“Come, follow me inside,” Zhou Zixing said with a smile, waving to Yi Wangyou.
You look a lot like a priest doing that, you know... Just to be safe, Zhuang Xun dragged Zhou Ziruo along.
“Oh? Is the Little Overlord actually shy around strangers?” Zhou Ziruo raised an eyebrow, following behind Yi Wangyou into the courtyard where Zhou Zixing lived.
Zhou Zixing had Zhou Ziruo and Yi Wangyou sit in the main hall for a moment. He walked into the adjacent side room alone, and after a short while, emerged leading a squirrel with a chair strapped to its back.
The squirrel was the size of a normal squirrel, but the chair was also the size of a normal chair.
The only unusual thing was that the chair had only one leg and was strapped to the squirrel's back. The squirrel walked on its hind legs, making it look from a distance like a person carrying a mountain on their shoulders.
Zhuang Xun's eyes went wide.
Zhou Ziruo was also filled with questions. Pointing at the squirrel with the chair strapped to its back, she asked, “Brother, what kind of gift is this for Junior Brother?”
Zhou Zixing said triumphantly, “Hahaha! This is a Mighty Rat. Don't look down on it just because it's smaller than my shoe. Its strength is comparable to that of a lifelong farmer! It's a rare beast found only over by Mount Taiheng. I went to great lengths to have someone capture it for me.”
“Little Cousin, watch.” With that, he leaped onto the chair, instantly bending the Mighty Rat's back under his weight.
The Mighty Rat squeaked frantically, but Zhou Zixing paid it no mind. He repeatedly bounced his weight onto the chair, chuckling as he did so.
“Go, Mighty Rat, go!”
Having been squashed a few times, the Mighty Rat looked like it was about to draw its last breath as it took heavy, struggling steps forward.
“Whoa! Let me ride it for a couple of laps! Let me ride it!” Zhuang Xun repeatedly urged Zhou Zixing to get down.
“Hahaha, Little Cousin, isn't it fun?”
Zhou Zixing jumped down. He was about to lift Yi Wangyou up, but Yi Wangyou leaped onto the chair himself.
“Go! Go, Mighty Rat!”
Zhuang Xun mimicked Zhou Zixing's posture and bounced hard on the chair twice.
The Mighty Rat squeaked twice and began to move.
Since Yi Wangyou was much lighter than Zhou Zixing, the Mighty Rat walked quite easily this time, scurrying quickly in circles around the main hall.
Zhou Ziruo watched with a forehead full of black lines. She could already picture how embarrassing it would be when Yi Wangyou brought this thing back to the Posuo Courtyard.
She massaged her temples helplessly. “Brother, why do you always give such flashy but useless gifts?”
“Huh? Isn't it useful but plain?” Zhou Zixing scratched his head.
He thought the Mighty Rat was quite ugly, and had only gifted it to his little cousin because it was practical and fun.
“How do you steer this Mighty Rat?” Zhuang Xun asked loudly.
“Oh! There's a rein.” Zhou Zixing ran over, picked up the rope trailing behind the Mighty Rat, and handed it to Yi Wangyou on the chair. “Little Cousin, pull left to go left, pull right to go right. If you want to go faster, bounce on the seat a few times. If you want to stop, cross the ropes and pull hard.”
“Let me try.” Following Zhou Zixing's instructions, Zhuang Xun steered left, then right, and finally crossed the ropes and pulled hard. The rope ended up looping perfectly around the Mighty Rat's neck, choking it so hard its tongue stuck out as it gasped for air.
Holy crap, what kind of braking system is this... Zhuang Xun hastily loosened his grip and bestowed a name upon the Mighty Rat. “From now on, your name is Bengbeng, the exclusive mount of the Little Overlord!”
“Great name!” Zhou Zixing clapped enthusiastically in agreement. “Hahaha! As the saying goes, a fine steed for a hero. Only this Mighty Rat is worthy of the Little Overlord!”
Zhou Ziruo smirked. “Brother, are you saying Junior Brother is only worthy of riding a rat?”
“Ah, no, no!” Zhou Zixing realized he had misspoken.
Hurry up and throw a tantrum, throw it away... Zhou Ziruo thought expectantly. She found this stinky rat incredibly annoying to look at.
And indeed, Yi Wangyou got angry, but his anger was directed at her. “What do you mean by that? Are you trying to drive a wedge between me and my Eldest Cousin?”
“...” Zhou Ziruo said, “Ride it all you want then. Just don't blame me for not warning you when you look back on this as an adult and find it embarrassing.”
Hmph, how could I? A primary schooler might find it childish, but it's just right for a college student like me... Zhuang Xun quickly mastered the advanced riding techniques for Bengbeng, swaying his body back and forth on the chair.
“Ooh...”
While Zhuang Xun was riding Bengbeng and jumping over obstacles, Zhou Zixing slipped past the edge of the main hall into his bedroom, emerging shortly after with an exquisite peach wood box.
“Hahaha! Little Cousin, guess what's inside this?”
“What is it?” Zhuang Xun craned his neck.
“Hahaha! Little Cousin, look.” Zhou Zixing slowly opened the box as if unwrapping a fragile and precious treasure.
However, when the box was opened, what met Zhuang Xun's eyes was a rusty woodcutter's cleaver with dried bloodstains on the blade.
Zhuang Xun: “?”
“This woodcutter's cleaver was left behind after a kill by the Debt-Lending Bladesman, Mount Dazhou's morally grey hero! By a stroke of luck, I risked immense danger to acquire it, nearly getting arrested by the Crimson Robe Attendants as the culprit. Today, I shall gift it to you, Little Cousin.”
What the hell? Am I receiving my own merchandise as a gift? Zhuang Xun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
If I get the chance, I'll gift you a signed one.
On the side, Zhou Ziruo frowned. “Brother, that Debt-Lending Bladesman is a wanted fugitive of our martial academy.”
“Eh? Then I...” Zhou Zixing was flustered and prepared to take it back.
“I'll just hide it well so the Law Enforcement Hall doesn't find it.” Zhuang Xun leaned forward and snatched the exquisite peach wood box from Zhou Zixing's hands.
“Ah, this... Little Cousin, isn't that too risky?” Zhou Zixing lowered his voice, looking as though they were plotting a treasonous crime.
“It's fine. I, the Little Overlord, have connections in there,” Zhuang Xun whispered back.
Zhou Ziruo: “...”
So neither of them respected her status as a Law Enforcement disciple, huh?
After playing in Zhou Zixing's courtyard for a while, a servant arrived to inform them that Yi Xiaoxiang was looking for him and Zhou Ziruo. Ignoring Zhou Ziruo's protests, Zhuang Xun rode Bengbeng alongside her to the courtyard where Yi Xiaoxiang was staying within the Zhou Manor.
“Master, what's going on?” From afar, Zhuang Xun called out upon seeing the figure standing by the courtyard gate, her shoulders as if sculpted and her waist slender.
Yi Xiaoxiang glanced at Bengbeng, withdrew her gaze, and said, “We are going to pay respects to your Martial Grandfather and Martial Grandmother.”
“Oh.” Zhuang Xun hopped off Bengbeng, tied it to a pillar by the courtyard gate, and followed Yi Xiaoxiang out of the inner chambers. They boarded a carriage and traveled to the Zhou family's ancestral graveyard in the suburbs.
Reclining on an armchair in a thatched hut outside was a one-eyed gravekeeper.
Zhuang Xun followed Yi Xiaoxiang in greeting the gravekeeper. Under the old man's gentle gaze, they proceeded down a grand, clean path of gray-white stone bricks.
Before long, they arrived in front of two graves situated side-by-side.
The tombstones were carved with the life stories of the deceased.
Zhuang Xun read them for a moment. At Yi Xiaoxiang's soft prompting, he knelt respectfully and kowtowed, calling out:
“Martial Grandfather, Martial Grandmother.”
He had previously learned from Zhou Ziruo that their Martial Grandfather had originally come to Mount Dazhou to clear his mind after failing to break through to the Innate Realm. He had fallen in love with their Martial Grandmother at first sight and settled down on Mount Dazhou permanently.
However, he had passed away over a decade ago when the internal injuries left from his failed breakthrough flared up. A few years later, their Martial Grandmother had also died of grief.
It was a lamentable passing, but there was no deep-seated enmity involved, and no need to seek vengeance.
On the contrary, they actually had a massive backer in the Sword Sanctuary of the World.
According to Zhou Ziruo, their Martial Great-Grandmaster was an incredibly powerful Innate Realm martial artist and an influential elder in the Sword Sanctuary of the World. There was also a Martial Great-Aunt who was the senior of the current generation's Nine Sword Heirs.
The two of them had visited Mount Dazhou several times. After their Martial Grandfather's death, their Martial Great-Grandmaster had even suggested that their Master and Martial Grandmother return with them to the Sword Sanctuary of the World.
However, their Martial Grandmother had refused, leaving their Martial Great-Grandmaster with no choice but to say with regret that their Master should seek her out at the Sword Sanctuary of the World once she grew up.
Zhou Ziruo had also shared some gossip, mentioning that their Martial Great-Aunt had seemingly been in love with their Martial Grandfather. She had not attended his wedding, nor had she ever accompanied their Martial Great-Grandmaster to Mount Dazhou for several years afterward. Yet, at their Martial Grandfather's funeral, she had shown up and wept so hard she nearly fainted.
Because of this, their Martial Grandmother had thoroughly detested their Martial Great-Aunt.
Their Martial Great-Aunt had detested their Martial Grandmother right back, and the two could not stand the sight of each other.
However, their Martial Great-Aunt had been extremely fond of their Master and had even wanted to take her as a disciple. This had been rejected by their Martial Grandmother, prompting a heated argument between the two where their Martial Great-Aunt accused their Martial Grandmother of holding their Master back.
In the end, through the mediation of their Martial Great-Grandmaster and the Zhou family, their Martial Grandmother had reluctantly agreed to let their Master go to the Sword Sanctuary of the World once her martial arts reached the Zenith, though she still forbade her from becoming their Martial Great-Aunt's disciple.
For this reason, after breaking through to the Zenith in February of this year, their Master had spent nearly a year stabilizing her realm, only now preparing to set off for the Sword Sanctuary of the World.
Rate on N.U.
