Twenty Whip Lashes, Zhuoma

Maru called me Father.

But he didn't know that I was his father, yet not truly his father.

Before he left home, his relationship with Tangba Tusi did not seem to have been this deep.

It was only after returning from this trip abroad that he seemed to have changed completely.

He had been away for quite a while—two full years.

Though he had only been twelve or thirteen when he left, people in that era matured early. This maturity was not merely physical, but psychological as well.

Take the Three Kingdoms period, for example. Gan Lu became a prime minister at twelve, and Su Qin was only in his teens when he traveled through sixteen states with a sword on his back, lobbying rulers.

They were nothing like the children in our world, who still had not grown up even at twenty.

Many children did exceptionally well in school from childhood to adulthood, yet had no survival skills whatsoever. Some could barely even take care of simple things like getting dressed and eating. They were a whole bunch of oversized babies.

He said he needed my support, and of course I was willing to give it to him.

During our conversation, I roughly picked up on a few clues.

It turned out that he truly hated Yangjin, because rumors had spread outside that Yangjin had been involved with other men and had cuckolded Tangba Tusi.

Of course, Tangba Tusi was now me.

Coupled with Yangjin's usual domineering manner, all of this made Maru uncomfortable. He felt that even if he truly became Tusi lord, he would only be a puppet. He could not afford to lose that kind of face.

"Fine, I'll listen to her." Maru was finally persuaded by me.

"Mm, always remember this: once you lose your