Chapter 2: The Ferocious Dog
Time flies, three years flash by in an instant.
Tang An had been adapting since he crossed over, from initially being unable to accept it, to slowly getting used to it, and finally being deeply moved by the care and concern of Tang Father and Mother. Now, in his heart, he had long accepted this identity as the young master of the Tang family.
It's late July, the weather is scorching hot. A chubby little kid with a round face and eyes wide with excitement lies on the cool mat-covered brick floor. Next to him, a young maid yawns and fans herself with a small palm-leaf fan, wearing a green floral blouse that's half-unbuttoned due to the heat, revealing glimpses of her skin.
Tang An's hand held a small stick, his face flushed with excitement, and he was desperately poking the buttocks of the red-headed cricket in his small jar.
"Up, up, bite its butt!"
Across from the little kid was a little girl with pigtails standing upright, also holding a small stick in her hand. Her expression was exactly the same as Tang An's. Her pale face was pink and looked like a small peach, although it wasn't juicy, but won out for being sweet and delicious. Her big black eyes stared unwaveringly at the two frogs in the jar.
"Up, up, bite its head! Pull out its antennae, ah, stupid. How did I lose again...” Seeing her stag beetle lost, the little girl suddenly stomped her foot and stormed towards the door, flinging the small stick in her hand out with a "pa-ta" sound.
There is a big dog at the door, who is now sticking out his tongue to cool off. People who know him call him Big Stupid.
Dàidāi is a ferocious-looking bulldog, with most of its fur being white, except for the area around its left eye socket, which is black, resembling a panda's eye that has been bruised and swollen after being punched.
Seeing the small stick flying towards him, Da Stupid's eyelids lifted, his head turned, and as his head turned, the two horizontal pieces of meat on his cheeks shook slightly, making him look even more ferocious. A rough voice came out of his mouth with a "Huh?"
However, seeing that the stick was smaller than one of his own paws, Big Stupid didn't even bother to dodge and just stayed there, right where he got hit by the little stick. Big Stupid shook his head, then hung it low again and lay down on the ground.
The little girl threw away the stick in her hand, and with a quick movement, she sat down on the bamboo mat, staring blankly at the door. In a milky voice, she called out: "Lonely~" After calling out, she slowly turned around and crawled to Tang An's side.
Little girl puffed up her small face, pulled Tang An's chubby little hand, and coquettishly said: "Brother, Lele wants to hear a story. Tell me a story, okay?"
She was coquettish on one hand and still shaking Tang An's hand on the other.
Tang An's face suddenly revealed a helpless smile, and he casually handed the jar containing the cricket to the little maid who had been dozing off for half a day. Then he got up again, twisted his hips, climbed onto the bed, and pulled out a water ink painting from under the pillow.
Yes, this painting depicts the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".
In the past two years, there was too much boring time, and I couldn't pretend to know how to read in my father's study. Even if I could read, it wasn't fun at all - just old academic stuff like examination certificates and things like "The Encyclopedia of Imperial Examinations", which were so dry they were deadly. So Tang An simply pretended not to know how to read, and it seemed that Father and Mother hadn't planned on hiring a tutor for me either. Just as well, childhood is hard to come by after all.
When he was bored, Tang An would draw for fun. He drew everything. After two years of drawing, Tang An finally realized that traditional Chinese painting wasn't as difficult as he thought, at least Xiaotou seemed to enjoy it. From this experience, Tang An concluded that anything could be mastered as long as you put in the time and effort.
It's been two years, and I've almost forgotten what I'm supposed to forget. I've also gotten used to everything that I should be used to. The only thing I wasn't used to was wearing open-crotch pants, but that was finally abolished last year. My father in this life is called Tang Daifu, and he's indeed a wealthy and noble person. The largest jewelry store in Zhongzhou City is owned by Old Master Tang. Although the Tang family can't be considered the richest in Zhongzhou City, they're definitely among the top few. Since Young Master Tang recovered from his illness, everything has been going smoothly for the Tang family over the past few years. Their business has been booming, and their wealth has been pouring in. Old Master Tang is kind and generous, Young Master Tang is intelligent and wise, and Madame Tang is a capable and virtuous manager of the household. Whenever anyone in Zhongzhou City mentions the Tang family, they can't help but give them a thumbs up and praise them as "a good family with good fortune and good people."
The little girl flipped through a few pages, the more she looked, the more she liked it. She raised her head and looked at Tang An with an innocent face: "Brother~ I've finished reading." As she spoke, she wanted to return the album, but her small hands hesitated halfway, ready to withdraw at any time. That little thought was clearer than ever to Tang An. This little girl hadn't taken anything from him for a while now. So Tang An waved his hand: "It's yours now."
Xiao Yatou heard this and suddenly jumped up happily, quickly grabbing the album and running away, afraid that Tang An would regret it.
This girl is Tang An's cousin, and Tang An calls her father uncle. The little girl's surname is Yue (乐), and her name is Le (乐), a very playful name. Except for her father, everyone else calls her Le Le.
Little sister is the same age as Tang An, 6 years old this year, came to Tang's house half a month ago. Just finished learning San Zi Jing, Bai Jia Yan only learned halfway. The thing she likes most is to hold Da Ai and stroll around on the street, when she sees someone she dislikes, she inserts her small hand, opens the lock chain on her hand, points at Da Ai and shouts "Up". What happens next will be left to Da Ai.
And she, on the other hand, shook her small shoulders and burst out laughing. Until they had enough fun, then she called out to Da Dai in a loud voice "Let's retreat".
Da Hu is called Da Hu not only because it's tall and majestic, but also because it only listens to this girl's words. Except when looking at the girl, its eyes will reveal a hint of gentleness, Da Hu looks at anyone with an innate evil gaze.
It's just a vicious dog, a loyal vicious dog!
…………
In Mr. Tang's study, gold and jade fill the hall.
It's better to call it a treasure room than a study. The inkstone is a Duanyan, the kind that Song Huizong liked best. It's said that once Mi Fu saw it, he hugged it and refused to return it to Song Huizong, crying and shouting that he wanted to take it back to try out its feel. From this, you can see what kind of treasures are stored in this study.
In the study, Mr. Tang's stout body sat on a reclining chair, or rather, was squeezed onto it. The ring of fat almost burst the chair apart.
He sat there, his eyes red, his breathing irregular and rough, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, and occasionally gasping for air. Just by listening to the sound of his breathing, it was clear that he had no foundation in martial arts and his physical condition was much worse than average. His right hand fingers kept tapping on the table, while his left hand pinched at the few inches of beard under his chin, twirling it around and around.
He furrowed his brow, as if there was something he couldn't figure out. Maybe he had figured it out, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Under the guest seat, however, sat a middle-aged man with a steady and calm demeanor. His fingers were long and powerful, like iron claws. When he picked up his teacup, the prominent joints of his fingers appeared even more robust.
He sipped his tea with great elegance, gently blowing on it, then lightly sniffing it, and using the teacup to stir up the floating tea leaves before finally taking a light sip. The way he did it was just like an eagle eating its prey.
Just then, Mr. Tang's movements came to a halt.
These past few days he had been thinking about this issue, wondering how to make a decision. At this time, he finally figured it out, and the whole person was already exhausted.
Heart tired!
That man saw Tang Lao Ye wanting to speak, but he suddenly stood up and stopped Tang Lao Ye's words. His eyes were sincere, and even revealed a hint of request: "Brother-in-law, you must think carefully! Let me say one more thing, this world is about to be in great chaos. The Middle State City, this paradise on earth, will soon be ravaged by war. Brother-in-law does not want to join the church, nor does he want to move to Tian Du Cheng, wanting to preserve this peaceful foundation is as difficult as ascending to heaven. If brother-in-law is worried that in the future, after arriving at Tian Du Cheng, he will be persecuted, then he can contribute his family business. At that time, I, Le Yi, will take my head and go to the church master to plead for mercy. Anyway, we must ensure the safety of sister and brother-in-law's family."
Mr. Tang slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, pointing at the man and shouting: "Le Yi! You heartless and unscrupulous thing! If you really considered me your brother-in-law, you should have let us leave instead of having your men watch us around the Tang estate! What you're doing is to coerce Tang Tianjing! Do I have a choice?
I have been serving the master for over a decade, with no merit but only hard work. Now that my martial skills are all gone, can't you just let me go? Don't I even qualify to be a wealthy gentleman? At this point, do you still want to take away my last bit of family property? The Jianghu, what has the Jianghu become?!
Le Yi didn't get angry, looking at Tang Tianjing's excited face he just smiled bitterly: "Brother-in-law, I'll call you brother-in-law for the last time. Do you think this Jianghu is still the one we knew? Jianghu has long changed! In the past, you were the most ferocious dog under the Master's command, but now that the dog is useless, it should be replaced. But no matter who replaces the dog, the master is still the master. The Master wants this world!
Heaven! Do you understand? The lives and property of your entire family are nothing compared to these things.
Luckily it was me who came this time. If someone else had come, you and my sister, as well as my nephew, would not be alive now.
This time it's not that I, Yue Yi, am heartless!
Brother-in-law, have you forgotten? Once you enter our Tianxia Sect, life and death are all in the hands of Tianxia Sect! Your life and death are no longer in your own hands. If you can leave the sect so easily, others will follow suit, how can the sect leader control his subordinates?
"It's all because of you! When you left back then, you left behind a tail and didn't clean up after yourself!"
Mr. Tang's face suddenly stiffened as he heard this, and his heart immediately thought of one person.
"You mean, white......" said Tang Lao Ye, pointing his finger at the stars in the sky.
Yue Yi nodded slightly, also somewhat helplessly.
Clang
Mr. Tang suddenly slumped down in his chair, his hands also powerless and hanging down. His mouth was still muttering: "I should have guessed it earlier, I should have guessed it earlier... If not for him, who else could find me?"