Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Zhao Nuanyue felt her brother needed to learn a few things.

”Nuanyang, promise Sis that if you run into those two, you’ll stay far away from them,” Zhao Nuanyue said, looking at her brother seriously. ”Those two are full of tricks; you’re no match for them. And if you run into Li Siming or Wang Dadan, don’t get close to them either. They’re even more vicious.”

Hearing his sister’s words, Zhao Nuanyang was a little confused. He asked, ”But I’m all grown up now! I’ve gotten smarter, and I can protect you, Sis! Why won’t you let me protect you?”

”I know you’ve grown up, gotten stronger, and become smarter,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. ”It’s just that those people are too wicked, and our Nuanyang is so kind-hearted. I’m afraid you’ll be taken advantage of. All I want is for you to be happy, healthy, and safe. That’s enough for me. As for all those other nasty lowlifes, just leave them to me. I may not be a superhero, but I’m no ordinary woman. I’m more than enough to deal with them.”

Zhao Nuanyang listened to his sister and chose to trust her. But he was older now, and he really wanted to protect her. He said, ”I might not be very good at it, but if you teach me, Sis, I’ll do my best to protect you and the Little Red Carp.”

Hearing her brother’s words, Zhao Nuanyue smiled, pleased. ”Alright, I’ll teach you.”

’As long as he’s willing to learn, he won’t have to be afraid of those villains in the future.’

”I’ll learn too, Sis! The Little Red Carp wants to learn too!” the Little Red Carp chimed in eagerly. ”If I study how humans do things, I can protect you and Big Brother too!”

Zhao Nuanyue was overjoyed to see how much her younger siblings cared for her. ”Alright, listen up. I’ll explain. Even though these are chaotic times, there are still laws. So, even if we teach them a lesson, we have to be moderate. We can’t kill them. That’s the first point. Second, when we teach them a lesson, we must be in the right and hold the moral high ground. That way, no one else can blame us. Finally, if there’s no one else around and they provoke you, fight back if you’re able to handle them. If you can’t, then run. Run as fast as you can. Remember, where there’s life, there’s hope. It’s foolish and unwise to charge in recklessly and fight them when you know you can’t win.”

Zhao Nuanyang and the Little Red Carp listened carefully to her words, mulling over their meaning.

After a few seconds, the Little Red Carp nodded. ”Sis, Sis, I get it now! Basically, after all that, what you’re really saying is this: Fight if you can win, run if you can’t. When other people are around, we have to act reasonably and make sure we’re justified. When no one’s around, we can fight dirty. As long as there’s no evidence, no one sees, and we don’t kill them, we’re good to go. Is that right?”

The meaning dawned on Zhao Nuanyang as well, and he looked at his sister.

”Exactly. The Little Red Carp’s summary is perfect,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a laugh. ”Nuanyang, do you get it now too?”

Zhao Nuanyang nodded and smiled. ”I get it, Sis. I think what the Little Red Carp said is right, too.”

”Good. But you can’t just understand and remember it—you have to stick to it. That’s the only way to ensure your safety,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. ’Her younger siblings would grow up one day and have their own lives. She couldn’t follow them around every moment of every day. She had to teach them these principles of conduct.’

”Uh-huh! Don’t worry, Sis! We’re smart, not dumb. We know how to protect ourselves,” the Little Red Carp said, nodding. Its earnest little expression was especially endearing.

Finally, Zhao Nuanyue added another instruction. ”The storage space is a secret between the three of us. You are not to enter the Space Ring unless it’s a life-or-death emergency.”

”Okay, I understand, Sis,” Zhao Nuanyang promised. ”If anyone saw that we had something so magical, they’d try to steal it, and that would bring us endless trouble.”

”That’s right, Nuanyang. But it’s not an absolute rule. If a situation is threatening your life, nothing is more important than your own safety. Just get away first,” Zhao Nuanyue instructed. ’If her naive brother lost his life just to protect the Space Ring, it would be a terrible, pointless loss.’

”Okay, Sis. I’ll remember,” Zhao Nuanyang said with a nod. ’He had such a magical thing, and he could even share it with his sister. It was just too wonderful.’

The three siblings headed down the mountain, singing folk songs as they walked.

By the time they arrived at the Dragon King Temple, it was already two or three in the afternoon.

Li Qiong had already cooked and eaten with Yang Guanghui. By the time the siblings got back, the food was cold, so Li Qiong reheated the meal for them.

Meanwhile, up on the mountain, Wang Cuihua and Liu Lanhua, who were waiting on the other side of the creek, waited until sunset without ever seeing Zhao Nuanyue and the others.

’Something’s not right. It’s about to get dark, but Zhao Nuanyue still hasn’t come down. Isn’t she afraid of the cold, or that the little kid will freeze?’ Liu Lanhua muttered to herself. Then a nasty thought occurred to her. ’Could it be... could it be that Zhao Nuanyue already took another path down?’

”Huh?” Wang Cuihua said, startled. She sneezed again. ”No way. There aren’t any other paths down the mountain over there.”

”But she still hasn’t come back. If they don’t head back soon, it’ll be dark. It’s very dangerous on the mountain at night,” Liu Lanhua said. ”Knowing how cunning that damned girl Zhao Nuanyue is, there’s no way she doesn’t realize that.”

”That’s right! That damned girl Zhao Nuanyue is incredibly cunning and always looking out for her own safety. There’s no way she’d still be on the mountain after dark.” As Wang Cuihua said this, she became certain: Zhao Nuanyue had taken another way down.

Liu Lanhua had clearly reached the same conclusion. She sighed. ”We thought we locals knew these mountains, but it turns out we’re no match for a little girl from out of town. She played us for fools. Let’s go. Teaching Zhao Nuanyue a lesson isn’t going to be easy. We need to rethink our whole approach, find her weakness, and hit her there.”

Wang Cuihua nodded, crestfallen. Her earlier rage had completely vanished, replaced by nothing but stifled frustration and indignation.

Still not ready to give up completely, Liu Lanhua and Wang Cuihua passed by the Dragon King Temple on their way down the mountain. When they heard Zhao Nuanyue’s voice coming from inside, it confirmed their suspicions: Zhao Nuanyue had taken a different route down.

This realization only deepened their sense of defeat. The two of them walked home in silence.

Liu Lanhua knew about the affair between Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen, but Hua Yusen was already gone. ’You have to catch a thief with the goods and a cheating couple in the act,’ she thought. ’Her lover is gone, so that piece of leverage is useless now.’

’So besides that, what other weaknesses or flaws did Zhao Nuanyue have?’