A shadow followed

Just as Xiao Zhan wrestled with himself, a familiar, rather grating boyish voice drifted faintly in from near the estate's outer wall. Something stirred in his heart. He rose, walked to the window, and quietly peered outside.

There was Crazy Ghost from yesterday, crouching beneath a large tree not far from the Xiao Clan's outer wall, fiddling with his strangely constructed "bicycle." He kept muttering to himself in that same language Xiao Zhan could not understand.

"Damn! Those little bastards actually chased me yesterday! Sooner or later, I'll give each of them a taste of my 'new move'... Hey! You there! Xiao... Xiao Yan, right? The one in the carriage yesterday! Can you hear me?"

Crazy Ghost seemed convinced Xiao Yan was somewhere nearby-or perhaps he simply assumed that the boy who had answered his "code phrase" yesterday would respond to a "fellow countryman." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he muttered, "I'll go settle the score for those thrown stones in a bit..."

Behind the window, Xiao Zhan listened to words he could not understand, yet which clearly brimmed with energy and a certain... well, a hatred that would not rest until it had its revenge. His expression grew peculiar. This child really was a source of trouble, with no filter on his mouth and a bit of a violent streak.

But... seeing him, filthy yet utterly self-righteous as he shouted toward the Xiao Clan compound, Xiao Zhan also found him rather amusing. Wasn't this fearless, instantly familiar boldness exactly what a young boy ought to have?

He watched silently for a while, until the boy finally lost patience and kicked the bicycle. Then, dusting off his dirty hands and muttering, "Forget it. Tomorrow, then," he hoisted that bizarre prized possession onto his shoulder and limped toward the western part of the city.

Xiao Zhan withdrew his gaze and stopped thinking about the boy. This was only a minor interlude. As the head of a clan, he still had plenty to keep him busy.

Ever since returning from the streets that day, Xiao Yan had been a little off. Though he still cultivated and read as usual, his mind often wandered, and sometimes the corners of his mouth unconsciously curled into a peculiar smile, as though he were savoring the memory of something amusing.

Naturally, this subtle change had not escaped Xun'er, who had always stayed by his side. The afternoon sunlight was just right as they sat together on a stone bench in the rear courtyard. Looking at Xiao Yan, who had once again fallen deep into thought beside her, Xun'er could not help gently tugging his sleeve.

"Brother Xiao Yan, what's wrong with you these past few days? You seem to have something on your mind." The girl's voice was clear and sweet, filled with genuine concern.

Xiao Yan came back to himself and looked into Xun'er's bright eyes, clear as autumn waters. He froze briefly. His gaze shifted away as he tried to hide the strange feelings in his heart. "Nothing, Xun'er. It's just... when I went out with Father the day before yesterday, I saw something interesting."

Even as he brushed her off with those words, his mind involuntarily conjured up that brazen boy riding a "bicycle," speaking strange code phrases, and even daring to shout at the Xiao Clan compound.

"Something interesting?" Xun'er tilted her head. Brother Xiao Yan had never become this distracted over something interesting before. Besides, his eyes had plainly flickered when he said it. An inexplicable, sour ache quietly crept into her heart.

Brother Xiao Yan had always been cold and distant toward everyone, showing his rare tenderness and patience only to her. But now, he seemed to be thinking about someone else, something else, and was not even willing to share it with her. This left Xun'er feeling a little hurt and... a certain jealousy.

Over the next few days, Xiao Yan remained lost in thought. Finally, one evening, he spotted an opening, made the excuse that he "needed a quiet place to gain insight into a Dou Technique," and slipped out of his courtyard. Familiar with the route, he avoided the guards and crept toward the Xiao Clan's back gate.

No sooner had Xiao Yan left than a petite figure slipped soundlessly out from behind the rockery like a nimble cat. It was Xun'er. She looked in the direction Xiao Yan had vanished, her lovely eyes gleaming with curiosity, suspicion, and a hint of excitement.

Brother Xiao Yan really is hiding something from me! Hmph, I'll see just what "interesting thing" has him sneaking around like this!

With the peculiar feeling that she was off to "catch him cheating," Xun'er drew in a breath, lightened her steps, and carefully followed.

Farther away, in the shadows on a rooftop, a figure stood silently, almost one with the darkness. It was Ling Ying, tasked with secretly protecting Xun'er. Watching the two little ones sneak out below, one after the other, he wore a smile that was both helpless and intrigued.

The young miss fretting over what she might gain or lose, like a kitten guarding its food... and that Xiao Yan seems to have finally taken an interest in someone or something besides her? Interesting, very interesting. After spending so long in this remote Wutan City, watching the children's "love and hate" makes for a little diversion.

Xiao Yan walked ahead, his pace slightly quicker than usual, his thoughts already flying to that unconventional "bicycle boy." That fellow was so conspicuous, and so loud. Just asking around should be enough to find out where he lived. At that moment, Xiao Yan was completely unaware of the little tail quietly following him.

Xun'er held her breath and carefully kept her distance, her large, sparkling eyes fixed on Xiao Yan's back. Her little heart thumped wildly with both nerves and excitement.

Who is Brother Xiao Yan going to see? Why won't he tell me? Could... could he really be having an affair? The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. That sour ache rose in her heart again, but stronger still was a curiosity she could not suppress.

Farther away on the rooftops, Ling Ying followed like a phantom, his Dou Qi so perfectly contained that not a trace leaked out. Watching the two little ones "sneaking around" below, he could only find it amusing.

The young miss's thoughts are getting harder and harder to understand... Still, could this young master of the Xiao Clan be going to see that boy who's been shouting in a strange language lately? Interesting. Let's have a look.

After winding through turn after turn, Xiao Yan gradually approached the relatively disorderly western district. Before he could ask a passerby for directions, a noisy clamor reached him faintly. Quite a few people seemed to have gathered to argue about something.

"Hm? What's going on?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly, quickened his steps, and followed the noise.

Soon, he reached the source of the commotion. At the entrance to a dilapidated alley, a crowd stood packed three layers deep and more. Using his nimble build, Xiao Yan squeezed through the gaps between people, only to freeze at the sight before him.

Several sturdy men carrying hoes, shovels, and wooden clubs were angrily pointing at a makeshift shack cobbled together from a few broken planks and some oilcloth. They looked ready to tear it down.

Beside the shack, several half-grown children were indignantly pointing at a boy standing in front of it, talking over one another as they accused him. "That's him! He peeped at Widow Wang bathing yesterday!" "He hit my dog, too!" "He threw stones into our well!" And who else could the boy surrounded in the middle, the target of everyone's outrage, be but Crazy Ghost, the "bicycle boy"?

Crazy Ghost's face was still filthy, his hair a tangled mess, and his old clothes were smeared with mud. Without the slightest fear, he held a wooden bucket giving off a pungent stench in one hand-it seemed to contain some indescribable, yellowish-brown sludge. His other hand tightly gripped a long-handled manure ladle, its tip coated in the same filth and aimed at the crowd around him, as though he were brandishing a peerless divine weapon.

"Pah! That's your mother's bullshit! Who peeped at that old hag bathing? My eyesight's 5.0! You think I'd want to look at her orange-peel skin? And you! Yeah, you, gap-tooth! That lousy dog of yours chased me down the whole street trying to bite me. You should count yourselves lucky I didn't roast the beast! And you-stones in the well? That was because I missed you, you son of a bitch!"

Spittle flew as he hurled his curses, his voice strong and full. Though he brandished the filthiest thing imaginable, he did not yield an inch in spirit. That bucket brimming with "biological weapons" and the constantly waving manure ladle successfully created a "safe distance" between him and the crowd that no one dared casually cross.

Xiao Yan stared, dumbstruck, at the utterly absurd scene before him. He had never imagined that the "fellow countryman" he had secretly slipped out to find would appear before him in such a world-shocking fashion. Carrying a bucket of manure, swinging a manure ladle, waging a war of words against the assembled scholars... this, this fellow... was an absolute demon of chaos!