Leader of the Slaves

"He believes he's accomplished something."

"He's happy."

"He's a slave."

"None of them have ever been slaves."

"He's helpless."

"This is the life he prefers to his home."

Huan Wei just closed his eyes. What was being said now sounded like something lurking in his subconscious. But that only made it hurt more. The things he couldn't confess to himself were being thrown in his face by the Black Void.

"You cannot refuse us, Huan Wei."

"You will want us."

"You will want to know the way home."

"You will beg us.

"We will help you.

"Come home."

---

A few more days had passed. Huan Wei hadn't counted them all, but it must have been almost two months since he became a slave. He had been whipped many times. His back and chest were covered with scars that would last a lifetime. He would have to wear them for the rest of his life as a badge of bad times.

The slaves had now accepted Huan Wei's leadership. With his encouragement, everyone worked hard and no one missed their quota.

Only Cao Jingguo was not helped by anyone. Whenever he tried to take away what someone had collected by force, all slaves united against him and pushed him back. So now he was the only one whipped. Even those who were in the same cage did not wake him up in the morning. He was in a very bad situation. He was all alone, desolate.

On the other hand, everyone loved Huan Wei. They ate their meals with him. They were eager to talk to him. No one even talked to Cao Jingguo.

After another day of hard work, Cao Jingguo was being whipped. Because of his injuries, he couldn't work hard enough, so he couldn't meet the quota. And when he couldn't meet the quota, new wounds would appear. The man couldn't even walk anymore. He hadn't eaten for days.

While the other slaves were eating the slurry with appetite, Yun Ying started to walk over. Everyone became agitated. They stopped eating and stood up. When the fat woman arrived, she looked at Huan Wei without caring about anyone else.

"Come here."

Huan Wei went without a word. "'Yes, Master Ying."

"You think you're a leader?" she said, frowning. "Are you organizing among slaves?"

"No, no. We wouldn't think of doing such a thing." Huan Wei began to explain sweetly. "We only please you by working hard. That way we don't get punished and you get the maximum yield from the harvests. What's wrong with that?"

Yun Ying slapped him hard, knocking him to the ground. Huan Wei clenched his teeth but quickly forced himself to calm down. He slowly stood up. Yun Ying spoke.

"Don't you dare think you're shit," she said, then turned to the slaves. "Neither do you. Those of you who have been here a long time know what we do to those who incite people to rebellion. And those who follow him. Be on your guard. We will keep an eye on you."

Yun Ying stopped in her tracks, turned back and gave Huan Wei another slap. This time the young man did not fall to the ground. He did not respond, trying to remain as calm as possible. The woman also left.

The bandits were now standing closer to them. Close enough to hear what was being said.

"Are you all right, Huan Wei?" asked Lei Lok. He had been slapped twice by Yun Ying after all.

"I'm fine. I'm fine with a few slaps. Let's keep working hard. They will be suspicious for a while. Then they will understand."

One of the slaves said, "You were protecting us. We should protect you." Huan Wei silenced the slave as he realized that one of the bandits was reaching for his weapon.

"No. We are not trying to start a battle. Instead of accepting fate with bitterness, we will accept it with contentment. Then everything will be better."

The bandit removed his hand from his weapon. Encouraged by this, Huan Wei continued. "The punishments may be harsh. But as long as we work, we won't be punished. We just have to work hard."

The meal was over and everyone split up into cages. They had put a new person in Huan Wei's cage. He came from one of the five-man cages.

"It's good that you finished Cao Jingguo, Huan Wei." said the newcomer. His name was Ai Tung. "He no longer persecutes anyone. He got what he deserved."

Huan Wei smiled. "People like that think they are so strong if no one stands up to them. We just banded together and fought back. You are the ones who succeeded."

Lei Lok smiled too. "He is very humble. Without him, none of this would have happened. Now everyone helps each other. Can you believe it, we are almost happy to do this job."

Huan Wei said nothing. He just smiled and watched these people believing in him. Everything was going perfectly. If he had known that Ding Enlai's death would be so beneficial, he would have tried to send him to his death in the beginning.

Ai Tung and the others went to sleep. Huan Wei would not sleep tonight. He wanted to observe what was happening in the camp at night. Something was wrong here. He was sure of it. He believed he could find this wrongness and use it.

All the slaves were asleep. No one was awake except the bandits on guard. A few were hanging around the cages.

Huan Wei pretended to be asleep as they approached him. He didn't want them to interrupt their conversation.

As the bandits came over, they continued talking.

"How much is your share?" one asked.

The other answered. "Twenty silver. Ou Yu gave Yun Ying five gold pieces. She took 2 gold pieces for herself and divided the rest among us."

"We're supposed to be earning more."

"Ou Yu got 10 gold pieces."

"20 silver for us."

"Nothing to do. She knows the customers. She has all the contacts in town."

They walked away from the cage. Huan Wei smiled. Ou Yu was taking the money for thirty people for herself. He had seen it many times during his stay here. Huan Wei couldn't understand why she was still a bandit. She must have saved enough money to live comfortably in any town she wanted. Why was she still wandering around in the forest?

Huan Wei realized that this was deeper than it looked. It looked like it would be much more troublesome to carry out the plan. If Ou Yu wasn't someone who enjoyed it, he was probably under someone else's orders. Huan Wei didn't believe that any human being with all that money would continue to do this.

He waited until morning. The slaves woke each other up. Cao Jingguo was also awake this time. He was clearly terrified of being whipped once more. He couldn't even take a quick step out of the cage. He was cursing Huan Wei his inside.

The young man immediately took his place next to the other slaves. Yun Ying and Lan Xifeng checked everyone one by one. The fat woman paid special attention to Huan Wei. It was that time again.

"Today you will gather Full Moon Blossom," Yun Ying said, pointing to the herb once more, even though there was no new slave joining them. Then she looked at Huan Wei.

"Since you are talking about increased yields, then each of you will gather at least 50 herbs by the evening," she said in a booming voice. "If anyone comes up with less, Huan Wei will be whipped along with him."

Huan Wei turned his head and looked at Cao Jingguo. Cao Jingguo, his back bruised, was also looking at him. After a long time, a smile appeared on his face. An evil smile...

"Hah!" Huan Wei thought. "He thinks he can drag me along with him. I'll make you pick those herbs by force if I have to. I will never let you obstruct my plans."

When Yun Ying gave Huan Wei the potion and gave the signal to split up, everyone hurried in different directions. 50 herbs was too many. It was almost double the previous amount. Many doubted they could do it.

But Huan Wei thought differently. The next few days were very important. He didn't want anyone to mess this up. So he rushed to look for the herbs. He collected all he could find. After he had filled his quota, he would fill the quotas of those who were less. Then they would join him in his search for herbs and help others.

After spending half the day, Huan Wei had collected enough herbs. He was tired, yet he didn't care. He pushed himself despite the exhaustion the potion had given him.

After he finished a few people, he sent them out to look for herbs. Soon, one by one, the quotas started to fill up. The pace was accelerating. Everyone was sweating, but they would rather sweat than be whipped.

Huan Wei went to Cao Jingguo. He noticed that he had not picked any herbs. He handed him 50 of the herbs he had gathered with the other slaves.

"If you are smart, you won't be whipped tonight." He looked at him with disgust. "I overheard the bandits talking about your uselessness. They think they are keeping you alive for free. They probably also saw that you didn't collect any herbs. If you don't meet the quota, they will definitely kill you."

Cao Jingguo looked at him. Huan Wei knew he did not want to die. This man only wanted to hurt them because he was lonely. This psychology was one of the mental states Huan Wei knew best.

"Look, Jingguo," he began. "We're doing good things here. You were a bully. That's why no one likes you. But if you're the reason I get whipped tonight, everyone will celebrate when you die. I'm giving you a chance to live and join us. Be a good man and take your place with us and we'll help you. You don't have to be tortured every day."

Cao Jingguo looked at him without saying anything. So Huan Wei continued.

"Or you can insist on staying in this asshole persona. Tonight they will whip me too. I'll beat you unconscious at dinner tomorrow night. You won't wake up in the morning. You'll be whipped again, and so the cycle continues."

He put his hand on Cao Jingguo's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Use your mind, Jingguo. It is still not too late."

Huan Wei handed him the herbs again. Cao Jingguo watched the ground for a few seconds. He was averting his gaze. He too had been scared when he first came here. To suppress his fear, he had chosen to be feared. He didn't expect someone like Huan Wei to come and put him in this situation.

He slowly reached out his hands and picked up the herbs. Huan Wei patted his shoulder and said, "Have dinner with us."

At this moment, one of the slaves came to Huan Wei with quick steps. He leaned close to his ear and whispered. "Huan Wei, you must see this."

"What is it? Show me."

They left Cao Jingguo there and went away. The man stayed where he was, looking at the herbs with his head bowed.

Huan Wei went with the slave to the outskirts of the harvesting area. The bandits were holding it. The slave bent down and grabbed some herbs with his hand and began to let them go. He whispered.

"Don't let them know. There is a different herb in the bushes to your right."

Huan Wei went to the bushes as if he was looking for other plants. He reached out his hand, opened it slightly and looked inside. It was a Full Moon Blossom. But its color was red. A smile appeared on the young man's face.