TNIBFT -Chapter 73 From now on, call me Dad

Thoughts interrupted, Tao Ling’er realized what her father had just said and immediately felt embarrassed. “Dad, what are you talking about?”

“I’m serious!”

Tao Lichun’s eyes narrowed slightly. His murky gaze turned toward the distant village, and his tone was calm: “Ye Tian is brave and resourceful, handles matters in a unique way, and has a meticulous mind. He is no ordinary person. His three children are also not simple folk. Ye Tian may seem careless and unrestrained, but he has a sense of responsibility. He’s a man you can truly rely on.”

Tao Ling’er’s cheeks flushed. Thinking back to earlier when she had sarcastically looked down on Ye Tian upon entering the private room, she now only felt embarrassed. “We’ll talk about this another time. Besides, Ye Tian’s reputation is so poor—what woman in Sifang City would even be willing to marry him?”

……

Elsewhere, Ye Tian was busy tallying accounts when a sudden tickle in his nose made him sneeze. He lifted his hand to rub it.

When he looked up, he saw an old man, disheveled and grimy, slipping in through the door.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, the old man sneaked into a corner by the wall.

Ye Tian collected the customers’ payments and turned his gaze to Sun Wuji.

The legendary Sword Saint.

And yet he looked like a mischievous old child—Ye Tian found it amusing.

“What are you doing here?”

Yuan Heipang, holding the large copper pot of hotpot, caught sight of Sun Wuji and puffed up with arrogance, looking every bit like a cannon-fodder villain from a novel.

“Hehe… isn’t it snowing heavily? I came in to avoid it. I’ll leave soon, really soon,” Sun Wuji said with a silly grin. His gray hair, tattered clothes, and the smell emanating from him made him rather off-putting.

Yuan Heipang cast him a disdainful look, inspecting him from head to toe. “I suppose you came to steal some food, right? Do you even realize if this hotpot shop is somewhere you can just waltz into? Scram, scram, scram! Go beg somewhere else!”

These lines sounded so familiar…

Ye Tian sighed silently and quickly stepped out from behind the counter to interrupt Yuan Heipang: “Go handle your own work. You’re just an employee—why do you have so much to say?”

“Exactly! You’re just an employee—why are you so full of words?” Seeing Ye Tian back him up, Sun Wuji straightened his back, pouted in agreement, and looked at Yuan Heipang with utter disdain.

Yuan Heipang dared not retort and obediently carried the pot away.

Sun Wuji’s curious gaze roamed around—he touched the mural on the wall, felt the tables nearby, sniffed the aromas with his nose wrinkled, a look of bliss on his face.

It was as if the earlier trouble he had encountered had never happened.

Ye Tian smiled. “You must be hungry, senior?”

“How did you know?” Sun Wuji immediately turned his head. His eyes shone brightly as he stared at Ye Tian, blinking. “This is your shop?”

“Yes.”

Ye Tian nodded. Sun Wuji’s lips curled into a grin he couldn’t suppress. He grabbed Ye Tian’s arm and urged, “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go, let’s go! Hurry, let this old man taste it! The smell alone is even better than the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from the Daliang Imperial City—I haven’t even tried it yet!”

Ye Tian frowned, troubled. “Eating isn’t the problem. The real issue is, do you have money? I run this shop for business. I can’t just let a stranger eat for free, can I?”

Money?

Sun Wuji blinked, startled.

This kid is really infuriating—he even asks for payment for a meal?

If he had money, would he have snuck in like this?

But fearing Ye Tian would kick him out, he quickly nodded: “Not appropriate, not appropriate.”

“I’ll see if I can find…”

Smelling the spicy and savory aroma, Sun Wuji licked his lips while rummaging through his clothes, patting himself down from head to toe. Then he took off his shoes, not forgetting to pour out their contents.

Ye Tian pinched his nose and stepped back, almost fainted from the stench.

“No, no, I used to have treasures all over, but I was too lazy to carry them. If I had known, I would have brought everything.”

Sun Wuju was anxious. Seeing Ye Tian unmoved, he tried to ingratiate himself with a smile: “How about this—I’ll owe you for now and pay you back once I have money later?”

Ye Tian looked troubled.

Sun Wuju glanced at the others enjoying the steaming hot pot, their faces full of delight with every bite. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he kept licking his lips.

“Not paying is fine too,” Ye Tian compromised and looked at Sun Wuju. “You take me as your disciple. Teach me the sword techniques you sold me last time, and we’ll call it even.”

“Take you as my disciple?”

Sun Wuju looked at him with disdain, scrutinizing Ye Tian from head to toe, shaking his head: “No, no way.”

“You can’t!”

“I’m not looking down on you. But for this sword technique, if you want to learn even the basics, it’ll take at least eighty years.”

Ye Tian: …

“How about learning something for strengthening the body then?” Ye Tian asked as a fallback.

If he could at least protect himself, he could safeguard the three kids in this chaotic era. In this age of cold weapons, knowing some martial arts was still necessary.

Sun Wuju agreed immediately, and Ye Tian finally led him into the private room.

After finishing a hot pot meal, Sun Wuju was still unsatisfied. When Ye Tian closed the door and headed home, Sun Wuju followed behind like a tail.

…

Ye Yunting returned from school, his mind heavy with thoughts.

Even when Xiao Jiang spoke to him, he was distracted.

Shen Jie’s mother must know the true identities of the three siblings. She had said she’d been searching for them all along. Thinking of Liu Ruyan—her appearance, her attire, and this piece of broken jade—Ye Yunting was certain Liu Ruyan wasn’t from Sifang City.

Previously, Ye Tian often told them they weren’t biologically related.

Now he was beginning to believe it.

Could their real parents really have been searching for them all this time?

Then why were the three siblings living with Ye Tian?

Countless question marks crowded Ye Yunting’s mind.

“What’s this?” Ye Shuangxue opened her small backpack with a mysterious grin. Ye Yunting peeked inside and saw a snake as thick as a child’s arm, quietly coiled inside.

“A snake?” Xiao Jiang jumped back in fright, covering his mouth.

Ye Shuangxue’s face lit up with pride: “I caught it! Scared, huh?”

Xiao Jiang nodded repeatedly.

Ye Yunting said flatly, “Why did you catch it?”

“To scare Ye Tian!”

Ye Shuangxue said casually. She tied the backpack securely to prevent the snake from escaping. The little girl walked with a confident bounce, thinking of Ye Tian’s terrified expression, unable to hold back her laughter.

Ye Yunting said, “Forget it.”

He seemed uninterested, listless.

Ye Shuangxue froze, looking at her older brother in shock. What’s up with him today?

Too unusual.

Normally, when she tried to prank Ye Tian, her brother would turn a blind eye. If Ye Tian noticed, he would even help clean up the mess.

Was he afraid of scaring Ye Tian?

Thinking this, Ye Shuangxue quickly reassured, “It’s fine. This snake doesn’t bite; it’s hibernating and won’t move. We can take it home to make soup for Ye Tian.”

Ye Tian?

Remembering Ye Tian’s smiling face, Ye Yunting frowned: “From now on, we can’t call him Ye Tian anymore. From now on, we’ll all call him Dad.”

What?

Xiao Jiang looked at Ye Yunting in shock.

Ye Shuangxue’s small mouth formed an O, stunned and speechless.

“He’s really good to us…”