Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: Heaven and Water

Editor: Larbre Studio

“To be honest, I thought at first you were just playing around,”

Judy slowly sat up straight, lowered her crossed leg, and lifted her chin towards Li Yan.

“Who’s playing around with you?”

As she spoke, she stood up and walked out. After a few steps, she suddenly turned around, her beautiful eyes glaring.

“Let’s go, aren’t we eating?”

Li Yan smacked his lips and stood up, calling the waiter over.

“Could you pack this up for me, thanks.”

Judy stepped off the dining boat and jumped onto a sea fishing painting boat. Li Yan followed closely behind.

“Where to?”

He asked.

The boat floated on the sea, drifting with the current, with the warm yellow light inside the cabin exceptionally soft.

“Just drifting around.”

Judy took off her hair clip, letting her hair cascade down. Stretching lazily, Li Yan walked into the cabin and took it all in with a glance.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

Judy asked.

Li Yan, looking down, said, “Seeing as I rushed to save you in such a frenzy, do me a favor. I have a neighbor…”

As Li Yan was speaking, he suddenly felt a tickle in his nose. Just as he was about to look up, warm lips pressed against his.

Surging like a wildfire.

Li Yan turned around and pinned Judy down, with the sound of her silver-bell-like laughter ringing in his ears.

His chest muscles pressed tightly against Judy’s full bosom.

“Did you actually listen to what I was saying?”

The woman wrapped her hand around Li Yan’s waist, gently biting his earlobe.

“Very clear.”

She pinched Li Yan at the waist and said through gritted teeth,

“If you shrink back at a time like this, then don’t ever claim to be a man in the future.”

Li Yan stared at Judy, the sound of his swallowing distinctly audible. He cracked a smile, his eyes rippling in a different way.

“You’re right,”

he said and then buried his face again.

The dark sea was deep and vast, with two white fish cutting through the surface, their light-colored tails flicking a fleeting glimpse, before disappearing into the water. They stirred up a trembling ripple, reflecting the scattered stars in the sky.

Drunk, unaware of the sky above the water, the full boat presses down the river of stars…

…

“What are you doing?”

The woman’s voice was both shy and annoyed.

“My right hand is inconvenient, let’s switch positions.”

…

“Try the char siu I made.”

Li Yan, wrapped in an apron, had a rare tenderness in his eyes and eyebrows.

Xiu didn’t say a word.

Li Yan raised his bandaged right hand.

“I’m already this pitiful, give me some face, huh?”

After a pause, the girl eventually asked:

“Where did you go last night?”

“Had some private matters to deal with.”

Li Yan threw the spatula into the sink.

“Right, I’ve taken care of the paperwork for your school. I’ll introduce you to someone in a bit, a distant relative from your family. I had to go to great lengths to find her, and she’s willing to be your guardian. It’s more fitting, both legally and emotionally, than me.”

“My family fled famine to come here; how could we have any relatives in Hong Kong?”

“Your mother said so before she left, no doubt about it.”

Li Yan spoke with certainty.

Xiu’s eyes were downcast.

“Don’t think I can be easily fooled just because I’m young.”

A girl who knew her mother had died, yet acted as if nothing had happened, and whose first reaction upon seeing corpses scattered everywhere was to drag them into a room to keep them hidden from view, could not be easily fooled.

Li Yan sat down beside Xiu and patted her on the shoulder.

“Your mom would want you to live well, too.”

The girl did not respond, but instead picked up her bowl and chopsticks and silently shoveled rice into her mouth.

At two in the afternoon, Judy, wearing light blue jeans and a pair of black ladies’ leather shoes, came to Li Yan’s place.

“I didn’t expect Auntie to have been in Hong Kong until she died without me ever seeing her.”

Judy’s eyes were swollen with tears.

“But she left a daughter, and I’ll definitely take good care of her. Come on, call me Judy.”

Xiu’s little face was timid, a stark contrast to her silence and darkness in front of Li Yan.

It took a while before she finally uttered under Judy’s encouraging gaze.

“Judy.”

Watching the two embracing and weeping,

Li Yan couldn’t help but sigh that women are born actresses.

…

“That little girl is quite interesting,” Judy said as she lit up a ladies’ cigarette, leaning on Li Yan’s arm.

“I told you to acknowledge her as your cousin, hoping that she won’t be gossiped about in the future. There’s no need to cater to her too much; just let her finish school.”

Judy smiled noncommittally and turned her head to look at Li Yan with curiosity.

“Even with an injured right hand, you shouldn’t have lost to that Wing Chun kid.”

As far as Judy was concerned, Li Yan was able to kill Yu who kept a serpent, which was an inhuman feat. Even if Li Yan now told her he could shoot down planes from the top floor of the Hong Kong Government House, she wouldn’t question it at first.

Li Yan cocked his head.

The Yan Fu Heritage of Li Jiangyu was indeed intimidating. Anyone would find him invincible when the huge snake that made bullets seem like candy swirled around him, immune to blades and guns.

But Li Yan didn’t think so. The Serpent was dangerous, but Li Jiangyu’s quality was not high.

At times, the panicked commands of Li Jiangyu, as the host, could negate the Serpent’s natural predatory instincts.

Moreover, with the host being the biggest weakness of the Serpent and being restricted to moving within two hundred meters after release, this superhuman power had great potential but wasn’t particularly practical at the moment.

The inherent vulnerability of the human body meant that a fight to the death was fraught with instability.

Eyes, groin, heart, neck, spine.

If both parties were physical beings, having fists hard enough to smash the opponent’s bones was enough; there was no need to cleave diamonds. After all, the world of Yan Fu doesn’t have health bars.

Of course, if Xu Tianci faced Li Jiangyu, in that case, Li Yan would think more highly of Li Jiangyu. Li Yan’s own victory over Li Jiangyu was mostly due to his superior will and courage; in terms of brute strength, the Serpent’s bulletproof skin, the speed faster than bullets when coiling around Li Jiangyu, and the bizarre strength that devoured everything upon contact were indeed unsolvable.

But from another angle, Zhang Mingyuan may not necessarily be weaker than Li Jiangyu. The Power of the Enlightened Beast could burn souls, meaning Zhang Mingyuan’s punches and kicks might be effective against the Serpent.

In the end, this was not a video game where the later bosses are stronger than the earlier ones. Everyone has a chance to win; it all depends on mindset, courage, and luck.

If he had the Serpent, how would he use it? Li Yan couldn’t help but wonder.

After the Yan Fu event ended, he should also inherit something mysterious and unpredictable like Zhang Mingyuan and Li Jiangyu.

According to Zhang Mingyuan, a heritage was the most precious thing in the world of Yan Fu. It was only during the first completion of a Yan Fu event that there was a hundred percent chance of obtaining it.

After that, the difficulty of obtaining a second or even more Yan Fu heritages would increase exponentially.

“Do you hope I win?”

Judy’s eyes shone like a little girl’s, capable of reducing a big gang like He Liansheng to ashes with a single word.

“Of course.”

“Then I shall say…” Li Yan took the cigarette from Judy’s hand and took a drag.

“I will definitely beat him.”