Chapter 12: Easy Win

"No, you cannot." Wong An declined, folding her arms while leaning back on the living room couch.

"But mom, I can't slack off." Wong Yazhu argued, staring at her mother pleadingly. "I can't just stay in the village doing nothing while Tang San is in school."

"No, you will not be allowed to go to the hill in the morning since Tang San isn't here now." Wong An declined again. "It's dangerous. Your father trusted Tang San, so I allowed it, but no more."

"But---" Wong Yazhu tried to argue, but her mother cut her off. It was the night of the day Tang San went off to Nuoding Academy, and Wong Yazhu was trying to convince her mother to allow her to go to the hill like she always did with Tang San, but it obviously wasn't working.

"Besides," Wong An continued. "Why can't you practice in the village? Isn't our backyard good enough?"

"Tang San said climbing the hill is good for my body and lungs." Wong Yazhu explained, but her mother wasn't having it.

"You can run laps around the village to do cardio." She pointed out. "There might not be wild animals on the outer edge of the forest, but it is still dangerous. You might slip and fall down the hill. You might..." She started listing all the things that could go wrong.

Wong Yazhu turned to her father, who hadn't said anything. "Dad, can I go?"

"I'm going to side with your mom on this one." He shrugged. "You could do whatever you want on the hill here."

'I wish I had a three-tomoe Sharingan so I could traumatize them and be on my way.' Wong Yazhu thought, folding her arms grumpily. "What's so different between Tang San and me? We are both six years old."

"For one, he is more mature." Wong An said, picking her daughter up and placing the little girl on the couch beside her. "You are still a cute little girl~"

"Ok." Wong Yazhu nodded, a smile on her face. "I will be mature from now on." She laughed internally. 'You want mature? I will show you maturity.'

As the morning sun began to rise in the village from the east, its early light bathed the village in a warm glow. The sunlight streamed through the bedroom window of Wong An and Wong Su, gradually illuminating the couple as they slept together on the bed, with Wong An hugging her husband's arm, enveloped in the comfort of their shared warmth.

Wong Su sniffed the air, detecting an unfamiliar yet pleasant aroma. "Honey, what are you cooking?" he mumbled sleepily, turning to hug his wife tighter, his voice muffled by the blankets. "It smells nice."

Wong An, still half in the realm of sleep, murmured back, "I'm not cooking anything."

Confused, Wong Su asked, "Then who is cooking?" A prolonged silence followed, during which the haze of sleep rapidly lifted from their eyes as the reality of the situation dawned on them. With a jolt, they sprang from the bed, still clad in their nightclothes, and rushed to the kitchen.

To their astonishment, they found Wong Yazhu standing on a stool by the stove, donning a small apron— a gift from Wong An. Her hair was neatly tied up in a bun, mirroring her mother's usual style. With both hands, she was stirring a pot, fully engrossed in her task. Upon noticing her parents, she turned towards them with a beaming smile.

"Good morning, mother and father. How was your sleep?" she asked, turning off the stove and stepping down from the stool.

Wong An and Wong Su exchanged bewildered glances. "Mother?" Wong An echoed, the term foreign to her ears. "Father?" Wong Su added, equally taken aback. Just yesterday, it had been "mommy" and "daddy."

Wong Yazhu approached them, clapping her hands together as if concluding a job well done. "I just finished making breakfast," she announced, stopping in front of them and looking up. "Now, go and brush your teeth. Hurry along," she urged, shooing them towards the bathroom.

Still rooted to the spot in confusion, they watched their daughter command the room with an air of maturity that was uncharacteristic of the little girl they knew. "If you two don't want to brush, you can starve," Wong Yazhu continued, her tone firm but caring. "I'm going to go and make your bed. Excuse me," she added, prompting them to step aside and allow her to pass.

As Wong Yazhu walked past them and headed towards their room, Wong An and Wong Su shared a look of utter bemusement. "Did she just...?" Wong An began, unable to finish her sentence.

They quickly rushed to the room, seeing their little daughter fixing the bed. A girl who always cried when told to fix her bed was willingly doing it. They watched as their daughter climbed on the bed, dragging the bedsheet to fix it.

She suddenly turned to them. "You two better eat before the food gets cold. I don't want my father and mother eating cold food."

"Is this about what I said yesterday?" Wong An asked, walking into the room. "Are you trying to act mature?"

"Act?" Wong Yazhu asked, giving her mother a side-eye. "Why would I act mature when I am, Mother? Please don't speak nonsense and eat. You are but a distraction."

"When did you learn to speak like that?" Wong Su asked, more amused by his daughter's manner of speech than her actions. "That's so cute." He smiled.

"Haah." Wong Yazhu finished fixing the bed and climbed down. She looked around and started picking up the clothes on the ground. "Messy bunch. I can't keep taking care of you."

"Baby," Wong An called, but her daughter ignored her and continued picking up the clothes. "Wong Yazhu." She called once more.

The girl glanced at her mother with a frown. "What's the problem... Mother?"

Wong An visibly cringed as she rushed to her daughter, getting on one knee before her. "Why are you acting like this?"

"Haah." Wong Yazhu sighed, shaking her head. "What's wrong with you, Mother? You are asking me strange questions."

"Stop calling me Mother." Wong An snapped, grabbing Wong Yazhu's shoulder. "Call me Mommy."

Wong Yazhu tilted her head. "I am mature. Why do I need to address you as Mommy?" She paused. "I should even start calling you Wong An." Hearing her name from her daughter's mouth shocked the older woman, but the girl didn't notice this. "Yes, Wong An sounds much better than Mother, right?" She looked straight into her mother's teary eyes.

"What has gotten into you?" The older woman asked, hugging her daughter. "You don't need to act grown."

"Unhand me, Wong An---"

"Stop that!" Her mother suddenly roared, visibly angry. "Don't call me by my name!" She stared directly into her daughter's eyes, but the girl wasn't shaken.

"I can see why that bothers you." Wong Yazhu nodded. "I showed some disrespect. You are clearly older than me, yet I addressed you by your full name. Would 'Madam Wong' fit you better?"

Wong An gripped Wong Yazhu's arm tighter, which caused her to break character. "Ow, you are hurting me, Mommy." She cried, dropping the clothes she was holding.

Wong An sighed, hugging her daughter. "Thank God you are back to normal---"

Wong Yazhu suddenly dove under her mother's arm, moving around her. "That was a joke, Madam Wong. Please never grip me like that ever again, or you shall face repercussions."

"Hahaha!" Wong Su burst out laughing. "Repercussions? Where did you learn that from?"

Wong Yazhu picked up the clothes she had dropped and walked to her father. "And you, old man, stop laughing and go brush."

"Yes, Mommy!" Wong Su laughed, running away.

"I will take these clothes to the backyard." Wong Yazhu addressed her kneeling mother, who was staring at her in horror. "Wash them when you are ready..." She glanced back at her mother. "Mother."

Wong An shivered. "Come here." She shouted, standing up as Wong Yazhu ran to the backyard. "Wong Yazhu, get back here this instant!"

She was about to chase after her daughter but was blocked by her husband. "Don't mind her." He chuckled. "She will get tired of it soon."

Wong An growled and tried to walk around her husband, but was blocked by the bigger man. She tried again but was blocked once more. Glaring at him, she faked going right and moved left, but he hadn't moved at all.

"Antelope can't get past me, and you think you can." Wong Su stared at his wife, amused.

"Look! Our girl is getting chased by a tiger!" Wong An suddenly shouted, pointing at something behind her husband.

"What!?" He turned around, and at that moment, his wife ran past him.

"Meathead!" She shouted, running to the backyard to find her daughter gone, but the clothes she was carrying were in the washing bowl. "That girl."

"Calm down." Wong Su came up behind her. "We should eat the food our daughter cooked, or else she would have wasted her time." He smiled. "Like I said, don't worry. She will get over this before the day ends."

That was a lie. A day went by, and Wong Yazhu didn't get over it. She helped around the farm, doing things she was always scared of doing, like feeding the chickens, or things she hated doing, like helping water the wheat.

The villagers were confused, not by her actions, but by the way she spoke to them. 'Where did she learn those words from?' That was everyone's question. Sometimes she let the facade slip (on purpose, of course), just so they would know she was still a child trying to act like an adult.

As night fell over the village, standing on a stool, Wong Yazhu stirred the porridge in the pot with a long spoon. Beside her, her mother watched with a mix of admiration and concern. "Go take a seat, Mother; the food will be ready soon," Wong Yazhu instructed, her voice firm yet respectful.

Wong Yazhu had decided to stick with calling her mother "Mother" instead of using her name or any other formality like "Madam Wong" or "Woman." While it was less disrespectful, it still pained Wong An to hear her daughter abandon the more affectionate "Mommy."

Wong An sighed and reached out to take the spoon from her daughter's hand, saying, "I will finish it—"

Wong Yazhu slapped her palm away, not harshly, but firmly. "I don't like when people distract me while cooking," she stated plainly, then glanced at her mother. "If you're looking for something to do, why don't you set the table?"

Wong An's face fell slightly at the rebuff, her eyes clouding with hurt. At that moment, Wong Su's voice cut through the tension. "Ok, that's enough," he said seriously, his tone unlike his usual jovial self as he entered the kitchen wearing only his pants, having just finished his evening workout. He sat at the square dining table and pointed to a chair. "Take a seat," he commanded Wong Yazhu, who obediently sat down across from him, with Wong An taking the third chair between them.

"Why are you acting like this?" Wong Su asked, his expression serious.

"Because I want to be an adult and train on the hill where Tang San used to train," Wong Yazhu answered truthfully, her voice steady. "I don't want to be left behind."

"It's dangerous there." Wong An murmured, her voice low and filled with concern. "You can train in the backyard. Daddy and Mommy will even help you."

"Climbing the hill and coming down is good for the body. I won't trip and fall on the hill since I have been climbing it for three months now." Wong Yazhu countered, meeting her mother's gaze with a confident and understanding look. "And Tang San taught me how to defend myself or run away if I saw a wild animal."

"Oh, really?" Wong Su raised an eyebrow and smirked, folding his arms. "I am a dangerous animal. If you can make me surrender or make it out of this room, I will let you go."

Wong An looked at her husband as if he were mad, but he raised a finger before she could protest. "She believes she is as capable as Tang San. I want her to show me."

The atmosphere tensed as Wong Yazhu's expression grew serious, her eyes locking with her father's. Without warning, she channeled her soul power, using the Tang San Tough Hands Technique (TSTHT) to strengthen her hands. In a swift motion, she grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it towards her father, causing her mother to squeal in surprise. Wong Yazhu then leapt from her chair and sprinted towards the door, her steps silent.

Just as she was about to reach the door, her father appeared between her and the exit. "I admit," he said, his tall frame imposing over her, "that surprised me." He smiled warmly. "Tang San taught you a few tricks—"

His words were abruptly cut off when Wong Yazhu closed her eyes and then opened them again. Her father swore he heard a faint sound as her eyes became red, one displaying a single black tomoe at the top-right of her right eye and another at the bottom-left of her left eye, both glowing red in the dark room. The sudden change caught him off guard, a mixture of surprise and pride flashing across his face.

"Demonic Illusion: Great Tiger Claw!" Wong Yazhu suddenly screamed, confusing her father as she clapped her palms loudly.

The room fell silent as Wong Yazhu continued staring into her father's eyes, but nothing physical seemed to happen. 'Was that supposed to do something?' He asked himself, staring at his daughter's glowing eyes. 'Why are her eyes red?' He blinked, trying to process the situation. 'Her martial soul ability...is the black thing spinnin---'

Suddenly, a deafening roar shattered the silence in the room. Wong Su's instincts kicked in as he saw a massive white tiger with wings lunging towards him from the corner of his vision.

"What the fuck!" Wong Su shouted as he instinctively leaped to the side, rolling on the ground to avoid the claws of the tiger. The room spun around him for a moment, disorienting him, but as quickly as it had appeared, the tiger vanished, leaving Wong Su on one knee, staring at an empty corner of the room.

He remained there for a few seconds, processing the surreal experience. Then, a triumphant roar echoed through the room.

"Easy win." She smirked at him.