Phoenix Revenge System

Laus, who heard the news about what happened to Larti from several neighbors who met her at the mosque during dawn prayers, was not particularly surprised. His face remained calm as he listened to the full story about his eldest sister.

"Mr. Laus, have you heard the news about your sister-in-law?" asked one of the neighbors in a whisper after finishing prayers. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Yes, sir," Laus replied briefly while folding his sarong.

"It’s a pity... but what she did was outrageous," said another neighbor, shaking his head.

Moreover, Larti had made a terrible plan for her family, and the punishment she received was very fitting. Laus felt that this was karma that his sister had to accept.

After finishing their morning prayers with their father at the mosque, Laus’s three children began to busy themselves with their respective activities as soon as they arrived home.

"Dad, we’re going home now. We have to go to school," said Leo as he said goodbye.

"Yes, son. Be careful on the road," replied Laus as he lovingly stroked the heads of his three children.

Liona, who woke up after hearing her second sister chattering beside her bed, staring at her with keen interest, could only roll her eyes lazily. "Ugh, so noisy early in the morning..." she grumbled to herself. Liona’s expression was the opposite of Lan’s. Seeing that her sister was awake, Lan’s eyes sparkled with joy. "Liona! Liona is awake!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "Look, little sister! I’ve taken a shower and I’m ready for school!" "Come on... call me Sister Lan," she said with a soft chuckle as she brought her face closer to her baby sister. "Sister Lan... try saying it, Lio. Sister... Lan..." Liona rolled her eyes lazily. "Why do I have such a stupid sister!" she grumbled irritably to herself. "I’m still a baby, how can I talk!" Lan, who was being mocked in her heart, was not angry because she did not realize it. Instead, she became even more excited and ran out to get her school bag. "Wait a minute, Lio! I want to get something!" she shouted as she ran off. In less than a minute, Lan was back with a beaming face. "Little sister, look! These are my grades!" she said proudly, showing her test papers. "These are my grades from yesterday. I got 100, you know! Isn’t your big sister very smart?" Lan smiled broadly as she waved her test paper in front of Liona’s face. "The teacher said I got the highest score in the class!" she added with a very proud tone. Seeing the test paper in her sister’s hand, Liona’s eyes showed a hint of mockery. "It’s just addition and subtraction, that’s easy," she said to herself with a dismissive tone. "Sigh, education these days is so outdated. How can third graders only be taught addition and subtraction when they should already be mastering multiplication and division, even fractions and decimals, and... blah blah blah..."

The more Liona spoke in her heart, the more Lan’s eyes sparkled. She could hear every word her baby sister said in her heart. "Wow, Liona knows so much!" Lan murmured in awe. "She’s even smarter than our teacher!" Her baby sister, who was only a few days old, already knew so many things. This made Lan’s admiration grow even greater. Out of curiosity, Lan tried to test her baby sister with some questions from her exam paper. "Lio, I want to ask you something," said Lan, sitting closer. "Listen carefully. If your mother bought ten eggs at the market, but three of them broke on the way home, how many eggs did your mother bring home?" Lan looked at her sister’s face expectantly, waiting for the answer in her heart. Liona, who was being spoken to, rolled her eyes lazily again and her gaze was full of mockery. "Of course there are seven eggs left!" she answered in her mind with an annoyed tone. "Even a kindergarten kid could answer that! Why is my second sister still asking me?! Stupid!" "Wow! That’s right, Lio! The answer is seven!" Lan exclaimed happily, even though she only heard it in her mind.

Hearing Liona’s answer, even though she was teased at the end of the sentence, Lan was not angry. Instead, Lan’s eyes sparkled even more and she asked another question. "How about this, Lio. If you have five marbles, and the teacher gives you three more marbles. How many marbles do you have now?" "Eight! That’s easy!" Liona answered silently with a sigh. "That’s right!" Lan shouted excitedly. Every answer Liona gave made Lan’s admiration for her baby sister grow even more. She couldn’t stop smiling. At first, Leo didn’t pay much attention to his sister’s behavior and helped his mother prepare breakfast in the kitchen. "Mom, is the tiwul rice ready?" Leo asked while arranging the plates. "Yes, son. It will be ready soon," replied Lura while stirring the vegetables in the pot. But after hearing that every answer Liona gave to Lan’s questions was correct, he also became curious about how smart his baby sister was. "Lan, why are you asking your sister questions all the time?" Leo asked as he approached. "Because Liona is so smart! All her answers are correct!" Lan replied enthusiastically. Leo immediately took the textbook from his bag and gave her some questions from his teacher. Even questions that he thought were quite difficult. "Lio, how about this question?" asked Leo as he opened his book. "This is a question that you couldn’t answer yesterday." Liona’s answers were satisfactory. Even for some questions that required further explanation, Liona was able to explain them well and correctly, making Leo think that he should study with his sister so that he could graduate from elementary school with satisfactory grades. "Amazing! Our sister is a genius!" said Leo, looking at Liona in awe. "I have to learn from Liona!" Lura, who saw her two sons constantly bothering their younger sister, immediately entered the room with an exasperated expression. "Enough, enough... stop bothering Liona!" Lura said with a smile. "Poor thing. Come on, let’s have breakfast first and then go to school so you won’t be late!"

"But Mom, Liona is so smart! We want to ask her some more questions!" protested Lan with a pleading look on her face. "Later this afternoon after school. Now eat your breakfast first, or you’ll be late!" said Lura as she ushered the two boys out of the room. Left alone in the room again, Liona began to grumble to herself. "Yes, left alone again," she said disappointedly. "Actually, I also want to get out of the room. To breathe fresh air and see what interesting things are out there. I’m bored of being in this room all the time..." Lura, who heard her baby’s protests, immediately returned and carried Liona in her arms to the front of the house to sunbathe her. "Yes, yes. Mother will take you outside now," said Lura as she gently carried Liona. "Be patient, dear." It was a village custom that newborn babies would be taken out to dry in the morning so their skin wouldn’t turn yellow, and the morning sun was considered very healthy for babies. Liona passed through the living room and saw what her three older siblings and father were eating, and she frowned deeply. Her eyes carefully observed the food on the table. "What are they eating?" she wondered to herself. "Why does it look and feel like sand? Why isn’t it like regular rice?" "Is this family so poor that they can’t afford rice and have to eat sand?" she continued, feeling sad. "Alright, I have to grow up quickly so I can help support the family and buy proper food for all my family members. I promise I’ll make your lives better!"

"Smart kid..." he whispered as he kissed Liona’s forehead. Lan, who heard her sister’s words, tried to answer Liona’s question without revealing that they could hear her inner thoughts. "Brother Leo," said Lan, winking at her brother. "This tiwul rice is made from dried cassava, right?" Leo, who was quick-witted, joined in on the drama his sister had created. He understood Lan’s intention to explain to Liona. "That’s right, Lan," Leo replied while chewing his food. "This tiwul rice is made from dried cassava, or what people commonly call gaplek." Leo paused for a moment, swallowed his food, then continued. "Almost everyone in this village eats tiwul rice because white rice is very expensive, and only rich people can afford to buy and eat it. But tiwul rice is also delicious, Lan. We are used to it." "Oh, I see, brother. I thought white rice was cheap," said Lan, continuing to wink at Liona. Hearing her older sister’s words, Liona’s heart grew even sadder. She never imagined that her family was so poor that they couldn’t even afford to buy rice. "Oh God, is their life really this hard..." she muttered to herself with a heavy heart. With teary eyes, Liona looked around, taking in the pitiful sight of the yard. The house had bamboo walls, a leaky roof, and minimal furniture. "Oh, why was I born as a baby like this!" said Liona, sighing softly to herself. "If only I had been born a little bigger or at least able to talk, maybe I could give my mother and father advice on how to make money easily. I have many ideas from my previous life..." Lura never expected that a baby who was only one day old could have such deep thoughts. Her heart felt warm hearing her baby’s concern. Even though they felt warm hearing their baby’s words, no one took it seriously. After all, no matter how intelligent a baby was, he wouldn’t be able to do heavy work to make money, so they didn’t think too much about it and assumed it was just a child’s tender concern for his family. As it was time, the three men of different ages left immediately after washing the dishes from their breakfast. "Mom, we’re leaving now," said Leo, carrying his school bag.

"Yes, dear. Be careful on the road. Study hard," replied Lura with a smile. After Lura kissed her husband’s hand, Laus kissed his baby’s forehead affectionately and said, "I’m leaving now, dear. Take good care of your mother." Laus then left for the fields to finish the rest of his work from yesterday before working on the fields belonging to his employer, Daud, which he planned to work on today. Meanwhile, after kissing their mother’s hand and gently kissing their baby brother’s cheek, her two children immediately left for school with enthusiastic steps. "Bye, Lio! Come home early this afternoon, okay?" said Lan, waving her hand. "Take care of Mom and Lano, Lio!" added Leo with a smile. Lano, who was left alone, would usually go to the neighbor’s house to play with his friends. But now that he had a baby sister, he preferred to stay at home. "Mom, Lano isn’t going to Mr. Budi’s house to play," said Lano as he sat next to his mother. "Why, son?" asked Lura while breastfeeding Liona. "Lano wants to play with Liona!" he replied with sparkling eyes. "Liona, what do you want to play?" he asked, his eyes sparkling as he looked at his baby sister with hope. "Lano can find toys! Lano has lots of toys!" Lura chuckled softly at her son’s innocent question. "Your baby sister can’t play yet, dear," she said, gently stroking Lano’s head. "She’s still too small." His mother’s words made Lano realize something and he slapped his forehead hard. "Ouch!" he cried, grinning. "You’re right, Mom. My sister can’t sit up yet to play. I forgot!" Lano scratched his head, which wasn’t itchy, with an embarrassed look on his face. "I really can’t play yet," Liona said to herself as she looked at her youngest brother. "But if it’s just going for a walk, I want to go too. It doesn’t have to be far, just around the house is enough for me to know what my surroundings are like. I want to see this village..." Lura, who heard her baby’s inner voice, thought it made sense and immediately took her for a walk around the house while Lano occasionally explained whatever they saw and passed by. "Liona, this is a mango tree! When it grows big, Lano will climb it to get mangoes for Liona!" said Lano enthusiastically, pointing. "This is the path to the rice fields, Lio! That’s where Dad works every day!" "This is Mr. Budi’s house, our neighbor! Mr. Budi is nice, you know!" Lano’s enthusiastic explanations made several neighbors who passed them smile amusedly, finding Lano’s chatter very cute. "Wow, Lano. This is your little sister, right? She’s so beautiful!" praised Sum, the neighbor next door who had just returned from the market with a large basket in her hand. "Yes, Auntie!" replied Lano proudly. "Lano is taking his sister for a walk with his mother and explaining everything around the house! Lano is being Liona’s teacher!" Hearing the little boy’s words, Sum gently stroked Lano’s head with a warm smile. "Smart boy. Lano is indeed a good big brother," she said. She immediately turned and looked at Lura, occasionally glancing at the beautiful baby the woman was carrying.

"Don’t go too far, Lur," said Sum, looking at Liona intently. "Don’t go to the guava orchard at the end of the road. It’s haunted. Your baby will get sick, possessed by spirits, which usually manifests as a high fever and convulsions. I feel sorry for your little one." "Yes, Budhe. Thank you for your concern," replied Lura politely with a smile. "We’re just going around the house." After chatting briefly about vegetable prices at the market and today’s weather, Sum continued on her way home, smiling slightly as she heard Lano explain everything to her baby sister, who still didn’t understand anything. "Liona! That was Aunt Sum! She’s a nice person! She often gives Lano snacks!" said Lano cheerfully. Sum didn’t know that Liona was no ordinary baby. With her photographic memory, she had already managed to draw a map of her house and its surroundings in a single glance. "Okay, I’ve memorized the layout of this house," Liona muttered to herself as her eyes continued to observe. "This will be useful someday..." Seeing her baby starting to yawn with heavy eyes, Lura immediately brought Liona into the house, breastfed her, and laid her down on a thin mattress covered with a mat. "Stay here for now, Lano. I’m going to tidy up the house and cook first," said Lura, to which Lano nodded in response. "Take care of your sister, don’t let her fall." "Yes, ma’am! Lano will take good care of Liona!" replied Lano, saluting like a soldier. As a mother who had given birth to four children naturally, due to her poor circumstances, Lura did not act spoiled because her husband and four children needed her, so she was able to work just one day after giving birth. "I have to be strong. For the sake of the children," she muttered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. Although she did not do heavy work such as drawing water, washing clothes, or going to the fields to farm, she still did the housework and cooking herself because she felt it was her responsibility to provide a clean home and food for her family. "If I don’t do it, who else will..." she said as she continued working with hands that never stopped moving, cleaning every corner of their simple home with love.