The places where the children played were few and far between. Jiang Shi took Cheng Ye to the area under the big banyan tree. He had gnawed a gap in the pancake Jiang Xue had given him and only remembered to give it to Cheng Ye after walking for a few minutes.

He took out the pancake and stuffed it into his arms. “My mom told me to give this to you. I saw everything at your door just now. Your dad was hitting you.”

Cheng Ye’s hand, holding the pancake, paused. He turned to look at Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi said, “Your dad is so strange. If he didn’t want you to play at my house, why did he agree when my dad came over yesterday?”

Cheng Ye was silent. The wounds on his back throbbed with pain. He had been used to it for so long, but at this moment, for some unknown reason, the familiar wounds on his body suddenly became unbearable.

For the first time, he felt the desire to confide in someone.

“My brother lied.”

Jiang Shi looked at him.

“When your dad came yesterday, only my brother was home. He told my brother, but he didn’t tell my dad.”

So, as soon as he came back this morning, he was beaten by Cheng Jianbin.

Jiang Shi spat. “Cheng Zong is so mean.”

The pancake was still warm in his hand. Cheng Ye couldn’t help but rub it a little. “Do you believe what I’m saying?”

Jiang Shi patted the clothes in his arms. “Of course I believe you. We have… we have…” He paused for two seconds before he could think of how to describe it. “We have a life-and-death friendship.”

“And Cheng Zong lied before, saying he didn’t see Liu Sheng steal Gao Xinhe’s marble. He’s a habitual offender, rotten to the core.”

He said, “I’m going to get revenge for you.”

His family was a nest of filth. Cheng Ye didn’t want someone as clean as Jiang Shi to get involved in these sordid affairs. He subconsciously refused, “No need…”

Jiang Shi didn’t listen to him. He unilaterally formed a revenge squad. The squad had only two people: him and Cheng Ye, plus a snot-nosed Gao Xinhe.

Jiang Shi was very disdainful of Gao Xinhe. “Why are you sniffling all day? My mom says it’s not clean to have snot hanging out.”

It was simply detrimental to his little brother’s image.

Gao Xinhe was very aggrieved. “I have a cold, it’s not better yet.”

Last time, after washing Jiang Shi’s clothes, it seemed to have gotten a little worse.

Jiang Shi had his two little brothers squat under someone’s loofah trellis, acting all sneaky. “Our enemy this time is Cheng Zong. He’s simply a black-hearted old demon. Our goal is to expose the black-hearted old demon’s true form.”

Gao Xinhe was a bit confused. “Isn’t our enemy Liu Sheng? When did it change to Cheng Zong? And…” he looked at Cheng Ye, “isn’t he your brother? Why are you hitting your brother?”

Jiang Shi gave him a shove. “Aiya… why do you talk so much? Are you the boss or am I the boss?”

Gao Xinhe covered his head. “Then what should we do? Catch Cheng Zong and beat him up?”

“That won’t work,” Jiang Shi said. “If we beat him up, what if he turns around and says Cheng Ye deliberately retaliated against him?”

Gao Xinhe: “Isn’t that the case?”

Cheng Ye: “…”

Jiang Shi went back to the river to retrieve his greatsword. He carried the clothes for Cheng Ye on his shoulder, held up by the wooden stick, looking all fiery. “Let’s go back and find my dad. My dad will definitely have a way.”

Gao Xinhe didn’t want to go. “What if your mom is at home?”

“Impossible. Little Li Flying Dagger is on at this time. She’s definitely watching TV with your mom.”

Cheng Ye wasn’t very keen on going either. “Maybe we should just forget it…”

“Forget what?” Jiang Shi said. “It’s because you always just forget it that you’re always being bullied by Cheng Zong. My dad told me, when you’re being bullied, don’t be silent. The more silent you are, the more arrogant the person bullying you will be. The crying child gets the candy.”

Cheng Ye had endured for a long time. It wasn’t that he wasn’t aggrieved, it was just that no one cared about his grievances. Over time, he could only become more and more silent.

But Jiang Shi’s eyes were too bright, like a leaping cluster of sparks landing on a gradually desolate plain, igniting a new flame.

He reached out and placed his hand on the scabbard of King Jiang Shi’s greatsword, a few sharp glints of light in his eyes.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Jiang Shi clasped his hand in return and led him home.

He Shuba was at home, reviewing a book. The two children burst in like a whirlwind. Jiang Shi was carrying the wooden stick, which got caught on the door, and he almost tripped.

He reached out to catch his monkey-like son, somewhat amused. “What are you two doing?”

“Dad!” Jiang Shi shouted as soon as he opened his mouth. “Cheng Ye is being bullied!”

He Shuba knew Jiang Shi’s personality. Yesterday, after fighting with Liu Sheng like that, he hadn’t thought to come and complain to him when he got home.

Although Jiang Shi was young, he had his own principles. He wouldn’t bring children’s squabbles to the adults. For him to come running to complain meant that the matter was indeed very tricky for him. He looked at Cheng Ye. “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Shi dropped the stick he was carrying, and the clothes fell to the ground with it.

He Shuba couldn’t help but laugh after hearing the story. “In this village, besides you, which boy hasn’t been hit by his parents…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Shi had stripped Cheng Ye’s clothes off.

The boy looked tall and thin, but with his clothes off, he was just skin and bones. His hands and back were covered in wounds of varying shades, old ones not yet healed and new ones added, looking particularly shocking.

Cheng Ye lowered his head, his hair covering his face.

He Shuba put down the book in his hand. “…”

Jiang Shi said, “Cheng Ye has a miserable life at home. I just went to his house and saw his dad hitting him with the kind of rope we use to lead our cow. It was so thick, and I could hear the sound of it hitting him from outside the door.”

The people in the village more or less knew that Cheng Jianbin would hit his wife when he was drunk, but it was a family matter. Outsiders could only offer a few words of advice at most and couldn’t interfere much more.

But He Shuba didn’t expect that he wouldn’t even spare such a young child.

He pulled Cheng Ye over and looked at the wounds on his body from left to right. As a father, he naturally couldn’t bear to see these things. “Did he do all this?”

His eyes were very similar to Jiang Shi’s, but without Jiang Shi’s liveliness and cunning. They held a composure and calmness that belonged only to an adult.

Looking into those eyes, Cheng Ye suddenly found his courage.

“Yes, he did all of it.”

Jiang Shi circled around him. “And his brother, he’s the worst. He even framed Cheng Ye.”

These were all small things, such as Cheng Zong breaking a bowl and saying Cheng Ye did it, stealing a neighbor’s eggs and blaming it on Cheng Ye, and speaking ill of Cheng Ye behind his back.

But it was these trivial little things that, bit by bit, accumulated and ruined Cheng Ye’s image, leading everyone to have a not-so-good impression of him.

The more He Shuba heard, the deeper his frown became. He asked Jiang Shi in front of Cheng Ye, “You just brought him to me like this. How are you so sure that Cheng Ye isn’t lying?”

Jiang Shi was a little unhappy. “He’s not.”

Gao Xinhe also chimed in, “I don’t think Cheng Ye is either.”

Many people say that children don’t understand things, but in fact, a child’s intuition for good and evil is far sharper than an adult’s.

He Shuba asked them, “Then what do you want from me?”

Jiang Shi said, “We want to expose Cheng Zong’s true face. We can’t let Cheng Ye suffer in vain.”

At this point, it was no longer as simple as Cheng Ye being bullied by his brother. He Shuba ruffled Cheng Ye’s head and helped him put his clothes back on. “Why didn’t you say anything when you were being bullied?”

Cheng Ye still kept his head down, letting the thin clothes cover his frail body. Compared to other eight or nine-year-old children, he acted much more mature and saw things more clearly.

“Their hearts are not with me. It’s useless to say anything.”

It would only increase their resentment.

He Shuba brushed his shoulder and sighed. “You’re a good kid. I’ll figure something out for you.”

Jiang Shi stomped on the clothes and went to tug on He Shuba’s leg. “What about Cheng Zong?”

He Shuba saw his eyes darting around and knew he was full of mischief. “What do you want to do?”

King Jiang Shi would never wrong a good person, but he would also never let a bad person go. Didn’t Cheng Zong like to lie? He was going to let him know the price of lying.

A few days later, Gao Xinhe was running around with his big mouth open, yelling that Jiang Shi had gotten a particularly rare treasure, so beautiful that no one had ever seen it before.

For a time, Jiang Shi became the center of attention. All the children gathered around him, wanting to see his treasure.

Cheng Ye had gone up the mountain these past two days and cut down a tree branch, using a knife to carve a wooden sword for Jiang Shi. The sword was lifelike, with a red ribbon tied to it. He stood under the big banyan tree holding the sword, a cape draped over his back, looking incredibly majestic.

The great hero Jiang glanced around and saw that all the children in the village were under the big banyan tree. Cheng Zong was there too. He was hiding behind Liu Sheng, looking at the precious sword in Jiang Shi’s hand with longing in his eyes, but when he saw Cheng Ye behind him, he was a little scared.

Jiang Shi’s eyes swept over him, and he said loudly, “Do you all want to see my treasure?”

For a moment, the children’s shouts almost blew the banyan tree away.

Jiang Shi was satisfied. “Wait until tonight. Come to the area under the big banyan tree, and I’ll bring it for you to see.”

Night came as promised. All the children from the morning came to the area under the big banyan tree, and there were even a few adults who had come to join in the fun.

Jiang Shi was holding something in his arms. He was surrounded by a crowd of stars, and in front of everyone, he unveiled what was in his arms.

It was a glass ball, bigger and more beautiful than the one in his room. It didn’t even need to be plugged in. With a press of a switch on the base, the glass ball lit up, and tiny specks of stars were projected onto the banyan tree. The small violin inside rotated on its own, playing a beautiful melody.

The children in the village had never seen such a high-tech toy. For a moment, they all stared with wide eyes.

Jiang Shi turned off the power. “Alright, alright, you’ve all seen it. Go home now.”

“Aiya… Jiang Shi, I haven’t seen enough. Let us look a little more…”

“Jiang Shi, where did you buy it? It’s so pretty. Why have I never seen it before?”

“Jiang Shi, let me play with it, please.”

This was the sentence Jiang Shi had been waiting for. He immediately said, “I don’t just lend it to anyone, unless we’re really good friends.”

A bunch of people came up to prove to Jiang Shi just how good their relationship was. Jiang Shi didn’t listen, just kept winking at Cheng Ye.

Cheng Ye cleared his throat and slowly stepped forward. “Then… can I borrow it to play with?”

Jiang Shi said, “Seeing as we’re such good friends, I’ll let you play with it. But you must not break it. My dad bought it for me, it’s very expensive…”

He held out his hand. “A full five hundred yuan. If you break it, you have to pay me back five hundred.”

The people present had never even seen five yuan, let alone five hundred. They all gasped in shock.

It really was a treasure, so expensive.

Cheng Ye took Jiang Shi’s treasure and went home.

After the crowd dispersed, Gao Xinhe followed behind Jiang Shi with a guilty conscience. “Do you think… this will really work?”

Jiang Shi held his greatsword, exuding confidence from the inside out. “When King Jiang Shi makes a move, is there any reason it wouldn’t work?”

“But…” Gao Xinhe hesitated, “aren’t we lying to people like this?”

“How is it lying? I gave my treasure to Cheng Ye, but I never said if the treasure was good or bad. If Cheng Zong behaves himself, nothing will happen. Even if he plays with it secretly, as long as he doesn’t lie, it’ll be fine.”

“If he has a bad heart to begin with, then he’s just asking for trouble.”

He swung the sword heavily at the grass beside him. “Today, I will put an end to this demon!”

Cheng Ye carried the glass dome back. He walked very carefully, not even daring to let his hands tremble.

If you looked closely, you could still see the traces of glue on the glass dome.

Cheng Zong followed behind him, looking on eagerly. “Brother, can you let me play with it for a while?”

Cheng Ye didn’t even bother to look at him. “No, this is from Jiang Shi.”

Cheng Zong said, “You can let me play with it secretly, he won’t know. Besides, you’re my brother. What’s wrong with letting me play with it for a bit?”

Cheng Ye said, “Jiang Shi said this thing is very expensive, five hundred yuan. If it breaks, will you pay for it?”

Cheng Zong immediately fell silent.

Cheng Ye glanced at him and turned to go into the house.

The two brothers slept in the same room. The glass ball was carefully placed on the cabinet by Cheng Ye. He didn’t turn on the power, so the glass ball just looked like an ordinary glass ball.

Cheng Zong urged him, “Brother, turn on that switch.”

Cheng Ye wouldn’t. He flipped over onto the bed to sleep. “No, I’m going to sleep.”

Cheng Zong said, “Then I’ll turn it on for you.”

Cheng Ye said the same thing, “Five hundred yuan. If it breaks, you pay.”

Cheng Zong immediately stopped moving.

He also got into bed, clutching the quilt in the darkness, waiting for Cheng Ye to fall asleep.

Sure enough, after a while, he heard Cheng Ye’s even breathing.

Cheng Zong tiptoed out of bed. He had done this kind of thing many times and never felt guilty. Anyway, he was just playing. If it broke, it was Cheng Ye who broke it. What did it have to do with him?

With this thought, he walked to the cabinet.

The cabinet was a bit high. He had to stand on a chair to reach it.

He reached out and touched the glass dome. Thinking of the sparkling scene Jiang Shi had shown, he felt a little excited. But afraid that the sound from inside would wake Cheng Ye, he planned to take the glass ball outside to play.

Cheng Zong reached out with both hands to get the base of the glass ball and took it down from the cabinet. But as soon as he moved it off the cabinet, his hand slipped, the base tilted, and the glass ball hit the wall beside it.

Crash.

The ball shattered.

Cheng Zong was stunned.