Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Unprepared for Wang Daji's sudden outburst, Danzi shrank back behind Xiao Yu in fear.

Xiao Yu acknowledged that Danzi was in the wrong and quickly apologized to Wang Daji, "Brother Wang, children speak without thinking. Please don’t be angry. I’ll make sure to teach him properly when we get back."

"Hmph!" Wang Daji walked away, clearly displeased.

Xiao Yu lowered his head.

Danzi looked up at Xiao Yu with a small face and called softly, "Uncle Xiao."

Danzi was usually a soft and well-behaved child, not one to speak recklessly. Puzzled by his sudden outburst towards Wang Daji, Xiao Yu crouched down to ask him why.

"He had a dark aura above his head," Danzi said.

Xiao Yu asked, "What dark aura?"

Danzi explained, "It's like a black mist."

Xiao Yu glanced over at Wang Daji's retreating figure but didn’t notice anything unusual.

Danzi added, "Grandma says people with a dark aura above their heads are bad."

Xiao Yu asked in surprise, "Grandma said that?"

"Yes," Danzi nodded.

Did Grandma Huapo know about this?

Why could she see a dark aura?

Unable to resist, Xiao Yu asked, "Can you see anything else?"

Danzi pointed at the top of Xiao Yu's head: "There's light. Uncle Xiao, there's light above your head, and above brother's and Yuan Laoye's heads too." The light above Uncle Xiao's head is the brightest, brother's is a bit dim, and Yuan Laoye's is moderately bright.

What is all this about?

Xiao Yu had always been a firm materialist and had never encountered anything strange or unusual. However, the novel "Emperor's Dream" was different. It depicted the male protagonist adorned with various miraculous abilities, making this world filled with mysticism.

Seeing black mist and white light, could Danzi... be like the male protagonist in "Emperor's Dream"?

No, no, no!

Definitely not!

Although he had altered the fate of the great villain Minghe, General Pei Yanli's storyline – being injured in the north, going to the southern pass, and achieving a great victory there – had not been affected.

The male protagonist in the novel should be somewhere else, beloved by all and awaiting General Pei Yanli's appearance. So, what exactly is going on with Danzi?

Cursed?

Ill?

Grandma Huapo unable to afford medical treatment?

Concerned about Danzi's health and well-being, Xiao Yu quickly delivered the groceries back to the shop and then took Danzi to see a doctor, explaining the situation honestly.

After an examination, the doctor said, "This child is fine."

"Fine?" Xiao Yu asked doubtfully.

The doctor nodded: "Yes."

Xiao Yu inquired, "Then how about seeing white light and black mist?"

The doctor casually said, "He might have a special ability."

Xiao Yu didn't quite understand.

The doctor explained, "In this vast world, nothing is too strange. Young master, you’ve seen too little. Just a few days ago, a four-year-old child here could dream."

Xiao Yu asked curiously, "What kind of dreams?"

"Predictive dreams."

"How so?"

The doctor elaborated, "The child dreamed the night before that a dog died, and the next day, it really did. Once, they dreamed a pavilion collapsed and killed their parents. The next day, they cried and stopped their parents from going there, and sure enough, the parents avoided a disaster."

Xiao Yu was amazed: "That's incredible."

The doctor continued, "It is incredible. Some children have the 'third eye', some can see ‘sickness aura’, others understand bird language, and so on."

Xiao Yu was even more astonished.

The doctor confidently stated, "Such abilities usually manifest in kind-hearted children and disappear after the age of six. There’s no need to worry."

Are all the citizens in the world of 'Emperor's Dream' this extraordinary?

Compared to that, Danzi seeing white light and black mist didn’t seem so far-fetched. But Xiao Yu still had doubts and asked, "Doctor, could it be that because he suffered a lot when he was very young, he perceives people who are kind to him as shining bright and those who aren’t as enveloped in black mist?"

"You mean like a hallucination?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Xiao Yu nodded.

The doctor pondered and then said, "That's possible. In that case, you should give him extra care and show him the beauty of the world. He'll naturally come out of it."

"Alright."

After paying the consultation fee, Xiao Yu left the clinic with Danzi. Seeing no signs of illness on Danzi's face, he couldn't figure out if Danzi possessed a special ability or had a psychological condition.

Regardless of the nature, he resolved to care deeply for Danzi, bending down to lift the little one into his arms.

"Uncle Xiao, are you carrying me again?" Danzi asked happily.

"Not only am I carrying you, but I'm also going to kiss you," Xiao Yu said, planting a kiss on Danzi's chubby cheek. "I'll always take good care of you."

Danzi giggled joyfully.

Back at the breakfast shop, Minghe ran over and asked, "Uncle Xiao, are you carrying my brother?"

"Yes, I'm holding him right now," Xiao Yu replied.

"Carry me too!" Minghe immediately stretched out his little arms.

Xiao Yu, always fair, had carried Danzi all the way and now felt obliged to carry Minghe as well. So, he set Danzi down and picked up Minghe.

Danzi quickly said, "Brother, Uncle Xiao kissed me too."

Hearing this, Minghe tilted his chubby face upwards.

Xiao Yu smiled helplessly and gave Minghe a kiss as well.

"Brother, Uncle Xiao was carrying me all the time," Danzi added.

Xiao Yu, looking at Minghe, said, "Yuan Laoye, Xiaofang, Dabao, and Tian Liu are all watching. Aren't you shy? Let's save another carry for next time."

Minghe then agreed.

After putting Minghe down, Xiao Yu rolled up his sleeves, ready to cook.

Xiaofang offered, "I'll help you."

Xiao Yu, without hesitation, said, "Help me wash the vegetables, please."

Xiaofang, who loved Xiao Yu's cooking, was happy to do any amount of work for a chance to eat it, readily agreed, "Sure!"

Old Master Yuan, a food lover with no adherence to the notion of 'a gentleman staying away from the kitchen,' though not skilled in cooking, was more than capable of assisting, "Then I'll start the fire."

"No need to light a fire," Xiao Yu said.

Surprised, Old Master Yuan asked, "Then how will we cook?"

"We're having hot pot today." Xiao Yu, having earned some silver, had not only bought clothes and shoes for himself and the kids but also various kitchen utensils including pots, pans, and a small stove.

"Hot pot sounds great, great!" Old Master Yuan exclaimed repeatedly.

"Once everything is ready, I'll light the stove, and we can eat in the courtyard."

"Alright."

After washing the vegetables, meat, and eggs, Xiaofang and Xiao Yu arranged them on a small table in the courtyard.

Xiao Yu lit the stove and placed a small pot on it. He heated oil in the pot, added scallions, ginger, soaked chicken mushroom, beef liver mushroom, chicken oil mushroom, and other mushrooms. After frying them and evaporating the water, he added last night's chicken broth, boiled it for a quarter of an hour, sprinkled some salt, and didn’t need to add any other seasonings. The simple and pure broth for the hot pot was ready.

There was no need for any dipping sauce. Xiao Yu announced, "It's ready to eat."

"Young Master Jin, don't fidget, let me cook the food for you," Xiaofang said.

"Then hurry up, I'm drooling already," Tian Liu said.

Minghe, Danzi, and Jin Dabao all simultaneously slurped their drool.

Xiao Yu heard them and chuckled softly.

Old Master Yuan was completely captivated by the aroma from the hot pot and didn't hear what the others were saying.

He scooped half a bowl of the clear broth, and the first taste was so delicious it made him want to bite his tongue. The lingering taste in his mouth was a natural mushroom fragrance with a hint of sweetness.

Incredible!

Truly incredible!

Such a simple preparation yet bringing out the true flavors of the ingredients, truly worthy of Xiao Yu.

Eager to taste the cooked food, he quickly dipped a slice of meat in the pot. The fresh meat, coated in the delicious broth, released a rich flavor with each chew.

Bliss!

Truly a delight for all the senses!

He continued to eat meatballs, lotus root, and vegetables, and by the time he put down his chopsticks, his stomach was pleasantly full.

Jin Dabao held a small bowl, slurping the soup noisily.

Tian Liu clamored, "Xiaofang, serve me some soup too, I want more."

"There's none left," Minghe said.

Xiao Yu reassured, "Danzi, your stomach is full, no more eating, okay?"

Old Master Yuan put down his chopsticks, lavishing praise on Xiao Yu, and added, "If you ever open a restaurant, it would surely be packed from morning till night."

Xiao Yu responded, "Alright, if I have the money, I'll open a restaurant and make a fortune."

“Definitely going to make a fortune!” Lord Yuan was even more confident than Xiao Yu.

Not a drop of soup was left after the meal.

After a busy half day, Lord Yuan, not wanting to impose any further, finally managed to persuade Jin Dabao and Tian Liu, the two children, to leave with him.

Xiao Yu and his nephews then closed the shop for a midday nap.

In the afternoon, they worked together to tidy up the soil in the small courtyard.

The two children kept saying how delicious the mushroom soup hotpot was and complained that Jin Dabao and Tian Liu ate so much that they themselves hadn’t had enough, looking quite pitiful.

Unable to bear telling them, “Your bellies have grown as big as watermelons, and yet you say you’re not full,” Xiao Yu decided to make mushroom soup hotpot again in the evening.

Only then were the two children completely satisfied.

"While washing my feet in the evening, I suddenly remembered what happened in Zhang's village," Minghe said, "Uncle, today, Aunt Zhang called me a little fatty." I used to be very thin, and gaining a bit of weight was considered good-looking, so when people said, "Minghe, you've gained weight," I wasn't upset. But being called a 'little fatty' doesn't sound nice at all.

"They called me a little fatty too," Danzi said, sitting on a small stool.

Minghe asked, "Uncle, am I a little fatty?"

Xiaoyu looked into the footbath, seeing the white, chubby feet barely revealing the heels, and when he looked up at the two children, he realized that they had unknowingly become plump.

Danzi also asked, "Uncle, am I a little fatty?"

"You're a bit chubby, but you look great! Plus, being a little chubby now means you can grow taller later!" To protect the children's self-esteem, Xiaoyu chose his words carefully, knowing that as they grow, they'll naturally slim down.

"Really?" both children asked together.

"Of course, you're the best looking right now!"

Hearing this, both children were overjoyed and no longer minded being called "little fatties."

"Alright, you're washed up. Go to bed, I'll go and knead the dough," Xiaoyu said, as he dried the children's feet and tucked them into bed before heading to the kitchen to knead dough.

The two children played with the toys given by Jin Dabao and Tian Liu in bed for a while, but Uncle Xiaoyu still hadn't returned.

Danzi slid off the bed, "Brother, I'm going to look for Uncle."

"Wait for me," Minghe said.

Danzi went out of the bedroom first, heading towards the kitchen. With the light from the kitchen, he saw a dark mist swirling outside the courtyard. He blinked, and the mist disappeared.

"Why are you out of bed? Be careful not to catch a cold," Xiaoyu said, having finished his work and coming out of the kitchen.

Minghe quickly pulled Danzi and ran back to their room.

Xiaoyu crawled into the blanket, cuddling the two children and telling them stories until they fell asleep.

The next day, at the break of dawn, Minghe and Danzi woke up.

Minghe, with his chubby little hands, rubbed his eyes and said, "Uncle has gone to cook."

"Let's go help," Danzi suggested.

Winter clothes are so thick and cumbersome to put on, but the two children cleverly learned to help each other dress. Although their clothes were a bit crooked and twisted, they managed to get dressed and then went together to find their uncle.

"Uncle, Uncle Zhang," Minghe called out.

"You're all awake, aren't you? Come warm up by the stove," Zhang Wu said.

Minghe walked over to the stove.

"Where's Danzi? Why isn't he coming over?" Zhang Wu turned and saw Danzi standing at the kitchen door, looking up at something.

"Danzi, what are you doing?" Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.

Danzi, pointing to a tree outside the courtyard, said, "Uncle, there's a dark mist there. It's a bad person."

Xiaoyu didn't see anything, but he knew Danzi could, so he immediately suggested, "Let's go outside and check."

"What is it?" Zhang Wu asked.

"Not sure, let's go outside and see. There might be someone," Xiaoyu whispered.

Zhang Wu instantly became alert.

The four of them tiptoed out through the back gate of the courtyard and saw a person crouched on a tree branch next to the kitchen, sneakily peeking into the kitchen window.

Before Zhang Wu and Xiaoyu could react, Minghe suddenly picked up a long branch from the ground, ran forward, and fiercely jabbed at the person, shouting, "Bad guy! I'll poke your butt!"

Startled by the jab, the intruder shuddered and lost his balance, crashing down from the tree with a thud.

Xiaoyu and Zhang Wu immediately approached and, recognizing the intruder, exclaimed in unison, "It's you!"