"Children, it's time you learn how to make a dog behave again" Xiao Lan felt his breath caught up in his throat as empty silver eyes met his own and Xiao Lan felt something shift inside him.

This was not a feeling Xiao Lan had felt before, neither was the heat inside his body and the haze on his mind that seemed to be covering his common senses.

A small cry reached Xiao Lan's ears and it cleared the haze a little. The small kid in the middle was the one to let out that small sound of hurt as his body arched in pain. The boss kid, the one who had dragged Xiao Lan here, had one hand in the slave's unkempt hairs and he pulled at them.

The kid was as good as hanging in the air by that strong grip on his hair and it must be painful. The small feet of the other did not even reach the ground at all and it must have been extremely painful.

Xiao Lan could see the kids around him getting scared at the scene in front of them. A girl even had her eyes averted from the small kid in the middle and her eyes seemed wetter.

But that was only for the kids belonging to the common familiar. Most noble kids did not give a reaction to what was going on, their expression borderline bored at the display.

"Hey, you kid. Come here" it took Xiao Lan a few seconds to realise that he had been the one to be called. The anger inside him was making his mind a little slower than Xiao Lan would have liked it to be and that was not alright.

It was a liability and Xiao Lan needed to correct this. Nothing about this situation was right or moral.

Nevertheless, he made his way to the centre where the boss held the slave in his grasp. Those silver eyes met his own but they held no hope, just pain.

"You cannot treat a human like this. Let him go and you won't get in trouble from my side" Xiao Lan gave a fair warning to the others in hopes to spare him additional torment. If possible, he would like these people to not get in danger.

The boss gave a loud and hearty laugh. Some older kids even chuckled at his words.

"Aww, is the baby bird concerned about this trash? Don't worry kid, this here is no human but a thing. You need not concern yourself with trash like this here" it horrified the young Xiao Lan to know that the other genuinely believed what he was saying.

The older one was almost 18, quite a bit older than Xiao Lan's 11-year-old body and was at the age where one could tell right from wrong. So did he simply not see his error or not care for it?

"That's right, that's right. Besides, brother Zhang Shou here is the son of minister Zhang from civil affairs. If you don't follow him then your life would become difficult in the academy and afterwards" the follower tried to sway Xiao Lan with his words and many kids looked scared.

"Xihi, everyone can guess who I am after you say my name out loud. Besides, hurry up here kid before the others come to take their turn with it" the hand in the hair tightened its grip and the yelp could not be stopped by the other kid.

"You are hurting him. Let him go" Xiao Lan tried one last time to make the other let go but they seemed to irritate Zhang Shou who gave Xiao Lan an evil eye.

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"I've had enough of you. I was being gracious when I said I would teach you the ropes but now you are being a problem. Xihi, come here and hold him down so that we can teach him a lesson as well" Xiao Lan felt taken aback.

What was with these people? Xiao Lan was not used to this since people tended to listen to him when he spoke and they considered his advice seriously.

But these kids who did not know who he was had not respected his words at all. Was Xiao Lan not worth anything more than his position to anyone? Would no one really listen to him if he was not the younger prince?

"Brother Zhang, I don't think it's a good idea. He's still a kid and new here so he'll learn-" the lackey said, not wanting to aggro the blame should Xiao Lan's family turn out to be a prominent one.

He had caught onto the fact that with Xiao Lan's confidence, he cannot be from an ordinary noble family. Either this kid was stupid or had good backing to pack such confidence.

Too bad, brother Zhang was not in a good mood or he would have picked up on it as well and capitalized on the chance. When brother Zhang got mad the other seemed to lose his reasoning as well.

"You do as I say or you will be next. Don't forget who paid for your entry here and who your master is" Xihi got quiet at those words. Even though he was noble, his family was not particularly wealthy or high in social standing.

He would never have made it in here had it not been for brother Zhang's support and thus, he had sworn fidelity to him. As a result, he had to stand back and see brother Zhang do the things he despised and say nothing in return.

His family was depending on him so he had no other choice.

"S-Someone is coming. N-Not a s-student" the voice was almost soft to the point of being unheard but it was clear who had spoken. The slave looked semi-conscious and his face was twisted in pain but his voice was almost melodic in nature.

"Do you really think you can save yourself if you tell such lies? I will add this to your interest along with his mistake" Brother Zhang was not a forgiving man at all. He was irritated and nothing seemed to go right today.

Then he had seen these new recruits and he knew how to lighten his mood. Who knew it would turn out like this at all? Who did this brat think he was? The emperor? The younger prince?

Xihi's words were right though and even he knew he would not get away without trouble should this kid really be from a noble family. But he had an outlet who could take his anger and he justified his range with the best reason possible.

"Brother Zhang, the instructor is really coming here. Quick, we need to leave now" Brother Zhang cursed softly at the ill timing of the instructor. Why were they coming here right now? And today of all days?

They had never bothered to petrol these areas before so what made today special. Was he forgetting about something important today?

"Trash, we'll meet again tomorrow so don't expect me to be lenient with your punishment" the slave did not look at him but Brother Zhang had no time to correct it all. He ended up leaving right now if he wanted to get away.

Xiao Lan watched everyone leave but he could not make himself move from this place. Somehow, his body had frozen and those silver eyes did not help much.

"You s-should leave as well. T-the instructors will be here a-any moment" the kid was obviously in pain but still urging Xiao Lan to leave. The kid also seemed nervous and his eyes seemed to be darting around the room.

Xiao Lan could not find anything wrong with his surroundings but he just could not make himself move due to shock. The kid gave him an understanding smile but his eyes dulled a little bit.

"You cannot move?" Xiao Lan shook his head, now finally coming around to himself. The kid gave him a nervous giggle.

"Y-You will be p-punished if you are caught here, e-especially with me" the door almost opened and the kid seemed to be having a panic attack. Through the filter in his mind, Xiao Lan did know what to do to help.

He just regretted not being able to move or speak.

"Please don't tell anyone about this. Please" the silver eyes watered just a little bit and the next thing Xiao Lan knew was the feeling of something draping over himself.

When he looked, he could see nothing over his head or any other part but the feeling of being surrounded by something still remained.

Then the instructor entered with a tired face which twisted into an angry expression as soon as he saw the other kid. For a few seconds, Xiao Lan wondered if the other had seen him and that was why he was angry.

But then the instructor passed him and he watched as he took the thin wrist of the other kid in his hand and yanked him painfully.

"You? What are you doing?"