Hua Yun ignored him, only slightly twitching her nose.
Ability Users not only possessed special abilities, but their physical strength and the sensitivity of their five senses also slowly improved as their abilities increased. Although they couldn't compare to Enhancers, they were far superior to ordinary people.
For high-level Ability Users like Hua Yun, even though they couldn't gain an advantage in a head-on confrontation with Enhancers of the same level, they could still easily overpower lower-level Enhancers.
Whether this body originally had good potential or was influenced by her own Spiritual Magnetic Field, its five senses were sharp. Moreover, during the fight with the wild boar, Hua Yun discovered that the body's agility was also quite good, with plenty of room for improvement.
At this moment, she only smelled waves of meat fragrance coming from the side room, along with the scent of raw meat and blood hidden within it. That wild boar was being skinned and deboned there.
Seeing that Hua Yun paid him no attention, Hua Lei was filled with waves of self-blame and guilt. He should have hidden the wild boar first and carried it back after dark. Then he thought sadly that the people in the main room were like dogs' noses—they could smell it from afar and would tear down their family's walls, so his own family still wouldn't get to eat it. For a moment, he felt disheartened.
"Sister, let's go back."
Hua Bing, who had been standing in the corner pouting, came over and took Hua Yun's hand.
Hua Yun remained motionless, standing right next to the main room.
At this moment, Mrs. Wan came out of the kitchen, trembling like a rain-soaked quail, and said with her head bowed, "Father, Mother, the food is ready."
Mrs. Li frowned and said, "Set the table then. After being married into this family for so many years, do I still need to teach you these things? How do you behave as a daughter-in-law?"
Several aunts covered their mouths and laughed.
Hua Yun was astonished. Could it be that Mrs. Wan had been busy inside all this time preparing that wild boar for others to eat? Did she not know that her own family wouldn't get a single piece?
Hua Yun recalled an old saying: helping others count the money after being sold.
Mrs. Wan called softly, "Go back, all of you. Mother will come back later to cook for you."
Glared at by Mrs. Li, she hurriedly ducked into the room to set the table.
Old Man Hua coughed and said, "Eldest son, you've worked hard all day. Go back and rest."
Hua Yun was speechless. Were these people really family?
Hua Changnian, his face ashen, called the children to leave. The other family members laughed triumphantly a few times before hurriedly entering the room to sit and wait for the meal.
Hua Yun saw clearly that not a single one of them went to the kitchen—they were all waiting for Mrs. Wan to serve them.
Hua Changnian called the children several times, but no one paid him any attention. His expression grew even worse as he said to Hua Yun, "Yun'er, Father will take you back."
At least Hua Lei and the others looked at him, but Hua Yun didn't give him a single glance. She was focused intently on watching Mrs. Wan carry things into the room trip after trip.
Two large basins of meat, several large plates of vegetables, many bowls of soup, and a pile of large steamed buns.
Good, that should be about enough.
When Mrs. Wan came out of the main room again, she didn't go back to the kitchen. Instead, she walked toward the children: "Come on, let's go back to our room."
Hua Yu and the others only thought Hua Yun was waiting for their mother. Hua Yu took Hua Yun's hand and said sadly, "Sister, let's go back."
Her hand loosened, and she looked up in surprise.
Hua Yun had already run into the main room like the wind.
Inside the main room, men and women sat at two separate tables, gathered around. In the center of each table was a large basin of wild boar meat, glistening with oily sheen. The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard from time to time.
The Hua family's dining rule was that everyone must start together. After Mrs. Wan set up the tables, arranged the bowls and chopsticks, and brought out the food, she would step aside for Mrs. Li's main event: distributing the steamed buns. Only after the buns were distributed and Old Man Hua picked up his chopsticks would everyone begin eating.
The men's side had plenty of steamed buns, free to eat as much as they wanted. But on the women and children's side, they had to be more careful with their portions. Usually, she and Hua Changfang would get two each, one for each daughter-in-law—of course, Mrs. Wan was excluded from this—each granddaughter half, and each young grandson one. Today, they were in high spirits, with a large basin of meat offered for free, so they generously gave each person an extra half.
As Hua Yun rushed in, Mrs. Li was distributing the steamed buns and had just reached the third branch of the family.
Hua Changfang, with a bun in one hand and chopsticks in the other, had already set her sights on a large, glistening piece of wild boar meat, perfectly marbled with fat and lean. Suddenly, a figure flashed before her eyes.
"Hey? Why is this fool barging in? Get out now!"
Hua Yun pretended not to hear, not bothering to see who was who. She squeezed her way into the middle, forcing her way in and pushing aside those on either side with her hips.
"Ow! You fool, are you trying to rebel?" Mrs. Zhang found more than half of her seat hanging in mid-air. The long bench, already packed with people sitting shoulder to shoulder, couldn't possibly fit another person.
By then, the eldest branch had also come in, and Mrs. Wan anxiously tried to call Hua Yun back.
Mrs. Li had already started scolding: "Mrs. Wan, look at the fool of a daughter you've raised! Does she have no manners at all? The elders are eating, and she barges in recklessly, even pushing her aunt off the bench. Is she trying to rebel?"
"Mother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"
Mrs. Wan timidly stepped forward to pull Hua Yun back, but Hua Yun had already grabbed a pair of chopsticks at random. Like a gust of wind, she stretched them forward, speared a piece of meat, and stuffed it into her mouth, swallowing it in two or three bites.
Everyone was stunned.
It wasn't that this fool had never stolen food before, but this was the first time she had openly snatched it right in front of everyone, paying no attention to anyone else.
Furious, Mrs. Li threw down the small basket in her hand, and a large steamed bun rolled out, landing right in front of Hua Yun.
Hua Yun extended her chopsticks again, devouring another piece of meat. At the same time, her other hand flashed like lightning, stuffing the bun into her clothes.
"You, you, you…" Mrs. Li trembled with rage. "Ungrateful child! Rebellious brat! Fool! Get out!"
Hua Yun, of course, paid her no mind.
"Old man, look, just look! Is there still a place for us in this house? I worked so hard to raise our eldest son, got him married, and now he forgets his parents once he has a wife. Look at the fine children he's raised—do they have any respect for us? Why is my life so bitter… Why hasn't Heaven taken away this unfilial creature…"
Old Man Hua frowned and scolded, "Eldest son, take your child back. What kind of behavior is this?"
Hua Changnian only lowered his head in apology but didn't move his feet. Perhaps he hoped he would be slower, so his daughter could eat another piece of meat. Yun'er had suffered so much.
With this delay, a third piece of meat went into Hua Yun's stomach.
Hua Changfang couldn't take it anymore because that piece was the one she had been eyeing—marbled with fat, large, glistening, and dripping with oil!
"Get out of here!" Hua Changfang shrieked sharply.
Hua Yun glanced at her and stuffed a fourth piece into her mouth.
That glance was both dull and wooden, yet somehow vivid and expressive.
Hua Changfang's head grew hot with rage, and before she knew it, she had picked up the bowl of hot soup beside her and thrown it with all her might at Hua Yun's head.
"Sister—"
"Eldest sister—"
"Yun'er—"
In the eldest branch, they hoped the bowl would miss and not hurt Hua Yun. As for the others, they just wanted Hua Yun to leave quickly and not ruin their enjoyment of the wild boar meat. Some even thought maliciously that she deserved to die.
And as for Hua Yun?
Meat!
Hua Yun, whose mind was solely on the meat, did not dodge, so the bowl fulfilled Hua Changfang's wish and smashed onto Hua Yun's head.
"Clang—" A somewhat muffled sound, hot soup splashed all over Hua Yun's face, but she remained unfazed and wiped it off.
"Crash—" The large bowl that had shattered on Hua Yun's head rolled to the ground and broke into pieces. Hua Yun didn't even blink, wiping her face again.
The fifth piece, this time no one spoke. Because the fool before them was too persistent, stubbornly eating meat! She even dragged the large basin right in front of herself, yet no one uttered a word.
Because, young lady! Persistent and eerie young lady! Could you please wipe away the crimson liquid flowing from your forehead, down your cheeks, past the sides of your nose, and gathering at your chin?
Mrs. Li wanted to curse again, but looking at the young girl before her, head bowed and engrossed in eating meat, she felt a lump in her throat. The bright red blood flowed merrily from her forehead, past her eyebrows and eyes, rushed over the bridge of her nose, trembled at the tip, and then splattered down. The girl suddenly looked up, grinning, and the blood flowed into the corners of her mouth, staining her two rows of teeth. At that moment, those two rows of teeth were packed with crimson, flashing with each chew. The chewed meat behind her teeth, stained with blood, looked like… ugh…
Mrs. Li didn't vomit because her throat was blocked. Besides the discomfort in her stomach, she felt a chilling cold creeping up her spine toward her skull. She shifted slightly. Beside her was her daughter; she wanted to find something warm to comfort herself.
Hua Changfang trembled, having been glanced at by Hua Yun through the curtain of blood. That glance seemed to come from a pile of corpses and a nest of flesh and blood. Her legs shook, and fortunately, she was already sitting, or she might have collapsed.
It wasn'tt just Mrs. Li and Hua Changfang who dared not move; the men at their table also looked over in horror, as if watching a monster devouring raw flesh and blood!
The eldest branch was also terrified. Had Hua Yun's head not been smashed? But she looked… as if… she was eating quite happily?
Amid the eerie atmosphere, Hua Yun finished the wild boar meat on the women's side, stood up, and everyone trembled along with her.
There was even more wild boar meat over there!
Hua Yun smiled, blood dripping, and step by step approached the men's table. Hua Changguang, who was closest, trembled inwardly. Before she even got close, he jumped up and hid behind Old Man Hua.
Old Man Hua cursed inwardly—this unfilial son, pushing his own father forward in the face of a fierce ghost?
Hua Yun paid no attention to anyone, her eyes only on the meat. She stepped forward, picked up the large basin, and was about to leave. Spotting the large steamed buns on the table, she paused, turned her head, and signaled to Hua Yu with her eyes.
No matter how ferocious Hua Yun looked, Hua Yu was not afraid. With a spark of understanding, her eyes lit up. She ran forward, picked up the entire basket of large steamed buns that hadn't been distributed to the men, and even detoured to the women's side, taking away the ones that hadn't been finished.
No one dared to speak; Hua Yun, covered in blood, was watching, baring her teeth in a smile.
Good heavens, was this a ghost come to claim lives?
Hua Yun led the way out the door, sniffed, turned her head toward the kitchen, and signaled to Hua Lei with her eyes.
Hua Lei, inexplicably suppressing a laugh, slipped into the kitchen and brought back a large basin of the wild boar's bones and offal.
The children of the eldest branch marched grandly toward the backyard, with Hua Changnian and Mrs. Wan following in confusion and helplessness.
Hua Yu called out sweetly, "Grandmother, my aunt smashed my sister's head and covered her in blood. Thank you for compensating with these steamed buns to nourish my sister."
The words were directed at the main house, but her head was turned toward the neighboring wall.
Hua Yun smiled, remembering that Hua Yu had said the neighbors over there had long tongues.
From behind came the sounds of slammed chopsticks, banged tables, and cursing, though today it lacked the usual vigor.
In the darkness, Hua Yu glanced up at Hua Yun. Her usually dull face was now serene and peaceful, inexplicably bringing Hua Yu a sense of calm.
Little Hua Yu, may I ask how you managed to see serenity in a face covered in blood?