Under Pressure

Huan Wei did not try to pull his arm free. He just asked, "What do you want?" Huan Quon smiled in surprise.

"So you're not pretending to be an innocent child anymore?" Then he pulled him away. "Let's walk a little."

Huan Wei did not resist. He didn't want to do anything wrong when people were looking at them. So he started walking with Huan Quon. The merchant's son seemed quite calm. This made Huan Wei feel uneasy. Maybe he should run away? It didn't take him long to give up that thought. How could he run away when it was obvious where he lived?

"You play this game very well, Huan Wei." Huan Quon spoke. He wasn't even looking at him as he spoke. "You sent Huan Hong to the execution. You got the pill for free. Double win, huh?"

"Huan Hong is paying for what he did."

"Is that so? Are you saying Huan Hong started the fire?" Huan Wei remained silent when Huan Quon turned his face to him. He knew that this young man understood everything. Even if Huan Hong had really started the fire, it was clear that Huan Quon would direct his anger at Huan Wei. So the answer didn't matter.

"Keeping quiet, huh?" The merchant's son laughed. "You and your father have gained so much hatred, Huan Wei. Your days in Bitter Sea Town are numbered."

"I am under Huan Fu's protection." Huan Wei looked at him without fear. "An attack against me would be an insult to Huan Fu."

Huan Quon shrugged. "Who said I would attack? Do I look like someone who attacks people?"

"Since we're not pretending anymore, I know what kind of asshole you are, save your sweet talk. Don't forget you've been bullying me for years and Huan Fu will know you threatened me."

"You weren't such a child, Huan Wei. Now you're raising everything to your elders, hiding behind Huan Fu, when you looked like a brave man just now."

"I have no pride, Huan Quon."

"I know." Huan Quon turned in front of him. "That's what makes you dangerous. You can try anything. It doesn't matter to you how shameful it is. You cried in public to send Huan Hong to death row."

They walked away from Huan Wei's house. They were heading towards Huan Quon's father's shop. People looked at them as they saw them, but they spoke in a voice that only they could hear.

"Huan Liwei's disappearance is also your doing, isn't it?"

Huan Wei did not answer again. Huan Quon got his answer in that silence. He bowed his head with a smile. "You really are a solid person, Huan Wei. You have carried out your plans so stealthily, so flawlessly, that I am amazed. Yet there is only one flaw in all this perfection." He turned his head to look at Huan Wei. "You underestimated me. That was your only mistake. It was my fault for underestimating you, but I have news for you. I don't underestimate you anymore, so take your steps knowing that. And say hello to your father and good luck with hunting." Huan Quon left him and went on alone. Huan Wei was left alone.

He looked after Huan Quon for a while. He was gritting his teeth. This was not good. The merchant's son knew everything and would cause a lot of trouble. Huan Wei wasn't sure he could beat him in a one-on-one match. He wasn't even sure that it would be one on one. Huan Quon could have paid a cultivator who had chosen a path and sent him after him. It turned out that he was the one who had made the traps work for nothing. The situation was not good. Huan Wei had lost his biggest trump card. If his opponent would not underestimate him, things would be much more difficult.

Thinking of possible scenarios, he made his way home. He had to take some precautions. He expected everything from Huan Quon. He had so many stooges. They would do anything for him. He had to do something while he still had a short time.

He ran home and picked up one of the small empty bottles on the table. Huan Chao was not at home. He immediately went out and headed for the forest. He wanted to get that tar as soon as possible. It didn't take him long to get out of town. As soon as he entered the forest, he ran and ran. He didn't even think to look for traps. He quickly came to the dead zone and stopped at its border. He remembered that he had never checked to see if he was being followed until he got here. Suddenly he turned around and looked at the sparsely wooded forest. He turned his head slowly, looking everywhere. He watched in silence as the slow wind blew the leaves in waves. No one seemed to be there.

He stepped into the dead zone. As soon as he entered, the ominous feeling returned. Even breathing in this space felt different. The air he breathed in burned his lungs. His body felt like it was struggling in a swamp. His movements became sluggish. His eyes burned and teared every second he kept them open. There was something wrong with this area. It couldn't be just the tar. Something had filled this area with evil.

After a deep breath that burned his lungs, he moved forward and found the tar puddle. He knelt down and dipped the bottle into it. After filling it well, he capped it and scrubbed the tar around it. After cleaning it as much as possible, he placed it inside his clothes. He had taken a particularly small bottle. That way, carrying it with him for a long time would not be a problem.

Then he left this dead zone. After passing the last rotten tree, he took a deep breath. The pressure was gone. Even his eyes were refreshed. He couldn't help turning his head and looking at this place. Was this some kind of energy field? Had an energy field formed after he broke through that bottleneck? Even if it was, it wouldn't do him any good. How could he meditate when he couldn't even breathe freely inside? Probably that ominous feeling would also prevent him from focusing. This dead zone was unusable for him.

He didn't want to spend too much time in the forest again. So he set off for the town as soon as possible. On the way, he checked the traps. A big snake was caught in one of them. When the trap was closed, it killed the snake. Huan Wei immediately opened the trap, picked it up, set the trap again and set off. The first thing he did when he arrived in town was to go to the marketplace and sell the snake. With the few copper coins he had, he again bought something to eat. He also set aside 3 copper coins to give to Huan Chao. He hoped that the day the cursed man would die was not too far away.

He made his way home through the alleyways. He still had to go and complain to Huan Fu about Huan Quon. This would keep the merchant's son away from him for a while. If anything happened to him, his life would be safe as he would be known to them.

He put the food in the cupboards. Then he went to the bathroom. He stepped over the broken shards of mirror and washed the tar that covered the bottle. He also washed his hands and feet. Then he went to the kitchen and took one of the knives and put it around his waist. Even though he no longer had his sword, it would be useful to carry a cutting tool with him. He didn't trust himself to fight unarmed.

"I need to find a solution. In a few days at most, Huan Quon's pressure will increase. Huan Kong, too, will become more aggressive because of the pain of losing his son. I don't think Huan Fu cares about my life. He probably only cares about his own reputation. After I'm dead, he can punish those who broke his word and vindicate himself, but his reputation doesn't matter if I'm no longer alive."

Huan Wei thought. He had to somehow make himself safe, but he didn't have a single friend in this town. He didn't talk to anyone. Nobody talked to him in general. So he had no one to fight with. The biggest problem would be being ambushed in the forest. Even if he shouted, no one would come to his help. Maybe he should find ways to earn money in the town instead of going to the forest?

"It's time to visit Huan Zhong."