The study was filled with books, many of them thick enough to make anyone dizzy just looking at them, but the man sitting there had read them all.
He would read for a while, then stop and close his eyes. This gave him a chance to rest his eyes and prevent fatigue, as well as to let the things he had read settle more clearly in his mind.
This was how he had been reading for a long time.
The thing he was sitting on, which resembled a beauty’s couch, faced the bookshelf with its back to the door.
He liked looking at the rows of books.
The person in the study gave off a cold and detached aura. Outside, the little one didn’t dare make a sound, clutching the peach wood sword tightly in his chubby hand.
The wooden hilt of the small sword was already damp with sweat from the little one’s palm.
Although he kept telling himself he wasn’t scared, the closer he got to the study, the more his little hands shook. His chubby legs also trembled with every step.
“I-I-I’m not scared, I’m not scared.”
The little one slowly inched forward, trying to encourage himself.
He saw the light in the study and remembered how the chief examiner had been there reading last time. The little one was pretty sure the examiner was still in the study now.
After mentally preparing himself, the little one approached the slightly open door of the study. Nervous, his chubby hand accidentally tugged on the rooster, causing it to hurt a little.
The rooster, irritated, suddenly flapped its wings.
This rooster had been chosen by Jiu Jiu, who said it looked fierce and would be great for scaring away the bad ghost.
A fierce rooster was good, but now the little one couldn’t control it!
“Rooster, don’t move!”
The little one, both anxious and frightened, tried to calm the rooster down, but the more panicked he got, the more the rooster flapped.
Seeing that he was about to lose his grip on the rooster, the little one made up his mind, stomped his chubby foot, and with all his strength, dashed into the study, still holding onto the rooster.
The study’s door wasn’t locked, as usual.
The little one, unable to hold the rooster any longer, threw it at the chief examiner. At the same time, he shouted in his tiny voice, “Ha! Bad ghost, I’m going to slay you!”
“No, not slay, I’m going to send you away!”
In his panic, the little one even mixed up his words.
Even though he was dressed like a little Taoist, he wasn’t actually one, and couldn’t slay bad ghosts.
After misspeaking, the little one’s little face tensed up even more. The more he said, the more mistakes he made, so he decided to say less.
At such a critical moment, he couldn’t afford to mess up.
“Big Boss, I’ve come to save you!”
As the little one threw the rooster into the room, the cloth tying the rooster’s beak came undone.
Now free, the rooster was darting around the room, pecking furiously.
It pecked the man sitting there several times.
The experienced examiner, no matter how knowledgeable and composed, was momentarily stunned by the scene in front of him. A fierce rooster was frantically flying around his study and had pecked him a few times. The direction the rooster had come from revealed a little child dressed in an oversized Taoist robe.
The little one held a wooden sword in his left hand and a stack of talismans in his right, his chubby face showing a determined expression as if facing a formidable enemy.
With an “Ahhhh!” he charged forward, waving his small peach wood sword, but the robe was too long and loose. He accidentally stepped on it and, with a “thud,” fell right in front of the examiner.
The fallen child: “…”
The examiner looking at the child: “…”
Both were momentarily frozen, as if time had stopped. The only sound in the room was the rooster clucking away.
The little one’s face flushed red as he quickly got up, picked up the peach wood sword he had dropped, and tried to regain his composure.
“Mani mani hong! By the power of the law, demons and evil spirits, leave at once!”
The boy recited the spell he had memorized over the last two days, all while jabbing at the examiner with his wooden sword. The sword, made of wood and without a blade, couldn’t hurt anyone.
The boy jabbed with the sword, waved the talismans around, and, just as the examiner was about to lose his patience, he pulled out a pouch and began throwing red powder (cinnabar) everywhere.
The chief examiner: “!”
The chief examiner: “Enough!”
The examiner, his face dark as charcoal, grabbed the little one who was flailing around. Through clenched teeth, he asked, “Ling Little Seven, what do you think you’re doing?!”
The little Taoist, who was struggling to break free, shouted, “You evil spirit, leave my Big Boss’s body now!”
“I-I’m not afraid of you! I have plenty of magical tools!” He continued speaking bravely, all the while reaching into his pockets for more items.
The examiner, looking around his now chaotic study, felt utterly exasperated. He had no idea how his casual scare had led to such chaos.
“Alright, stop. You can’t banish the evil spirit.”
The chief examiner, now covered in cinnabar, tried to scare the boy off with his words, hoping he’d give up. But upon hearing this, the little one struggled even harder.
In his struggle, the examiner’s grip loosened, and the clumsy little Taoist turned into a wild child. Crying loudly, he emptied his entire bag of items onto the examiner.
“Evil spirit! Little one going to fight you to the end!”
In his panic, the little boy’s attack was fierce. Even the usually composed examiner found himself covered in red cinnabar.
The little one, too, wasn’t spared. His small hands, face, and clothes were all smeared with the powder. After knocking into several pieces of furniture and falling a few times, both the examiner and the little one were thoroughly battered.
If it had been anyone else, the examiner would have lost his temper long ago. But facing this little one, who kept tripping over himself, what could he do?
He could only sit there, being poked with the peach wood sword, until finally, he gave in, “Alright, stop. The evil spirit has been driven away.”
The little one didn’t believe him and continued poking, tears streaming down his face as he cried and attacked.
A vein popped out on the chief examiner’s forehead, but seeing the teary-eyed child, he reluctantly pretended to fall and, in a shaky voice, played along, “You’ve won… I won’t come back.”
Once the examiner finished his clumsy act, the little one finally stopped and hugged his peach wood sword tightly.
The rooster, having caused enough havoc, quietly slipped out of the room.
Exhausted from all the commotion, the little one sat down with a plop, looking up at the chief examiner.
“Big Boss, are you okay now?”
“I’m fine,” the chief examiner replied, pressing his temples. “I’m just great.”
Hearing this, the little one’s tear-streaked face lit up with a smile. His eyes were still brimming with tears, but his mouth curved into a grin.
“That’s good.”
The little one’s voice was hoarse. He raised a hand to rub his eyes, but his hand was covered in cinnabar. The moment he rubbed his eyes, they started to sting.
“Ow, ow, ow! My eyes hurt!”
His eyes burning, the boy instinctively reached out to rub them again. This time, the examiner quickly grabbed his hand, stopping him.
“Don’t touch your eyes with your hands.”
The chief examiner led the boy to the nearest basin of water, carefully washing out his eyes.
Once the powder was rinsed out, the boy’s face scrunched up from the discomfort. The examiner didn’t just stop at his eyes—he also washed the boy’s dirty hands and face.
After somewhat cleaning up the boy, the examiner glanced at the mirror and realized his own face was in no better condition.
Neither of them had come out of this unscathed.
The oversized Taoist robe that had caused the little one so much trouble was removed. The examiner then placed him in a hot bath.
“Can you wash yourself?”
“Yes, I can.”
“Alright, you wash yourself. I’ll go clean up next door.”
The chief examiner, being a bit of a neat freak, couldn’t stand his current state any longer.
Both of them took their baths. After some time, the chief examiner, now fresh and clean, emerged from his bath and stepped out, but the little one was nowhere to be seen.
When he opened the door to the little one’s bathroom, he was greeted by a floor full of bubbles.
Amidst the pile of bubbles sat the little one, still poking at them.
The chief examiner: “…”
Raising a child was visibly exhausting. Thankfully, he was a firm believer in not getting married.
The chief examiner picked up the bubble-playing child and quickly washed him clean in no time.
Once the boy was all cleaned up, he was dressed in a short-sleeved shirt the examiner had never seen before. The shirt was so big it covered his chubby legs, and his plump, white shoulders peeked out from under the oversized garment.
The chief examiner gazed at him with a complicated look. If an adult wore this outfit, it might carry a certain suggestive allure, but seeing it on this little three-heads-tall child just made his blood pressure rise.
After cleaning the child up, the chief examiner placed him on the carpet in the room.
“So, what were you thinking tonight?” he asked.
“I-I was thinking with my brain,” the little one replied, emphasizing, “I thought about it for several days.”
He had been planning and gathering all his tools for days to prepare for this operation.
The chief examiner had never laid a hand on a child before.
He had dealt with many rebellious children who came to Guan Shan Residence, and he had successfully disciplined all of them.
Among those children, the most difficult to handle was Huo Qinwu, also known as Qin Wu. Even that child was now under his strict guidance.
He had never thought about using force on Huo Qinwu.
But now, looking at this little soft bundle, recognized as the softest child in all of Guan Shan Residence, the examiner was gritting his teeth, genuinely tempted to give the little bun a spanking.
Despite his extensive experience handling children’s issues, this was the first time he found himself so frustrated.
“Big Boss,” the little one said, standing barefoot on the carpet. He looked up at the chief examiner, showing no awareness that he had done something wrong.
He spoke in a soft voice, “I’m really hungry.”
After all the fuss and fright, his stomach had completely emptied.
The chief examiner scowled, not wanting to feed him.
But the boy believed that since he had successfully driven away the evil spirit and accomplished such a great feat, the big boss should give him some food.
“Big Boss, give little one a little food?” the little one pleaded.
The chief examiner: “…”
The chief examiner: “Talk properly, and don’t cling to my leg.”
The little one ignored him, clinging tightly to the chief examiner’s leg, his soft, chubby face still stained with red eyes, resembling a little rabbit.
The chief examiner stared into the rabbit-like eyes for a few seconds before finally sighing. With a cold expression, he turned and headed to the kitchen.
In the middle of the night, both the big one and the little one were still busy.
The little one was holding a bowl, slurping noodles, while the chief examiner was in his study, tidying up the mess.
“My perfectly fine study, and you turned it into a battlefield.”
He suspected his study was cursed whenever the child entered.
No, more accurately, this little one seemed to clash with him in every way.
“Big Boss, don’t be angry,” the little one said while slurping his noodles. “I did it to save you.”
The chief examiner fell silent.
What could he say?
Could he admit that it was all just a lie to scare him?
By the time the study was cleaned up, the little one had finished his bowl of noodles.
Holding the empty bowl, he looked at the chief examiner with hopeful eyes.
The chief examiner: “?”
Blushing, the little one quietly asked, “Could I have a little more?”
The noodles from the Big Boss’s kitchen were so delicious that he thought he could eat a bit more.
The chief examiner, still scowling, took the small bowl and went to make him another serving.
He had given in completely. This kid couldn’t be hit or scolded. After wrecking the study and poking him endlessly, the chief examiner not only had to clean up the study but also bathe him and cook for him.
He stood in the kitchen, face cold, cooking noodles while the little one followed him, waiting eagerly.
After a bit more time, the child finally ate his fill, brushed his teeth, and began to feel drowsy.
By now, it was well past midnight.
The chief examiner didn’t think it was safe for the little one to walk home by himself at this hour, but he also didn’t feel like escorting him back.
“You can sleep here,” the chief examiner said. “You’ll sleep in this room, and I’ll stay next door.”
“Big Boss, let’s sleep together.” The little one hugged his pillow, not wanting to sleep alone.
He was scared.
The chief examiner looked at the timid boy and said coldly, “You were brave enough to drive out ghosts earlier. Why are you afraid to sleep alone now?”
The little one shook his head, answering honestly, “I’m too scared to sleep.”
His eyes were barely open, yet he still didn’t dare sleep by himself.
The chief examiner had no desire to share a bed with him either.
The two of them stood there in silence, with the little one’s face clearly showing his intention to follow if the chief examiner left.
After a few seconds of this standoff, the chief examiner, not wanting to drag this out any longer, gritted his teeth and carried the little one to his own bedroom.
“Alright, no more talking. Just sleep.”
“Goodnight, Big Boss,” the little one reflexively said, only to realize the chief examiner had told him not to speak. He immediately covered his mouth and glanced nervously at him.
The chief examiner ignored him and started undressing for bed.
Seeing this, the little one finally relaxed and laid down.
At first, he laid very properly, with his hands and feet neatly arranged. The chief examiner glanced at him and was satisfied with his posture.
The lights in the room were turned off.
The chief examiner closed his eyes, exhaling softly, ready to finally get some rest.
But just before dawn, the chief examiner’s handsome face was kicked by a small, chubby foot.
He was sleeping soundly, so with his eyes still closed, he moved the little chubby foot aside.
However, half an hour later, half of the little one’s body had sprawled across him.
Such a carefree sleeping position left the chief examiner, who had just woken up, speechless for quite some time.
The little one had been up so late last night that he refused to wake up at dawn, sleeping soundly with his bottom in the air.
By the time the chief examiner had long woken up, had breakfast, and attended to some of his tasks, the bed held only the sleeping child.
It was nearing noon when the little one woke up hungry.
He crawled out of bed, still a bit groggy, forgetting where he was.
“Ah Wu?” he called out, his bare feet stepping on the floor, dazedly calling for Ah Wu.
After several calls, he slowly realized and corrected himself, “Big Boss!”
The Big Boss was in the backyard watering the plants.
The little one rushed over, not asking for food but urgently inquiring, “What time is it now?”
“It’s time for your second lesson,” the chief examiner replied.
The little one’s expression immediately turned to one of sheer panic.
His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open as he asked, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I saw you were sleeping well, so I didn’t have the heart to wake you,” the chief examiner said calmly. But if the little one listened closely, he would notice something deliberate in his tone.
He did it on purpose.
In his panic, the little one couldn’t afford to think too deeply and quickly sought the chief examiner’s help. “What should I do? Zai Zai didn’t ask for leave!”
“Then it counts as skipping class,” the chief examiner replied.
“No skipping!” The little one, determined to earn his reward, shook his head vigorously. He hugged the chief examiner’s leg, his chubby little butt sitting on the chief examiner’s foot, pleading, “Big Boss, can you write me a leave note?”
In his desperation, the little one’s brain worked quickly. He instantly thought of asking the Big Boss for a leave note.
The Big Boss had authority over the teachers. With a note from the Big Boss, he wouldn’t be marked for skipping class.
“Please, write Zai Zai a leave note!” he begged, clinging tightly to the chief examiner’s leg.
The chief examiner lifted his leg, but the little one remained firmly seated on his foot, not letting go even when his bottom was lifted off the ground.
“Zai Zai need to win the prize,” the little one said, pressing his face against the chief examiner’s leg. “Zai Zai can’t skip class.”
He hadn’t skipped class for no reason—he was doing good deeds last night! A good child like him really needed a leave note.
The chief examiner looked down at the pleading little one, thinking that with such a small class, even if the little one skipped a few more classes, he would still get a prize.
In the little one’s class, there were hardly any other students that gave the teachers peace of mind.
The little one, unaware of this, thought that missing two classes would be the end of him.
Seeing that the chief examiner wasn’t going to give him a leave note, the little one felt hopeless.
He moved his chubby little butt away and let go of the chief examiner’s leg.
“I’m going to school,” he said sadly. “I’ll explain everything to the teacher.”
“Explain what?”
“The reason I was late! I stayed up helping the Big Boss chase away bad spirits, and—”
Before the little one could finish, the Big Boss interrupted him.
“Don’t mention last night to anyone.”
“Huh?”
The little one’s face looked confused.
The chief examiner thought back to the events of the previous night and considered them a personal embarrassment. He didn’t want to remember it, let alone let anyone else know.
“Come here, I’ll write you the note. But forget about last night.”
“Okay! Got it!”
The little one happily received the note. Without waiting for the Big Boss to take him, he cheerfully headed back.
As he left, he took his small robe and a big rooster with him.
As for the peachwood sword, the chief examiner kept that.
“Bye, Big Boss!” the little one waved his small hand, with the other hand holding the big rooster, and left.
When he returned, he first placed the rooster in the yard, then took his leave note back to his class and attended the rest of the lesson.
After class, Ah Wu was already waiting for him at the door.
“Ah Wu!” The little one ran over to Ah Wu and grabbed his hand.
Ah Wu looked him over carefully and, seeing that he was fine, withdrew his gaze and led him to eat.
“Ah Wu, did you sleep well last night?”
“It was fine.”
After casually replying, Ah Wu asked him, “Where do you want to sleep tonight?”
“With you,” the little one replied without hesitation. After answering, he grinned at Ah Wu. “Ah Wu, you can relax a bit now.”
Since he helped the Big Boss drive away the evil spirit, the Big Boss should treat Ah Wu a little better!
The little one thought of this and looked even happier.
That day, the little one and Jiujiu got to eat beggar’s chicken, and Jiujiu tore off the biggest drumstick for him.
While eating, the two of them chatted about many things.
When the conversation turned to family, Jiujiu said, “I’m a bit of an extra at home. They don’t care whether I go back or not. But compared to Zhai Bai and Teng Liang, I’m already much better off.”
As Jiujiu gnawed on the chicken, he talked about the others.
“I see that Qin Wu is pretty good to you, and you really like Qin Wu. You two should stick together and not bother with Zhai Bai. He’s really strange.”
Almost everyone who recognized Zhai Bai or knew a bit about him would tell the little one to stay away from him.
But the little one, biting into his drumstick, thought about Little Bai who took him fishing and opened his mouth, but didn’t respond.
Days passed in an orderly and routine manner.
The little one diligently attended all his classes and study sessions. After class, he would play with the other kids in his class. They would recite lessons together and play games.
The little one loved asking questions.
Sometimes, when the teacher left immediately after class and he couldn’t get his questions answered, and walking to find Ah Wu would take too long, he’d just ask the other kids in the class.
After being asked a few times, fewer and fewer kids in his class would sleep on their desks during lessons.
They had no choice—if they didn’t listen in class, the little one would ask them questions afterward, and they wouldn’t be able to answer.
The thought of the little one taking his notebook, looking disappointed, and going to ask someone else made them all sit up straighter during lessons.
The learning atmosphere in the little one’s class improved, and kids from other classes started finding them more and more annoying.
The troublemakers from other classes had tried to stir up trouble, but before they could even reach the little one, the other kids in his class would already have taken care of it.
For a few days, the little one even carried ointment in his pockets.
When the kids from his class played, they’d often get minor injuries, and whenever the little one saw a small wound, he’d take out the ointment to apply it.
“Little Seven, this little scratch doesn’t need any ointment,” someone would say.
Though they were all just kids, those who had never known much warmth didn’t know how to react when someone took care of them by applying ointment to their wounds.
They were used to dealing with others’ cold stares and malicious teasing, but when shown a little kindness, they didn’t know what to do.
“If you’re hurt, you need to apply ointment. And if it hurts, you can cry,” the little one said seriously as he applied the ointment. “We’re kids—no one will laugh if we cry.”
“When we grow up, we won’t be able to cry whenever we want,” he added, drawing his own conclusion.
He had noticed that his parents and other adults rarely cried.
“Little Seven, if you cry, someone will comfort you. But if I really cry, there’s no one in this world who would comfort me,” one kid said lightly, as if stating a fact.
The little one looked up at him after hearing this.
After staring at him for a while, the little one said seriously, “Next time you cry, I’ll comfort you. I won’t laugh at you.”
The kid twitched the corner of his mouth as if he wanted to say something casually, but his lips moved without any words coming out.
The other kids watched them in silence.
Time seemed to stretch out, though it might have only been a few seconds.
Finally, the kid spoke up, “If I really cry, will you really comfort me? Do you even know what I’ve done before? I poisoned my wet nurse to death.”
He didn’t mention that his wet nurse had been bribed by others to poison him.
But back then, seeing that his wet nurse didn’t look well, he poured the poisoned milk into her evening porridge, making her drink it.
The wet nurse had only taken one bite, tasted a hint of milk, and before she could react, she was dead.
The poison in the milk had been too strong.
So strong that just mixing it into the porridge and drinking a single sip had been enough to kill someone.
The little one stared at the boy who said he had poisoned his wet nurse, and though the little one’s face seemed to say, “Stay away from me,” his eyes revealed a clear desire.
The little one saw the desire in his eyes.
“I’ll comfort you,” the little one said, accepting that unspoken longing. “If you cry, I’ll even give you a hug.”
As kids, they could play together, and when they were sad, they should comfort each other.
“Hey, Little Seven, if I cry, will you comfort me too?” Jiujiu, nearby, poked his arm and asked.
The little one nodded with a kind smile.
After he nodded, the other kids began asking, one after another.
The classroom became a chorus of children’s voices, and the teacher, who had returned to fetch his books, stood in the doorway listening for a while.
He didn’t go in to get the books, but instead quietly walked away. The little ones were having such a lively time; they probably wouldn’t want to see him right now.
The classroom bustled with activity, and the little one was surrounded, answering everyone’s questions, very busy.
The little one had a full and lively day, but when school was over—
He still couldn’t find Ah Wu.
Ever since he helped the Big Boss drive away the ghosts, he had hoped Ah Wu would get some relief, but to his frustration, Ah Wu was still being kept busy!
And lately, Ah Wu had been disappearing even more frequently.
The little one pouted angrily as he opened letters at home. Even after finishing, he was still upset.
The Big Boss was being really unfair.
The little one put away the letters and went to settle things with the Big Boss.
He hadn’t even made it to the Big Boss’s place when he ran into the same baby-faced man he had met last time.
“You’re so angry—what are you up to?” the man asked.
“I’m going to reason with him!”
The little one clenched his small fists. He knew that the Big Boss was the most powerful person at Guan Shan Residence. Since the owner of Guan Shan Residence was nowhere to be found, the Big Boss was now the true leader.
He couldn’t take on the Big Boss head-on; he was too small and couldn’t win.
He’d have to reason with him and convince him to stop picking on Ah Wu.
“Oh, go ahead.”
“Mm! Bye!”
The little one stormed off, and an hour later, he stormed back.
He was furious. The Big Boss hadn’t listened to a word he said!
The next day, the little one was busy and couldn’t go.
On the third day, the little one went to reason with the Big Boss again.
The more the little one tried to reason with him, the more frequently Ah Wu seemed to disappear.
Half a month later.
Ah Wu called out to the little one, who was about to head out: “Zai Zai, come here. I have something to tell you.”
The little one: “…”
The little one hesitated, glancing at Ah Wu and then at the door. After wavering for a moment, he obediently walked over to Ah Wu.
“Ah Wu, what do you want to say?”
Ah Wu pulled out a package from under the pillow, along with a piece of paper filled with writing.
“Aren’t you planning to give your eldest brother a birthday gift? I’ve prepared a present for you.”
Ah Wu handed him the items. The little one took them and inspected them. He recognized that one package contained seeds, but he didn’t understand what was written on the paper.
“These are improved crop seeds, and this is a method to make the land more fertile.”
“With this, you can save the disaster-stricken fields.”
Having land meant that the people who relied on it for survival would have a chance to live.
The little one held the items, his small face stunned.
“Ah… Ah Wu, how did you get these?”
“The chief examiner gave them to me.”
As Ah Wu said this, a flicker of darkness flashed in his eyes. He ruffled the little one’s hair and urged him, “Go send these things back. Your brother should be happy with this birthday gift.”
The little one nodded excitedly, his head spinning with joy. He didn’t notice the glaring inconsistency in Ah Wu’s words—how could the stingy and suspicious chief examiner possibly be so generous and kind to give Ah Wu these items?
The little one happily mailed the package, and afterward, he sat on his bed, declaring, “I’m not going out today.”
In honor of the seeds and the method for enriching the land, he decided not to go and argue with the chief examiner today!
“Ah Wu, let’s call Little Bai and Teng Teng, and have hotpot.”
The signature hotpot at Guan Shan Residence was spicy and numbing, perfect for cooking lots of meat and vegetables. It was incredibly delicious, and the little one had eaten it several times.
Since he wanted to eat it, Ah Wu naturally had to prepare it for him.
That evening, they prepared the hotpot and a lot of dishes, but Zhai Bai was nowhere to be seen when it was time to eat.
By the time they finished their meal, with some leftover vegetables wilting next to the pot, Zhai Bai still hadn’t returned.
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