Youthful Shepherd!

Some people say Li Mu Yang is trash.

This made Li Mu Yang extremely angry. How could the family's secret technique be leaked to the point where everyone in the world knew about it?

A gentle breeze caressed his face, and the grass was green, the flowers red.

Clang—

A loud metallic clang echoed.

An old iron bucket was kicked into the lake, rippling the surface before sinking with a 'glug glug' sound.

Li Mu Yang's eyes snapped open, and he looked at the people standing before him in a daze.

"Li Mu Yang— I don't think you should be called Li Mu Yang, you should be called Li the Dead Pig, right? You sleep in class, you sleep after class, you even sleep on field trips. Can you sleep more than a pig?" a handsome young man said with a mocking tone.

"Zhang Chen, don't insult pigs, okay? Although pigs are lazy and sleep all day, at least they're fat with big ears and fair skin, looking adorably stupid— look at Li Mu Yang, he's dark and skinny, like a burnt piece of charcoal— how can he be compared to a pig?" Yang Jun, who had a sturdy build, said sarcastically, drawing laughter from everyone.

"Li Mu Yang, weren't you going to fish?" a chubby boy asked, holding up a simple fishing rod made of bamboo by the lake. He chuckled, "Doesn't look like you caught anything. The bucket's empty, not a single fish? What a shame. Everyone was saying Li Mu Yang must have caught a lot after fishing all afternoon, and we could have a big fish feast tonight. You're too disappointing!"

Li Mu Yang rubbed his eyes, secretly wiping the moisture from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

This action drew even more excited laughter from the onlookers.

"What's wrong?" Li Mu Yang asked, looking confused. "What do you guys want?"

"Li Mu Yang, we just wanted to see you— see how you're sleeping," Zhang Chen said, pushing aside Li Mu Yang's long bangs and looking down at him sitting in the grass. "Are you sleeping well today?"

"Pretty well," Li Mu Yang nodded truthfully. He had indeed slept very comfortably, but he was still anxious about not having figured out an answer— should he go watch the play with Cui Xiaoxin or not?

"What did you dream about?"

Li Mu Yang's dark face turned red, and he lowered his head shyly, saying, "I can't say."

"Go on," Zhang Chen said, wearing a cat-and-mouse expression. This was a game they often played; they were the cats, and Li Mu Yang was their designated little mouse. "Don't worry, we won't laugh at you."

"I can't say," Li Mu Yang shook his head again.

"Did you dream about our beautiful Cui?"

From the back of the crowd, a pretty girl with long, flowing hair and a white dress raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly not liking that they were drawing her into the conflict.

Li Mu Yang looked at Zhang Chen thoughtfully and said, "You're immature."

"What?" Zhang Chen's eyes widened, unable to believe what he was hearing. "What did you say?"

Did this guy take the wrong medicine?

Li Mu Yang was the oddball of the class. Because his skin was so dark, he looked like a piece of charcoal, so everyone liked to call him 'Black Charcoal' or 'Blackie.'

And because Li Mu Yang loved to sleep, sleeping in class, sleeping after class, and still sleeping when they went out on trips, everyone gave him the nickname 'God of Sleep.'

Because of his dark complexion and his persistent sleeping, Li Mu Yang became a local celebrity. Everyone he met would say, "Hey, that's our Black Charcoal," "He's probably sleeping. He can sleep from the first period to the fourth period. The teacher even broke his ruler, and he didn't wake up—"

Li Mu Yang was the class's treasure, the mascot.

When they were in a good mood, they would tease him; when they were in a bad mood, they would bully him.

Today, Zhang Chen was in a bad mood because he had just confessed to Cui Xiaoxin in secret, but she had rejected him. The civil service exam was only a month away. If he couldn't establish a normal boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Cui Xiaoxin now, he would probably have to watch this delicate flower drift away and disappear from his life.

The more he thought about it, the more dejected and sad he became. Zhang Chen wanted to find something to vent his anger on, and he happened to see Li Mu Yang sleeping soundly in the corner.

But even this little mouse dared to fight back and mock him? This had never happened before.

"You're immature," Li Mu Yang repeated his earlier words. Although it were only four simple words, they were devastatingly powerful.

Zhang Chen's expression turned grim, and he glared at Li Mu Yang, saying word by word, "Do you want to die?"

Li Mu Yang rubbed his messy hair, which was disheveled from sleeping, and said, "Making threats so casually— I do have a question to ask. People are always walking the Bridge of Helplessness, but how many have you personally sent across?"

"Beat him."

Zhang Chen roared loudly and charged at Li Mu Yang, taking the lead.

Tall and graceful, with eyes as bright as stars, coupled with a strong and sturdy physique honed by playing jiju and cuju, he ran with imposing momentum, as if a single charge could send the thin, dark, and scrawny Li Mu Yang flying.

Everyone thought so.

At this moment, Li Mu Yang was like a small boat tossed about in the vast sea, a little sheep trembling before a tiger king. With just one big wave or a pounce, it would be annihilated and perish on the spot.

Li Mu Yang stood his ground, appearing as if he were stunned.

Around his ink-black pupils, bloodshot veins began to spread across the whites of his eyes.

Initially faint and barely visible, they soon connected to form patches, becoming clearer and more terrifying.

At a glance, it looked as if his pupils were enveloped in red ink. Those dark pupils were like sunspots in the vast sky, with large areas of red bloodstains rising and falling around them.

A thin layer of scales appeared on the back of Li Mu Yang's clenched fist, like transparent fish scales. The scales shimmered with a purple light, turning that small patch of black skin on his knuckles into a purplish-red.

Li Mu Yang's heart was filled with violent rage, as if he had some pent-up emotions that needed to be released, some overwhelming grievances that were difficult to express.

Zhang Chen ran closer and threw a punch at Li Mu Yang's face.

Slap—

Li Mu Yang reached out to block.

"Ah—"

Someone cried out in alarm, while others shut their eyes in fright.

How could Li Mu Yang, with his thin arms and legs, possibly block Zhang Chen's steel fists and iron arms?

A triumphant smile spread across Zhang Chen's face. He looked at the detestable dark face that was so close, filled with disdain.

"This pathetic little mouse—daring to play with a cat?"

The moment their fists connected, the smile on Zhang Chen's face froze. Then he felt an immense force surge towards his fist.

He couldn't resist, utterly powerless.

Bang—

Zhang Chen's body flew high into the air before crashing heavily into the distant grass.

The entire scene was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, save for the gentle sway of the distant willows and the unfeeling chirping of insects.

Li Mu Yang had actually sent Zhang Chen flying with a single punch?