Responsibility

"Northwest! Watch the northwest!"

"There's a giant rock in the mountains to the northwest. The archer's there!"

Chen Feng bellowed, making sure his voice wouldn't be drowned out by the other noise.

Everyone jolted.

Keeping control of their horses, they all turned to look northwest.

Whoosh!

An arrow came slicing through the air.

Wang Huan reacted swiftly. At the last possible moment, he drew his blade and knocked the arrow aside.

He had protected the horses.

Knowing where the archer was made things much easier. Everyone there was a martial artist, and their reactions were lightning-fast.

All they had to do was watch the archer's movements.

Then they could block his arrows in time.

As the saying went, an open spear was easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow was hard to guard against.

After several arrows were blocked, the archer knew he'd been exposed. All he could do was watch helplessly as the group rode out of his range.

There was nothing he could do.

If there had been more archers, perhaps they might have had a chance of keeping Chen Feng and the others there.

But how difficult was it to train even one?

Among all these bandits, there was only one archer with any aim.

The bandits could only glare furiously at Chen Feng and his party, helpless to stop them from riding away.

Not only had all their efforts come to nothing, but they'd also lost several brothers. They'd taken a loss big enough to make their ancestors weep.

The bandit chief's face twisted with frustration. He pulled a jar from his robes and hurled it angrily to the ground.

The pottery jar hit the ground with a sharp crack, its shards scattering everywhere.

A tiny flying insect emerged from the jar.

"Fall back!"

Wind howled in their ears.

The scenery rushed past them.

The road was rough, and the carriage boards rattled and creaked.

Nobody knew how long they'd been riding.

Only when the horses were utterly exhausted and had to stop for a rest did the group find a secluded spot to pull over and recover.

Zhang Jiu was in the best condition, and he was capable enough, so Chen Feng sent him to keep watch behind them.

Cheng Tingxue also stepped down from the carriage with her maid. Her face was pale; she had clearly been badly frightened.

"We're not far from the next inn."

Recalling the road they'd taken and estimating the distance, Chen Feng said:

"We need to replenish our water and food as soon as possible. The horses need feed, too."

Cheng Li nodded. He trusted Chen Feng completely now, and the facts had proven that Chen Feng's decisions were sound.

His composure in a crisis had left a deep impression.

"No, we can't keep going... The horses can't take it, and neither can we."

The martial artist who'd been struck by an arrow spoke as he endured the pain and bandaged his wound.

Thankfully, the arrow hadn't been poisoned. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't have escaped death this time.

"Heh... Don't you think you should blame your companion? We told him to take a look from the mountain ridge, and what did he do? Slacked off."

"I bet he turned right back as soon as he rounded the bend," Wang Huan sneered.

The wounded martial artist said nothing.

He knew Wang Huan was right.

And thinking back to their escape just now, he had a vague suspicion about his friend.

He'd deliberately slowed down.

He'd wanted to use him as a shield.

"Th-this can't all be my fault, can it?" The Square-faced Martial Artist panicked.

"Who else should we blame? This whole mess is your responsibility. Madam Cheng, remember that."

Wang Huan deliberately spoke loudly, making sure Cheng Tingxue could hear.

The Square-faced Martial Artist's expression changed at once, and he reflexively protested:

"I didn't see anyone!"

"Oh, no one? Then who gave birth to all those bandits? Whether you climbed up there to look or not, you know perfectly well."

"T-they were just well hidden."

"That's still your problem!"

As their argument raged on,

Chen Feng slowly rose and stepped beside Wang Huan, his gaze cold as he looked at the Square-faced Martial Artist.

"Kneel and apologize, or get lost."

The Square-faced Martial Artist froze.

Then he flew into a rage.

"Why should I?!"

Chen Feng didn't answer. He simply put on the Fine Iron Knuckle Duster.

He thought he'd been more than patient. Everyone deserved a chance to make a mistake.

But he absolutely couldn't tolerate someone who refused to admit their mistakes staying in the group.

He'd provoked them again and again.

He wouldn't change his ways.

He was as stubborn as a dead duck.

There was no point reasoning with someone like this. He needed to use his fists.

"Y-you, what are you doing?!"

The Square-faced Martial Artist immediately panicked.

Chen Feng said nothing.

He took another step toward him.

Wang Huan had been sick of that square face for ages. Seeing Chen Feng about to throw a punch, he was all for it.

"I'm with the Xu Family! You can't lay a hand on me! Madam! Madam!"

Cheng Tingxue didn't respond.

It seemed she was giving her tacit approval.

"You should all stop him! What right does he have to make the decisions? It's me now! You could be next!"

The Square-faced Martial Artist staggered back a step.

He shouted at the others.

Not one person responded.

That included Cheng Li and the other Xu Family martial artist.

The Square-faced Martial Artist could clearly feel the others shutting him out. He was furious.

Pointing at Chen Feng, he said:

"You think you did nothing wrong? If you'd gone to look yourself, how would we have ended up in this mess?"

Chen Feng gave a cold laugh.

"Right, I was wrong, too. I failed to realize there was a useless piece of trash in the group who couldn't be allowed to stay."

"So now I'm kicking that trash out, before he causes an even bigger disaster."

The Square-faced Martial Artist shouted at the others:

"What are you all doing?! Can't you see he's attacking one of our own?!"

"One of our own..."

Chen Feng almost laughed.

The next second—

Bam!

A Great Swing Hammer smashed straight into the Square-faced Martial Artist's mouth!

The hard knuckle duster

knocked one of his front teeth clean out.

In an instant, his mouth was a bloody mess.

The Square-faced Martial Artist cried out in pain. He clutched his face as blood dripped down, his mind going blank.

He hadn't expected Chen Feng to really hit him.

The others hadn't expected it either.

Chen Feng was so decisive.

"Do you know what you did wrong?"

Chen Feng asked coldly.

"You bastard..."

The Square-faced Martial Artist was about to curse when Chen Feng's next punch shot straight toward his face!

Bam!

His nose broke with a crack.

Snot, tears, and blood spilled out together.

"Do you know why I'm hitting you?"

Chen Feng continued asking.

The Square-faced Martial Artist roared. The hand covering his face suddenly dropped, reaching for the saber at his waist.

Chen Feng saw it.

Without another word, he kicked him in the stomach.

"Ugh..."

The Square-faced Martial Artist writhed on the ground in pain, feeling as if he was about to throw up his stomach acid.

"Are you going to admit your mistake?"

Chen Feng asked as before.

But this time, he didn't even want to wait. He raised his hand and prepared to punch the Square-faced Martial Artist again.

"I was wrong!!!"

"Please spare me!!!"

The commotion was so loud that even Zhang Jiu, scouting in the distance, could hear it.

The Square-faced Martial Artist knelt on the ground, begging Chen Feng to stop.

If Chen Feng kept hitting him, he'd really beat him to death!

"I shouldn't have slacked off. I shouldn't have talked back to you. I shouldn't have shirked my responsibility... It was my fault, all of it was my fault. Please spare me."

Tears mixed with blood on the Square-faced Martial Artist's face, making him look utterly wretched.

Even Cheng Tingxue couldn't help feeling pity for him. She hesitated, wanting to speak, but in the end she kept silent.

Instead, she left the decision entirely to Chen Feng.

Faced with his pleas, Chen Feng said nothing. He simply watched him in silence.

The Square-faced Martial Artist continued to wail:

"Let me stay! From now on, I'll do whatever you say! Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it! I won't cut corners again! Give me another chance! Please, give me another chance!"

He didn't even have time to care about the pain in his face.

He could see that Chen Feng now had the final say in the group.

Even if Chen Feng kicked him out of the party, no one would speak up for him.

And out here,

in these remote mountains and forests,

traveling alone was no different from asking for death!

Any bandit gang that happened along could take his life in an instant.