They Came for Me

Time gradually passed.

Sun Qi, Luo Tiegen, and the others drank until their faces were flushed red, a little drunk.

Qian Dele suddenly suggested, "We've all gotten started in the Nourishing Life Technique. It's fate that we've gathered here to feast on meat and drink bowlfuls of wine. Why don't we become sworn brothers and rank ourselves by seniority?"

"I think that works. It'll make us seem closer." Sun Zheng was delighted.

"Sound reasoning." Luo Tiegen nodded while clutching the last jar of wine.

"That sounds rather interesting."

With Sun Qi, whose Fist Force ranked first, giving a nod, they smoothly went through the process of ranking themselves and becoming sworn brothers. After addressing one another accordingly, they burst into laughter.

"Speaking of which." Sun Qi raised a brow and looked at Sun Zheng. "Little Zheng, I heard earlier that someone slapped you. Is that true?"

On the bed, Jiang Ping, who had been drowsily drifting off to sleep, instantly woke up a little.

Damn it, they came for me!

Below.

Sun Zheng waved a hand magnanimously. "Thank you for your concern, Brother Qi. It's a small matter. It's already passed."

"How is that a small matter? Tell me. If you've suffered any grievance, I'll stand up for you." Sun Qi spoke boldly.

Sun Zheng then straightforwardly recounted the matter. From the way he spoke, it did not sound as though it had passed at all. Instead, he added a bit of oil and vinegar to the tale, utterly disregarding the fact that the other party involved was still there.

"So that's what happened." Sun Qi nodded, then snorted. "Even if Zhengzi was somewhat in the wrong, living in the same dormitory is fate. If there was something to say, why couldn't it be said properly? How could Jiang Ping be so overbearing and strike someone?"

"Brother Jiang truly can't justify that." Luo Tiegen chimed in from the side.

"Drag him down here and make him kowtow to our Zhengzi in apology. Only then can this matter be considered over!" Another man declared with drunken bravado.

Jiang Ping was fully awake now.

He finally understood why this gathering had been held in his dormitory. They might well have come to show him who was boss.

Of course, they could drink, shout, and talk nonsense while drunk. He did not want to fuss over it.

But they had better not climb onto his bed again!

Otherwise, the Shallow Water Dragon King would emerge ahead of schedule!

If Jiang Ping at the third level of the Nourishing Life Technique had still been somewhat wary of facing so many people, he had now reached the Fourth Level. His Fist Force had pulled far ahead of theirs; taking on all seven of them would be no trouble.

As Jiang Ping pondered this and listened to their "bold declarations," his eyelids only grew heavier.

By the time he woke, it was already the next morning.

Jiang Ping stretched. He felt that he had been sleeping more and more soundly lately. Each time, all his exhaustion was washed away, leaving him refreshed and clear-headed.

"Looks like nothing happened last night..." He climbed down from the bed and glanced at Sun Zheng and the others, who were still asleep. Then he froze.

Sun Zheng's face was mottled purple and blue, and the left side was swollen like a pig's head.

In his sleep, Qian Dele scratched at his right eye, which seemed rather itchy.

How could it not itch? His right eye was swollen as though someone had punched it, turning it into a Panda Eye.

"Who did this?" Jiang Ping found it amusing, but he was also curious.

When he looked at Luo Tiegen, he found that this one had not been injured.

"That's what you get for drinking." Jiang Ping shrugged, then turned and left the dormitory with a towel and some salt.

After breakfast.

Only while training did Jiang Ping discover that Sun Zheng and Qian Dele were not the only ones injured in the dormitory. Luo Da Niu also had injuries on his face, and a faint suspicion arose in Jiang Ping's heart.

Naturally, he could not ask the people involved directly. During a break, he pulled aside another roommate and asked what had happened.

Only then did he learn the truth.

It turned out that the seven men had drunk until very late the previous night before finally breaking up. But Sun Zheng had gotten wildly drunk and started making a drunken scene, causing all sorts of noise.

Luo Da Niu, who had wanted to rest, reminded him once, but Sun Zheng ignored him and continued going mad. No one could talk him down, so Luo Da Niu cursed at him a few times. The two then began arguing.

Before long, their verbal sparring turned into a brawl.

"Qian Dele couldn't stop them?" Jiang Ping asked.

"Hmph!" At the mention of this, the roommate seemed to harbor some resentment. He said coldly, "That man is somewhat sanctimonious. Regarding what happened between Sun Zheng and you last time, I thought Qian Dele had some sense of decency. Turns out he's also a petty villain."

"He did try to stop them, but he only restrained Da Niu, letting him take several more kicks from Sun Zheng."

"And that was the end of it?" Jiang Ping raised a brow.

"How could it be? Not only did Sun Zheng behave horribly, he was also remarkably disgusting with his mouth. He humiliated Da Niu, dragged in Da Niu's other fellow villager and several others as well, and those people got upset and joined in. Then it became a one-sided beating."

Jiang Ping nodded. Sun Zheng had no filter and no brains. Even while drinking earlier, he had belittled Luo Da Niu and the others right to their faces. Though Luo Da Niu and the others had not made an issue of it then, it had likely planted the seeds for the later beating.

He had it coming.

Strange. Jiang Ping secretly sighed. He had actually slept through a scene like that.

Normally, he should have been woken by such a commotion.

It must be because my Nourishing Life Technique broke through to the Fourth Level. My physical condition has improved, so I sleep more soundly. Jiang Ping secretly guessed.

"By the way, Luo Tiegen didn't try to stop the fight?" He asked again, rather surprised.

"He couldn't stop it. When his fellow villager Da Niu was taking on two people, he did not even dare get close. He just stood off to the side, anxiously watching like a coward."

Hearing this, Jiang Ping fell into thought.

He did not think Luo Tiegen had been unable to stop it. Rather, he had wanted to stay out of it and avoid getting involved, slick as a mud loach.

Yet the ending was both unexpected and reasonable.

In the end, Sun Qi and several of his newly sworn brothers were alerted. Only then did they pull both sides apart, and with their overwhelming martial strength, they forced Luo Da Niu and the others to apologize and pay some silver.

"That person will probably become even more arrogant from now on."

Jiang Ping raised his head and glanced at Sun Zheng in the distance. It was as though the other man had grown a third eye; their gazes met in an instant, and Sun Zheng viciously glared at him.

Jiang Ping sneered inwardly and shifted his gaze away. He heard his roommate sigh in a low voice, "Exactly. Now I think Brother Jiang's slap that day was completely right. Sun Zheng is a brainless fool. This dormitory probably won't have peace from now on."

Things unfolded exactly as the roommate had said, and very quickly became reality.

With Sun Qi and Qian Dele backing him, Sun Zheng displayed his arrogance and smugness to the fullest during everyone's afternoon rest period.

Whenever Luo Da Niu and the others made even the slightest sound, Sun Zheng would berate them. Yet he himself showed no consideration for everyone's nap, speaking loudly with Qian Dele.

Even Jiang Ping received some "special attention" and was scolded once when he got up.

Jiang Ping could not be bothered to lower himself to his level, but this only made Sun Zheng more smug. He believed Jiang Ping was afraid of him.

So, when it was time to rest that night, he pushed his luck. Apparently wanting to disgust Jiang Ping, who went to bed early, he spoke at the top of his voice. He even deliberately bought several pots of wine and pulled two of his newly sworn brothers over to drink, making as much noise as possible.

The others did not dare speak up to stop him. Only when Qian Dele, who also wanted to rest, opened his mouth did Sun Zheng finally quiet down.

Naturally, Jiang Ping knew nothing of what happened that night. It was only when his roommate told him while they washed up the next day that he learned what had occurred.

"Could it be that Brother Jiang is afraid of that brainless fool and deliberately pretended to be asleep?" Liu Wensheng chuckled from the side.

He had also heard about what had happened in Jiang Ping's dormitory, and he detested dogs that bullied others by relying on power.

"Not really." Jiang Ping spread his hands. He had truly slept straight through until dawn. It was just as he had guessed: after reaching the Fourth Level of the Nourishing Life Technique, his physical condition had improved, and he slept exceptionally well.

That was fine too. It saved him from getting irritated by dogs at night.

"If there is, just say so. Brother can back you up." Liu Wensheng smiled, then added quietly, "I've broken through to the Second Level."