Liang Haoming nodded with a wooden expression, but his eyes held a joy that even he himself didn’t fully understand. In his heart, he was probably happy that this person cared about him and was good to him. When he was sick or hurt, she would worry about him.
He lowered his head and wiped the blood off his hands. Then he touched the delicate pink scar on her cheek, and something seemed to flicker quickly through his eyes.
Hong Xiangjun watched the three share an intimate atmosphere and suddenly felt uncomfortable, inexplicably feeling as if she had been force-fed a mouthful of dog food.
"Alright, alright, it’s getting late, and I’m tired. I’m going to go sleep," she yawned, deciding it was better not to stick around and torture herself. So she divided the day’s earnings into two, left Dong Huiying’s share, and took her own with her as she left.
Liang Yuening stared at the large package of silver on the table, feeling rather astonished. "That must be over a hundred taels, right?"
"Yes!" Dong Huiying was also happy. "We earned a lot today. We’ll probably need to stay in Jun City for about half a month. Oh, right," she then turned to the silent Liang Haoming, who had taken off his mask, revealing the left side of his cheek towards her. The scars on his face, under the candlelight, were frightening, like the bell tower’s phantom. But Dong Huiying, far from being scared, found herself growing more accustomed to the sight.
Could it be because she knew that beneath the frightening exterior lay a pure and simple soul?
"Where’s Liang Shujun?"
She remembered Third Brother Liang Shujun. Back when she was with the Liang family of Kaoshan Village, Fourth Brother had just left, followed shortly by Third Brother in pursuit. But although she saw Fourth Brother, who kept his black fist fighting a secret from the family, at the black market today, she did not encounter Third Brother.
Liang Haoming’s body tensed up suddenly, and then, hanging his head low, he looked extremely uncomfortable.
Clenching his sleeves, he seemed a bit nervous, and after a long silence, he finally squeezed out a sentence, "Third Brother, Third Brother has been arrested..."
His voice was so faint, she almost didn’t catch it.
"What did you say?" She stared wide-eyed, her face showing an indescribable mix of emotions. She blinked hard, "Shujun has been arrested? How could this happen? Wasn’t he... wasn’t he with you?"
As Dong Huiying asked this, Liang Haoming became even more embarrassed. Of course, his expression remained impassive, showing no discernible emotion.
Liang Haoming was a little afraid to look at the young girl.
In fact, this is what had happened: after he left home that day, Third Brother had followed him.
Since a year ago, when Third Brother sold himself to the Sky Blue Building and the family took in a "wolf" for ten taels of silver, a lot happened.
As a member of the family, Haoming felt it was his duty to do something. Even before that, he had never slackened and had once stayed in the mountains almost permanently, fighting fierce beasts day in and day out, just to bring in more prey to sell for money. But hunting was a matter of luck, and he gradually realized that relying on it alone was like dropping a bucket into an abyss—nowhere near enough.
So, by chance, he began to fight in the underground ring.
Every fighter signed a life and death waiver with the black market.
At first, he was weak, lost more than he won, and often got injured, but he kept it a secret from the family, afraid to let them know. Because he was aware that if his eldest brother and others found out about it, they would stop him, but he wanted to contribute to the family.
He might seem dull, but in reality, he was deeply loyal. Whether it was the pressure from his second brother’s illness or the stress of life, it shouldn’t all fall on his eldest and third brothers. His thoughts were simple, and this secret he kept for a whole year gradually nearly became an obsession...