Chapter 1 No Title Given

Without a warrant or any identification, the old Daoist woke the little boy up early in the morning and drove him to a small town called Guanyin Mountain, located below Tong City.

Outside the car,

Was a gate. The old factory dormitory building had been renovated and a sign was put up that read: “Zhang Family National Studies Education and Research Base.”

On both sides,

Hung a couplet:

The first line: Ten thousand volumes of ancient and modern literature while away the long days.

The second line: A window at dawn and dusk sees the passing years.

It was a rather dilapidated place, but with a little tidying up, it had the feel of a top courtesan in a brothel.

Heh,

But no matter how much it tried to appear refined, it still couldn't shake off the feeling of a poor imitation.

It was still early,

The old Daoist bought some steamed buns and soy milk and sat in the car, eating by himself.

The little boy didn’t eat. He just opened the car window and said calmly:

“Yesterday, you overstepped.”

"Huh? Why are you throwing such words at me for no reason?"

The old Daoist took a sip of soy milk, pretending not to understand.

"The boss doesn't want to meddle in other people's business."

"This isn't meddling, it's a matter of life and death."

"This is meddling," the little boy said seriously.

The old Daoist shook his head, thought for a moment, and then smiled, saying:

"Let me put it this way, I've lived to be so old, and I've eaten so many..."

The old Daoist choked,

Because he suddenly realized,

That the little boy in front of him,

Was much, much older than him!

Was he trying to act old in front of him?

The little boy didn't mind.

The old Daoist bit his lip and continued:

"It wasn't easy for this old Daoist to live this long."

The little boy nodded,

Based on his understanding of the old Daoist's past,

He deeply agreed.

"Accumulating virtue and doing good deeds isn't just talk, do you think it's all just about this?"

As he spoke,

The old Daoist took out a stack of ghost money and waved it around,

"This stuff is useful, but not entirely. The boss just came back from hell, and killed so many ghost messengers at that Shanghai clubhouse, tsk tsk."

"Get to the point."

"Okay, to the point, I just feel a little uneasy."

"Heh."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

The little boy didn't speak.

"Forget it, forget it, let's just say this old Daoist is having a fit of saintliness, so what? Isn't your boss the same? He wants to live a carefree life, but he can't pretend to be dumb after hearing a few words, so he sent you out here, right?"

The little boy opened the car door and got out.

The old Daoist quickly followed him out of the car, and instructed:

"The boss said, no killing people."

This instruction,

Had to be repeated,

The old Daoist was really worried that after the little boy went in,

This training class would be flowing with blood.

The little boy nodded, turned around, and walked towards the wall.

"If you meet someone you don't like, you can't kill them, but you can still cripple them."

The old Daoist added.

The little boy shook his head,

Unable to understand,

His view of good and evil,

Was certainly different from the old Daoist's.

"Then try to put yourself in my shoes?"

The old Daoist suggested.

"Let's go together."

The little boy said.

"No, no, I'm not going, I'm not going."

The old Daoist waved his hands,

Afraid to go.

The little boy didn't say anything more,

Walked over,

Jumped,

Jumped over the wall,

And disappeared from sight.

The old Daoist got back in the car,

Picked up the cold steamed bun and continued to munch on it.

After a few bites,

His nose felt a little sore,

"Damn it,

I couldn't help but play a game when I got back,

And your parents directly said they were going to send you back for re-education,

So you just committed suicide by taking sleeping pills,

Kid,

Why did you do that?"

As he spoke,

The old Daoist continued to munch on the bun,

Chewing vigorously.

***

"Parents call, respond without delay.

Parents command, act without laziness.

Parents teach, listen with respect.

Parents scold, accept with obedience..."

It was only eight o'clock,

And the classrooms inside were already filled with the sound of chanting.

The little boy's cultural literacy wasn't low. After all, he had lived for so many years and knew that they were reciting the *Di Zi Gui* (Standards for Being a Good Student and Child).

Through the window,

He could see the students standing against the walls, one by one,

Wearing only thin clothes,

Shivering,

While reciting loudly.

Tong City had already entered winter, and the weather was quite cold, with everyone on the street already wearing down jackets.

"Louder!"

A man's voice came,

The man was wearing a long robe,

Probably the same style as Kong Yiji,

With sneakers on his feet,

Holding a pointer in his hand,

Wearing sunglasses,

As strange and inappropriate as could be.

"Louder!"

"Even louder!"

"Recite with all your might, shout with all your might, if you're absorbed, you won't feel cold, do you all hear me!"

The sound of recitation,

Began to increase.

The little boy tilted his head slightly,

Not feeling anything.

Just as he had said to the old Daoist outside,

His sense of right and wrong was different from ordinary people, so he didn't feel that anything wrong or special was happening in the classroom.

Continuing to walk inside,

He went up to the second floor,

Where there were far fewer people,

It seemed that there weren't many people in this training class, only three classrooms downstairs, with maybe a hundred or so students.

Actually,

That was already a lot,

Here,

After all, it wasn't a proper school, nor was it a proper training class.

Moreover,

The tuition here wasn't cheap.

The little boy felt that this place was boring and meaningless. He just subconsciously began to search for the "electric shock room" that the old Daoist had mentioned.

It seemed,

That that place,

Was where the root of the problem lay.

The little boy found it,

But there were people inside.

His body jumped up, and he stuck himself to the ceiling, looking inside through the window on the door.

The boss said, don't kill people, and the old Daoist said, you can cripple people you don't like.

He needed to think,

Who should be crippled.

The layout inside,

Was empty,

But there were a lot of people.

Three men in long robes,

And two young men, who looked about seventeen years old.

The two young men were being scolded.

One had shifty eyes, constantly glancing at the electric chair in front of him, fearful, and kept shouting "It's true" "I was wrong" "I was wrong" amidst the scolding.

The other,

Glanced slightly,

Looking like he was cool,

And too lazy to bother with them.

The little boy suddenly thought of the boy he had seen when he returned to the bookstore last night, the boy who was curled up in the corner, shivering.

Suddenly,

His mind began to imagine the boy looking cool in the past.

However,

The cool boy,

Wasn't being touched,

The fearful boy was grabbed by two of the men in long robes,

And directly forced to sit on the electric chair.

The chair had buckles and straps, and he was tied up directly, able to struggle, but unable to escape.

Next,

Was a very boring scene.

Electricity was applied,

Screams were heard,

And he even lost control of his bladder.

Very boring,

Really boring,

At least,

That's how it was in the little boy's eyes,

This kind of punishment,

Wasn't worthy of being seen, and was too petty. He had seen far more terrifying punishments than this.

Seemingly in order to scare the chickens to warn the monkeys,

The previously cool boy no longer looked cool,

But revealed a terrified expression.

The three men in long robes continued to scold him,

Seemingly giving him enough time to digest the effect of this chicken "being killed."

Afterward,

This cool boy was also brought up by the three men in long robes,

And made to sit on the electric chair.

The boy began to struggle and curse,

The chair still had a large puddle of urine left by the previous victim,

And was now even more slippery.

Then,

Screams came again,

One after another.

The little boy pursed his lips,

His heart,

Was still unmoved.

Of course,

Neither of them died,

And it was impossible to kill people here.

The three men in long robes kicked the two boys after they were electrocuted,

And the two boys got up tremblingly,

Almost kneeling on the ground,

Cursing and swearing something,

First admitting their mistakes,

Then making guarantees,

In short,

It was still very boring.

The little boy felt that if he had this free time, he might as well run to the little loli’s house and watch her get up, watch her wash, and watch her water the flowers and plants in her yard.

He yawned,

But,

Since the boss had sent him here, it was definitely to be a fighter, unable to kill people, only able to cripple them.

Then,

Who should he cripple?

He had to cripple a few people to go back and report, right?

The long-robed "teachers"?

The students?

Looking at the students' attitude of prostrating on the ground and admitting their mistakes,

The little boy suddenly felt that he had no reason to go in and beat them up.

As for the "teachers," the little boy felt that those punishments were not worthy of being seen, and did not even count as punishments, just tickling.

He felt a little annoyed,

Jumped down,

And walked downstairs,

He felt that he still had to call the old Daoist,

And have him tell him who to beat,

Who to beat,

And then he would take action.

Beat them up early,

And go home early.

The employees in the bookstore, once they came in, were unconsciously infected by the salty fish atmosphere, especially when facing work and tasks, it became more and more obvious.

When he reached the first floor,

He saw a group of middle-aged men and women pouring in from the gate.

Today,

Was the day when the basically fully enclosed training class was open to the public, and a large number of parents who had sent their children here to receive education and reformation appeared here.

"Serve tea!"

A man in a long robe shouted.

Immediately,

Dozens of students, holding tea,

Found their respective parents,

And knelt directly in front of their parents,

Respectfully handing the tea up,

And saying in a serious manner: "Son (daughter) invites mother (father) to drink tea."

The parents immediately helped their children up,

One by one,

Crying with joy,

Some began to thank the "teachers" again and again,

Saying words of gratitude,

Without the teachers' guidance, they really didn't know what to do with their children.

Some were weeping with tears,

Seeing that their children had finally become sensible,

They were very gratified.

A harmonious,

Touching scene of parental love and filial piety.

Parents hugged their children, laughing and wiping away tears,

While the children were infected by the emotions and began to cry loudly.

However,

The emotions of the children and parents crying,

Were different.

The little boy felt so noisy,

This group of messy cries,

Made him feel so annoyed,

More annoyed than when he was listening to the crying during the electric shock,

He frowned slightly,

Looking at the group of middle-aged parents below crying and laughing,

Silently raised his hand,

Clenching it slightly,

So noisy,

He really wanted to cripple them all...