Yama Reborn

["This chapter has 5,500 words. I was thinking whether or not to write another 500 words to round it up to 6,000 and then split it into two chapters…

After some thought, I decided to just post it as is.

There's more coming tonight."]

·

Old Jiang turned out to be Fu Sheng...

This was something Chen Nuo had never expected.

He felt somewhat remorseful.

Initially, scamming Life Need Not Be So Troublesome was just that, plain and simple.

First off, what kind of good people could there be on the Octopus Monster's website? They were all part of the Underground World, making money through murder, arson, and grand theft. If you dragged them out and lined them up, shooting them one by one would hardly wrong a few good men.

The users of this kind of website, if you conned them, you conned them. What was there to feel guilty about?

Secondly… those four hired killers were all personally taken care of by Chen Nuo himself. Fu Sheng had only acted as a decoy. Handing over 500,000 US dollars without fooling him would have already been very conscientious of Yama, not to mention that he even got off work early.

But now…

Fu Sheng turned out to be Old Jiang.

That changed everything.

Chen Yanluo wasn't exactly a saint, but he had one principle: protect his own people.

He could be ruthless to outsiders, but he had always been exceptionally good to his own.

Taking his sister all the way home, Chen Xiaoye clearly noticed that her brother was somewhat distracted and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, are you daydreaming?"

"Hmm?"

"That lady just now, she sounded so nice when she sang."

Chen Nuo stopped walking, crouched down, and touched his sister's hair. "That wasn't singing; that was performing opera. Well, actually, it was Taiping lyrics." He paused, then asked, "Do you like it?"

"…I do."

"Then, I'll take you to her place again to play, and she can sing for you, okay?"

"Sure!"

After all, she was just a kid. To say she really liked it was perhaps an overstatement, but going out with her brother was always a delight.

·

Old Jiang was looking after Song Qiaoyun as she calmed herself. As the medicine took effect, Song Qiaoyun's strained gaze finally softened, and gradually, little by little, she regained her senses.

Sweat beaded on the woman's forehead, and after taking a few deep breaths, she looked somewhat self-reproachful. "Old Jiang, did I make a fool of myself in front of your student…"

Old Jiang smiled, turned around, picked up a hot, wrung-out towel, and gently wiped his wife's face.

Then he spoke softly, "Not at all! Chen Nuo even said you were good and wants to hear a full performance next time. That kid's sharp; next time he comes, we really should sell tickets."

Song Qiaoyun's lips twitched slightly as she forced a weak smile. "That boy does have a good heart. Ah… Old Sun is really lucky."

"Not necessarily. I've heard that Yang Xiaoyi isn't satisfied with Chen Nuo… We've been family friends for so many years. You know Yang Xiaoyi's character—proud and demanding. It's unlikely she'd look favorably on Chen Nuo."

Song Qiaoyun lowered her head and pondered. "That… I think the boy Chen Nuo is quite good. He even came to pay his respects today. If in the future… I mean, if something comes up with him and Keke… if you can help, please do. They're good kids."

Old Jiang smiled and stayed silent but took the towel, went to the bathroom to rinse it with hot water, and brought it back for his wife. "Wipe your face again; a hot compress will help you recover faster."

Looking at her husband, Song Qiaoyun saw a surge of tenderness on his rather average face. She whispered, "Ah, you've also suffered because of me. All these years by my side… I've only been a burden to you."

After a pause, Song Qiaoyun said, "I quite like that boy, Chen Nuo. And his sister, I like her too; such a sweet young girl…" As she spoke, her eyes reddened.

Old Jiang let out a sigh. "…You're overthinking again. Don't do that; stop your wild thoughts."

"All these years with this illness, I haven't been able to give you, Old Jiang, a son or a daughter... I, I just get envious when I see other people's children, especially when little girls are so adorable."

Old Jiang's eyes also reddened. He placed one hand on his wife's shoulder and with the other, he rubbed his wife's somewhat dry hair, speaking softly, "It's alright. Over the years, I've lost that eagerness too. Kids or no kids, let's not dwell on it. We're getting older. Besides, if we don't have kids, we only have to worry about ourselves.

We don't have to fret about dowries or wedding houses either.

And there's no need to worry about some hog uprooting the good cabbage we've raised.

Look at Old Sun: He's been so worried about Keke these past couple of years that his hair's gone quite white."

His playful tone in the last two sentences managed to bring a smile through Song Qiaoyun's tears.

Song Qiaoyun rested her head on Old Jiang's arm. "I think that Chen Nuo... he somewhat resembles you when you were young.

You remember, don't you? When my father first heard I wanted to be with you, he couldn't have disliked you more."

Upon hearing this, Old Jiang's brows arched. "How can he compare with me?

I completely charmed your father back then!

In the end, didn't he gladly give away his daughter and even pass down his most treasured skills to me?

I hit the jackpot, getting both the girl and her father's skills!"

Song Qiaoyun looked up at her husband and murmured, "Yes, all the skills you possess, yet they've been held back because of me. Instead of soaring high, you're confined to teaching at school and taking care of me, a madwoman, every day."

"What nonsense are you talking about!"

Old Jiang gently patted Song Qiaoyun.

"Soar where... The Jianghu is treacherous; capsizing happens when you least expect it. When I was young, didn't I also go out and make my mark? But which year didn't I end up with two or three serious injuries? My skills are impressive to ordinary people, but thrown into the real Jianghu, I'm just a small fish. Facing any big shot, I'd have to kneel.

Now, teaching is a good job. No going out looking for trouble; the Jianghu is far behind. These years have been peaceful, and I find this life quite fulfilling.

If it weren't for the lack of money, I wouldn't have gone out to take on jobs.

Luckily, it's just in Jinling City. If it were somewhere else, I wouldn't even consider it."

After pausing, Old Jiang stroked his wife's hair and said softly, "Once this deal is done, I can rest for a year or two. The 500,000 US dollars should be enough for our family's medicine for the next two to three years.

It's just that some medicines are too rare and precious; even with money, they're hard to come by. I'm worried about this."

"Don't go out anymore. The last time you went out for work, I was trembling with fear, always worried that something might go wrong."

"I won't take any more jobs; I'm scared too," Old Jiang said softly. "I don't have the heart for Jianghu anymore. I'm also afraid that if anything happens to me—this Jianghu is too dangerous—if I encounter a disaster and die out there... I'm not afraid for myself, but what about you? With your illness, you wouldn't have anyone to take care of you."

At this point, Old Jiang couldn't help but sigh, his tone becoming complex. "You know, the job I took on this time, I encountered a tough opponent! I slaughtered all four of the rivals in one go! I was the one who disposed of the bodies.

The skill of the other side wasn't bad; one of them exchanged a few moves with me. They were quite strong.

It was in that fight that I injured my back.

The client even shorted me; I was quite angry about it.

But thinking about those four bodies I dealt with at night, one of them the person I fought, whose neck was twisted right off!

Thinking of this, all my anger subsided, and I swallowed it down.

This Jianghu, it's too dangerous!"

Song Qiaoyun's face was full of worry. "Then let's not go out anymore! You just teach diligently, and I'll stay at home. If we don't have money, then we don't have money. If my illness can't be cured, then so be it; we'll just manage it. If we can't buy the medicine, we'll use cheaper ones... We can get by like this."

The old couple chatted idly for a while.

To cheer up his wife, Old Jiang joked, "Today you sang 'Legend of the White Snake' for that kid Chen Nuo. I came home late and missed it. It's been a long time since you sang, and I really miss it. Why don't you sing a bit of 'Persuading People to be Kind' for me, to satisfy my craving and indulge me a little."

Song Qiaoyun's eyes filled with tenderness, but she gave her husband a sideways glance and said softly, "Sing what? There are days ahead for singing. Didn't you hurt your back while working? Did you buy the medicated plaster? Bring it here so I can apply it for you and give you a good rub."

·

We'll leave the old couple's affectionate talk there.

Back to Chen Yanluo, who pulled Xiao Yezi home, first got some water for Xiao Yezi to drink, then took out the kindergarten homework for Xiao Yezi to draw.

Chen Nuo then turned his head to enter the room and took out his laptop, logging into the account "Ardent Pyromaniac."

Then, he looked for the account "Life Need Not Be So Troublesome"…

·

That same evening, before going to bed, Old Jiang logged into the website. As soon as "Life Need Not Be So Troublesome" went online, he noticed a fund transfer message.

[System Prompt: You have received a transfer of 120,000 US dollars. This transaction is anonymous...]

Old Jiang was stunned.

What's going on?

[You have one anonymous message.]

When he opened it, the message read:

[Friend, my account was hacked before. I owe you 120,000. It has been transferred; please check.]

Old Jiang: ?????

Hacked? Do you really expect me to believe that? What kind of twisted sense of humor is this?! Are you just toying with me??

But deep down, he was happy.

Regaining the lost 120,000 US dollars—almost a million in Huaxia Currency.

Old Jiang had no choice.

The expenses at home were just too massive.

For Song Qiaoyun's illness, Old Jiang had sought out a master who provided a prescription, but some of the ingredients were exceedingly precious.

Just the cost of medication for a year could be over a million.

It wasn't just the medicine for treating her illness and managing her mental state; due to Song Qiaoyun's long-term sickness, her body had other issues and was severely depleted. To replenish her vitality, she needed to take lots of expensive tonics.

It wasn't only Song Qiaoyun who required medication; Old Jiang needed tonics too.

He often had to exert internal energy to perform acupuncture on Song Qiaoyun, which led to severe depletion. Even with half a lifetime of martial arts cultivation, having reached the level of a first-class master, he could not withstand such a drain on his vitality. So he too needed regular nourishment.

Otherwise, his body would have collapsed long ago.

Martial artists inherently consume a great deal; the saying "the poor cultivate letters and the rich practice martial arts" reflects the high expenses involved.

All things considered, the annual household expenses amounted to a staggering figure.

Therefore, though Old Jiang had retired from the Jianghu, he still had to take on a job every two years to earn a windfall.

Otherwise, they simply couldn't keep going.

·

Time flew, and by mid-May, after the long vacation was over, Chen Nuo resumed his usual routine.

However, he occasionally skipped school classes, yet he never missed a single session at Old Jiang's tutoring class.

He even took his sister Chen Xiaoye to Old Jiang's home to freeload meals a couple of times on weekends, picking times when Song Qiaoyun was feeling well.

He even pleaded with Song Qiaoyun to sing a couple of full-length traditional songs for him and his sister.

Unable to resist Chen Nuo's insistent, thick-skinned requests, Song Qiaoyun sang for them, and Chen Nuo listened with great relish.

Auntie Song's foundation lay in traditional singing arts, truly an old-school practitioner with solid skills.

Singing was not enough; Song Qiaoyun was especially fond of Xiao Yezi and even told the little girl two solo comic monologues, making her clap her hands with joy.

Chen Nuo became increasingly familiar with Old Jiang's family and managed to learn about their situation—no wonder Old Jiang and Old Sun were friends; they both had kind hearts.

Indeed, the quality of friends one makes reflects one's own character.

Speaking of which, Old Jiang's devotion to his wife, who sometimes went through bouts of madness, was unwavering over the years as he took care of her with great attention and never left her side.

What is this called? This is called mutual support and comfort!

That is true character!

·

That morning, before dawn, Chen Nuo got up early and peeked into the next room to see that Chen Xiaoye was still asleep.

Chen Nuo went downstairs, jogged along the road, and bought a bag of freshly fried dough sticks. He ran toward a section near an old city wall not far from the school.

This place was a small grove, essentially a natural green mini-park.

Early in the morning, many elderly men and women were already there, strolling or practicing boxing.

Walking into the grove, Chen Nuo saw an old lady leaning back and forth against a tree, and an old man walking around with hands on his hips, moving briskly while calling out with a hearty "HEI-YA! HA-YA!"

This was called practicing one's breath.

Indeed, there were also people practicing Tai Chi in the distance.

After looking around for a while, Chen Nuo found Old Jiang.

Old Jiang stood under a tree, next to the base of the city wall, with a small open space beside him.

He was clad in a traditional Chinese jacket with a Mandarin collar, made from plain hemp rather than the pretentious silk material used by people like Li Qingshan.

He wore cloth shoes with layered soles.

There Old Jiang stood, maintaining his stance with quietude.

Chen Nuo watched Old Jiang practicing his breathing without disturbing him, simply standing by with a bag of dough sticks.

After a moment, Old Jiang moved.

He executed a boxing routine with graceful movements.

It looked ordinary, but Chen Nuo could see a special quality to it.

With each step Old Jiang took, there was a gust of wind, and his clothes fluttered. A set of ordinary Tai Chi that old people practiced in the park was performed by him with an increasingly ethereal and transcendent aura.

As the practice continued, it gave the strange impression that as he moved, he could almost levitate and rise into the air.

As Old Jiang finished the last movement and steadied his breath, Chen Nuo called out,

"Good!!"

Old Jiang's body shuddered, and as he opened his eyes and looked into the distance, he saw Chen Nuo's grinning face.

Old Jiang felt somewhat uneasy inside—the more time he spent with this young man, the more he felt that Chen Nuo was like a doggedly persistent piece of sticky candy.

All smiles and always hovering about.

With secrets of his own, Old Jiang was genuinely wary of this youngster.

How did he find his way here today?

Chen Nuo approached with a smile.

"Old Jiang, your boxing is truly beautiful."

"How come you're here? So early in the morning."

Chen Nuo shook the bag of dough sticks in his hand. "I came out to buy breakfast and stumbled upon you practicing boxing."

As he spoke, he drew closer.

"Hey Old Jiang, which boxing style is that?"

"Tai Chi."

"So you're a martial arts master?"

"What do you mean, master? I'm just an old guy practising Tai Chi. Do you think I'm Zhang Sanfeng?"

"Don't say that; I've seen Li Lianjie do it in movies, but it wasn't as good-looking as yours."

"What do you know about what looks good or not?"

Chen Nuo looked at Old Jiang with a beaming smile. "How about you teach me?"

"...I won't teach!"

·

That evening, Chen Nuo made his way into Old Jiang's home.

He brought a case of "Jianzhuang" liquor—interestingly, this drink would no longer be available twenty years later.

And a piece of cured meat, a bunch of celery, and a package of lotus seeds, red beans, dates, and longan fruits.

Old Jiang's face was still stern, but his heart warmed at the sight.

Ho? This is what one might call the Six Gifts of Apprentice Ceremony!

A child who understands the old ways!

This touched right on the ticklish spot in Old Jiang's heart.

Who was Old Jiang? A man full of skills, with an old-fashioned style, who also carried a bit of aloofness and pedantry.

Just look at the internet username he chose: Life Need Not Be So Troublesome.

Quite literary indeed.

A language teacher, huh.

Setting aside whether he would accept the student or not, the manner and sincerity Chen Nuo displayed truly made someone like Old Jiang, with his old-school ways, feel...

Comfortable!

What's more...

"If you don't accept, I'll start coming over to mooch off your meals every day starting tomorrow! Even if you don't open the door, Auntie Song won't let me starve."

With a shameless smile, Chen Xiaoguo laughed.

Old Jiang sighed.

After all, they had gotten to know each other over the past few days. On one or two occasions when Old Jiang couldn't get away from school at noon, it was Chen Nuo who came over to take care and watch over Song Qiaoyun during her episodes.

With this sort of familiar foundation...

Teaching boxing...

Chen Nuo pulled out a red envelope with a beaming smile, directly opened a drawer on the coffee table, and threw it in.

"I've already paid my tuition fee."

Old Jiang blinked. "Really want to become a disciple?"

"Yes."

"Then are you going to kneel and kowtow to me?"

"Eh? What about my tuition fee? Wait, let me get it back..."

"Hey! You little brat!" Old Jiang hurriedly stopped him, stingy and reluctant. "Well... there should be no problem with you kowtowing to our ancestral master, right?"

"...Alright then."

Chen Nuo honestly didn't want to kowtow to Old Jiang.

According to his age in his past life, Old Jiang was only a few years older than him. Why the need to kowtow?

Have you ever seen Yama kowtow to someone?

What do you think you are, the Jade Emperor?

Uh... better not mention that, just in case Auntie Song hears and has an episode thinking she needs to summon Buddha.

Right next to him, Song Qiaoyun watched and chuckled, finally stepping in to mediate. "Old Jiang, the kid wants to learn, just give him some pointers."

Saying that, Song Qiaoyun directly pulled open the drawer and took out the red envelope. It felt quite thick upon touching it, and she frowned slightly. She pushed it back into Chen Nuo's hand. "I'll make the decision. It's just teaching you a set of boxing moves; what tuition fee? Take it back! If you don't take it back, don't bring your sister along to listen to the opera next time."

Old Jiang looked helplessly at his wife.

After sending off Chen Nuo, Song Qiaoyun, ever so thoughtful, took Old Jiang aside for a quick word.

"Kids are fond of fun and novelty. Maybe he saw some movie and wanted to learn boxing; just casually teach him something to make him happy—that's fine. But you mustn't teach him any real fighting techniques! Boys can be hot-headed when they're young; don't let him learn something for fighting and then go out and cause trouble! I really like this kid; don't bring him harm."

Old Jiang sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll listen to you. I'll teach him some basic stances and pass on to him an introductory method for cultivating Inner Breath. That should do, right?"

Song Qiaoyun thought for a moment, nodded gently, and said, "That's reasonable."

·

But who would have thought, the very next morning during boxing practice, Chen Nuo caused another mess!

"Old Jiang, I brought Zhang Linsheng with me! He got jealous when he heard me talking about learning boxing yesterday, and he bugged me so much to teach him; he insisted on coming with me."

Next to Chen Nuo, Zhang Linsheng stood there blankly, completely confused.

What? I bugged you?

Wasn't it you who called me at midnight, forcing me to wake up early and come to this little park with you?

Brother Haonan felt a bit wronged.

"Old Jiang, since it's all about taking on students, teaching one is the same as teaching two. Look at Brother Haonan; he might just be a martial arts prodigy. Just take him in as part of the bargain."

Chen Yanluo said, while pushing the still dazed Brother Haonan and deliberately tripping him up with a sneak move underneath.

THUMP!

Brother Haonan stumbled and directly knelt on the ground.

·

Old Jiang was completely flabbergasted.

In the end, Chen Nuo used a reason that no Chinese people could refuse, making Old Jiang, with a pinched nose, agree to also teach Brother Haonan boxing.

This reason was called:

"Since you're already here."

·

As for the nonsense Chen Nuo spouted about Brother Haonan possibly being a martial arts prodigy... such slick talk.

After half an hour of teaching, Teacher Jiang stared at the completely befuddled Zhang Linsheng in front of him.

What kind of martial arts prodigy was this?

This guy was just a complete blockhead!

Brother Haonan's thoughts: Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?

·

[Just asking, do you have any monthly tickets left? If you do, give them to me. If not, just enjoy reading the book.]

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