This small knife is fine for everyday play, but it's not meant for killing.
Moreover, this child couldn't even get close to the young master of the Xie family.
He had only taken two steps when he was blocked by servants from both the Xie and Wei families. The young servant who had earlier saved him rushed over and held him tightly.
The child screamed wildly, stabbing randomly with the knife.
Ignoring the cuts on his body, arms, and face, the young servant held him close. "It was all an accident. I apologize on behalf of the young master and will atone with my life for your parents and villagers."
Unable to break free, the child saw the blood on the young servant's face and arms and remembered how this person had risked his life to save him from the fire. In his panic upon waking, he had clung to this very person—
This man was just a servant. Instead of following the young master's orders to seize the goods, he had chosen to save people, earning the young master's displeasure. Even injured, he received no treatment.
Both of them were pitiful souls.
The child stopped struggling, threw his arms around the young servant, and burst into loud sobs.
The surrounding onlookers also shed tears.
The young master, surrounded by maidservants, wore a cold, mocking smile. "How ridiculous. How can this be blamed on me? It's your fault for living where I passed by."
Though the crowd already knew how heartless this young noble was, his words still shocked them.
"If you hadn't lived here, there wouldn't have been dry firewood and grain stalks, there wouldn't have been a great fire, and my goods wouldn't have been burned, causing me such heavy losses!"
The young master's face was as beautiful as a statue, and his heart was just as stony.
No—a statue wasn't human and had no heart! The official was stunned, his long-suppressed anger flaring up—
"How dare you!" he shouted. "To twist right and wrong so blatantly! I don't care who you are—guards, guards—"
The constables behind the official were already seething. Even the Wei family of Han County had never acted so arrogantly. This wasn't just shameless—it was inhuman!
Were all imperial relatives like this?
By comparison, the Wei family seemed like great benefactors.
They had been holding back their rage, and upon the official's order, they responded in unison.
Just then, horses galloped from the distance, and someone shouted, "Wait, wait!"
The official turned and saw a tall, imposing man at the head of the group. He recognized him at once.
The eldest young master of the Wei family.
The Wei family head had only had this son in his fifties. The child was handsome, intelligent, and the apple of the Wei family's eye—a figure no one in Han County dared to cross.
"Young Master!" the official hurried forward, exclaiming angrily. "This villain not only destroyed an entire village but also attacked your family's steward."
He pointed to the Wei family steward, who still lay unconscious on the ground.
At the sight of the Wei eldest young master, the crowd parted. Perhaps having witnessed true evil, they now looked to him with hope and reliance.
The Wei eldest young master did not disappoint. He hadn't come alone but brought dozens of physicians carrying medical kits.
Ignoring the official's words, he called out to his followers, "Quick, tend to the wounded!"
Then he instructed the Wei family servants.
"Take all the injured to the manor for care."
"Extinguish any remaining fires and collect the villagers' belongings."
"Prepare the deceased for burial and identify them."With each command issued, the people couldn't help but weep with joy, calling out, "Eldest Young Master Wei! Eldest Young Master!"
After arranging these matters, Eldest Young Master Wei turned with a grave expression to the official. "Sir, there's no need to say more. These are all my failures. The Wei family will take full responsibility for the crimes, punishments, and aftermath."
The official thought to himself, So the Wei family fears the Xie family too. His expression turned furious. "But that scoundrel—"
Eldest Young Master Wei said, "It was my failure to properly host and accommodate them that led to this disaster. If you must punish someone, punish me."
Naturally, the official dared not do so. His expression turned helpless. "Eldest Young Master, this has nothing to do with you."
Eldest Young Master Wei shook his head, signaling for him to wait, and approached the Xie family's young master.
The Xie family servants all bowed respectfully. "Eldest Young Master."
But the young master remained unmoving, lifting his eyelids to scrutinize Eldest Young Master Wei from head to toe with extreme rudeness.
"Young Master Yan Lai," Eldest Young Master Wei said. "This is all my fault for not coming to welcome you in time. Your elder brother entrusted you to me in his letter—"
Before he could finish, the young master sneered. "Since you're late, why say anything? Since my elder brother entrusted me to you, then you can compensate for the Xie family's lost goods."
That scoundrel—the official behind them wanted to strike him, but Eldest Young Master Wei merely smiled, as if looking at his own unruly younger brother. "Of course, that's only natural. Please come to the city shop to load the goods, Young Master Xie."
The young master reached out and gave him a heavy slap on the shoulder. "Thank you. As my third brother said, when passing through here, if there's any trouble, just find Eldest Young Master Wei."
The youth had immense strength. Eldest Young Master Wei's shoulder sank under the blow, and he frowned in pain. His servants stepped forward with unfriendly expressions.
The youth withdrew his hand, a bright smile appearing on his face. "Seeing you reminds me of my third brother."
In Great Xia, the reputation of the Xie family of Dongyang was no different from that of the Wei family of Hanjun—except for one thing: the Xie family had produced a Crown Princess, but that was merely luck. However, the fame of the Xie family's Third Young Master surpassed that of all the Wei family's young masters combined.
Eldest Young Master Wei smiled. "I dare not compare myself to Young Master Xie the Third."
The youth gave a half-smile. "Eldest Young Master need not be so modest." He then raised his arm. "My arm is injured too—"
Eldest Young Master Wei glanced at his arm, not finding the swelling amusing amidst the tragic casualties, and said with concern, "Come quickly with me. I've brought the best physicians from the city—"
But the youth withdrew his arm, lazily saying, "What good physicians could this rural backwater have? Eldest Young Master, just give me some of your family's fine medicines and mountain delicacies to help me recover."
The expressions of Eldest Young Master Wei's servants darkened again.
Eldest Young Master Wei remained the kind elder brother, indulging his unruly younger sibling, and nodded with a smile. "That's only right." He instructed his servants, "Quickly escort Young Master Xie to the old residence in the city and bring out our family's mountain provisions for the young master's recovery."
The servants acknowledged the order, and the youth stopped pestering, pulling his maids along. "Let's go, let's find another place to have fun."
The maids giggled as they surrounded the youth and helped him into the carriage.
The Xie family servants looked embarrassed and bowed to Eldest Young Master Wei. "Young Master Yan Lai lacked proper upbringing in his youth. We are ashamed."
Eldest Young Master Wei had clearly heard of this Young Master Yan Lai's background and smiled. "It's nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it."
The young master, who had already walked away, turned back and shouted, "What are you dawdling for? Waiting for me to die here from my severe injuries?"Feeling thoroughly ashamed, the Xie family servant lowered his head and hurried away.
Young Master Wei remained standing in place, watching them depart. The servant frowned with displeasure and said, "This Xie young master is too rude. Is this his true nature, or was it deliberately arranged by Young Master Xie the Third to humiliate you, sir?"
After speaking, he glanced to the side where the steward who had been kicked was still lying unconscious.
"He was far too heavy-handed," they gritted their teeth in resentment.
That young man appeared thin and frail, yet unexpectedly his legs were so powerful. Recalling how he had slapped Young Master Wei's arm, they couldn't help but voice their concern.
Young Master Wei gently pressed his arm and said it was nothing: "Whether he's polite or not, he doesn't bear the Wei surname and has nothing to do with us."
Just as the young master's carriage was about to depart, the child who had been pulled aside by the servant sprang up again, struggling like a wild animal.
"Don't you leave, don't you leave," he screamed hoarsely. "I'll kill you, I'll kill you."
The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the phoenix-eyed youth coldly staring at the child.
"You can't kill me now. Come kill me when you've grown up," he said. "Remember, my name is Xie Yanlai."
With that, he dropped the curtain, blocking the view but not the child's furious, grief-stricken screams.
"Xie Yanlai!"
"Xie Yanlai!"
"I'll remember you!"
"I will definitely kill you!"
Inside the carriage, the maids sat quietly in the corners, completely different from their behavior outside. There was no laughter or chatter as they bowed their heads, making themselves as inconspicuous as if they weren't there.
Xie Yanlai also remained silent. As the carriage rocked, light and shadow played across his face, his phoenix eyes like deep pools—utterly still and lifeless.
So what if he had to play the villain?
Being the villain was truly the easiest thing in the world.
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