Getting Promoted

By the time the sun rose, Huan Wei had stretched the black veins almost to the palm of his hand. He had not thought of this method because he was too preoccupied with his soul's consumption of Qi and the slavery he was in. "If I had done this from the beginning, it would have been all fixed in two weeks at most," he thought.

When the door to the cages opened, everyone came out. The slaves lined up side by side. Yun Ying showed them the flower they would pick today. Then she gave it to them to examine.

The fat woman turned to Huan Wei as the slaves examined the flower and set to work. "You stay, Huan Wei. We have something to talk about."

The young man smiled involuntarily. "Of course, Master Ying. As you wish."

The other slaves split up to pick flowers. The bandits stood guard over them to make sure they didn't run away. Yun Ying signaled Huan Wei to follow her and started walking. The young man immediately followed.

"How many people have you killed before?" the fat woman asked.

"I've had to kill a few people. We've all had to kill someone at some stage in our lives." Huan Wei replied calmly.

"What you did was not being forced." Yun Ying shook her head from side to side. "You did it willingly. Not because I ordered you to."

They walked to the bandits' tents. Huan Wei was getting excited.

"You have no problem killing people. And you are not afraid." The fat woman spoke again. "You attack even if they are stronger than you."

"I am not weak." Although Huan Wei didn't realize it, his voice hardened as he said this sentence. "I have never been weak."

His traumas had created in him an hatred for the word weakness. Every time he heard the word, Huan Chao looking at him with eyes full of pity.

"You haven't even chosen a path yet. Your arrogance is unwarranted. Xin Hai was only testing you. If he had attacked with all his might, you would have died in the second move at most." Yun Ying had a somewhat indifferent attitude towards him. Huan Wei felt he had to get her attention.

"Yes, because I made him underestimate me, so he was vulnerable. And that almost got him killed. Because I had no idea it was a test."

Yun Ying looked at him. Huan Wei had made himself a little obvious. At first, he had planned to do the whole thing in secret. But he couldn't miss a point where he needed to impress her.

"Mind games, huh? For the weak."

"I am not weak." Huan Wei's brows furrowed. Looking at Yun Ying's face, he was starting to see his father. "I've always been strong. The fools who underestimate me are the weak ones."

"Watch your tone when you speak to me, slave. Or I will whip you and send you back to your miserable cage."

Huan Wei did not answer. He closed his eyes, took deep breaths and tried to calm down. When he opened his eyes again, he no longer saw Huan Chao. He had calmed down.

"So what is it you want from me?"

They came to the bandits' campfire. The fire had been extinguished. Even the embers that were left were gone. There were many stones around the fire. The bandits sat on them in the evenings. Around the perimeter were several tents. The biggest was Ou Yu's tent.

There were two bigger tents. These were the leaders' tents. There were also a few bandit tents. Ou Yu and the leaders stayed alone. The other bandits had two people in their tents.

The fat woman went into her tent. Huan Wei followed her.

Yun Ying's tent was quite nice. There was even a bed in it. Huan Wei, who had to sleep in a cage, leaning against the iron bars, envied the fat woman's comfort.

Yun Ying turned to him. "You will join us," she said directly. "You will come with us on caravan attacks, you will lead the slaves, and you will do whatever work we give you. If you do your job well, you will not be punished. Maybe we will even give you a share of the loot."

Huan Wei was about to reply when the woman silenced him. "We are doing this because Ou Yu is impressed by your courage. If you try to double-cross us, we will kill you. Think of it as the next level of slavery."

Huan Wei's enthusiasm faded a little when he heard that they would still use him as a slave. Still, it was better than sleeping in a cage.

"It will be as you wish. Any way suits me."

"Good."

"Are you going to take the collar off?"

Yun Ying laughed. "Of course not. You are a slave. Don't think of yourself as one of the original group. You are just someone we use when we are short of men. If we decide you are not useful, we will send you back to the slaves."

"Got it."

Yun Ying went to the exit of the tent. "Xin Hai! Come here!"

While Huan Wei was cursing, Xin Hai came. "Here, boss. You called for me?"

"Yes," Yun Ying pointed at Huan Wei. "This slave will now take care of our affairs. He will be your responsibility. Make sure he does his job properly."

Xin Hai looked at Huan Wei with an evil smile. "Yes, boss. Don't worry about that. I'll take care of everything."

"Now get him to make dinner. Get out, both of you."

Xin Hai grabbed Huan Wei by the arm and pulled him out of the tent. "Yes, you piece of slave. You're my bitch now."

Huan Wei freed his arm from him. "Are you going to make me cook because you are impressed by my courage?"

"Yun Ying told you to cook. You will shut up and do as she says." Xin Hai pushed him away. "And don't worry. You're not cooking our food, you're cooking for the slaves."

Huan Wei moved forward without answering. Xin Hai kept pushing him. The young man's left hand itched, yet he was patient. It was still not time. He could feel the Corrupt Seal dying to appear.

Eventually he was brought to a table at the back of the tents. On the wooden table, several ingredients were laid out. They were all almost rotten and smelled bad. When Huan Wei touched one of the plants, he understood why the slurry tasted the way it did.

"Chop them all well." Xin Hai began to instruct. "Then put them in the cauldron and cook them."

Seeing Huan Wei looking at these ingredients with disgust, he patted him on the shoulder. "Don't be so disgusted, Huan Wei. You'll eat this tonight. It's the same thing you eat every night. I'm sure you're used to it. Now, start."

Huan Wei took a deep breath. He had no other choice. This was not the job where he could prove himself. But at least it would keep him from going back to the cage.

He started chopping the ingredients. He had been promoted from farmer to cook. He chopped the softened plants and threw the flour and other ingredients into the cauldron. He poured water over it and stirred it with a ladle. It smelled very bad. The consistency was thick.

"Wait, wait, we forgot the most important ingredient." Xin Hai came and spat into the cauldron. "Slaves like this flavor the best."

Huan Wei looked into the cauldron. All the slurry he had eaten all this time was being spat into? So there was really no point in spitting into the slurry he had handed to Cao Jingguo at his first dinner?

"Don't be idle. Keep stirring it. If it burns, you will eat burnt slurry."

Huan Wei kept stirring. He didn't want to eat this thing again. He had to join the bandits as soon as possible.

Xin Hai waited by Huan Wei's side until he was finished eating. Then he gave him the bowls and sent him to the slaves to hand out the food in the evening.

As Huan Wei ladled slurry into the bowls and handed it out, everyone's faces turned ugly. It felt strange to lose the respect he had gained in an instant. Now he seemed to have no lovers except Lei Lok and Jiao Bai. Cao Jingguo sitting next to him, yet helping the others.

The young man didn't take any food for himself. Xin Hai was still watching him. Soon he came to Huan Wei's side. "Get up if you've finished eating. There is a natural monster hunt tonight. You will fight too."

The other slaves looked at Huan Wei. He had really joined the bandits. Jiao Bai didn't know what to say. When he had said something about the loot, Huan Wei had been angry with him. Now himself had gone and joined the bandits. Even Cao Jingguo was looking at him strangely.

"Okay, I'm coming." Huan Wei stood up and followed Xin Hai. The man with the scimitar handed him the broken sword.

"Take it," he said, laughing. "After all, you're stronger with a broken sword, hahhahahha."

"Yes," Huan Wei took the sword. "I know some people who can't even withstand a broken sword."

Xin Hai's smile disappeared. He grabbed the young man by the arm and pushed him away. "Don't talk too much. Go on."

Huan Wei gripped the broken sword in his hand tighter. Here was another opportunity to prove himself.

The next step was to penetrate people's subconscious. Influence them without them realizing it and manipulate them according to his own desires.

"The best way to get someone to do what you want is to make them believe it is their will."