The Great Hong Dynasty had unified the land for over three hundred years, with its governing laws being extremely harsh, and there was even the term "guilty households".

Those who committed heinous crimes would have their entire clans implicated. Their descendants would forever be "guilty households". The females would become maidservants, and the males would be conscripted for corvée labor. Unless they performed immortal feats for the nation, they would never have a chance to rise above their circumstances.

Liang Xin had been a "guilty household" since birth. He was not entitled to eat meat, wear new clothes, attend school, or even step out of the "Guilty Household Street" designated by the yamen to take a peek at the bustling world outside.

Liang Xin was eight years old this year. When he reached the age of fourteen, he would be assigned by the yamen, either to guard the frontiers, or to quarry stones, mine ores, or reclaim wasteland... In short, all were arduous tasks with a slim chance of survival. According to the laws of the Great Hong Dynasty, if he could endure until the age of twenty without dying, he could return for three years, marry a girl from a "guilty household", have children, and then be conscripted for another six years of corvée labor...

Six years of hard labor, three years of rest, and thus the lives of the "guilty households" repeated in this cycle. However, most of them were not so lucky and couldn't survive two or three such "six-year" periods. Liang Xin's father had died of exhaustion and vomiting blood during the second "six-year" period.

Their family had been "guilty households" for three hundred years, and no one knew anymore what the ancestors of the Liang family had done to deserve such hardships for their descendants!

Liang Xin now had a vague understanding of his future fate, but how could a child's heart bear such a heavy burden? He was still cheerful all day long. Every night, he would sit on the roof, staring eagerly at the night sky. Whenever a meteor streaked across, he would quickly murmur his wishes.

His wishes had changed from "I want to perform a great feat and no longer be a 'guilty household' together with my mother" to simply "Perform a feat" after being simplified again and again. But meteors always flashed by in an instant, appearing without any warning, and he couldn't even make this two-word wish in time.

One night, as usual, Liang Xin was sitting on the roof waiting for meteors. Suddenly, a faint voice came from below, "The child on the roof, is the family whose roof you're sitting on surnamed Liang?"

Liang Xin was startled. Looking down, he saw a short and thin man standing not far away, looking up at him timidly.

This man was about forty years old, with a face full of humility. He was short and skinny, looking like a consumptive. There was a large golden coin-shaped birthmark on his face, which was particularly conspicuous.

The consumptive seemed very nervous, his eyes wandering, not daring to look Liang Xin in the eye. Occasionally, when he took a glance, he would quickly look away. Coupled with his sallow and emaciated face and the three wispy goatee whiskers on his chin, he looked both pitiful and a bit ridiculous.

Liang Xin was quite puzzled. He didn't recognize this man and thought he probably wasn't from the "Guilty Household Street". But except for the officers and soldiers, no outsiders were supposed to come in here. He nimbly climbed down from the roof, "Yes, the surname is Liang. What do you want with my family?"

It was only then that Liang Xin noticed that the other man was even half a head shorter than him.

The consumptive answered, "I'm not looking for your family. I'm looking for someone surnamed Liang."

Liang Xin couldn't help giggling, "It's the middle of the night. I'm sitting on the roof of the Liang family's house looking at the stars. Of course, I'm from the Liang family!"

The consumptive was stunned for a moment, then blinked his eyes. After a while, he suddenly realized, "That makes sense!" With that, he suddenly leaned forward, almost pressing his face against Liang Xin's, carefully examining his appearance. There was some hesitation on his distressed face, "If you look closely, there's still a bit of a resemblance..."

"Ghost!" Liang Xin felt his hair stand on end and screamed as he backed away a few steps, finally falling and sitting on the ground.

This man was floating over, floating with his feet off the ground...

The consumptive was even more frightened than Liang Xin, his face full of horror, and his chicken-claw-like hands were shaking desperately, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I won't harm you. I can't harm you either... Besides, you're already in such a situation. What could I possibly do to harm you?"

Liang Xin stared at the other man and asked stutteringly, "Are you really a ghost?"

The consumptive grinned apologetically and nodded, "Don't be afraid. My magic power is so weak that I definitely can't defeat you. I can't defeat you, let alone harm you."

With that, the consumptive flipped his hands, and like a magician, he produced an oil-paper package and opened it with a rustling sound.

Liang Xin was suddenly stunned, his eyes fixed on the paper package in the consumptive's hand, his eyes full of amazement and greed, "Is this... is this meat?" The oil-paper package emitted an unusually fragrant smell, making his mouth water inexplicably, and even his stomach growled!

Looking at Liang Xin's expression, the consumptive's eyes were a bit cloudy as he said softly, "It's meat. Braised beef from the Jufu Restaurant. It's for eating and building strength." With that, he stuffed the braised beef into Liang Xin's small hands.

Liang Xin was dumbfounded.

Eating meat was something that the "guilty households" didn't even dare to think about. As for Liang Xin, from the moment he was born until now, he had never even seen what meat looked like.

After carefully tearing off a small strip and putting it in his mouth, Liang Xin suddenly let out a cry of surprise. Holding the braised beef, he turned and rushed into the house, shaking awake Liang, who had long been exhausted from years of toil and had already fallen asleep.

When the consumptive floated into the house, the mother and son even forgot about the little ghost guest. They were giggling, tearing off small strips of the meat one by one and stuffing them into each other's mouths...

The consumptive took a deep breath, turned around and went out. When he came back half an hour later, his face was bruised and swollen, but he was carrying a not-so-small bundle on his back. Returning to the Liang family's house, he spread the bundle on the table: roast chicken, braised duck, marinated eggs, mutton offal, beef face...

Liang was extremely ugly. She stared dumbfounded at the table full of dishes that she had never tasted, seen, or even thought about before, not knowing what to say for a moment.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Liang Xin was relatively calm. He picked up a chicken leg from the table and carefully stood in front of his mother, "Your face..."

The consumptive grinned, revealing a few uneven teeth, "My magic power is too weak. I was discovered when I was stealing these foods."

The consumptive was just a lowly little ghost. If he showed his true form, he couldn't escape the fists and kicks of ordinary people. But if he was invisible, he couldn't pick up anything in the human world.

Liang Xin nodded gratefully and asked, "Who are you exactly? What do you want with our family...?" Then, as if he had thought of something, a genuine joy suddenly bloomed on his small face, and he stared at the consumptive and asked loudly, "Are you my father?!"

"No!" Liang and the little ghost said in unison, both startled.

"Then who are you?" Liang Xin wasn't too disappointed.

The consumptive hurriedly answered, "I was the personal attendant of Liang Yi'er. Liang Yi'er is your ancestor."

Liang Xin looked back at his mother. Liang shook her head. She didn't know that her husband's family had such an ancestor either, and she had never even heard of this consumptive.

The consumptive's tone was always so timid. When he spoke, he didn't dare to look the other person in the eye, "More than three hundred years ago, I died unjustly. Because my resentment was so deep, my soul didn't disperse. My enemies were right in front of me, but I was powerless to take revenge. I could only use my little bit of magic power to constantly play tricks on them. Unexpectedly, this attracted the pursuit of the underworld envoys. Just when I was about to be destroyed, Lord Liang happened to pass by, saved me, and helped me clarify my grievance and killed my enemies with his own hands. From then on, I vowed to serve the Liang family forever. Lord Liang gave me the name Feng Xixi..."

Liang Xin's eyes grew brighter as he asked a series of questions, "Lord Liang? Was my ancestor a high official? Could he fend off the ghost envoys? Was he a god?"

The little ghost Feng Xixi answered honestly, "Lord Liang was a high official with great abilities. Compared to the gods, he was no less capable. However, he was a mortal, and ultimately, he only had a lifespan of a hundred years or so..."

"Later, once Lord Liang encountered an assassin. I was also affected in the fierce battle. Seriously injured, I slept for three hundred years. When I woke up again, Lord Liang had already ascended to immortality. I went through a lot of trouble and finally found out that Lord Liang had later offended the emperor, was convicted and beheaded, and his descendants were forever 'guilty households'. To find you, I don't know how many places I've run to. Finally, the King of Hell was kind enough to let me come to repay my gratitude." Feng Xixi's tone was first gloomy and sad, and then it became relieved.

Liang Xin asked eagerly, "What crime did my ancestor commit?"

Feng Xixi shook his head, answering with self-reproach, "I can't find out. My magic power is too poor to enter the yamen."

Liang finally came to her senses. Her expression changed from surprise to hesitation and finally to determination. Suddenly, she pulled Liang Xin and knelt down together, stammering, "You're a ghost. You must have other abilities. Please, I beg you, for the sake of the Liang family's ancestor, take the child away..."

Feng Xixi was so shocked that his ghostly face turned pale. Immediately, he knelt down and kowtowed desperately to Liang Xin and his mother, "I, I don't have that much ability. I can't save you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I'll always be by your side and steal meat for you... When the young master is in good health, he can endure the corvée labor."

"Also, also!" Feng Xixi was almost crying, "I'll go and steal a boxing manual so that the young master can practice martial arts. With skills, he'll have a chance to escape..." He was an honest man when he was alive, and after becoming a ghost, he was even more loyal. Three hundred years later, he had managed to find the descendants of Liang Yi'er to repay his gratitude.

Feng Xixi was just a lowly little ghost with weak abilities. He couldn't even defeat an ordinary person, let alone take Liang Xin and his mother to escape. He only dared to show up at night, as the sunlight during the day would cause him great harm.

That night, eight-year-old Liang Xin saw a ghost for the first time, tasted meat for the first time, and heard about his family's ancestors for the first time...

Liang Xin was a young child, and Liang was extremely exhausted during the day. By the second half of the night, the mother and son couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep. Feng Xixi, on the other hand, was busy. First, he cleaned up the house, then mended military boots and washed military uniforms to share the corvée labor for Liang. It wasn't until dawn was about to break that he disappeared by hiding his form.

The next day, when Liang Xin woke up in a daze, he was still a bit unsure if what had happened last night was just a beautiful dream. When he opened his eyes, he saw Liang sitting beside him, looking at him worriedly.

Liang Xin quickly sat up, "Mother, what's wrong?"

Liang was also a "guilty household". Besides constantly working, she had never had any contact with the outside world, nor did she have any knowledge or ideas. When she spoke, her tone was a bit hesitant, "Feng Xixi is a little ghost. I'm afraid it's not a good omen that he found you..."

Liang Xin giggled, stretching his body and saying, "What could be more inauspicious than the situation we're in now!" Then he comforted Liang a few more times, got out of bed, washed his face, and started to help his mother with the work...

After a simple lunch, Liang Xin climbed back onto the bed and slept until the sun went down, conserving his energy to wait for Feng Xixi to come again.

However, that day, Feng Xixi didn't come as promised. Liang Xin sat on the roof, waiting until it was broad daylight before returning to his small bed with a tired face and a look of deep disappointment in his eyes.

For three consecutive days, Feng Xixi didn't come again. Every night, Liang Xin refused to sleep, waiting so painfully. The already small and thin child looked even more haggard and pitiful.

On the fourth day, Liang Xin had decided not to wait anymore, but when night came, he still couldn't help climbing onto the roof...

At midnight, Liang Xin was half asleep and half awake when he suddenly felt someone gently shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw Feng Xixi standing in front of him!

Liang Xin suddenly woke up from his daze, his eyes full of excitement and grievance. Before he could say anything, Feng Xixi said in a terrified tone, "Making the young master wait for me and causing the young master to lose sleep... I'm so sorry."

Feng Xixi still had that timid look as when they first met, his expression full of self-reproach. However, compared to the first meeting, his back was even more hunched, and he was missing an entire left arm!

Liang Xin quickly brought the little ghost into the house. Once inside, Feng Xixi hurriedly took out a roast chicken from his arms, and then a thin booklet with a portrait on it, his face full of smiles, "This is the boxing manual!"

Liang Xin took the boxing manual smeared with large oil stains from his hand, but his eyes were fixed on Feng Xixi's empty left arm, "What happened to you?"

Feng Xixi smiled a bit sheepishly, "To steal the boxing manual, I had to go to those who practiced martial arts. But most of those who practiced martial arts are strong and have a strong yang fire. I, my magic power is too weak, and it was quite a struggle to steal it. That's why I was late. In the end, they still discovered me. To get away, I had to lose an arm. But at least I managed to steal the boxing manual."

Before he could finish speaking, Liang Xin burst into tears, and Liang, who had just woken up, was also silently weeping.

Feng Xixi was flustered again, quickly whispering words of comfort, "That, young master, I'm a ghost of the underworld. Losing an arm just means a bit of pain for a while. It's not a big deal."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liang Xin suddenly knelt down on both knees in front of Feng Xixi, seriously, "I'm not the young master. I, I..." Liang Xin wasn't very good at expressing himself. After stuttering for a long time, he couldn't come up with a proper way to continue. Finally, as if a flash of inspiration struck, "You're my father! Well, a godfather."

The little ghost was so scared that he floated around the room in a panic, shouting that it was unacceptable.

After arguing for a while, the two finally reached a compromise. Liang Xin would call Feng Xixi "Uncle", and Feng Xixi would call Liang Xin by his name directly from then on.

After standing up again, Liang Xin was full of joy and called out to the little ghost, "Uncle Feng!"

Uncle Feng was a bit embarrassed as he rubbed his palms, "I'm not surnamed Feng. The name Feng Xixi was given by Lord Liang back then. I'm Lord Liang's ghost attendant, so naturally, I also bear the Liang surname."

Liang Xin grinned, "Liang Feng Xixi, then... Old Uncle!"

Old Uncle was overjoyed, his dry face blooming like a flower. He nodded hurriedly in agreement.

From that day on, Feng Xixi would come to the "Guilty Household Street" every night, always carrying some food in his arms. Besides helping Liang with the corvée labor, he would also teach Liang Xin to read and write.

Sometimes, Feng Xixi would also pick some herbs, boil them outside and bring them to Liang Xin to nourish his body. Of course, they weren't any precious medicinal herbs, but they were still somewhat beneficial for the growth of a child.

Liang Xin's hard life suddenly became a lot more fulfilling. Besides sleeping and eating, he spent all his time practicing boxing and reading. In his free time, he would pester Feng Xixi to tell him stories about the outside world.