Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation Chapter 1675 - 912: The Mouse Got Caught

Under the moonlit countryside fields, the light flowed like water.

Xue Yuantong lifted her gaze toward the horizon, spotting the river dam twinkling like stars amid the glow from vendors and visitors mingling together.

Yet in her spot, tranquility reigned deeply.

Clutching a lantern, Xue Yuantong kept up her night watchman act, her voice ringing crisp and lively: "The bright world is safe and sound."

Xue Chuchu quietly prompted: "Aren’t we hunting for bamboo rats?"

Xue Yuantong shot her a sideways look, inwardly scolding that youngsters these days lack all patience—she hadn’t even wrapped up her lines!

Next, Xue Yuantong chanted: "Only the Evil Rat harms the world, today, you shall act on behalf of heaven!"

"Go, Jiang Ning!" With a flick of her tiny hand, she urged.

Jiang Ning: "Can’t be bothered."

Left with no option, Xue Yuantong teamed up with Xue Chuchu to hunt for wild bamboo rats.

Hunting bamboo rats demands real skill; amid endless terrain, spotting one tucked in its burrow rivals ascending the heavens in difficulty.

Dressed like a seasoned hunter, Xue Chuchu spoke with assurance: "Bamboo rats favor roots of cogongrass, miscanthus, and bamboo; check that small bamboo grove over there, yeah?"

It was the fifteenth of the first lunar month, with exceptionally radiant moonlight illuminating the hazy fields and faintly outlining the far-off bamboo grove.

"Let’s go, head to the destination!" Xue Yuantong took the lead, guiding them toward the bamboo grove.

Close by lay a parched little ditch crammed with bamboo and weeds. Xue Yuantong jumped in, narrowly avoiding a tumble that would’ve left Xue Chuchu scrambling to locate her.

Xue Yuantong waded through the grass awhile, shaking her head in dismay: "Dead grass everywhere, all dead grass, no bamboo rat!"

Xue Chuchu: "Need fresh grass?"

"Not only fresh grass, but also fresh soil!" Xue Yuantong clarified.

This made sense to Xue Chuchu, who switched on her flashlight to scour the small bamboo grove.

Though Xue Chuchu appeared cool and detached now, her skin soft as water like one free from worldly taint, deep down she remained a simple village lass.

Back in childhood, she’d toiled on farms, dashed across fields snaring grasshoppers and pursuing butterflies, honing her knack for such pursuits.

After poking around awhile, Xue Chuchu aimed her flashlight at a bamboo stalk and shouted: "Tongtong, come quickly."

Xue Yuantong dashed over, peeking her small face through, astonished: "Bite marks, there really are bamboo rats!"

Buoyed by this, Xue Chuchu pressed on with the two girls hunting for bamboo rat burrow clues.

Jiang Ning watched their thrilled fervor without meddling, content to play the laid-back overseer.

Over the past year-plus, he’d visited the river dam, razed a shady chemical factory, regulated waterways, stopped farmers’ reckless pesticide use, routinely incinerated waste, and more—restoring the ecosystem across dozens of miles into perfect harmony, so bamboo rats thriving was no surprise.

Should those two snag bamboo rats themselves, their triumph would hit harder than any help from him.

"If there’s anything you don’t know, you can ask me." Jiang Ning casually offered.

Catching his words, Xue Yuantong smirked inwardly: "Showing off, aren’t you."

Jiang Ning: "I’m only giving you twenty minutes, and then I’ll take over the bamboo grove."

Xue Yuantong kept hunting those cute bamboo rats.

Bored with idleness, Jiang Ning fished out his phone and launched a chess app.

He first considered quick-matching a rival, but paused briefly before switching to WeChat for a private note: "What are you doing? Let’s play chess."

…

Hu Qi Mountain, villa district.

Up on the second floor’s vast kitchen, Ding Shuyan seldom sported an apron tied at her waist, spoon in hand, her lithe waist arched faintly as she sampled the soup.

Lin Han perched at the table, doubtful: "Is it edible?"

She’d geared up for eating out tonight, yet her niece insisted on brewing soup, leaving Lin Han stunned.

Ding Shuyan nodded softly: "You can drink it."

"Did you blanch the ribs? Is it fishy?" Lin Han fretted.

Unfazed, Ding Shuyan assured her steadily: "The ribs soaked an hour, got cleaned with flour, then blanched—no fishy taste at all."

Observing the oil blooms drifting atop the soup, she ladled a bowl tenderly and set it before Lin Han.

Lin Han peered down; the rib-corn soup blended yam, carrots, red dates, presenting an appetizing sight.

Approaching it like a poison test, she sipped and lit up: "Your cooking skills are not bad."

Typically stoic, Ding Shuyan’s lips twitched upward briefly before flattening; she stated evenly:

"Cooking is not difficult at all; once the procedures are clear, it’s much simpler than math problems, I really don’t understand why some people find cooking hard."

Lin Han sensed a veiled jab from her niece but let it slide thanks to the tasty soup.

Ding Shuyan slipped off the apron, her presence snapping back to that commanding aura of total mastery.

Glancing at the table, she noted her phone screen glowing.

Ding Shuyan glanced at it impassively, seeing Jiang Ning’s message.

She fired back swiftly: "About to eat, can play."

Jiang Ning shot a gracious reply: "Then you eat first, food is the primary need of the people."

Ding Shuyan’s lips quirked into a mysterious grin unwittingly: "No need, I prioritize you."

Only when Lin Han’s stare hit her did Ding Shuyan quell the smile.

Lin Han eyed her intently for moments.

Ding Shuyan held the look steadily till Lin Han backed off, then drifted lightly to her room.

A logic-driven game, chess bowed to Ding Shuyan’s prowess; she’d meant to hand Jiang Ning an opening, then throw the match dramatically for his grand win.

Yet as pieces moved, the board stayed dead even, with her subtly falling behind.

No stickler for purity, she grabbed her iPad, fingers dancing nimbly to reconstruct the position, enlisting a grandmaster AI aide to guide her plays and press the fight.