Chapter 15 Da Liu and Xiao Liu

The next day, in the bright of day, Tian Lin was still meditating in the wooden hut when Zhang Dalang came in with a knife.

He threw the knife towards Tian Lin and then said, "There are ten Supervisors in the mine, each with a knife. This one belonged to Supervisor You. He's dead now, so the knife is yours."

Tian Lin caught the knife and joyously caressed the sheath.

Although the sheath had scratches, it gave Tian Lin a great sense of security.

He drew the knife with a clanging sound and couldn't help saying, "If I were to face Supervisor You now, I wouldn't be afraid of him anymore."

Hearing Tian Lin's words, Zhang Dalang burst into laughter:

"You think having a knife can make up for the gap? Then you're underestimating Mr. You. After all, he was someone with over a decade of Inner Strength."

Tian Lin didn't speak, sheathed the knife, and didn't tell Zhang Dalang that he now also had decades of cultivated power.

"And this dagger too!"

Zhang Dalang took out a dagger from behind his waist and threw it to Tian Lin.

Tian Lin caught the dagger and, touching the lacquered sheath, frowned and asked, "Did you kill the guy who gave me water?"

Zhang Dalang replied, "That guy may not know much, but he was a potential risk all the same."

After saying that, he brushed off his clothes and added, "I will be leaving the day after tomorrow, and who knows how many days it will be before I can return. While I am not here, it's better for you to stay in this hut. Be patient with everything until I am back."

Tian Lin said, "If you want to gain Manager Xu's deep trust, I'm afraid Leopard Brother is an obstacle you can't get around."

Indeed, Leopard Brother had been Manager Xu's subordinate for many years; it made no sense for Manager Xu to trust Zhang Dalang more.

"Leopard Brother may not necessarily have Manager Xu's trust, either. I guess if Manager Xu wants to win me over, aside from having me make money for him, he probably intends to counterbalance Leopard Brother as well."

After Zhang Dalang finished speaking, he waved at Tian Lin and left the hut.

At night, when the Mine Slaves finished their shift, Tian Lin indeed did not see the Mine Slave who had once brought him the Soul Burying Flower.

In the hut, a few people had died these past days, and the remaining Mine Slaves were discussing, "They say they brought in a few new guys today, who should be coming over by midnight."

Sure enough, as the sky darkened, the door of the wooden hut was opened from the outside.

A Supervisor pushed a few newcomers into the hut and scolded them, "Take a rest here tonight, and after breakfast tomorrow, you'll go work in the mine."

After the Supervisor finished speaking, he also said to Tian Lin and Zhang Dalang, "These new guys are entrusted to the two of you to watch over."

As soon as the Supervisor left, the new guys all looked towards Tian Lin and Zhang Dalang.

At this moment, Tian Lin and Zhang Dalang were the most noticeable in the hut, firstly, because nobody dared to sit near them.

Secondly, one was wearing a Supervisor's clothes, and the other's purple clothes were even more eye-catching.

"Is it you two?"

A voice rang out, and a beggar stepped forward from among the newcomers.

The beggar, with disheveled hair and a filthy face, pointed at Tian Lin and Zhang Dalang, "So, you two haven't died yet."

Tian Lin was startled, first glanced at the beggar, then at the sturdy man beside him.

At this moment, he finally recognized them - weren't they Da Liu and his brother?

"Hey, these new guys are lucky, to actually know Brother Zhang and Brother Tian."

"They are brothers?"

Xiao Liu laughed out loud, knowing exactly how Zhang Dalang had kicked out the old man and Tian Lin from the team.

"What, you didn't know? Although Brother Tian and Brother Zhang have different surnames, they are actually brothers from the same mother."

A Mine Slave by the side mentioned with certainty, causing Xiao Liu to be somewhat confused.

He was about to speak when Zhang Dalang opened his mouth and said, "Enough, everyone go to sleep."

Then pointing to the newcomers, he said, "You guys, go wash up by the creek first. With such a stench, how can anyone sleep here?"

Xiao Liu, with a cold face, said, "Why should we listen to you? The score of you injuring my brother, we haven't settled it yet!"

As he said this, Tian Lin had already drawn his knife.

By this point, Tian Lin no longer minded killing people.

But Xiao Liu was not afraid of Tian Lin, because he knew Tian Lin had no martial skills, and Xiao Liu himself was a man from the worldly society.

Had he and his brother not had their own skills, how could they dare to oppose someone like Zhang Dalang, a first-class expert?

"Enough—brothers, we have all come along the same path, put away the knife!"

Zhang Dalang first let Tian Lin sheathe the knife, then put his arms around the shoulders of Da Liu and Xiao Liu, saying,

"Let's go, let's go. Past grudges, how can they be made clear in a moment? If you really want to settle old scores, then let's have a bath first. Don't tell me you're afraid I'll run away?"

Xiao Liu hesitated, but his brother Da Liu said, "Let's go, I want to see what you have to say."

On that side, Zhang Dalang took the two brothers out, and Tian Lin said to the Mine Slaves in the hut, "Everyone, go to sleep. I'll take the new guys to wash."

He tapped the clueless newcomers in front of him with the knife sheath and led them out of the hut as well.

With Zhang Dalang and Tian Lin leading the way, none of the newcomers faced any obstacles.

A group of people arrived at the streamside, where Tian Lin used his knife to drive the other three newcomers into the water, while he himself, with his knife, went to the other side beside Zhang Dalang.

At this moment, Zhang Dalang was confronting the Da Liu and Xiao Liu brothers, both of whom were glaring menacingly at him.

As for Tian Lin, who had come over, neither of them took much notice.

"Both of you, when our conflict arose, it was nothing more than your defiance against authority and my need to establish my dominance. Now that I think about it, what do those old grievances amount to?"

Xiao Liu sneered: "The one who got hurt wasn't you, so of course you wouldn't care anymore."

Zhang Dalang said: "But if we were to start over and fight now, you two brothers are still no match for me."

Xiao Liu fell silent this time, but his elder brother Da Liu said sullenly: "Whether we can beat you or not, we would still fight. It's merely death at most. Aren't we, as members of the worldly society, living as Huahua Lang without a guaranteed tomorrow?"

Zhang Dalang applauded and said: "Well said. Life in the worldly society is fleeting, and Huahua Lang lives without a sure tomorrow. But since we're all members of the worldly society, all Huahua Lang, why should we fight to the death?"

Xiao Liu did not speak, and the atmosphere became quite tense.

It was then that Tian Lin spoke up: "You two didn't come to the mine to seek death, did you? If enmity can be dissolved with a smile, why not enjoy such a pleasure?"

Tian Lin's words held hidden meaning, but he was already approaching Xiao Liu.

He remembered that Da Liu was a second-rate expert, and his own knife would probably be ineffective against him.

As for Xiao Liu, at best he was a third-rate expert. Tian Lin's decades of Cultivation could catch him off-guard.

In any case, in Tian Lin's eyes, this pair of brothers couldn't be kept around.

But his movements did not escape Da Liu's gaze, who looked at Tian Lin and said:

"Has Brother Tian forgotten how you and the old man were driven out of the team by Zhang? We may not share the same enemy, but does it mean we should abet tyranny?"

At that moment, Zhang Dalang pulled Tian Lin back and stood in front of him, his cold eyes on the brothers: "Then tell me, what would it take for Zhang to appease you?"

Xiao Liu replied: "You injured my brother's leg before; injure your own leg as well."

"What's so difficult about that?"

Zhang Dalang drew a dagger from his waist and stabbed his own right leg, piercing through the thigh. Blood instantly flowed down the blade, dripping into the rubble.

"How about it? Does this stab appease you brothers?"

Tian Lin frowned at this, and so did Da Liu.

Only Xiao Liu sneered: "You're a first-rate master; such a wound is merely a minor ailment to you—put some medicine on it, and you'll be fine by tomorrow. Moreover, you stabbed yourself; we had nothing to do with it, so how could it count?"

"Fine, if you're dissatisfied with this stab, then you do it!"

After saying that, Zhang Dalang pulled the dagger out of his leg and threw the bloodied blade toward Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu caught the dagger and looked towards Zhang Dalang's neck with a smiling face, preparing to step towards Zhang Dalang.

"Enough, Zhang acts with integrity; if we argue over details, we'll only become a laughingstock!"

Da Liu pulled the reluctant Xiao Liu back and snatched the dagger from his hand to throw back to Zhang Dalang:

"Whatever you're planning, we brothers want no part of it. You also don't have to worry about us betraying you."

They turned to leave, but Zhang Dalang said: "Hold on, the business that I'm about to handle involves you brothers as well. We all come from faraway places, all captured here, and we all seek Cultivation as Huahua Lang."

Tian Lin frowned at this moment, feeling that it was a grave error to undertake significant deeds without secrecy.

But what could he do to stop Zhang Dalang now?

Besides, he felt that Zhang Dalang must have his reasons for wanting to involve Da Liu and Xiao Liu.

As Zhang Dalang approached Da Liu and Xiao Liu, Tian Lin did not follow but turned instead, knife in hand, to face the other three newcomers.

Tian Lin did not want these newcomers to overhear something they shouldn't, and although killing to silence others was an act of last resort, he preferred not to harm the innocent.

While Tian Lin watched the three newcomers, over there, Zhang Dalang had come to an agreement with Da Liu and Xiao Liu.

Da Liu still wore a frown, but Xiao Liu had already changed his hostile demeanor and spoke to Tian Lin:

"Smart kid, I wondered why you teamed up with Zhang Dalang, turns out you have your own plans."

Tian Lin remained silent, frowning, while Zhang Dalang, pulling him in, said: "From now on, we four will be brothers sworn to justice. Those who wander the worldly society know that a single tree does not make a forest. If we will stand our ground in this mine and seek future glory, we can't be lone wolves."

He extended his hand as he spoke, and Xiao Liu was the second to respond, placing his hand on top of Zhang Dalang's.

Seeing this, Tian Lin also released his knife and placed his hand on top of Xiao Liu's.

With four hands stacked together, Zhang Dalang said: "I am the eldest, so there should be no problem with me being the eldest brother, right?"

Xiao Liu replied: "Zhang being the eldest brother is fine, my brother as the second elder, and I as the third younger—As for Tian, he's the youngest and weakest in martial arts, so he'll have to be content with being the youngest brother."

Tian Lin glanced at a grinning Xiao Liu, then at Zhang Dalang, and said: "In the future, I shall rely on my elder brothers' support."

In his heart, he thought: Sworn brothers? Since when do brothers go from swords drawn at dusk to sworn kinship by dawn?

It's all chaos driven by the pursuit of Immortal Technique; who knows what it will lead to in the future.