Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1620 - 885: Played a Trick

Below the dam, an endless expanse of wheat fields stretches out, as Jiang Ning and Tongtong stroll along a winding pebble path.

Tongtong grumbled about her timid sister, Si Yu, before stowing her phone away, declaring, "Si Yu is hopeless. If I were in her shoes, I’d grab a stick and drive that thug away myself."

To emphasize her point, she brandished a branch in a flurry of strikes, fully convinced of her innate prowess to repel all manner of demons and monsters.

Yao Yiyao desperately wanted to laugh but refrained, choosing instead to clap her hands and praise the girl's imagined bravery.

Jiang Ning, however, dispensed with pleasantries and scoffed, "You?"

His dismissive tone infuriated Xue Yuantong, who tilted her head and glared, "What’s wrong with me?"

Jiang Ning replied coldly, "If you went, you’d step on the thug and no one would even notice you were there."

Yao Yiyao was stunned, and she finally lost her composure, her shoulders trembling with stifled laughter.

Enraged, Xue Yuantong brandished her stick, swearing to teach Jiang Ning a lesson and prove her true strength.

Paying her no mind, Jiang Ning simply grabbed a bucket and sprinted ahead.

Xue Yuantong scrambled to keep up with her short legs, letting out breathless, mischievous chuckles.

As they drifted further off, Yao Yiyao shouted after them, "Wait for me!"

...

North of the dam.

Li Han sat quietly fishing, though his mind was clearly elsewhere.

The girl he admired was walking away in the company of another handsome man.

He turned his gaze toward the lush, green wheat fields, and for some reason, the scenery suddenly struck him as quite pleasant.

Self-conscious about his appearance, he pulled out his phone and opened the camera app to inspect his face.

Li Qingyang, sitting nearby, let out a soft "heh," clearly amused by his antics.

Recalling how others often described him as "steady" and "pleasant to look at," he wondered why he didn't appear more striking.

"Sister Qing, I don't look that bad, right? Why do I seem so hideous on camera?" Li Han asked.

A friend interjected, "Honestly, who doesn't look terrible in an iPhone selfie?"

Li Qingyang reached out and said, "Let me take a look."

As she held the phone, her own face appeared on the screen, skin immaculate and glowing under the natural sunlight, her features balanced and refined. She raised an eyebrow, shifting her expression from serene to playful.

The friend remarked, "It’s just because you’re naturally good-looking, Sister Qing."

Li Han’s expression soured, "Are you implying that I’m ugly?"

He quickly shot back, "When I look in the mirror, I think I look quite handsome!"

The friend retorted, "Is your reflection in the mirror even the 'real' you?"

Li Han replied, "If the reflection isn't me, then who is it?"

Sensing a pointless argument brewing, Li Qingyang, the group's natural leader, simply wanted to focus on her fishing.

After a moment of thought, she offered, "There is no need to debate this. Whether it is a smartphone camera or a mirror, both provide a two-dimensional projection of an individual. The real you is three-dimensional, which is how others truly perceive your presence."

Li Han asked, "So, does that mean the three-dimensional version of me is more attractive than the one in the mirror?"

Unsure, Li Qingyang gave an ambiguous reply: "Possibly."

Heartened, Li Han felt much better, believing Li Qingyang’s kind words further cemented her status as the perfect big sister.

His internal sense of order was restored: "My looks are actually still..."

He meant to claim he was as dashing as Jiang Ning, but Li Qingyang glanced at him, and he suddenly felt as though she could pierce through his vanity.

The rest of his sentence died in his throat.

...

Inside the tiny kitchen of the Xue family courtyard.

Jiang Ning was quick on his feet and arrived first. Xue Chuchu, draped in an apron, offered him a soft smile.

Xue Yuantong arrived a moment later, having forgotten her grudge against Jiang Ning. She pointed excitedly at the bucket, exclaiming, "Chuchu, look! I caught a massive grass carp, over three pounds. You're going to love this!"

Xue Chuchu moved closer to inspect the prize, finding a tea-colored fish resting in the pail, though its head bore a noticeable dent.

She asked, feeling confused, "Is this fish injured?"

Xue Yuantong chirped gleefully, "Yes, it's really hurt. Let’s use the pan to 'treat' it. I’m the medic today!"

Yao Yiyao then entered the room. While she usually maintained a graceful, princess-like demeanor in public, she found it impossible to keep up the act around Jiang Ning and the others.

"That’s a guide fish!" Yao Yiyao whispered cautiously.

She proceeded to recount her observation at the river, offering it as a warning to the group.

Caught between her upbringing and these local superstitions, she found it difficult to simply dismiss them.

Xue Chuchu, ever intuitive, noticed her apprehension. She understood that even in a modern age, deep-seated anxieties about death and the supernatural remain buried in the human psyche, regardless of how skeptically one tries to view the world.

"Fish rise to the surface for many reasons," Xue Chuchu stated, "such as oxygen deprivation, illness, or physical trauma..."

She opted for a rational, scientific explanation.

Tongtong nodded vigorously, "Exactly, guide fish are meant to lead the way; if you caught one, it isn't really a guide fish at all!"

"I suppose that’s true," Yao Yiyao noted, her anxiety evaporating as she marveled at how composed and mature Xue Chuchu seemed for her age.

Tongtong boasted, "It’s because of my immense fortune that this fish came to greet me while I was fishing!"

Xue Chuchu chuckled, "Indeed, you are what the ancients called a Child of Destiny!"