[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult":3,"chapter-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-12":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Don't Mock the Poor Old Man: Gains a Year of Cultivation Every Day!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2312504,4520,"Chapter 12: Shameless Lin Xiaohé!","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-12",12,"\u003Cp>“Jiang Lao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei lowered his head slightly, his voice so faint it nearly scattered in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt ashamed, unwilling to let anyone—especially this silent old man who seemed to see through all things—witness his swollen, bruised, and pitiful state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the ingrained manners and respect for elders still made him halt his stumbling steps and bow slightly toward Jiang Ye by the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his face, swollen and discolored with purple and blue bruises, he forced out an expression uglier than crying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, even Jiang Ye, who had witnessed all the coldness of the world, let out a rare soft sigh: “Shi Xiaozi, with injuries this severe, still come to practice fist forms?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye’s voice remained hoarse, yet somehow heavier and slower than usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not ask why the boy was hurt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei’s body tensed almost imperceptibly, then forced itself to relax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He tugged at his split lip, trying to feign indifference, but the wound flared, making him gasp sharply; he lowered his gaze to his muddy shoe tips, his voice thin yet stubborn:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just surface wounds—they won’t interfere with fist training...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He dared not meet Jiang Ye’s eyes, as if afraid of seeing pity or doubt in that aged gaze that saw everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye said nothing, only watched him silently for a few seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That gaze was not sharp, yet it weighed heavily, as if measuring how much of the boy’s words were bravado and how much were defiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye gave the faintest shake of his head, lowered his eyelids again, waved his hand, and his voice returned to its usual flatness:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go on. Don’t force yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei gave a low reply, then bowed his head and stepped one by one through the gate into the inner courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye’s gaze followed that stumbling, stubborn back until it vanished behind the screen wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Shi Lei stepped into the outer courtyard, it was as if a boulder had plunged into a lake, stirring up massive ripples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My god! Shi Lei’s here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did he get hurt so badly?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was it really a clash with the Wild Wolf Gang?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those people really are cruel and ruthless...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The outer courtyard disciples erupted in a storm of gasps—shock, sympathy, horror rising in hushed cries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dozens of eyes, blunt or flickering, fixed on Shi Lei; some, with knowing glances, turned simultaneously to the other side—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, Lin Xiaohé stood shoulder to shoulder with Hu Tian, their arms nearly touching, intimately discussing the details of a fist posture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei’s gaze, following the unspoken direction of all those stares, slowly shifted over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he saw Lin Xiaohé and Hu Tian nearly clinging together, his body—still unbent despite agony and humiliation—jolted violently, as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer; his wounds seemed to burst open at once, sending sharp pain through him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Lin Xiaohé, seeing Shi Lei’s bruised face enter, furrowed her brows as if confronted by a plague-bringer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her expression shifted rapidly; she whispered urgently into Hu Tian’s ear, then strode quickly to Shi Lei’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lin...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei tugged at his split lip; his hoarse voice barely uttered one syllable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Lei Shixiong!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé’s shrill voice cut him off without mercy, rising sharply with haste and accusation:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Lei Shixiong, you have no idea how much you ruined our family just a couple days ago!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei’s pupils shrank sharply; he froze in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You went around fighting with those Wild Wolf Gang thugs and injured several of them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé spoke rapidly, her finger nearly jabbing Shi Lei’s chest, then recoiling as if disgusted by the dirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You had your fun, beat them up, then ran off! Left us to clean up the mess!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They came straight to our house, blocked the gate, demanding medical fees and herbal decoction money—nearly emptied our entire savings!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you have any idea how my parents have suffered these past two days?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each word a knife, every sentence a stab to the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei’s body trembled violently—not from pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But from a coldness colder than fists and kicks, spreading from his heart to every limb and bone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared fixedly at the face that, just two days ago, had smiled sweetly at him, full of trust—now filled with blame, accusation, and cruelty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Damn... Lin Xiaohé is really too...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wasn’t it her who cried and begged Shi Lei for help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Lei stood up for her, fought the Wild Wolf Gang, came back broken—and now he’s the villain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This... this ability to turn on someone overnight is incredible!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The world is like this—good people really can’t survive...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surrounding disciples stared, dumbfounded, hardly believing their ears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many had heard with their own ears, seen with their own eyes how Lin Xiaohé had clung to Shi Lei, how pitifully she’d begged for help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, this blatant distortion of truth, this betrayal after using him—was enough to freeze the blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, looks of contempt, anger, disbelief settled on Lin Xiaohé like physical weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet these murmurs were kept low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All eyes flickered to Hu Tian behind her—proud-faced, coldly observing—and remembered his “superior root quality” and the shadow of Zhang Xu looming behind him; the anger on their tongues was swallowed back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Self-preservation is human instinct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They feared that one careless word might bring retaliation from this woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei’s throat gurgled, as if choked with clotted blood; his eyes turned bloodshot, fixed on Lin Xiaohé—thousands of words, yet not one could escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Xiaohé shuddered at his desperate, terrifying gaze, but then a fiercer rage and resolve surged within her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She sneered, her voice clearer and sharper:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Lei Shidi, please don’t come near me or speak to me again—I’m afraid Hu Tian Shidi will misunderstand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She spun away as if discarding something filthy; instantly, her face softened into a gentle smile, like a bird returning to its nest, swift and light, slipping back beside Hu Tian, even unconsciously leaning behind him for protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ha... ha ha...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei watched her back, suddenly let out a low, broken laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no anger in that laugh—only boundless desolation and self-mockery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Lei, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Tian spoke at the perfect moment, his voice deliberately adopting a condescending, cold tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He lightly took the small hand Lin Xiaohé offered, as if claiming ownership, and glanced sideways at the broken Shi Lei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you hear what Lin Shijie said? Stay away from her from now on! Otherwise...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paused, chin lifting slightly, “I won’t be gentle with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After last night’s “baptism” from Zhang Xu, Hu Tian had already drawn a clear line between himself and these lowly “ordinary” outer courtyard disciples.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially after hearing Lin Xiaohé say Shi Lei had only middling-to-poor root quality, the last vestiges of respect for a senior brother vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He called him by name, his tone brazen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Completely forgetting he, too, was a poor country boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just yesterday, he had been a timid, awkward country lad.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world turns, cold and warm, known only to the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shi Lei said nothing, not even glancing again at the intimate pair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He simply turned slowly, step by step, toward the farthest corner of the outer courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His back stood alone, like a wounded beast abandoned by wolves, walking alone toward its doom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the gate,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ye, having heard it all, shook his head slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another soft sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind before the gate seemed colder still.\u003C\u002Fp>",1249,"2026-06-20T12:57:27.461Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","e9dd438df9f617a4c26a727b87e6b561b194686991723deffbdcce2dee894a04","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-13","don-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-chapter-11",268,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdon-t-mock-the-poor-old-man-gains-a-year-of-cult-cover.jpg"]