Releasing the Venom

"She knows you."

"What are you going to do now?"

"You're cornered."

"You can't even think."

"Coward."

Huan Wei forced himself to wake up, but his efforts were futile. The Black Void wouldn't let him leave.

"Accept it, Huan Wei."

"Accept your home."

"Accept your family."

"We will help you."

"You belong to us.

"Tomorrow or in a million years..."

"You'll come back to us."

"There is no other ending for you."

The young man opened his eyes. He was inside a tent. It took him a few seconds to remember why he was here. That's right, he was no longer a slave.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. He sat up a little and sat on his sleeping bag. He put his head in his hands.

"I have to get this thing out of my mind somehow," he thought. "I don't want to have nightmares for the rest of my life."

He got up and went out of the tent. A few bandits were sitting by the fire. Two others stood guard next to the slaves.

It had been several days since Huan Wei had joined the bandits. In that time, he had been on another monster hunt. There was no share of the loot yet. Everything that was collected was given to Ou Yu.

His burned arm no longer hurt, but the view was disgusting. The wrinkles had not healed. It was all wrinkled. Huan Wei cursed Xin Hai every time he looked at his arm.

All this time, Ou Yu made no move. She just watched Huan Wei. The young man had gathered more information about the camp.

Indeed, Ou Yu had no fans. People did not oppose her because she kept the money flowing. Nevertheless, he had seen that the leaders were occasionally involved in sales. In that case, the contacts in the town could also be used by the leaders.

Huan Wei came over to the bandits sitting by the fire. He sat on one of the stones and tried to warm himself a little.

He knew these bandits. They were all from Yun Ying's team. The short Wu Hui, his brother Wu Dong and Luan Xing.

Wu Hui looked at Huan Wei. "What's the matter, can't sleep?"

"Yes." The young man spoke, looking into the fire. "Some things have been troubling me."

Wu Dong laughed. "What troubles? Tell me."

Huan Wei spoke without looking at them. "I guess I won't get any money. I thought you guys made money more often."

"We do," Luan Xing said.

"Interesting," Huan Wei looked at him. "I haven't seen us making money yet."

Wu Hui said, "Ou Yu will give us our share when she makes the sale. We are waiting for the customer." The others nodded.

"I don't know." Huan Wei turned back to the fire. "Ou Yu does nothing but take half of all the money."

"She's the boss'." Wu Dong replied. "Of course she does."

Huan Wei laughed in a low, mocking voice. "When I joined you, I thought I was free from slavery, yet I see I have joined another slavery."

They said nothing. Huan Wei leaned toward them and spoke in a low voice. "I think Yun Ying would have been a much better boss. She knows Ou Yu will take the loot for herself. That's why she let you take some things. If she was the boss, we would all be comfortable."

The bandits looked at each other. Then Wu Hui spoke. "You are swimming in dangerous waters, Huan Wei."

"I'm just saying." Huan Wei turned his head to look at the cage of female slaves. "How long have they been here?"

The bandits started laughing. "You can use them if you want. There are no age rules here."

"Tch." Huan Wei refused. "They are not my type."

"They are the oldest slaves," Luan Xing said. "When they have had enough of life, they commit suicide. So we find new ones to replace them. You know, there's not much to enjoy in the forest."

They sat for a while. They kept chatting. Huan Wei did not like any of them. But he had to plant the seeds of awakening in everyone's minds. He just had to lit the fuse and let the bomb explode.

When morning came, everyone woke up. This time Huan Wei went to wake the slaves. Cao Jingguo was still awake. The others were also awake. Huan Wei looked at Ai Tung with the whip in his hand, yet he too was awake.

The slaves lined up side by side. The time had come again. Yun Ying had a Full Moon Blossom in her hand.

"Get to work, everyone."

The slaves split up and started gathering herbs. This time other bandits would be waiting for them. Huan Wei went to Yun Ying, who was giving instructions to her men.

She said, "Patrol around the camp. If you see anyone, let us know immediately."

When the bandits nodded and left, the young man and the fat woman were left alone. Huan Wei laughed.

Yun Ying turned toward him with a frown. "What are you laughing at?"

Huan Wei coughed a little and collected himself. "It's just that all the bandits are afraid of you. Everyone listens to you. Ou Yu doesn't do anything, but you can't disobey her. It must be nice to be strong. Ou Yu sits in her tent and takes half the loot."

Yun Ying's face showed anger. Huan Wei saw it, yet he also knew that it was not all against him. He had to make a choice.

The possibility of being beaten or the possibility of being killed by Ou Yu?

He took a deep breath. "I think you would be a better boss than Ou Yu. The whole group would be at ease."

Yun Ying spoke in an angry voice. "Go and wait on the slaves. And keep your mouth shut."

Huan Wei bowed his head, saluted her and went to the slaves who were gathering herbs. He didn't want to attract any more attention today. So he didn't talk to anyone. Xin Hai was always close by.

In the evening the herbs were taken from the slaves and those who didn't get enough were whipped. Ai Tung had collected as much as they wanted. Huan Wei was getting angry. What, did they really not need him? Or was Cao Jingguo helping everyone?

His angry gaze turned to Cao Jingguo. The young man, however, said nothing and went to the fire to eat.

During the meal, Wu Hui asked Ou Yu. "Boss, what about our money? We have been waiting for a while, but no one has come."

The woman took another bite of meat. Then she calmly looked at Wu Hui. The stare lasted for a few seconds, causing Wu Hui to wince a little. Then the woman spoke. "You will get your money whenever I want it. Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-No. Whenever you want." Wu Hui lowered his head and continued eating. Ou Yu looked at him for a while longer.

Huan Wei could see the dissatisfaction on the bandits' faces. Yun Ying was especially demoralized. Lan Xifeng was no better. Her beautiful smile had faded, replaced by a sullen face.

At that moment, Huan Wei realized that he had to make a big deal out of this. Lan Xifeng was not happy with the situation either. Naturally, her men must have had the same thoughts. Perhaps Yun Ying might be hesitant to do anything alone, yet what if the two leaders combined forces?

"Ou Yu is in the fifth corruption of the Path of the Blood. Yun Ying and Lan Xifeng are at the fourth step of the Path of the Divines. Ou Yu's Soul Technique is too dangerous. But with Yun Ying's grasping technique and Lan Xifeng's ranged attacks, the two of them might have a chance against Ou Yu. The other bandits will follow them. They just need the spark to ignite the fire of rebellion."

Huan Wei finished his meal. Then he went to his tent. Tonight the others would stand watch. He really wanted to search for energy fields in the forest. Yet he was forbidden to leave the camp. Xin Hai would not allow it.

He sat down on his sleeping bag. Xin Hai also came to the tent immediately. Huan Wei looked at him as he took his place. "At this rate, we'll only get air instead of money."

Xin Hai was also in a bad mood. "It's all your bad luck," he said as he looked at Huan Wei. "Before you came, we used to get paid at least every two or three days. Since you joined, we haven't seen any money."

"The money must still be coming in. It's just not given to us." Huan Wei looked at the tent door. "Use your mind, Xin Hai. Ou Yu has always been greedy. Now she may be making us all work for free. I wouldn't be surprised if she gives you ten silver coins once a month from now on. But no one has the courage to ask her to pay for it."

"If it's going to take courage, then you ask?"

"Really? You're going to hide behind a 14-year-old boy who hasn't chosen a path yet? That's why Ou Yu recruited me. She must have realized that you're all cowards who wouldn't speak up even if she didn't give you money."

Xin Hai lay down on his own sleeping bag. He did not answer Huan Wei. Instead, he stared at the ceiling of the tent.

Huan Wei turned his back to him and smiled. The snake was slowly releasing its venom. It wouldn't be long before it spread to the whole group. If he could hurry enough, everything would be perfect. Because tomorrow the Forest Masters were going to the outer section of the Northern Bright Forest. It was the perfect place to escape from these bandits.