On a small path within the Wang Family estate, several youths dressed in lavish clothes wore mocking smiles as they blocked the way of a plainly dressed boy.
Slap!
One of the richly dressed youths stepped forward and viciously slapped the plain-clothed boy across the face.
The slap sent the boy stumbling back several steps. His face burned with searing pain, and he nearly wanted to cry; his eyes instantly welled up. Before he could steady himself, he was kicked to the ground again.
"Wang Xiaozhu! You actually dare disobey us? A branch-family wretch like you is nothing but a dog before us direct-line descendants."
One person stepped forward and planted his foot on Wang Xiaozhu's head—the plainly dressed boy's head—speaking with scorn and ridicule.
The other lavishly dressed youths stood nearby, laughing loudly.
Wang Xiaozhu's head was pressed hard against the ground, yet he did not move. He let them trample him without resisting or struggling, because resistance would only bring an even more painful beating and might even endanger his family.
The richly dressed youths had initially been smiling, but seeing Wang Xiaozhu completely unresponsive, they went up and kicked him a few times. Wang Xiaozhu neither cried out nor made a sound of pain. Finding it dull, they left.
After they left, Wang Xiaozhu endured the pain and humiliation as he climbed to his feet. His eyes brimmed with hatred as he watched the youths depart.
Wang Xiaozhu's identity was rather unusual. He had originally been the child of a player's servant, but it turned out that he also possessed Wang Family blood, so he had been elevated to a branch-family member.
Yet this elevation in status brought no benefit whatsoever to his circumstances. As a servant's child, he had been bullied by those direct-line disciples since