crazy things to me at a time like this! Chen Nuo! You’ve hidden things from me so well!"

With that, she swung the stick at him.

Chen Nuo sighed. A thought crossed his mind, and in the end, he didn’t dodge. Just as the stick was about to land on his shoulder, it suddenly stopped, merely brushing his skin before being withdrawn.

Chen Nuo smiled and looked up. "It seems you still can’t bring yourself to hit me..."

Suddenly, his mouth closed.

He saw Lu Xixi before him, her eyes already red, two streams of tears silently trailing down her cheeks.

Chen Nuo was stunned for a moment, then sighed softly. He leaped onto the bed, pulled Lu Xixi into his arms, and casually took the stick from her hand, tossing it aside.

He caressed the Star Sky Empress’s hair and said softly, "You said you wanted to hit me to blow off steam. Why are you crying instead?"

Lu Xixi shook her head. "Chen Nuo, how many times has it been?

"Hm?"

"How many times has it been? Whenever you run into any problem, you never tell me!"

Chen Nuo fell silent.

"The first time, when you went to Japan, you were looking for Xicheng Xun, rescuing her, and dealing with the Truth Society. And what happened? I had to chase you all the way to Japan to find you.

"The second time, you went to South America and infiltrated that Octopus Monster organization’s expedition team to investigate that matter. You also kept it from me. I had to disguise myself as a Japanese woman to sneak in and help you. If I hadn’t arrived in time, could you and that old good-for-nothing Son of the Sun really have been a match for Seed?!

"The third time, you went to Antarctica! That bastard Davarishi came begging me for help. I didn’t agree, but you ran off on your own. And then how long were you missing? I searched for you like a madwoman all over the world!

"Let’s not even talk about those major incidents.

"I know what you’ll say. You were worried about my safety. Whether it was South America or Antarctica, those matters were significant and dangerous. You didn’t want me to worry; you didn’t want me to know...

"But what about the minor things?

"Even when Luo Qing’s father, Luo Dachanzi, was assassinated—something like that—you didn’t tell me and tried to solve it yourself. It was only when I went to the hospital that I found a clue!

"Chen Nuo!

"You are my husband! I’ve even borne you a daughter!

"But whether it’s a major issue or a minor one, whenever something comes up, you keep it all from me? Am I some kind of useless person? Or do you see me as just an ordinary person who can’t help with anything at all?

"Chen Nuo! If we’re talking about strength, you might not even be able to beat me!

"And this incident tonight is the same. Sun Keke transformed into that state, and however many days it’s been since it happened, that’s how many days you’ve hidden it from me! If you hadn’t caused such an uproar fighting The Fourth Seed, I’d probably still be in the dark!

"Do you even consider me your wife at all?"

Chen Nuo fell silent.

Lu Xixi spoke softly, "Was it because Sun Keke was the one who had the accident, so you thought I’d be unhappy and secretly kept it from me?

"Do you think I, Lu Xixi, am such a petty person?

"Sun Keke’s heart was entirely devoted to you before. When you were in trouble, she wished she could trade her life for your safety. During the time you were missing in Antarctica, seeing her state, even I felt sorry for her. I’m a woman, I get jealous, but I’m not someone who can’t distinguish right from wrong!

"She had an accident, and you went to save her, to help her. Do you think I would stop you? Would I get angry with you over this?

"Is that what you think of me?"

Chen Nuo pursed his lips and said in a low voice, "Actually... I really didn’t think that. There’s another reason I didn’t tell you about this. It’s not because of Sun Keke."

"Then is it because of yourself?" Lu Xixi took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "If you suddenly realize that you still like Sun Keke... I won’t make a big scene or do anything to you. I can quietly take our daughter and leave Jinling. I’ll go live in my own home in London."

Chen Nuo frowned and shook his head firmly, gripping Lu Xixi’s hand tightly. "It’s definitely not what you’re thinking!"

"Then what is it?"

Chen Nuo’s mind was in turmoil.

What was it?

How should he answer?

Should I say it’s because you actually met me when you were five and even took me as your master? That you died in 1982, and a major enemy of mine, to scheme against me, stole someone else’s body and shoved your soul into it, all so I would meet you twenty years later, become your lover, and you would become my fetter?

Should I say that you’ve actually been dead for twenty years, that you’re, in fact, one of the living dead?

Should I say that if you wanted to be benevolent, you should kill yourself and return this current body to Yun Yin?

Could he say that?

Could he say that?!

「·」

"I’m sorry, I can’t tell you."

Yun Yin looked at the middle-aged woman before her and shook her head. "This matter doesn’t concern you. There’s no point in you knowing."

Then, she turned and gazed at the ruins in the distance.

"I used to go to that library tower when I was little. Back then, my father was still the Sect Leader. I still remember the first incantation I learned. He was in the library, sitting at his desk, and I went to cause trouble. He then lifted me onto his lap, and I sat there, listening to him recite it to me, phrase by phrase..."

As she spoke, a faint light shimmered in Yun Yin’s eyes.

"...The first spell I learned, when I was three, was using the Fire Conjuring Technique to light a candle. I was so young, and it was my first time learning it; I nearly set the bookshelf on fire. Father didn’t scold me. Instead, he happily hugged me, lifting me high. Father said I was a genius, that the Yun family had a worthy successor, and that I would definitely become the Sect Leader of Qingyun Sect one day."

The middle-aged woman had walked up behind Yun Yin and said in a low voice, "Ordinary children at three can’t even write or do arithmetic, yet you had already learned a spell. You truly are a genius."

"HMPH! By the time I was four, I had learned all the sect’s basic spells. At five, I could already perform introspection! Father said he was only able to perform introspection when he was eleven, and my talent surpassed his by a whole level!

"Back then, I was the treasure of the entire Qingyun Sect, the Sect Leader’s cherished daughter, the heaven-sent prodigy of Qingyun Sect’s future.

"Every face I saw was a kind, gentle smile. When anyone spoke to me, they showered me with care and gentle goodwill! HMPH!"

The middle-aged woman couldn’t help but ask, "And then?"

"And then?" Yun Yin smiled faintly. "Then, when I was five and a half, Father died."

The middle-aged woman was taken aback. Her lips moved, but she said nothing more.

Yun Yin said softly, "After Father died, Qingyun Sect got a new Sect Leader. The new Sect Leader was my clan uncle. As for his strength... HMPH! If Father had been alive, he could have crushed him with one hand.

"When Father was still the Sect Leader, he was extremely respectful and obedient towards him. He also tried every means to curry favor with me. I remember every time he went down the mountain to the town and returned, he would bring me tasty treats, just to make me happy.

"I always thought he was an uncle who liked me very much.

"But right after Father died and he became the Sect Leader, from the day after Father’s burial, I was placed under house arrest!

"From that day on, I never entered this library tower again.

"I was locked in a small residence in the back courtyard, forbidden to take even half a step outside!

"He told everyone that because of Father’s death, I was overcome with grief, plagued by melancholy, and my mind was in turmoil, so he locked me in the back courtyard to ’protect’ me...

"Such a clumsy lie! A lie that wouldn’t even deceive a three-year-old child.

"Yet, in the entire Qingyun Sect, with over a hundred members at the time, not a single person stood up to say even half a word against it!

"Every smiling face that once looked at me turned cold, or looked away in fear and avoidance!

"How ridiculous... I knew I was very good-looking even as a child.

"But back then, the way they all looked at me—with fear, avoidance, even annoyance... I almost started to think, could it be because I was ugly?!

"I was confined to that small courtyard. Every day, all I could do was stand within its walls and look up at the sky...

"Do you know how many nights I woke up crying?"

The middle-aged woman pondered for a moment. "According to the sect records, after Patriarch Yun He passed away, the one who took over the sect was Patriarch Yun Yao... Since he was Patriarch Yun He’s clan younger brother, logically, he shouldn’t have been so..."

Yun Yin smiled faintly. "Because some people are narrow-minded, shallow, and biased in their thinking—in a word, foolish!

"When a person is foolish, they will come up with foolish explanations and perceptions for things they cannot understand or accept.

"In truth, he had always been very jealous and resentful of my father.

"Both were disciples of the Yun clan, but his innate talent was far inferior to Father’s from a young age.

"My father cultivated the orthodox path of the sect, progressing by leaps and bounds. But he quickly hit a bottleneck and couldn’t advance an inch for many years. Later, he could only resort to cultivating unorthodox spells.

"He thought Father had some exclusive cultivation methods and once sought guidance from him, but he didn’t get the results he wanted from Father.

"So, he concluded that Father must have some secret manual but refused to impart it to him, thus harboring jealousy and resentment in his heart.

"What a laughable fool.

"In this world, there are intelligent people and foolish ones, people with high talent and low talent. Something you can’t learn, someone else might grasp with just a glance.

"It’s not that he didn’t understand; of course, he could grasp such a simple principle.

"But he was hateful and jealous. He refused to face this reality, so he could only find an excuse to deceive himself.

"Believing that Father had a secret manual and wouldn’t pass it on to him was more comforting than admitting he himself was an idiot."

The middle-aged woman listened, rolled her eyes, but then nodded in agreement. "True. There are too many ignorant and bigoted people in this world."

"Back then, he also thought that a genius like me, who could learn spells from a young age, must have been given some secret manual by Father. So, he tried every means to find out what it was from me.

"But what secret manual could I possibly have?

"I told him I didn’t have any; they were just ordinary spells. I could understand seventy to eighty percent of them after looking them over once. As for the mental cultivation method for introspection, I could easily enter a meditative state after reading it three times.

"But he didn’t believe me.

"He wasn’t even willing to admit he was stupider than my father.

"How could he possibly admit he was stupider than a five or six-year-old child?

"But that fellow was very hypocritical. He didn’t dare openly torture or coerce me.

"After all, I was Yun He’s daughter. If he, the new Sect Leader, were to abuse and torture a child like me, it would make him appear base and despicable.

"So, he locked me up and forbade the sect disciples from easily approaching me.

"He forbade anyone from showing me a kind face.

"Every day, he would interrogate me and reprimand me.

"If any disciple delivering my meals spoke even half an idle word to me, he would fly into a terrible rage.

"Do you know how he would punish *me* when he was angry?"

The middle-aged woman frowned. "Beat you?"

"Of course not. He wanted to maintain his virtuous reputation; how could he beat me in public?

"He would drag the disciple who spoke to me before me, tie them up, and whip them until their skin split and flesh was exposed. Then, he would force me to watch from the side, not allowing me to look away. Afterward, he’d make me admit my ’mistake’—that I had violated sect rules, gone against his ’kind intentions’ to protect me, and spoken nonsense to the sect disciples...

"Just like that, everyone in the sect, even those who brought me my meals every day, would absolutely never say a single word to me!

"Do you know? For a very long time, I was locked in that small courtyard. In the entire Qingyun Sect, with over a hundred people, there wasn’t a single person who would speak a word to me!

"In the sect, the only person who would speak to me was him!

"I even slowly learned to talk to myself, to have conversations with myself."

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes and said angrily, "If what you say is true, this Patriarch Yun Yao... was truly a despicable bastard!"

Yun Yin smiled faintly. "Later... the influential disciples in the sect discovered a pattern: if someone who interacted with me—who brought me food or came to the courtyard to clean—treated me coldly, he would be very pleased.

"So, everyone began to follow their example.

"To curry favor with him, the Sect Leader, those who could have treated me normally became increasingly cold.

"And in their eagerness to curry favor with the Sect Leader, things escalated.

"Seeing others treat me with indifference pleased him. So, some began to treat me with deliberate harshness.

"Seeing others treat me harshly pleased him. So, some began to treat me even more cruelly."

The middle-aged woman’s chest heaved, anger surging within her. "Those people... You... you were such a small child back then, you..."

"Don’t worry. I actually didn’t take any of it to heart.

"I certainly never thought of suicide.

"I was a genius from a young age; I matured much earlier than others.

"Whether others were cold, harsh, or cruel to me, I paid it no mind at all.

"His occasional coercion and such, I simply endured it stoically.

"I only held onto one thought in my heart: I had to properly master everything Father had taught me!

"As long as I mastered it, became as powerful as Father—or even more powerful than him—then everyone in Qingyun Sect, those more than a hundred people, those more than a hundred faces, would once again become the smiling faces I once knew so well."

As she spoke, Yun Yin shook her head and smiled faintly. "I originally thought that if I practiced secretly for perhaps a little over ten years, it would be enough. I thought I’d have to endure for over ten years.

"But then, something completely unexpected happened."

"What?"

"When I was just over six years old, one night, I was taken away. A very powerful individual sneaked into Qingyun Sect and, without anyone noticing, secretly took me away."

The middle-aged woman frowned. "Was it... a friend of your father’s from when he was alive? Did they learn of your plight and come to rescue you?"

"Of course not." Yun Yin glanced at the middle-aged woman. "Are you a fool? I was confined in the back courtyard, completely cut off from any news or contact with the outside world. Everyone in the sect, from top to bottom, obeyed that uncle of mine. Besides, I didn’t know any of Father’s friends from outside.

"Where would some old friend of Father’s come from to rescue me?"

"Then it was..." The middle-aged woman looked puzzled.

"That person was extraordinary. He was very powerful, very, very powerful! Even more powerful than my father.

"But I won’t tell you much more about this matter.

"In short, after he took me away, I stayed by his side. He taught me many things and also helped me cultivate the various cultivation methods Father had left behind.

"A few years later, I returned to Qingyun Sect, back to this place."

As she spoke, Yun Yin suddenly smiled. "After I left Qingyun Sect, I never read the sect’s records. I wonder, how do the records say Yun Yao died?"

The middle-aged woman was stunned for a moment. After a brief thought, she slowly said, "It seems... Patriarch Yun Yao was on an outing in the mountains one autumn day when he was attacked by a wild beast, fell from a mountain, suffered severe injuries, and died as a result."

"Fell from a mountain?"

Yun Yin murmured softly, then looked up and around, her gaze falling on a distant mountain peak. "Yes, it was that peak.

"No, that’s not quite right... It wasn’t on the peak itself, but rather a few hundred meters above it, in mid-air, I’d say.

"I dragged him out in the middle of the night, broke all four of his limbs, and then threw him down from there.

"He was terrified back then. I still remember the sound of his bloodcurdling screams as clearly as if it were yesterday."

After a pause, Yun Yin took a deep breath. She looked quietly at the middle-aged woman and said with a low laugh, "Me, as a person... if I have a grudge, I will definitely repay it."