Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

Jiang Ning didn’t go to pick up the tickets, because Xue Yuantong had gotten them for him.

He sat in the cool shadow outside the train station, watching the hurried tourists come and go.

He didn’t know when going home had started to feel like a burden.

People always asked, "How much is your salary now?" "Have you found a partner?" "What job does your partner do?"

Question after question made him resistant, yet he could only respond with a smile.

Therefore, going home had also become a burden.

But this time, he was actually looking forward to going home. The night before, Xue Yuantong had murmured in his ear whether Chuchu had watered the flowers on the windowsill on time, and whether Mom had made new snacks...

Beside Jiang Ning stood Tang Fu, almost his height, who also hadn’t picked up her tickets because Dong Qingfeng had taken care of it for her.

Tang Fu was dressed in a sporty style, with a long ponytail, a pink sports backpack, and a short tracksuit. Her excessive height made her stand out like a crane among chickens.

Passersby occasionally gave her admiring glances, but Tang Fu ignored them, focused on playing her game.

Jiang Ning’s gaze was fixed in the distance, but his "Divine Sense" was 365°. He noticed she was playing Plants vs. Zombies 2.

Tang Fu was terrible at gaming, and a horde of zombies arrived, munching through all her Pea Shooters and breaching the defense.

When the game failed, Tang Fu was utterly frustrated.

She restarted a round and immediately planted the Pea Shooters in the front row.

Yang Sheng teased, "Do you know Yu Wen? Do you have a grudge against her?"

Tang Fu looked bewildered, "Who’s that?"

As they spoke, the zombies reached the Pea Shooters and started to eat them.

She frantically continued to plant more Peas, placing them too far forward.

It was obvious she was trying hard to win.

Jiang Ning, puzzled, asked, "Why do you place your Pea Shooters at the very front?"

Logically speaking, any normal person would place the Pea Shooters in the back row. From there, their shooting range would be longer, and they would be able to fire more rounds.

It was a strategy even kids were aware of.

Upon hearing this, Tang Fu responded with disdain born of perceived intelligence:

"Haven’t you studied physics? The closer they are, the more powerful the shots."

Jiang Ning and Yang Sheng paused for half a second after hearing this.

Yang Sheng wanted to say that this was a game, not reality, but after thinking about it, decided not to explain, instead she said,

"You’re totally right."

...

On the train.

Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong sat together; they were in a row with two seats, which was slightly more comfortable compared to rows with three seats.

Xue Yuantong leaned against the window, observing the scenery outside.

She had taken a hard sleeper to Tai City, second-class high-speed rail to Peng City, and now was on a hard seat—a variety of experiences.

Hard seats on the train are arranged face-to-face, and opposite them were two seats, but three people were sitting there.

A broad-faced man with his son and a female college student.

The student was squeezed uncomfortably, her body close to the aisle and clearly uneasy.

She looked meek and said nothing, just quietly endured.

In contrast, Xue Yuantong had much more space on her side.

The broad-faced man across from them declared, "I’ve got an idea. You’ve got more space on your side, why not let the young lady sit with you?"

Jiang Ning asked, "You mean, you and your son would sit alone in a row?"

The broad-faced man matter-of-factly replied, "Right, can’t you see how cramped she is over here?"

Xue Yuantong was stunned by his shamelessness. Knowing full well someone is uncomfortable, yet you spread your legs wide like that?

Before the man could say more, the student quickly refused, "No need, no need. Don’t trouble yourself!"

The broad-faced man’s voice suddenly rose, "This girl’s being foolish."

The student shuddered in fright and remained silent.

Since she disagreed, the broad-faced man could hardly insist on her moving. He looked disappointed, rubbed his feet together, removed his shoes, and casually placed them near Jiang Ning’s seat.

Jiang Ning frowned and flicked a "Thunder Method". The broad-faced man felt as if he’d been electrocuted and hastily withdrew his feet.

The little boy exclaimed, "Dad, what’s the matter?"

The broad-faced man rubbed his foot, still scared: "Cramps, it’s cramping."

He didn’t dare to stretch his foot again and honestly put on his shoes.

Peace returned to the seats for a while, when a stewardess pushing a cart passed by. It was lunchtime now, and she was hawking lunchboxes for 20 yuan each.

Xue Yuantong listened and was struck by hunger. The train ride was only an hour and a half long. She didn’t eat lunch, planning to have it once she got home.

Turned out, she had overestimated herself.

Jiang Ning dug out a KFC box, along with a cup of ice-cold Coke.

Xue Yuantong recognized it as Popcorn Chicken, her eyes squinting into crescents, sugary sweet: "When did you buy this?"

"Grabbed it when I picked up the ice cream, eat up," Jiang Ning patted her palm.

Xue Yuantong thought about it, Jiang Ning surely didn’t have lunch either. If she ate the chicken, what would he do?

She said, "Let’s split it in half, you break it."

Jiang Ning casually snapped the chicken into two pieces.

The female student across from them swallowed, quickly turned her head away, while the father and son watched with eyes like hungry wolves.

Xue Yuantong decided to eat quickly, not to bother others.

Before she could start, the child across from her cried out:

"Daddy, I want to eat KFC!"

Xue Yuantong felt a bit awkward, facing such a request, unsure what to do.

From a young age, her mother taught her not to help others at the expense of her own suffering.

She herself was very hungry. If she gave the food to someone else, what would she do?

The broad-faced man snatched back his son, swearing: "KFC is all junk food, whoever eats it will get cancer!"

Xue Yuantong: "..."

Jiang Ning glanced at him, then looked at the little boy and said expressionlessly: "You see, your dad must have eaten too much KFC."

The female student pursed her lips, wanting to laugh but not daring to.

The broad-faced man took two seconds to understand the meaning, then flew into a rage. He smacked the table and stood up with a "bang," pointing at Jiang Ning’s face, and cursed:

"Motherfucker, who are you talking about!"

His eyes were red, staring dead at Jiang Ning, inexplicably annoyed with the young man!

With the commotion being quite loud, passengers playing cards nearby stopped and looked towards them, some asking what was going on.

Since she had blocked out sounds in advance, Xue Yuantong wasn’t too startled and silently wrapped up her Popcorn Chicken.

As for the conflict in front of her, she wasn’t too concerned. She believed Jiang Ning would definitely be able to resolve it properly.

Facing the enraged broad-faced man, Jiang Ning leaned towards Xue Yuantong and said as if nobody else was present: "I’ll show you a magic trick."

"What magic trick?" Xue Yuantong blinked.

Jiang Ning stretched out his palm, his long fingers splayed: "Let’s call it, Puppet."

As soon as he finished speaking, he curled his little finger.

The broad-faced man who had been pointing at Jiang Ning’s nose suddenly felt a great force in his arm. His stretched-out arm was inexplicably pushed back by an invisible force.

The closest, the college girl, clearly saw this bizarre twist and was utterly bewildered.

Fear suddenly surged in the broad-faced man’s heart, but he still yelled: "What the heck, what the heck is going on with me?"

Passengers a little further away in the carriage, hearing the commotion, stood up to watch.

Tang Fu was in the same carriage as Jiang Ning. Being tall, she could see far.

Jiang Ning smiled slightly, his face sporting a playful look. He spread his fingers, curling his ring finger this time.

The broad-faced man was greatly shocked. His right arm, out of control, punched his own stomach hard.

After being hit, he slowly bent over, crying out in pain.

The female student was panicked, hastily dodging to the side.

The broad-faced man fell to the ground, curled up, his face pale with trembling from the pain.

There was also a bone-chilling coldness, the fear in humans when faced with the unknown.

The little boy rushed over calling for his father.

Only then did Jiang Ning withdraw his hand and cheerfully said: "Well, was it good to watch?"

A hint of worry flickered over Xue Yuantong’s small face, mixed with sympathy, but finally, faced with Jiang Ning’s boastful remark, she managed to settle her emotions, her clear eyes sparkling with a smile:

"So awesome!"