A Little Talk with the Boss

Huan Wei sat in his cage. Even the wind on his skinned arm hurt him. His whole arm was wrinkled. They didn't give him any ointment. The other bandits even praised Xin Hai. Huan Wei cursed them all.

He couldn't even clench his fist. If he didn't also have the Oak Body, his flesh would probably melt and fall off. Thanks to Body Tempering, he was also more resistant to acids. But that didn't stop him from suffering.

Throughout the night he took deep breaths and waited for the pain to disappear. He was used to being beaten, yet this was something else. He had also tried meditation to heal the black veins completely. But the pain prevented him from focusing.

"Son of a bitch..." he said hoarsely. The others were asleep. Lei Lok had wanted to ask before going to sleep, yet Huan Wei was so angry that he gave up. Ai Tung was satisfied with the situation. Huan Wei would choke Ai Tung if he could get out of this chain.

He looked at his left hand. He could still see the black veins between the wrinkles. He wondered if it would always be like this. It had never been burned with acid before.

"I will kill you with this hand you put in acid," he thought. "When you realize that death will take you, you will scream in despair, but it will be too late."

He waited in agony until morning. When the sun rose, his arm still ached. The cage doors opened and everyone was led out. Xin Hai held Huan Wei especially by his burnt arm. The young man made no sound, though his eyes filled with tears.

The other slaves were lined up side by side and Huan Wei was led away. Xin Hai was leading him to the bandits' tents.

"Where are we going?"

"Shut up." Xin Hai squeezed Huan Wei's arm a little tighter. The young man moaned in pain.

"Let go of my arm."

"I told you to shut up. I can kill you. So you'd better listen to me."

Patience was never infinite in anyone. At some point, something would cross that thin line. Huan Wei had run out of patience too.

"Let go of my arm, you bastard."

Xin Hai pushed him forward. The young man fell to the ground. His arm hurt badly.

"What did you call me?"

He stood up and looked at Xin Hai. His face was ugly and angry. "I said you're a bastard born to a whore mother."

Xin Hai drew his scimitar and charged at Huan Wei. The young man dodged aside and avoided his attack. But Xin Hai grabbed him with one hand, pinned him to the ground and pressed his foot against his chest.

As he brought his scimitar down to slice him in half, he suddenly stopped. He was only a few inches away from decapitating Huan Wei.

Xin Hai swallowed. He stared with fearful eyes at Ou Yu, who stood a few feet away. "Ou Yu," he said, his voice shaking, "I just..."

She looked into his eyes. "I told you to bring the child to me."

Xin Hai immediately strapped his scimitar to his back and lifted Huan Wei off the ground. "I was bringing him to you."

But Ou Yu saw what happened. She came close to Xin Hai. Then she put one hand on his shoulder. "Haven't you learned yet, Xin Hai, that when I give an order, you have no choice?"

Ou Yu punched Xin Hai hard in the chest. Coughing up blood, Xin Hai was thrown back meters, and when he hit the ground, he continued to roll away. When he stopped, he was doubled over. He was coughing up blood from his mouth. Huan Wei realized he shouldn't say anything.

As the bandits tended to Xin Hai, Huan Wei stood up. "Come with me," Ou Yu said to him, and started walking towards her tent. Huan Wei followed her silently.

The boss's tent was bigger than the others. Ou Yu had a collection of weapons in a few boxes on the side, a big bed, and even a table. Huan Wei couldn't understand why the bandit leader needed a table. On the desk was a small pouch, a piece of paper and a quill pen. There was a picture on the side, yet Huan Wei was too far away to recognize what it was.

"Take off your clothes."

Ou Yu spoke as she slowly walked around him. Huan Wei couldn't make sense of it, but he took off his torn clothes. His body was covered in whip scars. His burnt arm looked terrible.

Ou Yu examined his whole body. She paid special attention to his left arm. "Open your palm."

Huan Wei did as he was told. She looked at the few black veins that remained in his hand. Then she examined his whole arm closely. She looked at his back, his chest, his legs, everywhere. It was more like she was looking for something.

"Which path did your parents choose?"

The young man was stunned by this question. Why would the bandit leader be asking that? "They both chose the Path of the Earth."

"Before we found you, had you ever been to the Corrupt Areas?"

Huan Wei shook his head from side to side. "No. I'm from Bitter Sea Town. There is neither a Corrupt Region nor a Divine Region near the town."

Ou Yu looked at his back. "So what were you doing in the Corrupt Area where we found you?"

"I was running away from a kind of pig, covered in metal scales. I didn't even realize I had entered the Corrupt Area. I was running for my life."

Ou Yu came in front of him, bent down and started looking at his legs. "So why did you enter the Bright Forest? You are still in the Traveler stage. What would someone like you be doing in the Bright Forest?"

Huan Wei was silent for a few seconds. Should he tell the truth? He didn't think they would hand him over to Huan Fu. On the other hand, if she found out he was lying, she might kill him. Still, he decided not to tell everything.

"Because of my father," he began. "He brought me to the Bright Forest. Then he abandoned me. When I tried to get out of the forest on my own, I ran into monsters, and then you took me prisoner."

Ou Yu looked at him. She looked at him without saying anything. Huan Wei had been through this before. If he continued to give additional explanations, it would be revealed that he was lying. So he just said, "I'm telling the truth."

She continued to examine his body. Huan Wei didn't know what exactly she was looking for. What exactly did this woman suspect?

"Have you been exposed to corrupted Qi before?" she asked.

"What? No."

"I've lived in these forest for years. I've never come across a Corrupted Area. Then we found you. We came across two Corrupted Areas in a few months. The second one was just being born. Are you saying you had nothing to do with this?"

"I am a simple cultivator. I can't even call myself a cultivator. I'm still in the Traveler stage. How could I have anything to do with the birth of a Corrupt Area?"

Ou Yu grabbed his left hand and lifted it. The young man was very hurt, yet he made no sound.

"These black veins." The woman spoke. "A symbol of corrupt Qi circulating in your body. But for some reason, they healing on their own. Unless you are a Blood Cultivator or someone who can draw power from the Path of the Divines, this is impossible."

"I have no idea what's going on. I'm just glad I'm alive. Maybe it was a stroke of luck that you found me and took me prisoner. Who knows what would have happened if I had stayed in the Corrupt Area?"

Huan Wei was wary of this woman. Ou Yu felt like she was much more than she appeared. As a Blood Cultivator, she had the knowledge of corrupted Qi. She even had a Soul Technique. Moreover, even though she had a lot of money, she was still a bandit. Who was this woman? Why was she doing all this? What was her real reason for interrogating Huan Wei?

"From now on, you are one of us." Ou Yu said the sentence that made Huan Wei happy. "You will be under Yun Ying's command. They will give you new clothes and weapons. Let them show you your tent. You will no longer be caged."

Huan Wei smiled and bowed to Ou Yu. "Thank you. You won't regret it."

"Now get lost."

Huan Wei quickly left the tent. "Finally!" he thought. "No more cages! No more of that disgusting food! No more whips!"

At that moment he saw Ai Tung, who was with the other slaves gathering herbs. A big smile appeared on Huan Wei's face. "Of course this is for me. It's not for the other slaves."