Chapter 27: I Am Who I Am, a Fireworks Display Like No Other

This exclamation did not just startle Su Yanwen; it also startled Cao'er.

Cao'er turned her head, looking at Zhao Yue'e with a dazed expression. The panic on Zhao Yue'e's face was impossible to suppress. Her lips trembled as she said, "From the day you returned, I felt that something was wrong with you."

"You are him, and yet you are not him."

"He was a very timid man. Let alone living in the deep mountains, even setting traps on the hillsides was something he only did because his mother forced him to."

"But you seem to fear nothing, and you seem to know how to do everything."

As Zhao Yue'e spoke, she stared at the duck on the ground. Her voice trembled uncontrollably: "Only the most experienced old hunters know the things inside these mountains."

"There are mountain spirits and ghosts in these woods. People can only enter during the summer, and only when Grandpa Cai personally leads the team and offers sacrifices to the Mountain God."

"You never had the courage to join the mountain-entry teams, so why are you so familiar with the depths of the mountains now?"

Su Yanwen scratched his head. This question was truly difficult to explain. Zhao Yue'e's analysis was correct; logically, Su Yanwen should know nothing about these things. However, for the Su Yanwen from that other world, everything in these mountains was his true home. How could he not be familiar with it?

"Mother." Cao'er was a bit scared and quietly tugged at Zhao Yue'e's sleeve. She whispered, "Father will get angry..."

She was afraid her father would be angry, but even more afraid of losing their current life. Seeing Cao'er like this, Zhao Yue'e's heart softened, but after a moment of thought, she gritted her teeth and continued to stare at Su Yanwen. "Who exactly are you?"

Here came that question again. Su Yanwen felt he had been acting quite well; he hadn't even easily changed his persona, so how had he been found out?

"So, how did you figure it out?" Su Yanwen asked, voicing his internal doubt.

Zhao Yue'e's face turned red instantly. Even if he knew a bit more or was a bit more capable, his body was still thoroughly Su Yanwen's, so he shouldn't have been discovered!

Facing the pressure, Zhao Yue'e turned her face away. Her voice suddenly dropped much lower: "It has been fifteen days. If it were my husband, he would surely be impatient with desire..."

What? Su Yanwen was filled with question marks. Cao'er was also looking on with curiosity.

The old man stomped his foot hard: "Bedroom matters."

Ah? Su Yanwen felt awkward. So that was it.

"This... I'm not familiar with it yet, it's not easy to make a move!" Su Yanwen said, feeling embarrassed.

Zhao Yue'e's face turned even redder. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Everyone is saying that while your body is Su Yanwen's, you have been possessed by a Snow Ghost, so you are both him and not him."

"Hmm." Su Yanwen didn't want to explain further on this point. In some respects, the situation was similar. Seeing the panic in Zhao Yue'e's eyes, Su Yanwen simply went along with her words. "So what if I'm a Snow Ghost?"

"You trusted people, yet it was those people who left us battered and bruised."

"You fear the Snow Ghost, but you've been in these mountains for two or three days now—has it harmed you?"

Ancient people's thinking was stubborn and conservative, making it hard for them to accept new ideas, so he explained it in a way they could understand. Zhao Yue'e fell silent and said no more, because what Su Yanwen said was too true.

"Listen well, I have only one goal: I want you both to live a good life."

"As for Cao'er, I am genuinely fond of her."

"From the moment her soft voice called me 'Father,' she became my little princess."

As Su Yanwen spoke, his gaze toward Cao'er was so tender it could melt. Zhao Yue'e's heart felt as if it had been struck by something heavy. When she was at her maiden home, her family warned her that once married, she belonged to the Su family, living or dead. After marrying into her husband's home, her mother-in-law told her to serve her husband and raise their children, to be frugal and manage the household...

And her husband had always reminded her to be filial to the elders, respectful to him, and to obey his every command unconditionally. Everyone told her what she *must* do, but no one had ever told her what *they* would do for her.

Only this Su Yanwen, at this moment, suddenly gave her a reason to keep living. Because tomorrow there would be a better life, and because her Cao'er was also a little princess in someone else's eyes.

Zhao Yue'e's cheeks were flushed. A smile she couldn't suppress curled at the corners of her lips: "Then, who are you, really?"

A person from a civilized society? A modern person? A transmigrator? He thought about it for a moment, but even if he said it, she might not understand, and if she didn't understand, he would have to explain...

"Ah!" Su Yanwen stood up, looked at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and said in a deep voice, "I am me, a different firework in this mortal world."

What? Now Zhao Yue'e was confused too. Never mind, the current Su Yanwen was strange anyway.

Cao'er was completely relaxed now. She covered her mouth with her two little hands and giggled. The duck feathers were soon plucked clean, and Zhao Yue'e handled the down as Su Yanwen had instructed. Su Yanwen picked up the duck and carefully peeled off the skin. Wild ducks had very thin subcutaneous fat, almost no oil. But there was no choice; without oil for a long time, food didn't taste good. Su Yanwen prepared to render some oil from the duck skin to store, and then boil a pot of duck soup.

While processing the duck, Cao'er quietly approached Su Yanwen. When she squatted beside him, she was so small, like a little ball. Her sweet voice dragged out long: "Actually, Mother and I both really like the current Father."

"So Father, will you stay, okay?"

She tilted her head to look at Su Yanwen, her eyes wide, eyelashes fluttering—she was like a lively little sprite.

"Hmm." Su Yanwen nodded without hesitation.

"Then can I have kisses, hugs, and be lifted up high?"

What a joke; a person has to push their luck to truly enjoy life. Cao'er's expression was full of confusion, as if she didn't quite understand what Su Yanwen meant. She tilted her head and thought about it; the current Father wasn't a bad father. She nodded immediately: "Okay!"

"Yeah!" Su Yanwen clenched his fist tightly; it couldn't be better.

Look at his hands—too dirty. He washed them repeatedly, wiped them off on his clothes again and again, rubbing those calloused hands until they were red, and only then was he satisfied. He leaned his face in and planted a kiss on Cao'er's cheek. *Smack!*

Too good. This feeling was truly as sweet as kissing a marshmallow. Cao'er froze in place, a little scared; was Father going to eat her? Before she could react, Su Yanwen had already scooped her up. The feeling was superb. Cao'er went stiff all over.

At this moment, Su Yanwen could no longer suppress his love for children. Having waited thousands of years to be a "daughter-slave," he couldn't hold back. Finally, he couldn't resist and tossed Cao'er into the air.

*Oh no...*

Su Yanwen's heart skipped a beat. Cao'er was four years old, why was she so light, less than twenty pounds? He had used too much force. Cao'er's head hit the cave entrance with a thud. She had already been nervous and tense; being bumped like that, Cao'er could no longer control her emotions and burst into tears.

"My daughter!" Zhao Yue'e was already drenched in a cold sweat nearby. Hearing Cao'er cry, she rushed over and held the child tightly.

Su Yanwen felt as if he were being enveloped by darkness. He was very unhappy, curling up at the cave entrance, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground. *Let me just fade away into the shadows!*

The firewood crackled. Cao'er's tear-stained face had already been wiped clean. She took a deep breath, and then her short legs ran over, showing Su Yanwen a smile. She said loudly, "Father, don't be sad."

"Actually, it didn't hurt at all just now. Even a casual whack from Grandmother hurt way more than this."

Su Yanwen knew Cao'er wasn't saying it on purpose, but it still made him feel terrible. "Yes, that was a mistake. I will never do that again."

Su Yanwen asked Cao'er carefully, "Do you like playing with Father?"

"Of course I do!" Cao'er's smile was sweet enough to kill. It seemed to melt away all coldness and irritation.

"Having a daughter is truly wonderful!" Su Yanwen sighed from the heart. He said solemnly, "In that case, I want to try again, and this time I guarantee there will be no mistakes."

Cao'er's smile instantly froze on her face. *Again?* She backed away two steps, then suddenly turned around. "Mother..." She dove into Zhao Yue'e's arms, buried her face in her stomach, and didn't move.

The sky had fallen...

Su Yanwen squatted where he was, muttering to himself, *Just let it all be destroyed!*

Suddenly, Su Yanwen heard the sound of splashing water from the pool outside. At first, he thought it was just the silly carp swimming around, but the rapid, continuous slapping sounds immediately made him alert. This was definitely not the sound of fish swimming normally. It was even less likely to be caused by small animals like foxes or ermines. It could only be a large animal.

Su Yanwen gripped his hunting knife tightly and peeked outside...