Whose Fault

A dead-end alley.

"Xu Zhiyong, I'm the one who picked up this chicken. What gives you the right to take so much of it?"

Fang Ming clutched the chicken protectively to his chest, his back pressed against the icy wall. With his other hand, he struggled to pry Xu Zhiyong's fingers from his collar.

His face was smeared with dirt. He breathed hard, his eyes filled with resentment and wariness.

"What gives me the right?"

Xu Zhiyong scoffed as if he'd just heard the biggest joke in the world, then abruptly flung Fang Ming's hand away.

"Fang Ming, who came up with the plan?

Me!

Who shouted himself hoarse in the alley, whipping those beggars into a frenzy and sending them charging forward?

Me!

Who risked getting beaten to death by that martial artist, rushing in to grab him and buy us time?

Still me!"

The more Xu Zhiyong spoke, the more agitated he became. He stepped toward Fang Ming, eyes bloodshot, spittle flying from his mouth.

"If I hadn't thrown everything into chaos, if I hadn't risked my life holding that young martial artist back, would you have had the chance to pick up this chicken?

They would've carried the meat far away by now.

Now that we're finally about to eat, you're suddenly drawing a line between what's yours and what's mine?"

As he spoke, Xu Zhiyong reached for the chicken in Fang Ming's arms.

Fang Ming hurriedly twisted aside and hugged the chicken tight to his chest, shouting, "I'll give you half, at most! You're not getting any more!"

Grrr~

Their stomachs rumbled at almost the same time.

The two men had been glaring at each other, but the tension between them abruptly eased.

Xu Zhiyong stared at the chicken in Fang Ming's arms. His Adam's apple bobbed, and then he forced a stiff smile, softening his tone.

"Fine, half each.

Don't waste time. Hurry and get the dry branches you hid. We'll roast the chicken and fill our stomachs first."

When Xu Zhiyong relented, the anger vanished from Fang Ming's face in an instant.

He'd only said that to get a bigger share.

Now that he'd achieved his goal, he let out a breath of relief.

"Heh, Brother Xu, you've come to the right man!

Barbecue is my specialty!

Before everything went wrong, I used to take the guards from my household out to the mountains beyond the city every few days to camp and grill skewers. Give me any kind of meat, and I can roast it until it smells heavenly!

Just you wait. I guarantee you'll be asking for more!"

"Fine, then hurry up."

Xu Zhiyong pressed a hand to his chest and furrowed his brow, his voice weak.

"That martial artist just smashed his elbow into my back. It still hurts like hell. I'll rest for a while."

With that, Xu Zhiyong hunched over and slowly shuffled toward the broken basket in the corner.

He slid down against the icy wall and sat, his hand still pressed to his back. His face did look somewhat pale.

But when Fang Ming turned away to search for the dry branches, his attention fixed entirely on the chicken—

Xu Zhiyong abruptly lifted his lowered eyelids. A ruthless gleam flashed in his pupils, and the corner of his mouth curled into a faint, cold smile.

He had no intention of actually splitting the chicken with Fang Ming.

Fang Ming crouched beside the wall and reached into an inconspicuous hole.

He pulled out a tightly bound bundle of dry branches, a smile spreading across his face.

"Brother Xu, you're something else!

Not only did you rile those beggars up like madmen and get them to cover for us, you also spotted at a glance that the young martial artist had a soft heart, and dared to grab hold of him.

Someone else wouldn't have had the guts or the eye for it.

Before we were driven from our homes, you must've been somebody important, right?"

As he spoke, he spread the dry branches on the ground and fussed with them, paying no attention at all to what was happening behind him.

Xu Zhiyong leaned against the wall, his brow slightly furrowed as he kept up the act of being in pain.

But from the corner of his eye, he watched Fang Ming's back intently.

When Fang Ming turned to arrange the branches, Xu Zhiyong quietly bent down and picked up a handy little brown stick beside his feet.

He swiftly hid it behind his back.

He would wait until the chicken was roasted before making his move.

With food so close, that would be when Fang Ming's guard was lowest.

It would also give him time to rest and recover a little strength.

That elbow from the young martial artist had landed hard.

It really hurt.

"It was nothing much." Xu Zhiyong replied casually, his tone perfunctory.

"I used to guard the gate for one of the town's gentry, just to earn enough to get by. It wasn't anything respectable.

Nothing like you, Brother Fang, born into a wealthy family. You must've had a comfortable life."

He said one thing, but secretly looked down on Fang Ming.

Fang Ming had been born into a wealthy family, yet he was a good-for-nothing.

With all those advantages, he hadn't learned martial arts. All he'd done was walk dogs, fight crickets, and waste his life on trifles.

If Xu Zhiyong had been born into such a family, he would've found a master and learned martial arts long ago, honing himself into a formidable fighter.

He wouldn't have ended up like this, fighting over a chicken and resorting to such underhanded tricks.

Heh.

"Spotted at a glance that he had a soft heart?"

In the shadow beside the wall, Li Yun raised an eyebrow, a complicated feeling rising in his heart.

He had held back.

He hadn't wanted to kill beggars driven mad by hunger.

He hadn't expected that mercy to become the opening his opponent used to take advantage of him.

Tap.

Tap~

Steady, solid footsteps rang especially clearly in the dead-end alley, like heavy hammers pounding on both men's hearts.

Li Yun emerged slowly from around the corner, his expression calm.

Fang Ming was arranging the dry branches, while Xu Zhiyong still clutched the stick hidden behind his back. Both men sensed the movement and jerked their heads up.

The instant they recognized Li Yun, their breathing caught in unison.

Fang Ming immediately remembered Xu Zhiyong saying, "He has a soft heart."

His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"M-Martial artist, sir!"

Fang Ming hurriedly pulled the chicken from his arms and carefully set it down in front of him.

Thud, thud, thud—he knocked his forehead against the ground before Li Yun.

"I was wrong. I really was wrong!"

Fang Ming's face crumpled as he pleaded.

"I'd been hungry for days and was barely holding on. That was the only reason I dared to 'pick up' this chicken. Please, sir, have mercy and let me go this once!"

Xu Zhiyong sat in the corner, his face deathly pale, his eyes darting about.

He quietly edged closer to the wall, trying to make himself less noticeable, while frantically searching for a way to escape.

Li Yun walked toward Fang Ming, one step at a time.

He stopped in front of him and looked down at the man sprawled on the ground, his tone so even it was impossible to tell what he felt.

"Wrong?"

Fang Ming paused mid-bow and held his breath.

"No, you weren't wrong.

You were just hungry and wanted something to eat."

At those words, Fang Ming froze. Then wild joy burst from his eyes.

The corners of his mouth stretched uncontrollably, exposing two rows of blackened teeth. His tears turned to laughter.

He hurriedly knocked his forehead against the ground twice more.

"Yes, yes!

Martial artist, sir, you've seen right through it. I was simply starving. I meant no harm!"

Xu Zhiyong raised an eyebrow in the corner, surprise flashing in his eyes.

"This guy really does have a soft heart?"

But Li Yun's next words poured over them like a basin of ice water, freezing the air in the alley.

"But I—"

Li Yun's gaze suddenly turned cold. All trace of his earlier calm vanished, leaving only indifference.

"—was hired by the butcher shop to escort its goods.

I stopped you from interfering. Even if I... killed you, I wouldn't have been wrong."

The smile froze on Fang Ming's face. His mouth hung open, but no sound came out. It was as if his blood had turned to ice.

"We simply stood on opposite sides.

The fault lies with this world."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Li Yun moved without a moment's hesitation.

He drove his knee up and whipped his right leg sideways like a fully drawn whip, the sharp rush of air trailing behind it as it swept straight toward Fang Ming.

Bang~

A heavy crash echoed through the alley.

It sounded as if something massive had slammed into an earthen wall.

Fang Ming didn't even have time to scream. He was sent flying sideways and smashed hard into the wall.

His body caved in at an unnatural angle. He twitched uncontrollably a few times, then went still.

Li Yun slowly turned his gaze toward Xu Zhiyong in the corner.

His eyes were calm and still.

But to Xu Zhiyong, they carried an invisible pressure, like the edge of a cold blade.

Not a trace of warmth.