"Are you okay?!"
Liu Xun who was oblivious to what currently going through the mind of the child that he was carrying hurriedly asked in an anxious voice filled with guilt for not showing up sooner.
Had he known that instead of feeling grateful, the other party started to suspect him, he wouldn't have appeared even if you were to beat him to death!
"... I am okay."
Wan Yu shook his head as if trying to appease the other party but the frown which never left his face did not make it convincing at all.
As expected, the loyal customer Uncle Liu immediately bought his act and felt his blood pressure rising due to anger.
"Hey, who are you?!"
The three who got interrupted angrily raise their voices at Liu Xun not knowing that they only added fuel to the fire with their arrogant tone.
Liu Xun ignored them completely. Putting down the little protagonist with utmost care, he said with a smile, "Stay here and wait for me."
His right hand went to pat the child's head as appeasement but the moment he touched that unexpectedly soft and silky hair he became momentarily distracted.
Damn, what shampoo do you use?
Thinking how rough his hair was, Liu Xun felt a bit envious. He gave a harder rub on that small head before reluctantly pulling his hand away.
Wan Yu who got his head touched darkly stared at that small back. Despite the dissatisfaction bubbling up in his chest, he simply reorganized his hair in silence.
But on this day his little black book had another additional line.
Not knowing anything that was in store for his future, Liu Xun turned to face those perpetrators with a slightly raised eyebrow. He then replied in an arrogant tone, "I am your father."
The three: "..."
Wan Yu: "..."
Not expecting this kind of counterattack at all, the three went speechless for a while.
Some time passed, and one of them finally snapped back to his senses. He angrily spit on the ground with a disgusted expression written all over his face, "Pei! You are so ugly! Your son would also be an ugly pig as well!"
Liu Xun was completely unbothered by his remarks. He confidently tugged his hair behind his ear not caring about his disfigurement and let out a laugh, "I guess you take after me and not your mother. You guys are so ugly that I cried when I first saw you!"
"You!"
"You? Heh, I guess if I don't break your legs today then I am not your father!"
Done putting down these words, Liu Xun snapped off a small twig from the tree and started to roll up his sleeves.
Without giving time for others to react he immediately dashed forward at a surprisingly fast speed.
Wan Yu's eyes darkened at this scene.
He previously ruled that Xiao Xu didn't practice martial arts due to his out-of-shape physique.
His condition was so poor that Wan Yu was confident he could beat him in a fight in his current state.
However, after realizing that the other side was in the same boat as him, he no longer held the same thought.
As expected, this person didn't only have a loud mouth after all.
Meanwhile, it went the same for the three on the opposite side. They initially looked down on this hideous-looking kid which caused them to be caught off-guard by his sudden move.
In the blink of an eye, Liu Xun closed in on them unobstructed and slightly raised his right hand.
The nearest person only felt a breeze pass by before a tingling pain stuck his back evoking a loud slapping sound.
"Argh!"
In the next second, however, the back of his thighs were hit which brought his knees to the ground and his scream intensified with tears running down his cheeks.
"Ahhhhhh!"
The other two woke up from their stupor and quickly launched their attacks.
They gather spiritual energy in their palm and hurriedly shoot in Liu Xun's direction.
Liu Xun relied on his footwork to dodge their attack. However, since his body was quite feeble, he barely made it out with a few simple scratches.
Having no intention of prolonging this fight, Liu Xun disregarded the tingling pain in his right shoulder. He delivered a kick to one of them and slammed the stick in his hand to another one.
"Ouch! How dare you! Don't you know who are w-."
Before the sentence could be formed, the stick swiftly swung down cutting through the air and producing a whistling sound before landing squarely on the buttocks.
"AHHHHHH!"
A crisp sound loudly rang the moment the stick made contact with the flesh. The pain was indescribable, stung, and persisted for a long time.
Just hearing it made others grimace in pain. There was no need to mention the one who got hit directly.
The guy had tears and snots all over his face while rolling on the ground in pain all the while touching his butt.
The other two witnessed this scene and hurriedly swallowed their curse. They instinctively hid their behinds no longer daring to provoke this madman.
Uncle Liu with his left hand on his hip and right hand holding a stick pointed at them with a scowl on his face.
"At your age, you should be focused on studying not spending your time bullying others like this! Do you know how many people don't even have the luxury to study like all of you?!"
"Do you know how hard it is for your parents to send you to school?! And this is how you repay them? By being the scum of society?!"
The three meekly bowed their heads without uttering a single word in return. However, their act of submissiveness only earned another wave of anger from Uncle Liu.
Liu Xun strongly hit the stick on the ground making dust and grass fly.
"Are you all mute?!"
The three jumped and quickly responded, "No!"
Liu Xun squinted his eyes in dissatisfaction, "Speak properly."
At his word, the three looked at each other pensively. One of them finally gritted his teeth and said, "We shouldn't have bullied... Wan Yu while neglecting our training. We will repent..."
Liu Xun was not satisfied with his words. He scoffed, "So you only feel wrong when you are finally facing the consequence of your actions? Looks like you are not reflecting at all."
Figuring that he was about to get hit again, the bully hastily knelt and kowtowed in Wan Yu's direction.
"Wan Yu, I am so sorry! Forgive us this time!"
The other two quickly followed and did the same as their fellow brother.
"That's right! We will never bother you again!"
"Tell your friend to let us go!"
Comfortably leaning against the tree, Wan Yu calmly stared down at them from a higher ground.
Seeing the top of their heads was something unimaginable in the past.
He did plan to make them grovel for forgiveness in this life but to think that someone who had never appeared in his life helped him achieve this feat was quite inconceivable.
Albeit it doesn't feel that bad either...
Wan Yu took his time and deliberately delayed his response to make them kneel for a bit longer but in Liu Xun's point of view, the child was simply too troubled to answer.
Liu Xun internally sighed. He kindly helped him out of this sticky situation, "How about hanging them upside down from this tree and leaving them be?"
The three's faces instantly went green at his words.
On Wan Yu's side, despite wanting to agree, he who had an image to uphold put on a hesitant face.
"I don't think it is a good idea..."
He may be too smart for his age but he is still a good child.
Liu Xun lamented like an old father in his heart but he was glad that the little male protagonist still had some compassion in his heart unlike the older version of him in the novel.
"Don't let me ever see you guys bullying him or other people again. Otherwise, I will hit you without pants on next time."
Liu Xun decided to end things here and gave the three a stern glare.
The three's faces alternated between red and white. It was unsure whether it was due to shame or anger but they still nodded their heads before hurriedly scurrying away in case he suddenly had a change of heart.
Liu Xun harrumphed and tossed the stick away. He then proceeded to walk in the little protagonist's direction.
Wan Yu unblinkingly watched as the other party knelt in front of him and without as much as a single word, he nonchalantly grabbed his front lapel and pulled them apart.
Wan Yu: "..."
Wan Yu hurriedly secured his collar and asked through gritted teeth almost forgetting to mask his real emotions, "What are you doing?"
Liu Xun lifted his face to look at him with a slight frown. Instead of answering, he returned the question, "What are you doing? Move your hands."
As a victim subjected to his shameless act, Wan Yu's eyes couldn't help but twitch.
Does this guy exist only to test the limit of his patience?
Squeezing out a smile, Wan Yu enunciated, "Xu ge... What are you trying to do?"
In return, Liu Xun stared at him as if he were an idiot, he almost rolled his eyes.
"What else other than to check your wounds?"
Not expecting this answer at all, Wan Yu was stunned. He subconsciously shifted his gaze toward the other person's injured shoulder.
Blood seeped through his robe turning the area a darker shade of blue.
No matter how strong his soul was, with a frail body like his it was already a miracle to win against those three as someone with no cultivation.
Despite looking fine on the outside, Wan Yu could still catch his laborious breathing as well as the slight shake of his hands from exerting too much force.
To think that the first thing he thought of was to check on him who only had small injuries...
What a fool.
Just as Wan Yu was denouncing him in his heart, Liu Xun took the chance to pull his front shirt open.
Wan Yu came back to his senses late and his bare upper body was already out in the open.
Ignoring that prickly gaze, Liu Xun carefully inspected his injuries while teasing the child to ease the atmosphere, "You are still a child but already being so shy. What will you do once you got yourself a wife in the future tsk tsk."
Wan Yu who previously died single: "..."
Even though Liu Xun was smiling on the surface, deep down, he was in distress after seeing the child's small body covered in multiple purple bruises.
Slightly pressing his hand on his stomach, he softly asked, "Does it hurt a lot here?"
Wan Yu could feel a slight pain from the area being pressed but he still responded with a shake of his head.
This much pain counted as nothing in comparison to what he experienced in the past.
Just as this idea crossed his mind, an immature yet steady voice suddenly broke his line of thought.
"You know, it is normal to say that it is hurt when you are in pain."
Wan Yu did not respond. He silently looked at the person before him as if he saw him for the first time.
Bright light penetrated through the gaps of the leaves leaving small mottled lights dancing on his entire person.
Leaves floated down on the breeze bringing along the familiar scent of fresh green grass covered in morning dew.
That short black hair fluttered along the wind and shined brightly underneath the light.
Adorned on that badly disfigured face was a pair of gentle eyes and a beautiful smile.
Wan Yu has seen a lot of beautiful scenery in the past but none was able to move him.
So... Why does this fool suddenly look so pleasing to his eyes?