Yama Reborn
Chapter 53 - 51 [Who is it?!]

Chapter 53: Chapter 51 [Who is it?!]

Chapter 51: Who Is It?!

At the EBC base camp, Chen Nuo stood with Niveer before the tombstones.

A wooden plaque was stuck among the layers of gravestones, bearing a sentence carved with a knife: Mr. and Mrs. Devonshire rest eternally beneath Mount Everest. May their souls find peace.

Not far from this wooden plaque, an ice axe was thrust into the ground. A metal-chained name tag hung from it, clattering in the wind.

The tag read: Lux Devonshire.

Niveer stood for a long time; Chen Nuo stood quietly beside her.

After a while, Niveer suddenly unzipped her storm jacket, removed a name tag from her neck, bent down, and hung it on her sister’s ice axe.

"Nivelle Devonshire."

In the wind, the sisters’ name tags tangled and clattered together.

Chen Nuo silently watched Niveer finish everything. Only when the girl finally stood up did he slowly ask, "Have you let go?"

Niveer looked up at Mount Everest in the distance.

"Father, Mother, and Sister all remain on this mountain. And this mountain now resides in my heart."

A soft sigh, long and seemingly filled with countless meanings, eventually dissipated in the wind.

Back in the tent, the two sat on their sleeping bags.

Niveer sipped some porridge with a bit of fish floss mixed in. The girl ate with a gentle quietness, saying nothing.

"I’ve taken care of things," Chen Nuo said slowly. "The hiking team you joined—I’ve calmed them down. After all, you suddenly cutting the climbing rope with a knife scared them. Fortunately, it didn’t lead to any accidents or injuries. I told them..."

"That I went mad?" The girl quietly glanced at Chen Nuo.

"No, I said you might have altitude sickness and were hallucinating." Chen Nuo shook his head. "They’ve agreed not to press charges. Of course, in exchange, I gave them some equipment—taken from the supplies you brought."

"Thank you."

The girl hesitated, looked at Chen Nuo, then shook her head. "Never mind."

"What?"

"You..." Niveer’s tone was very serious as she whispered, "I don’t know how you came to know me, how you knew so much about me... and then to coincidentally meet me here, and save me. I’m not a child; these things are obviously not coincidences. But... I understand even better that someone as mysterious as you probably wouldn’t tell me even if I asked."

Saying this, the girl shook her head again. "So, never mind. I won’t ask."

Chen Nuo smiled. This was good too.

He was most concerned about whether Niveer had truly "awakened."

In his previous life, after he saved Niveer and began hearing the fabricated version of her life story she had hallucinated, he had been deceived for a time. But soon after, he investigated and found out the girl’s true story, shattering her dream.

At that time, Niveer had acted very erratically. Unlike this life, in the previous one, she had been immersed in the dream she wove for a full seven years. Immersed too deeply to pull herself out, so when the dream shattered, her reaction was exceptionally violent.

Chen Nuo spent two months caring for the girl, repeatedly stopping her self-destructive tendencies.

Fortunately, in this life, Niveer’s dream had only lasted a few months; she hadn’t sunk too deep.

Last night in the tent, she had cried for an entire night, at one point crying until she was hypoxic. Chen Nuo had to get out the oxygen tank so she could continue crying while breathing oxygen.

He hadn’t stopped her... because it’s better to vent than to suppress; crying it all out might actually be a good thing.

She cried until dawn, then fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she seemed relatively calm, only asking Chen Nuo to accompany her to pay respects at the tombstones near the base camp.

With the experience from his past life... Hummingbird, after waking from her dream, was a bit unstable at first, but then gradually normalized.

In the years she spent by Chen Yanluo’s side, she never had a relapse.

Actually, her most critical issue was the need for someone to forcibly shatter her dream, to awaken her from it.

It was very difficult, yet in a way, also simple.

That night, they shared a tent.

After Niveer crawled into her sleeping bag, she suddenly said in a low voice, "Although I was dreaming before, I still have memories. I remember... on our first day at base camp, when we were walking back from outside, you were staring at my butt."

"...Uh..."

This is rather awkward.

"You’d better behave tonight. Besides being skilled in horse riding, swimming, rock climbing, and parachuting... I’m also proficient in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu."

After saying this, the girl turned over and went to sleep.

「March 24th.」

「Morning.」

Chen Nuo woke early and packed his belongings.

Niveer quietly got up, slipped out of her sleeping bag, put on her storm jacket, and then silently packed her sleeping bag.

"I’m planning... to donate my parents’ inheritance to establish a foundation to support mountaineering," the girl suddenly said.

"Hmm, a good idea." Chen Nuo didn’t stop what he was doing, speaking slowly, "That’s good. Don’t keep all the money yourself; it’ll prevent people from getting ideas about it."

"So, after we leave here today, we’ll part ways and never see each other again?" the girl asked quietly, looking at Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo tilted his head, thought for a moment. "Probably not."

"...You seem to be a person full of secrets."

"Since you know they’re secrets, don’t ask," Chen Nuo said with a smile, revealing his white teeth.

"..."

The girl stood up, her expression cool. They crawled out of the tent together.

"You know... actually... if you had really done something to me last night, I wouldn’t have refused you at all."

"......" Chen Nuo smirked cheekily. "Well, then... how about we stay here one more day?"

"...A missed chance is a missed chance." The girl’s face was stern as she turned and walked away.

Watching her retreating figure... Chen Nuo sighed softly.

I... of course, I knew, little Hummingbird.

"Stop staring at my butt," Niveer said from ahead, without turning back, tossing the words over her shoulder.

Chen Yanluo rolled his eyes and looked away.

Can’t a guy even browse the menu if he’s not ordering?

The helicopter arrived in the morning to take them from EBC back to Lukla Airport, from where they would transfer to a flight back to Kathmandu.

Throughout the entire flight, Niveer didn’t say another word to Chen Nuo.

Not a single word.

The girl just remained silent, staring blankly out the window.

Chen Nuo assumed she was still processing the immense emotional residue and information overload from months of living in a dream, so he didn’t disturb her.

It wasn’t until the plane landed at Kathmandu Airport.

Stepping down the airstairs, the girl suddenly turned and, like a weary bird returning to the forest, threw herself into Chen Nuo’s arms.

She hugged him tightly, her hands clasped firmly around Chen Nuo’s neck, her body pressed hard against his.

Chen Nuo sighed and wrapped his arms around Niveer’s back.

They held each other like that for a full minute.

The girl spoke softly:

"Just say one word now, and I’ll follow you!

"I won’t ask who you are!

"I won’t ask what kind of person you are!

"I won’t ask what you do!

"And I won’t care how many secrets you have!

"—Just say one word, and I can go with you right now, no matter where!"

Chen Nuo sighed gently. The girl’s hair brushed his nose, making it itch a little. He said in a deep voice, "I hope you have your own life—a beautiful, bright, normal life. Go be an extreme sports expert."

"..."

The girl looked up at Chen Nuo with a hint of disappointment, finally nodded, then rested her head on his shoulder again.

They hugged for another half minute.

"Your hand... is on my butt..."

"Ah!" Chen Yanluo, ever the lecher, gave an embarrassed grin and retracted his hand. "Sorry, sorry, a subconscious action."

The girl gently pushed Chen Nuo away, took a step back, looked up at the young man, and took a deep breath.

She turned and walked away.

As she walked, she took off her storm jacket and threw it on the ground.

"Hey, your jacket! And... your luggage and equipment."

"I don’t want them anymore. I don’t want any of it. I’ll never climb a mountain again in my life."

The girl didn’t look back, just waved her arm behind her as she walked away.

In the warm air of Kathmandu, Niveer strode off the tarmac and into the airport terminal.

Chen Nuo watched her go.

He noticed a damp patch on his shoulder.

Well, this life being like this... is also quite good.

「March 24th, a little past eleven at night.」

Sun Keke lay in bed, tossing and turning. She tried several positions but couldn’t fall asleep.

Annoyed, the girl finally sighed, sat up, leaned against the headboard, and stared at the ceiling.

She had already tried counting sheep.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...

But eventually, they turned into little piglets with delicate features.

She hadn’t been able to reach him by phone for the past few days either.

Out of service area?

Isn’t he on a business trip? Why would he be out of the service area?

She wondered if he could make it back by tomorrow.

Tomorrow night was School Belle Sun’s eighteenth birthday. She had invited a few close female classmates, the class president, Luo Qing, a few other boys she was relatively friendly with, and some relatives...

After all, an eighteenth birthday was somewhat significant.

But that guy... there was still no word from him. She didn’t know if he could make it back.

And... perhaps he didn’t even know it was her birthday.

CLICK!

Hmm? School Belle Sun turned her head.

CLICK!

Another sound.

It was coming from the window.

School Belle Sun hopped out of bed and walked barefoot to the window.

CLICK!

This time she saw it clearly: a small pebble hit the windowpane.

Looking down, she saw the young man standing by the roadside below, one hand in his pocket, the other just having tossed another pebble.

Although he was a bit far away and she couldn’t see his expression clearly.

But in Sun Keke’s imagination, that guy was definitely wearing that infuriatingly smug grin of his right now!

School Belle Sun instantly felt her energy restored!

A thought flashed through the girl’s mind. She deliberately didn’t open the window. Instead, she turned, dove onto her bed, grabbed her phone, and her fingers flew across the keypad.

Sun Keke: What do you want? It’s the middle of the night!

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ. A reply came.

Chen Nuo: Open the window.

Sun Keke: I don’t want to!

CLICK!

Another pebble hit the window.

Sun Keke texted: What is it?!

This time, there was a pause.

Sun Keke started to worry... He wasn’t really angry, was he?

Just as she thought this, a text message arrived.

Chen Nuo: Happy eighteenth birthday, Keke.

She glanced at the clock.

Exactly midnight.

The girl’s heart instantly melted.

One thought filled her mind: He knew, and he remembered!

The girl quietly got up and walked to the window. She hid behind the curtain, peeking down at the street.

There stood the boy, his shadow stretching long under the streetlight...

It was already midnight, and he had come all the way to her building, just to wish her a happy birthday...

At this thought, a wave of tenderness washed over the girl. She finally pulled back the curtain, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

Chen Nuo stood downstairs, still holding a pebble, habitually about to toss it.

Suddenly, a figure came into view!

Whoa...

The girl’s enchanting figure, wrapped in a thin nightgown, stood before the window. Under the bright moonlight, the already sheer nightdress became somewhat transparent...

Chen Yanluo, as luck would have it, possessed the kind of eyesight that could help him cheat his way to good grades on midterms even without attending class...

Whether girls this age wore bras daily was unknown, but they definitely didn’t wear them to sleep...

Tonight’s moon...

...is so big... so white... Hmm... CC...

Damn...

The girl stood quietly at the window, looking down at the young man, smiling sweetly, completely unaware that she had inadvertently presented a visual feast.

And Chen Yanluo, his gaze drifting, was instantly flustered. The pebble he was holding was mechanically thrown.

The moment it left his hand, he knew he had messed up.

He had forgotten to control his strength and aim.

Old Sun was sound asleep.

BANG!! CRASH!!

Old Sun jolted up from his bed.

A few seconds later...

The usually refined and gentle Teacher Sun couldn’t help but lose his composure:

"Who is it?! So damn shameless!!! Smashing people’s windowpanes in the middle of the night!!!!"

[KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, three requests: asking for donations, monthly passes, and recommendation votes! Also... please don’t always egg me on to write harem. If the feminist critics come for me, are you going to help me argue back?]