Zi Bofeng, Solemn as Ever

Zi Bofeng, Solemn as Ever

"Wait a moment, Xiucai. Let me finish teaching these unworthy descendants a lesson." The old man turned around, brandishing his whip as he went back. Zi Bofeng hurriedly dodged several times before narrowly avoiding being struck.

Seeing their grandfather coming over again, the sixth grandson was so frightened he nearly wet himself, curling up tight. The old man merely snorted, stepped over him, and walked to the second person lying prone.

This one was older than the sixth grandson, already eighteen or nineteen. His face was twisted in misery as he clenched his teeth and waited for the old man's three lashes. Yet he did not make a sound. His teeth chattered so hard they seemed on the verge of breaking.

After whipping the second one, Yan Lao Wu lifted his eyelids and saw that Zi Bofeng was indeed standing nearby, "waiting a moment."

One arm folded across his chest, one hand propping up his chin, he watched with rapt attention. Every so often, he nodded, as though saying, That lash was well struck; that one had real finesse.

Yan Lao Wu's movements stiffened as something suddenly occurred to him.

Whenever one disciplined one's children, any adult who saw it, whether they cared or not, would say something to stop it. "Stop hitting them, stop hitting them. Children don't know any better. Whatever it is, talk it over properly." That way, the adult could vent their anger and show their authority without hitting too hard or hurting their own beloved child.

But... Zi Bofeng... would he speak up to stop it?

Damn it, if he spoke up to stop it, would he still be the "Zi Bofeng Who Only Speaks the Truth" renowned throughout Meng City? He would probably only cheer them on.

Damn his granny's legs, then hit them! These little beasts should have been beaten long ago. They might escape the third watch, but they would never escape the fifth!

Zi Bofeng watched from the side. Among these people were Yan Lao Wu's grandsons, his grandnephews, and even some relatives beyond the fifth degree of kinship. Yet every one of them lay obediently on the ground, listening to Yan Lao Wu's scolding and taking his horsewhip.

Lash after lash landed on the rear ends of these unruly brats. Some cried out in pain, some wailed, some gritted their teeth, and some cursed their mothers. "Yan Lao Wu, I'll fuck your mother! Ow!" Another lash promptly landed, followed by an absurdly furious retort: "I'll fuck your great-grandmother!"

As he whipped them, Yan Lao Wu kept watching Zi Bofeng from the corner of his eye. Zi Bofeng kept hissing through his teeth; every time someone else was struck, he shuddered once. His face was full of pain, yet resolute. His eyes held heartache; within that heartache flickered determination, within the determination compassion, and within the compassion glittered tears. It seemed Yan Lao Wu was beating Zi Bofeng's own children, yet—he simply would not speak up to stop it.

As Yan Lao Wu kept beating them, he truly grew angry. What had begun as a performance now became real, turning into a genuine Yan Family disciplinary session. He hated how disappointing these children and grandchildren were, hated that he had failed to raise them properly, and hated himself for somehow becoming muddleheaded enough to come up with such a rotten idea, only to put on a monkey show before Zi Bofeng.

Once the row of younger members lying below had all been whipped, the old man raised his horsewhip and stepped forward. The first one lying there was his second son, the father of the sixth grandson.

Hearing the footsteps approaching, Yan Er panicked. This is bad. Father's really gotten addicted to hitting people. We only agreed to put on an act, but he actually wants to beat me!

Yan Er secretly turned his head and saw that the row of boys below had all forgotten their pain and were looking over. Since childhood, they had often been lectured by Yan Er, and many had received slaps from him. Seeing that Yan Er was about to be beaten now, they found it both novel and exciting. They stared eagerly, all of them full of anticipation.

"You bunch of little bastards! Just wait until I beat every last one of you until your hides split and your flesh tears!" Yan Er was furious. He glared at them, making them all shrink their gazes back, then quietly turned toward his father and pleaded with his eyes.

Yan Lao Wu snorted and approached with the horsewhip, though his pace slowed. He had originally planned to make a show of striking Yan Er a few times, find an excuse, and drive Zi Bofeng away. Who would have thought he would grow angrier the more he hit? The play had gone on too far now; there was no way back.

The men lying here were all fathers themselves. If he invoked the family discipline now, stripping them of their authority, they would likely find it hard to discipline their children afterward. Yan Lao Wu understood that much. But with Zi Bofeng watching from the side, he found himself riding a tiger with no way to get off.

Fake it? Yan Lao Wu's mastery of the horsewhip was exceptional. With one lash, he could strike exactly where he intended, never missing by a hair. But the issue now was not whether the beating was real or fake. A real beating would only hurt for two days, but one stroke of that horsewhip would truly whip away a man's authority. His own children would be one thing, but some might bear a grudge in their hearts.

"Old Master!" Zi Bofeng finally spoke, his voice utterly resolute, as though he were about to march onto a battlefield.

"What is it, Xiucai?" Yan Lao Wu spun around, fast and anxious.

Pretending not to see the enemy-at-the-gates look in Yan Lao Wu's eyes, Zi Bofeng bowed. "Old Master, please calm your anger. Uncles have been busy making a living every day, which is why they have neglected to discipline their children. Please do not blame them!"

"What? Wasn't it you, Xiucai, who said that we Yan Family men only knew how to search for jade, that every one of us was all brawn and no brains? Now that there is no jade left to seek, our muscles have nowhere to grow, so they have all grown into our heads. One look tells you that every last one is dull-witted and stubborn beyond redemption, that not one could possibly get into the academy, and that they should hurry home, find wives, and have another litter of children?" Yan Lao Wu had held it in for a long while before finally finding a chance to erupt. He glared at Zi Bofeng, speaking at first in a blaze of fury, but by the end, his heart had suddenly turned cold and gray.

That outsider had truly been right. Every one of the children in his family was more useless than the last!

This "Zi Bofeng Who Only Speaks the Truth" was truly hateful! It was enough that you knew it—why did you have to speak the truth?

"Eh?" Zi Bofeng covered his mouth with the back of his hand and nearly stumbled to the ground. I said something like that? Such a poisonous tongue truly has my style. What piercing insight, what a nail driven straight through the heart...

But sometimes, the truth simply could not be spoken...

Zi Bofeng suddenly understood a little why he had such poor relations with people.

No matter where one was, saying someone else's children had no future was a mortal enmity—and this had been a map-wide blast. That he and his father had not been driven out already truly counted as the old man being magnanimous.

Zi Bofeng, Zi Bofeng, look at the mess you left me. Why couldn't you keep your mouth under control? You couldn't restrain yourself when eating, and you couldn't restrain yourself when speaking either? Some promise you are!

Zi Bofeng hurriedly tried to mend the fold after the sheep had fled. Looking left and right, he put on an embarrassed expression, stepped forward, and grabbed Yan Lao Wu's arm—yet could not pull him. He shook it from side to side, and only then did the old man follow him two steps forward. They moved in front of those lying prone, farther from that pack of little brats behind them but still close enough for the fathers on the ground to hear. Zi Bofeng lowered his voice and softened his tone.

"Old Master, please calm your anger. I was immature then. I envied them for being able to work and contribute to their families, so I said some unpleasant things. Uncles spend every day supporting their households. Life is so difficult; they run themselves ragged from dawn to dusk and do not get a moment's rest. How could they have time to manage their children as well?"

"Thinking about it, this really is my fault. I attended school with several of them, yet I only focused on my own studies and forgot to communicate with them and learn together. No matter what, you cannot beat the uncles. Old Master, you are highly respected; in your eyes, no matter how old they are, they are still your children. But once the uncles return home, they are the pillars holding up their households, the sky above their families' heads."

As he spoke, he raised a thumb, freely bestowing that thumbs-up upon the men lying below. Then he lowered his voice further. "If you beat them, I fear you will beat away the uncles' authority, and their families will be hard to manage afterward... If you must beat someone, beat me instead."

With that, he thrust out his neck, his face resolute, assuming the posture of someone willing to accept a beating.

Though he said that, Zi Bofeng truly feared the old man might seize the opportunity and give him a few lashes.

"Hmph. How would I dare beat Xiucai?" The old man truly did not dare. Once someone had passed the Xiucai examination, they possessed scholarly rank. Even when meeting the Prefect, they did not need to kneel; they were no longer commoners. If the old man beat a Xiucai, he could truly be punished for it. Besides, though this Zi Bofeng had a foul mouth, it was said that one essay from him had won unanimous praise. His future was boundless. If he came to hold the old man accountable someday, it would be troublesome indeed.

Seeing that the old man had no intention of beating him, Zi Bofeng let out a breath. There was no need for the backup plan he had prepared.

"If Old Master trusts Bofeng, why not let Bofeng help instruct them?" Zi Bofeng looked at the dozen or so students lying below. "Though Bofeng's learning is shallow and his talent meager, I have some understanding of examinations. If Old Master trusts me, in three months I will send at least three of them to the academy."

"Really?" The old man was startled upon hearing this, but immediately felt he had lost face. He coughed and said, "We can discuss this later."

Zi Bofeng swallowed back the words, "When have I ever lied?" With no chance to show off, he was thoroughly frustrated.

The old man turned and waved his hand. "Since Xiucai has pleaded for you, get up, all of you! If you still cannot enter the academy three months from now, it will not be the horsewhip then. Do not blame me for slapping you so hard your eyes roll white. After I'm done, there will be no need to send you to a doctor—I'll bury you straight on the back mountain!"

Everyone got up meekly and returned to their fathers, crying out in pain and acting cute. The old man was so angry at the sight. Not one of them had any backbone; a couple of hits and they could not take it. Not only had they failed to dampen Zi Bofeng's arrogance, they had beaten away all of his own prestige.

Yet Zi Bofeng sighed inwardly as well.

At one call and wave of the old man's arm, every household Zi Bofeng had passed earlier had shut its doors tight, not daring to say a single extra word to him.

And now so many people had obediently lain there to receive their beating. This was true authority, solid and unmistakable.

In the past, Zi Bofeng had kept his ears shut to everything outside his window, focusing only on reading the sages' books. He had never concerned himself with the village's affairs, and had never known that the old man possessed such tremendous authority.