Public Enemy: Little Hooligan

The little civet cat fled in disarray, its hot blood cooling as its vivid red fur returned to snowy white. In fox speech only it could understand, it muttered, "He's only a four- or five-year-old little brat. What am I running for? Honestly, this is even more humiliating."

The little civet cat stomped its foot and returned, continuing in fox speech, "How am I supposed to trick this naughty little brat into leaving? Bathing in the same cauldron with him to cultivate is still so embarrassing."

It sneakily poked its little head into the ancestral hall, but Liu Ding spotted it at once and called out, "Xiao Zhi, come take a bath! It feels so nice!"

The little civet cat nearly collapsed on all fours. It had painstakingly prepared a whole cauldron of medicinal liquid, only for it to be used for "taking a bath." What a tremendous waste, what a tremendous crime! No, it could not let this little brat waste any more. It sprang up and leaped onto the rim of the cauldron.

Eh? The little civet cat blinked its strange crystal eyes in confusion. What was this little brat doing, posing in such a bizarre stance?

Liu Ding understood the meaning in the little civet cat's eyes and said ingratiatingly, "Xiao Zhi, this posture can warm up the cauldron water. The water you made earlier was too cold—it'll make you sick. Hurry and come in. It feels really nice, I'm not lying!"

The little civet cat suspiciously dipped a tiny paw into the cauldron water. Sure enough, it was warm, and there were even wisps of mystical qi flowing through it. It was stunned. Looking again at Little Dot's strange stance, the totem of a tiger-headed, human-bodied figure on the cauldron suddenly surfaced in its mind. In an instant, it understood.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" So this was where the mystery lay! No wonder it had dissolved the Liu Clan's exclusive White Tiger Soul Pill into the cauldron water and still gained so little. It had understood the meaning of the rippling water patterns on the reverse side of the Soul Forging Cauldron, yet failed to understand the significance of the totem on its front. But that was only natural—only the human race could properly assume this posture.

Besides, only this freakish little brat, who had refined both the Fire Dragon Fruit and the Moon Yin Fruit, could use his body to heat a medicinal cauldron.

The little civet cat was beside itself with joy. When Liu Ding urged it again, it suddenly pounced on him and planted kiss after kiss on his cheeks, completely forgetting that this was even more embarrassing than before.

"Hehe, you're really happy, aren't you?" Liu Ding was happy too. Smiling at the little civet cat, he said, "Xiao Zhi, do you like bathing like this? I'll come with you every time and warm the cauldron water. Oh no, the Soul Forging Cauldron isn't supposed to be touched carelessly. We'll be punished!"

The delighted little civet cat furrowed its brow and quieted down, its crystal eyes fixed unblinking on Liu Ding. Let's see what you do now.

"Fine, Xiao Zhi, don't be unhappy. We'll secretly come take baths and make sure no one sees us." Seeing that the little civet cat suddenly seemed unhappy, Liu Ding gritted his teeth. As long as Xiao Zhi was happy, he was willing to do anything.

The little civet cat's heartstrings were tugged. There seemed to be glistening light in its eyes before it finally revealed a faint smile and gently kissed Little Dot's cheek, making an adorable smile bloom across his face as well.

Though he was only a child, it was no idle promise. Liu Ding accompanied the little civet cat without hesitation, soaking in one cauldron every year. In the blink of an eye, more than seven years passed.

That day, the morning sun shone bright, scattering broken gold across the rippling water. On the riverbank of Crescent Moon Bay walked a handsome youth of eleven or twelve. Though his face still held childish traces, his steps were firm and his build sturdy. He was clearly much taller and bigger than children his age.

Curled lazily in his arms was a little civet cat with snow-white fur, no longer resembling a puppy. Though it had not grown much larger, one could now recognize it as an exceedingly rare white fox.

"That's enough cultivation for today. Dismiss!" Liu Chengwu's shout rang out from afar. Joyful footsteps immediately scattered across the riverbank as everyone dispersed.

A group of boys and girls soon gathered around a Golden Lion as large as a calf. They watched the youth leisurely kicking loose sand along the riverbank, occasionally smiling as he stroked the Little White Fox's head and back. Every face was written with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"What a beautiful white fox spirit beast, and he actually keeps it like a lapdog. What a waste of a heavenly treasure!" a girl lamented bitterly.

"Liu Tao, if he weren't the nominal clan chief's grandson, I'd snatch it by force and give it to you." Liu Ji hurried to ingratiate himself. At fourteen, he had begun to find himself unable to withstand the devastating power of beautiful girls.

"Go, go, go! You're always spouting nonsense. Aren't you ashamed?" The girl called Liu Tao rolled her eyes at him.

"Since we can't take it, why not destroy it? That way, we won't get angry just looking at it." Another boy spoke viciously. "Brother Ji, let your Mighty out and tear his beast pet to pieces!"

As soon as those words were spoken, all the boys and girls turned their gazes to the mighty Golden Lion.

"Mighty, do you dare go up?" Liu Ji patted the Golden Lion's lowered head. The Golden Lion immediately raised its head and let out a beastly roar. Satisfied, Liu Ji said to the gathered boys and girls, "My Mighty can make a move, but you all have to bear witness. This is a fair duel between beast pets."

"Don't worry, Brother Ji. We'll all be witnesses. This is a fair duel between the Golden Lion and the white fox, the two beast pets." The boys and girls understood, exchanging meaningful looks.

Seeing the group approach with ill intent, the youth realized something was wrong. He hugged the Little White Fox tighter, took several steps back, and looked at them warily.

"Hey, little hooligan, you have such a fine white fox spirit beast, yet you treat it like a lapdog. Do you even know how to raise a beast pet?" Seeing Liu Ding protect the fox like a calf, Liu Tao was the first to grow displeased.

"Then how should I raise it?" Liu Ding asked. He was still happy that these people no longer treated Xiao Zhi as a lapdog.

"You have to make it learn how to fight," a boy immediately said.

"No, my Xiao Zhi doesn't fight." Liu Ding glanced at the calf-sized Golden Lion and held the Little White Fox even more tightly.

"Coward! Chicken-hearted coward!" Liu Tao was sharp-tongued, huffing as she fired off insults one after another.

"I'm not scared! If you want to fight, come at me. But I won't fight you." Liu Ding huffed at Liu Tao.

"What, scared?" Liu Bo planted her slender hands on her waist, her gaze blazing and intimidating. She was the one who most often picked fights with Liu Ding. She was Liu Bo's younger sister and blamed Liu Ding for Liu Bo's death.

"Your chest is so fat. It keeps bumping into me and biting me, and then you falsely accuse me of acting like a hooligan." Liu Ding looked aggrieved. "It's wrong for you to call me Little Hooligan. I really wasn't acting like a hooligan toward you."

Huh? Liu Tao froze. Seeing all the little bulls focus their gazes on her breasts, with the sound of swallowed saliva rising and falling one after another, her blood surged to her head. She was mortified beyond endurance. Though she was only sixteen this year, she was tall and slender, and the curves of her chest—her pride—had actually been labeled "fat" by this little hooligan. It was enough to make her collapse.

"So if you want to fight, send a man." Liu Ding swept a glance over the rolling waves before Liu Tao's chest and shook his head.

"I'm going to kill you!" Those perfect waves that countless men and women lusted after and envied had been rammed into by this little hooligan who knew how many times, and he still wore a look of disgust. A younger sister might endure it, but an elder sister could not! Liu Tao finally erupted. With a move of Dragon Gait, she charged forward.

"Oh no, Liu Tao is going to let that little hooligan take advantage of her again."

The little bulls were alarmed, their faces full of unwillingness. Though Liu Ding was not a Soul Forging Martial Apprentice, his hide was thick and his flesh tough. No matter how many vessels one had, no one could hurt him.

And that was not even the worst of it. Once this fellow got close, he would wrap his legs around yours, pin your arms with both hands, and press his little head against your chest, leaving you utterly unable to move.

Those underhanded little hooligan tricks had cost them all their dignity. Anyone who fought Liu Ding would end up being mocked afterward: "Did he act like a hooligan on you?"

The boys could only grit their teeth in anger and embarrassment, but the girls rarely dared provoke him afterward. Liu Tao, however, was an exception. She could never stand Liu Ding's taunts and would always offer herself up for him to "act like a hooligan" on.

Seeing Liu Bo lose her mind again, the little bulls stomped their feet and beat their chests. The clan's goddess was about to be handed over to Liu Ding, that little hooligan, again.

However, those with sharp eyes could see that at the instant Liu Bo rushed out, she swallowed a Black Tortoise Soul Pill. That would allow her to unleash the Primordial Power of a Four-Vessel Martial Apprentice in the Soul Forging Realm.

There would be a show after all. The little bulls' eyes lit up as they waited for Liu Ding to be beaten until he cried for his parents, avenging the humiliation of having been "acted like a hooligan" on.