Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

In front of the milk tea shop.

Jiang Ning looked at the old man's retreating figure. He appeared normal on the surface, seemingly just chasing the man away.

In reality, he had planted a Spiritual Sense Imprint on him early on.

Unless the man left Yuzhou overnight, he would never escape Jiang Ning's tracking.

Before, when he had used Divine Sense to observe the old man, Jiang Ning noticed his skilled approach and feared this wasn't his first offense.

The area wasn't exactly remote; if the man really took the little boy away, he would surely bring him back, but what might happen in the meantime was unpredictable.

Don't think that only little girls who are harassed will be scarred—little boys can also carry those scars for a lifetime, which is an extremely humiliating experience.

Jiang Ning could have set up some small magic to discreetly deal with the man, but there was no need. When dealing with such evil individuals, most of the time, he preferred to show up at their doorsteps and deal with them with his own hands using violence.

Turning his thoughts back, Jiang Ning handed the bag back to the little boy:

"Where are your parents?"

The little boy knew that the big brother in front of him was a good person, having chased away the bad old man who tried to steal his backpack.

He answered honestly, "They're at home."

Xue Yuantong was curious, "What do your parents do for work that they don't come to get you so late?"

When she was as tall as the little boy, her mother would always come to pick her up no matter how busy she was.

The only time she was neglected was during military training at the start of her freshman year when her mother went back to the countryside to help, and she didn't bring her phone. Left with no choice, she had to spend the night in the classroom; fortunately, she encountered Jiang Ning.

After pondering for a while, the boy replied, "They play mahjong."

Xue Yuantong was puzzled.

Is playing mahjong considered work?

...

"Bye-bye, brother and sister."

The little boy sat on the back seat of the electric scooter, waving at the two of them.

Jiang Ning held a big yellow mango, a gift from the little boy's mother to thank them for helping her son.

Not only Jiang Ning had one, Xue Yuantong also held a big mango in her hand.

Jiang Ning had just recounted the event to the little boy's mother. She was terrified and then extremely angry, wishing she could find the old man right now and give him a good thrashing.

However, the old man had run off earlier, and unless she called the police, it would be difficult to locate him.

After this scare, she knew she couldn't let her child come home alone anymore.

After saying goodbye to the mother and son.

Jiang Ning touched the mango and activated his Spiritual Power to clean it.

Then Xue Yuantong saw Jiang Ning reach over and place the big mango behind her hat.

Xue Yuantong puffed her cheeks, "It's a bit heavy."

She felt her clothes sagging.

"How else am I supposed to push the cart without weight training today?" Jiang Ning indicated his cup of milk tea; he needed one hand free to push the cart.

"Fine." Xue Yuantong wasn't unreasonable. If she didn't let Jiang Ning push the cart, they would just stand still.

Xue Yuantong still liked to drink milk tea while walking home.

She glanced at the sky; the streetlights by the road had come on. Her mother knew she went to the snack street to play with Jiang Ning, so she didn't call to ask.

Xue Yuantong held a mango in her left hand and milk tea in her right, with another mango tucked in her hat. As if restricted by a spell, she no longer jumped and skipped as she walked but became more ladylike.

"Jiang Ning, I heard there's a tug-of-war at the sports festival." Xue Yuantong waved the mango in her left hand.

"Uh-huh." Jiang Ning nodded. He knew about it, having participated in the sports festival before.

This year's sports festival had more events than usual, with tug-of-war included.

Divided into male and female groups by class.

Unlike in the past, high school seniors wouldn't participate, as they were busy with college entrance exams.

However, this year, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the school's founding, Fourth Middle School invited numerous distinguished alumni to return, and high school seniors were allowed to participate exceptionally.

Therefore, tug-of-war was unfair with all three grades competing.

Jiang Ning remembered how the boys' group from their Class 8 had performed rather ordinarily and were eliminated not long after they started.

Xue Yuantong shook her milk tea and took a big sip, declaring:

"Jiang Ning, just wait and see. I'll show you how strong I am!"

Jiang Ning glanced at her small frame and said nothing.

It seemed that the girls from Class 8 had once won a prize in tug-of-war, but Pang Jiao and the others had done the heavy lifting, not Xue Yuantong.

Xue Yuantong immediately understood what Jiang Ning was implying and said angrily:

"You look down on me!"

"Hehe, did I say that?" Jiang Ning leisurely pushed the cart.

Xue Yuantong endured the weight of the mango in her hat and jogged up about three meters in front of the mountain bike. Then she turned around, facing Jiang Ning while walking backward, and confidently said:

"Your expression, your words, your behavior, it all shows you look down on me!"

Jiang Ning responded, "You're just guessing. I didn't."

However, Xue Yuantong had seen right through Jiang Ning. She was hurt that even Jiang Ning, whom she trusted so much, didn't believe she was strong.

"I don't want to talk to you." Xue Yuantong walked backward, pouting at him, letting him see what she was capable of.

Jiang Ning finished the last sip of his milk tea and pushed it forward:

"Throw this away for me."

"Oh, right away." Xue Yuantong ran back and threw away the milk tea cup for him.

Jiang Ning was very pleased, "Good, get on, let's go home."

...

The nights in Hui Province in April carried a chill.

But Jiang Ning had set up a warming Array at the door.

Jiang Ning was lying on the lounge chair, covered with a small blanket, resting his head on a pillow, looking up at the crescent moon and the stars scattered across the sky.

Xue Yuantong brought a slightly smaller chair over, curled up in it, huddled against Jiang Ning's lounge chair.