“I told you, that wasn't wetting the bed! It was water! Water!”
Hearing Xia De bring up that childhood incident again, Huey's face flushed red. He raised the wooden sword in his hand and began shouting loudly at Xia De.
Once he had vented his frustration, he extended his fist toward Xia De, a warm, passionate smile breaking out on his face. “Anyway, welcome back, Xia De!”
As soon as he said this, he seemed to remember something. His expression suddenly changed in a panic, and he hurriedly said to Xia De, “Oh, right! My sister told me to invite Lili and Sister Vanessa over to our place for dinner tonight. It's getting late, and if I'm any later, she's going to scold me again. I'm heading out first. You too—remember to come over to our house for dinner tonight! Eat well, because I'm going to keep challenging you to duels over the next three days. I feel like I can beat you at least once!”
Xia De chuckled and replied calmly, “Sure. Go find Sister Vanessa and Lili now. But Lili just finished her lessons, so she might be a bit down. You'd better work hard to comfort her!”
Hearing Xia De's words, the smile on Huey's face grew even brighter, warm as sunshine. He patted his chest and said, “Leave it to me! I'll make Lili happy!”
With that, he jogged off toward the church.
Looking at Huey's hurried back, Xia De recalled how Lili looked when she talked about him. His gaze turned meaningful, and he spread his hands helplessly with a smile. “Sigh, what a cute pair of childhood friends. This is love, even if neither of them has realized it yet!”
He continued walking home. Along the way, he stroked his chin, a smile on his face as he muttered to himself, “Speaking of which, there really are a lot of childhood friend couples around me lately. First it was Finn and his childhood friend. And now it's these two kids, Huey and Lili. It's getting a bit too sweet for me.”
As he thought, a tiny hint of sadness flickered in his eyes. His voice grew slightly softer as he murmured gently, “I wish you both the best. May this pure and passionate relationship never change.”
Before long, he arrived at his home—the home where he had lived with Novas for over a decade.
A very ordinary single-story, old-fashioned earthen house, surrounded by a wooden fence.
Xia De pushed open the outermost wooden gate and entered the yard. Everything was exactly as it had been when he left. Even the positions of the miscellaneous items piled in the corner hadn't changed.
Xia De walked from the yard into the house. None of the furnishings inside had been touched.
Everything was exactly the same as when he left, without even a speck of dust having settled.
“Of course it is, because I cast a spell here—a minor spell to keep things clean,” Xia De said with a gentle smile, though a hint of loneliness inevitably crept onto his face.
Although nothing had changed, the kind old man who used to care for him was gone.
In this home, there would never be anyone calling his name again.
He walked into his small bedroom. It was tiny and simple, not nearly as comfortable as any of the places he had stayed since leaving.
Yet, as Xia De lay on the small bed, he felt it was much more comfortable than any bed out there.
He lay quietly on the bed with his eyes closed, his mind completely blank, thinking of nothing as he simply spaced out in silence.
Time slipped by. The sun gradually dipped below the horizon, and the lingering glow of the sunset filtered through the window, painting the entire room in a warm golden hue.
The last rays of the setting sun shone onto his eyes. His eyelids fluttered, and then he slowly opened his eyes and sat up from the bed.
“Did time really pass that quickly? I feel like I just closed my eyes.”
Yawning, he ran a hand through his messy hair, then stretched and walked out the door.
“It's time to head over to Sister Linna's for dinner. Having a meal together with Huey, Sister Linna, Uncle Greto, Sister Vanessa, and Lili... I probably won't get another opportunity like this in the future. This time, I'll make sure to say a proper farewell!”
Xia De arrived outside Linna's house. Wisps of cooking smoke rose into the air, and he could hear loud, rowdy voices coming from inside.
“Greto, you're cheating again!”
“This is called the wisdom of an adult, kid! And you should be calling me brother-in-law!”
“Stop fooling around, you two! Sister Vanessa and Xia De are going to be here any minute. Hurry up and clean this up!”
“Yes!” ×2
Hearing these voices, Xia De smiled and raised his hand to knock gently on the door.
“Coming!”
The one who opened the door was a bearded, honest-looking middle-aged man. It was indeed Greto.
His eyes lit up when he saw Xia De. Filled with joy, he bared his teeth in a goofy grin and said, “Well, if it isn't our famous Grim Reaper, Xia De?! It's been so long!”
“Your tongue is as sharp as ever, Uncle Greto!” Xia De nodded helplessly, and was then led into the house by Greto.
Seeing Xia De, Huey ran over excitedly, waving his hands as he began to complain about Greto, “Xia De, you're finally here! Let's team up. We can definitely take on Greto together. This guy snatched and ate the chicken drumstick I wanted to eat while I wasn't looking!”
Greto coughed twice to defend himself. “What do you mean? I was teaching you a lesson, kid. No matter how sure of victory you are, you must remain vigilant at all times until you have actually achieved your goal. You can't let your guard down for even a second. Since you don't even understand this, I think I'll have to suggest to Linna that she delay your adventure plans even further.”
“That's total nonsense! You just wanted to steal my drumstick!”
“How could it be nonsense? If you don't believe me, ask Xia De! Isn't that exactly how it is when he goes adventuring? Right, Xia De?”
Finding the ball tossed to him, Xia De thought about it for a moment, then gave a slight nod.
Greto immediately burst into a smug laugh and said to Huey, “See? Even the famous Grim Reaper says so. Look at him, he knows exactly how it is. Huey, if you want to make a name for yourself, you still need to train a lot more.”
Huey stared at Xia De with a look of pure disbelief, as if to say, I can't believe you just betrayed our friendship.
“Alright! Stop chatting aimlessly, you two! Hurry up and come help bring out the dishes. The food is ready!”
“Yes!” ×2
Linna walked over to Xia De and said, “I didn't expect you to be so quick this time. Now we're just waiting on Sister Vanessa and Lili! Looking at the time, they should be here soon!”
Speak of the devil—another knock sounded on the door. Xia De went to open it.
Standing outside were indeed Sister Vanessa and Lili.
Lili waved to everyone inside, a cute smile on her face. “Sister Linna, Uncle Greto, Big Brother Xia De, and dummy Huey, we're here!”
“Lili! Come quick, let's team up to fight Uncle Greto!”
“No way! Dummy Huey is definitely doing something stupid again. I don't want to team up with you!”
“Lili! Come on, come on! We're in this together!”
“W-Well, I guess so!”
“Oh yeah! Lili is the best. I'll give you all the delicious food later!”
The four onlookers watched them silently, all wearing fond, knowing smiles on their faces.
Sister Vanessa spoke up gently, “Children, today is to celebrate Xia De's birthday and send him off. Don't forget our guest of honor!”
Huey smacked his forehead hard, realizing he had forgotten, while Lili sighed and looked at him helplessly, yet with great tenderness.
Finally, the group gathered around the dining table. Before the table laden with a sumptuous feast, everyone clapped their hands with joyful smiles on their faces and said to Xia De, “Happy birthday, Xia De!!!”
......
Rate on N.U.
