Did We Agree to Hit the Kids?

The Ye family's little boy, whose full name is Ye Zerun, lives at the eastern end of Shili Village. His entire family has a very important secret. His father, the second son of the Ye family, took his mother and elder brother and ran off with a rebel leader! They're rebelling, too! The Ye family's little boy has a very important secret of his own. Sometimes, he can see animals behind certain people, animals that nobody else can see or touch! Behind Goudan, the fast runner from the village, he can see a rabbit. Behind Shuanzi, who has a keen nose, there's always a little yellow dog. There aren't many people with animals following them, but they always like him and want to be his friend. Ye Zerun originally thought he would spend his whole life like this in Shili Village. Until one day, a man in fine clothes, astride a tall horse, came to his house. He got off his horse and dropped to his knees at the gate with a thud. His grandmother said that was his father, the one who had joined the rebel leader's uprising. His father said the lord had captured the capital, and the other rebel kings posed no threat. The lord was going to declare himself emperor in the capital. He had come to bring the family there to enjoy the good life. And so the rebel leader became the Emperor. He became Ye Zerun, second legitimate son of Ye Wanxuan, Marquis of Luting. After arriving in the imperial capital with his father, Ye Zerun was sent to the Imperial Academy, a school for the children of officials. He was no good at studying and couldn't measure up to his elder brother, who had always stayed by their parents' side, so his father was always dissatisfied with him. Then one day, just as the new Marquis of Luting was about to discipline his good-for-nothing younger son, people began knocking at the marquis's mansion, one after another. Reinforcements arrived in waves. The young son of the Duke of Fuguo charged in and declared that he was taking Runqing home to raise him himself! The only son of the Grand Princess Huguo, usually so refined and courteous despite his young age, put on a rare cold expression and sat in the main hall without even drinking his tea. The Emperor's young troublemaker of a son was even more outrageous, shouting that he would go beat the grievance drum! Marquis Ye Wanxuan looked at his good-for-nothing second son still sprawled across the bench. He couldn't bring himself to bring down the wooden stick in his hand. His expression was complicated: So young, so bad at studying, and yet he has so many friends! When Ye Zerun was little, he had few worries. His biggest concern was that after he and his father moved to the capital, his father was always scolding him, and his mother seemed to like him, but maybe not all that much. Later, after he was adopted by his uncle and aunt, even that little worry disappeared. But as he grew up, his worries sprouted one after another, just like his height. After the Emperor conquered most of the realm and declared himself emperor in the capital, he made his uncles and legitimate sons princes. The eldest prince was a skilled warrior, but bloodthirsty. The second prince wasn't bloodthirsty, but he wanted to throw his favored concubine into a pot of boiling oil because she was rumored to have cuckolded him. The third prince made frequent inspection tours because the people under his rule wouldn't submit to his teachings. On every tour, he arrested a good number of unruly commoners. Eventually, one of those commoners escaped death and came to the capital to lodge a complaint. After being beaten with a rod and forced to crawl across a board of nails, he finally got to see the Emperor. Furious when he heard what had happened, the Emperor personally helped the bloodied, tattered man to his feet. He sentenced his youngest legitimate son, the third prince, to six months of confinement and eighty strokes of the cane. But because royal blood was precious, the cane actually struck the third prince's robe. The third prince endured the severe punishment by proxy, felt deeply humiliated, and turned over a new leaf. When people heard about it, they were moved to tears and praised the Emperor's wisdom, saying he didn't even shield his own son. Beneath the Emperor's three legitimate sons, who were princes, there were several more sons born to concubines. In the imperial court, below the princes, were dukes, marquises, earls, and more... The veteran generals had all distinguished themselves in battle, able to fight ten foes at once, or even a hundred. Ye Zerun wandered around the capital. One day, he suddenly asked his teacher, "Teacher, can I become emperor?" His teacher paused, then said he had been born a little too late. But for Ye Zerun's sake, he was willing to give it a try. When his childhood friends heard what he'd said, they all came to ask him about it. After hearing him say that his teacher thought he'd been born a little too late, and that there might not be enough time but they'd give it their best shot, his friends all slapped the table and stood up. The eldest prince, that is, the Emperor's uncle Li Ce, said solemnly, "Too late? What about the saying, 'The latecomer surpasses the early bird'? They can fight ten at once, or a hundred. I'll take on ten thousand!" PS: The setting of this story is mildly fantastical, with some elements resembling Sentinel and Guide fiction. However, the author has many original interpretations, and the story won't use the terms Sentinel or Guide for the characters. Readers, please don't assume it follows those settings exactly. Here's a rough introduction to the Sentinel and Guide elements in this story: Sentinels: They have heightened senses and great combat ability, but can easily lose control. Guides: They have powerful mental abilities and can soothe Sentinels. Both have spirit animals that can manifest as animals who follow them around, invisible and untouchable to ordinary people. Some of the spirit animals' actions and behavior can also be seen as expressions of their owner's innate personality. One more reminder: this story has a mildly fantastical setting. Coming soon. If you're interested, feel free to bookmark it in the author's profile. Superstar of the Bizarre World Blurb: This is a world with an exceptionally developed entertainment industry. Every top-tier star has tens of millions of fans, and wherever they go, they set off a deafening commotion. The flashing camera lights turn night into day. But none of this has anything to do with Lu Yu, because he's just a nobody on the fringes of the entertainment industry. Since debuting on a talent show, he still hasn't broken half a million followers on social media. The most substantial role he's had was playing a minor henchman under the second male lead, the kind who charges in to fight for him when he waves a hand. The only time he ever got to carry a show himself was when a younger actor at his company thought the script was too stupid. Lu Yu was thrown into the role at the last minute, playing the domineering CEO in a groveling-wife-back-from-the-dead drama, the kind who wakes up and immediately starts choking someone, demanding the heroine's kidney one day and her heart the next. When the show aired, the character was so stupid and the acting so stiff that tens of thousands of fans unfollowed him. Lu Yu had originally thought he would remain a nobody on the fringes forever, and planned to decide what to do after his contract expired. But then, one day, at a major industry awards ceremony, a newly crowned Best Actor who had just been accepting an award suddenly fainted and woke up. He then charged toward Lu Yu as if he had gone mad, eyes bloodshot and breathing ragged, grabbing his hand and trembling as he begged for an autograph. The top-tier starlet who had fainted alongside the Best Actor charged over, too. She was equally panicked and ran to his side without hesitation, firmly declaring that she was his fan and asking him to coach her acting. Lu Yu: Uh... what is this, some kind of Dragon King Returns face-slapping plot? I wouldn't even dare dream this up! Later, a group of mysterious people sealed off the entire venue, and everyone there was made to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Only then did Lu Yu learn that this wasn't a wish-fulfillment story come to life. The bizarre world was about to spill into reality! The newly crowned Best Actor and the top-tier starlet were so desperate for his autograph and so eager to be his fans because he, Lu Yu, might be an obscure nobody in the real-world entertainment industry, but in the bizarre world, he was an undisputed superstar! The kind whose dramas make the male and female ghosts in the instances sob and beg to give him their hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, kidneys, and everything else. Later, after signing the nondisclosure agreement and returning home, Lu Yu found an exquisite card on his bedside table. It bore a line of twisted writing: [I will bring this world, born from the flesh and blood it devours, along with me to love you.] The card was signed: [&*##@#] It was gibberish, and it belonged to his first fan, a deranged sasaeng fan who wrote love letters in blood and secretly broke into his home to steal things. There's a terrifying urban legend in the bizarre world. One day, you might run into a powerful calamity-class ghost who'll generously share every work by his beautiful superstar wife. If you can't appreciate those works, can't even offer a thoughtful review, or have never heard of this ghost's beautiful superstar wife, congratulations. Boom! You explode. Because he thinks you have no taste. But if you're also an ardent fan of this beautiful superstar, know every one of his works and every line of dialogue, can even connect with his profound acting, and give a spot-on critique or two, then congratulations. Boom! You explode, too. Because this calamity-class ghost won't allow anyone in the world to know his beautiful wife better than he does. Your talent for stanning makes him jealous. Lovecraftian ghost top VS beautiful little superstar bottom PS: The top isn't actually a sasaeng fan. It's a misunderstanding. Theme: When children struggle with their studies, we should find the right approach and guide them patiently.