Wicked Master Bullies People

Not long after, Lu Liang finished making arrangements for Jiang Ziya's wedding the following day and finally entered the room carrying a food box.

He saw Lu Chuan sitting by the desk, lost in a daze.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Lu Liang asked. "It's so late, aren't you hungry?"

"Hungry."

"If you know you're hungry, why haven't you gone to the kitchen to find something to eat?"

Lu Liang rolled his eyes at him, set the food box on the desk, and said, "This is what was left over in the kitchen tonight. Just make do with this for now; I'll get you something better tomorrow."

Lu Chuan grinned as he took the food box, opening it to find two steamed buns, a small dish of vegetables, and a pair of chopsticks.

Chopsticks as eating utensils had already appeared by this time; it was said they were invented by King Zhou or Daji and had eventually spread among the people.

"Have you eaten, Father?"

Just as Lu Chuan was about to eat, he suddenly remembered Lu Liang and asked.

A hint of warmth flashed in Lu Liang's eyes. "I already ate in the kitchen earlier. You go ahead and eat!"

"Oh!"

Only then did Lu Chuan begin to wolf down his food.

It was truly quite late, and after returning, he had been deep in thought; now that he had snapped back to reality, his stomach was growling uncontrollably.

Lu Liang smiled gently. "Eat slowly. If it's not enough, I'll go back to the kitchen and find you more."

"It's enough, it's enough. I shouldn't eat too much at night, or I'll be too stuffed to sleep well," Lu Chuan replied hurriedly.

After dinner, the father and son chatted for a while longer before Lu Liang went to the room next door to sleep.

After all, Jiang Ziya was getting married the next day, and he had to oversee every detail, so he needed a good rest.

The next day.

Lu Liang rose at the crack of dawn to summon the mansion's many maids and servants to decorate the estate and arrange the banquet.

Furthermore, Song Yiren had sent people to invite the neighbors of Song Family Village and relatives from all four directions to come and celebrate Jiang Ziya's happy occasion.

The scale of this celebration was even more extravagant than the one held for his own son.

Lu Chuan also rose very early today. Upon stepping outside, he saw the Song Mansion bustling with activity, draped in red and hung with colorful silks, filled with a festive atmosphere.

Jiang Ziya had also set out with the others to fetch the bride.

Today is his big day, a rare opportunity. Why not... try one more time tonight?

Lu Chuan smirked to himself. Tonight, I'll block him outside the bridal chamber and make him take me as his apprentice. If he doesn't, I won't let him in. Let's see if he accepts or not...

It had to be said, this idea was a bit... devious.

The Great Tribulation had already begun; this time, all living beings in the Three Realms—immortals, mortals, demons—none would be able to escape.

However, he and his father had neither power nor money.

People like them would definitely be pressed into forced labor when the war broke out later. Otherwise, with treacherous officials in power, if one had money, one could at least spend some to save their own life.

Suddenly, Lu Chuan felt someone drop something into his collar from behind—something alive, furry, and scurrying around his neck.

Startled, Lu Chuan felt goosebumps crawl over his entire body like an electric shock. He reached back, grabbed the object, and slammed it hard onto the ground, revealing a rat that was already rolling its eyes with its feet in the air.

Turning around, he saw a youth of similar age, though taller and with a fair complexion, dressed in luxurious brocade robes, standing behind him.

Beside this youth were several others of the same age, also in brocade, all snickering.

Clearly, this was their prank, but it had certainly given him a fright.

"Who are you?" Lu Chuan asked coldly.

"Who am I? Haha, who am I?"

The youth was stunned by the question and laughed, and the other youths doubled over in laughter, some unable to even stand straight.

"Foolish Lu Chuan, it seems you haven't recovered yet, since you don't even recognize your own Third Master?"

"Third Master?"

Lu Chuan looked at the fair-skinned youth in brocade, frowned, and said, "You are Song..."

Song Yiren had three sons: the eldest, Song Shan; the second, Song Ze; and the youngest, Song Yu.

Song Shan and Song Ze were already adults; only Song Yu was born to Song Yiren in his old age. He was of a similar age to Lu Chuan and was very pampered in the household.

It was also on the day of his wedding that Jiang Ziya would descend the mountain to help him open his spiritual apertures and awaken.

"Hahaha, still a little fool."

The group pointed at Lu Chuan and laughed loudly.

Lu Chuan watched them without a word.

In reality, he was not truly a servant of the Song family.

It was only because his spiritual apertures had not been opened early on that Lu Liang had no choice but to keep him by his side to care for him. This was also because Lu Liang himself was highly capable; otherwise, how would the Song Mansion have allowed Lu Liang to bring an extra fool into the estate to eat and live for free?

However, he had already looked through his own past memories.

Seeing these people today stirred up some rather unpleasant memories for him.

Back when his spiritual apertures had yet to open, these young masters would gather together and take pleasure in teasing and playing tricks on him.

Things like coaxing him into peeking at the maidservants bathing, finding a dog and making him call it "Daddy," or egging him on to poke a beehive...

Fortunately, this fool—no, fortunately, he hadn't even known how to call his own father "Daddy" back then, otherwise he couldn't even imagine what might have happened next.

Truly, you can never quite fathom just how malicious a person's heart can be.

A fire burned in Lu Chuan's heart. The business of peeking at the maidservants bathing was one thing; since there was no mortal danger, he could barely accept it.

But tricking a fool into calling a dog "Daddy," and poking beehives...

Bastards!

About a year ago.

He had been led by this group to poke yet another hive, only this one was full of wasps. After being stung, he had nearly died; he had almost failed to pull through that time.

"Since you've recovered, sign a contract in two days and come serve at my place!" Song Yu said indifferently, as if issuing a command. "I'm short someone to empty the chamber pots."

"Hahaha..." The few young noblemen burst into laughter, calling Song Yu's idea brilliant.

Lu Chuan kept his head lowered and said nothing.

Seeing that Lu Chuan remained as silent as a wooden block while being bullied this time, the group felt it was quite dull, so they waved their hands and walked away, shaking their heads.

Lu Chuan raised his head and watched their retreating backs.

Sign a contract? You want me to be a servant and hold me under your thumb for a lifetime? Make me empty chamber pots? Are you even worthy?

If it were anyone else, they might be willing to grovel like a dog for wages slightly higher than elsewhere, but he, Lu Chuan, was not that kind of person.

"Sigh, why did this idiot have to get better? I just thought of a fun idea recently and wanted to try it out today. Why did he have to recover?"

"I would like to hear what Brother Wang's brilliant idea is."

"I brought my Black Tiger today; I wanted to make him fight the Black Tiger, but what a pity..."

"Who cares if he's better or not? Just offer him a tael of silver and he'll probably jump right in like a dog."

"Then why not give it a try..."

The group spoke without restraint even though they hadn't walked far, laughing loudly as they did so. A few of them even glanced back at Lu Chuan.

In the end, they didn't turn back; after all, today was a major event for Jiang Ziya, and they dared not be too reckless.

"Those little bastards."

Lu Chuan smiled, a look that seemed harmless to both humans and animals, but sometimes a smile didn't represent happiness, for there was a term called: laughing out of extreme rage.

Bang!

Suddenly, someone patted him on the back and said, "Chuan'er, what are you looking at?"

Lu Chuan replied, "Nothing, Father. Has the old Mr. Jiang who is welcoming the bride arrived yet?"

"Not yet." Lu Liang said, then looked up at the sky and added, "But I expect it will be soon. Chuan'er, the kitchen is short-handed, you..."

"I'll go help." Lu Chuan said calmly.

"Heh heh, my son has become sensible." Lu Liang smiled. "Put some effort into Mr. Jiang's affairs. I've already found a house, and it's quite nice. Once this is finished, I'll buy it for you so you can move in."

"Mm."

Lu Chuan nodded and turned to head toward the kitchen in the back.

Lu Liang, however, did not leave for a long time.

Not only did he not leave, but his brows slowly furrowed.

What's wrong with Chuan'er? Something feels off!

Back courtyard, kitchen.

Before he even entered the kitchen, a wave of heat rushed toward him. Inside, the white steam was thick and sweltering, as if one had stepped into a steamer.

Naturally, it was impossible for Lu Chuan to be the head chef.

Thus, the head chef assigned him the task of washing vegetables, and he sat in the shade of a tree outside the kitchen to begin.

Not long after, the sound of firecrackers erupted outside, followed by the incessant beating of drums and gongs. It sounded very lively; it seemed Jiang Ziya had returned with his bride.

"Hey, Little Tiger..."

The head chef poked half his body out of the kitchen, called over a servant of the manor, and said, "Go take this piece of meat and feed it to that dog in the back."

Lu Chuan looked up and saw the head chef holding a choice cut of beef, bone-in.

The waiter stared at the meat in the chef's hand and swallowed hard.

The head chef glared at him. "What are you gawking at? Is this something you can covet? Even I don't get to eat this."

"That belongs to Third Master's friend's dog. It only eats the finest beef and travels with its own food everywhere. We can't let it go hungry; if we don't take care of it properly, we'll be the ones in trouble."

"Yes, yes, of course."

The waiter nodded hurriedly, turned away with a sigh, and scurried off.

"For those without money or power, living anywhere is worse than being a dog. Such is fate."

Lu Chuan muttered to himself, "In my next life, I should be reincarnated as... wait, Third Master's friend's... dog?"

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to realize something. He turned his head to look in the direction the waiter had gone, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Not long after.

Lu Chuan carried a tray of dishes into the kitchen, which felt like a steamer, filled with white vapor and very low visibility. "Master Chef, I've finished washing the vegetables. Take a look..."

"Good, set them down for now. I'll use them in a moment."