Mutated Tao

“Oh, I almost forgot. This is your Fifth Brother. He came back yesterday.” Chi Baishui introduced Yang Xiaohai to his Eldest Sister.

The Eldest Sister looked at Yang Xiaohai’s scale tattoo and nodded satisfactorily. “Fifth Brother, it’s good that you are back. Have you gotten married? Do you need my help finding a wife?”

“Hahahaha, that won’t be necessary. He’s so amazing that he found someone old enough to be his mother as his wife.”

The two of them entered the boat tent. It was only then that Zhao Xiumei rushed towards Yang Xiaohai and held his hands. “Xiaohai! She’s one of the Dharma Sect! We need to run now!”

Yang Xiaohai hesitated before he reassured her by gently patting her hands. He then walked into the boat tent. “Let me see if I can convince her.”

No matter what, she was his family, and he could not let his family be.

Their lunch that day was more luxurious to celebrate the return of Yang Xiaohai’s Eldest Sister. Even though the dishes were delicious, Yang Xiaohai couldn’t fully enjoy them. He was thinking about how to convince his sister.

“Father, how much silver do we have in our house? Give it to me, and I will try my best to give everyone in our family a position in the palace.”

Yang Xiaohai immediately panicked and stood up. “You cannot do so! The Dharma Sect is an evil sect that kills others! You are pushing everyone in our family into the fire if you do so!”

Yang Xiaohai then explained to them what happened to Cowheart Village, how the Dharma Sect attacked them, and what the old lady from the Dharma Sect had done in the county.

But just as he finished his story, he saw his Eldest Sister and father laughing at him.

His Eldest Sister said, “Fifth Brother, you are still young. Of course, we know they are an evil sect for staging a rebellion, but what if they won?”

She then looked at Yang Xiaohai before taking a sip of the fish liquor. “If their rebellion is a success, then it’s not considered a rebellion but a revolution! The Dharma Sect would then become the official religion! Do you know what that would mean for us?”

“I don’t know!” Yang Xiaohai shook his head and said adamantly, “An evil sect is an evil sect. They treat human lives as insignificant and have killed a lot of people!”

“What a joke!” Chi Baishui slammed the table in anger. “And do you think the previous officials of Hou Shu valued people’s lives? They are all the same! If it wasn’t because of us trying to harvest pearls for them, your mother wouldn’t have become deaf! It’s better if they are eradicated instead.”

He continued, “They need manpower now that the new palace and governors are being set up. If you don’t become an official now, you will have to rely on harvesting pearls to maintain your livelihood. Do you want that?!”

Looking at Yang Xiaohai clenching his fists on the other side of the table, Chi Baishui waved his hand with frustration. “Nevermind. You haven’t even grown all of your hair yet. You won’t understand what I’m talking about, so just listen to me and follow my orders.”

Chi Baishui looked at his Eldest Daughter. “Then we will do as you said. We didn’t spend the money you sent back and your fifth brother brought back a lot of silver, so you can use all of it.”

Both father and daughter were temperamental, so they acted immediately after lunch. They took the money and silver from the bottom of the carriage.

Even Yang Xiaohai’s carriage was stripped of its valuables as everything he had brought from Cowheart Village was being taken out.

“Don’t worry about the silvers. Give them to your sister and she’ll exchange them for positions in the palace for us. It’s much better than letting the silver rot away in storage.” Chi Baishui was pleased with his plan.

Yang Xiaohai held his wife’s hands and stared blankly at the items being transported out of the carriage. He wasn’t worried about the silver, but he had the revelation that his family wasn’t what he had imagined. He had thought all families were loving and caring, just like the Lu family.

“Father! You can’t do that! The Dharma Sect murders people without a single thought! You will turn all of us into fugitives!” Yang Xiaohai tried to persuade them one last time. He couldn’t let his family die a meaningless death.

“You are still a brat and know nothing! There’s no good or bad person here! Do you think you’re playing house?”

They took out everything and even sold off the carriage and the horse without Yang Xiaohai’s permission.

As if sensing something, the monkey children and Zhao Xiumei stood beside Yang Xiaohai. They were upset too.

“Xiaohai, let’s go back to Cowheart Village. This isn’t how a family should function,” Zhao Xiumei consoled and persuaded Yang Xiaohai.

Yang Xiaohai saw his mother was fetching a bowl of food for him and forced a smile. “Wait, let me think of a plan.”

Yang Xiaohai was busy trying to figure out a way to stop his family. He thought of doing it physically, but he was surrounded by his cousins and relatives. It was a bad idea to resort to physical violence since he couldn’t kill them either.

Yang Xiaohai was still formulating a plan as he lay in the hammock.

The monkey children are very nimble. Should I ask them to steal all the silver from my Eldest Sister? Then they won’t be able to join the Dharma Sect anymore.

Yang Xiaohai was still trying to figure out the perfect plan when he heard the chittering of monkeys. Those noises were unique to children trained to be monkeys, and regular people could not emulate them.

“What’s happening?” Yang Xiaohai jumped down from his hammock and carefully tiptoed past his Third Brother. He exited the boat and saw a horrific scene.

His father and Second Brother had tied up the monkey children and were walking further away.

“Father! What are you doing?!” Yang Xiaohai’s voice was trembling when he shouted.

Chi Baishui looked up without a hint of panic. “I don’t know why you picked up these three children. Since they are useless, I might as well sell them for money.” He said it matter-of-factly without a hint of remorse.

Yang Xiaohai felt extreme pain in his heart as he stopped him. “Father, I’ve already given you the silver and the carriage. Why are you also selling them?”

“Since when do you think we have enough money? These three children look like monkeys, so I assume they’ve been trained before. We can sell them for a good price and then give the money to your Eldest Sister to exchange for some positions for us in the palace. We can earn back the money in two to three months anyway.”

Yang Xiaohai had never felt so estranged from his father before. A frightening thought suddenly crossed his mind. Did he really sell me last time just because they didn’t have food? Why is he selling people so easily?

Chi Baishui ignored Yang Xiaohai and motioned for his Second Son to continue pulling the monkey children away.

“Wait! Stop!” Yang Xiaohai blocked both of them without hesitation and took out his scepter, “Let them go.”

“Hey, how could you talk to our father like that? Do you want to get a beating?”

“Why? Why did you sell me last time?” Yang Xiaohai shouted at them with tears in his eyes.

“Why? It’s because I’m your father! Kneel!” Chi Baishui rolled up his sleeves.

Their shouting woke the other people. All of them tried to break up the fight.

“Fifth Son from the Chi family, you can’t act like this. He’s your father and you should listen to him. You cannot be so unfilial.”

“Yeah, plus the three children aren't from our family anyways so we can just sell them.”

“Alright, enough fighting. Just kneel and apologize to your father. We are all family so don’t fight anymore.”