Zhan Feiyu had been sneaking out to read books since she was three years old, and it had been four full years.
Zhan Dalang was twelve this year. He started school at eight and had also studied at a private tutor for four years. The Zhan family lived frugally, and they had gradually bought all the books needed for enlightenment, such as the *Three Character Classic*, *Hundred Family Surnames*, and *Thousand Character Classic*, as well as the Four Books and Five Classics for the imperial examinations.
Zhan Dalang could now read through the Four Books, but he couldn't be expected to recite them. For the essay-writing poetry, he could only write doggerel, just to make it rhyme.
However, Old Madam Zhan doted on her eldest grandson and believed Zhan Dalang to be intelligent. She spent money unnecessarily to let him participate in the Tong Sheng examination. Unfortunately, he didn't even pass the first county-level examination in February this year, let alone the prefectural examination.
"The three talents are heaven, earth, and man. The three lights are the sun, moon, and stars. The three cardinal guides are ruler and minister, husband and wife, father and son..." A soft recitation began. The big yellow dog lying at Zhan Feiyu's feet suddenly sat up and let out a wary growl towards the depths of the forest.
Zhan Feiyu was startled and turned to look back.
Big Yellow sensed danger and barked more fiercely.
Suddenly, a whistling sound pierced the night sky. Big Yellow let out a pained whimper and fell to the ground with a thud.
"Big Yellow!" A startled cry rang out. Zhan Feiyu's eyes widened, and she quickly squatted down. She patted Big Yellow with her chubby little hands. The rising and falling of its belly beneath her palm told her that Big Yellow had merely fainted.
The moonlight was dim and unclear. As Zhan Feiyu squatted beside Big Yellow, she saw a figure emerge from the dark forest before she could get up.
The person was dressed in a black cross-collared robe, with a tall and slender build. Their face, not yet fully matured, was between that of a boy and a young man. However, their features were stern and cold, and their narrow phoenix eyes were particularly chilling, exuding a sense of bloodlust and killing intent.
At that moment, her heart pounded like a drum. In her terror, Zhan Feiyu instinctively held her breath, her entire body covered in goosebumps.
The black figure approached. The gaze, as if looking at a dead person, made Zhan Feiyu's legs go weak, and she collapsed onto her bottom. The thin summer clothes offered little protection, and a protruding stone poked her right in the rear.
"Ouch..." Her face contorted in pain. Zhan Feiyu shifted from a sitting position to kneeling, quickly covering her backside with her hands and rubbing it. It hurt so much...
Yin Wuyan's gaze swept over the *Three Character Classic* that had fallen to the ground, then landed on Zhan Feiyu's contorted, chubby little face. In her pain, her delicate and pretty features were twisted into a grimace, and her cherry-red lips pouted, constantly drawing in breaths.
The night breeze picked up, bringing a touch of coolness. But with the wind came the smell of blood... Zhan Feiyu's hand paused as she rubbed her backside. She cautiously glanced up, and in an instant, her little heart almost stopped beating.
Under the pale moonlight, the silver sword in the other person's hand gleamed. Crimson blood dripped from the tip of the sword.
Zhan Feiyu's mind raced. She was only seven years old, but she was small for her age, looking more like five or six. She was just a little kid, and maybe she could bluff her way through.
But a little kid sneaking out to read books in the mountains in the middle of the night? Zhan Feiyu swallowed and gritted her teeth. Deception wouldn't work, so she'd admit defeat!
"Big brother," she said, tilting her head back and grinning. Her eyes curved, and her dark, lustrous eyes seemed to hold shattered stars. "Big brother, my name is Zhan Feiyu, and I'm seven years old. My family is poor, so I stole my elder cousin's books to read."
Confession brings leniency! Zhan Feiyu scrambled to her feet, using her hands and feet. The wound on her backside was pulled, and her chubby little face contorted again.
Enduring the pain, Zhan Feiyu bared her white teeth, trying her best to appear foolishly cute and adorable. Her soft, childish voice declared with determination, "Big brother, don't worry, I'm the best at keeping secrets!"
Not hearing the famous saying, "Only the dead can keep secrets," Zhan Feiyu, whose cheeks ached from smiling, breathed a sigh of relief. Her life might be spared.
The wind stopped, and the mountain forest fell silent. Zhan Feiyu's relieved heart suddenly tensed again. This silent, yet deafening, quiet was chilling, and a cold dread crept up her spine.
After waiting for a while, Zhan Feiyu, bracing herself, raised her head. Her movements were so slow that it seemed she could hear her neck bones creaking. Hiss...
Meeting Yin Wuyan's phoenix eyes, which were like an abyss, Zhan Feiyu's stiff little body trembled. In the face of true power, pretending to be submissive or trying to deceive was ultimately futile. With a single move of his hand, her little life would be over.
Seeing the chubby girl who was about to crumble into a puddle of fear, Yin Wuyan parted his thin lips and said, "Scram."
His deliberately lowered male voice sounded a bit strange, but to Zhan Feiyu, it was like heavenly music. The tension in her round face instantly erupted with surprise and excitement.
"I'm scrambling right away!" With unprecedented speed, Zhan Feiyu turned, picked up the two books, and grabbed the extinguished candle in one hand. The scorching candle wax dripped onto her hand. Zhan Feiyu winced, cursing inwardly. Compared to her life, this pain was negligible.
As she turned, she saw Big Yellow on the ground. Zhan Feiyu, who had been about to scramble away, froze. Big Yellow had only fainted. Logically, there was no danger, but what if he became roasted dog meat?
After hesitating for a moment, Zhan Feiyu stuffed the books in her clothes and the half-melted candle under a stone. Gritting her teeth, she exerted all her strength with her thick, lotus-root-like arms and lifted the fainted Big Yellow from the ground.
Big Yellow needs to lose weight! Her chubby little face turned red as Zhan Feiyu used all her might, managing to lift the thirty to forty-pound Big Yellow and stagger away.
As Zhan Feiyu left, a figure silently appeared behind Yin Wuyan. He stared, dumbfounded, at the chubby girl who was hunched over, straining to carry the big yellow dog. Did the master really have no mercy, not even sparing a dog?
Ten, nine, eight... Zhan Feiyu relaxed her strained muscles, and Big Yellow thumped to the ground with a thud. Still unconscious, Big Yellow let out a muffled yelp.
Zhan Feiyu panted heavily, grabbing Big Yellow's front legs with her chubby paws and dragging him forward...
"Seventh Master, this chubby girl is quite loyal," the young man chuckled, clearly scared but not abandoning his dog.
One step, two steps... Zhan Feiyu dragged Big Yellow under a tree more than ten feet away. Her strength exhausted, she released her hands, and the dull thud of the "heavy object" hitting the ground echoed.
Zhan Feiyu, gathering all her strength like a small beast, charged down the slope. In the blink of an eye, her plump body disappeared into the darkness. Big Yellow, knocked out by the stone, lay alone at the base of the tree.
Uh... The young man felt his face being slapped. What about the promise of never abandoning each other? She just dropped him and ran away unfaithfully.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Yin Wuyan's young but indifferent face showed no change in expression. "Go investigate."
"Yes!" Hearing his master's rough, changing voice, the young man suppressed a smile and vanished into the dark mountain forest. If it weren't for this chubby girl, the master wouldn't have spoken for half a month.
Lying back on her wooden plank bed, Zhan Feiyu, who had narrowly escaped death, hugged her pillow tightly. The black figure involuntarily reappeared in her mind.
Compared to the reckless young men in the village who were sixteen or seventeen, that person was like Yama, the king of hell. His indifferent, emotionless gaze, his imposing killing intent that didn't require anger, made Zhan Feiyu's small body tremble. She decided not to think about it anymore and went to sleep!
Nothing happened overnight. The sun rose high.
Hearing footsteps outside, Li Shi, who was busy in the kitchen, couldn't help but smile. "You lazy girl, you're only getting up now when the sun is already high."
"Mom, there were mosquitoes last night, so I didn't sleep well," Zhan Feiyu said with a grin, patting her empty stomach. "Mom, is there anything to eat?"
Li Shi opened the kitchen door and handed Zhan Feiyu a fist-sized coarse grain bun. "Go eat outside, it's hot in here."
"I'm going to play with Shanwazi and the others," Zhan Feiyu mumbled, chewing on the bun, and had already run to the kitchen door. Seeing Big Yellow wagging its tail in the yard, Zhan Feiyu's chubby face broke into an even brighter smile.