Chapter 33: The Weak Are Prey to the Strong

Li You was covered in wolf blood; his bloodlust had long been ignited. Wielding his blade, he charged straight at the wolf king. Seeing Li You move, the wolf king's first reaction was to flee, but with injuries to its chest and a long arrow shaft still lodged in it, how could it outrun a Li You gone berserk?

The other wolves trailed behind Li You, trying to nip at his rear, but Wa Wa Qingyun, also brandishing a blade, came charging in, forcing the wolves to scatter and hang back.

Ahead, Li You, holding a Miao blade nearly as tall as himself, ran with incredible speed, just managing to catch up. He swung the flat of the blade against the wolf king's hindquarters. In pain, the wolf king's eyes turned red as it spun around and lunged at Li You's neck.

"Hey!"

Li You released his grip on the blade and smashed a hook punch into it. The wolf king was knocked flying five or six paces, landing in the grass. It whimpered twice and never rose again.

Eight gray wolves let out low whines. One gray wolf, previously shot in the belly by Li You, struggled to its feet, wanting to follow the others.

Li You leaped forward, delivering a fierce kick to its spine. The alpha wolf didn't even have time to howl before it quickly vanished into the grass, completely silent.

The other eight wolves howled twice and quickly headed toward the northern foothills.

Li You grabbed his blade and followed closely behind...

"Master Li... the wolves have entered the woods. We dare not pursue!"

Called back to his senses by Wa Wa Qingyun, Li You realized he had been fighting with bloodshot eyes, a result of excessive excitement and tension.

Liu Longjin, along with Yu Yu Zhengchun and the others, also rushed over. Seeing the wolf corpses scattered everywhere, they were all filled with the joy of having survived.

Wa Wa Qingyun was finishing off several gray wolves that had been wounded by arrows but not yet dead. Just then, Li You walked over, propping his long blade upright to stand, staring sternly at Wa Wa Qingyun.

Covered in blood, he looked terrifying. Xiao Xiao Juzi and Zhu Zi, who had originally wanted to hug him, were so frightened they stopped in their tracks.

"Master Li..."

The atmosphere felt wrong; both Wa Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin looked at Li You with some trepidation.

"Wa Wa Qingyun!" Li You called out coldly.

Wa Wa Qingyun swallowed hard and instinctively replied, "Here!"

"When I left just now, what did I tell you?"

"Ah... oh... stay in place... but... but I saw Master expose his back to the pack of wolves. I was worried they would nip at your rear..." Wa Wa Qingyun stammered.

"That is my business. Your duty is to protect the children. Can you not distinguish right from wrong, or light from heavy?"

Li You's voice grew even more severe, sounding like the creaking of a rusted iron door, harsh and chilling.

Instantly, Hei Hei Liuzi and his group trembled in fear. However, except for Xiao Xiao Juzi and Hei Hei Liuzi, they could all hear the reason for Li You's anger: he was displeased that Wa Wa Qingyun had not taken good care of them. This made their hearts feel warm.

"For so many years, we have been like rats and cockroaches, with no one caring whether we lived or died. Yet Master Li disregarded his own safety..."

Yu Yu Zhengchun, who had long been sensible, was the most moved. Looking at Li You's stern face, his eyes reddened slightly.

"Thud..."

Wa Wa Qingyun, terrified and at a loss, dropped to his knees. Li You's bloodied blade in his hand was only a step away from Wa Wa Qingyun's head.

"Master! Brother Yun was just worried about you!"

Liu Longjin suddenly panicked, fearing Li You, in his killing frenzy, might chop off Wa Wa Qingyun's head. He had seen Li You chop off Tian Si's head that day.

"Sima Rangju said: 'When a general receives his orders, he forgets his family; when facing military discipline, he forgets his kin; when the urgency of the drumbeat arises, he forgets himself.' The three of us act as a unit. Since you two have taken me as your leader, and we are in this time of peril, you should possess the mindset of soldiers in battle. Tell me, does this not count as disobeying military orders?"

Li You's tone softened slightly.

"Master, Wa Wa Qingyun has disobeyed military orders and willingly accepts punishment!" Wa Wa Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief. He was a clever fellow; he knew Li You wanted to establish rules and set an example of authority.

Why establish rules? Naturally, to win over the group. His heart was actually stirred with excitement; this was a great opportunity for him. Regarding today's events, he firmly believed that following Li You would lead to a better future, certainly much better than his current situation.

"Although you two did not achieve a beheading victory today, you were able to protect this group of children, which is in itself a Great achievement. In terms of merit, each of you should receive one wolf corpse. However, since you disobeyed orders, I will consider your transgression here. Merit and fault cancel each other out, so no punishment will be given!"

Li You pondered and added, "Liu Longjin was able to remain steadfast in his post. In terms of merit, he naturally deserves one wolf corpse!"

"One wolf corpse?"

Liu Longjin was overjoyed. He knew that although these wolves were lean, counting the bones, they still weighed seventy or eighty jin. In these times of famine, where could one find ready meat as practical as gold or silver?

He, who had been kneeling, excitedly kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Master!"

Hearing this, Wa Wa Qingyun felt some regret, but he also thought that if he hadn't come forward at that moment, Li You would indeed have been in danger. However, he did not believe Li You would not remember this favor.

Therefore, he felt even more certain that he was likely to become Li You's trusted confidant. Thinking of this, his heart immediately felt at ease. How could one wolf corpse compare to a future? Besides, once these wolf meats were taken back, given Li You's kindness, the mine workers would not go without meat; how could he be left out? How could he have no meat to eat?

Yu Yu Zhengchun watched Wa Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin kneeling in submission. He felt both admiration and longing; he also wanted to become a great leader like Master Li, someone who could make people submit. Alas, the moment he thought of studying and writing, he regretted having sought suffering for himself back then.

"Master Brother is really amazing!"

The young lady looked at the many wolf corpses and sighed. She was only eight years old; naturally, she could not see the intricacies of the situation. As for Wa and Liu kneeling, she felt it was nothing special; after all, in this era, kneeling before a scholar was not a very normal thing, was it?

"So much wolf meat! How long can we eat this? Master Brother is too great!"

Song Song Baishun also became excited. Today, while eating meat, he had constantly worried he would never eat meat again. But who could have thought that now, suddenly, there was so much wolf meat?

Since there were no excessive outsiders present, Li You was too lazy to continue putting on airs. He let them hurry up and clean up the wolf meat, watching the two of them work busily.

After this life-and-death struggle, Li You's mind cleared up on many things. This chaotic world was just like the fight with the pack of wolves just now: if you lose, you become the wolves' food; if you win, the wolves become your food.

Since ancient times, the strong have eaten people, and the weak have been eaten by people. This is an unchanging principle.

Having understood this, he turned back with the idea of winning over the group. Although there were only two people now, was this not a good start?

Gazing at the moon that was gradually appearing, he couldn't help but recall a sentence by Wang Xiaobo...

"That day I was twenty-one, in the golden age of my life, I had many lofty desires. I wanted to love, I wanted to eat, and I wanted to turn into a cloud, half-bright and half-dark in the sky, in an instant. Later I learned that life is a process of slowly being hammered; day by day people grow old, day by day desires disappear, and finally one becomes like an ox that has been hammered. I felt I would remain forever fierce, and nothing could hammer me."