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16% Serial Transmigrator / Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Chapter 32

After Kaner pulled Hei and Mei into the gate, he found himself back where he was, looking into Mei's eyes.

Tianlan and Bai were there as well, holding his shoulders.

Shao Chen had been calmly observing as his grandchildren and their friend stood stock-still. He remembered having gone through something like this a long time ago, so he wasn't too concerned when it happened.

After looking around, Hei realised that they had returned.

"It looks like we're back."

He turned around to make sure that things were as they should be before he turned back to Mei.

The feeling had returned after coming back into this body, but it wasn't as extreme as before.

'At least I know where it's coming from now. And Mei also knows.'

Thinking this, Hei was able to accept that he was going to have strange feelings for this little girl for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't ideal, but it wasn't the end of the world either.

Nevertheless, there was a distinct awkwardness between them. They both had feelings for the other that weren't appropriate.

Hei had feelings for a little girl due to the other soul within his body, who also had feelings for the little girl.

And the little girl had feelings for the other soul within his body but could only express them through Hei.

Quite the odd love triangle.

Shao Chen was curious as to what the kids had experienced, so he asked.

After hearing the explanation from Hei, he couldn't help laughing.

"Hahaha. So, I have a new granddaughter-in-law? I was sure it would be Tianlan who got married first."

Hearing about the connection between Hei and Mei, Shao Chen was happy. He wasn't too surprised about the whole two Heis situation, as he had seen stuff like this before.

But to have his best friend's daughter suddenly show up had caught him off guard. He had been thinking of how he should handle the situation.

He had the thought that there was a reason Mei was brought to this continent, the same continent he had told his best friend about.

Now that it was like this, it was easy for him to take her in and look after her as one last favour.

Hearing Shao Chen's words, Hei and Mei were embarrassed. Hei tried to clear things up.

"We're not married yet, Grandpa. And it's the other Hei who likes her and who she likes. I'll have you know, I have nothing to do with this."

"Hahaha. Whatever you say Little Hei. Welcome to the family, Shao Mei."

"J-just like that?"

Hei was surprised to hear this. Sure, he had been planning to have Xiulan adopt Mei, but Shao Chen had beat him to it.

"Why not? The two of you are meant to be together, right? The only thing is, it won't be so easy to get your mother to agree."

As he said these words, Xiulan came in with a basket full of ingredients. She had been collecting them from the back of the bakery, where they grew their own supplies.

She noticed the new face, but she just went about her business as usual.

"Little Xiulan, come meet your daughter-in-law."

Shao Chen said this while chuckling.

"Eh?"

Xiulan put down the basket and turned over to Mei, who was nervous.

Mei hadn't expected to become someone's daughter-in-law today, and least of all, a human's. She turned over to Hei, who spoke for her.

"Uh... Mumu. Things happened, and here we are. I would like for you to accept Mei as your daughter-in-law if you don't mind. Even though we aren't married! Yes, we aren't married yet, but still."

Xiulan bent down to look closely at Mei before nodding her head.

"What's your baking experience?"

Mei was surprised by the random question.

"I have never baked before."

Xiulan then looked at Hei with a confused face.

"If your wife doesn't know how to bake, what will you eat? Will you make your own food?"

"..."

Hei was about to respond when he realised that he had really only eaten bread for his entire life thus far.

He wasn't inclined to eat anything else, so if his wife wasn't able to bake, then he really would have to make his own food.

This wasn't a problem per se. He could make his own food, no problem. However, it would be quite strange to have a 'useless' wife.

Thinking this far, he looked to Mei with a conflicted face. Somehow, he had been caught up in Xiulan's atmosphere and was viewing her as his wife who was unable to bake.

When he realised this, he quickly responded.

"She isn't my wife yet! So, she has time to learn. She can join us in our training. Isn't that right, Mei?"

Mei was thoroughly confused at this point. In order to become Hei's wife, she needed to learn how to bake? What kind of strange family was she joining?

She turned to Tianlan and Bai in hopes of finding some normal people, but they looked at her with apathetic faces. As if to say, 'Naturally, you will need to learn to bake if you wish to join the family'.

She tried once more to find normalcy in Shao Chen, but it was the same result.

Resigning to her fate, she bowed and spoke seriously.

"Please instruct me, Mother-in-law."

Seeing this, Hei was dumbfounded. Mei had already taken to calling Xiulan 'Mother-in-law'. What kind of scenario was this?

Xiulan, on the other hand, was pleased with what she saw.

"That remains to be seen. You will start your training tomorrow. Today, your husband can teach you the fundamentals."

Hearing this, Hei objected.

"We're not married yet!"

-Hahaha.

Everyone started laughing, but Bai had a new feeling growing within her. She didn't know why, but there was something about Mei that she didn't like.

For the rest of the day, Hei did as Xiulan had said, and was teaching Mei the fundamentals of baking.

Every now and then Bai would enter his radius, so he was able to detect her. Then she would just leave.

Hei found this behaviour odd. He had never seen Bai act this way, but he assumed she was just curious to see how her new sister was doing.

After a few hours, Mei had produced her first batch of bread and was anxious as she approached Hei with the bread.

She was looking down as she spoke while holding the bread in front of him.

"Um. Will you try my bread? I made it for you."

Hearing these words triggered the other soul, and as a result, influenced Hei.

Hei used his Qi to echo a message within his own body.

[Calm down Hei! You're being a nuisance.]

A short moment later, the other soul calmed and Hei was back to himself.

He turned to Mei and said:

"You know it's not your little husband, right? I'm Kaner."

"I-I know. But if you eat it, he will also taste it."

"..."

Hei couldn't refute this point, and seeing the expectation in Mei's eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. It was just some bread after all.

He took a piece and ate it.

'Ugh. Did you bake this using mud? How can bread be so bad?'

"Not bad for a first attempt. But it needs some work."

Hei wanted to give Mei some encouragement. After all, this was a heartfelt gift. To straight up tell her that it was terrible... He didn't think it would do anyone any good.

After he said this, Bai came out of nowhere with her own bread.

"Brother, I wanted you to try some of my bread as well."

She sort of pushed Mei out of the way a little as she presented her bread.

Hei felt that this was odd. Bai had never wanted him to try her bread before. Why was she doing this all of a sudden?

But, since it was from Bai, he couldn't refuse.

He took a piece and ate it. It was quite delicious. Evidence of her growth over the past year.

"Mm. Your bread is good, Little Bai. Very tasty."

After saying this, he noticed a triumphant smile on Bai's face as she turned to Mei.

Mei seemed to be a little disheartened.

Seeing this, Hei's feelings fluctuated.

[I know. Just calm down.]

"Both breads were good, but Bai has been baking for a long time, so her bread is the better one today. I'm sure you'll catch up in no time, Mei."

Hei was trying to please both women, but he failed miserably.

"Are you saying that her bread is even close to mine, Brother? I worked really hard this time, and this was her first try."

Hearing this, Mei responded.

"Um, Little Bai-"

She was cut off.

"It's Sister Bai to you."

'...'

Hei could see there was a problem here.

Bai's words only served to worsen the situation.

"Right, Sister Bai. I don't think you should be so arrogant. Hei is only trying to be honest, but you are complaining. Sometimes the truth isn't something we want to hear."

Ignoring her words, Bai took a piece of Mei's bread and ate it.

Shortly afterwards, she turned to Hei.

"Brother, are you being truthful? Both breads are good, but mine is only better due to experience?"

"Uh..."

Hei didn't know how to respond. He could see that the situation was spiralling out of control.

Due to Hei's hesitation, Bai left the room in a hurry, and as she did, Hei could see a tear fall to the floor.

Seeing this, Hei felt horrible. Why was it that within a matter of hours, he had already made Bai cry twice?

He hurriedly ran after her.

"Hei!"

Hearing Mei's voice, Hei ground to a halt. That pesky soul had affected him again.

[Dude, seriously. Cool it.]

He turned to Mei and explained.

"Something is wrong with Little Bai. I can't leave her alone."

After saying so, he turned back around and followed after her.

After Hei had left, Mei turned over to her bread and broke a piece off. She hadn't even tried it before she presented it to Hei, so she was curious as to how she did.

As she tasted her 'bread', she almost spat it out.

"This..."

She now realised that Hei had been lying to spare her feelings.

Realising this, she was both happy that he cared for her but also disappointed at her own incompetence.

She then took a piece of the bread that Bai had baked, and the difference was shocking. In all her life, she had never had such a delicacy.

That Hei would lower this bread to only being slightly better than her own...

***

Bai had already left the bakery by the time Hei had finished speaking to Mei.

He had to activate his spiritual perception if he wanted to find her quickly.

After scanning through the whole city, he had found her.

She was under a tree in a quiet corner of the city and had her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried.

Seeing this, Hei went and sat next to her.

"Little Bai, what's the matter?"

Bai had noticed Hei's presence but hadn't reacted until now.

She raised her tear-stained face and spoke:

"Why did you say that her bread was good, Brother?"

Hearing this, Hei didn't know how to respond. Why was Bai making such a big deal out of this?

He used his hand to wipe her tears as he spoke.

"Mei made that bread especially for the one she loves. It wouldn't feel right for me to harshly criticise it since I am in his body right now. So, I decided to give her some encouragement."

"But what about the bread I made for you? I also made it for the one I…"

Bai stopped her words here.

Hearing this, Hei burst into laughter.

"Hahaha. Little Bai, is that what this is about? I thought there was a real problem."

Hearing this, Bai puffed out her cheeks.

"It's not funny, Brother."

Seeing that Bai's mood had improved a little, Hei continued.

"Haha. Your right. It's your brother's fault for being too spectacular. You had no choice but to love me."

"This..."

"But let me tell you. One day, you will meet someone 100 times better than your brother. You are only 6 years old, there is plenty of time for things like that. And in a few years, you will even come to find me super annoying."

Hearing this, the corners of Bai's mouth rose a little.

"How could I find you annoying, Brother?"

"Hehe. That's because I'm going to make sure those little punks know that they can't play around with you. I'll be darned if a single one passes my defences."

"Little punks?"

"You don't know? I'm talking about the boys. With your adorable face, how can they not come flooding in? In a few years, I'll have to keep a constant lookout for you. You don't know the trouble your brother will have to go through. Sigh."

Bai giggled.

"Don't exaggerate, Brother. And I don't think a person exists who is 100 times better than you."

"You think so? Just wait and see. One day, a little punk will come along who catches your eye. And that little punk will get a good beating when he shows up too."

Hei pounded his fist against his hand as he finished his sentence.

-Hahaha.

The two laughed.

After a while, Hei asked:

"So, what do you have against our new sister?"

Bai looked down at the ground before she answered.

"It's just that all this time, it has been the three of us, and now, all of a sudden there is a new person. And she is taking all of your time. I just wanted-"

Before she could finish speaking, Bai felt Hei's hand on her head.

She turned to him.

"You know that your brother Hei and I are two different people. He is the one who has special feelings for Mei. To me, she is more like Tianlan. I consider her my sister and nothing more."

After saying this, Hei paused. He could hear Bai muttering:

"Nothing more than your sister... So, I am also..."

Hearing this, Hei gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

"You, on the other hand, are special. No matter who else comes along, you will always be my number one adorable little sister."


Chapter 33: Chapter 33

After hearing Hei's words, Bai cheered up a little, as could be seen by the smile she had on her face.

Hei knew that it wouldn't be so easy for her to move on from the way she was feeling right now, but he was confident that it was only a matter of time.

"Little Bai. I think you should apologise to Mei. You were a little mean back there."

Hearing this, Bai puffed out her cheeks, then spoke in a low voice.

"Why should I apologise? It was her fault."

"…"

Hei was lost for words for a moment. It was obviously Bai who started the conflict. He wondered how she saw it.

"Even if it was her fault, we're all going to be family from now on. It's better if we can get along."

"…"

Bai didn't respond, so Hei continued.

"I'm not asking you to start liking Mei all of a sudden. I just ask that we minimise conflicts. It is unproductive, after all."

Bai understood this point, so she reluctantly agreed to apologise. She realised that she was the one who took issue with Mei and not the other way around.

Hei rubbed Bai's head before standing.

"OK. I think it's about time we head home."

"Mm."

Instead of rushing home, Hei led Bai around the city on a long walk, just the two of them. He held her hand the entire way.

He wanted to let her know that he was still here for her and that the addition of Mei would not change that.

Bai realised what her brother was doing and happily walked with him.

When they returned to the bakery, Bai went and found Mei. Hei was behind her observing.

"I'm sorry for being rude earlier, please forgive me, Sister Mei."

Mei was surprised to hear Bai's apology. She looked to Hei who was behind her with a warm smile.

Hei had the feeling that she had misunderstood something, but he let it go.

Mei then spoke to Bai.

"No, you were right, Sister Bai. Your bread was far better than mine. Hei was just sparing my feelings."

After the two had spoken these words to each other, there was an awkward silence before Bai took her leave.

After Bai left, Mei looked to Hei with warm eyes. Feeling uncomfortable, Hei avoided her gaze and also left.

Seeing this, Mei smiled. She decided that she would work hard in her baking so that one day, Hei would complement it earnestly as he had done for Bai.

Not knowing any of this, Hei headed to the room where Tianlan was going through his stances.

"Oh? A new technique?"

"N-no. I was just stretching…"

Tianlan didn't want Hei knowing about the new technique he was working on, in fear that Hei would be able to use it against him.

He still remembered the last time he used Sonic Qi and Hei nullified it with his own Sonic Qi. Tianlan was caught off guard, which created the opening required for him to end up in chains.

It wasn't the best of experiences having your own signature move used against you like that. So, he was developing a new technique in secret.

Bai was doing the same.

"Oh? Trying to keep it a secret? Well, bring it on! With Unlimited Chain Works, I'm invincible."

Hei had still yet to learn his lesson about being too confident. Ever since he had learned Unlimited Chain Works, Bai and Tianlan weren't able to do anything against him.

At first, he thought it was another bait-and-switch, but he really couldn't see a scenario where Bai and Tianlan were able to defeat him at the same level of strength.

-Krch.

It wasn't just Hei being overconfident. Even Bai and Tianlan were stumped. They had no idea how they could defeat Hei now that he had Unlimited Chain Works.

What's worse, they were the ones who developed the technique for him.

One would assume that the creators of the technique would know its flaws and strengths inside and out.

But Hei had made several changes in his attempts to use techniques simultaneously and it had become something entirely unrecognisable from the original.

At this point, even if Bai and Tianlan tried to use Unlimited Chain Works themselves, it wouldn't do them any good.

It would be like kittens messing with a lion. Really easy for thins to go wrong.

While Hei and Tianlan were talking, Bai and Mei also happened to enter the room.

Now that all four were gathered, Hei had a question to ask.

"Since you are our sister now, we need to establish the order. How old are you Mei?"

"If I'm not mistaken, I should be 8 years old."

Tianlan stepped in.

"The same as Hei. What is your birthday?"

Mei thought for a while before responding.

"I'm not quite sure. I ended up in the forest the same day as I was born, so I was already away from any family."

She paused for a moment before she continued.

"I do remember that the ground was shaking before I fell asleep."

The others were surprised that Mei was able to remember as far back as the day she was born.

Tianlan and Hei ware further surprised though, because by Mei's description…

"That is also the same as Hei. Where the two of you born on the same day? You really are soulmates."

Tianlan found the situation amusing. He wondered if there was also a young lady born on the same day as him who happened to be his soulmate.

If there was, he would try to find her.

The only problem was, he had no idea where to begin.

He had even asked Hei for some advice, but all he got was, 'If it's meant to be, then the two of you will meet. That's just how these things work'. Which wasn't very helpful at all.

Hearing this, Hei spoke:

"So we all share the same birthday? What an interesting coincidence."

Bai added on:

"I wonder if it is a requirement for Envoys of the Heavens to be born on that day."

This was an interesting idea, but their current sample size was too small, so they couldn't confirm it right now.

They would have time to dig deeper as they discovered more envoys. After all, the voice had said 'four have gathered' as opposed to 'the four have gathered'. There was a slight difference between the two.

Of course, they could have just been reading too much into it. It was entirely possible that they were the only envoys.

With that settled, the three began teaching Mei their core technique.

Before she started practising it, Hei decided that it would be best to clarify the situation.

"Mei. By practising this technique, you are becoming a member of our Shao Clan. And by extension, you are becoming one of my most precious and one of my most trusted."

This was Hei trying to make her feel welcome. After all, she had just found out that she was alone in this world. He wanted her to know that there was a place for her.

But there were also important matters to discuss.

"However, my Shao Clan does not have mercy for traitors. You are the first outsider to join as a family member and as such the first who is subject to these consequences."

He sharpened his eyes as he continued.

"Even if you are the other Hei's little wife, you won't do well to betray us. You will become our enemy, and you know what happens to the enemies of my Shao Clan."

Saying these words, there was a violent reaction from the other soul, but Hei forcefully resisted it. It was very important to make these things clear.

The only ones who he would allow to betray him and get away with it were Shao Chen, Xiulan, Tianlan and Bai, because they had no choice in being part of his Shao Clan, and they would get dragged into any of the messes he may create.

Anyone else would suffer severe consequences, and depending on the offence…

Seeing the cold look in Hei's eyes, Mei was startled. She didn't expect him to be this serious.

In all the time she had known him, she hadn't seen this side of him, which was both frightening and comforting.

It was frightening because she could imagine the consequences. She still remembered the way Hei had chased her through the forest and the fear she felt as she realised that she couldn't escape.

And that was with Hei just messing around. He even called her 'friend' immediately afterwards. As a result, she wouldn't want to see him serious.

On the other hand, she knew that as soon as she joined the Shao Clan, the very same frightening Hei would become her most reliable support and that his blade would be pointed at her enemies instead.

There was something about the idea of Hei becoming angry on her behalf that made her feel warm and fuzzy.

This, combined with the special bond she shared with him, made it easy for her to decide. Besides, in what situation would she betray the one she loved?

This was that her immature mind was thinking as she made her choice.

She spoke with a warm smile:

"Of course, I want to join the Shao Clan."

Her smile made Hei uncomfortable, so he hurriedly continued.

"OK. These are the first four layers of the Way of Essence. Our Shao Clan's core inheritance. Practice it well, and soon enough you will be able to join us in our sparring practice."

"Mm."

Mei happily started her practice of the Way of Essence.

Because of the way the technique was developed, One could immediately move to the next layer after learning the current one, so Mei was already a transcendent realm cultivator within the hour.

It was just that her strength was far less than other transcendent realm cultivators, simply due to a lack of accumulation.

Bai had been curious to see how their technique would work for someone who hadn't been practising it layer by layer as they had.

The results were within expectations.

Mei's mental energy stores would deplete in seconds, and she would have to wait a long time before she could resume her cultivation.

But in exchange, her rate of growth was extremely fast. What would have taken Tianlan and Bai an entire month during the early days, was only taking a few hours for Mei.

In no time at all, she had already reached strength equivalent to the initial stage of the internalisation realm.

It had to be known that even before beginning her cultivation, she was a high tiered spirit beast, that was already at the peak of the externalisation realm in terms of battle strength.

Adding the Way of Essence on top of her natural gifts allowed her to soar into the heavens.

At this rate, it would only be a matter of months until she caught up with Bai and Tianlan.

Hei had a sinking feeling as he noticed this.

Bai and Tianlan were also smiling as they patter their new sister's shoulders. No trace of the resentment Bai had felt before could be seen as she was already formulating strategies.

Seeing this, Hei's bad feeling became worse.

He decided to go out into the back and practice his Unlimited Chain Works. He felt that he would need it very soon.

***

A few months passed by and Mei was already used to living in her new home.

She would spend most of her time in spirit beast form because Hei had requested that she do so.

The bond between them would become significantly less noticeable while she was in spirit beast form, which allowed Hei to feel more comfortable.

For Mei though, it was a sacrifice she was making so that Hei could have his way. She quite enjoyed the feelings she had when she was in human form.

After long years of being isolated in the Spring Leaf Forest, she was finally able to know family and love.

While the spirit beasts in the forest did treat her with respect, they were also distant. So, she really quite enjoyed just being one of the family.

Also, she took her baking training very seriously. She even took it to the point where she would find Xiulan and ask for guidance even outside of the sessions.

Hei, Tianlan and Bai all found this incomprehensible.

They had become used to the baking training, and actually looked forward to it every day, but they were fine with just the mandatory sessions.

To bake even more after that? What was Mei thinking?

They soon had reason to resent Mei. And that was because Xiulan had taken a liking to this new daughter-in-law of hers.

She had started scolding Hei for not being as determined as his wife. And Tianlan and Bai got speeches about how they should be more like their sister-in-law.

Shao Chen just watched as the days went by.

Not only was he passively completing his agreement with the eastern guardian, but he was also raising his best friend's daughter, hands-free.

Coming to the lower eastern continent was the best decision of his life. Or, at least that was the way he saw it.

On one particular day, Hei noticed that Mei's strength was adequate to join in on the sparring matches.

"It looks like you're ready to start sparring with us now, Mei."

Hei looked to his siblings, who nodded in agreement.

"It's been a while since we've been to the Fang Clan. Why don't we go over and take a look?"


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