Giving a Lesson

Cao Jingguo ran towards Huan Wei. He started with a hard punch, pulling his arm back well. Huan Wei ducked to avoid it and punched him in the stomach. But Cao Jingguo also caught his punch with his free hand.

When he punched again, Huan Wei also caught his hand. Thus began a strength battle between the two. They tried to overpower each other. Cao Jingguo also possessed the Oakbody. His built body made him superior to Huan Wei.

When the young man realized he was going to lose this battle, he kicked him hard in the leg. Then he pushed Cao Jingguo away from himself.

"Do you think I'm one of those who can't speak out against you?"

Huan Wei ran and punched him in the face. Cao Jingguo, however, nimbly parried his attack and delivered a solid punch to Huan Wei, who was caught off guard. Staggering back a few steps, the young man held his nose with one hand while his opponent attacked again.

Cao Jingguo reached out and grabbed him, pulling him towards him and throwing another punch. Huan Wei was able to raise his arms and protect his face.

After blocking the blow, he attacked. Cao Jingguo headbutted his punch. Then he grabbed the young man by the throat and lifted him into the air. For someone with Oakbody, the weight of an ordinary person was not too taxing.

The bandits cheered and watched as Huan Wei struggled to break free of his grip. Even the slaves sided with Cao Jingguo.

Ding Enlai, on the other hand, was angry. If anyone could put Cao Jingguo down, it was none other than Ding Enlai. The two of them were the oldest slaves still alive. Although Ding Enlai didn't bully people, Cao Jingguo suppressed everyone. There were only a few people who were not bullied by him. Ding Enlai and Cao Jingguo were the only slaves who had done Body Tempering.

Things were changing, though. People's interest in Huan Wei had increased. It seemed that the new slave had Body Tempering. Otherwise, there was no way he could fight Cao Jingguo like this.

Huan Wei kicked him in the stomach. This blow caused Cao Jingguo to knock him off his feet. Falling to the ground, Huan Wei picked up a handful of dirt and threw it into his eyes.

Cao Jingguo covered his face with his arms and protected his eyes. Huan Wei, meanwhile, delivered a solid kick to the edge of his kneecap. Cao Jingguo, his leg bent, fell to his knees. At that moment, the crowd roared. The bandits must have been having fun. Even Ou Yu was watching them eating the meat in her hand.

Huan Wei punched him in the face, yet Cao Jingguo raised his arms and protected his face. Still, he was knocked to the ground by the pain in his leg. The twisting of his joints was not a pain that could be ignored.

As soon as he fell to the ground, Huan Wei jumped on him and sat on his chest and started punching him. Cao Jingguo could not lower his arms. He could not fight back because of the successive blows.

After a few more blows, he noticed a stone next to him. He immediately reached out and picked it up and smashed it against the young man's head, shattering it.

Huan Wei fell to the side from the blow. After rolling a little, he closed and opened his eyes several times. His brain was throbbing.

Cao Jingguo also recovered, stood up and sat on top of him. He was the one punching now.

Huan Wei tried to defend himself. His arms ached from the successive blows. He was sure he would bruise a few places.

With another blow, he grabbed Cao Jingguo's arm and bit down with all his might. His teeth dug into the man's flesh, making it bleed. His opponent screamed in pain and got up after hitting him on the head. He was holding his bleeding wrist.

"You're an animal!" he shouted at the young man. Huan Wei also stood up, holding his head.

Pride never won any battle. A human being had to do what was necessary to survive. The rules the world imposed on people did not apply to him. He would not refrain from any action.

He picked up a stone and threw it with all his might at Cao Jingguo. The man tending to his wrist did not see it. He staggered and fell to the ground as the stone crumbled against his head.

Huan Wei wasted no time in coming to his side and kicked him to the ground as he tried to get up. Cao Jingguo made painful noises as he kicked him repeatedly in the stomach.

Finally, another kick to the face broke his nose and left his mouth covered in blood. The blood on his foot was not enough for Huan Wei.

Once again he sat on his chest and started punching the face of the man who could not defend himself. Each blow drew more blood from Cao Jingguo. After a few more blows, one of the bandits came over and pushed him away.

"Okay, champ. Step back so we don't make you worse than him."

All the slaves were silent. His friends came and dragged Cao Jingguo away. Huan Wei also returned to his place, to everyone's astonished gaze. Lei Lok and Jiao Bai looked at him in admiration. Ding Enlai's face was full of pride.

"You didn't say you had the Oakbody," Lei Lok said, laughing. Jiao Bai could only stare.

"Finally, there's someone here who isn't willing to be bullied." Ding Enlai was happy. "You put him in his place."

The bandits' fun was over. Ou Yu and the others returned to their own feast. The slaves talked about Huan Wei, though not loudly. Was Cao Jingguo's time coming to an end?

"Is this man always like this?" Huan Wei asked.

Lei Lok replied. "He has bullied everyone here at least once, except us. Thanks to Ding Enlai, he can't do anything to us."

Huan Wei looked at all the slaves and saw the emotions in their eyes. Happiness, excitement, fear, respect... He had established a firm place here. There was no way any of them could bully him now. He had destroyed the one they feared.

Lei Lok handed him a piece of cloth. "Your head is bleeding."

Huan Wei ran his hand over his hair. It was bleeding where Cao Jingguo had hit it with the stone. He took the cloth and pressed it against it. "I didn't know he also had the Oakbody."

"Among the slaves, there were two who had Body Tempering. With you, that makes three."

While they were talking, some of the bandits came between the slaves. "Get your asses up and back in your cages. It's time for bed. Tomorrow you will gather herbs. Anyone who doesn't wake up at dawn will be whipped."

Everyone got up from their seats and returned to their cages. Lei Lok took Huan Wei's arm and tried to support him, but the young man refused. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I said I'm fine."

"Okay, don't get angry."

When they entered the cages, their metal collars were again chained to the bars and the cage door was closed. Huan Wei looked outside at the bandit fun. The smell of meat cooking on the fire wafted into the cages. His stomach began to growl.

"I wish you would eat, brother. I wish you would." Ding Enlai leaned his back against the bars and closed his eyes. The others were trying to sleep too. No one wanted to be whipped. Huan Wei, on the other hand, did not sleep a wink. He had already been unconscious for a week. How could he sleep now?

He turned his head a little and looked at Cao Jingguo's cage. The man seemed to have regained consciousness. He was also looking at Huan Wei. A silent stare passed between the two. Then Cao Jingguo also tried to sleep. He looked like he needed some rest after all the beatings he had taken. He couldn't recover otherwise.

Huan Wei looked up at the sky for a while. Although the tree leaves covered most of it, the moonlight could still reach some places. "My fate is putting stones in my way again," he thought. "But sometimes I feel like the gods have forgotten who I am."

He looked towards the bandits feasting. "It is not my own bad luck that I am a slave here. It is the bandits' bad luck," he thought. "I am not trapped in the same place as them, they are trapped in the same place as me."

His eyes traveled over the slaves. "And I know exactly what to do."

By then the moonlight through the leaves had illuminated almost the whole of his cage. The only one still in the dark was Huan Wei.