Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 83 What a crime

Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng were both caught stealing things from home when they returned home on their day off.

What a miserable old man.

Zhou Lin was beaten on the hand. Considering that he needed to write with his right hand, his father personally used a ruler to hit his left hand. The strong bamboo stick almost broke, and Zhou Lin's left hand was beaten so hard that the skin was torn and bleeding, but the bones and tendons were not injured. His father still knew his limits.

When Zhou Lin was being beaten, he cried and wailed so hard that his voice almost blew the roof off. No one dared to persuade him. His mother felt sorry for her son and knelt down to beg him, but it was no use. The beating did not stop until Zhou Lin fainted from the pain.

Normally, Zhou Lin had only stolen a county government sword, so he shouldn't have been beaten like this. But Old Zhou had been through this himself, too. Education should start from childhood. Who hasn't been a rebellious child? If he's not taught well, he'll surely rebel later.

Indeed, stealing a sword is a small matter, but if you don't teach him a lesson, what if he steals a seal in the future? Losing a seal might not result in dismissal, but if it is stolen and used to write something else, that would be a fatal matter. If the matter is serious, the whole family will be beheaded!

Some character traits will lead to big trouble in the future if they are not corrected in time. Old Zhou, who has studied for many years, knows this very well. Especially after becoming an official, most of the prisoners he encountered were the result of their parents' pampering when they were young. That's why he beat Xiao Zhou to death because he stole the sword.

Educating a child behind closed doors won’t result in beating him to death, but who will protect him when he makes mistakes when he grows up?

Deng Lingfeng was even more miserable. His father was a martial artist, and he beat him to death. All his bones were broken. But he was a martial artist, so he had secret medicine for treatment, and he used his internal energy to heal his injuries afterwards, so he didn't suffer from disability or hidden injuries. This kid must be taught a lesson.

That day, the Deng family's guards returned to report, nearly frightened Old Deng to death. "How dare that bastard steal the hidden arrow and go out to play? Is that something you can do?" The key point is, he even wants to go to the academy. Most of the students in the academy are either rich or noble. If anything happens to one of them, can the Deng family afford it?

Especially that day, Deng Lingfeng dared to demonstrate in front of them, and Gao Jingming and others were present. If something happened to someone, his Deng family could not even afford to compensate with their lives. A man who ran a martial arts school and escorted goods had some influence in a small circle in the underworld, and his family had some money, but could such a family compare with Zhou Lin and others, not to mention Gao Jingming.

In short, Deng Lingfeng was beaten and had to lie in bed at home for two days. The minor bone fracture was not serious, but he needed someone to support him to walk. Even with the secret medicine and internal energy to heal the injury, it would be impossible for him to recover to normal in more than a month.

Like Lao Zhou, Lao Deng also wanted to teach his son a good lesson. Especially since he was half a gangster, he knew very well how fragile human life was. If he didn't teach his son a good lesson, something bad would happen in the future.

Don't think that people who are involved in the underworld don't take human life seriously. The more such people are, the more they cherish life, whether it is their own or someone else's. They will not easily make a life-and-death feud unless it is absolutely necessary. Once a life-and-death feud is made, it means that if the roots are not eradicated, there will be endless troubles.

The underworld is never about fighting and killing. Those who do that won't last long. Do you think you can be glorious for a short time and forever? Unless you have connections and a background, but there is always someone better than you.

Anyway, after this incident, the two little guys probably won’t dare to make the same mistake again.

After listening to their painful complaints, Gao Jingming's face turned pale, and his legs, which had originally recovered, seemed to start to ache again.

Only then did he realize how lucky he was. Stealing the imperial edict was a more serious matter than what his two companions had done, yet he only had to kneel for one night. His mother had already let him off the hook. Gao Jingming even thought that it was a good thing his father was not at home, otherwise he might have ended up like them!
"Jingming, my hands are almost broken by my father's beatings. He has never beaten me like this before. Even my mother's kneeling down to beg is useless. He makes me feel like a stranger. I don't want to recognize him as my father anymore," Zhou Lin said with red eyes and sobs.

It was all in the past, but the more I talked about it with my friends, the more aggrieved I felt.

Deng Lingfeng also nodded and said with red eyes: "Yes Jingming, my father almost beat me to death. I get scared when I see him. I dare not go home. I want to run away from home!"

"Ah this..."

After hearing them say such words, Gao Jingming was at a loss for a moment and didn't know how to comfort them. Thinking about how badly he had been treated, would he not recognize his mother? Would he run away from home too?
After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Chen Xuan and said, "Xuan, say something."

Chen Xuan: “…”

It’s none of my business. If a child has such thoughts, it’s probably because he hasn’t been beaten enough. He just needs to be beaten again.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Master Zhou and Master Deng, don't have such thoughts. If you really do that, you will probably get beaten. In fact, the two masters are doing this for your own good. They won't harm you, right?"

"Yes, A Xuan is right," Gao Jingming immediately agreed. He thought of the earnest words his mother said to him that night.

"But was the beating we received in vain?" Deng Lingfeng and the others said aggrievedly and unconvinced.

Chen Xuan thought, "Of course not. What? You still want revenge? On the contrary, Tian Gang said that if a son kills his father, he will be struck by lightning. If you dare to have such thoughts, the master will probably give you a beating. What kind of nonsense did he teach you?"

Gao Jingming didn't know how to answer and looked at Chen Xuan again.

Then Chen Xuan was speechless and said, "Well, there's a saying that goes, 'Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west.' Have you heard of this saying? Just bear with it for now. When you grow up, the masters won't be able to control you anymore. You can do whatever they want then."

When they thought about it, they felt it made sense.

"That's right, just bear with it for now, you can't resist now."

"Well, when I grow up, I'll see what he can do to me. When I've mastered martial arts and even my dad can't beat me, hehe, if he dares to hit me again, I'll fight back!"

Chen Xuan almost rolled his eyes. There was no need to worry about such things. The child would be fine after a while.

Wait until you grow up and become sensible. Then you will probably have to be grateful to your parents for their guidance when you encounter something like this.

In short, after Chen Xuan said that parents can no longer control their children after they grow up, the two of them finally found some comfort and were not so depressed anymore. They imagined a bright future... After chatting for a while, it was almost dark.

Seeing that they had calmed down a bit, Gao Jingming suddenly said, "By the way, Linzi, Lingfeng, have you finished your homework?"

Upon hearing this, their expressions froze. It was like a bolt from the blue. They were beaten as soon as they came back. How could they take care of their studies when they were so sad?

Just when I didn't know how to answer, Gao Jingming said proudly: "I have finished my homework. I finished it in one day. I can play tomorrow. Oh, yes, I have to go to school tomorrow. Well, I can play even when I go to school."

Explosive kill~!

Chen Xuan glanced at Gao Jingming and thought to himself, you kid knows how to finish off the opponent.

Luo Taiyun and Tian Xueyu, who were listening with great interest and a little fear, also said softly: "We have finished writing too."

Zhou Lin and Deng Lingfeng's faces turned pale immediately.

Continuous last hit.

Brothers, we know how to stab, and every stab is aimed at the fatal part.

Deng Lingfeng murmured, "It's over, it's over. I haven't done my homework yet. Will I have to be scolded by the teacher when I return to school?"

"What should I do? I don't know if I can finish writing it tonight," Zhou Lin murmured, his lips trembling.

With so much schoolwork, it is not something that can be completed by staying up late, especially writing, which is a physical job, and the most important thing is that I am injured.

Feeling at a loss, Deng Lingfeng looked at Tian Xueyu.

Feeling a little uneasy when he looked at her, Tian Xueyu said weakly, "Ling Feng, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, A-Yu, I remember you still owe me a few homework assignments, right? You've also seen your brother's situation, so I'll give this homework assignment to you. Is that okay?" Deng Lingfeng looked at him with ill intentions.

Zhou Lin's eyes lit up when he heard that. He looked at Tian Xueyu and said, "Yes, Ah Yu, and me too. You owe me a lesson. You lost the game of pot tossing that day. You won't deny it, will you?"

"Ah? Of course I admit it, but if you both leave it to me, I won't be able to finish it even if I die of exhaustion." Tian Xueyu's face suddenly turned bitter. She was so conflicted. How could she end up eating the melon on her head?
Zhou Lin immediately hugged him with his right hand and said temptingly: "Ayu is trustworthy and righteous. I will leave it to you."

"Yes, Ayu is the one who keeps his promises the most among us. Who wouldn't give her a thumbs up? Anyway, please, Ayu, you don't want us to drag our injured bodies to school and be punished by the teacher, right?" Deng Lingfeng looked at him with a pleading face.

Then, Tian Xueyu was a little bit overwhelmed by their clumsy flattery and provocation, and nodded confusedly and said: "Okay, leave it to me, I will help you when I go back tonight."

Deng Lingfeng said gratefully: "Well done, Ah Yu, I was right about you."

"Ayu, you are this," Zhou Lin also gave a thumbs up.

Tian Xueyu was already excited and nodded seriously, "Don't worry, leave it to me. I won't let you down."

The little fat boy Luo Taiyun was eating almost the whole time. He was gnawing on a roast chicken with his mouth full of oil. He thought it was delicious. He vaguely heard them talking about their lofty ideals and couldn't help but look up.

What are you talking about? Never mind, I didn't hear you clearly. Let's continue eating. Jingming's roast chicken is really delicious. I'll take some away when I leave.

It was getting dark and the Gao family had already started lighting the lamps. The servants of Zhou Lin's family came to inform them that they had to go back, so the brothers had to say goodbye reluctantly and agreed to gather early the next morning to return to the school.

After leaving Gao's house, everyone went their separate ways. As the evening breeze blew, Tian Xueyu, who was upstairs, suddenly woke up. She realized what she had promised, and her face turned slightly pale.

What did I promise? Why did I agree to it without thinking?
"Yu'er, are you sick? Why do you look so bad?" His mother, who was accompanying him, couldn't help but ask with concern and touched his forehead.

Tian Xueyu forced a smile and said, "Mom, I'm fine. I just felt inspired and want to study hard tonight."

"It's good that my son is motivated, but he also needs to make sure he gets enough rest," his mother said with relief.

Tian Xueyu wanted to cry but had no tears. She smiled uglier than crying and said, "Mom, let's go back quickly. I'm in a hurry. It's urgent."

This guy is shy and often doesn't know how to refuse people, especially when he is complimented, he becomes easily flattered.

Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming, who had sent them to the door, looked back after they left. Chen Xuan couldn't help but look at Tian Xueyu who was leaving. Her small figure looked particularly desolate in the night. He thought to himself, what a sin, you guys just caught one person and grabbed him.

But this kind of childhood sweetheart relationship is something that people envy...

(End of this chapter)