Chapter 156: Bai Xi's Self-Awareness

Watching little Shun-zi get beaten, Little Shan and Little Stone felt a sudden urge to laugh. However, their entire bodies were covered in stinging, painful burns, and even the slightest twitch of their lips hurt acutely, so the laughter never quite made it out.

"That's right, give it to him good!" Little Shan's mother kept her hands busy while angrily directing her husband not to hold back. "Teach him a proper lesson, and once you're done, drag him right back home and have a serious talk with his parents. Everyone knows how dangerous the mountain is, yet he actually took Great-Auntie to mess with bees! Thank goodness Great-Auntie is blessed with great fortune and longevity. If Great-Auntie had been stung even once, do you think any of us would have let him off the hook?"

Little Stone's mother chimed in as well. Indeed, Great-Auntie had only recently recovered, and the villagers were terrified of her overworking herself. Just the thought of tiny little Great-Auntie venturing into the mountain because of some troublemaking brat filled them with dread and heartbreak. If Old Ancestor Bai knew that such a young Great-Auntie was worrying herself sick over every little thing in the village, it would surely break his heart.

After all, Little Shun-zi wasn't their own child, so Little Shan's father didn't hit him too harshly. After landing a few resounding smacks, he hoisted the boy up and hauled him home. Shortly after, Little Shun-zi found himself on the receiving end of a proper beating from his own parents, who had just learned the whole story.

"You stinky little brat, have you grown leopard's gall? It's one thing for you to go looking for trouble with bees yourself, but dragging Great-Auntie into it as well? If I don't give you a thorough thrashing today, I'll change my last name to yours!"

Hearing this from the sidelines, Little Shan's father couldn't resist pouring oil on the fire: "Aren't you two already the same last name?!"

"..." Little Shun-zi's father was instantly left speechless.

With Little Shan's father occasionally fanning the flames from the sidelines, the end result was that Little Shun-zi ended up confined to the house for two whole days, unable to step outside.

As for Bai Xi, she was currently savoring the bee pupae stir-fried by Li Jia. They were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and popping several into her mouth at once filled her with rich, savory flavor. Sipping on warm water sweetened with honey, she narrowed her eyes in pure bliss. The tiny little girl wore a contented expression, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly—looking impossibly adorable no matter how one looked at her.

Seeing Bai Xi like this, Li Jia couldn't help but smile, but the memory of the dangers involved in foraging for bee pupae quickly made her frown again.

"Great-Auntie, you really mustn't go into the mountain. This is no joking matter; there are fierce beasts up there." With the weather turning so cold, countless wild animals were stocking up on food for the winter. Venturing into the mountain right now was even more dangerous than in the summer.

At the mention of fierce beasts, Xiao Hei turned its head to glance at Li Jia, thinking to itself, *What fierce beast could possibly be more formidable than me?*

Bai Xi chuckled softly, swinging her little legs leisurely as she replied, "I'll be fine, Xiao Hei is with me."

"Uh..." Li Jia looked at Xiao Hei, and her words instantly caught in her throat.

Come to think of it, Xiao Hei was growing at an astonishing rate. If they were talking about fierce beasts, Xiao Hei was probably the undisputed king of the nearby mountains by now.

"Don't worry, Xiao Hei is super strong." Her appetite had already been thoroughly piqued; how could she possibly pass up going into the mountain?

Li Jia acknowledged that Xiao Hei was indeed powerful, but it still wasn't a good idea for Great-Auntie to run off to the mountain on a whim. Leaving the treehouse, Li Jia headed straight for the village chief's house.

The village chief had also caught wind of the incident. Seeing Li Jia arrive to voice her worries, he pondered for a moment and decided to assign villagers to take turns keeping an eye on Great-Auntie, vowing that she must not be allowed up the mountain.

A couple of days later, it happened to be Bai An'an's day off from school. He brought back a new picture book for Bai Xi, and thus the arduous task fell squarely onto his shoulders. He didn't need to do much—just keep Great-Auntie distracted and placated whenever she got the urge to head up the mountain.

However, Bai Xi was not actually a six-year-old toddler; it would be a miracle if she could be easily placated.

When Bai An'an walked over holding several skewers of roasted river shrimp, Bai Xi immediately saw through his intentions. After all, having been closely watched for days with a different person assigned each shift, how could she not know?

"I'm going up the mountain." Bai Xi showed no sign of softening despite eating his food. Munching on a roasted shrimp, she spoke in a slightly muffled voice.

Bai An'an froze. Great-Auntie was playing completely outside the rulebook! Previously, she would sneak away quietly or resort to threats, but now she was stating it outright, leaving him temporarily at a loss for how to respond.

Bai Xi spat out a shrimp shell, cast a sideways glance at Bai An'an, and asked, "Are you coming with me or not?"

"Great-Auntie, you..." He vividly remembered the village chief's strict instructions not to let Great-Auntie go up the mountain.

"I remember your name was chosen by my father."

Unsure why Bai Xi brought this up, Bai An'an nodded anyway: "Yes, my name was given by Old Ancestor Bai." He had been born premature, frail, and sickly. Before he was even a month old, he had run high fevers several times, and by three months, he was barely larger than a month-old baby, constantly plagued by diarrhea.

In the end, it was Old Ancestor Bai who instructed his mother on how to prepare propolis, telling her to break off a tiny piece to dissolve in his daily porridge. Miraculously, his diarrhea stopped for good. To ensure he grew up safely and healthily, his parents had gone to beg Old Ancestor Bai, who then bestowed upon him the name An'an, meaning safety and peace.

"So, you have to listen to me." Bai Xi finished her last shrimp, wiped her little mouth, and looked at Bai An'an with the tone of someone offering complete protection: "Don't worry, with me around, no one will beat you up." Then, with a chuckle of her own, she added, "Besides, who in the village doesn't know I'm not the obedient type?"

Bai An'an was rendered speechless, thinking to himself, *Great-Auntie, at least you're self-aware enough to know you're disobedient.*

"Are you coming or not?" Even as Bai Xi asked, she had already picked up a small walking stick, projecting an air of *if you aren't coming, don't try to stop me either*.

Things having reached this point, what more could Bai An'an say? He could only nod in resignation.

Only then did Bai Xi nod with satisfaction. "That's more like it. If Xiao Rui weren't busy, I wouldn't even be taking you."

Bai An'an: "..."

"Great-Auntie, am I really worse than Chen Rui?" At the very least, he wasn't weak; he could carry Great-Auntie up and down the mountain, shoulder heavy loads, and serve as a human footrest if needed.

It was a good thing Xiao Hei couldn't hear the internal murmurings of Bai An'an, otherwise it would have roared at him: *My master has me to carry her up and down the mountain, why on earth would she ever need you to hold her? Shameless wretch!*

"Not quite." A conflicted expression crossed Bai Xi's little face. "It's just that Xiao Rui asked me to wait for her so we could go up together. But she gets back so late from school that if I waited for her, we wouldn't be able to go at all."

"Great-Auntie, then how about..." Before Bai An'an could finish, Bai Xi had already darted down the stairs ahead of him.

As if she needed to hear the rest of what Bai An'an wanted to say! He was definitely going to suggest waiting for Chen Rui to go together. She wasn't a genuine six-year-old child; how could she possibly fall for such a trick?

Xiao Hei didn't even glance at Bai An'an as it immediately trotted after her.

Seeing this, Bai An'an could only hoist the bamboo basket Bai Xi had assigned him and hurry to catch up. Great-Auntie was becoming harder and harder to manage by the day.

"Great-Auntie, since Xiao Hei is already capable of hunting, why do you still need to go up the mountain yourself?"

Perhaps mollified by Bai An'an's compliance, Bai Xi was in a good mood. Perched on Xiao Hei's back, her eyes curved into bright, smiling crescents. "Little Shun-zi and the others got stung by bees. I'm going to wipe those bees out so the villagers don't keep getting stung."

*(Patting the poor little darling who got tricked by his cousin. Same world, same kind of cousin.)*