Volume One: The Wild Boy Chapter Thirty-Seven: The "True" Nobility

Watching the youth behave so outrageously, the two men whispered amongst themselves. Lin Changtian leaned close to Chen Mo’s ear and murmured, “Is this trouble your doing again?” Chen Mo looked completely innocent. “This really has nothing to do with me. Who would go out of their way to provoke a mad dog? Did you tease him?”

“I didn't. Who in their right mind would provoke him? Despicable.” Chen Mo nodded, then buried his head between his knees, refusing to even look at the youth.

Seeing this, Lin Changtian sighed, forced a smile onto his face, and with a touch of obsequiousness addressed the youth, “My lord, please forgive us. We have only just arrived and are unfamiliar with the customs. May I ask your esteemed name?”

The youth lifted his nose to Lin Changtian, his expression easing a little, and nodded. “Alright, seems you know your place. Let me explain the rules to you. In Wenyuan Divine Continent, hierarchy is always clear. My Ru Zhou City is no exception. Didn’t the guards at the gate explain the rules? Scum like you, when you see a noble, you should kneel. But since this is your first offense, just admit your mistake, pay a little tribute, and the matter will be over.”

Chen Mo’s fist clenched so hard his knuckles cracked, barely able to contain his fury. Lin Changtian, however, remained calm, smiling as he replied, “In that case, may I trouble you to come with me to a nearby alley, where I can present you with our treasures? There are too many eyes here—I’d hate for a thief to get any ideas.”

The youth, hearing Lin Changtian’s earnest tone, grunted in satisfaction, then abruptly raised his voice. “As if any fool would dare steal from me! But since you insist, lead the way.”

With that, the two men flanked the youth and led him into the mouth of an alley. Once they saw no one was around, Chen Mo and Lin Changtian exchanged a knowing look and advanced on the youth with wicked grins.

A short while later, Chen Mo stretched lazily, looking disgruntled. “So all this trouble, and the brat’s just a conman. The bag’s stuffed with rags, nothing valuable on him at all. What a waste of effort. I thought we’d get something out of this.” With that, he gave the sobbing youth on the ground a kick and glared at him. “Kid, how long have you been impersonating a noble from Ru Zhou City? You seem awfully practiced—this isn’t your first time, is it? Changtian, let’s drag this pest to that so-called ‘authorities’ of theirs. This Wenyuan Divine Continent is truly bizarre—bringing back monarchy, establishing a nobility, enforcing kneeling etiquette, and even restoring all sorts of pointless titles. Don’t they find it troublesome?”

Hearing the two discuss turning him in, the youth curled up, showing only his eyes, watching them fearfully.

Lin Changtian ignored Chen Mo’s complaints, crouched down, and held the youth’s gaze for a long moment before speaking softly. “Out on your own to make a living?”

“There’s a little sister at home,” the youth whispered, his bravado utterly gone.

“Couldn’t find honest work? Why turn to swindling? Tell the truth—don’t play the victim.” The youth jerked his head up, dropping his act, a mocking smile at his lips. “You two aren’t exactly saints yourselves. Spare me the act. You just don’t want to turn me in and risk me ratting you out to the authorities, isn’t that it? Let’s both back off—pretend this never happened. How about it?”

Chen Mo’s teeth ground in anger. Of all things, he hated these scheming types the most. He moved as if to hit the boy, but Lin Changtian held him back and calmly said, “Fine, we’ll do as you suggest.” With that, he dragged Chen Mo out of the alley, disappearing from the youth’s sight.

...

“What on earth are you thinking, letting a brat like that go? If you don’t deal with scum like him early, he’ll only become a menace when he’s grown,” Chen Mo grumbled, still indignant, looking at Lin Changtian in confusion.

Lin Changtian shot him a glance. “Kids like that are actually the best reflection of this city’s condition. But we’ll have to follow him home and see for ourselves before I can make a judgment.” Chen Mo nodded, but soon a smile crept onto his face.

Lin Changtian was curious. “What’s with you? Just now you looked like someone owed you a fortune, and now you’re grinning like an idiot.”

Chen Mo rolled his eyes. “You’re real smooth, you know that? Think about it, Changtian—since that kid’s a fraud, and we’ve been in Ru Zhou City for half a month without seeing anyone kneeling to nobles, it means all those rumors are probably exaggerated. I said it all along—what era is this? How could the people of Wenyuan Divine Continent tolerate such absurd practices? I bet all that talk of restoring the monarchy is just for show.”

The streets of Ru Zhou City bustled with people, the air tinged with the pulse of modern technology. Car horns blared, traffic jammed the roads. Chen Mo gazed at the scene with relief and excitement. “See? It’s just like Zhongbei. See for yourself—rumors vanish before the wise.”

As they spoke, from the end of the traffic jam, a mutant white steed leapt onto the car roofs, galloping across them. Strangely, even as the beast trampled and injured people beneath its hooves, not one person dared to speak out. Instead, a mother, anxious to protect her child, hurriedly dragged her off the road, startling the white horse. In a flash, the richly dressed youth atop the horse lashed out with his whip, killing the woman in the street. Blood splattered across Chen Mo’s face, and in that moment, all his comforting illusions were shattered.

Now Chen Mo understood—he’d simply never truly seen these so-called nobles. The youth raised his whip again, aiming for the little girl. Chen Mo could stand it no longer—but Lin Changtian was faster. In a blur, he dashed forth, seized the whip, and rescued the girl in one seamless motion.

The youth was not angry. He leapt from his horse, smoothed his hair, and without so much as a glance at Lin Changtian, said coldly, “You, a lowborn, dare to defy a noble’s will? How interesting. I’m in a good mood today. Break both your arms, crawl the streets as a dog, and I’ll spare your entire clan.”

Lin Changtian did not respond, his head lowered in thought.

“What’s this? Cat got your tongue? Fine, I’ll give you another chance. Chen Er, help him out.” The man behind the youth immediately stepped forward, grinning menacingly at Lin Changtian. “Sorry, blame your parents for this.”

“Wait!” Lin Changtian’s face was wreathed in a smile that bore a strange, unreadable meaning. The youth glanced at him, snorted contemptuously, and said with arrogant disdain, “Don’t bother begging. If you’ve made up your mind, do it yourself.”

Lin Changtian nodded, his expression turning icy. “Alright, I’ll take your arms off right now. But since you did offer me a chance, I’ll return the favor. How about I take your head too? Don’t worry, it’s free of charge—no labor fees at all.”

The youth’s face showed a flash of astonishment, then he trembled with rage. The surrounding noise fell instantly silent.

Who knew how long it had been since anyone had dared challenge a noble in Ru Zhou City?