I Am Your Natural Enemy

A simple meal without any meat, and the rice was a bit too moist because Lu Jing had added water up to the standard line indicated on the rice cooker.

Lu Jing, however, ate quite happily. After a day of rest and a very sound sleep, she felt she had almost recovered her energy.

She didn’t remember much of what she had dreamed, only a vague memory of an old immortal wearing a red robe with a kindly face, radiating a warm glow, who spoke many words to her.

She remembered that her mother had been harmed by a Ghost and had contracted some illness she couldn’t recall. This was why her mother had become increasingly distant, not even answering her phone calls anymore.

Then the rest, she couldn’t remember clearly, only what she had thought at that time. Her mother had taken care of her for twenty-one years, loved her for twenty-one years, and she wanted to love her back. She believed things would definitely get better.

After finishing the meal, Lu Jing tidied up the dishes, quickly washed them, and looked at her mother who had changed clothes and was about to leave the house.

”Mom, are you going out to dance at the square?”

”I’ve made an appointment with others. There’s a square dance contest in a few days. If we win first place, each of us gets a down jacket. They say it’s the good kind, one that can withstand minus twenty or thirty degrees.”

”PFFT.” Lu Jing couldn’t help laughing, ”There’s no need for that kind of down jacket in Yu State.”

”What do you know? I’m not talking to you about it. I’m leaving.” Lu Jing’s mother had already opened the door. After a thought, she still casually remarked, ”If you get hungry tonight, go steam a couple of buns for yourself.”

Lu Jing walked up and hugged her mother tightly, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder.

”Even if you lose, it’s okay. I have a scholarship of 1,800; I’ll buy you one.”

Her mother stood with her arms somewhat stiffly, her eyes showing a hint of bewilderment, seemingly not used to such affection.

Feeling Lu Jing nuzzling her head, something suddenly came to her mother’s mind.

That year, when Lu Jing was just over three years old, she would take Lu Jing to work on her bicycle. She bundled Lu Jing up tightly but forgot her own scarf. The winter in Yu State wasn’t especially cold, but cycling on the coldest mornings was still rather biting. She would shrink her neck from the cold. When they arrived at work, Lu Jing would hug her neck, nuzzling back and forth, saying it was to warm her up.

She had forgotten all about it for so long, but now it suddenly came back to her.

These thoughts flashed by. As she looked at Lu Jing, feeling the warmth her daughter seemed to carry, that warm and cozy sensation made her heart swell with an indescribable feeling.

After hesitating, she finally reached out and hugged Lu Jing back.

Just for a moment, then she immediately patted Lu Jing on the back.

”Hurry and let go, I’m going to be late.”

Watching her mother leave the house, Lu Jing added, ”I’m going to take the last subway back soon. I have class early tomorrow morning.”

”I know, I know! Really, you never say you’re coming before you do. Don’t bother cooking next time; it’s like going to war when you do.”

Lu Jing’s mother muttered a few words and then hurried off.

Lu Jing watched her mother’s retreating figure, wiped the corner of her eye, and began to smile.

Having returned home and just finished dinner, Wen Yan was preparing to take that big-mouthed Ghost Bone to consult someone further.

The moment he saw the Ghost Bone again, he paused slightly.

The ever-changing scene within one of the transparent teeth stilled, freezing at a particular moment.

He also saw the prompt again; this was one of the very few instances he would see a prompt related to an item.

”Treasure Stealing Ghost Bone.”

”Within the Ghost Bone lies a mother’s love for her daughter, including but not limited to past joys and sorrows, unforgettable precious memories, and the most sincere emotions from the depths of her heart at that moment.

It’s just that the most irresistible and unquantifiable thing for people is emotion.

Even if seventy percent has been taken away, it cannot affect the total, which already exceeds one hundred. Nor can it stop the remaining thirty percent from continuing to grow.

The seventy percent that was taken is beyond outside interference; the damage caused is irreversible.

However, this does not prevent its owner from replenishing it, from rebuilding from thirty percent back toward one hundred percent.”

”As you wished, your heartfelt intentions transformed into a guiding light. As she and her mother were drifting apart, it illuminated the dark path between them, helping her take firm steps toward her mother.”

”Your intention, Power, ability, and actions, while using the Temporary Ability Heart Fire, achieved a level of congruence that surpassed the limits of the Temporary Ability.

Highest momentary congruence: 400%.

You have independently comprehended the power of Heart Fire.

Acquired ’fixed ability’: Heart Fire.”

”When Lu Jing reclaims the lost motherly love, or when new motherly love is born, returning her to 100%, you will gain an additional ’fixed ability’: Deduction Method.

Current progress: 1/17.”

Wen Yan touched his chest. No wonder that after equipping it once and then taking it off, he could still feel a fire burning in his heart; it had ignited and never dissipated.

It wasn’t a visible or actual fire, but a sensation he could feel, one that, once lit, never faded.

So, he had possessed it all along.

He looked closely at the prompt. This time, the description was for a ’fixed ability,’ not an ’extra fixed ability’; there was no prefix.

And now, he finally understood the clear distinction between a ’fixed ability’ and an ’extra fixed ability.’