Mutated Tao

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and apologize to your father. Don’t interrupt our sleep.”

“I would’ve tied you and beaten you up if you were my son.”

Yang Xiaohai looked around and couldn’t believe that they were his family and relatives. To them, the three monkey children weren’t humans but rather goods to be sold.

He looked around before staring at his own father as he felt bitterness in his heart.

No, not just the monkey children. He even looked at his own sons as goods to be exchanged for silver.

Chi Baishui saw Yang Xiaohai didn’t kneel even after some time had passed. He felt humiliated by Yang Xiaohai’s disobedience.

He rolled up his sleeves and slapped Yang Xiaohai. “Kneel down!”

Sensing the pain on his cheeks, the bitterness in his heart receded and was replaced by anger. Yang Xiaohai was pissed at his own father!

“I will not! Why should I kneel?! You are not qualified to be my father!” Yang Xiaohai pushed Chi Baishui and shouted at him.

“You fucker!” Chu Baishui was angered too. He looked around and immediately picked up a piece of wood with nails. He swung it at Yang Xiaohai’s head.

Yang Xiaohai’s mother, Second Brother, and Third Brother tried to stop Chi Baishui. The entire place was in chaos when Yang Xiaohai’s Eldest Sister stood up to diffuse the situation.

“It’s fine, father. There’s no need to sell the three children. We are at war and children are worth very little. We have enough silver for now.”

Chi Baishui threw down the wood and scolded Yang Xiaohai.

“I am your father! I will sell the three children, and you must listen to me! If you defy me again, I will sell your wife too!”

Yang Xiaohai’s gaze changed when he looked at Chi Baishui. Before this, he didn’t understand why Chun Xiaoman would kill her own father. But now he did.

There were evil people in his family too, and they were worse than strangers!

“Alright, father. There's no need to keep scolding him like this.” The eldest sister gestured for her Second Brother and Third Brother to pull their father into the boat tent.

“Everything is settled now. Please go back to sleep. I’m sorry for interrupting everyone’s sleep due to our quarrel.”

After they left, she approached Yang Xiaohai and grumbled, “What’s wrong with you? We are all family, so why can’t you choose to be softer?”

Yang Xiaohai lowered his head and grumbled, too. His fists trembled as if he had made up his mind.

His eldest sister sighed when she saw how thick-headed Yang Xiaohai was. “We should just let it be for tonight. Our Third Uncle is out in the sea to fish. You can sleep on his old boat and wait till tomorrow to talk about anything else.”

She then pointed at the single lonely boat in the distance.

Yang Xiaohai nodded. He held the pale-looking Zhao Xiumei and the scared monkey children towards the boat.

The boat was small and leaking, but Yang Xiaohai just sat disappointedly, like a statue.

“Husband, what should we do?” Zhao Xiumei trembled as she huddled with Yang Xiaohai. It was clear that she was afraid too. The situation here reminded her of the bandit cave.

“This is not my house, and they are not my family! Our home is in Cowheart Village!”

Zhao Xiumei saw that Yang Xiaohai slowly changed from a statue to a living human. His gaze was filled with determination.

“Cowheart Village is our real home, and my Senior Brothers and Sisters are our real family!”

When he was a beggar last time, he had imagined what his family looked like numerous times while cold and hungry. He kept thinking about how well they would treat him.

But now he knew that his family was cold-hearted. If they had been truly good to him, they never would’ve sold him. It was just his wishful thinking, after all!

“How should we leave? They took our carriage and silver,” Zhao Xiumei said with a frown.

“We will just take them back. Those belong to us, so how can they just take them without asking me?”

Yang Xiaohai clenched his fists and said to the monkey children, “The silver is with my eldest sister. You three go and steal the silver while I distract my eldest sister.”

He continued, “Once we have the money, we can buy back our carriage and horse. We will steal the silver while they are sleeping and go back to Qing Qiu!”

Yang Xiaohai didn’t tell the others that without the silver, his family also wouldn’t be able to join the Dharma Sect.

He was discussing the plan with Zhao Xiumei when a sound from outside the boat hull made the both of them shut up.

“Fifth Son, it’s cold, so I brought you and your wife a blanket.” It was his mother’s voice. Yang Xiaohao smiled gently because the only warmth he had felt from his family came from his mother.

He brought her into the boat.

“Haiya, how could someone live here? It’s leaking everywhere, and it’s so humid.”

Yang Xiaohai’s mother was complaining when Yang Xiaohai looked at her. “Mother, I’m leaving now. Do you want to come with me? We can go to Cowheart Village, where you can enjoy a better life.”

“What? I’m deaf and I can’t hear you. What are you saying?”

Yang Xiaohai pulled his mother out from the boat and pointed at the land far on the horizon. It took some time for her to understand.

“Fifth Son, why are you leaving? We’ve just met again, and now you’re going away again?” Yang Xiaohai’s mother cried and begged for him to stay.

Yang Xiaohai shook his head. He didn’t want to leave his mother because she was the only one who treated him well.

“Is it because of your father? We are all family, so we should discuss this first.”

Yang Xiaohai tried to persuade her to leave, but she wouldn’t. The only thing he could do was persuade her not to tell his father.

“Alright, I won’t tell him. Fifth Son, remember to write letters for us once you reach land. Come visit us whenever you are nearby.”

He saw his mother walking back to the other boat while constantly looking back. There were some lights on the shore as if there were boats, but Yang Xiaohai ignored them. He had more important things to do. In the darkness of the night, he walked towards his sister’s boat.