Re-birth: The Beginning after the End - Chapter 56

Chapter 56: MĀMĀ KNOWS

The jade pendants from Grand Master Yu proved invaluable to all three siblings. Li Hua’s bunny, Li Hao’s tiger, and Li Wei’s crane each possessed the same powerful concealment abilities, allowing them to practice more freely outside their home.

For Li Hua especially, the pendant’s concealment proved crucial now that her cultivation level had advanced so notably. Unlike typical spiritual artifacts that required blood essence to attune to their owner’s cultivation level, these pendants automatically adjusted their power to match their wearer’s strength—a feature so rare it was almost unheard of.

The true extent of the pendants’ power was discovered quite accidentally during a village game of hide and seek. Li Wei had been watching the other children search for Li Hao, who was perched in plain sight on a low branch, when he noticed something odd—while Li Hao was visible to anyone who might look up, none of the children could sense his presence to even think of searching the trees. His jade tiger glinting in the sunlight, yet their spiritual senses simply passed over the area as if it were empty.

That evening, the siblings brought their discovery to their parents. After hearing Li Hao’s observation, their father tested the pendant’s abilities himself, while their mother confirmed what they had suspected—the jade necklaces didn’t just mask cultivation levels, they could completely hide their spiritual presence from anyone below their current cultivation and two ranks above. Such a treasure was almost priceless in its rarity and effectiveness. The fact that they could seamlessly adapt to their wearer’s growing power without the usual blood binding rituals made them even more extraordinary.

Even now, years later, Li Hua would sometimes touch the pendant with quiet gratitude, thinking of the cute smiling grandfather who had given her such an incredible gift. Grand Master Yu had understood exactly what a child who needed to remain hidden would require.

Little Firefly remained her closest companion, the only one who knew the truth of her past life. They spent countless hours together in her inner space, where Li Hua would cook elaborate meals in their well-equipped kitchen—a hobby she’d rediscovered from her past life. Little Firefly’s absolute favorite was her honey-glazed spirit berry pastries, which he would devour with such enthusiasm that his golden light would pulse with each bite, sending sparkles across the ceiling. It always amazed her how a being made of light could eat with such gusto.

Sometimes, when practicing alone in her inner space, she would share stories of her previous life before their bond. Yet his own memories stayed stubbornly out of reach. She’d catch him staring into the distance at times with an almost wistful expression, his golden light dimming slightly as if trying to grasp at something just beyond his understanding. The space itself had grown quiet too, offering no new features or upgrades since that night eight years ago. It was as if whatever power had created it was holding its breath, waiting for something.

Still, Li Hua found contentment in this life. Between her brothers’ companionship, her parents’ guidance, and Little Firefly’s unwavering friendship, she had built something precious and real.

“Sister?” Li Hao’s arm shot out suddenly, pulling her back to the present. “Watch your step—you almost walked right into that hole. What are you thinking about?”

“Mmm? Ah. Thanks.” Li Hua smiled and stood up on her tippy toes, ruffling Li Hao’s hair. “You’re getting so big.”

Li Hao ducked away from her hand with a playful grin, but not before she noticed the proud gleam in his eyes. Her second brother had indeed grown tall over the past years, already showing signs of the powerful frame that would one day match their eldest brother’s.

“Says the little monkey who still needs to jump to reach my head,” he teased, shifting into a familiar combat stance. His hands already flickering with traces of his signature fire-water essence. “Want to test if you’ve grown any stronger, little sister?”

Li Hua’s eyes lit up at the challenge, her body automatically dropping into her own battle stance. The celestial diamonds in her ears caught the morning light, sending tiny sparkles dancing across her grinning face. “Oh? Feeling brave after our frost tiger hunt?”

But before either of them could move, Li Wei’s exasperated sigh cut through their brewing confrontation. “Really? Right here on the mountain path?” Their eldest brother shook his head, though they could see the fondness in his eyes. “If you two start throwing fire and daggers around, someone’s bound to notice. Besides,” he added with a knowing look, “do you want to explain to Māmā why we’re late AND why her children smell like frost tiger?”

The younger siblings exchanged sheepish glances, their combat stances melting away as quickly as they’d appeared. He had a point—as usual.

Li Hao walked over and quickly tried to ruffle Li Hua’s hair, but her hand moved swiftly, blocking him. “Second brother, if we were to fight seriously, you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Li Hao laughed, his eyes sparkling with both pride and challenge. “I’m aware of you, little sister. Though, fighting you is always so fun and addicting! The way you move…” He mimicked one of her signature dodges, though his larger frame made it look comically awkward. “It’s like trying to catch morning mist!”

She laughed at his theatrical display, remembering all their secret training sessions together. Where Li Wei preferred careful observation and precision, Li Hao had always been willing to embrace her more creative—and often reckless—fighting styles. He’d spent countless hours helping her perfect new techniques, never complaining when her experiments with the celestial diamonds sent them both tumbling into the mountain streams or crashing through the branches of ancient pines.

“Remember last month when you tried to counter my blade dance?” she teased. “Your fire-water essence looked more like steam soup!”

Li Hao’s face reddened slightly, but his grin never faltered. “Hey, I was trying something new! Besides, that ‘steam soup’ did manage to slow you down… for about two seconds.”

“Because I was laughing so hard!” Li Hua wiped tears from her eyes, remembering how her second brother had looked standing in the cloud of his own mismatched essence. “I couldn’t even maintain my stance!”

Their laughter echoed through the mountain path as they approached home, only to fade quickly at the sight of their mother. She sat at the wooden table in the courtyard, various medicinal herbs spread before her, a gentle smile playing at her lips that didn’t quite match the knowing look in her eyes.

“Well…” Li Hua started, putting on her most innocent expression—the same one that had somehow convinced their mother last week that the scorch marks in the garden were definitely from a passing phoenix and not from her brothers’ training session.

“You see, Māmā…” Li Hao jumped in, always ready to support his sibling’s schemes. “We were actually protecting the village! The frost tiger was heading straight for the hot springs, and you know how crowded those get in the morning—”

The morning merchants!” Li Hua nodded enthusiastically. “Think of their vegetables! All frozen solid! The entire marketplace’s livelihood would have been shattered!”

“Pure righteous duty,” Li Hao agreed solemnly, though his lips twitched. “We’re basically heroes.”

Their mother’s eyebrow arched elegantly, her jade hairpin catching the morning light. “Heroes?” Her fingers paused in their herb sorting. “I suppose next you’ll tell me these frost crystals in your hair are tokens of merit from the Immortal Realms?”

Li Wei, who had been trying to subtly edge away from the conversation, froze as their mother’s gaze locked onto him again. The wind fox at her feet let out a sound suspiciously like a snicker.

“Don’t even think about it, Wei’er,” she said, not even looking at him. “And before you name this one—yes, I can see you already have—remember that our home is not a spiritual beast sanctuary.”

“Her name is Bai Ying,” Li Wei muttered under his breath, then quickly added, “But she’s very well-behaved! And she can make herself look like a normal tiger… mostly.”

As if on cue, a light dusting of frost began falling around their feet despite the clear morning sky.

Their mother sighed deeply, but Li Hua caught the slight upturn of her lips. “Inside, all of you. And Wei’er? No more strays. I mean it this time. The thunder bunnies ate your father’s favorite cultivation cushion yesterday, and the wind fox keeps rearranging my herb garden when I’m not looking.”

The wind fox had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, though its tail kept twitching mischievously.

“Does this mean we can keep Bai Ying?” Li Wei asked hopefully.

“We’ll discuss it after lunch,” their mother said, rising gracefully. “And after you three explain to your Bàba why his children smell like frost tiger and victory.”

The siblings exchanged glances. Somehow, facing the frost tiger had seemed much easier than the impending conversation with their father.