I Am Your Natural Enemy

All the way to the eastern edge, Wen Yan saw Wu Tingsheng’s house, with Xiao Wu standing by the window, waving at him.

He waited at the door for a while, then saw Xiao Wu, dressed in loungewear with his sleeves rolled up, rushing out holding a painting.

”Uncle Wen, Uncle Wen, this is for you.”

Wen Yan took the painting and looked at it, surprised to find that the skill had clearly improved compared to before.

The painting showed rows of houses, and above them, a sun was shining its light.

It still looked like a very simple picture, but the brushwork had improved a lot.

Of course, that wasn’t the point. The point was, Wen Yan could actually feel the sensation of sunlight warming his body from just looking at the painting.

This was a painting with a soul.

Wen Yan was a bit shocked—how long had it been, and Xiao Wu had already drawn another soulful painting.

”How many of these kinds of paintings have you made so far?”

Xiao Wu smiled shyly, a little embarrassed.

”This is the second one I’ve drawn, but I still can’t do it well.

This was meant for my little brother, but Uncle Wen said, you can’t let kids eat random stuff.

So I’ll give it to Uncle Wen first, and once my brother is older, I’ll give one to him.”

Wen Yan was a bit surprised but also gratified—such a good kid. He’d only given that warning once, but Xiao Wu remembered it well.

It was clear Xiao Wu could tell—his silly son was greedy, wanted to try it, but didn’t dare just give it to him, probably waited days for a chance to hand it over.

He reached out and handed the painting back to Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu shook his head—not taking it.

Wen Yan tried to reassure him, speaking softly.

”Is this for me? It’s mine now?”

Xiao Wu nodded.

”Then it’s my thing now. If I give it to you, you can’t refuse, okay?”

Xiao Wu looked a little confused, caught up in Wen Yan’s train of thought.

”I’m giving this to you, it’s for you to use, hurry up and use it.”

Wen Yan reached out his finger and touched the sun in the painting, blessing it with a bit of Yang energy.

In an instant, the sun in the painting seemed about to leap right out into reality.

Simply by touching it, Wen Yan felt a sensation he couldn’t quite describe.

It was like the sun in the painting had a soul but no body, and after he blessed it with Scorching Sun, it suddenly had a body and became complete.

The moment he touched it, his Scorching Sun progress bar jumped three times in a row, reaching 63%.

He looked at Xiao Wu, who was still looking dazed, struggling to catch up, and smiled.

”Go on, use it yourself now. You know what to do, right?”

”Ah, I know.”

”I gave it to you, so you can’t refuse it. Be good and hurry up.”

Xiao Wu was still a little hesitant. He had wanted to give it away, to his little brother—had been thinking about it for days, but never dared, afraid his little brother would sneak a bite himself.

Hearing Wen Yan’s urging, Xiao Wu, still tangled up, could only do as Wen Yan said.

He reached out, took the painting, and gently hugged it to his chest.

The next moment, Wen Yan saw the soul in the painting slowly sinking into Xiao Wu’s body, repairing his own soul.

A gentle Great Sun fell into Xiao Wu’s head, beginning to mend his soul.

For a moment, Wen Yan felt that Xiao Wu’s eyes seemed to shine a little brighter.

”Go back to bed. It’s getting windy tonight, don’t catch a cold. I really like your painting, so I’m taking it.”

”Ah, oh...” Xiao Wu stared blankly as Wen Yan walked away with that now soulless painting, scratching his head, still thinking about how to untangle the logic.

Wen Yan carried the painting without a soul, feeling in excellent spirits.

He hadn’t expected that Xiao Wu had prepared for so long, and if Wen Yan hadn’t come by today, Xiao Wu would probably keep waiting until he saw him.

Such an earnest kid, too—scared that his silly son wouldn’t be able to resist eating it, didn’t even dare bring it over directly, since he’d have to pass by his son’s place first.

Wen Yan thought about it and figured this was probably the truth.

After making his rounds, Wen Yan brought the gray cloth to the backyard at home and continued practicing his fist forms.

”Come, show me your limits.”

Wen Yan practiced in the backyard as usual; everything at home was normal. Seeing him doing his routines, Chen Qimo felt at ease and went back to her room to study.

Meanwhile, the item Wen Yan sent out via Scorching Sun Department was already in Yu State.

Since Wen Yan sent it, and it was addressed to Lu Jing, when the word reached Feng Yao, she saw what was being sent and rushed to have it delivered right away, not leaving it overnight.

If it stayed overnight, she felt something strange might happen.

Even though it was Ghost Bone, meant for an ordinary person, there shouldn’t be any danger.

Back at the dorm, Lu Jing’s roommates were teasing her, saying that the boy today had really braved it, risked being seen as a weirdo—a warrior indeed.

The phone rang; she heard she had a package and quickly used that as an excuse to rush downstairs from the dorm.

At the entrance, seeing the courier’s outfit and the big box on his back, Lu Jing felt a jolt inside.

The courier took out a cardboard box from what looked like a sturdy insulated food delivery case and handed it to Lu Jing.

”I didn’t buy anything...”

”It’s yours, delivered specially. Don’t ask me about anything else—I don’t know either. Just check the contents for any issues.”

Lu Jing opened the box. Inside was a grayish bone-like object, and below it, a row of teeth: a dozen or so crystal teeth, a dozen gray teeth.

Lu Jing picked up the slip of paper inside.

”This is for you. Inside those teeth is something you treasure. May you find what you’ve lost soon.

Also, keep it safe, don’t lose it. If it gets lost, call this number immediately.”

Reading this, Lu Jing immediately understood. She picked up the Ghost Bone and saw that in one of the crystal teeth, there seemed to be a tiny painting.

A woman holding a tightly wrapped child.

Just a glimpse, the image was tiny and blurry, but she instinctively knew—the woman inside was her mother, and the child was her.

”Can I ask, who sent this to me?”

”Don’t ask me. I don’t know either. I just have to make sure it gets delivered and there’s no problem—please sign.”

Lu Jing signed for it, hugging the box, standing outside the dorm, when a thought flashed in her mind: she hadn’t met an immortal but had found someone willing to help her.

She picked up her phone and called her mother. The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

Just as she was getting disappointed, the call came back.

”You brat, what is it now? I’m over here dancing!”

”Uh, I’m coming home for dinner the day after tomorrow when we get break.”

”Alright, alright, got it.”

”Mom, I... I want bass and tofu stew.”

”You look more like tofu stew—cleaning fish is a pain. Fine, got it, bye now.”

Listening to the busy tone, Lu Jing couldn’t help but break into a big smile.

Her mom didn’t even answer her calls for the first couple of days. Only after she called a bunch did she return one, and that was just to confirm her kid was still alive and hadn’t gotten in a car accident.

She clutched the box tightly and turned to head back to her dorm—the bounce of her steps just a bit lighter now.