Chapter 401 - 395: This Really Hit His Sweet Spot

"Jiaojiao, do me another favor. I can’t show my face to Grandma and Grandpa, and it’s best if the villagers don’t find out either. Could you bring Pandi and Zhaodi out to me?"

’Since I’m already dead in everyone’s eyes, I might as well stay that way.’

Yun Jiao nodded. "Okay, I’ll go get them now."

Yun Pan Di and Yun Zhaodi were already planning to leave anyway. Having someone they knew, someone with experience surviving out in the world, lead them would be for the best.

Yun Jiao went into the village and quickly found out where the two sisters were. Then, she led them to the bamboo forest.

"Yun Jiao, why did you bring us here?"

"Someone’s here to see you."

Yun Zhaodi asked, "Who?"

"Third Sister, Fourth Sister."

Yun Laidi’s voice rang out, and the other two instantly froze.

Yun Pan Di stared at the person opposite her. The face was familiar, yet different from before.

Yun Laidi walked up to them.

"I’m sorry," she apologized, her voice choked with emotion.

It took a long moment for Yun Pan Di to react before she threw her arms around her.

"You’re not dead, you’re not dead..."

Yun Laidi hugged her back. "I’m sorry. Back then, I was too scared to face everything, so I chose to run away."

"I... I really was going to jump into the sea and end it all. Thankfully, I ran into Yun Jiao back then..."

Crying, Yun Laidi recounted what had happened.

She wiped the tears from her face. "I’ve earned a little money out here now. I want to bring you guys out to live with me. Are you willing?"

Yun Zhaodi was the first to speak up. "Second Sister, I’ll go!"

Yun Jiao stood off to the side, watching the three sisters discuss, munching on a piece of candy.

In the end, the three sisters came over to Yun Jiao.

Yun Zhaodi threw her arms around Yun Jiao.

"Yun Jiao, thank you!"

Yun Jiao: ’Being hugged by Yun Zhaodi... it feels really strange.’

"I was a real jerk before. I’m going to follow Second and Third Sister out to make a life for ourselves now. When I make money, I’ll buy you lots of good things to eat."

Yun Jiao hummed in agreement. "Then go out there and make lots of money."

Seeing there was nothing else for her to do, Yun Jiao headed home.

As soon as she got home, two dogs leaped on her.

Even the tabby cat lounging on the wall dropped from the sky, landing in her arms like a bomb.

’Her Cat Boss is solid meat. He’s really heavy.’

Cat Boss had been eating too well since coming to her house. His body was what you’d call stocky, but he was still a surprisingly agile fat cat.

"Mom, Jiaojiao’s back!"

Yun Xiaowu heard the dogs barking and rushed over. The moment he saw Yun Jiao, he yelled at the top of his lungs.

His shout startled all the neighbors’ dogs into barking.

"Jiaojiao, what took you so long to get back?"

It turned out Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe had already returned. When they learned that Yun Jiao had come back earlier but still wasn’t home, they had gotten a little worried and were about to go look for her.

Yun Jiao said, "I ran into someone on the way. Mom, you’ll never guess who I saw."

Once inside, Yun Jiao told them about running into Yun Laidi and how she was planning to take Yun Pan Di and Yun Zhaodi away with her.

"Laidi’s back?!"

Everyone was quite surprised.

Then, Granny Yun nodded. "This is for the best. Laidi came back at just the right time. The three sisters will support each other out there and do better and better."

Wang Mei warned the boys of the family.

"You’ll act like you never heard anything about Laidi. The moment you step out that door, you forget it. No one is to say a word."

Yun Xiaowu and the others nodded. Keeping a secret? They were pros at that.

Everyone briefly discussed the matter of Yun Laidi and her sisters, then moved on.

They had a fragrant and delicious meal. Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe, in particular, ate until their stomachs were bulging.

They rubbed their bellies with satisfied expressions.

Yun Linhe said, "Nothing beats a home-cooked meal. I was always thinking about this food when I was out at sea."

Yun Linhai nodded in agreement.

Wang Mei shot Yun Linhe a look. "You’re hopeless."

Still, she gave him a light push. "You can’t go to sleep after stuffing yourself like that. Go walk it off, then take a bath and go to bed."

Seeing their scruffy beards and haggard faces, she couldn’t help but feel for her men.

The two of them had never looked so disheveled when they were at home.

It was clear that going out to the deep sea was no easy task.

After a quick walk to aid their digestion, their stomachs no longer feeling so tight, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe quickly took a combat shower and went to sleep.

Yun Jiao played with her brothers for a while, rolling iron hoops, before she also went to bed.

The next day, Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe had already cleaned themselves up.

They looked refreshed and full of energy again.

Remembering the things they brought back from the seabed hadn’t been unpacked yet, they suddenly felt a sense of anticipation, wondering what could be inside.

Opening those crates felt like the joy of opening a blind box.

But they wouldn’t do it today. Today, Yun Jiao had to go report to her master first.

As expected, she got another earful, but Elder Xu also gave her a physical check-up.

"Not bad. Strong as an ox."

Yun Jiao: ’...’

"Master, I’m going to head over to Grandpa Gu’s place first."

’Grandpa Gu is back. I wonder if the ancient book is restored yet.’

When she ran over to Ancient’s place, her Brother Ba was there too.

He was at a small table, diligently practicing his calligraphy.

Yun Jiao leaned over for a look. HISS... ’Lesser Seal Script!’

Lesser Seal Script was very beautiful to look at, with a unique, mystical quality.

But the script was incredibly difficult to write.

And now, her Brother Ba had already written three rows of it, and it was beautifully done.

Brush calligraphy was all about "bone and style," which Yun Jiao couldn’t discern, but she could still tell whether the characters looked good or not.

"Brother Ba, you’re learning way too fast."

The intensely focused Yun Xiao Ba looked up at the sound of her voice and broke into a smile.

"Master says I have a talent for this. Besides, Lesser Seal Script is beautiful, and I really like it myself."

Yun Xiao Ba was truly talented in the arts; he could already draw simple portraits of their family members.

"Well now, the little lass is here."

Ancient came out from the inner room. Yun Xiao Ba called out "Master," then lowered his head and continued practicing.

He was so self-motivated and disciplined in his calligraphy and painting practice that even Ancient couldn’t help but tell him to rest more often.

But Yun Xiao Ba said that this was his way of resting.

At home, he could play with his brothers and Jiaojiao.

But outside, with his personality, Yun Xiao Ba had almost no friends.

He had no interest in dealing with such social relationships.

During school, his way of relaxing was practicing calligraphy and painting, and occasionally going to the sports field with his brothers to exercise.

"Grandpa Gu, is my book ready?"

"I knew you’d be anxious about it."

Ancient took out an ancient book. "This one was in better condition, so the restoration was quicker. However, some of the characters on it are still too blurry to make out. This is as far as I could restore it."

Yun Jiao took it and had a look. The book had a blue cover, common for ancient texts, and the paper inside was slightly yellowed.

She opened it and found the pages inside were neat, without too many creases. This was already very good.

When paper gets wet, even just a little damp, it will wrinkle and become uneven if you dry it directly in the sun.

As it was, Yun Jiao was already very satisfied.

"Thank you, Grandpa Gu."

After a moment’s thought, she said, "Grandpa Gu, I have quite a collection of things. Why don’t you come to my place and pick something out as payment?"

Ancient had wanted to say he didn’t need any payment, but this was an offer he truly couldn’t refuse.

He knew, after all, that this little girl had salvaged a shipwreck.

An ancient shipwreck, no less! There were bound to be plenty of treasures inside—antiques!

This really hit his weak spot.

Ancient rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "Well then, Grandpa Gu won’t be polite."