Chapter Fifty-Seven: You've Gone Too Far

The brief night passed swiftly.

No further incidents occurred.

Today, Mu Qingshan and Xie Sihua were exceptionally well-behaved. Before anyone else had woken, they had already packed away all the luggage except for the tents, and had even prepared a pot of porridge made with compressed biscuits.

Those hard blocks of compressed biscuits, boiled with water, were always a bit better than eating them dry.

By the time Yang Fan and the others rose, Mu Qingshan had already ladled out the porridge himself.

He personally handed a bowl to Yang Fan.

Last night, he and Xie Sihua had agreed not to tempt fate again. Yang Fan was not one to show mercy—if they weren’t careful, at any moment he might find an excuse to give them another beating.

After everyone had finished eating, they gathered together to discuss their plans.

“Should we leave here and continue on to the next water source, or stay here a while longer?” Zhou Yiyi was the first to speak.

In this team, Zhou Yiyi felt herself becoming increasingly marginalized. She had originally brought these people together, but now Yang Fan was the one leading every decision. She couldn’t quite accept this, even though Yang Fan was the strongest. He might not be suited for organizing people—judging by how quick he was to hit or bully others, he certainly didn’t seem like leadership material.

Otherwise, it would only lead to division and resentment.

“I think we should stay for a few more days,” Yang Fan said. “Each day we’ll search the nearby area. Once we’ve thoroughly scoured the surroundings, then we’ll move on to the next destination.”

As soon as he spoke, everyone else fell silent. Even Jiang Chao, who had just opened his mouth to speak, closed it again.

There was nothing to be done about it. In recent days, everyone had witnessed the ferocity of this “Demon King Yang.” By now, only Zhou Yiyi and Jiang Xiaoyi had escaped his punishments.

The other three had all been beaten or bullied several times.

“All right, since no one has any objections, then that’s settled,” Yang Fan declared on the spot.

Zhou Yiyi was beside herself. What is this jerk doing? What does he mean by this? I haven’t even said whether I agree, and he’s just made the decision?

Her expression grew darker as she watched Yang Fan prepare to stand up. She called out, “Our food supply isn’t that great. At most, it’ll support six people for half a month. Any longer and we’ll run out. And there’s something odd about this forest—apart from that pack of wolves the other day, we haven’t seen a single pheasant or rabbit.

“If we stay here too long, there will be trouble when we search further afield. Besides, we came here to hunt that strange beast. Waiting in one spot for it to appear is too unlikely.”

Yang Fan, who had half risen, sat back down.

“It’s true that the odds of waiting here are low, but wandering aimlessly isn’t much better. Instead of running all over, it’s better to hold our ground—who knows, we might get lucky.

“And as you said, food is limited. Is it better to run out here, or deep in the mountains? Think about it.”

With that, Yang Fan stood again and walked toward his tent.

The group stared at each other.

Is that really how the logic works?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

“He’s twisting the facts. What a bastard,” Zhou Yiyi cursed under her breath.

“Keep your voice down,” Mu Qingshan warned, goosebumps prickling his skin at her outburst. “You think being a woman means he won’t hit you?”

The others, like Xie Sihua, made similar gestures, signaling Zhou Yiyi to let it go.

“Look at you all—what a bunch of cowards. Grown men, now reduced to this, scared half to death by Yang Fan. Truly impressive. Why did I ever think to bring you lot together?” Zhou Yiyi couldn’t take it anymore. These idiots had all become bootlickers—and not even for a goddess, but for a scoundrel.

She stood up, fuming, and marched toward Yang Fan’s tent.

She was determined to get an explanation today.

This was too much—too aggravating.

She reached his tent, unzipped it, and ducked inside.

...

Yang Fan was a bit bewildered to see Zhou Yiyi squeeze into his tent.

What is she up to?

“Don’t you think you’ve been going too far lately?” Zhou Yiyi said once inside.

“Going too far?” Yang Fan looked genuinely puzzled.

What on earth? What had he done?

“Yes, too far. Ever since we entered these mountains—no, ever since the wolf attack—some of your actions have been really over the line,” Zhou Yiyi said solemnly.

“Oh? Then tell me, how have I gone too far?”

Yang Fan had a sense of where this was going, but he tossed the ball back to her.

“After that wolf attack, your treatment of Mu Qingshan and the others has been too much. You beat or scold them at the slightest provocation, leaving them black and blue. We’re classmates, friends, partners. Treating them like that really isn’t right—it’ll only hurt morale.”

Yang Fan considered her words, raised his eyebrows, and asked, “You think that’s too much?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever thought about why I do it?”

“Go on then, explain.”

Yang Fan was silent for a moment before beginning, “When I found out you'd chosen them, I was surprised. At first, I didn’t feel much about it.

“But when we faced our first crisis, I was really disappointed.

“The wolves were just ordinary ones, but at the critical moment, Mu Qingshan was all over the place. If Jiang Chao hadn’t stepped in, would he even be standing here now?

“Then there’s Xie Sihua—mid second-rank strength, technically a higher level than you. Yet when surrounded by wolves, he didn’t think of breaking out, only of passive defense. He didn’t even use sixty percent of his strength.

“Jiang Xiaoyi—her blade dances look impressive, but are they useful? All show and no substance. In a real fight to the death, those flourishes are pointless. Against wolves, fine—but against a martial artist? She wouldn’t survive.

“Jiang Chao—at first, I thought he did all right. But that last spear throw? He was so desperate to save someone, he paid no attention to his teammates. If luck hadn’t been on our side, that spear would have pinned me and the Silver Wolf together.”

At this, Yang Fan took a deep breath and looked at Zhou Yiyi.

She was silent for a moment, memories of overlooked details now surfacing in her mind.

After a while, she said, “But you can’t just hit them all the time. They lack experience, but they’ll get better.”

“I know. With more experience, they’ll improve. But that’s only if they live long enough. This must be their first mission since leaving the academy, right?”

“Yes.”

“They’re all at least second-rank talents, aren’t they?”

Yang Fan pressed on.

“Yes, except for Xie Sihua, who’s first-rank like you. The others are all second-rank.”

“They’re all exceptional—among our freshman class, they’re the best. Each one is proud and ambitious. This mission has already dealt them some setbacks, even made them doubt themselves. That’s not good for their future. I can’t let them get stuck in a cycle where even ordinary wolves are insurmountable.”

Yang Fan spoke with conviction.

Zhou Yiyi was bewildered.

You’re making sense, but what does that have to do with you beating them up?

So she asked, exasperated, “And what does all this have to do with you hitting them?”

Yang Fan smiled. “Of course it’s related. The wolves bullied them, so I bullied them, too. If I make myself their new target, someone to surpass, they won’t lose heart.”

Zhou Yiyi’s face turned green. She’d listened to his explanation in all seriousness, only for him to say this?

“Are you kidding me?”

Yang Fan assumed a serious expression. “Not at all. I mean it.”

Zhou Yiyi pondered for a moment, then said, “I’m sure now. You’re definitely messing with me.”

Yang Fan couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. “Of course I’m messing with you! That look on your face—I should have taken a picture! Hilarious!”

Zhou Yiyi’s expression grew uglier as Yang Fan laughed.

Suddenly, she swung her fist at his face.

Yang Fan saw the punch coming and panicked—how could she resort to violence so quickly? He didn’t have his protective aura up, nor could he see in slow motion.

With a thud, his left eye turned black and blue.

But Zhou Yiyi wasn’t done. She kept swinging, and Yang Fan did his best to defend himself.

...

Twenty minutes later, the zipper of Yang Fan’s tent opened.

Sporting three bloody scratches on his face and a blackened eye, Yang Fan dragged Zhou Yiyi by the collar and booted her out of the tent.

Zhou Yiyi didn’t look physically hurt, but her reddened eyes showed just how aggrieved she felt.

Mu Qingshan and the others watched her land on the ground but didn’t dare approach.

At this point, they didn’t want anything to do with Yang Fan or his affairs—the guy was unpredictable and always up to something unexpected.

Zhou Yiyi sat for a while, glancing at the eight eyes watching her but making no move to help. Furious, she smacked the ground, stood up, and walked away. Right now, she needed to be alone. Yang Fan was infuriating, always so cutting. And now she couldn’t even beat him—infuriating.

And those four outside—useless at everything except eating. She’d sat here half a day and not one had come to comfort her. She’d just stood up for them, too, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

“Why did I take this mission? Why did I pick this bunch? Not a single one is reliable.”

She muttered as she walked, not loudly, but everyone present was a martial artist and the distance wasn’t far. She hadn’t bothered to lower her voice, so everyone heard.

Yang Fan assumed she was cursing Xie Sihua and the others; Xie Sihua and the rest were convinced she was cursing Yang Fan.

But Zhou Yiyi made it clear—she was cursing all of them.