The man placed the little child's homework book, which had been tossed aside after it was completed, in front of him, radiating a low-pressure atmosphere. "Is this your homework?"
The little child listened to his First Uncle's voice, thinking it sounded quite nice.
His eyes curved into a smile, and in a sweet, childlike voice, he said, "Yes! First Uncle told me to do ten pages, and I finished them all!"
As he said this, the expression on his chubby face seemed to say, "I did great! Hurry and praise me!"
But the man did not praise him.
The man flipped to the first page of the homework book and ordered, "Redo it."
The little child: "..."
The sweet expression on his face instantly froze.
He looked at this uncle, who felt so approachable that he wanted to be close to him, and wondered if he'd heard wrong. "Uncle, what... what did you say?"
"Start from page one. Redo it."
The man's voice was calm, without any fluctuation, yet it carried an imposing authority, like the dignity of someone who had been in power for many years.
The little child looked at his First Uncle, then at the homework flipped to the first page.
He grabbed the book, climbed down, and stormed off in a huff.
"I'm never doing my homework here again!"
The little child came here every day just to see this uncle.
But this uncle was too annoying. Not only did he refuse to play with him, but he also made him redo his homework. The worst part was, he was mean to him.
The little child, unable to take this mistreatment, walked away with his back to the man, stomping his little feet heavily with each step, as if to let the man know just how mad he was.
But the man still didn't call him back or say anything else.
After walking several steps, the little child noticed something was wrong.
"Where's my hole?"
He crawled in and out of that hole every day, but for some reason, it had suddenly disappeared.
The little child who couldn't leave clutched his homework book and turned to look at the man.
The man was still dressed in black, with black hair and an indifferent expression. The little child used to feel an instinctive urge to get close to him whenever he saw him, but now—
Tears welled up in his eyes as he realized he had been blind before.
How could he not have seen it? This uncle, who looked so kind and approachable, would turn out to be so cold and heartless once he opened his eyes!
"Rewrite your homework. I'll check it when you're done."
"Once you're done checking, can I go outside?" The little child choked back his sobs, having understood the man's intention.
The man didn’t answer, merely pointing to a set of rosewood table and chairs not far away. "Go sit there and write."
The little child: "..."
With tears in his eyes, the little child sat down.
He gripped his pen, opened the first page, and began to rewrite.
Time slowly passed. The little child rewrote the first page three times before the man was finally satisfied.
After finishing the first page, it was on to the second.
Unaware of the passage of time in the mountains, while the little child was still working on his homework, the sky outside had already grown dark.
First Uncle had started looking for him.
After searching everywhere and failing to find the little child, First Uncle began to feel uneasy.
In the end, it was a few small rabbits with signs hanging around their necks that pointed him in the right direction. "He went into the mountains, and hasn’t come out since."
First Uncle: "..."
His eyelid twitched violently.
After the rabbits pointed him in the right direction, a bird perched in a tree further guided him along.
Following the clues, First Uncle eventually reached his destination.
Standing outside, he nearly blacked out. "Are you sure Ningning went in there?!"
"He's been in there several times."
A long snake in the grass hissed, flicking its tongue. "I thought you knew. He went in today, but hasn’t come out. He’s probably been kept inside by the one who lives there."
As the snake finished speaking, the First Uncle's face turned pale.
"Benefactor is awake?!"
"Not sure, haven't seen him. Maybe he's awake."
The long snake thought about the little child’s homework. He had seen the assignment yesterday too: "Even if the Benefactor were lying in a coffin, he’d be so furious he'd wake up after seeing his homework."
The First Uncle: "..."
The First Uncle thought about the Benefactor’s temper and then about the little child's homework. His face turned even paler: "No, we must get Ningning out of there."
The Benefactor’s mental state was already unstable. If Ningning stayed in there with him, something bad was bound to happen sooner or later!
But then again, something didn't seem right.
The First Uncle, still pale, thought for a while. The Benefactor was cold and distant by nature, and logically, Ningning had nothing to do with him. The child’s homework had nothing to do with him either. Since there was no connection, the Benefactor had no reason to keep Ningning around.
With this realization, the First Uncle calmed himself. He stepped forward, intending to bring Ningning out.
As soon as he approached, a cold voice rang out—
"Stay back."
Upon hearing this voice, even though the First Uncle had already anticipated it, he still couldn't hide his shock.
Gathering his courage, he said, "Benefactor, there’s a young child—"
"Wait."
The voice, filled with authority, reached the First Uncle's ears, making his knees feel weak. This knee-weakening sensation came from a deep, instinctual fear.
The First Uncle was an elder of the beastman tribe, and his character was anything but timid.
Their tribe was known for their bravery and strength.
But in front of the Benefactor, they couldn't help but feel an innate sense of dread.
While waiting, the First Uncle's mind raced as he tried to figure out the Benefactor’s true identity, but no matter how long he waited, there was still no sign of the little child.
Finally, it dawned on the First Uncle, standing there—
The Benefactor's order to "wait" wasn’t about waiting right there but about going back and waiting.
As for when the little child would return, that depended entirely on the Benefactor’s will.
Listening to the Benefactor’s voice, the First Uncle sensed it was relatively steady, which led him to believe his emotions were also stable. Since his emotions were stable, there was no reason to worry that he would harm the young child.
No, even if the benefactor is emotionally unstable, he wouldn't harm the young ones.
Years ago, when the benefactor lost control, even in a state where he had completely lost his rationality, he still didn't harm a single young one.
It seemed that the benefactor was different when it came to the young.
The First Uncle thought about the little child who could make a fire to cook and had top-notch survival skills. Then, he thought about the benefactor, who had a bit of a temper but still wouldn't hurt the young ones...
After hesitating for a long time, he turned and left.
Today, by himself, he simply couldn't take the little child away.
Now, he needed to hurry back and find his younger brother, the current clan leader, to discuss the matter together.
As for the little child the First Uncle was worried about, at this moment, he was sitting on a priceless rosewood table, clutching a pen in his chubby little hands, tearfully doing his homework.
