You’re about to die, and you’ve been a tortoise with your head drawn into that shell on your back all your life, Zhou Zishu narrated silently within himself. He thought: what’s with the seriousness? Everything’s gotten to this point; what road is being so conscientiously paved, and what for? What’s with the plotting, too? If someone goes their whole life never being impetuous, wouldn’t that be too oppressive, too miserable?

He spontaneously discovered the reality that his wish turned out to be nothing more than not being a bastard turtle that tucked its head away.

Just then, all these unceasingly noisy people heard a soft chuckle. His laughter should not have normally been so clearly audible in the clamor of the crowd, but he had used some sort of method to exponentially keep everyone’s voices down. After that, a man of sickly and plain looks walked out and laid things straight in a lowered voice. “All of you – what’s the logic in making things difficult for a child under the eyes of so many?”

Zhang Chengling opened his eyes, parted his lips, and soundlessly mouthed “shifu”.

Cao Weining had referred Zhou Zishu for Gao Chong, so Gao Chong had paused for a moment before calling out his identity. “Brother Zhou.”

He felt it very odd, though. This man currently had an imposing aura that was characteristic of a masterly type, so it stood to reason that Gao Chong absolutely should have had an imprint of him in his memory. On the contrary, the day Cao Weining had brought them to the Gao’s Manor, he had never paid attention to him. Even right now, he could only barely recall that his surname was Zhou, and he couldn’t remember his first name. There was a faint chill in Gao Chong’s heart.

All he saw was Zhou Zishu beckoning to Zhang Chengling. “Get over here, brat.”

Zhang Chengling promptly pounced into his arms with no questions asked, practically more affectionate than if he had seen his own dad.

“And who are you?” Feng Xiaofeng asked in his shrill voice.

Zhou Zishu loosely held Zhang Chengling by the shoulders as he inclined his head to glance at Feng Xiaofeng, and, upon witnessing his appearance, felt extremely upset. He subsequently provoked him, calmly. “Do you not recognize who your daddy is, dwarf?”

Feng Xiaofeng was enraged. Gao Shannu didn’t wait for him to say anything this time, giving a deep roar as he rushed to throw himself at Zhou Zishu. His form was massive, and every time he took a step, it seemed like the ground’s surface shook thrice with him. Paired with the enormous momentum of his leap was a meteor hammer about the size of a human head swinging in his hands, since he wanted to hammer Zhou Zishu into meat paste.