Chapter 6

It's not that Liang Xiao is cowardly, but this directly concerns his future, and he cannot be careless.

To enter the bureaucracy, he can temporarily be without money, but he must at least have a clean identity. According to Han dynasty law, the children of criminals are definitely not considered from good families. Moreover, this man, Huan Jun, has been imprisoned for sixteen years. If not for a general amnesty, he would probably have been a penal laborer for life. With such a father, he has no future to speak of.

Moreover, when the sixteen-year period is mentioned, Liang Xiao naturally thinks of the Wu-Chu Rebellion. If Huan Jun was imprisoned because of this, he is a traitor. Even if such a person has the best luck and regains his freedom, he can never become an official again, and his children will certainly be implicated, at least until the third generation before they can restore their clean identity.

Therefore, for Liang Xiao, learning from him is fine, but being his son is out of the question.

"Then, what is your son's name, and where did you live at that time?"

"My son is named Huan Sheng, and at that time, we lived in the northwest part of the city, in Shili."

Liang Xiao frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded: "Please wait for good news, Huan Jun. I will go and inquire."

"Alright."

...

After eating breakfast, Liang Xiao told his mother, Liang Miao, and then went out, directly to find Tu Niu'er. The Tu family and the Liang family lived in the same neighborhood, just to the left of the community shrine. Passing by the large tree representing the community deity, Liang Xiao heard Tu Niu'er's distinctive cries of distress from a dozen steps away from the Tu family's house.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Don't hit my face, don't hit my face!"

Liang Xiao quickened his steps, reached the wall, and peered over.

Tu Niu'er was being beaten. His mother, Shi, was barefoot, chasing him around the yard with one shoe in her hand, hitting him repeatedly while scolding: "Little beast, have you eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall? How dare you provoke the Hu family? You bring trouble to your mother, and today I will beat you to death. It will be as if I never gave birth to you, and it will also save us from a disaster."

Tu Niu'er covered his face with one hand and held up his pants with the other, running around the yard. Although Shi was barefoot, she ran very fast and was about to catch up with Tu Niu'er. Tu Niu'er's father was squatting on the side, weaving a bamboo basket, completely ignoring the chase between mother and son.

Seeing this, Liang Xiao did not hesitate, jumped into the yard, and greeted Shi with a smile: "Auntie, good morning!"

Seeing Liang Xiao, Shi immediately put on a kind and friendly smile: "Ah Xiao, you're here. Is there something you need? Have you had breakfast? If not, have it at my place. I just made soup noodles, with plenty of oil. I guarantee you won't drop them even if I slap you twice."

"I've eaten, and I'm full," Liang Xiao exaggeratedly patted his stomach. "Otherwise, I would definitely try Auntie's soup noodles."

While Shi and Liang Xiao were chatting, Tu Niu'er took the opportunity to run out of the door and disappeared in a flash. Liang Xiao politely declined Shi's invitation, left the Tu family's house, and walked to the community tree, saying without looking up: "Niu'er, come down quickly. If your mother sees you, it won't just be the shoe. Then, probably all the elders in the neighborhood will chase you and beat you."

"Hehe." Tu Niu'er jumped down from the community tree, one side of his face swollen, but he didn't seem to care. "Ah Xiao, why did you come so early?"

"To find you to do something."

"What? Go to Hu to take revenge?" Tu Niu'er's eyes lit up.

"No, to inquire about someone."

"Inquire about someone?" Tu Niu'er scratched his head and asked again: "Who, related to the Hu family?"

Liang Xiao shook his head. "Do you remember the one-eyed prisoner we met in the west of the city yesterday?"

Tu Niu'er was startled, his face showing fear. "Is it that man in the ochre clothes, with one eye blind and one leg lame?"

"Yes."

"Ah Xiao, how did you get involved with him? Although he is crippled, he looks like a ruthless person. If there's nothing to do with him, don't provoke him, stay as far away as possible."

Liang Xiao laughed. "I'm afraid that's not possible. He is now staying at my house. The neighborhood head, Wang, brought him."

Tu Niu'er scratched his head even harder, dandruff flying. He caught a louse, put it in his mouth, and bit it to death with a "crunch," then spat it out, looking serious. "This is a bit troublesome. Since he was brought by the neighborhood head and is staying at your house, if we kill him, it won't be easy to cover it up. If it doesn't work, we can trick him out first..."

Liang Xiao found this increasingly absurd, thinking Tu Niu'er's violent tendencies were too obvious. He quickly stopped him: "Niu'er, you're mistaken. I don't want to kill him. I want to learn from him."

"Learn? Learn what?"

"Archery."

Tu Niu'er was even more surprised, walking while pulling Liang Xiao's arm and shaking it. "Ah Xiao, is this prisoner so strong? Your archery is already so good, and you still want to learn from him?"

Liang Xiao recounted his brief interaction with the prisoner, Huan Jun. Tu Niu'er listened with great excitement, looking even more excited than Liang Xiao himself. He then said, "Ah Xiao, if I help you find his son, will he teach me a few moves too?"

"I can't say for sure," Liang Xiao replied. "Actually, I'm not sure how much he can teach me. From what he said, it seems he wants to pass his skills to his son."

"Of course, good things should be left to one's own son." Tu Niu'er thought for a moment. "How about this: after we find his son, we secretly break his arm. This way, he won't be able to learn archery."

Liang Xiao glanced at Tu Niu'er and involuntarily took a few steps back. Tu Niu'er, however, didn't notice and naturally moved closer.

The two chatted as they left the neighborhood and headed straight for the northwest part of the city. They had been playing in the city since they were young and were familiar with the locations of the neighborhoods. Guangling City had a total of seventy-one neighborhoods inside and outside the city walls. The young people were roughly divided into three gangs: Qingyunli in the southwest belonged to the Southwest Gang, and Shili in the northwest belonged to the Northwest Gang. Although the boundaries were not clearly defined, they maintained a distance to avoid conflicts.

Most of the young people who hung out on the streets were minors before they were registered for the census. They formed gangs and defined their territories more for fun, occasionally engaging in minor crimes but not for a living. Once they grew up, were registered, and received land, they were busy with farming and soon had to serve, leaving no time for play, and would gradually fade out of this circle.

Unlike the gentle and compliant people of later times, the people of Wu and Chu were fierce and tolerant, even somewhat indulgent, towards the mischievous behavior of these young people. On the contrary, well-behaved children were often seen as weak and not well-liked.

Liang Xiao found this educational style both novel and somewhat hard to adapt to. Fortunately, Tu Niu'er thought he was still recovering from his injury and did not suspect much. When they arrived at Shili, they were stopped by a wary neighborhood head before they could enter. The neighborhood head, with his hand on the sword at his waist, glanced at Liang Xiao and Tu Niu'er.

"Where are you from, children? I don't recognize you. What are you doing in Shili?"

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