Reunion and Estrangement

Ye Bai returned to Kami's Lookout and continued his day-after-day training. Time slipped by quietly. From being utterly unable to evade Mr. Popo's attacks at first, to occasionally managing to dodge them later on, he had spent a long time improving. In his spare time, he would also silently gaze down below, keeping watch over Son Goku's adventures in the outside world.

In the blink of an eye, two and a half years had passed, and Ye Bai's training was complete. Mr. Popo told him that he had no more techniques left to teach him. That day, Ye Bai was sitting cross-legged at the edge of Kami's Lookout as usual, regulating his breathing and focusing his mind, when he suddenly sensed a familiar presence rapidly approaching the area beneath the Lookout.

"Goku defeated King Piccolo too. His strength is a little higher than in the original story, but apparently not by much," Ye Bai thought to himself. "Yamcha and the others improved as well, but only to a limited extent. No wonder Krillin still died. Training in a gravity chamber really isn't suitable for Earthlings. After all, they don't have the Saiyans' absurdly durable physiques."

As he pondered, Goku was already soaring through the air with the Power Pole in hand. Ye Bai simply waited at the edge of the Lookout. Watching Goku get struck about by lightning in such a sorry state, he could not help finding it amusing.

Goku seemed to have grown a little since Ye Bai had first met him, yet he still looked like a teenager—after all, Saiyans' bodies would not fully settle into their adult forms until they came of age.

Just as he was reminiscing, a hand suddenly reached up from the edge of the Lookout, gripped the railing, and vaulted over. Ye Bai came back to his senses and looked over. Goku happened to spot Ye Bai sitting nearby as well, and immediately froze.

"Goku, long time no see." Ye Bai smiled as he looked at the boy he had not seen in so long.

"Ah! It's Xiaobai! Why are you here?" Goku's face lit up with surprise, his joy practically overflowing.

He rushed over and tackled Ye Bai to the ground in one motion. Caught off guard, Ye Bai was pinned firmly beneath him. He could only shove him away and say irritably, "What are you doing, Goku? I don't like boys."

"Hahaha, I was just too excited, Xiaobai!" Goku sat up, looking puzzled. "But why don't you like boys?"

"Idiot, that's not the kind of 'like' you think it is. Forget it, there's no explaining it to an idiot like you." Ye Bai rolled his eyes helplessly, then pointed toward the Lookout in the distance. "Didn't you come up here to ask Kami to revive Krillin and the others? He's over there."

"Huh? Xiaobai, how did you know I came to find Kami?" Goku asked blankly.

"It doesn't matter. Aren't you going to find Kami? He's right over there." Ye Bai smiled as he prompted him along, already looking forward to the coming spectacle.

"Oh, right! Xiaobai, I'm going to find Kami first!" With that, Goku hurried off toward the Lookout.

The moment Ye Bai saw this, he vanished from where he stood and concealed himself amid the clouds high above, completely suppressing his presence.

Goku had only made it halfway when he ran into Mr. Popo. The other man was leisurely playing with a little bird he had found somewhere.

"Hello." Goku stepped forward and greeted him first.

"Hello." Mr. Popo answered with a smile. It was a completely different reception from what Ye Bai had received, making Ye Bai, hidden in the clouds, unable to stop the corner of his mouth from twitching.

"My name is Son Goku. Are you Kami?"

"No. My name is Popo. I am Kami's attendant."

"You're amazing! You actually defeated King Piccolo!"

"You know about that too?" Goku was somewhat surprised.

"Kami knows everything." Mr. Popo unhurriedly fed the bird.

"Is Kami inside? Can I meet him?" Goku looked past Mr. Popo toward the Lookout.

"Did you bring proof from Korin?" Mr. Popo asked, as though speaking to himself.

Goku pulled a bell from his tattered clothes. "Is this it? I brought it with me."

"That's right. You have earned Korin's recognition and are qualified to undergo the test."

"A test?" Goku asked in confusion.

"That's right. You will compete against me, Popo. If you defeat me, you may meet Kami."

"It's that simple? Got it, let's start already!" Goku looked relaxed, clearly not yet realizing what kind of powerful opponent he was facing.

Watching from the clouds, Ye Bai silently grumbled, This kid's getting a little full of himself. But that's fine. Once he gets beaten up, he'll settle down.

He decided to reveal himself once Goku had been taught a lesson and came looking for him. So he quietly watched from the sky as Mr. Popo gave Goku a "comprehensive lesson."

Sure enough, not long afterward, Goku ran out somewhat dejectedly to look for him. Only then did Ye Bai emerge from the clouds and land beside Mr. Popo. "Popo, it's time for me to leave."

"Leave? You will not stay and guide Goku?"

"Not yet." Ye Bai looked toward the distance, where Goku was searching everywhere for him, a smile curling over his lips. "Goku is still immature in every way. Once you finish training him, it will be about time. Then I'll bring him back to continue his training."

"I need an opponent. My strength has been improving very slowly." As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Bai vanished in an instant, leaving only Mr. Popo gazing thoughtfully in the direction Goku had gone.

When Ye Bai appeared again, he was above the small island where Master Roshi lived. Looking down at the familiar little house, he could not help feeling a stir in his heart. Only after calming himself in the air did he slowly descend and head toward Kame House.

At the door, Ye Bai raised his hand and knocked. Hearing the sound, Bulma was the first to get up and answer it. The moment she saw Ye Bai standing outside, her entire body went stiff.

"Bulma, long time no see!" Ye Bai looked at the familiar face before him, now more mature than it had been three years ago, with shorter hair as well. His heart was filled with emotion.

"Xiaobai?" Bulma could hardly believe her eyes. Three years—three entire years without a word. She had thought he would appear at the Twenty-Second World Martial Arts Tournament, but he had not. Even when King Piccolo had wreaked havoc, she had heard nothing of him.

Unable to hold back her emotions any longer, Bulma suddenly rushed forward and threw her arms around Ye Bai. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "This is wonderful, Xiaobai! I thought something had happened to you! I knew you were so strong that nothing could possibly happen to you... but why didn't you send even a single message in three years? Do you know I almost never got to see you again?"

A trace of guilt rose in Ye Bai's heart. Of course, he had known about King Piccolo. He simply had not wanted to interfere too much with Goku's growth in the early stages, so he had chosen to watch from the sidelines. After all, he knew Bulma would ultimately be safe.

"Do you know... King Piccolo appeared not long ago. He killed Krillin! Master Roshi gave his life to seal King Piccolo away too!" Bulma spoke excitedly, her voice choked with tears.

Ye Bai said nothing. He knew all of it. He had even watched them die from Kami's Lookout, yet had never intervened.

Seeing his silence, Bulma slowly released him, seeming to understand something from his expression. "Xiaobai, did you... know all along?"

Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, and the others inside came out upon hearing the commotion. When they saw the scene before them, they were all startled.

"It's Xiaobai. Where have you been these past three years?" Yamcha was the first to ask.

Ye Bai did not answer. He only looked silently at Bulma, unsure how to respond to her question. In the end, he could only say quietly, "Bulma, I had special reasons, so I couldn't step in and interfere with any of this. But Goku is already at Kami's Lookout. Soon, Krillin and Master Roshi can be revived."

"You could have stepped in, couldn't you, Xiaobai?" Bulma was very smart. She saw through him at a glance from his expression, but the truth was hard for her to accept, and she even felt disappointed.

Ye Bai did not deny it. He nodded lightly.

Seeing him nod, the disappointment in Bulma's eyes deepened. In a voice that was nearly breaking into tears, she said, "I... never want to see you again."

Those words weighed on Ye Bai's heart like a stone. He was not sure whether he had done something wrong. Unable to defend himself, he could only stand there in silence and watch as Bulma turned around and ran back into the house.