Old Jack!

"Little San, have you noticed..."

Tang San, who was eating from his bowl, heard Han Yu speak in a low voice and pricked up his ears to listen carefully.

After a long while, Tang San looked up in puzzlement, wondering why Han Yu had left the rest unsaid.

As he looked up, a pitch-black rag came flying at his face, giving off a foul stench.

Greatly alarmed, Tang San sprang into the air and used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge to the side. A nameless fire rose in his heart as he glared furiously at Han Yu.

What are you trying to do?!

Before he could say it aloud, he saw Han Yu standing there with the rag in his hand, looking innocent. As though stunned by Tang San's movement technique, he stood rooted to the spot and stared blankly at him.

Tang San now realized that a pair of eyes in the house was watching him. With a quick turn of thought, he put a little force into his foot and twisted to the side, falling flat on the ground with an "ow!"

"Brother!"

At that moment, Han Yu hurriedly drank the last mouthful of rice soup in his bowl, then got up and rushed over to help Tang San to his feet. He slapped the rag in his hand right onto Tang San's face.

A terrible stench immediately assaulted Tang San's nose. Sensing that the eyes in the house were still watching the two of them, he could only let Han Yu rub away.

"Little San, how could you be so careless? I saw some dirt on your face and was helping you wipe it off. How did you end up falling over?"

When he was done wiping Tang San's face, Han Yu looked at him with a pained expression. He tossed the rag carelessly onto the floor and held Tang San's arms in his two little hands, his eyes full of concern.

Seeing Han Yu's expression and the look in his eyes, Tang San felt the fire in his heart slowly die out.

That's right, he's my brother. How could he hurt me? Even if he sold me off as a child groom, it would be for my own good. How could I...

It's not as though everyone is a transmigrator like me. Maybe this is the purest side of a child's heart. He just wants to be good to his little brother in his own way.

When he thought of how he had actually wanted to kill Han Yu just now, Tang San felt a deep sense of guilt.

"I'm fine, brother."

Tang San gently shook his head at Han Yu. The little injury he had just suffered was nothing at all.

Inside the house, Tang Hao's usually clouded eyes were growing clearer. As he watched Tang San's movements just now, a trace of doubt had flashed through his mind. If he had sensed it correctly, the child seemed to have given off a trace of killing intent?

As though amused by his own thoughts, Tang Hao shook his head with a bitter smile, picked up his wine and drained it in one gulp.

Before long, hearty snores rang out inside the house.

Only then did Tang San's taut nerves finally relax. He was afraid that his father would discover something, and also afraid that his brother would be disappointed in him.

Having been an orphan in his previous life, he cared deeply about his father and brother in this life, though his brother often did things he couldn't understand.

But when all was said and done, it was all for his own good.

Tang San secretly decided to give the first Sleeve Arrow he made to Han Yu to wear for protection.

"Little San, I'm glad you're all right. Go on and eat. I'm going to rest."

Han Yu had been very bored these past few days. He sat on the steps outside the blacksmith shop, propping up his face with his hands as he watched people pass by.

"Little Hanyu, what are you doing sitting out here?"

"Pondering life, Auntie Liu."

"Hahaha, what does a child like you have to ponder about life?"

"I'm pondering why, a couple of nights ago, Uncle Liu went to the widow's house behind yours in the middle of the night to beat her, and beat her until she was howling."

"What did you say?"

The woman was shocked. Carrying the shovel in her hand, she hurried back home. Before long, a scrawny, sleazy-looking man was beaten out of the house.

"Help! Murder!"

"Liu Ergou! I haven't had a single good day since I married you! And you actually went sneaking around behind my back!"

A thick arm dragged the man, who had just stepped through the door, back inside. At once, the courtyard erupted into chaos, chickens flying and dogs jumping.

The other villagers naturally wanted to break up the fight. They gathered at the door and shouted inside, trying to talk them down.

Han Yu silently watched the scene and let out a long sigh.

"Little Hanyu, what are you doing sitting out here?"

An elderly voice sounded beside him. Han Yu turned and greeted him.

"Grandpa Jack, what are you doing here?"

Old Jack chuckled and rubbed Han Yu's little head with his withered hand. Looking at the Liu household, which had long since descended into chaos, he said,

"This time, Ergou will be laid up in bed for months."

Then he lowered his head and said to Han Yu,

"Come on, let's go inside. I have something to discuss with your father."

The word "father" made Han Yu deeply uncomfortable. Others might not know, but how could he not? He wasn't Tang Hao's child at all, but he couldn't say so outright now.

"All right, Grandpa Jack."

Han Yu got up and led Old Jack into the house.

As soon as he entered the blacksmith shop, Old Jack was stunned. The hammering he had heard outside had actually come from Tang San, who was standing beside the forge.

The sight made the kindly old man furious. Without a word, he took his walking stick and headed into the inner room.

The next moment, Tang Hao's cries of pain and Old Jack's angry scolding rose and fell in succession.

"Old Jack! What are you doing?!"

"Tang Hao!! Do you know how old Little San is?! And you're already making him work for you!! Is this how you act as a father?! No wonder Little Hanyu doesn't want your surname!! If it weren't for Little Hanyu and Little San being so young back then!! How can you face their mother after treating them like this?!"

As soon as he finished that last sentence, Old Jack regretted it. He looked at Tang Hao, who was huddled silently in the corner of the bed, then snorted and walked into the outer room.

Under ordinary circumstances, Old Jack would never have been able to bring himself to beat the children's father in front of them.

But the moment he saw Tang San working the forge, the fire of anger in his heart shot straight to his head. Before he had any time to react, the walking stick in his hand had struck Tang Hao again and again.

Now that he had come to his senses, Old Jack felt some regret, worried that he would see fear in the children's eyes. He went out and glanced at them, only to find no sign of fear on either child's face.

Tang San looked bewildered. He had been so absorbed in his smithing that he hadn't noticed what had happened.

Han Yu, meanwhile, looked surprised, and his eager little hand seemed ready to give Old Jack a thumbs-up.

Tang Hao had also come into the outer room by now. Strong and sturdy as he was, those few blows naturally couldn't have hurt him; they hadn't even amounted to a scratch.

Seeing that everyone was present, Old Jack cleared his throat twice before speaking.

"In two days, our village will hold its Martial Soul Awakening. Little Hanyu and Little San are six now, aren't they? I came to let you know that I'll come and take the two of them to the Martial Soul Awakening when the time comes."

Hearing about the Martial Soul Awakening, Tang Hao's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at Han Yu, then at Tang San, and lowered his head in thought for a moment.

"I understand."