Chapter 149: Fallen for the Niece's Tricks Again!

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Wang Erlang first went to the village to buy grain, then took a detour to Reed Pavilion. Just as expected, his niece had indeed returned.

Wang Ge had not seen her second uncle for a long time, and immediately noticed a change in his appearance. It wasn’t that she could read faces, but after such a long separation, her impression of him was still frozen in the moment they parted in March—back then, he used to smile so much. But now, although he was smiling, it was the old version of himself.

Her second uncle had always been sometimes straightforward, sometimes gloomy. When he was gloomy, it was quite eerie, as if... how to say it, like a body housing two souls. One soul was prone to anger and lost in thought, speaking little; the other was constantly suppressing that rage, striving to assist the eldest branch—especially when Jia Sannang and Wang He targeted them.

Later, when she accompanied him to apprentice as craftsmen and learned weaving from her cousin, and after the third branch’s Yao woman was abandoned, the family’s poverty eased considerably; the second uncle’s anger completely vanished. Especially after Jia Sannang was abandoned, he walked with a breeze about him, grinning every day.

But it had only been two months since their last parting. He must have been angered by Wang San.

Usually, when Wang Erlang came to visit the elders, after a few words, he would rush back. But this time, just as he was about to rise, Wang Ge raised her right arm to shield her eyes.

Her faint sobbing immediately brought tears to Wang Erlang’s eyes; he stomped anxiously. “Hey, why are you crying? We’re not leaving tonight! Second uncle isn’t going anywhere tonight, we’ll leave in the morning!”

“Mm,” Wang Ge smiled through her tears.

Wang Weng felt relieved. The eldest branch would surely prosper in the future. But Erlang was simple and not very capable, with only one son and one daughter. Without the eldest branch’s support, the second branch’s life would be hard, and after splitting the household, it would be even harder. Wang Ge regarded Erlang as her father, which was a blessing for the second branch.

That evening’s meal was filled with laughter and joy. Wang Weng had Jia Yu open the malt beer sent by Master Tie; the elderly couple, along with the eldest and second sons, all drank.

Wang Peng and Wang Xing held hands, singing poems to the elders and siblings. The poems contained references to He, Ge, Shu, Peng, Xing, and Ai.

The verses conveyed both wisdom and grounded everyday life.

Wang Erlang drank both beer and water, barely able to wait for the children to finish singing before rushing to the outhouse. After quickly taking care of business, he came out to find Wang Ge standing at the gate. Misunderstanding the situation, thinking there was a thief, he grabbed a farming tool from under the grass shed, shouted outside the fence, “Who’s there? Come out! I can see you!”

“Haha, second uncle, I dislike how Peng and Tiger Head sing, so I came out for some fresh air.”

“Oh, you scared me.”

“Second uncle, you’re so timid.”

Wang Erlang scratched his head embarrassedly.

“Second uncle, you might be timid, but you risked everything to save my mother. That’s why I’m alive. If anyone dares call you timid again, I’ll scold them! There are lots of reckless men around, but who’s braver than my second uncle? Who dares to fight a tiger?”

“Ah…” In the darkness, Wang Erlang blinked, tears wetting his lashes as he looked at his niece again. She resembled her elder sister-in-law more.

“Hero or not, we’re family. It’s only right. Those were hard years; the family was desperate to cultivate the fields. Your father suddenly lost his sight and couldn’t manage. Thankfully your mother was virtuous and diligent, so the family gradually recovered, and your father got better too.”

“I want to ask you something, second uncle, but I don’t want the elders to hear.”

“Oh, go ahead.” Wang Erlang followed Wang Ge outside the gate and stood in the yard. If anyone was looking for them, they’d see them as soon as they stepped out.

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“When my mother was bitten by the wild tiger, was my third uncle also at the forefront?”

Wang Erlang’s jaw clenched tightly. Wang San was with the neighbors then, yes, they fought the tiger. But none of the family dared get close; they only attacked from the outer circle. If the tiger was wounded, would the elder sister-in-law still be saved? So his second life, when Wang Ge was born... without her, later Tiger Head also...

He refused to recall!

His emotions swung between anger and pain, shaking his head as if two souls were battling within.

Wang Ge said, “Second uncle, while studying outside, I heard of something strange.”

“Oh? What strange thing?”

“Some people can live again for one or two lifetimes. Do you believe that?”

Boom! Like thunder striking the ground. Wang Erlang didn’t even hear the next sentence. If some can live one or two lives again, has anyone lived three lives like him?

Wang Ge sighed softly. Her second uncle was truly an honest man; his ghost-seeing, guilty expression left no doubt—he was definitely someone who had been reborn. “Second uncle, do you believe me? You’re my uncle; do you trust your niece?”

“Of course I do,” Wang Erlang slowly recovered. “Of course I do.”

“Then would you ever harm me?”

“I—I would never harm you. You child, you…”

“Second uncle, there’s something I’ve never dared tell the elders for fear of frightening them. I also can’t tell my father. My father can’t see well; if I keep secrets from him, won’t he fall walking?”

“Your secret?” Wang Erlang’s eyes widened. He lowered his voice, asking, “You, Wang Ge, have you also been reborn?”

Wang Ge held up five fingers.

“Ah?!” Wang Erlang shouted, quickly covering his mouth, shocked and sympathetic. “You’ve been reborn two more times than me?”

“No, I was just testing you because you were babbling nonsense. How many fingers am I holding up?”

Bang bang bang bang! Fooled again! That naughty niece! Wang Erlang punched his chest fiercely with both fists. He knew she was up to no good, ah, he’d been tricked! What to do now? How to explain this? How to explain...

“Only lies can cover it up; the truth can’t. Second uncle, since you’ve already let it slip, just tell me.”

Nonsense, she was fooling him again. What does “the truth can’t cover it up” even mean?

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll tell the elders.”

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“Hey, hey, hey. I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you. Sigh…” Wang Erlang’s drunkenness surged, and the pain he’d been suppressing for so long spilled out. He sat down heavily and began recounting his nightmarish three-life experience.

“The first life, the world was in chaos, and the people didn’t know who the emperor was. One day, news came from Ningping City in Ku County that tens of thousands had been killed in just a few days. Everyone hiding in the wild mountains panicked. We thought as long as we didn’t go down the mountain, we’d survive. Now looking back, how stupid we were. We could hear distant news; those horse-riding Xiongnu surely came as well.”

“The second life was different from birth because there was a good emperor…”

“The third life was strange. When I came back to life, I was lying beside a tree. When I opened my eyes, I saw the wild tiger biting my elder sister-in-law’s foot. I didn’t think about anything; I grabbed an iron hoe and smashed it. My fierce attack encouraged the neighbors to fight harder. We just scared the tiger away, and Tiger Cub, you... hey, that was good... you howled so loudly, your mother was about to faint but was woken by your crying. That’s how it was. In three lives, second uncle didn’t have much skill; he could only farm. What’s even more confusing is that with each rebirth, many memories from the previous life fade, as if some memories were taken away. No matter how I try, I can’t recall.”

Wang Ge sat beside him, burying her head in her arms, her slender shoulders trembling.

Wang Erlang grew angry: “How tragic, how tragic second uncle is! Yet you smile like this, humph!” He stood up, drunkenness rushing to his head. While he could still walk straight, he hurried back inside.

Wang Weng glared at his son, “Your tolerance isn’t even as good as millet. Go lie down next to me.”

“I won’t lie next to you; I’ll lie next to my eldest brother.”

Jia Yu asked, “Where’s Wang Ge?”

Wang Xing said, “I’ll go find her.”

Wang Peng said, “I’ll go with you.”

As for Wang Ge, once her second uncle left, she could no longer hold back, sobbing and gasping for breath. Poor second uncle, so heart-wrenching, so beloved and respected!

Except for the early death in his first life, in every other life he saved her and her mother; it seemed his purpose for reincarnation was to ensure Wang Ge came into this world!

But as he said, his memories were incomplete. He hadn’t just lived three lives, but four!

The missing life was before what he thought was his third rebirth. He must have died hitting a tree during the rescue of her mother, crushed by the tiger. Otherwise, how could his soul have been reincarnated again?

So this current second uncle is living his fourth life!

(End of chapter)