Chapter 2

Liang Xiao put the matter of his unusual birthmark out of his mind, clutched the chicken, and walked toward the western outskirts. After walking for more than a mile, he ran into Tu Niu'er. Tu Niu'er was holding a crossbow, and two boys of about the same age followed behind him, one carrying a knife and the other a half-new sword.

"Ah Xiao, you're here!" Seeing Liang Xiao, Tu Niu'er called out excitedly and strode forward. "Hey, I found the bastard who ambushed you. I was just about to go find you. Hey, why did you bring a chicken?"

Before Liang Xiao could react, Tu Niu'er snatched the chicken from his hands and threw it to the two boys. The chicken clucked and flapped its wings, flying toward the reeds by the roadside. Seeing this, Tu Niu'er quickly handed the crossbow to Liang Xiao.

"Ah Xiao, shoot it, don't let it get away."

Liang Xiao took the crossbow, didn't have time to think, drew the string, aimed, and pulled the trigger. With a "whoosh," the arrow flew out and hit the chicken's head.

The chicken fell into the reeds, and Liang Xiao was stunned. Do I have such good archery skills? Although the distance was limited, it was a live target.

Suddenly, the prisoner's words came back to his mind. Could it be... I really am different?

"Niuer, am I... different from ordinary people?" Liang Xiao touched his face, looking at Tu Niu'er with hope. Tu Niu'er glanced at him, touched his forehead, and then his own, muttering, "Is Grandma Chu really that clairvoyant? Why are you still talking nonsense?"

"Don't dodge, what's different about me?" Liang Xiao put his hands on his hips, striking what he thought was his coolest pose.

Tu Niu'er rolled his eyes. "What's different? You were born a monkey."

"What did you say?" Liang Xiao, confused, asked.

"I said you..." Tu Niu'er leaned close to Liang Xiao's ear and said loudly, "You were born a monkey."

Seeing Liang Xiao still confused, Tu Niu'er pulled Liang Xiao's arm and compared it to his own. They were about the same height, but Liang Xiao's arm was much longer, more than a palm longer than Tu Niu'er's.

Liang Xiao suddenly understood and was immediately filled with confidence, while at the same time feeling extremely disdainful toward Tu Niu'er.

What a monkey? This is the legendary ape arm, isn't it? It's a sign of good archery skills. No wonder my archery is so strong. It seems the original Liang Xiao wasn't completely useless.

"Hey, Ah Xiao, what's wrong with you?" Seeing Liang Xiao alternately happy and dazed, Tu Niu'er became a bit afraid and called out a couple of times.

"Oh, I'm fine." Liang Xiao tried to cover up. The fact that he had an ape arm was something Tu Niu'er knew, but he had forgotten, which was hard to explain. To avoid making Tu Niu'er suspicious, he quickly said, "What did you say just now? Who ambushed me?"

Sure enough, Tu Niu'er's attention was immediately diverted. He pulled Liang Xiao aside and said through gritted teeth, "I asked a lot of people and found out who else went to Jin Kui Mountain that day."

"Who?"

"Hu Lai."

"Hu Lai?" Liang Xiao was stunned, thinking for a long time but couldn't remember who this was.

"What, are you scared?" Tu Niu'er looked at Liang Xiao suspiciously. "Ah Xiao, did you get your head knocked silly? You seem like a different person. The old you wasn't like this."

Liang Xiao was startled and quickly patted his chest, putting on a fearless look, and asked, "Stop talking nonsense. Who is this Hu Lai?"

Tu Niu'er looked at Liang Xiao worriedly. "Ah Xiao, are you really that stupid? You've forgotten who Hu Lai is? He's a bully in Guangling County."

Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment and regretted his words. He remembered who Hu Lai was. The Hu family was a major household in Guangling County, with vast fields and herds of cattle and sheep. They had been officials in the country and county since his grandfather's time. This guy was a bully, taking advantage of his power to oppress people, and was a notorious bully in Guangling County, even in the entire Jiangdu Kingdom.

Compared to Hu Lai, he and Tu Niu'er were just well-behaved children.

"How did I get involved with such a bully? This is a bit much, isn't it?" Liang Xiao was a bit nervous, regretting his quick words.

"Ah Xiao, how do we get revenge?" Seeing Liang Xiao hesitate, Tu Niu'er asked in a low voice.

Liang Xiao was about to shake his head but stopped and thought again. He blinked. "This matter... needs careful planning. Killing him is easy, but if we get ourselves into trouble for such a scumbag, it wouldn't be worth it, right?"

As Liang Xiao spoke, he watched Tu Niu'er's face, ready to change his words at any moment.

"Ah Xiao, you're different from before." Tu Niu'er clapped his hands excitedly. "But I like your deviousness. Ah Xiao, I'll follow your lead. If we don't make him regret being born, we won't be able to show our faces around here."

Liang Xiao's lips twitched, and he wanted to slap himself. He had intended to delay things, but now Tu Niu'er thought he wanted to go all out. This was completely the opposite direction. How could someone as kind as me do such a bad thing?

No, I can't keep hanging out with this guy. If you stay close to the red, you turn red; if you stay close to the black, you turn black. I must have been influenced by him. I need to keep my distance from him.

Liang Xiao excused himself, saying he wasn't feeling well, and didn't even eat the chicken before returning to the city alone. Tu Niu'er, drooling over the half-cooked chicken, didn't pay much attention. Liang Xiao regretted feeding the chicken to the dog and thought about how to explain to his mother as he walked home.

Before he entered the door, Liang Xiao saw two familiar figures: one was the village head Wang Fengshi, and the other was the prisoner he had met outside the city.

Liang Xiao hurried over. This cripple is too cunning, and my mother is always hoping for the best for me. I can't let him talk her into anything.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Liang Xiao said, squeezing through the door.

"Xiao'er, you're back." Liang Miao stood in the yard, talking to Wang Fengshi. Seeing Liang Xiao, she immediately smiled, pulled him to her side, and pointed to the prisoner, saying, "Mr. Huan, this is my son Liang Xiao. Xiao'er, quickly meet Mr. Huan. We'll be neighbors from now on."

"Why did you come to my house?" Liang Xiao looked at the prisoner warily, shielding his mother Liang Miao behind him. He then looked at the village head Wang Fengshi. "Wang Uncle, this isn't right. Why did you bring a prisoner to our house? Do you think we, a widow and her son, are easy to bully?"

Wang Fengshi glared at Liang Xiao. As the village head, he was like a community committee chairman in modern times, with even more power. He knew everything about the people in the village. Liang Xiao, being an underage troublemaker, was nothing to him.

He sneered, "Your house? If we're being honest, this is Mr. Huan's house. You've been borrowing it for years and haven't even paid rent. You brat, you don't even thank me, and you dare to argue with me?"

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