Tang San and Yu Xiaogang Left in Disarray by the Wind

"Stop!"

A furious shout suddenly rang out.

Yu Xiaogang, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, finally could not hold back any longer.

Watching his beloved disciple get "bullied" by Ye Liuyun like a laborer, the scales in his heart instantly tipped.

Tang San bullying others was one thing, but how could he be the one getting bullied? As his teacher, Yu Xiaogang absolutely would not allow it.

Yu Xiaogang strode over and blocked Ye Liuyun's path, pointing a finger at his nose as spit flew from his mouth.

"Ye Liuyun! What are you doing?!"

"Have you no shame at all? Tang San helped Ning Rongrong out of goodwill! Yet you even gave him yours? Are you trying to work him to death?"

Facing the Grandmaster's roar, Ye Liuyun spread his hands with an innocent expression.

"Grandmaster, I'm injured. Didn't you say we needed team spirit? Isn't it only natural for the captain to help the team members shoulder their burdens?"

"Shut up!"

Yu Xiaogang did not listen to his explanation at all and rebuked him righteously.

"So what if you're injured?"

"Do you think that, on a battlefield, the enemy will stop attacking you just because you're injured?"

"Do you think Spirit Beasts won't eat you just because you're hurt?"

"A true powerhouse never makes excuses! Even if you have to crawl, you crawl to the finish while carrying your responsibilities on your back! Trying to shirk responsibility like this makes you a coward!"

After berating him, Yu Xiaogang coldly eyed Ye Liuyun's empty hands and demanded.

"Now, all the stones have been given to Tang San."

"What are you going to do?"

"Are you planning to walk behind the team empty-handed like some lord out for a stroll?"

"Is that your contribution to the team?"

"You should know that you aren't a Support System Spirit Master."

Ignoring Yu Xiaogang's criticism, Ye Liuyun walked straight over to Ning Rongrong, who was still sitting on the ground rubbing her ankle with a pained expression.

Without wasting words, he scooped an arm behind Ning Rongrong's thighs and, with a slight exertion of strength, hoisted the delicate young miss onto his back.

Ning Rongrong let out a startled cry and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, her whole body pressed against his back.

After doing all that, Ye Liuyun turned around and looked at the dumbfounded Yu Xiaogang, speaking with complete confidence.

"Grandmaster, look."

"Although I'm injured, I will never abandon a companion. I can be responsible for evacuating injured comrades who have lost their ability to move."

"Isn't this exactly the teamwork and reasonable division of labor you keep talking about?"

"You..." Yu Xiaogang's eyes nearly popped out at the sight.

He had originally wanted to force Ye Liuyun to carry the stones back, but Ye Liuyun had directly switched to the job of "taking advantage"!

And his logic was airtight, leaving no room for rebuttal!

Just as Yu Xiaogang was about to curse, Ye Liuyun beat him to it, calling out to Tang San behind him, who was being crushed to the point of nearly coughing blood.

"Captain! Since the Grandmaster said enemies won't spare us just because we're injured."

"I'll carry the wounded away first. You can carry the supplies and catch up slowly!"

With that, Ye Liuyun carried Ning Rongrong on his back, greased his feet, and disappeared in a flash.

Only Yu Xiaogang was left standing there in utter disarray, his face black as the bottom of a pot.

What the hell...

Tang San carried the stones, while Ye Liuyun carried the beauty?

Was he helping Tang San establish authority, or handing Ye Liuyun a benefit on a silver platter?!

"Teacher..."

Carrying three times the weight, Tang San watched Ye Liuyun's carefree departing figure, and his mentality completely collapsed.

He felt like the biggest sucker alive.

And at that moment.

Oscar came over as well, shamelessly stuffing the stones from his arms into Tang San's basket.

"Um... Third Brother, Captain!"

"I can't run anymore either. Since you're the captain... well, the capable should do more, the capable should do more!"

After saying that, Oscar copied Ye Liuyun and ran off empty-handed.

Ma Hongjun followed right after.

"Third Brother! Thanks!"

In the blink of an eye, all the stones had been piled onto Tang San alone.

Tang San: "..."

Yu Xiaogang: "..."

This was the so-called team?

This was the display of authority he had wanted?

The wind howled past their ears.

Although Ye Liuyun was carrying someone, he was not slow in the slightest.

Lying on Ye Liuyun's back, Ning Rongrong slightly turned her head. Through her windblown hair, she glanced at the two figures in the distance, now reduced to black dots.

One was Yu Xiaogang, hopping mad yet helpless.

The other was Tang San, carrying two baskets of stones.

"Pfft."

Ning Rongrong finally could not hold it in any longer. She buried her face against Ye Liuyun's shoulder, her shoulders shaking as suppressed laughter escaped her.

"What are you laughing at?"

Ye Liuyun kept his eyes ahead, his tone calm.

"I'm laughing at you... You're so bad."

Ning Rongrong raised her head, mischief gleaming in her lively eyes.

What kind of person had Ye Liuyun been in her eyes before?

Proud, solitary, and coldly indifferent.

At times, he seemed like an overly kind fool, such as when he saved that old man on the street.

At other times, he was frighteningly cold, such as when he called her trash.

But the longer she spent with him now, the more she realized just how wicked this guy was.

"Ye Liuyun, you really are a complete scoundrel."

Ning Rongrong leaned close to his ear, her voice light and carrying a hint of smugness from seeing through everything.

"You did that on purpose just now, didn't you?"

"That Grandmaster was obviously trying to raise Tang San up. First, he scolded us and trampled our self-respect underfoot, then he had Tang San step forward as the hero and bestow favors on us."

"If it had been some ordinary idiot, they would probably be sobbing with gratitude toward Tang San right now, ready to bow down and pledge allegiance."

At that, a trace of disdain flashed through Ning Rongrong's eyes.

As the little princess of the Upper Three Sects, she had grown up by her father Ning Fengzhi's side. She had seen plenty of these emperor-like schemes for winning people over.

Earlier, she had been too distracted by the pain from her fall and her grievance to react in time.

But thinking back on it now, she understood everything.

"What a pity..."

Ning Rongrong lightly poked Ye Liuyun's cheek with a finger and said with a grin.

"That Grandmaster calculated everything, except that there was a 'rascal' like you in the team."

"You tossed away the stones, and not only did you prevent Tang San from establishing authority, you turned him into a complete sucker instead."

"And you ran so fast that you did not even give the Grandmaster a chance to criticize you again."

Listening to the girl's analysis beside his ear, Ye Liuyun raised an eyebrow.

As expected of Ning Fengzhi's daughter. Though she could be a bit spoiled at times.

Her brain still worked far better than that big fatty who only knew how to eat and that sausage uncle who only knew how to flatter people.

Ye Liuyun did not deny it. He merely smiled.

Ning Rongrong fell silent for a while, then suddenly leaned her head closer again, her voice becoming somewhat soft and sweet.

"I'm sorry. I... I want to treat you to a meal and apologize for everything before."

Ye Liuyun recalled Ning Rongrong's petty attempts to exclude him before.

"If you're treating me to dinner just to apologize, then forget it. I didn't take it to heart."

Ning Rongrong tightened the arms around Ye Liuyun's neck and mumbled quietly, conflicted.

"Actually... if I had met that elderly man on the street at another time, I would have helped him."

"It's just..."

Her words caught in her throat. She was simply too embarrassed to say that she had regarded that day as a date for the two of them and had not wanted anything else to disturb it.