Crash!
He knocked over a jar of wine, and the spilled liquor splashed onto his trouser leg.
Naruto paused, frowning as he endured the stench of alcohol in the air. He nudged the clutter scattered across the floor aside with his feet, then carefully rose onto his toes, searching for somewhere to step.
Ye Lingling stood in the corner of the room, peeking at the two of them through her hair. Thinking she had completed the task her teacher had given her, she didn't even greet her grandfather. She silently returned to her room and shut the door with a click.
Was this... puberty?
Naruto muttered to himself, then lowered his gaze to the hunched old man leaning against the low table. His clothes were disheveled, and he clutched a wine jar, so drunk he no longer knew up from down.
There was a reason for that puberty!
Naruto cleared a space and sat cross-legged. At the same time, he glanced back at Dong Trumpet, subtly asking a question.
"Is this guy Ye Renxin? He doesn't seem to have anything in common with his name!"
"It really is him..."
The phantom of Bibi Dong behind him furrowed her brows too. She rested her delicate hand beneath her chin and drifted past Naruto, scrutinizing the little old man in front of them, her face full of confusion.
"Judging by his appearance, I can still make out a little of what he used to look like."
"Has he changed that much?"
Naruto asked, puzzled. Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze and drifted back behind him. Her spiritual projection lay down, then focused on recalling the past.
"It's been nearly thirty years since I last saw him... If we go by the current timeline, it was ten years ago, when I killed that beast."