As a cultivator, Xu Ziyan’s senses were naturally sharp. How could Xu Zirong have been stupid enough to stare at him with open murderous intent? If Xu Ziyan had noticed, it would have been as good as courting death!
He was still far too weak. Rather than expose Xu Ziyan’s hypocritical mask, he would do better to play along with him and endure the coming year.
Xu Zirong shook his head gently and whispered, “N-no… nothing.”
Seeing that Xu Zirong was clearly nervous but was still trying so hard to look as though he did not need reassurance, Xu Ziyan could not help laughing. He ruffled the child’s head vigorously until his silky hair was a complete bird’s nest.
“Come on, there’s no need to act tough in front of Big Brother! I know you only just arrived, so of course you’re nervous. Don’t be afraid. From now on, Big Brother will look after you.” Xu Ziyan grinned as he continued mussing his hair.
Xu Zirong stood stiffly as Xu Ziyan drew him into an embrace. The adolescent’s chest was not especially broad, but it was extraordinarily warm. For one fleeting moment, Xu Zirong almost felt the illusion of attachment.
“Big Brother!” Annoyed, Xu Zirong struggled free of that warm embrace and glared at him accusingly. He looked exactly like an ordinary child throwing a small, spoiled tantrum.
Only Xu Zirong knew that the annoyance in his voice was genuine, directed specifically at the trace of attachment he had just felt.
What a joke! How could the Blood Demon ever feel attached to anyone? He had discarded such weakness long ago!
“All right, all right, I know you’re a grown-up already! Hahaha…” Xu Ziyan laughed heartily. To him, an eight-year-old was still entirely a child. In the modern world, children that age might still be playing in the mud somewhere. Here, however, they began cultivating at six, and by eight they already understood a great many things.
Some especially precocious children could even be regarded as half-grown adults.
Xu Ziyan’s belief that adulthood began at eighteen simply did not work in this world!
So what if it didn’t? Xu Ziyan was perfectly comfortable with that. Other people could treat eight-year-olds as adults, but he certainly would not!
Children were meant to be cherished. Apart from the necessary lessons, the most important thing was to let them enjoy their childhood to the fullest!
Why should a child carry so many adult burdens? He didn’t care what other people did. His own younger brother would be allowed a few more years of being doted on!
“Young Master, the water is ready,” a maid called brightly from beyond the door.
Xu Ziyan frowned faintly, then relaxed. If he remembered correctly, this maid, Ruoqi, had tried to seduce the previous Xu Ziyan a couple of days earlier.
What utter nonsense!
The boy was barely twelve. People in this world might mature early because most of them cultivated, but this body had only experienced its first nocturnal emission this year. What on earth was wrong with the Xu family? The child wasn’t even grown up yet, and they were pulling something like this? Were they trying to get someone killed?!
According to the original body’s memories, before long the former Xu Ziyan would have slept with this maid. That was absolutely unacceptable to the current Xu Ziyan!
For fuck’s sake, this body was only twelve! Minors were forbidden from □□!
“I know. You may go,” Xu Ziyan said coldly.
The maid outside paused, then withdrew. In the past, Xu Ziyan would always have had this maid attend him when he bathed. His abrupt change today unsettled her. After leaving hurriedly, she rushed to the study in the main compound.
After hearing Ruoqi’s report, Xu Xiao said little. He merely told her to try again in a couple of days. If Xu Ziyan still showed no interest, she was to abandon the idea.
Ruoqi left Xu Xiao’s study anxiously, full of disappointment. If she succeeded in getting into the young master’s bed, the Xu family would not treat her badly, even without an official position. Yet she would never dare disobey the Master. Her only hope was to seize another chance in a few days and see if she could make the young master desire her.
Ruoqi departed, deeply conflicted, unaware that Xu Xiao smiled with satisfaction after she was gone.
He had arranged for the young woman to approach Xu Ziyan in the first place, both to initiate him into sexual matters and in the hope that he would not become distracted by women later.
Xu Xiao felt little affection for Xu Ziyan, but his expectations for him were tremendous. He had no wish for his son to go out into the world someday only to become so captivated by beauty that he neglected his cultivation.
He thought it would be better to surround his son with beauties of every kind while he was still at home. Once he had experienced them, different sorts of beautiful women would surely hold much less temptation for him.
Besides Ruoqi, Xu Xiao had prepared at least three exceptionally beautiful women for his son. He had even found two good-looking youths.
One could say Xu Xiao spared no effort in cultivating his son. Still, Xu Ziyan’s behavior today left him somewhat puzzled.
Of course, resisting feminine beauty was a good thing. He would let Ruoqi try once more, and if she failed again, Xu Xiao could bring out the other beauties he had prepared.
If Xu Ziyan could resist every one of them, Xu Xiao would consider his training a success.
Placing a black stone gently on the Go board, Xu Xiao said cheerfully, “Ansha, come play a game with me.”
In a corner of the otherwise empty study, space suddenly twisted. A middle-aged man in a long gray robe stepped out, picked up a white stone, and placed it opposite Xu Xiao’s black piece in a gesture of open challenge.
Xu Xiao looked up at the stern-faced man and smiled slightly. “My son is quite impressive, isn’t he?”
The man’s eyes cooled. “Ziyao’s son would naturally be impressive.”
Xu Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Wrong. From the moment she married me, she ceased to be Ziyao and became Madam Xu!”
The middle-aged man’s face darkened, and he said nothing more.
Xu Xiao laughed heartily. Seeing a rival he had hated for so many years reduced to serving as his hidden guard was immensely satisfying. His own father had been truly wise back then. Without this man’s existence, Xu Xiao would never have broken through to Meridian Condensation so easily.
He was now at the peak of the middle stage of Meridian Condensation. One more opportunity would let him reach the late stage. For someone only in his thirties, that was quite an impressive achievement.
“Get lost.” Xu Xiao sneered at the man, who showed no reaction to the insult.
Just as the man was about to melt back into the air, Xu Xiao suddenly spoke again. “Wait.”
The middle-aged man stopped and regarded him expressionlessly.
“Starting today, you’re to protect Ziyan. I imagine you’ll be very happy to protect my son, won’t you?”
The man’s fists tightened sharply, then relaxed. “I understand.”
The moment he finished speaking, he pushed open the door and walked out. As soon as he crossed the threshold, his entire figure abruptly vanished.
Xu Xiao was not surprised. The man’s ability came from a cultivation method the Xu family had developed specifically for its hidden guards.
In truth, it was only a rather advanced illusion technique. It might be somewhat impressive to a Meridian Condensation cultivator, but it would be useless against someone at the Golden Core stage.
At the thought that this man could do nothing but obediently protect his son, Xu Xiao could not stop himself from sneering. So what if the man had once possessed astonishing talent? Now he was merely a pitiable creature trampled beneath Xu Xiao’s feet.
Xu Xiao slowly picked up a scroll and reclined in his chair. His cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and he needed an opportunity to break through. Reading widely and broadening his experience might, with some luck, help him find one.
Naturally, Xu Ziyan knew nothing about what had happened in Xu Xiao’s study. Nor did he know that a cultivator at the late Foundation Establishment stage was now concealed nearby, ready to protect him at any moment.
At the moment, he was occupied with trying to remove Xu Zirong’s clothes, a difficult undertaking because the boy was struggling with all his might.
“Be good. Just look how dirty your clothes are. If you don’t wash up, you’ll be growing lice next,” Xu Ziyan coaxed patiently.
Xu Zirong’s face flushed crimson with mortification and anger.
That damned bastard! How dare he humiliate him like this? A bath was one thing, but why was Xu Ziyan undressing him? Did he think Xu Zirong couldn’t wash himself?!
To avoid giving himself away, Xu Zirong could not simply curse him out. Instead, he clutched desperately at his clothes, his face scarlet. He struggled so fiercely that tears even gathered at the corners of his eyes, making him look like a girl on the verge of being assaulted.
“Come on, Zirong, it’s only a bath. Why are you being so fussy when you’re a boy?” When gentle persuasion failed, Xu Ziyan began to grow impatient.
Xu Zirong shook his head firmly. “I’ll wash myself, Big Brother. You go outside.”
“Nonsense!” Xu Ziyan’s expression hardened. Quite apart from whether an eight-year-old could wash himself properly, the enormous bathtub was big enough for two or three grown men. Xu Ziyan was worried the boy might accidentally drown in it.
“I won’t…”
Before Xu Zirong could finish speaking, Xu Ziyan’s next action stunned him.
Just then, Xu Ziyan reached out and pulled the frail, skinny Xu Zirong straight into his arms. He laid the boy across his lap, yanked down his pants, and—whack, whack, whack—delivered three sharp spanks to his pale little rear.
“Children need to listen. If you don’t behave, you get a spanking, understand?” Xu Ziyan looked solemn. He believed that doting on his younger brother was an older brother’s responsibility, but so was teaching him. This was their first day together, and he had to establish his authority. Otherwise, if he spoiled the boy too much and Zirong stopped listening to him, things would become troublesome.
Children needed to understand that good behavior earned sweets, while bad behavior earned a spanking.
Xu Ziyan was practically ready to congratulate himself on his brilliance. Little did he know that Xu Zirong, pinned facedown across his lap, had turned utterly green in the face.