To punish or not to punish—that is the question.
Heavy punishment or light punishment—that’s another question.
You can’t punish everyone—every disciple in the Alliance was there. If they punish them all, won’t that stir up resentment?
Will Beanie end up with no one to play with in the future?
The Seven Old Monsters are genuinely troubled—it’s a tough decision, especially with poor Beanie looking totally clueless, not realizing he’s been set up.
Forget it, let’s just give them a tiny punishment.
The Seven Old Monsters have no choice; in the end, they settle on a punishment so light it’s almost nothing—everyone has to face the wall for two hours.
For kids raised as assassins, this is barely a slap on the wrist. Not a single one objects—they all accept it cheerfully.
Two hours later, the punishment ends, and everyone is smiling. As Left Shore put it, compared to getting whipped for hitting Beanie, this is nothing.
The senior brothers are actually pretty caring. After visiting Beanie, they go to see Left Shore the next day. This time, everyone is extremely formal and distant—just a routine greeting before leaving, not a single extra word.
When Beanie hears about it, he can’t stop grinning.
He knew it—he’s way more lovable than Left Shore!
That cold-faced brat Left Shore could never be as cute as him!
Beanie is thrilled and focuses on healing up.
A month later, both Beanie and Left Shore are healed. True to form, Beanie quickly forgets the misery of being chased by bees and running all over the mountain. As soon as he’s better, he goes to challenge Left Shore again.
Beanie is always a little bully, and this time is no exception. He blocks Left Shore’s path with outstretched arms: “Last time was an accident, so it doesn’t count. We have to fight again.”
“Another fight? Fine. After dark, in the small grove.” Left Shore agrees without hesitation.
Last time, Left Shore used the bees to torment Beanie half to death and only got twenty lashes for it—he considers it a bargain.
“Back to the grove again?” Beanie hesitates—he definitely doesn’t want a repeat of last time.
His poor feet!
“What’s wrong? Chickening out?” Left Shore, knowing Beanie’s temperament, sneers, “If you’re scared, then get lost! Coward.”
“Scared? Me, scared? You’re the scared one—your whole family’s scared! Fine, the grove it is. Same spot as last time, I’ll wait for you.” Beanie can’t stand being provoked and immediately takes up the challenge.
“Good. See you there.” Left Shore tosses out the words and walks off, leaving Beanie behind.
And Beanie?
He spits in Left Shore’s direction, then dashes off toward the grove at full speed…
Before dark—he has to get there before dark.
Who knows if he’ll actually find the grove before night falls…
But fortune favors the determined—Beanie may be hopeless at directions, but he’s nothing if not hardworking. He sets out three hours early, spends over three hours searching, and finally finds a grove only half an hour from the Assassin Alliance compound.
By the time Beanie arrives, it’s been dark for ages—and then he realizes…
“Where’s Left Shore?”
“Didn’t we say ‘see you there’?”
“Did Left Shore get lost?”
“That must be it. I’ll just wait for him.”
Beanie, ever the good-natured fool, has no idea he’s been tricked and waits obediently in the grove for Left Shore…
“I’ve been waiting forever—why isn’t Left Shore here yet?”
“Left Shore is so dumb—just how lost did he get? Why isn’t he here yet?”
“Ugh… I’m so sleepy. Maybe I’ll nap for a bit. When Left Shore gets here, he’ll wake me up.”
Beanie yawns and lies down on the grass, still fully dressed…
It’s early autumn, and even the healthiest kid will catch cold sleeping out all night. By midnight, Beanie is curled up from the chill…
But Beanie is just too lazy—shivering and freezing, he still refuses to move. He dozes off in a daze, and when he finally wakes up, it’s morning. And Left Shore?
“Left Shore is such an idiot—he couldn’t find the place all night. Unbelievable.” Beanie sniffles in the cold, feeling dizzy…
“No way. What if Left Shore gets scared alone in the grove? I have to go find him.”
Worried Left Shore might get into trouble in the woods, Beanie wipes his nose and starts searching. But with his sense of direction, how’s he supposed to find anyone?
Maybe it’s just dumb luck, but Beanie manages to stumble out of the grove and back to the Assassin Alliance in only an hour. He’s not happy, though—
He wanted to find Left Shore in the grove, not end up back home. Now he has to go back again—how annoying.
Beanie blows his nose hard, wipes it clean, and resigns himself to heading back. He’s barely taken two steps when he runs into some senior disciples…
“Beanie, what are you doing here? Where are you headed? Your master said you didn’t come home last night.” One of the senior disciples, much older than Beanie, doesn’t bother arguing with a little kid.
“Oh, you’re heading out? I’m going to the grove to look for Left Shore. Do you have time? If you do, come with me to look for him, okay? I’m worried he’ll get into trouble alone in the grove.” Beanie, ever the fool, asks for help even though he sees the senior disciple is on his way out…
There’s just no words for him.
Luckily, the senior disciple never expects much from Beanie. But when he hears Beanie mention Left Shore, he’s surprised. “Left Shore? Why are you looking for him? He’s at the training grounds.”
The senior disciple points out the spot. Beanie’s eyes light up: “Left Shore’s back? That’s great! You go do your thing—I’ll go find him.”
Beanie takes off like a shot, leaving the senior disciple standing there, staring at the sky…
Even without knowing the whole story, he’s sure Beanie’s been tricked by Left Shore again.
Poor Beanie!
But Beanie, clueless as ever, doesn’t realize he’s been duped. When he finds Left Shore, he complains, “You sneak! We agreed to meet, but you ran off first. That’s so mean.”
“I waited for you, but you never showed. I thought you chickened out, so I left.” Left Shore, who never even went to the grove, lies without batting an eye.
“I—I… got delayed, that’s all!” Beanie, embarrassed to admit he got lost, shouts, “Why couldn’t you wait a little longer? I waited all night for you—how could you leave me there alone?”
“Oh. Got it.” Left Shore nods, face expressionless.
He already knows Beanie didn’t come home last night. One look at Beanie’s exhausted face tells him he spent the night outside…
What a beautiful day.
“You—you… fine, I’ll forgive you this time. But don’t let it happen again!” Beanie’s face turns red with anger, but he can’t really blame Left Shore—after all, he was late himself. If he’d arrived on time, Left Shore wouldn’t have left…
Beanie never realizes they never set a specific meeting time—just ‘after dark’…