Yama Reborn-Chapter 520 - 517 "[Picking on You Is Picking on Me]
Chapter 517: If You Mess With Him, You Mess With Me
In the early morning, on a large tree outside the ruins of the old house, a crow that had appeared from who knows where just kept cawing "CAW CAW," an annoyingly noisy sound.
Wu Daodao, who had risen early to practice, had finally managed to enter a meditative state, but the incessant cawing disrupted his concentration, and he had no choice but to jump up and curse out loud.
His daily routine of entering meditation and circulating his Inner Breath was fixed; if he missed it once or twice, he would earn himself a session of "senior’s loving whip."
However, the tree was so tall that, although Wu Daodao tried jumping and climbing, by the time he reached the treetop, the crow had already flapped its wings and flown away, perching on another large tree and continuing its racket.
After Wu Daodao had busied himself for quite a while and was feeling helpless, he suddenly heard a WHOOSH! The sound of powerful Qi!
A pebble shot out from the courtyard. The crow squatting on the treetop instantly let out several squawks, flapped its wings, shed a few feathers, and hastily flew away.
Chen Nuo stood in the yard and saw Yun Yin casually toss aside the remaining pebbles in her hand. She turned without a word and entered the house. Chen Nuo’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he watched Yun Yin’s retreating back, deep in thought.
Today, Erya finally got her freedom and left the back mountain early in the morning to go to school.
She had taken two days off before, but attending school was the proper thing to do. After practicing for two days on the back mountain, she still couldn’t skip classes for long. So, after asking for leave from Chen Nuo and Yun Yin, she went to school.
However, they had already agreed that during these days, Erya would return to the back mountain after school every day. She would stay on the mountain, and during her free time, she would practice cultivation under the guidance of Master Yun Yin.
With Erya gone, Chen Nuo once again became the supervisor during the daytime. Meanwhile, Yun Yin, in the house, started to type on her own—her typing speed had improved remarkably fast.
After practicing for the whole morning, by afternoon, Yun Yin actually showed mercy and let Wu Daodao have the afternoon for self-study—she said it was for him to reflect on and comprehend the techniques he had learned and practiced these past few days.
Getting half a day off so unexpectedly made Wu Daodao almost weep with gratitude.
He let out an involuntary shout of joy, but just as he finished cheering, Wu Daodao immediately came to his senses. He quickly ducked his head, sneaking a peek at "Master Yun Yin." Seeing that Yun Yin had a cold expression but did not seem angry, he quickly bowed and took his leave.
He was returning to his family home in the Qingyun Sect on the front mountain!
I want to take a bath! I want to drink wine! I want to eat meat!! I want to sleep on a big bed with a mattress! I want to turn on the air conditioning! I want to eat popsicles!!
These days on the back mountain, although it wasn’t exactly roughing it in the wilderness, every day he had to sleep with the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed. For his daily needs, he could only head into the forest. For washing up, there was drinking water delivered by a middle-aged woman. But as for bathing, he could only make do with the spring water from the mountain stream.
Every day, Wu Daodao couldn’t help but want to cry! At his age, a middle-aged man, he had actually come to the back mountain to live this life of asceticism?
「 」
Watching Wu Daodao bound away, as light as a swallow, Chen Nuo couldn’t help but sigh, "You actually gave him half a day off."
Yun Yin shook her head. "Haste makes waste. His talent isn’t great, and under high pressure these past days, he’s already reached his limit. If I don’t let him loosen up a bit, he might develop resistance and become impatient and restless. His Inner Breath might then hit a bottleneck, making further progress difficult."
Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo nodded, then paused and asked, "He’s gone, so what shall we do today?"
Yun Yin looked at Chen Nuo and suddenly said, "I’m going to take a walk in the mountains."
She paused, as though hesitating, but then said to Chen Nuo, "If you’re willing, you can come along."
Before Chen Nuo could reply, Yun Yin had already flitted out of the ruined old house. Her figure landed tens of meters away, and she then slowly stepped into the forest, heading up the slope of the back mountain.
Chen Nuo thought for a moment and then followed suit.
「 」
In the afternoon, the two casually strolled through the woods on the back mountain, and without realizing it, they arrived at the mountain’s summit.
There were quite a few wild fruit trees in the mountains. Yun Yin casually picked a few wild chestnuts, peeling off the spiky green husks and holding the chestnuts in her palm.
With a casual pinch of two fingers, POP! A chestnut burst open. After peeling off the outer skin, she tossed it into her mouth.
Seeing this, Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Aren’t they too astringent eaten raw?"
As he spoke, he went over to a nearby mountain stream, gathered some fallen dry branches, and started a fire. He took the handful of chestnuts from Yun Yin’s hand and buried them in the embers.
After a short while, a fragrant aroma filled the air. Chen Nuo plucked the chestnuts from the fire with a wave of his hand, rubbed the scalding hot chestnuts to break them open, ate one himself, and laughed, "Mountain chestnuts are low in sugar, not very sweet. But they are still very fragrant." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
He then handed one to Yun Yin.
Yun Yin took it and ate it, but looked at the fire. "With this fire, it would be nice to have a barbecue here."
Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said with a smile, "That’s easy. There are many wild birds and sparrows in the mountains. Let’s go shoot some in the woods. Yes, we’ll shoot a hundred sparrows, clean them by the stream, and then roast them. That would make a ’Hundred-Bird Feast.’"
Yun Yin’s expression became somewhat somber. She shook her head, frowned, and said in a low voice, "The two of us can’t eat a hundred sparrows. Why kill so many? The birds in these mountains live their own lives and haven’t bothered anyone."
Chen Nuo looked at Yun Yin and said, "Then let’s not kill sparrows. We’ll find a rabbit warren and catch a wild rabbit. There must be rabbits in these mountains."
"Rabbits..." Yun Yin blurted out, about to say something, but then she closed her mouth, thought for a moment, and continued to shake her head. "Never mind, I don’t want to eat rabbit meat."
Chen Nuo had a hunch and continued, "Then... I remember the last time I came here, there was a bamboo grove on the south side of the mountain. Let’s go look for some bamboo shoots to roast and eat."
Yun Yin finally seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and nodded. "Bamboo shoots... that sounds good."
The two leaped up and arrived at the bamboo grove, several miles away, in no time. Once inside, they looked around for bamboo shoots.
Spiritual Force Tentacles spread out, leaving the bamboo shoots beneath the ground with nowhere to hide. In just a moment, they dug up more than ten pounds.
Chen Nuo also found a nest of bamboo rats and, seeing they were nice and plump, thought about digging them out.
Yun Yin glanced at them and showed a look of disgust. "These wild things are full of parasites. If you roast and eat them, aren’t you afraid of getting sick?"
After speaking, she turned and walked away.
Chen Nuo smiled lightly and followed behind her.
Carrying the bamboo shoots back to the stream, the fire had not yet extinguished. Chen Nuo added some more firewood, then ran to the stream to peel and clean the bamboo shoots. He cut them open, found a bamboo stick, quickly fashioned it into several skewers, threaded the bamboo shoot pieces on them, and started roasting them by the fire.
The roasted bamboo shoots were crisp and sweet, with a rich, fresh aroma.
Yun Yin ate four or five pieces in one go. Chen Nuo, beside her, didn’t compete with her, just silently kept roasting.
Eventually, he went into the stream again, caught two fish, and brought them back. He used a bamboo strip as a knife to gut and clean the fish on the bank. After scraping the scales clean, he skewered them and hung them over the fire to roast.
While Chen Nuo was gutting the fish, Yun Yin walked into the woods, but she came out again when they were ready. Chen Nuo smiled and offered one of the fish to her. She took it and, without refusing, gently bit into it.
Chen Nuo’s barbecuing skills were actually average, but as a top-notch Controller with powerful spiritual power, he controlled the heat meticulously, roasting the fish until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Although it lacked seasoning and tasted rather bland, it was still deliciously fragrant.
Without realizing it, Yun Yin ate the whole fish and then went to the stream to wash her hands.
After finishing this simple yet hearty lunch, the two casually found a shady spot by the stream to sit down.
In the noon heat of the mountains, the air was oppressive, but Chen Nuo casually controlled the air currents with his spiritual power, creating breezes that blew through the woods and dispelled the sweltering heat.
Yun Yin was looking at the stream before her and the hillsides in the distance, lost in thought, when Chen Nuo, beside her, suddenly seemed to speak on impulse, his voice low, "Doesn’t this mountain resemble Mount Langya, the one we visited on the school spring trip back then?"
"Yeah, it does..." Caught off guard, Yun Yin subconsciously uttered three words. Then, she suddenly realized what she had said. Her face changed, and she looked at Chen Nuo with wide eyes full of surprise.
Chen Nuo looked at "Yun Yin," his gaze becoming increasingly tender. Finally, he let out a soft sigh, reached out to touch her cheek, and gently called out, "Keke."
"Yun Yin" stared dumbfounded at Chen Nuo, allowing that detestable fellow’s hand to touch her cheek. Eventually, her eyes turned red, and tears began to fall. "You, when did you realize?"
"I noticed this morning. That crow outside the courtyard was squawking loudly. You dealt with it but didn’t kill the feathered pest; you just scared it off and let it fly away. I’ve had dealings with that woman Yun Yin. Though she’s not evil, she’s cold-hearted and ruthless. How could she be so compassionate? When we came into the mountains, you stopped me from shooting sparrows, wouldn’t let me catch rabbits, and you couldn’t even bear for me to kill the bamboo rats, making up that excuse about wild animals having parasites. That woman Yun Yin would never be so kind-hearted. So soft-hearted... that could only be my gentle Fatty Sun."
As Chen Nuo’s voice grew gentler, Sun Keke finally burst into tears with a WAH!
She grabbed Chen Nuo’s hand tightly, crying so hard that tears and snot flowed freely, shaking her head and shouting, "It’s not an excuse! Wild animals really do have parasites! Bamboo rats are so plump and pitiful, why would you want to eat them?"
Chen Nuo gently patted the back of School belle Sun in his arms.
Hmm... if she’d just added ’Rabbits are so cute, why would you want to eat rabbits?’ it would have been perfect, he mused.
Sun Keke continued to cry, wiping her tears on Chen Nuo’s sleeve. Eventually, in her vexation, she grabbed his sleeve and wiped her runny nose on it too.
Chen Nuo gave a wry smile and didn’t struggle, just letting the girl vent all her grievances in his embrace.
He took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, opened it, and handed it to her, saying softly with a bitter smile, "If you keep wiping on it, this shirt will be unwearable. I’ll have to wash it myself when we get back."
Sun Keke shook her head, crying even harder. "I don’t care, I want to cry! I’m just going to cry!! It’s been so miserable here! Every night, I have to sleep in that broken house with mosquitoes!!"
"Didn’t you light mosquito coils and spray insect repellent?" Chen Nuo comforted her.
"But the ground is so hard to sleep on... WAH!!"
"Also, I want to take a bath! I haven’t bathed in so many days! WAH..."
"There are so many snakes in the mountains! And under the ruins of that old house, I can hear rats and snakes moving around! I’m so scared I can’t sleep at night! WAH..."
As Sun Keke cried louder and louder, gasping for breath, Chen Nuo helplessly wrapped his arms around the girl.
Indeed... she had really suffered.
Although Sun Keke wasn’t from a wealthy family, she had grown up in the city, pampered by her parents.
To use a phrase from twenty years in the future: who isn’t a precious baby?
These days, with her body seized by Yun Yin, living in the ruins on the back mountain and exposed to the elements, she had truly endured hardships she’d never faced in her life.
"But at that time, wasn’t Yun Yin controlling your body?" Chen Nuo asked.
"She was controlling it, but my consciousness was always there," Sun Keke replied, her sobs subsiding as she explained softly, "I was actually always awake. I could see and hear everything around me, I just didn’t have control over my body."
"So you knew I was here from the first day I came?"
"Yeah, I knew the moment you arrived. I could see you, hear you talking to her. But I couldn’t say a word; I couldn’t even control a single eyelash," Sun Keke shook her head.
Chen Nuo asked curiously, "What happened today, then? Why was she suddenly so generous as to give you back control of your body?"
Sun Keke was silent for a moment before shaking her head. "I don’t know either. Last night, she suddenly told me, in my consciousness, that she needed to rest today. She would return control of my body to me for one day, and at nightfall, she would take it back. That’s why I..."
Listening to this, Chen Nuo also felt puzzled, not understanding Yun Yin’s intentions. But at that moment, he wasn’t concerned with pondering those reasons and whispered, "Then why didn’t you tell me this morning? You even tried to hide it from me all day."
Suddenly, Sun Keke’s body shuddered. She forcefully pushed Chen Nuo away with her arms and lifted her head, looking at Chen Nuo with eyes full of a quiet sorrow. "If I told you... then, how could I face you? With what identity should I face you, Chen Nuo? As an ex-girlfriend?"
Chen Nuo stopped talking.
"Every time we meet now, it hurts, you know that," Sun Keke said, her eyes reddening again.
Chen Nuo took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking softly, "Actually, I..."
"No." Sun Keke covered Chen Nuo’s mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with resentment as she whispered, "You’re just going to say you’re sorry to me again, or something like that. I don’t want to hear you say that."
She turned her head to look at the sky, then gently shifted and leaned her body against Chen Nuo’s shoulder. "Chen Nuo, from now on, don’t say a word, okay? Just let me lean on you like this. We’ll just sit here, not talking about anything, saying no words, just quietly leaning on each other, until the day is over—just like this, until it gets dark."
Chen Nuo’s gaze turned complicated. He finally nodded gently, allowing the girl beside him to snuggle against his shoulder.
In the mountain ravine on a late afternoon, by the stream, amidst the lush forest, a young man and woman nestled together in the shade of a tree.
Viewed this way, it seemed like quite a beautiful scene.
However... unfortunately, some people who look perfectly human just happen to have mouths they can’t keep shut.
They had been nestling like this for less than half an hour.
"Um, there’s something I actually want to say."
"...Chen Nuo... you... sigh, alright, what do you want to say?"
"Weren’t you complaining that you haven’t showered in days?"
"...Ah!" Sun Keke suddenly sprang away from Chen Nuo, her face panicked. "Do I, do I stink?"
"No, no, no, not at all, you don’t smell at all," Chen Nuo said with a bitter smile. "Yun Yin’s strength is not much less than mine. At her level, if she wishes, she can use Telekinesis to cleanse her entire body of dust, so no grime accumulates. Even if you don’t shower for many days, you won’t get dirty or stinky."
"Then you?"
"What I mean is, don’t you want to take a shower? It’s only afternoon now, and we still have plenty of time today. She won’t be back until tonight. Why don’t we take this opportunity to go down to the town, find a hotel or inn, so you can have a nice, thorough shower?"
Sun Keke fell silent. After a while, she looked at Chen Nuo with flushed cheeks and a peculiar look in her eyes. "Chen Nuo, you... you’re not planning to trick me into getting a room, are you?"
"Of course not," Chen Nuo quickly denied, but could only spread his hands in a roguish gesture. "...So, are you going or not?"
"...I’ll go!"
After all, for a girl of Sun Keke’s age who hadn’t bathed in more than ten days, the word "shower" possessed a magical allure.
「 」
In the small town about three miles from the village.
At the entrance of the town’s only state-owned bookstore, Seed, whose curly hair had been shaved into a buzz cut, carried a backpack and wore a brand new primary school uniform, complete with a red scarf around his neck.
He was also holding the hand of his designated ’father.’
They had just picked out a set of primary school composition books and a mathematics workbook from the bookstore.
Seed took a vanilla ice cream bar from the freezer at the entrance of the bookstore and smiled at Brother Lei, giving him a nod.
Brother Lei immediately paid enthusiastically.
"So... where shall we go next, sir?"
"I’ve told you, don’t call me sir. Call me ’Dad,’" Seed said, biting into the melting ice cream bar and shaking his head. "I’m not a Huaxia person, so ’sir’ sounds strange. Plus... didn’t I tell you that from now on I’m going to treat you very seriously as my father?"
Brother Lei gulped hard.
Alright, there had indeed been a talk about ’taking the father-son relationship seriously’ last night. But dare I believe it?!! What the heck is wrong with this big shot?! Supposedly even more capable than Lord Nuo! Is he going around the world looking for fathers or what?! He doesn’t even realize what went wrong in his head, wanting to recognize me as his dad. What if he changes his mind in a couple of days and, in a fit of embarrassed anger, slaps me to death? And what’s with him, seriously? There’s no afternoon class at the elementary school today, so he drags me to town, saying we’re going to the bookstore to buy books! My heavens! Even buying essay collections! Buying exercise books! Has he become addicted to being an elementary student?!
Just before, prior to visiting the bookstore, he had made Brother Lei take him to a barber shop in town to get his hair cut short.
He said his teacher had mentioned that his curly hair was too long and didn’t adhere to the student behavior standards.
Thus, under Brother Lei’s terrified gaze, the old town barber took his clippers and shaved Seed’s long curly hair into a buzz cut!
Little did the barber, who had lived in the town for half his life, know he had unwittingly achieved a frightening feat! The top-notch powerhouses of today’s world, the other Seeds, even if they fought to the death with all their might, might not have been able to harm a single hair on Seed’s head. Yet, he was effortlessly shorn by an old town barber with a pair of clippers.
Seeing Brother Lei still looking terrified, Seed let out a sigh. "You can really relax a bit, Dad."
If you didn’t call me Dad, I’d feel more at ease!! Brother Lei felt exhausted in his heart.
Seed narrowed his eyes at Brother Lei. "So, calling you ’Dad’ makes you uncomfortable?"
"Yeah!!" Brother Lei nodded—he wasn’t surprised that the other possessed something akin to mind-reading abilities, having witnessed it these past couple of days.
"Then, I’ll use a different title. How about I call you... ’Pops’?"
Please don’t!! Brother Lei jumped.
"Old Man?"
I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy!!
Seed sighed again, but then his eyes suddenly lit up. "How about I call you ’Old Wu’? I’ve heard that many sons call their fathers that."
Brother Lei hesitated for a moment.
Old Wu... Alright then, Old Wu. It was acceptable, at least less terrifying than being called ’Dad’ repeatedly. If he kept calling me Dad, I was afraid I’d need to take some emergency heart pills.
Seed glanced at him and shook his head, speaking with ease, "Don’t worry, Old Wu. With me by your side, you don’t need any emergency heart pills. As long as you’re near me, even if you wanted to die, you couldn’t. There is no force in this world that can kill you. Anyone who messes with you is messing with me!"
Brother Lei was utterly speechless.
Okay then... Although I have no idea why this big shot is taking this role-playing game so seriously... Even though I know this father-son thing is fake. But... what he said... It still feels pretty damn good!
Just then, Seed suddenly poked Brother Lei and lifted his chin with a smile. "Look, Old Wu. Across the street!"
Brother Lei looked up to see diagonally across the street in town.
At the entrance of the best hotel in town...
Chen Nuo and that girl, Sun Keke, shoulder to shoulder, were slowly walking into the hotel lobby...
Brother Lei’s expression suddenly became bizarre!
What the heck? Did I just see... Lord Nuo and that Keke girl going into a hotel to book a room?!
