The little one nodded without hesitation. In his eyes, the chief examiner was almost like a god.
He held onto the chief examiner’s hand, asking for the miraculous medicine.
But such a thing didn’t exist, even for the chief examiner.
“Choose another reward,” the chief examiner said. “I don’t have that.”
“But that’s the only thing I want.”
The little one thought about the letters mentioning his father’s health, and how his uncle had mentioned that his father was still taking medicine. It made the little one feel extremely sad.
He was too young to help his father like his big brother and fourth brother could. His father had always taken care of him, and he wanted to do something in return.
But the chief examiner’s response was clear: “I don’t have what you’re asking for. You can choose another reward.”
The little one shook his head. If he had to pick something else, he wouldn’t know what to choose.
Feeling sad, he lowered his head and tugged at the chief examiner’s sleeve, looking quite pitiful.
The chief examiner watched him for a moment, then finally said, “I don’t have the kind of magic medicine you want, but Guan Shan Residence might be able to treat your father’s illness.”
“How about this: you can bring your daddy here.”
“If he comes, we’ll take a look at him. But we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to cure him.”
“Okay, I understand,” the little one said, feeling a glimmer of hope.
The chief examiner continued explaining the conditions, “If your father comes to Guan Shan Residence, he must not make a big scene, nor can he reveal his identity. He has to follow all the rules here, just like everyone else.”
At Guan Shan Residence, even the emperor wouldn’t receive special treatment.
The biggest signpost here had the words “equality for all.” If Emperor Ling came and saw that, his face would probably darken.
So, the chief examiner made sure to explain the rules to the little one in advance.
The little one listened carefully and remembered everything.
But he couldn’t help feeling a bit down. “I’m just a little divine beast, and Big Boss isn’t a god.”
He mumbled something the chief examiner couldn’t quite hear.
When the chief examiner asked what he said, the little one wouldn’t repeat it.
After lingering around for a while, the little one left without claiming his reward.
“Little Seven, weren’t you just happy a moment ago? What’s wrong now?” a child asked, noticing the little one’s expression.
The little one rubbed his face and replied, “It’s nothing.”
He would be fine in a little while.
He didn’t share his troubles with the other children but confided in Ah Wu instead.
Ah Wu ruffled his hair and comforted him, though deep down, he had little sympathy for Emperor Ling.
As a ruler and a husband, Emperor Ling was incompetent.
The only thing he seemed to do right was raising Little Seven.
Although Ah Wu didn’t like Emperor Ling, for Little Seven’s sake, he hoped the emperor would live a little longer, at least long enough to see Little Seven grow up.
“There, there, don’t be sad anymore,” Ah Wu gently patted the little one’s back, soothing him for a long time until his mood finally improved.
He wiped the little one’s face and took him out for a nice meal.
Distracted by other things, the little one’s spirits lifted by the evening. He transformed into his small animal form and ran around the large field behind the chief examiner’s residence, pouncing back and forth with excitement.
He was practicing hunting techniques.
Since revealing his true nature to the chief examiner, the little one had mostly stayed in his small beast form.
Though his growth was much slower compared to Ah Wu’s.
The chief examiner even gave him a physical examination. Afterward, the chief examiner looked at him suspiciously and asked, “How big will you get when you finish growing?”
The little one, with his round eyes wide open, gestured with his paws, “Chirp!”
He could grow really big.
He might be small now, but when he got older, he would be huge.
He would grow into the mightiest great divine beast!
The little one had great confidence in his future size, and the chief examiner, seeing his spirited gestures, didn’t have the heart to shatter his pride.
Time passed little by little.
After running around the field for a while, the little one finally grew tired.
He spat out the small rabbit he had been carrying in his mouth. The rabbit, though unharmed, was so terrified it didn’t even move. Even after being released from the jaws of the little beast, it just sat there in shock, unable to run away.
The little one poked the rabbit with his paw, but seeing that the rabbit didn’t run away, he didn’t bother further and just went back to eating.
Now that Ah Wu has learned how to cook, his skills aren’t worse than the chief examiner’s.
The chief examiner has ingredients, so when the little one wants noodles, Ah Wu can cook them for him.
However, it was unclear what the chief examiner showed Ah Wu, but now Ah Wu also thought he shouldn’t let the little one eat too much unhealthy food. So, the little one still hasn’t achieved freedom with noodles and drinks.
At mealtime, Ah Wu, who had already done a lot of work in the house, also took a break.
They all ate together.
“Big Boss,” the little one, who was scooping food, looked at the Big Boss and said, “The teacher said we still have to do practical lessons.”
“Mm.”
The practical lessons that were interrupted certainly need to be completed.
The little one glanced at the Big Boss, hesitated for a moment, and asked, “The teacher also said that after a few more practical lessons, we might not have classes anymore.”
“Mm.”
This place, Guan Shan Residence, isn’t some bandit hideout where once you go in, you can’t get out. These kids came for classes, and there will naturally be a time when they finish and leave.
“Teacher, I like having classes here, and so does Dun Dun and the others,” the little one said, bowing his head to avoid the chief examiner’s gaze, though the chief examiner’s eyes were on him.
He really liked Guan Shan Residence, liked his classmates, the teacher, and the Big Boss.
And most of all, he liked Ah Wu.
“When the lessons are over, but you don’t need to worry about that yet,” said the chief examiner calmly. “When this stage of lessons is complete, there will be another stage.”
“If the classes end, just treat it like a holiday, and after the break, you’ll come back for more lessons.”
The chief examiner’s calm words reassured the little one immediately.
He happily nodded and, this time, ate without burying his face in the bowl.
Although the chief examiner mentioned future lessons, the little one still cherished his time here and the moments playing with his classmates.
He knew that the children who came here were mostly not well cared for.
So now he was very diligent, using his ability to foresee the future to give predictions for his classmates before they parted ways.
He pulled people by the hand, offering to tell their fortunes with a serious look on his little face.
The other kids didn’t believe in it, but when they saw him offering, they all cooperated.
“Little Seven, are you done telling my fortune?” asked Dun Dun, sitting on a stool, looking at the serious little one.
The little one’s cheek was puffed up, full of the candy Dun Dun had just fed him.
He opened his closed eyes, and his little face didn’t look too good.
“Dun Dun, don’t trust your uncle; he’s bad,” said the little one firmly.
Dun Dun, who had been smiling and playful, was suddenly stunned: “My uncle’s not bad. He’s my only uncle. Before my mom died, she told me he would protect me…”
“Don’t trust him,” the little one insisted. “Your aunt doesn’t like you. Your uncle only cares about his own children. Dun Dun, don’t play with your uncle.”
The little one kept repeating himself, but Dun Dun remained silent.
The little one was no longer surprised by this.
He had told fortunes for several kids in the past few days, and none of the outcomes had been good.
Guan Shan Residence had taught them many lessons on self-protection, but even the most neglected children are still children, and there was still some warmth in their hearts.
Some of them still had people they believed in.
“Dun Dun, I’m not trying to bad-mouth your uncle,” the little one said, not wanting to be too blunt, but knowing that without bluntness, there would be no effect. “I just want you to stay safe.”
Concern filled the little one’s eyes as Dun Dun patted his head and smiled, “Little Seven, I know you mean well.”
“I’ll remember what you said.”
“Mm!”
After finishing Dun Dun’s fortune, the busy little one moved on to grab another child for more fortune-telling.
Ah Wu, watching how busy the little one was, didn’t quite approve.
“Zai Zai, doing too much fortune-telling will give you headaches. Are you trying to get a headache again?”
The little one quickly shook his head, covering his forehead.
Of course, he didn’t want a headache.
Seeing him shake his head, Ah Wu reminded him, “If you’re afraid of headaches, then stop telling fortunes. They’ve learned enough here to protect themselves.”
“But I see that they will face a lot of danger.”
“Everyone could face danger,” Ah Wu replied calmly. “When they do, they’ll deal with it. It’s their own business.”
“Zai Zai, their matters have nothing to do with you.”
Even though the little one had a good relationship with his classmates at Guan Shan Residence, Ah Wu remained distant from others.
He was naturally cold, and the little one was his only exception.
No one else could warm his heart.
The little one was used to Ah Wu’s words. He snuggled up to him and softly said, “Ah Wu, they’re my good friends. I have to look out for them.”
Being good friends meant taking care of each other. That’s what friends are for.
The little one didn’t mind using his ability to foresee the future; he was willing to give that much.
Ah Wu couldn’t persuade him otherwise, so he let him be.
After several busy days, the little one was starting to get tired.
As Guan Shan Residence was experiencing a sudden change in weather, with temperatures dropping sharply, the little one had been running around outside and worked up a sweat. When he returned, he indulged in some cold air.
He sneaked into the kitchen and drank the drink that the chief examiner had made but hidden away from him.
That night, having caught a cold, the little one laid in bed, groaning with his eyes closed.
He whimpered in discomfort, and Ah Wu, sensing something off about his temperature, immediately got out of bed and went next door to call the chief examiner.
The chief examiner had already fallen asleep by then.
The knocking was urgent.
Ah Wu stubbornly woke up the sleeping chief examiner to have him check on the little one.
In Ah Wu’s mind, the chief examiner seemed to be all-powerful.
Even though Ah Wu often challenged the chief examiner and wasn’t very submissive towards him, he never denied that the chief examiner was the most formidable person he’d ever known.
The chief examiner, dressed in his pajamas, opened the door with a calm face. Before his grogginess could turn into irritation, he saw the little one being held up in front of him.
Ah Wu lifted the little one, who had a flushed face, and handed him over to the chief examiner.
The chief examiner: “…”
He frowned. “He’s burning up.”
Ah Wu pressed his thin lips together and watched as the chief examiner took the little one into his arms.
The chief examiner checked his temperature—it was quite high.
He laid the little one down on the bed and prepared warm water, instructing Ah Wu to wipe him down.
“The medicine isn’t here.”
The chief examiner quickly changed clothes and got ready to leave. “I’ll go get it. Keep wiping him down to bring the fever down.”
“Okay.”
The chief examiner swiftly left the room, off to find the medicine somewhere. He was gone for a while, but when he returned, he carried a small box filled with medicine.
He rummaged through the box, found some fever medicine, poured a cup of water, and mixed the medicine before giving it to the little one.
The little one, however, refused to drink the medicine, tightly closing his mouth.
Ah Wu, seeing his tightly shut mouth, stepped in, pinching his cheeks to force his mouth open.
The fever medicine was bitter, and the little one cried out from the taste.
Ah Wu, quick on his feet, immediately gave him a piece of candy to wash away the bitterness.
The little one’s fever lingered for two days.
During those two days of fever, Zai Zai was listless, and the chief examiner did nothing but watch over him.
By the morning of the second day, the fever finally broke, and there were no more signs of it returning.
Sitting up in bed, the little one looked at the chief examiner and Ah Wu sitting nearby, his wet eyes curving into crescent moons.
“Zai Zai is all better.”
He placed his small hands on the blanket and obediently said, “My head doesn’t hurt anymore, and my throat doesn’t hurt either.”
Although he said he was no longer in pain, Ah Wu insisted he rest for another day and didn’t let him run around.
The little one stayed in the chief examiner’s room for the day, and by evening, his classmates came to visit him. Even though they were a little afraid of the chief examiner, they still braved it because the little one was there.
“Little Seven, were you overworking yourself by telling our fortunes all the time?” Dun Dun asked, patting his little face. Although it wasn’t hot anymore, Dun Dun was still worried.
He felt both worried and a bit guilty.
He believed that Little Seven had worn himself out from constantly telling fortunes for all of them, and because they hadn’t really believed him, it had frustrated him and made him sick.
Dun Dun’s guilty expression didn’t go unnoticed by the little one.
“Dun Dun, no—”
Just as the little one was about to deny it, Ah Wu interrupted from the side.
“You all know now,” Ah Wu said, confirming Dun Dun’s suspicion coldly. “You should take Little Seven’s words more seriously.”
After all, the little one’s predictions weren’t something just anyone could receive.
For them to know and still not believe it was wasting the little one’s effort.
Although Ah Wu’s attitude wasn’t pleasant, everyone was used to his personality and didn’t mind.
However, Dun Dun’s eyes were filled with even more guilt.
“Little Seven, I’ve remembered everything you said. Don’t worry, I’ll listen to you from now on.”
Little Seven had told him not to trust his uncle, so when he returned, he would carefully observe his uncle.
After Dun Dun spoke, the other children chimed in.
“Little Seven, we won’t take what you say as a joke.”
“Take care of yourself. Don’t tire yourself out, and don’t get angry anymore.”
Hearing all these words, the little one was stunned.
He had initially wanted to explain that he hadn’t gotten sick from anger, but Ah Wu cut him off.
“Little Seven, when you’re fully recovered, I’ll take you to eat something delicious.”
“Little Seven, I bought your favorite candy.”
The children’s concern filled the little one’s heart with warmth. He grinned widely, his little mouth stretched in a happy smile.
The children hadn’t come empty-handed; they had brought gifts too.
“I’ve been drinking medicine for two days, and it’s so bitter,” the little one said, sitting amidst the pile of gifts, addressing the children in front of him. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
So many had come to visit that the chief examiner left the room once they entered.
Most of the children were afraid of him, and his presence made them uncomfortable.
Sure enough, once the chief examiner left, the children, who had been somewhat restrained, relaxed.
They crowded around the little one, and after he reassured them that he was better, they gathered closely around him and chatted warmly.
After watching for a while, Ah Wu also left.
The children stayed for quite some time.
Only after night had fully fallen did they finally leave, one by one.
The little one watched their retreating figures, feeling a bit reluctant to see them go.
Ah Wu and the chief examiner had also left.
And now, with the children gone too, the little one didn’t want to stay in the room alone. He climbed out of bed, put on his little shoes, and went outside.
He had originally wanted to find Ah Wu, but Ah Wu had gone somewhere unknown.
As he walked outside, he wandered for a while, looking up at a few trees, and finally spotted the uncle who was resting in one of them.
“Uncle!”
The little one stood at the base of the tree, calling up to the uncle who was always hanging out in the trees.
The man, woken up by the little one’s call, poked his head down and looked at him.
“Hey, you’re all better now?”
The man smiled, his slightly round eyes making him look younger. “Want to climb up the tree?”
“Yes, I do.”
The little one loved climbing trees, but after he got up, he sincerely remarked, “Uncle, you like climbing trees even more than I do.”
“Because trees are tall.”
With one arm around the little one to prevent him from falling, the man spoke in a clear and pleasant voice, “The higher I sit, the farther I can see.”
“Uncle, what are you trying to see?”
“I want to see a place very, very far away.”
“A faraway place… Where is that?” the little one asked curiously.
The man chuckled, but he didn’t continue the conversation.
“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know. By the way, how are you feeling now?”
As the man asked, he reached out and checked the little one’s temperature.
It was normal; his skin was cool, and the fever was gone.
“I feel a little better.”
The little one sat on the tree, swinging his short legs, looking at the scenery around and at the man sitting beside him.
After holding back for a while, the little one couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle, have you ever read storybooks?”
“Hmm?”
The man wasn’t sure why he asked but nodded anyway. “I have.”
The little one made a small sound and said, “I’ve read them too, lots of them.”
“There are monsters in the storybooks, but I’m not afraid of monsters.”
The little one had read descriptions of monsters in the books, and the more he read, the more he thought they resembled himself.
But Ah Wu had told him they were divine beasts, not monsters. In this world, there were no monsters.
In this world, there were only humans.
And them—the two divine beasts who had crossed time and space.
The little one had always believed Ah Wu’s words.
But as he looked at the uncle who was always perched in trees, the little one couldn’t help but let a suspicion rise.
“Uncle, I’m not afraid of monsters.”
The little one repeated the statement, sneaking glances at the uncle beside him.
The man: “…”
The man was amused. “Do you think I’m a monster?”
The little one didn’t respond.
The man found him even more entertaining. “Well, if you think I’m a monster, you must have some idea. What kind of monster do you think I am?”
“A tree spirit!”
The little one answered without hesitation, showing that this thought had been on his mind for quite some time.
The man was taken aback by his words.
Whenever they met, he was indeed always in a tree.
But he certainly wasn’t a tree spirit—there were no such things as monsters in this world.
The man patted the little one on the head and sighed.
After sighing, he asked, “Didn’t your teacher add a science lesson to your curriculum? How are you still so superstitious?”
The little one, now labeled as superstitious, remained silent.
He had listened to his teacher’s science lessons.
But his and Ah Wu’s existence was anything but scientific.
Seeing the little one stay quiet, the man, still holding him, decided to give him a lesson right there in the tree.
The night in Guan Shan was beautiful.
Moonlight poured down, illuminating the branches, and as the little one listened to the lesson, he dozed off in the man’s arms, even drooling a little in his sleep.
“Am I really that boring?” the man muttered, twitching his mouth as he climbed down from the tree with the little one in his arms.
He had intended to let the little one walk back on his own, but the little one clung to him tightly after falling asleep.
When he gently tried to push him off, the little one scrunched up his face, almost ready to cry.
Maybe it was because he had just been sick that the little one was a bit more emotional.
The man sighed deeply, holding him close.
“I guess you’re stuck with me.”
The man supported the little one and stood still for a moment before turning around and carrying him away.
When Ah Wu returned to the house and couldn’t find the little one, he searched high and low for him.
Eventually, the chief examiner frowned and spoke up. “Go to bed. I know where he is.”
The chief examiner didn’t let Ah Wu follow him. He went out and quickly returned.
“I saw him. He’s fine, just sleeping elsewhere,” the chief examiner said lightly. “You’ll sleep alone tonight.”
Ah Wu glared at him, displeased that he didn’t mention where exactly the little one was.
But the chief examiner never indulged him, so he ignored Ah Wu’s look and headed to the bedroom to sleep.
Ah Wu clenched his fists, frustrated by how slowly he was growing up.
If only he could grow up faster.
The chief examiner didn’t care about Ah Wu’s thoughts. He closed the door, paying no attention to him outside.
Ah Wu stared at the door for a long time before finally returning to his room.
In the middle of the night.
Just as Ah Wu had fallen asleep, the little one, who had been carried away by the man, rubbed his eyes and groggily woke up.
When he woke up, his little brain was still foggy, and he thought he was in the chief examiner’s room.
“Big Boss.”
He called out softly, “I want water.”
Hearing his voice, the man got out of bed and poured him a cup of water.
The little one, not even looking at who handed him the cup, held it with both hands and drank it down in big gulps.
“Thank you, Big Boss.”
After finishing the water, the little one handed the cup back and finally looked up.
It was only then that he realized it wasn’t the chief examiner in front of him.
“Uncle?”
“Yeah, you fell asleep, so I brought you back.”
The man placed the cup aside and then climbed back into bed to sleep beside him. “Now that you’ve had water, go back to sleep. It’s very late.”
The little one had never slept with this uncle before, so maybe it felt a bit new to him, or perhaps because he had just had some water, he became more energetic.
After the uncle got into bed, the little one didn’t feel sleepy at all.
“Uncle.”
The little one, instead of sleeping, held onto the uncle’s arm, wanting to chat with him.
In the middle of the night, the uncle wasn’t really in the mood for it.
But the little one, lying in bed, began talking to himself.
He talked so much that even the man, who had been tired, found himself wide awake.
“Alright, let’s chat then.”
The man ruffled the little one’s hair, put a pillow behind his back, and let him lean into his chest, lazily starting to chat with him.
Even though there was quite an age gap between them, the chatty little one was really good at keeping the conversation going.
His voice was soft, and when talking to others, he didn’t just chatter away but was also a great listener.
So whether it was with adults or children, everyone felt good after talking to him.
Without realizing it, the man also started talking more.
He told the little one his name: “Lian Qing.”
“Uncle Lian.”
The little one thought his name was nice and even complimented him.
Lian Qing smiled, charmed by this little one’s flattery, and found himself talking even more.
He said he came from somewhere else.
He missed his homeland very much, but he couldn’t go back.
As Lian Qing talked about this, he became a little melancholic, but he quickly changed the subject.
He mentioned having a friend and, as he spoke, seemed a bit unsure: “I suppose he’s a friend, but I’m not certain.”
He said that his relationship with this friend wasn’t great, and it was his fault that his friend ended up here with him.
The little one quietly listened to Uncle Lian Qing’s story about his friend.
Even though Lian Qing was usually quite articulate, for some reason, when talking about this friend, his story became a bit jumbled.
The little one’s eyes started to glaze over as he tried to keep up.
“He doesn’t like me, and I’m too lazy to care about him.”
“Maybe someday, if I can go back, I’ll travel the world and never have to see him again.”
Lian Qing went on for a while.
The little one rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of it all, and then said, “Uncle Lian, the Big Boss isn’t that bad. I don’t think he dislikes you.”
Lian Qing: “…”
Lian Qing’s expression changed instantly. “I was talking about my friend. What does this have to do with your Big Boss?”
The little one looked confused. “Isn’t the friend you were talking about the Big Boss?”
Lian Qing’s face turned bright red, and he denied it: “No, I wasn’t talking about him.”
The little one: “Oh.”
Grown-ups are so strange, always changing their moods.
The little one obediently listened as Lian Qing denied it and expressed his dissatisfaction with the Big Boss.
After a while, Lian Qing’s emotions finally settled.
“That’s enough. Let’s not talk anymore.”
Lian Qing felt that discussing such topics in the middle of the night wasn’t a good idea. Emotions were harder to control at night, and it wasn’t the right time for these conversations.
The little one finally decided to settle down and sleep.
By the next morning, the little one had eaten breakfast at Lian Qing’s place and was ready to be sent off.
As he was being sent away, the little one realized that Lian Qing lived in an even more remote area than the Big Boss.
Hugging his neck, the little one asked in a small voice, “Uncle, aren’t you scared living here?”
“No, I’m not.”
Lian Qing carried him outside. “I like staying home.”
“Okay.”
The little one admired him: “If I lived here alone, I’d be scared.”
“Kids have smaller courage. It’s fine. You’ll grow up one day.”
“When will I grow up?”
“Hmm, it’ll take a while. You’re still very young.”
Lian Qing chatted absentmindedly with the little one as he walked him out.
“Goodbye, Uncle Lian.”
The little one waved his little hand to say goodbye to Lian Qing.
Even though Lian Qing lived far away, the little one had memorized the route!
Next time, he could come visit Uncle Lian on his own.
The little one happily left and, before heading to school, stopped by the chief examiner’s house.
“Have you eaten?”
“Yes, but Zai Zai could eat a little more.”
Uncle Lian’s cooking wasn’t very good, but the sensible little one had still finished his meal without complaining.
His teacher from school had once told him not to waste food.
He had even memorized a poem about farmers, which said that growing food was hard work for the farmers.
The chief examiner glanced at him. The little one had just recovered from a fever, and after getting better, he had gone and eaten such bad food—hopefully, he wouldn’t get sick again.
He prepared some breakfast for the little one, who finished it before heading off to class with Ah Wu.
Lessons continued at Guan Shan Academy.
The little one attended classes, practiced fortune-telling during breaks, paid off his debts to the chief examiner after school, and in his free time, visited Uncle Lian to hear more stories about him and his friend.
At first, Lian Qing hadn’t wanted to share, but the little one raised his finger and swore: “I swear, I won’t tell anyone what you say.”
He even used a new word he had learned: “I’ll keep it sealed tight like a bottle!”
Lian Qing, worn down by his persistence, shared more bits and pieces of his story.
The little one listened intently.
Days like these, busy yet routine, passed by in a blur.
After two more practical classes, the teacher announced that their course would soon come to an end.
Once the course was over, they would all return home.
When this news was announced, the little one’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Even though he had long known that the course would end, hearing the news still made him feel very sad.
He wasn’t the only one upset; the other children were also heartbroken.
They cried together several times, hugging each other as they wept.
The little one wiped away his tears, and even amidst the sorrow of parting, he didn’t forget to keep working.
He calculated the futures of all the children and wrote notes for each of them, placing them into lucky pouches for them to carry.
He continued massaging the chief examiner’s paws and afterward went to the study to start writing something down.
The chief examiner was actually Uncle Lian’s friend.
The little one wanted to help improve their relationship.
He had promised to keep Uncle Lian’s words secret, so the little one, being faithful to his word, wrote what he wanted to say on paper.
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