The young couple, so different in status it seemed they belonged to separate worlds, walked along the stone path, toward the clan's inner courtyard, where the awakening trial would soon take place.
When they arrived there, they saw that it was filled with people, mostly their age, though some were older. Most of them were here to participate in the trial like them, while the rest were here to spectate.
The moment Jon stepped into the inner courtyard, the tense but cheerful environment dimmed rapidly as many faces turned unpleasant.
The onlookers began murmuring while pointing at Jon.
"Look who showed up... The unlucky star of our clan."
Jon's mother died giving birth to him, so he was termed an unlucky star. After that a bunch of odd things happened that only fortified this obnoxious belief.
"I haven't seen him in years. Honestly, I thought his curse had turned on him, cutting his life short. But it looks like I was wrong. He's alive and well, like a cockroach refusing to die."
"Hahaha! Comparing a man to a cockroach? Elder Brother, you really know how to make a crowd laugh!"
"Is it even safe to be around him? The last time I helped him out of pity, bad things started happening to me and the people around me. First, my dog got sick and died. Then my brother broke his leg falling off a horse. My mother developed a strange fever that wouldn't go away no matter what we did. Worst of all, our family granary caught first. After that, my mother made me promise I wouldn't see him anymore. I agreed and cut all ties with him. Only after that did things start getting better again."
Malilah wasn't lying.
All of those things had actually happened.
But what no one besides Jon knew was that all these events had all been orchestrated by his psychopathic stepmother in order to cast him in a bad light and force him to lose his only friend at the time.
Unfortunately, he had no proof nor the power to fight back so he could only take it lying down.
But he was hopeful that starting today, things would begin to change.
Hearing Malilah's words, the onlookers felt goosebumps rise on their skin, and they started gossiping about him even more like green tea bitches.
Just then, a sharp voice cut through the murmurs.
"Jon, you dare show your face today of all days? Are you not afraid your misfortune will rub off on us and ruin the clan's good fortune?"
Jon turned towards the source of the voice and saw this body's younger cousin Wesley. The original owner of his current body never liked that guy and today he could understand why that was the case. He was like a snak, extremely unpleasant to be around!
Jon walked up to him with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Seeing his expression, Melody knew he was up to no good, but she didn't stop him, wanting him to get justice for himself.
Wesley, who didn't know Jon as good as Melody, watched him approach with a confident smirk on his face, totally unaware he was in immense danger.
Reaching up to him, Jon widened his smile before raising his hand and bringing it down in the blink of an eye.
Pah!
Wesley's smirk faded real quick as he was slapped across the face.
"You dare hit me?!"
He looked at Jon with such anger it felt like he would pounce on him at any moment and rip him to shreds like a beast.
"I don't like the look in your eyes," Jon said, slapping Wesley again.
Pah!
The sound of his palm striking Wesley's face echoed through the inner courtyard like thunder, stunning the onlookers into silence
This wasn't the first time Jon had been humiliated like this.
In the past, he would treat their insults like the barking of stray dogs, nothing worth responding to. He would endure their taunts in silence and move on.
But today… today he actually retaliated.
This was a first for everyone watching!
"You! I'm going to kill you!" Wesley roared, balling his hand into a fist before throwing a vicious punch aimed squarely at Jon's nose. He wanted to break it, to humiliate Jon just as he had been humiliated before this vast crowd.
"Too slow."
Jon tilted his head slightly, dodging the punch with ease, before reintroducing Wesley's face to his palm.
Smack!
Wesley was struck so hard he collapsed to the ground like a damsel in distress, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Even after falling into that pitiful state, Jon didn't stop showing him his brand of brotherly love.
A loud slap landed on the back of Wesley's head, slamming his face into the ground. Then, a boot pressed against the back of his head, forcing that kiss he was sharing with the dirt to deepen.