Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

Prosperity and Chaos

"Wenren Wu!" Wenren È was carrying little Yin Hanjiang back when he heard a yell. "Was it you who smashed up Wang Whiskers' liquor shop the other day?"

A tall and sturdy man with broad shoulders and a thin waist, a head taller than young Wenren È, strode over furiously and flicked Wenren È hard on the forehead. "We in the army are meant to protect the civilians, so how could you go around causing mayhem?"

Wenren È stared blankly for a moment before remembering that this was his older brother, Wenren Tai, named for "the country prospers and the people live in peace".

It was too long ago. Only after a lot of thought did Wenren È remember that he really had smashed the shop. Wang Whiskers was a perpetually pessimistic drunk who always said that this town would fall sooner or later, that the Wenren clan would leave and be replaced by some useless wine-guzzling official who would abandon the town and run away when trouble came. Instead of staying here, they might as well die sooner and reincarnate.

Wenren È had come to the liquor shop a few days ago. The emotions of youth were straightforward and strong. If he despised someone, then he despised someone. If he liked someone, then he liked them. He respected his father and elder brothers and thought nothing could possibly happen to the border town as long as the Wenren clan was there, so he was furious at hearing Wang Whiskers' words. At night, he covered his face and smashed all of Wang Whiskers' wine jars, and also shaved off his whiskers, leaving his face full of cuts.

He thought he had lain low, but hadn't considered that in the border town, there was only him who was a young teenager with good martial arts skills who spent all day leaping across rooftops. His pair of bright and scornful eyes were different from anyone else's in the town and could be recognized at a glance.

Young Ah-Wu's forehead was bright red from his brother's flick. Yin Hanjiang got mad and bit down on Wenren Tai's arm.

Wenren Tai was frantic. "Little kid, let go! My arm is tough, you'll break your teeth if you bite too hard!"

Little Yin Hanjiang: ...

The sturdy young man was at a loss with Yin Hanjiang, afraid to hurt him, and finally turned the blame on his younger brother. "Wenren Wu, you use children as a shield when you've done something wrong?"

"Little Jiang, let go." Wenren È gently squeezed Yin Hanjiang's face. "You've just gotten your face bandaged. Don't open your wounds."

Yin Hanjiang slowly let go. Wenren È held him in one arm, and hooked his other arm around his elder brother's shoulders. He pressed his forehead against Wenren Tai's broad arm and said softly, "Brother, I'm so glad to see you again."

Even if it was only in his memories.

Wenren Tai was stationed year-round at the border and his skin was dark and a bit rough. His face reddened, and, lifting a scarred and calloused hand, he patted Wenren È on the head before coming back to his senses. "Don't give me that act, it's not going to make your beating any lighter!"

Wenren È took a beating that day. His father was at the army camp and his eldest brother was stationed at the rear lines, so Wenren Tai dragged him to apologize to Wang Whiskers and pay for the damages, then, in the liquor shop in front of the civilians of the town, enforced military justice on Wenren È and sentenced him to fifty strokes with a rod, beating him until the skin on his young back was split open.

Little Yin Hanjiang was held by Wenren È's mother, howling in fury and struggling to escape from the pair of rough hands, wanting to throw himself over his Venerable to protect him.

"Don't move!" The woman appeared gentle, but was actually strict. "Stay still and watch. No matter what the reason, a soldier who harms a civilian for personal reasons must be punished by military law. Since he's young, his punishment has been lightened, otherwise it wouldn't end until that rod snaps!"