A Companion... Perhaps...

Huan Wei was waiting inside the cage with a frown. He couldn't put his back against the bars. Because he was covered in whip scars. He was silent. Even his mind was silent.

That helplessness silenced him. When they grabbed his arms, he couldn't do anything. He could do nothing but scream as Yun Ying swung her whip one after the other.

He turned his head and looked toward the cage where Cao Jingguo was. He was sleeping peacefully. He was content, of course.

Huan Wei knew that the burning sensation on his back would not go away easily. It was impossible to find ointment in a place like this. Even if he did, they would take it away.

He wanted to attack something. Just when he thought he had gotten rid of his old weakness, he realized that he was in an even worse situation.

"Yun Ying bitch..." he thought. "She knew as well as anyone that I didn't take the flower. Yet she chose to punish me instead of the real criminal."

The list was getting longer. Every time he experienced this feeling he hated, he added someone else. This humiliation was something he could not bear.

"You are so angry," someone whispered. Huan Wei turned his head to see that Ding Enlai wasn't sleeping either. After all, he too possessed the Oakbody. "Get used to these things, brother. This is not a place where you can live comfortably by doing a few good works."

"I will kill him." Huan Wei also spoke in a whisper. "He doesn't know who he's dealing with. I've dealt with people like him before."

Ding Enlai leaned his back against the bars. His face was sour with pain. He was bruised all over from being beaten with iron clubs. "You've almost lost that chance," he said. "Tomorrow morning they will probably give you the same potion they gave me."

Huan Wei knew it too. If they chose not to kill him, they would definitely suppress him. He had Body Tempering, they wouldn't just leave him.

"This potion," he said. He turned to Ding Enlai again. "How effective is it?"

Ding Enlai took a few deep breaths to forget his pain. "Did you ever go without sleep for several days before you did Body Tempering?"

"Yes, there were many times when I couldn't sleep."

"That's what it feels like. Your body is tired yet not sleepy. You can't react in time."

"But why don't they make Cao Jingguo drink? By taking what the other slaves gather, he reduces the number of herbs available to the bandits."

"I don't know. I've questioned this before, and instead of answering, they whipped me."

Huan Wei stared at Cao Jingguo's cage for a few seconds. Was there really someone with favoritism even among slaves?

He turned towards Ding Enlai. He was the only one in the cage worth talking to anyway. The others were cowards who had already accepted the system. Even though he had been here longer than anyone else, he was the only one who was still resisting.

"Ding Enlai..." he said. "We can change a lot of things here. But it's hard for me to do it alone. I need your help. We can make Cao Jingguo pay for what he did."

"Huan Wei, you don't understand. You can't kill anyone here. Cao Jingguo is a man who has chosen a path. Why do you think he didn't use technique when he fought you? If you kill someone, they will tie you to a pole and burn you alive as punishment."

"I'm not talking about killing this time."

"Then what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about putting him in the situations he puts people in. Think about it, there are almost 30 slaves. Three of them are Cao Jingguo's followers. The remaining twenty plus people are uncomfortable with him. If we could just restore their courage, they would all unite and fight back."

Ding Enlai was a little surprised by this plan. An organization within the slaves? "They won't listen to me. I haven't protected anyone but Lei Lok and Jiao Bai for a long time."

"They will listen to me." Huan Wei spoke. "Yet it depends on how dark we are. If you got into a fight with Cao Jingguo, I would fight alongside you even if I knew I would be whipped. Would you do the same?"

Ding Enlai looked at him. What did he have to lose? Huan Wei knew he was fearless. He was even braver than the young man. If it had been Ding Enlai who had been whipped, Huan Wei would never have stepped forward to protect him. But he didn't know that.

"Are you sure about this, Huan Wei? Honestly, I'm a bit used to it, I'm covered in calluses. The pain will be bigger for you."

"Use your head, Ding Enlai." Huan Wei spoke in a reassuring voice. "Don't you want Cao Jingguo to walk around in fear? If we push him a little harder, the other slaves won't be afraid of him either. Cao Jingguo won't be able to do anything to anyone."

"Is that the plan?"

"Isn't it enough?"

Ding Enlai thought. Then he bowed his head and smiled slightly. "It's enough."

"Then are you with me?"

Ding Enlai held out his hand to him. "I am with you."

Huan Wei stared at the outstretched hand for a few seconds. It was perhaps the first time in his life that someone had extended their hand to him in good will. For a moment he wasn't sure how to respond. So he extended the wrong hand. But he quickly regained his composure, extended the other one and shook Ding Enlai's hand.

Huan Wei felt strange looking at him. It was the first time he was looking at the person he was shaking hands with. This caused a strange feeling in his stomach. Would he trust Ding Enlai?

Of course not. Because he knew what kind of personality he had. Ding Enlai was aggressive and fearless. He would not hesitate to hold Huan Wei to account when he saw that things were going differently than planned. Yet until then, he was sure to be useful.

"I don't need friends," he thought. "I don't need anyone to like me. Liking doesn't win battles. I just need them to be useful to me."

Neither of them said more. When dawn came, the cage doors opened and one by one the slaves were led out and lined up.

Yun Ying again checked everyone one by one. Those who did not wake up were whipped. Ding Enlai had woken Lei Lok and Jiao Bai. So no one in their cage was whipped.

When the fat woman handed the potion to Ding Enlai, she gave one from the same bottle to Huan Wei. "Drink it now, both of you."

They drank without making a sound. There was no point in resisting. When they returned the empty bottles to Yun Ying, she approached Huan Wei. She was a little short. So she only came up to the young man's chest.

"If something comes out of your pocket again, it won't be good for you. Do you understand me clearly?"

"I got it."

"Got it, what?"

"I got it, Master Ying."

Huan Wei was already starting to feel tired. It was as if he had been doing hard labor for days.

Meanwhile, Cao Jingguo was looking at him mockingly. Huan Wei saw him. His brows were furrowed. Cao Jingguo slowly shook his head up and down, as if to say that this was just the beginning.

Yun Ying stepped aside after checking everyone. This time Lan Xifeng had a fruit in his hand. It looked like an orange, but it didn't look normal.

The woman began to speak. "Today you will collect Bright Forest Oranges. Anyone who does not collect at least five cases will be whipped."

Then she threw the fruit to one of the slaves. He caught it in mid-air and began to examine it.

Suddenly Lan Xifeng took out her whip and swung it at the man's face. The man did not see it coming.

The man fell to the ground from the blow of the whip and clutched his bloodshot eye, crying and screaming in pain. He was struggling on the ground. The other slaves retreated some distance away from him. None of the bandits said anything to Lan Xifeng.

The woman gave the order. "Get it off the ground."

One of the slaves reached towards the writhing man. "Not him, the fruit," Lan Xifeng added.

They let go of the man, whose face was covered in blood, and picked up the fruit. The man continued to writhe in pain.

With trembling hands, the slaves quickly looked at the fruit and handed it to the one next to them. No one dared to look for more than a few seconds.

Lan Xifeng seemed to enjoy the screams of the man on the ground. As he cried, a smile formed on her face.

Huan Wei realized that she was much more ruthless than Yun Ying. She had taken his eye. Now she was watching him squirm with a sadistic expression.

When the fruit arrived in his hand, he took one look at it and handed it to Ding Enlai. He quickly handed it to Yun Ying.

Lan Xifeng spoke again. "Come on, back to work and remember. Stealing is not good," she smiled. She put her whip around her waist and walked away. Yun Ying went with her.

Huan Wei looked at Ding Enlai as the bandits led them into the trees. After nodding to each other, they headed for the trees near Cao Jingguo.