Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation

When she arrived, she vomited everything!

Jiang Ning had gained an advantage but said, "No need for the car, let's take the opportunity to stroll instead. Tongtong, let's go."

He carried a carrying pole on his shoulder as he walked toward the small path between the mountains and forests.

Xue Yuantong stuffed the four wads of banknotes into her bag, feeling overjoyed inside. She had been worried that there wasn't much money left on her Evergreen Liquid tourism card, but unexpectedly, she had come into a windfall.

She followed Jiang Ning with sheer delight.

Leaving the tour guide behind to go crazy on the spot.

The bus passengers, seeing a pile of men lying on the ground, couldn't help but feel their thoughts stir.

The female tour guide pulled out a short knife and hissed, "What are you looking at!"

...

In the tranquil forest, there was an abandoned path where occasionally branches and weeds were obstructions. Jiang Ning's carrying pole "whooshed" past, instantly clearing the way.

Xue Yuantong didn't know where Jiang Ning was heading, but she never worried.

The further they went, the deeper they got. Squirrels holding nuts squatted on trees, spiders hung upside down in their webs, birds flitted through the woods, and the murmuring of a stream echoed from afar. The pristine charm of the primitive mountains was fully revealed.

The two of them sightseed along the way, and midway, Xue Yuantong opened a can of food, munching as they walked, completely in the mindset of a tourist.

After more than two hours, the space above their heads suddenly opened up. Distant peaks loomed, and a modern highway extended from beneath their feet, built around the mountain.

In contrast to the plains where Yuzhou was located, Yun Province was mostly comprised of mountains and terrain.

"It's four thirty," said Xue Yuantong.

Jiang Ning said, "Following this road, we can make it to where we're staying before dark."

Xue Yuantong said, "Right on!"

After walking some distance, she turned back to gaze at the long downhill stretch, sighing, "If I had a skateboard, it'd be really joyful to slide down from here."

Jiang Ning said, "I'm afraid you'd tumble all the way down the mountain."

"Hmph!"

The highway was very empty, and after walking for half an hour, a SUV zoomed by.

The SUV drove a few dozen meters, stopped by the roadside, and when Jiang Ning and Xue Yuantong passed by, a young woman poked her head out of the window:

"Sister, need a lift?"

Xue Yuantong thanked her and then politely declined, with the world in decline and people's hearts not as pure, she was unsure whether the offer was made in good faith or malice.

"Alright then."

The SUV started up again.

Jiang Ning walked on, and from afar, saw the SUV parked by the roadside, with two men checking it with tools, one about fifty years old, the other roughly thirty, likely father and son.

As Jiang Ning approached, they were still fixing the car, looking quite frustrated.

When Xue Yuantong passed by, she looked through the car window and saw an elderly person and a young woman with a child inside the vehicle— the same woman who had spoken earlier.

Seeing someone approaching, the man repairing the car greeted them with a wry smile.

Xue Yuantong asked, "Car trouble?"

"It just suddenly died," the man replied helplessly, and it looked like they'd have to call for a tow truck, which was quite a hassle.

Jiang Ning scanned the car with his Divine Sense and identified the problem: the throttle body was too dirty.

The man asked curiously, "Do you know about cars?"

Jiang Ning replied, "A bit."

He approached and tapped the engine, while simultaneously using his Spiritual Power to clean the throttle body, "Try starting it again."

The man was skeptical but went back to the driver's seat and tried starting it, and to his astonishment, the car started.

He couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "Impressive!"

They once again invited, "Young man, we owe you one. Get in, let us give you a ride."

This time Jiang Ning didn't refuse and got into the SUV with Xue Yuantong.

The SUV had three rows of seats and wasn't too crowded.

Chatting along the way, Xue Yuantong learned that they were visiting their hometown, and the elderly person in the car hadn't visited his village for thirty years. With the longing for one's roots, he came back to have a look.

...

At the temporary bus station, there was a bus parked.

The SUV driver, Brother Chen, said, "From here, you can take a bus to the county town, and then another to the urban area. We actually wanted to invite you for a meal and take you along with us on our way home, but now it can't be helped. The elderly back home are eager to return, haha!"

The young woman touched her son's head and insisted:

"We're planning to drop by the village, you guys are tourists, right? You could actually come with me, it's just two more pairs of chopsticks after all."

"Sister Zheng, no need, thank you for bringing us this far," replied Xue Yuantong, gratefully.

Sister Zheng's son, holding playing cards, said reluctantly:

"Don't go, brother, let's keep playing cards."

Meanwhile, a man in a floral shirt was waving a fan nearby:

"There are no buses at this hour. If you want to go back to the county, you'll have to wait for tomorrow's bus."

Upon hearing this, Sister Zheng cheerily said, "Girl, get on the bus, it's just perfect to come visit our village with us."

Xue Yuantong hesitated, but then heard Jiang Ning say, "You haven't seen a mountain village before, let's go take a look."

Sister Zheng's son cheered, "Get on, get on, let's play cards!"

This robust little boy, about five or six years old, was completely addicted to playing Dou Dizhu (Fight the Landlord).

And so Xue Yuantong got back on the bus.

After Brother Chen inquired, he drove towards his grandfather's hometown. The road was bumpy, and upon reaching the entrance to the village, they discovered that it was no longer there.

After asking around, they learned that the village had moved thirty years prior.

Brother Chen hurried to the new village, only to find himself back at the town's temporary bus station—it turned out that the road to the new village was all mountain paths, inaccessible by car, and they would have to walk there.

Brother Chen and Sister Zheng exchanged helpless glances, but since the elderly family member longed for home, they had no choice but to ask a local acquaintance to lead the way along the rugged mountain road to the new village.

The little boy, who had been raised in the city, couldn't endure such hardships. Partway through, he started wailing, sat down on the ground, stubbornly refusing to move.

Brother Chen and Sister Zheng resorted to their special skills: spanking the child.

After getting a thorough spanking, the little boy was all tears and snot, and Sister Zheng interrogated him, "Are you going to be stubborn now?"