Yama Reborn

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP...

Chen Nuo felt as if he could hear his own heartbeat.

TICK, TICK, TICK, TICK...

The second hand of the wall clock in the room was ticking.

Ambiguous? Ambiguous my ass! I'm terrified!

It was still fresh in his mind how Lu Xixi had tossed Boss Guo to the ground earlier that night and whipped him with a tree branch until he spun like a top.

Chen Nuo blinked. "...Wait, what did you just call me?"

Lu Xixi blinked back. "...Huh? What did I just call out?"

Chen Nuo felt his mind was a mess. He didn't know that, at this very moment, Lu Xixi's mind was even more chaotic!

Those captivating eyes stared at Chen Nuo—but they clearly weren't quite focused.

A bit dazed, a bit mesmerized, a bit bewildered.

It was like someone with a moderate tolerance for alcohol who had downed two bottles of Jiang Xiaobai, let it settle for half an hour, and then stepped outside only to be hit by a gust of wind.

In her dreams, she constantly heard a coarse, hoarse woman's voice shouting "husband."

Waking up on a whim, Lu Xixi saw the man before her, still touching her backside.

Naturally, she blurted out, "Husband?"

With a question mark.

Chen Nuo was dumbstruck!

What husband? Where did this husband come from? How did 'husband' come into it? According to the usual script, when the Empress wakes up, shouldn't she ask, "Where am I?" or "Who are you?" In this lifetime, Chen Yanluo and the Empress haven't even met face to face yet. I know you're crazy! But I didn't know you were crazy enough to call someone 'husband' upon first meeting!

After a few stunned seconds, the haze in Lu Xixi's eyes gradually cleared, and they began to focus.

"Where is this place?"

Hmm, that line was correct!

But the next line...

"Who am I?"

Huh? Shouldn't she be asking, "Who are you?"

Chen Nuo was even more dumbfounded.

Chen Yanluo stared at the Star Sky Empress in disbelief, his hand still resting on her butt. He'd forgotten to move it!

Lu Xixi's mind was a muddle. Countless questions leaped up, but none had an answer.

How had she woken up in an unfamiliar room?

Why was there an unfamiliar man beside her, still touching her backside?

Why did she dream of a woman's voice continuously calling 'husband'—was that voice her own?

Then came the ultimate classic philosophical questions:

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

"I... I can't remember anything?" Lu Xixi looked at Chen Nuo, panicked and helpless, her eyes captivating.

Chen Nuo didn't say anything—he didn't know how to respond!

The more anxious Lu Xixi became, the more violently she clutched her hair. "I... I can't remember... Who am I? I…"

Chen Nuo sneakily tried to withdraw his hand, but the moment his fingers twitched, Lu Xixi grabbed his wrist.

"You... Do you know?" Lu Xixi's voice trembled. "You recognize me, you know me, right? Where is this place?"

"Er, you don't remember anything?"

"No! First, tell me, where is this place!" Empress Lu was on the verge of frenzy, her composure about to shatter.

Chen Nuo felt the woman's aura surge dramatically! The confusion in her eyes was gradually morphing into rage!

Murderous intent!

A brutal aura!

CRACK!

The mirror on the wardrobe in the room suddenly shattered!

With her mind in turmoil, Lu Xixi's power began to erupt uncontrollably!

Storms seemed to form in the woman's eyes! Suddenly, with a flick of her wrist, Chen Yanluo was sent flying from the bedside, his body slamming against the wall. As he struggled, Lu Xixi had already leaped from the bed, appearing before Chen Nuo in a flash!

Those slender hands shot out and seized Chen Nuo's throat, her voice icy and wild. "Tell me now!! Who am I!! Who are you!! Where is this place!!!"

Empress Lu then added, "And why were you touching me while I was asleep?!?!"

Her fingers tightened like hooks! Chen Nuo felt his breathing constrict.

Chen Yanluo's Psychokinesis began to resist instinctively. He clasped Lu Xixi's wrist, trying to forcefully pry her hand off…

Under the force of Psychokinesis, Lu Xixi's hand felt as if it had been shocked and was flung away! Chen Nuo seized the opportunity to twist and dodge, but Lu Xixi reacted with lightning speed, grabbing his shirt. With a RIP, a perfectly good T-shirt was torn asunder!

Chen Nuo slapped Lu Xixi's hand away and, with a backhand, tried to grab her wrist. But Lu Xixi rammed her head into his chest, pinning him against the wall once more. Then Chen Nuo felt Lu Xixi's hands on his shoulders, and suddenly, his world spun.

"Eh?!"

A shoulder throw!

Chen Nuo was flung directly onto the bed. The thick Simmons mattress immediately disintegrated, even the springs inside snapping!

The bed frame cracked with a loud CRUNCH and collapsed to the floor.

Lu Xixi had already straddled Chen Nuo!

A glint of ferocity flashed in Chen Nuo's eyes as he struck out with his palm. Lu Xixi didn't dodge, allowing it to land squarely on her shoulder.

Lu Xixi staggered but quickly wrapped her legs around Chen Nuo's waist. They rolled on the ruined mattress. Chen Nuo couldn't struggle free and remained pinned beneath her.

Lu Xixi grabbed one of Chen Nuo's hands, forcefully pressing it to the bed, while her other hand once again seized his throat.

"Speak! Who are you exactly!! Who am I!! Are you a bad guy? Were you trying to harm me while I was asleep?!"

Chen Nuo's power erupted fully, but due to the difference in their levels, Lu Xixi completely suppressed him!

Lu Xixi's eyes twitched wildly; she was clearly in an uncontrollable state.

Chen Nuo's throat was constricted, and his breathing grew increasingly difficult.

Damn, this old woman is really strong! I can't beat her right now… Damn it, she's trying to kill me!

"I…" Chen Nuo gasped, nearly spitting out his tongue.

I can't freaking speak!

"You're a bad guy! You must be a bad guy!!" Lu Xixi's fingers continued to tighten.

A fierce light flashed in Chen Nuo's eyes. Suddenly, a burst of power erupted from his body, and Lu Xixi, sitting on top of him, was violently flung away! She flew up to the ceiling, smashing the chandelier to pieces!

The two masters simultaneously unleashed their true power.

BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG...

The wardrobe mirror, unable to withstand the pressure, was the first to shatter!

When Lu Xixi landed, she pushed herself up with her hands. Before she could even steady herself, she snatched a flying shard of the mirror and, with a backhand motion, thrust it at Chen Nuo!

Chen Nuo cursed inwardly. He rolled up the bedsheet, using his Telekinesis to form it into a staff...

SLASH! The sharp mirror shard, empowered by Empress Lu's strength, sliced off a section of the cloth staff!

SLASH, SLASH, SLASH, SLASH, SLASH...

In the cramped room, the two exchanged seven or eight blows in an instant. When Chen Nuo looked at the cloth staff in his hand, only a tattered end remained!

Damn, I can't beat her!

In the end, Chen Nuo was once again caught by Lu Xixi and pressed against the wall, the sharp glass shard of the mirror poised at his throat!

"Die, you villain!!"

Hey! Hold on! Just a minute ago, you were calling me 'husband'!

"Wait!!" Chen Nuo promptly conceded. "I'm not a bad guy!!"

The shard moved away by a centimeter.

"Then speak!! Who am I!!!"

"Your surname is Lu! Lu, as in Sika Deer! Your birthday is September 7th! You like spicy hot pot and frozen yogurt! You hate cilantro!"

Her hand loosened a bit more.

Lu Xixi stared at Chen Nuo. "I... my surname is Lu... Hmm, seems like it... Then who are you? Right! And why did you touch me earlier?!?!"

At that thought, the glass shard pressed closer again.

"I..." Chen Nuo's eyes darted around for a moment before an expression of utter sincerity and profound tenderness filled his face.

"I am your husband."

"...Ah..." Lu Xixi gasped softly, her grip loosening. "Then, what is this place?"

"This is my home... ah, no, it's our home."

CLACK!

The glass shard in her hand fell to the ground and shattered.

Lu Xixi seemed to have all her strength drained from her. She plopped down onto the floor, kneeling, her hands covering her face.

"I... why can't I remember anything... I can't remember anything..."

Chen Nuo was silent for a few seconds, his expression shifting several times before finally settling into the earnest, harmless face of a young man, his gaze overwhelmingly sincere.

Chen Yanluo squatted down, looking at the Star Sky Empress.

"Don't worry. Let me... make something up... Ah, no, let me slowly explain everything to you."

What if I hadn't claimed to be her husband? If I'd been a second slower just now, that shard would have pierced my throat!

"We've been married for over a year. Everything was fine before, but then you developed a problem with your mind, and you started having these... episodes, these fits of madness, every now and then.

Sigh, I couldn't do anything about it either.

Sometimes you'd have an episode every two or three days, sometimes once a day... Each time an episode hits, you lose your memory, can't remember anything, and treat me like a stranger. Then you smash everything in the house to pieces."

"Ah... I... I'm really like that...?" Lu Xixi held her face, looking innocently at Chen Nuo.

"Yes! Exactly!"

They were now sitting in the living room. Chen Nuo pointed to the TV and air conditioner.

"You see, these appliances are new, right?

But look how old our house is! An old house like this, where did all these new appliances come from?

Because the old ones were all smashed by you during your episodes."

"Er..." Lu Xixi looked somewhat terrified. "I... I'm that bad?"

"Sigh, you can't be blamed," Chen Nuo said softly. "It's an illness; it's not your fault. It's just that... our family was already short on money... Sigh, and Dad is sick too.

If you don't believe me, look, Dad is still lying in the next room!"

"Ah!"

Lu Xixi leaped up and ran to the other bedroom, pushed open the door, and peeked inside.

In the dim light, she indeed saw an older man lying on the bed.

Behind her, she heard the anxious voice of this man who claimed to be her husband.

"Dad had a stroke... To pay for his treatment, our family's finances were already very tight...

And you keep smashing things...

It just makes things worse for our already struggling family!"

Indeed, there was a faint smell of medicine in the room.

She started to believe him a little more.

Could this person... really not be a bad guy? That's right... What kind of bad guy brings a girl to his own home, especially when there's a sick family member there... It doesn't make sense.

"But... but am I really your wife? Are you really my husband? Do you... have proof?

Photos?

Oh, right! We must have wedding photos and our marriage certificate, right?"

Chen Nuo, his face looking world-weary, took out a cigarette pack and lit one for himself.

He took a drag before saying, as if it were nothing,

"Sigh, they're gone, all gone... A few months ago, during one of your episodes, you threw them all in a fire and burned them."

Lu Xixi became a little skeptical. "Then... then how can you prove you're my husband?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then leaned in close and whispered in Lu Xixi's ear, "On your body... um, right on your... there's a red birthmark, about the size of a grain of rice."

Hearing this, Lu Xixi blushed and bolted into the bathroom.

A moment later, she walked out looking dazed, her legs a little weak.

"I... I really am your wife... You really are my husband?"

"Isn't that so."

Empress Lu sat down, struggling to process the chaotic thoughts in her mind...

"Then, what is my name, actually?"

"Your name is Lu Xi..." Chen Nuo started, then he suddenly remembered changing her clothes earlier that night... He decisively changed his words.

"Your name is Lu Yiyi."

Hmm, C doesn't suit you. E is more like it.

Empress Lu heard this, a hint of confusion in her eyes.

Lu Yiyi? It sounds so familiar... Indeed, she vaguely felt her surname was Lu. And her given name seemed to be made of two identical characters.

She remained silent for a long time...

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes...

The woman started to cry, tears streaming down her face.

Her heart ached with a sense of grievance and terror, laced with deep guilt.

Finally, Lu Yiyi raised her head. "Um... you..."

"What?"

"H-Husband..." Lu Yiyi stammered, her face flushing as she spoke softly,

"Husband... I... I'm sorry."

"Mm, it's okay. Just don't do it again."