Chapter 5 Chapter 5 What a Precocious Wisdom

Yan Sheng didn't know how the Uchiha clan ultimately handled the matter. His infant body was too weak; he fell asleep halfway through the conversation.

—Kaori didn't say anything after that; a woman wouldn't specifically tell him that.

The chill of late autumn seeped into the Uchiha clan's territory, and withered leaves piled up under the corridors, making a soft rustling sound when they were swept up by the wind.

Yan Sheng lay in the cradle, wrapped in thick swaddling clothes, yet he could still feel the cold seeping in through the gaps.

In this life, he was born in autumn.

The autumn sun is gentle and warm, unlike the scorching heat of summer.

In the hazy light, Yan Sheng seemed to hear the distant chirping of cicadas, like an echo drifting from some distant summer day.

He vaguely recalled that in his previous life, he was born in the summer.

My vision gradually blurred, as if I had returned to that sweltering summer, where the rising heat made everything appear blurry and distorted.

***

Yan Sheng's body was much weaker than that of an ordinary baby.

In the early morning, Kaori would carry him to the porch so he could bask in the sun for a while. She would always first touch his forehead with her fingers to make sure he didn't have a fever before relaxing her brow.

"You're feeling better today," she said softly, wiping his cheek with a cloth dampened with warm water.

Yan Sheng did not react, but just kept his eyes half-closed, letting her do as she pleased.

That's unnecessary.

He was already used to pain and couldn't even be bothered to frown at it. In his previous life as Kokushibo, he could remain unfazed even when his neck was severed, so what was this little discomfort compared to that?

But women always react as if facing a formidable enemy.

It's time for the routine medication administration.

The bitter taste of the medicine spread across his tongue, and Yan Sheng couldn't help but frown.

"Sweetie, have another sip," Kaori coaxed softly, carefully placing the rim of the spoon against his lips.

Yan Sheng wanted to turn his face away, but then he noticed the burn on her fingertips, which was clearly from being accidentally burned by steam while boiling medicine.

After a pause, Yan Sheng finally opened his mouth.

Kaori's brows relaxed instantly, and she exclaimed, "Yan Sheng is amazing!"

It was as if he had done something extraordinary.

Yan Sheng: "..."

He closed his eyes and stopped looking at her.

***

Madara and Izuna come to see him every day, and today is no exception.

"Yan Sheng, how are you today?" Ban knelt beside the cradle, his voice very soft, as if afraid of disturbing Yan Sheng. He carefully touched his younger brother's forehead with his fingers, and breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that there was no fever.

This shows how frequently Yan Sheng had fevers, in other words, how sickly and weak his body was.

Yan Sheng didn't even bother to open his eyes.

Noisy brat.

Madara didn't care at all about his younger brother's indifference.

After all, in his eyes, his younger brother ignored him simply because he was weak and had no strength—just like when Izuna was sick as a child, he was so listless that he couldn't even swallow his favorite three-colored dumplings, let alone speak.

"look."

He pulled a cloth bag from his pocket, peeling back the layers to reveal several pressed red leaves. The leaves were as thin as cicada wings, their veins clearly visible in the light. Each leaf was placed under washi paper, clearly having undergone special preservation treatment.

“I picked it last month.” Ban gently tapped the reddest leaf with his fingertip. “On the day you were born, coincidentally, all the maple leaves turned red.”

Izuna leaned over and added, "Madara takes it out to look at it every day, afraid that he'll damage it."

"Cough!" Madara coughed forcefully, making a move to tap Izuna's head, but his hand froze halfway up as if he suddenly remembered something, and he cautiously glanced at the cradle. Seeing that Yan Sheng's eyes were still closed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, Yan Sheng wasn't woken up. What if he woke up and started crying? Yan Sheng's health isn't good to begin with; I hope he doesn't cry himself to death.

Although he had basically never seen Yen Sheng cry.

Izuna stuck out her tongue and took out a small rag doll from her bosom. The stitches were crooked, but you could tell it was shaped like a fox.

"This is something I made recently. It's really not very good... Sister Gu Kui said I don't have any talent in this area," Izuna said dejectedly.

After saying that, he gently placed the doll next to Yan Sheng's pillow and then tucked the blanket around Yan Sheng.

"Yan Sheng, you must grow up safely and peacefully," Izuna said softly, her eyes filled with worry.

He originally wanted to say "good health," but seeing his younger brother's condition, good health was impossible; he could only hope for peace.

***

When the first snow fell, Yan Sheng's illness worsened.

His high fever recurred, his breathing became weak, and even swallowing medicine became difficult. Kaori stayed by his side all night, her fingertips glowing with chakra almost constantly, trying to alleviate her young son's suffering.

"It will be alright..." Her voice trembled slightly, it was unclear whether she was comforting the child or herself.

Yan Sheng sighed.

Why bother?

In the middle of the night, when his high fever subsided slightly, he vaguely heard the sound of the paper door being gently pulled open.

It was Madara and Izuna, the two brothers who tiptoed in, carrying something in their arms.

"Yan Sheng..." Ban's voice was very low, as if afraid of waking him, "It snowed today."

Yan Sheng slightly opened his eyes and saw that Madara was holding a ball of snow in his hands, which was being carefully kept in shape by chakra and had not melted. Izuna was gently tapping the snowball with his fingertips, shaping it into a small rabbit.

“We’ll put it on the windowsill,” Ban said softly, “so you can see it when you wake up.”

They moved very quietly, as if afraid of disturbing his rest. After putting the snow rabbit away, Madara glanced back at Yan Sheng to make sure he was alright before quietly leaving with Izuna.

Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the tiny snow rabbit, making it appear crystal clear, round, and adorable.

Yan Sheng stared at it for a long time before closing his eyes again.

***

Two days later, the first light of dawn appeared.

Yan Sheng's high fever finally subsided completely. He opened his eyes and saw Jia Zhi slumped over the low table, clutching a half-damp towel in her hand. Her face was as pale as paper, with dark circles under her eyes, and she remained motionless.

...Did she faint?

Yan Sheng tried to move his fingers, hoping to make some noise to attract attention, but his body was still too weak to even pat the bedding.

To expect him to wail and cry like a real baby to attract attention? Not only would his pride not allow it, but his body wouldn't allow it either.

That only means—

Yan Sheng closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the innate power within his body.

Since birth, he has been secretly exploring the use of chakra. Although limited by his weak body, the precision of his control has far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

In fact, if he hadn't secretly used chakra to maintain his heart meridian, this high fever alone would have been enough to kill him.

Yan Sheng laboriously raised his hand, a wisp of pale blue chakra gathering at his fingertips. The energy drifted like a wisp of silk towards the medicine cabinet in the corner of the room, gently touching a porcelain bottle.

"despair."

The porcelain bottle swayed, making a soft clinking sound.

It's not loud enough.

He frowned, increased the pressure, and pushed the porcelain bottle to the ground. Unfortunately, the bottle was too sturdy and didn't break.

With a straight downward slant at the corner of his mouth, Yan Sheng looked around and finally fixed his gaze on the wind chimes hanging under the beam.

He then focused his chakra into a fine needle and thrust it fiercely at the wind chime.

"bite--"

......

As dawn broke, Uchiha Hisashi was preparing a potion in the next room.

As the "personal physician" personally assigned by the clan leader to take care of the young child, he knew better than anyone else about the child's specialness—the scene of the chakra outburst that day was still vivid in his mind, and both the clan leader and he had witnessed the child's amazing talent.

If it weren't for the clan chief's wife insisting on keeping watch herself...

Hisashi sighed.

The lady has been staying by her young son's side almost every day these past few days, refusing to leave no matter who tries to persuade her. He can only retreat to the next room and wait for her at any time.

Suddenly, a soft "click" sound came from next door.

Hisashi paused, his pestle momentarily still.

He put down the medicine bowl and listened intently. Then—

"bite--"

The crisp sound of wind chimes broke the morning silence.

Hisashi immediately stood up, walked quickly to the door, and gently knocked: "Madam?"

No one answered.

He raised his voice and called out twice more, but there was still no response.

Something's not right.

Hisashi decisively pushed open the door, and the sight before him made his pupils shrink.

The clan chief's wife was slumped over the low table, unconscious, with a cloth in her hand and her face as pale as paper. On the ground lay a porcelain bottle, and the wind chimes by the window were still swaying slightly, with a trace of lingering chakra remaining on their clappers.

Besides the unconscious Kaori, there was only—

The baby in the cradle lay quietly, its dark eyes half-open, its expression calmer than that of a baby.

Hisashi's Sharingan activated instantly, the two tomoe slowly rotating. He clearly saw that the chakra traces in the air, which had not yet completely dissipated, were extending from the direction of the wind chime all the way to the cradle.

This is......

He quickly stepped forward to check on Kaori's condition, a green light shining in his palm: "Hmm, Madam is fine, just overdrawn chakra and exhausted."

As he spoke, Hisashi glanced discreetly at the baby on the bed.

Porcelain cups/wind chimes don't fall to the ground or shake violently for no reason, and besides the unconscious team leader's wife, only this child who is less than a year old remains in the room.

Did they deliberately make a noise to signal for help?

Hisashi's gaze shifted to Yan Sheng. The baby's pale fingertips were slightly curled, still glistening with a faint glow of chakra.

—This sickly infant not only possesses amazing chakra talent, but also knows how to transmit information in this way when he is only two months old.

What a precocious wisdom.

Hisashi suppressed his shock and summoned his assistant.

When his assistant arrived, he said, "Go and inform the clan leader that the lady is overworked and needs to rest. As for Young Master Yan Sheng..."

His gaze swept over the wind chimes that had stopped swaying: "The high fever has subsided, and he's fine now."

A note from the author:

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[Sprinkling flowers]