Chapter 3

I left with my adoptive mother.

On the way, I learned that she was the daughter of the Marquis Who Secures the Realm and the wife of the General Who Guards the Distant Frontier.

Her father and husband were both military men, but she’d been frail since childhood, and her son was sickly too.

The old madam had used that as an excuse to take her grandson away and refuse to let his mother raise him.

Meanwhile, the general was occupied with war. He’d adopted a courtyard full of children, most of them the orphans of his fallen subordinates.

These sons and daughters fought every other day, turning the general’s residence upside down. They even dared bully his legitimate son.

They often infuriated his wife so much that she went back to her parents’ home.

Hang on. Hadn’t I done all of that myself?

As the saying goes, Xiang Yu heard the Way first, and Guan Yu had his own field of expertise.

As for my humble self, I was known in martial circles as Little Fengxian.

Alas, Lu Bu had been born a thousand years before me. Was he afraid of me, or could two sovereigns simply never meet?

I thumped my chest. “Mother, don’t be afraid. If they dare act like little shits in front of you, I’ll pull their guts out.”

Everyone in the carriage broke into a cold sweat.

“Little Zheng,” my mother said gently, “they’re your brothers and sisters. You mustn’t kill them.”

Understood.

Anything was fine as long as I didn’t kill them. Right?

My chance to prove myself came almost immediately.

We’d barely entered the residence when a fist-sized stone flew straight at my mother.

Before anyone else could react, I yanked her toward me, saving her from that bolt out of the blue.

Screams erupted.

The stone gouged a small pit in the marble paving.

My mother was white-faced and badly shaken.

Her maid’s lips trembled with anger as she glared at the laughing youths.

“Who did that? Do you realize that stone nearly hit Madam?”

Their leader said carelessly, “But Mother is fine, isn’t she? Why are you so angry? We’re used to roughhousing. We just weren’t looking.”

“Exactly. Bighead didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Father would’ve dodged it.”

My mother shook with fury.

I thought for a moment. “Mother, stay right here. I’ll be back.”

The youths looked me over, all skinny arms and legs, and jeered. “Mother, where did you find this sickly thing? Is she meant to keep Cangfeng company?”

I never waste words before a fight.

If I dared spend even a moment swearing, my cousin would use the opening to finish all the food.

So I walked out of the residence without a word. An incense stick’s time later, I returned carrying a stone the size of a millstone.

Closing one eye slightly, I estimated the direction and range.

A moment later, before everyone’s horrified eyes, the huge stone thundered through the air and struck the youth’s leg.

With a crisp crack, his leg broke.

He clutched it, his face the color of gold paper, and howled without stopping.

I turned to my mother. “Mother, I didn’t do it on purpose either.”

“Oh dear, how careless,” she said. “Your punishment is noodles without vinegar tonight.”

What a terrible punishment!