Chapter 277 The Third Valley (2)

It’s so cold, Zhou Kui thought dazedly.

There was a rustling sound beside me, and then it sounded like someone was patting clothes, shaking off something?

It’s so cold and sleepy.

The sounds around me stopped, followed by the sound of moving footsteps, and then the footsteps gradually became more chaotic. Are there a lot of people here?

Zhou Kui's ears did not catch any sound of speaking.

The sound of water began to flow cautiously, and there was also a strange, thin sound: "Swish, swish."

It's so cold, and it's still dark. The sun definitely hasn't risen yet.

He knew it was still dark without even opening his eyes. His eyelids were heavy, so he decided to sleep a little longer. Zhou Kui wasn't awakened by these tiny noises, so he fell asleep again, and then...

"Zhou Kui, Lu Yanyan! You two lazy dogs, get up!"

Zhou Kui cried out in pain with his eyes closed due to the strange roar and burning pain. He jumped up from the haystack and finally opened his eyes to question the person in front of him, but when he saw his face, he inexplicably lost his confidence.

The strangeness faded, replaced by a familiar fear. The person before him was none other than the family's greatest authority, the father. In the daylight-lit courtyard, the father angrily raised a bamboo broom and struck him and the other child beside him.

"hehe……"

A hint of gloating laughter seemed to echo in the yard. Zhou Kui looked over and saw only children busy at work all over the yard. They were his younger brothers and sisters. They were so young, how could they make such shrill laughs?

As Zhou Kui was thinking subconsciously, Lu Yanyan appeared beside him, holding his head in pain.

The sight of Lu Yanyan brought back some of Zhou Kui's hazy memories. Oh, right, he'd just sent off a group of his brothers and sisters yesterday. After re-adjusting the age structure, he was now the oldest child in the family, and Lu Yanyan was the second. They were both nine years old.

The original eldest brother had reached the age limit, but the results of the examination at Yanzhen Pavilion showed that he was unqualified and had been disposed of. The father body wanted to choose a new child to train as the next father body, and the choice would only fall between him and Lu Yanyan.

Today is the day to announce it.

As a result, the two of them actually slept until dawn today! They were supposed to start work before dawn, and only the mother, father, and the next father who had been chosen were able to sleep through the night. Zhou Kui lowered his head in frustration, wondering what had happened to him. Normally, he should have opened his eyes before dawn.

Lu Yanyan seemed to be half asleep as well. He actually tried to raise his arm to block the broom that his father was hitting him with. Zhou Kui subconsciously grabbed his arm, blocking his father's view.

"I'm sorry, Father."

Hearing this name, a trace of confusion crossed his father's face. Zhou Kui immediately realized that he had called out the wrong name. How could he have blurted out "father"? What did the word "father" actually mean?

However, the father didn't seem to care about this mistake. He impatiently threw the broom on the ground, and a little girl immediately picked it up. That face looked familiar. Yes, she was the third sister, and like the fourth sister Hua Fu, she was only six years old.

Weird, why doesn't the third sister have a name? Just as the feeling of disobedience surfaced in his mind, Zhou Kui's thoughts were interrupted by his father's rude words.

"Are you stupid? Both of you come here!"

The father grabbed Zhou Kui and Lu Yanyan by their worn collars with both hands, turned around angrily, kicked away the third sister who was sweeping the floor with a broom, and without even looking at the third sister who was holding her stomach in pain, dragged the two into the front yard.

That kick was pretty heavy. Was she injured? Zhou Kui almost wanted to run over to check her wound, but his father had already dragged them both out of the backyard, and his third sister disappeared from his sight.

Upon entering the Father's body's room, Zhou Kui felt an immediate warmth, a shiver that dispelled the chill. A thick velvet blanket hung outside the Father's body's door, and inside, a pot of charcoal glowed red. The inside and outside of the room were two completely different worlds.

Looking at the charcoal, Zhou Kui noticed his tattered clothes. He was sleeping on a haystack under the shed, and his whole body was exposed to the late autumn air. No wonder he felt cold.

It would be nice to live in this house. No one would live under a shed.

Beside him, Lu Yanyan's face softened. He seemed to finally come to his senses, bowing his head as his father sat down to drink water. Even a hot-tempered man shouldn't have to avoid his father's punishment. Zhou Kui couldn't help but worry about him as a brother.

The father finished his drink and slammed the cup on the table, looking at the two of them with dissatisfaction. But he didn't continue to scold them.

"You both know what I'm going to say today, right?"

"I understand. We have to choose the next father from the two of us." Zhou Kui and Lu Yanyan nodded in response at the same time.

"Very good." The father finally stopped showing such disgust. "I got the answer from the master of the outer sect this morning."

Who was it? Zhou Kui was a little disappointed, as this was clearly an important matter.

Unexpectedly, his father smiled with interest. Zhou Kui had never seen him smile before.

"They say you both have sufficient qualifications. So, for now, you're both listed as potential sires, and we'll make another judgment when you're ten. Really interesting."

He stood up cheerfully, bent down, and placed his hands on the shoulders of Zhou Kui and Lu Yanyan respectively. His voice was as soft as milk.

"From today on, both of you will live in the room next to mine. You both must learn to be the boss. I will tell you how."

The father's voice was like a mountain spring flowing by his ear, dripping coldly into Zhou Kui's ears.

"Keep them busy, don't let them sit idle."

“Find out the garbage hiding inside and take care of it yourself.”

“A broken or sick thing has no value.”

"Encourage them to spy on each other and report them to you."

"Reward those who report and kill those who are reported. It doesn't matter whether the crime they committed is big or small."

"Make them afraid of you and afraid to look you in the eye."

“It’s okay to reward yourself occasionally, eat meat or just let off some steam.”

The father's hands released Zhou Kui and Lu Yanyan's shoulders. From this distance, Zhou Kui could see the joy flashing in his eyes.

"The most important thing is to let them crawl like dogs, and not let them think that just because they have heads, arms and legs like us, they can be considered human beings."

"If you can't do it, someone will do it for you."

"Got it?" The father smiled at them intimately.

Absurd words.

But, yes, this is the place.

Zhou Kui nodded hesitantly, and Lu Yanyan also said "hmm". Looking at them, his father seemed to suddenly lose interest, his tone became rough again, and he drove them out of the house.

It's so cold. Zhou Kui hugged his arms and suddenly saw a petite figure running away. Because of her injury, she couldn't run fast, but Zhou Kui still saw who it was - it was the third sister.

Did she hear everything just now?

"Brother, it's so cold outside. Shall we go clean up the next room?" Lu Yanyan shuddered.

"You go first."

Zhou Kui hesitated and shook his head, then chased after the figure.

Second update~ The third sister is Yimeimei, the Yimeimei in my memory has been changed into an NPC

(There are three updates today, but the third one is still being revised. I'm stuck and it's unbearable, so I'll post two updates first to avoid having to go back and revise the other two)