Cui Zhiyong had never endured such an unbearable dinner before.
“That rabbit was fast, but it probably couldn’t see well at night, ran into a tree, got stunned, and that’s how I got lucky and caught it. Otherwise, coming empty-handed for a free meal would be way too awkward.”
The black-haired youth to his right swung his legs, grinning as if he’d said something casual, then suddenly seemed to remember something and awkwardly looked toward Cui Zhiyong.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean you.”
Cui Zhiyong, who had come empty-handed for a meal: “…Haha, it’s fine.”
The black-haired boy didn’t mind at all and turned his face toward Shu Xiumei.
“By the way, Auntie, my knife skills are pretty good, right? In with a clean cut, out with blood—it’s super fast. But with blood splattered on my clothes and face, I always feel like some kind of psycho killer, hahahaha!”
Cui Zhiyong, genuinely thinking the boy was talking about killing people, struggled to swallow a mouthful of rice.
Guo Li, watching nearby, shoveled food crazily into his mouth, pretending to be deaf.
Shu Xiumei helplessly picked up a piece of meat and placed it into Chu Xiuyan’s bowl.
“Don’t laugh so much while eating, you’ll choke.”
The boy promptly shut his mouth and obediently lowered his head to eat.
Shu Xiumei glanced between Cui Zhiyong and the boy, sensing a strange atmosphere between them.
But since she didn’t know either well, and was unsure how to ease the tension, her son suddenly lifted his head from his bowl with a blank expression and said, “Ah, rabbit meat is so delicious. I wish I could eat it again tomorrow.”
The exaggerated tone carried a weary sense of being dragged along unwillingly.
Shu Xiumei, knowing her son well, slowly turned to the black-haired boy.
Chu Xiuyan withdrew the foot he’d been nudging the boy under the table and gave her an innocent look.
***
After dinner, Chu Xiuyan didn’t linger at Shu Xiumei’s house.
After saying goodbye, he left with light steps.
Cui Zhiyong leaned against the doorframe, his face serious as he warned Shu Xiumei and Guo Li to stay away from Chu Xiuyan.
“He’s too dangerous! I can’t even guess what he’s thinking!”
Guo Li scoffed, “He just wants to mess with you.”
Cui Zhiyong ignored the comment, repeated his warning, then cautiously followed the black-haired youth from a distance.
Shu Xiumei and Guo Li stood at the doorway, watching the two walk along the narrow path—one strutting with hands behind his back like a street punk, the other skulking behind walls suspiciously. Neither knew what to say.
Then Guo Li said, “Mom, if they come again next time, just chase them away with a broom. I’m afraid they’ll lower my IQ, after all, I’m just a kid.”
Shu Xiumei pinched the boy’s cheek and sighed, “Don’t say things like that… but yeah, something’s off. Tomorrow I’ll ask the Village Chief what’s going on.”
The Village Chief didn’t know either.
The Village Chief wanted to run away.
But he couldn’t.
Just as he stepped out of his home carrying a bag, he ran into Chu Xiuyan returning from dinner, with another figure stealthily trailing behind.
Zhang Chun pretended not to notice and calmly greeted Chu Xiuyan, “You’re back?”
“Yeah.”
Chu Xiuyan looked at the bag in his hand. “What’s that? Going out?”
“Dinner, for the Village Entrance Dog,” Zhang Chun replied.
Chu Xiuyan was silent for a moment, then hesitated.
“That dog at the village entrance is fierce but hasn’t bitten anyone. That’s not a death sentence.”
Zhang Chun: “…I didn’t say the food in that bag was made by me.”
“Are you calling that pile of black mysterious stuff food?!”
Chu Xiuyan’s face turned pale.
The moment Zhang Chun raised his fist, he immediately screamed and dashed back inside.
Zhang Chun watched the boy’s retreating back, shaking his head helplessly before heading toward the village entrance.
But barely two steps later, a hand suddenly reached out from the shadow of a wall and yanked him aside.
“Zhang Chun, that black-haired bastard clearly means trouble! He’s provoking me so openly, and you’re just ignoring it?”
Hiding behind the wall, Cui Zhiyong’s blue-green eyes blazed with anger.
Zhang Chun sighed, “So, has he actually done anything wrong?”
Cui Zhiyong was speechless.
“I’ve told you many times, water-based superpowers aren’t good for long-range surveillance. Cui Zhiyong, how many times has your [Eye] fooled you?”
Cui Zhiyong frowned.
“There’s water vapor in the air too. If I can control water, why can’t I use earth like you use your eyes?”
He scratched his head, then suddenly sobered.
“Almost let you change the subject. Anyway, I still think that boy is suspicious. Don’t stop me.”
Zhang Chun opened his mouth but found no words and gave up.
“Do as you please, but don’t drag others into this.”
“Got it!”
So, Cui Zhiyong prepared his little yellow book and a blank notebook, ready to meticulously observe and record everything the boy did that day, swearing inwardly to find proof of his malicious intent!
***
The next morning at seven, Zhang Chun woke up and found a familiar figure squatting on his roof while he was washing up.
He leaned out the window and looked up, about to speak, but Cui Zhiyong frantically gestured to stay silent.
“Alright.”
Zhang Chun rubbed his brow and returned inside, then knocked on Chu Xiuyan’s door across the way.
“I’m making noodles. Want breakfast?”
No response.
Zhang Chun waited patiently.
After a minute or two, a sleepy voice inside muttered, “Not hungry.”
He then signed to Cui Zhiyong on the roof, who also shook his head.
“Okay then.”
Failing again to find a breakfast companion, Zhang Chun decided to go out and mooch a meal from Old Wang.
Cui Zhiyong was resolute on the roof, frequently shifting his gaze from his little yellow book to the house below.
But gradually, impatience grew. Even the little yellow book failed to hold his attention.
Isn’t it almost nine?
Still not getting up?
He started thinking.
As the sun slowly climbed overhead, Cui Zhiyong’s spirit began to wane. Sitting cross-legged on the roof, his body swayed.
Even villagers passing by greeted him, but he lacked the energy to respond.
Near eleven, Chu Xiuyan finally woke, stretched, and stepped out, planning to visit Auntie Shu’s house for some food and then take Guo Li out to play.
He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a heavy object dropped behind him with a muffled groan.
Turning around, he saw nothing, puzzled for a moment before dismissing it.
In a hidden corner of vision, Cui Zhiyong covered his mouth and shakily stood up, clutching a wall for support.
His numb legs nearly gave out.
“No, I can’t… for the village’s safety…”
He spotted the boy’s figure disappearing from sight, gritted his teeth, and limped after him.
A dozen minutes later.
Chu Xiuyan sat in Auntie Shu’s living room, enduring a long scolding about “not staying up late” and “eating breakfast is good for your health,” nodding obediently.
By just after noon, he swallowed an egg in one bite, gulped water hastily, then grabbed the boy who had just finished the last bite of rice, mumbling, “Auntie, I’m taking my little brother out to play!”
Guo Li, wildly struggling, screamed, “Let go of me! I don’t want to go out and play!!”
Shu Xiumei gently said, “Be careful while playing. Don’t hurt yourself. Remember to come back for dinner.”
Guo Li continued screaming, “What?! That bastard liar’s coming to our house for dinner again tonight?!”
Shu Xiumei’s smile froze.
She bent down, pinched the boy’s cheek hard, and lowered her voice, “What do you call him?”
“Yun, Little Brother Yun.”
Chu Xiuyan laughed wildly. “Hahahahahaha.”
In Guo Li’s imagination, going out to play meant wandering around the village, teasing ants by the gate, or playing hide-and-seek in the fields.
Until the black-haired boy dragged him running wildly toward the deep mountains behind the village.
Guo Li: “The back mountain is dangerous! Why are we going?! Help—”
Chu Xiuyan: “To catch rabbits!”
Guo Li: “But you said you caught the rabbit by the village entrance?!”
“Come on, if I told the truth, Auntie would scold me to death.”
Guo Li started struggling desperately, trying to call for help.
Yet the villagers they met all thought they were just fooling around, cheerfully saying, “Ah, little Guo Li is finally getting lively.”
Guo Li: “?”
In any case, the two ended up deep in the mountain.
The towering trees were lush, their dense canopies blocking the sunlight, casting dappled shadows.
The cool, slightly damp forest air was mixed with various scents that surprisingly lifted one’s mood.
Guo Li deadpanned, “My mood just dropped into an abyss.”
“Ha, don’t be like that, Little Guo-chan. Big Brother’s taking you on an exciting adventure.”
Guo Li had lost his father early, and his mother struggled to survive with him in various places until they settled in Huangshi Settlement, where life improved.
Because of this, Guo Li was always a sensible, obedient child, more inclined to help his mother than play.
Being dragged into the back mountain was his first real adventure.
He nervously followed Chu Xiuyan, muttering, “There are tigers, bears, and wolves in the back mountain. Let’s go back quickly.”
Chu Xiuyan’s eyes gleamed.
“I want to touch the fur of tigers, bears, and wolves!”
Guo Li: “Ahhh, next time I go out with you I’ll be a dog!”
Then, resigned, he followed the boy, watching him poke through bushes looking for bugs, pick up poisonous mushrooms from the ground, and throw stones at birds in the trees—all gleefully entertained.
At this moment, Guo Li actually felt like he was babysitting a mischievous kid.
He was just crouching, catching his breath, when he looked up to see the black-haired boy climbing a tree trunk, holding a branch and poking at a beehive in the canopy.
Guo Li’s pupils dilated in shock.
“What are you doing?!”
Chu Xiuyan was startled, pushed hard with the branch, and the whole beehive wobbled before crashing to the ground.
A loud buzzing filled the air, and thumb-sized yellow hornets swarmed in front of them.
“Oh wow, big hornets.”
Chu Xiuyan exclaimed.
Before Guo Li could react, his vision blurred and his body was lifted up.
The scenery rushed past at high speed.
Chu Xiuyan ran with the boy clutched in his arms, his face radiant with joy.
“Ahahaha! I’ve never been chased by bees before! What do we do? Hide in the water to escape?”
“Or fight them—”
Suddenly, the running boy stopped, turned to face the thick, writhing swarm of hornets, thought for a moment, then decisively gave up and sprinted away.
Cui Zhiyong, hiding in a nearby bush reading his little yellow book, suddenly noticed a shadow overhead and looked up to see a massive swarm of hornets, their stingers glinting coldly.
He froze instantly.
“Ah—!!!”
After running a while, Chu Xiuyan stopped, seeing no hornets behind, and put Guo Li down with delight. “I caught a big hornet!”
He proudly showed Guo Li the hornet in his hand as if it were a trophy.
“I think I just heard a scream behind us, but it must’ve been my imagination. No one would be stupid enough to come to the back mountain looking for trouble like you.”
Guo Li, utterly hopeless: “By the way, those aren’t ordinary bees. They’re huge and vicious… let’s kill it quickly.”
“All right.”
Chu Xiuyan pinched the hornet with his thumb and forefinger and crushed it.
Seeing this, Guo Li said, “…That’s gross. Wait, what are you doing? If it’s gross, don’t kill it with your hands! Don’t wipe it on me, you bastard!!”
Escaping the swarm, Guo Li thought he wouldn’t be surprised anymore.
Even when Chu Xiuyan took a straight, meter-long branch as a sharp sword to poke at a flying ant nest, Guo Li just sat expressionless nearby pulling weeds.
As the sun dipped westward, Chu Xiuyan thought the day’s adventure was enough and prepared to take Guo Li back down the mountain.
At that moment, a malicious gaze made Chu Xiuyan uneasy.
Turning, he saw a terrifying figure in the woods—not far off.
A brown bear, standing over three meters tall, massive and bulky.
Chu Xiuyan stopped and locked eyes with it.
The bear stood upright, seemingly observing.
It slowly lowered its front paws to the ground.
Though its body was hidden by thick foliage, the rustling sounds told of it charging toward Chu Xiuyan at terrifying speed.
Guo Li hadn’t noticed the bear yet.
Seeing Chu Xiuyan stop, he was puzzled.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say we were going back…?”
He followed Chu Xiuyan’s gaze just as a deafening roar exploded nearby.
His instincts forbade him from looking for the source.
His heart pounded fiercely.
“Hey, what was that noise just now?”
Guo Li clutched Chu Xiuyan’s sleeve, voice trembling, head bowed low.
“Nothing. Just a not-so-cute little dog.”
Chu Xiuyan grabbed Guo Li by the collar and lightly tossed him behind as the brown bear burst out of the bushes again, roaring ferociously.
Its huge body almost blocked out all the light.
As it pounced from above, bloodied razor-sharp fangs gleamed clearly.
Guo Li looked up at Chu Xiuyan from the ground and immediately went blank.
Fear, terror, helplessness froze him. He couldn’t even scream.
The black-haired boy stood beneath the bear’s fangs.
Compared to the bear’s terrifying bulk, his already small frame seemed even more fragile.
Guo Li saw the bear’s paw raise high.
In his mind’s eye appeared the boy covered in blood, a grim scene, and a scream burst from his throat.
“Run—”
Hearing Guo Li’s desperate cry, Chu Xiuyan almost turned to look but forcibly held back.
Because there was a stalker hidden nearby, and Zhang Chun surely watching from afar, he wasn’t too worried about Guo Li’s safety.
As for himself…
Wasn’t that obvious?
An ordinary brown bear wasn’t a match for an A-tier superhuman leader.
He didn’t even need to unleash Gray Mist.
Sidestepping the bear’s heavy pounce, Chu Xiuyan grabbed its raised paw and swung it hard toward the west.
In an instant, thick smoke billowed up.
The hurled bear slammed into a tree trunk with a heavy crash, leaving deep ruts in the ground as it slid along with a thunderous roar.
Towering trees cracked and fell, crashing to the ground with booming echoes.
Guo Li stood there, face blank and mouth agape.
Chu Xiuyan rubbed his shoulder, hiding a flash of crimson beneath his eyes, then turned and walked over to the boy with a casual smile.
“Moshi moshi, scared silly?”
Guo Li tilted his head back, looking at the approaching boy with smoke rising behind him, exuding a strong aura.
“So strong, such terrifying destructive power…”
Guo Li muttered.
“What?”
Guo Li hung his head, silent.
Worried the boy was truly scared, Chu Xiuyan thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go kill that bear next time, then you can take it home, okay?”
Guo Li immediately became alert.
“No way, don’t try anything. Let’s just go.”
Seeing Guo Li clearly didn’t want a dead brown bear, Chu Xiuyan sighed, “Fine, next time then.”
He wanted a Gray Mist Bear—it sounded way cooler.
Meanwhile.
Cui Zhiyong, sitting in a tree, watched the brown bear smash several trees on its way before stopping under the tree he was in, sinking into a long silence.
The bear, dazed from the crash, staggered to its feet, looked up, and saw Cui Zhiyong squatting above.
In that moment, Cui Zhiyong felt the anger ignite in the bear’s eyes.
“Ah, no, Brother Bear, I don’t think that throw was for you.”
Cui Zhiyong cautiously tested the waters.
The bear started to climb the tree.
“Not possible, bro, big bro, Brother Bear! Wait wait wait… damn it, help—”
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