Against Fate

Ding Enlai didn't attack Ou Yu. He wasn't that stupid. There was no one here stupid enough to try to attack this woman first.

Ou Yu calmly put down her sledgehammer and started walking towards him. Ding Enlai was looking for a place to get out of here. He looked at Huan Wei for a moment. But the young man had no intention of saving him. He was just watching him, saddened that the plan would be thwarted.

Lei Lok and Jiao Bai couldn't take their eyes off Ding Enlai either. He was the one who had been protecting them since they came here. They loved him. It was sad that they could do nothing.

Huan Wei smiled involuntarily when he saw them like this. They must have been afraid. After all, if Ding Enlai wasn't here, who would protect them against Cao Jingguo? Huan Wei?

As Ou Yu approached him, Ding Enlai turned around and ran towards one of the bandits. He wanted to break through the crowd and dive into the forest. But Lan Xifeng's whip passed in front of his face. The road was blocked.

Lan Xifeng looked at him. "Were you going somewhere?"

Ding Enlai turned back to Ou Yu. He had no choice yet to fight. He took a deep breath. He would not be afraid.

When Ou Yu reached him, he swung his flaming fists at her. She dodged them as easily as if they were nothing. Ding Enlai advanced, throwing punch after punch. Ou Yu never attacked. The bandits were laughing. Slaves held their breath. Except Cao Jingguo, of course. He was unconscious. He was sure to be very happy when he woke up.

When Ding Enlai attacked once more, Ou Yu put one of her hands behind her back. She seemed to be planning to fight him with one hand.

She easily blocked several of Ding Enlai's blows. Although her opponent attacked with two hands, she hadn't even landed a single blow. Then he suddenly balled his hand into a fist and backhanded Ding Enlai in the mouth.

With several broken teeth, Ding Enlai fell to the ground, his mouth bloody. He spat out his broken teeth. The blow had been too heavy. He still hadn't recovered. Ou Yu grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and started dragging him towards his sledgehammer. The bandits shouted with enthusiasm.

Ou Yu put Ding Enlai on his back on the ground. Then she picked up her sledgehammer and held it upside down with the iron pointing downwards. She put one foot on Ding Enlai's shoulder and pinned him in position. Then she struck with the sledgehammer, shattering every bone in his flaming hand.

As Ding Enlai cried out in pain, the fire in his hand was extinguished. With his free hand he punched her leg repeatedly. It had no effect. Ou Yu didn't even bother to look at his face. She began to strike the sledgehammer higher and higher, breaking every bone in his arm. With each blow, Ding Enlai cried out in pain.

Jiao Bai couldn't look any longer and turned his head away. He covered his ears with his hands. Lei Lok also partially closed his eyes. "This is terrible."

Huan Wei watched every scene carefully. He had already told himself not to pay attention to people. Still, he had thought that Ding Enlai would help him longer.

Ou Yu also broke all the bones in Ding Enlai's other arm. As the poor man writhed in pain, she pressed his leg with her foot. She started to break all the bones in his legs too. Each time she brought her sledgehammer down, slaves were filled with more and more fear.

Once their limbs were completely broken, she pressed her foot into Ding Enlai's groin. The man tried to fight back, but he was out of breath.

Ou Yu slammed her sledgehammer into his belly. His liver must have burst. Blood spurted from Ding Enlai's mouth. He could no longer writhe.

Ou Yu put her foot on his throat and raised her sledgehammer. She watched Ding Enlai's exhausted look for a few seconds. Then, smiling, she brought the sledgehammer down with all her might and smashed his head like a tomato. Blood, bone and brain pieces scattered everywhere.

Lei Lok immediately turned his head. He was breathing fast. Jiao Bai had already closed his eyes and ears. Huan Wei, on the other hand, was thinking about how to overcome this obstacle that fate had placed in front of him.

Ding Enlai's death had made him lose his advantage over Cao Jingguo. Because of the potion they forced Huan Wei to drink every morning, he would never be able to beat Cao Jingguo on his own.

But he saw the fear in the slaves' eyes. Maybe he could use that. Ding Enlai hadn't done much good. Yet if he planned his next move properly, he could use his death to his advantage.

Ou Yu started walking towards Huan Wei's cage. The young man felt his heart speed up. She couldn't possibly want to kill him too, could she?

When the red-haired woman reached the cage, she looked at Huan Wei. She said nothing. The young man swallowed involuntarily. This made her smile. She turned and started to walk away. She did not neglect to give orders as she left.

"Put his corpse back in his cage. Let his friends look at him and take an lesson from him." He said and went to his own tent. The leaders followed him. One of the bandits dragged Ding Enlai's mangled corpse and threw it into the cage.

Jiao Bai couldn't look at him. Lei Lok had closed his eyes. The smell of blood filled the cage. Huan Wei looked at the body. Ding Enlai's death had not been easy.

Huan Wei saw something in Ou Yu's gaze. He couldn't understand what this woman's intentions were. It was something he had never seen before. It was like a killer feeding on the fear of her victim. Ou Yu's cruelty went beyond Yun Ying and Lan Xifeng.

None of them could sleep. Jiao Bai cried until dawn. Lei Lok waited, holding his breath most of the time. Huan Wei thought.

And so it was morning. The bandits took Ding Enlai's body and dumped it somewhere in the forest. They didn't bother to bury it. They were about to leave anyway. They didn't care what animal would eat him.

The animals pulling the carts carrying the cages began to move forward. They had come out of the woods onto the paths again. The paths were as Huan Wei had predicted. There were paths through the Bright Forest. But almost no one used them. It was not safe.

Jiao Bai was badly affected by the swaying carriage as it traveled along the dirt road. The poor young man, still not recovered from what he had seen last night, said nothing. Ding Enlai's death had hit him hard.

"Pull yourself together," said Huan Wei. It was time to take the first step. "You can't die with the dead. What's left is ours. From now on, we have to pull ourselves together."

"Why did you start a fight?" Lei Lok spoke up. "I warned you it would be too much. Now Ding Enlai is dead."

"We have come to a time when we need to stick together more." Huan Wei spoke. "There is no point in dwelling on the past now. We must look forward."

"You speak as if Ding Enlai is a stranger. Don't you ever feel sad?"

"Is sadness crying, Lei Lok? Is it impossible to be sad without tears? Do you blame me for standing strong?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

Huan Wei smiled bitterly at him. "I know, but understand me. We must not break down. We have to stand upright. In this life, if we don't look after each other, no one will look after us."

Lei Lok also smiled sadly. Huan Wei turned his head away after pulling him together a little. He was still smiling.

Forest Masters traveled on into the evening. They left the dirt path and took a different road. When they reached their campsite, the bandits fed the animals and opened the cage doors. It was time for slaves to eat too.

When Huan Wei took his own bowl and sat down to eat, other slaves began to gather around him. Everyone tried to sit close to him. The young man looked up at them. A smile appeared on his face. It seemed that Ding Enlai's death had given him the respect he needed. Even Cao Jingguo's friends had abandoned him and come to sit next to Huan Wei. Cao Jingguo sat alone. His face, full of swellings, was miserable.

The bandits watched as slaves ostracized Cao Jingguo. No one cared. He couldn't say anything either. He was happy that Ding Enlai was dead. But that didn't change the fact that he was alone. His time was over. It was Huan Wei's time now.

"Now this is it," Huan Wei thought as he looked at Cao Jingguo. Until now, he had protected the bullied. Now that the person who had helped him had been killed, the slaves had made their choice. Instead of fearing Cao Jingguo, they chose to be safe with Huan Wei.

"I am ready to take the second step. My fate could not stop me."