Ruthless Yet Righteous

"Urgh..."

Zhao Jian knelt on the ground. With absolutely no food left in his stomach, he could only lie there and dry-heave violently.

The savage waves of stomach pain left him vomiting until tears and snot streamed down his face!

When work had ended last night, Qin Yao had already beaten him until he threw up.

When he got up that morning, he had hoped to finally have a good meal. Who could have imagined he would take another punch instead?

Yet Qin Yao had controlled his strength perfectly—one punch was enough to make Zhao Jian feel unbearably miserable, but not enough to seriously damage his internal organs or cost him his life.

To Zhao Jian, this feeling was no different from the torment of being flayed alive and having his bones snapped!

"My heavens, that young man actually did it again?!"

"He really dared to hit him!"

"I thought he was just talking big yesterday, trying to satisfy his mouth..."

"Hiss—this kid really is a ruthless one!"

"Not just ruthless, he's fucking crazy!"

"Otherwise, what decent person would rather suffer himself than let someone else have it easy like this?!"

"Mm, no matter what, it's best to stay far away from someone as ruthless as Qin Yao. Don't provoke him..."

After witnessing such a spectacle so early in the morning, the mine slaves discussed it heatedly. In their hearts, they had all secretly slapped Qin Yao with the label of "madman not to be provoked."

It was easy to foresee that from now on, none of the mine slaves in Ding Mine Pit would dare default on Qin Yao's debts again.

At that moment, amid the crowd.

Zhang Er, who had deliberately tripped Qin Yao before only to have Qin Yao return tooth for tooth and kick him lame, watched Zhao Jian vomiting endlessly on the ground and suddenly felt a strange sense of superiority. So I'm not the most miserable one after all...

Smack! Smack! Smack!

After Qin Yao finished delivering his harsh words, applause suddenly sounded behind him.

When he turned around, he saw that the one clapping was none other than the overseer, Li Gang.

"You've got quite some guts, kid!"

With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, "But no matter what, breaking the rules means taking punishment."

Qin Yao had long been mentally prepared for this.

He held the pancake he had snatched from Zhao Jian between his teeth, straightened his back, and dropped into a horse stance, looking as though he were marching boldly toward righteousness.

Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack...

As Li Gang's lashes fell one after another, Qin Yao's face twisted in pain.

With the pancake clenched in his mouth, he could only let out muffled whimpers. He looked to be in absolute agony!

"Sigh, why did Brother Yao have to put himself through this again?"

Wang Wu sighed, unable to bear watching any longer.

Yao Heizi, whom Qin Yao had also helped, shrank his neck and said, "To be honest, if it were me, I definitely couldn't be as tough-boned as Brother Yao."

"Big Brother Qin is a real man!"

Little Liuzi looked at Qin Yao with eyes full of admiration. "It's just that these lashes are too vicious.

"If they damage his muscles and bones and delay his work, that'll be troublesome!"

How could they have known that Qin Yao's clenched teeth and twisted expression were all an act?

Skill "Acting" proficiency +3

Skill "Acting" proficiency +4

Skill "Acting"...

By the time the ten lashes were finished, the proficiency of Acting, the new skill Qin Yao had awakened only last night, had already risen to the Entry Realm (168/500)!

In fact, more than half of that proficiency had been gained while Qin Yao was on the road, acting out the part of someone whose ankles hurt from shackles but who still had no choice but to struggle onward.

Once he had taken all ten lashes, Little Liuzi was the first to step forward and support him.

"Big Brother Qin, slow down. Are you badly hurt?"

The boy, who was two years younger than Qin Yao, asked with a face full of concern.

The foot he had injured yesterday had yet to heal, yet he endured the pain to come support Qin Yao. Qin Yao's heart warmed.

"I can still take it!"

Qin Yao gritted his teeth and nodded.

In truth, with his Mining skill at the Greater Achievement Realm, the strength of his body was only one step away from the first layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

Even overseer Li Gang was merely at the first layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

Using the force he normally used to whip ordinary mine slaves, Li Gang's lashes on Qin Yao were practically neither painful nor itchy.

"Brother Yao, I'll help support you too."

"I'll carry your food for you."

Wang Wu, Yao Heizi, and Little Fourth also came forward to help.

Though the mine pit's living conditions were harsh, and most mine slaves were cold and numb at heart.

After Qin Yao displayed his skill at mining and his ruthlessness in the face of challenges...

The mine slaves were still quite willing to lend a hand in matters like this that cost them effort but brought no benefit.

Only after they helped Qin Yao settle against the rock wall did they begin eating.

Skill "Eating" proficiency +3

Skill "Eating" proficiency +2

Skill "Eating"...

Qin Yao took a bite of pancake, then a mouthful of vegetable soup. Watching the numbers on the system panel steadily rise, he ate with delight in his heart.

This morning meal was provided to every mine slave.

Many mine slaves relied on this meal to stay alive, so naturally they would not give their food to others just to have someone do their morning workload for them.

Thus, Qin Yao only had his own portion, plus what he had just snatched from Zhao Jian.

Two Coarse Pancakes and two bowls of soup looked like quite a lot at first glance.

But for Qin Yao, whose Mining skill had reached Greater Achievement, it really was not much.

Fortunately, Eating had already reached the Entry Realm, allowing him to draw more energy from food.

Finishing enough food for two people still only filled him five or six tenths of the way.

After the meal, Qin Yao asked Little Liuzi, "How is your foot recovering?"

"Big Brother Qin, I... I still can't put much strength into this foot. Could I trouble you again today..."

"And me, me too! Brother Yao, this old man's waist injury..."

"Brother Qin, my fever hasn't gone down yet. My whole body feels sore and weak..."

"No problem!"

Faced with their pleas, Qin Yao agreed readily. "Same old rules. Just give me a share of your food!"

"That's certain."

"Thank you, Big Brother Qin!"

The group thanked him repeatedly.

In their eyes, helping one person was the same as helping another.

No matter whom he helped, Qin Yao would get food in return anyway.

With Zhao Jian as an example, probably no blind fool of a mine slave would dare owe Qin Yao anything anymore.

Under such circumstances, Qin Yao still agreed to help them and did not even mention raising the price. That was true loyalty!

The surrounding mine slaves could not help but feel a measure of admiration and envy.

"I've got to say, this kid really is generous!"

"Isn't he? He was ruthless toward Zhao Jian, but Zhao Jian was the one who acted like an idiot first and brought it on himself."

"No wonder he used to be that, what was it, 'Crab Gentleman'!"

"It's 'Provincial Examination Laureate,' you bumpkin!"

"Get lost, get lost! Like you aren't a bumpkin yourself. Aren't you digging mines here just like me?"

For a time, quite a few mine slaves felt that Qin Yao was a decent man.

In this world, especially in mines with such harsh living conditions, people rarely encountered someone so righteous anymore.

And someone like Qin Yao, both ruthless and righteous, was something they had never seen before...