After the order was given, all the burly youngsters pounced, they pushed the child onto the ground and began beating him.
The child thought it’d be impossible to dodge, so he squatted, without making a sound, he braced his head and curled his body, enduring the merciless hits that were landing on his body like the raging rain during a tempest, his little body was also kicked back and forth, poor child.
Gu Bai’s first reaction was to dash out and stop them, but just when he’d taken his first step, he withdrew his leg.
What he was seeing, was obviously the typical act of big children bullying small children, the only thing was, the targeted child was a bit too small, roughly around the age of three or four.
He pinched his thin arm, there’s still some strength within it, it’d be easy for him to drive away the bigger children. But the quality of the clothing the child appearing to be the leader was wearing, was very fine, he might be the child of a big family within the town, if he showed up then he would attract a certain level of attention, which wouldn’t be beneficial to the purpose of this journey. Also… it was impossible for him to stay in this town for long, if he saved the child this time, after he left the town, the child would only face a greater revenge. When that time arrived, who will come and save him?
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He thought about it again, then still made the decision not to interfere, and a sense of guilt caught up with him. Judging by what was going on, it was only harassment, no one would get killed, but if the bullying didn’t stop after a while, then he’d no longer consider the consequences. At worst, he’ll just hide on the mountain, not leaving the hideout after he drove away the bullies.
Luckily, things didn’t end up making the situation difficult for Gu Bai, the big child with silk clothing seemed not to have much interest in always bullying people, after he realized the little child was becoming unresponsive, he waved his hand to make the youngsters stop, after all, he was still afraid of actually beating the kid to death.
Soon, the gang laughed out loud and left the scene. It was only after Gu Bai saw the gang had walked afar, he finally came out from behind the tree, slowly. Then he jogged in small steps, quickly, he arrived at the small child’s side.
The child still braced his head and was curled up like a ball, not making a sound, this made Gu Bai freak out, he hurriedly flipped him over, he moved his hand to check the child, who gave the appearance of breathing, but also of not breathing. Gu Bai’s expression suddenly changed.
Oh no! Could it be that this child had been beaten up so badly, to the point of dying? None of the youngsters had obtained nei jing[1] by training yet, so things like this shouldn’t have happened! But…but what if there really was an exception…?
Gu Bai no longer hesitated, he hurriedly reached inside the child’s clothes and touched the child’s heart, it was only when he felt the child’s chest move up and down feebly and extremely lightly that he felt a little relieved. Then, while his hand was still on the child’s body, he checked the child’s bones, none of them were fractured, and so, he finally put his heart at rest.
It looked as if the child was just a bit suffocated because he was badly beaten up, there wasn’t any vital damage. But with a child that was as little as this one, Gu Bai couldn’t leave him there alone, he was so feeble, if the wind blew across him and the rain poured down on him, could he still stay alive then? He became determined and lifted the child from the ground and into his arms.
Maybe it was because the child was still very young, although Gu Bai was only ten years old at the time, he still had no problem holding the child in his arms. He pushed the child’s head towards his shoulder, then quickly ran to the opposite side of the grove.
Within the mountain range, in order to be able to search for the whereabouts of the Blood Essence Lingzhi Mushroom from where he was, Gu Bai had found a cave that could be used as a temporary home on the side of a small mountain. The entrance of the cave wasn’t big, it only allowed children that were about the same height as Gu Bai, 1 meter-ish or shorter, to pass through. The inside was like a small room, it was capable of allowing three to five people to lay flat on the ground.
Because he was worried about being invaded by wild beasts during the night, Gu Bai always hid himself within the cave before the sun set, the purpose of the big boulder sitting on the side was to block the entrance of the cave. With the amount of strength he had now, he was just able to push the boulder.
At that moment, the reason Gu Bai was running whilst holding the child in his arms, was to return to this cave. He parted the vines that hung from the cave’s entrance and entered the cave.
The child was placed on a bed of grass, his little face scrunched up tightly. Gu Bai immediately pushed the boulder, blocking the entrance. He ignited a matchstick, then brought some water over to wipe the child’s face, he then removed the child’s clothing, preparing to wipe the child’s body.
But after he removed the child’s clothing, Gu Bai felt scared. The child’s arms, legs, spine and all the other parts of his body were covered in all sorts of scars. With Gu Bai’s observation skills, he could see that most of the scars had been caused by pinching and burns, and there were also some cuts, bruises and scratches, they looked really frightening.
The child’s body was so skinny that one could clearly see the outline of his bones, as if the child had never ever eaten until he was full. Unlike the soft, pink skin that the child’s age group was supposed to have, the child’s skin was slightly yellow, it wasn’t soft and pink at all, it was obvious that the child lacked nutrition.
Gu Bai’s heart felt even more unsettled, he gently caressed the child’s arm, he noticed the child was trembling slightly, it appeared as if, even in his dreams, the child was suffering from unbearable pain
Who actually did all of this? How could that person conduct such a cruel act on a very small child! It’s a woman, it’s definitely a woman who’s close to the child. Quite a few of the long fingernail scratches were very deep, to the point where they looked as if they were going the sink into the flesh!
Gu Bai breathed deeply, he became even more careful with wiping the child’s face and body clean. At that moment he discovered that the child looked unusually cute, even if the child was extremely skinny, his facial features were still delicate. Gu Bai became even more softhearted.
Being a senior otaku, he was obsessed with anything that was cute and he won’t blame them, although the child wasn’t a cute loli, but he might become a soft shota later, his cuteness obsessed soul still got triggered without any hesitation.
Then, he took a small pot out of his sleeve. Yu Rong Sui[2], made in Tian Du Cheng, top-class medicine for wounds, guaranteed to see the effects upon the first application. Apply once to stop bleeding, apply twice for the wounds to heal, apply three times to completely remove scars. Guaranteed to make your skin flawless, it’s a truly must-have boutique for your daily living or travels! Dear, are you sure you’re really not going to have a shot? In simple words, this was an extremely powerful medicine for physical or external wounds.
When Gu Bai learned of the effects of this medicine, he immediately took a shot, he kept it on him in case of danger or an emergency. But now, he decided to use the medicine on the child.
Gu Bai cleaned his hand, then sat next to the grass mat, he dipped his finger into the Yu Rong Sui and little by little, he began applying the medicine to the child’s body.
The workload was very heavy, other than the face, there were no other spots on the child’s body that was without wounds. Even if Gu Bai tried to use as little medicine as possible, the entire pot of medicine was just barely enough for him to use on the child, and this was with him choosing to put more medicine on severe wounds and a very thin layer on the less severe wounds.
Finally, after he had finished applying the medication, some sweat had emerged on his forehead. After he had hurriedly washed himself, he opened his clothes and held the naked child in his arms, wrapped within the clothing. It was a bit difficult for a big child to hold a small child in their arms, but to prevent the child from developing a fever during the night, this was the only option he had.
After being kept busy for quite a while, Gu Bai was actually feeling tired and his head started to droop, he held the child in his arms to warm him up, not long after, he also fell deeply into dreams.
Within his dreams, it felt like he was holding something warm in his arms, although it was a bit uncomfortable, it made him feel a little bit more secure, finally, after all the time he’d spent after he had transmigrated into this world, he was able to sleep well for the first time.
The next morning, Gu Bai was awakened by the feeling of something that wriggled in his arms. He blinked, lowered his head, and discovered the child who he had held in his arms last night, had already woken up, now trapped in the crook of his arm. The child looked like he wanted to move, but was reluctant to leave his arms at the same time, the pair of eyes were dark and lively, like a small animal, the child’s little face was also slightly reddish.
Now, the child appeared to notice that Gu Bai had woken up, he raised his head and spoke with care, “xiao-gege[3] …” so… so cute! Gu Bai suddenly felt as if his gauge of cuteness had exploded! It was like he saw the soft, cinnamon roll, little shota in a few years time waving at him…
Gu Bai felt he was a serious and decent man, but his first reaction was to touch the child’s face with his hand, he gently asked, “Is your body still hurting? What’s your name?”
The child shook his head, “It’s not hurting anymore.” Then he puckered his lips, “My… my name is Little Bastard…”
After he’d let out this sentence, Gu Bai felt the anger he had suppressed rage once again, the expression on his face twisted for a moment.
What the heck is this kind of family?! How could they treat a little child like this?! Are servants not human?! Even though they need to do chores, don’t torture them at any rate! Even if the servants really do need to be punished, what’s the meaning of taking your anger out on a little child? They are definitely monsters and beasts okay!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his expression was also becoming less and less friendly. Until he felt his arm being gently pulled by someone, twice, it was only then he noticed the child in his arms was horrified… by him.
Gu Bai breathed deeply, then gave a smile that looked a bit forced, “That name doesn’t sound good, are you okay with me giving you a new name?”
The child stared blankly at Gu Bai for a while, before he nodded his head, “To be honest, I don’t even know whether that name is my name or not, that’s what they curse me with. But nobody was willing to give me a name…” when the speech reached this part, the child lifted up his small arm and held onto Gu Bai’s neck, “I want xiao-gege to give me a name!”
Gu Bai felt the feeble strength on his neck and felt as if his heart had melted into a pool of water. Before, his nephews, younger cousins and so on, were all wild kids of which one was more “energetic” than the other! Ever since his seniority in the family rose, he had never, ever encountered a child that was as cute and as well-behaved as this one! Who knew that he could encounter one after he had tragically transmigrated into another world! He suddenly felt that his transmigration wasn’t totally bad at all and he became optimistic about the future!
He silently roared within his heart for a while, Gu Bai gently poked the child’s face, and spoke with a smile on his face, “Since we met at the bottom of the hillside, how about I call you Xiao San? As for your surname, what about Gu? It’s my surname.” Since he can’t return to his original world, and the identity of the body he’s possessing is the child of a powerful and strong wushu practitioner, his original surname can’t be used anymore – it’s better to give it to this child, so he could at least have something to cherish about.
The child’s eyes were watery, “So… so I’ll be called Gu San from now on? What’s xiao-gege’s name?”
Gu Bai’s smile froze for a moment, then he finally said, “My name… my name is Gu… Shu Bai.”
His current inside was no longer Gu Bai, but also not completely Zi Che Shu Bai, so, this couldn’t be counted as deceiving the child who trusted him so much, right? Gu Bai thought, but he couldn’t have possibly guessed that, in the future that’s yet to come, he will be extremely thankful about the moment of hesitation he was having now. Oh my god… what a man of foresight he is!