Children Aren't Meant to Be Bullied (Loli Edition)

Early in the morning, a thin mist shrouded all of Peach Mountain, and the air still carried the biting chill of early spring. Beside a steep, rugged cliff stood a thick peach tree, its trunk so wide that it would take four people joining arms to encircle it. Its bare branches were blanketed in white, covered with fallen snow.

Yu Luo wore an orange haori over a thin kimono. Standing beneath the peach tree with a katana at his waist, he held not Lightning Cutter, but the ordinary katana Jigoro Kuwajima had given him. His right hand gripped the hilt tightly, his body leaned forward in a drawing stance, utterly motionless.

If it had been the Yu Luo who had just arrived at Peach Mountain, wearing so little would have sent him burrowing into his blankets, refusing to come out even if beaten to death. In fact, that was exactly what had happened. When winter first came, Yu Luo had declared that as long as the bed remained, so would he—then, in Jigoro Kuwajima's fury...

Anyway, from then on, Yu Luo was never sealed away by his blankets again. On the contrary, thanks to chopping firewood and carrying water every day, his physique had become far stronger than before. Even dressed so lightly in early spring, he did not feel cold.

Yu Luo calmed his mind and focused, carefully recalling the key points of Thunder Breathing that Jigoro Kuwajima had taught him. He adjusted his breathing, thick white vapor billowing from his mouth and nose. Suddenly, Yu Luo moved—

"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"

His right foot stomped into the snow, and the faint sound of wind and thunder rose. The blade shot from its sheath, yellow lightning flashing past in an instant. Yu Luo appeared beneath the tree, the katana in his right hand leaving a deep mark on the thick peach trunk.

"Still not enough?" Yu Luo smiled bitterly as he sheathed his sword. His right hand gently brushed the rough trunk, which was covered in densely packed sword marks of varying depths. At a rough glance, there were likely hundreds of them, all left by Yu Luo.

"It's been over half a year. I never expected Thunder Breathing to be this difficult. I can't even get started with the First Form." Yu Luo let out a soft sigh. During the first few months, Jigoro Kuwajima had kept making him chop wood and carry water to train his body, while practicing sword swings in the afternoon. Only when winter arrived had he allowed Yu Luo to attempt the First Form.

"The essence of the First Form is Iaido—the sword-drawing technique. It emphasizes speed and explosive power above all else." Back then, Jigoro Kuwajima had brought Yu Luo beneath this large peach tree and told him, "When you can sever this tree with a single strike of the First Form, you will have mastered it."

In the days that followed, besides his daily training of chopping wood, carrying water, and swinging his sword, Yu Luo gained another task: coming here every morning to practice the First Form. Unfortunately, even after three or four months, Yu Luo still could not grasp its true essence at all.

"Ah, I'm not Old Man Tong, after all." Yu Luo sighed again. "Things like chopping trees should be left to Old Man Tong."

"Exactly. Making a Baldy Qiang chop trees is just making things difficult for you, isn't it?" The system suddenly popped up and teased Yu Luo along with his joke.

Black lines filled Yu Luo's face. Annoyed, he said, "Baldy Qiang isn't the only bald one. Maybe I'm Sensei Saitama."

"At most, you're Squirtle."

"Get lost. I don't have a system like you that mocks its host every day!"

"If I could get lost, would I still be stuck with a broke-ass host like you?!"

The system and Yu Luo went at each other, neither willing to back down. Fortunately, Jigoro Kuwajima's shout rang out, breaking up Yu Luo's usual bickering with the system—

"You brat!"

"Hm?" Hearing Jigoro Kuwajima call him, Yu Luo stopped talking to the system in confusion. The system seized the chance to mock him:

"Kid, your crimes have been exposed. Hurry up and turn yourself in!"

Yu Luo rolled his eyes and tossed out a threat. "I'll go see what he wants first. I'll deal with you later!"

Yu Luo lightly made his way down the snow-covered mountain path without worrying in the slightest about slipping. His relaxed manner stood in stark contrast to when he had first arrived, when even carrying water could make him fall.

In less than fifteen minutes, Yu Luo could already see the familiar little wooden cabin in the distance. Two small black dots stood before its door. Looking closely, they were Jigoro Kuwajima and an unfamiliar boy of twelve or thirteen.

"Old man, who's this? Your illegitimate son?" Yu Luo joked, only to be greeted by Jigoro Kuwajima's merciless cane. Though Yu Luo instinctively tried to dodge, the cane still landed squarely on his butt, making him bare his teeth in pain.

"When will you ever fix that unruly personality of yours?!" Jigoro Kuwajima's beard bristled as he angrily tapped his cane. He pulled the boy in front of him and introduced him to Yu Luo:

"This boy is my newly accepted disciple. His name is Kaigaku, and from now on, he is your junior brother." As he spoke, Jigoro Kuwajima shot Yu Luo a sidelong glance and warned him:

"This child is an orphan. When I met him, he was being forced to steal. He had no one to rely on, so you're not allowed to bully him!"

Hearing Jigoro Kuwajima's words, Yu Luo looked utterly speechless. He pointed at his own face, bent down, and leaned close to Jigoro Kuwajima's. "No, do I look like the kind of person who bullies little kids?"

Jigoro Kuwajima seriously examined Yu Luo's face, then gave his conclusion with complete solemnity:

"With your personality, it's not that you look like one. You are one!"

"Haha..." Yu Luo laughed awkwardly twice. "I never thought you'd learn how to joke, old man."

"When was I joking?" Jigoro Kuwajima asked strangely. Then he looked at Kaigaku, who was even a little taller than him, and introduced Yu Luo to him:

"This is your senior brother, Yu Luo. He's a little unreliable, but he's still a good person. If you have any problems in the future, you can come to him. If he bullies you, you can tell me anytime." At that last sentence, Jigoro Kuwajima deliberately emphasized his tone, leaving Yu Luo speechless as he muttered inwardly, Is that really necessary?

"Alright, get acquainted with your senior brother first. Tonight, I'll teach you the Breathing techniques."

After saying that, Jigoro Kuwajima vanished. Yu Luo had no idea where he had gone, but it had been like this for the past half year, so Yu Luo was used to it. Instead, this newly arrived junior brother aroused Yu Luo's curiosity more.

He had a head of messy black hair, a thin body from malnourishment, and looked around twelve or thirteen years old. His black eyes were full of ingratiating eagerness, and magatama ornaments hung around his neck and wrists.

"Your name is Kaigaku, right? How old are you this year?" Yu Luo did not mind the dirt. He first rubbed Kaigaku's messy hair, then wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders and asked gently.

"Replying to Senior Brother, I am fourteen this year." When Yu Luo touched Kaigaku's head, a trace of displeasure flashed through Kaigaku's eyes. Then he lifted his head and smiled brightly at Yu Luo.

Yu Luo had been watching Kaigaku's expression all along, and he caught that flash of displeasure. However, Yu Luo did not take it to heart. Kaigaku was an orphan, after all. Maybe having his head rubbed had hurt his pride. Besides, if Yu Luo argued with a child, who knew how much the system would laugh at him?

"Come on, Senior Brother will take you to wash up and change into clean clothes." Yu Luo smiled and released him, then went to prepare bathwater. As for fresh clothes, judging by Yu Luo's understanding of his sharp-tongued but soft-hearted master, he had probably disappeared to buy clothes for Kaigaku.

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Kaigaku's grateful voice sounded behind Yu Luo. Yu Luo merely waved his hand, signaling that it was nothing.

Sure enough, by the time Kaigaku had finished washing, Jigoro Kuwajima returned with a smaller set of clothes in hand and gave them to Kaigaku to put on.

When Kaigaku emerged, he had completely changed. His rather handsome face paired with brand-new clothes, and he no longer resembled a beggar. Yu Luo stood to one side with a smile, gloating inwardly:

From now on, I won't be the only one suffering. I really want to see what he looks like when he's suffering!

The system was utterly speechless at Yu Luo's dark thoughts. Jigoro Kuwajima also seemed to sense something. He warily raised his head, looked at Yu Luo's smiling face, and shouted sternly:

"What are you smiling at?! Have you finished cultivating the First Form?! If your junior brother surpasses you someday, how will you have any face left!"

"..." Yu Luo looked speechless. Helplessly raising both hands, he said, "Fine, fine, fine. I'll go keep training!"

As Yu Luo lightly ran toward the mountaintop through the snow, a glint appeared in Kaigaku's eyes before quickly fading away. He raised his head and asked with an apparently casual smile, "Master, is Senior Brother very strong?"

"He's strong my ass! It's been seven months, and he hasn't even gotten started on the First Form of Thunder Breathing. He slacks off every single day!"

Jigoro Kuwajima angrily raised his cane and struck the ground heavily twice, shouting in fury as though afraid Yu Luo would not hear him.

"Oh."

The strange look in Kaigaku's eyes deepened.