Scholars and Dog Butchers

Outside.

Five gray sparrows circling in midair stared fixedly at Bai Ye with their pale, lifeless eyes. They attacked him from five different directions.

Seeing this, Bai Ye directly pulled a dagger from his pant leg. His gaze was fierce, and he paid no mind to the five gray sparrows overhead, even though they had sealed off all his escape routes.

Once these beasts got close, he could activate time stop and slaughter them with ease.

What truly annoyed him was Old Wang. Since Old Wang refused to open the door, he had no way to obtain bullets and naturally could not use [Breath of Bones] to strengthen his vitality. It was a complete waste of time, with nothing to show for it.

"You won't open the door, huh? Once I deal with these gray sparrows, I'll burn your tavern to the ground and see whether you open it then!"

Chirp chirp...

The five gray sparrows let out piercing cries and dove toward Bai Ye to kill him, moving as swiftly as five bolts of gray lightning.

Bai Ye gripped his dagger tightly, the vicious glint in his eyes growing stronger. He waited, waiting for the gray sparrows to come a little closer.

Just then, an unexpected change occurred!

A whistling sound exploded through the air. In Bai Ye's astonished gaze, the five gray sparrows seemed to have been struck by an invisible hammer of air.

Bang bang bang...

Flesh and blood splattered, while countless gray feathers fell like rain.

"This is... Li You!"

Bai Ye abruptly turned toward the corner of a building on his right and saw Li You lower his right hand, gasping heavily.

"Bai Ye! Over here!"

Bai Ye quickly darted over to the corner where Li You was hiding.

Li You was not in good condition. He clutched his right hand tightly, pain written across his face, his forehead covered in beads of sweat. That fierce attack had aggravated his previous injury.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. I won't die." Li You forced a smile.

"By the way, you came for bullets, right?"

Bai Ye paused slightly and looked at the bulging woven sack behind Li You. In an instant, he understood.

Li You laboriously untied the woven sack, revealing the miscellaneous items inside.

Firearms, bullets, cockroach protein bars, water...

"You stole these from the Tire Tavern?"

"Hehe..." Li You chuckled. "I have a grudge against King Snake, so naturally I could only hide in your East District. When I saw the gray sparrows entering the town just now, I realized something was seriously wrong. So I went to the Tire Tavern ahead of time and used my Magic Hand to steal the supplies inside. With these supplies, it's enough for the two of us to escape Gray Soil Town."

Bai Ye's gaze shifted slightly. "You could have run by yourself. Why bring me along?"

Li You seemed a little surprised. "Why are you asking so many whys? Didn't I say before that I respect the kind of person you are? You risked your life to protect Gray Soil Town, and you agreed to cooperate with me. Isn't it only natural for me to help you? Besides, you have a taboo item. If we flee together, we can look after each other on the road."

Bai Ye laughed. "You've never gone to school, have you?"

Li You was even more baffled. "That's right, I haven't. Why are you asking?"

"Nothing. Old Wang has."

"Old Wang? He has indeed gone to school. I heard he even lived in Dawn City before. He's one of the few educated people in Gray Soil Town. But that old bastard really has no sense of decency. He wouldn't even open the door... Hey, why am I still chatting with you? We can't stay here long. Let's go!"

Bai Ye did not move. Instead, he loaded bullets one by one.

"Let's go!"

Click!

The bullets were loaded.

Bai Ye raised his head and gave a defiant smile. "No rush."

Li You was shocked. "You're not planning to stay and save the residents of Gray Soil Town, are you?"

"No."

"Then what are you going to do?" Li You looked at the gray sparrows gathering in this direction, his expression becoming increasingly anxious. He withdrew his gaze and looked at Bai Ye, only to see a blade-like smile on the young man's lips.

"Of course... kill them all."

"You... are you joking!?"

"I never joke."

"Then why did you call me Li Zuo last time and say that I had to cripple my right hand to become a transcendent..."

"Shut up, Li Zuo!"

Led by Bai Ye, the two arrived at an alley near the Tire Tavern.

"You protect me. I'll shoot the gray sparrows."

Li You hesitated, but before he could speak, flocks of gray sparrows had already swooped down.

Bang bang bang...

Successive gunshots rang out. Gray sparrows fell one after another into the alley, their gray feathers scattering like dandelion fluff. For a moment, it seemed as though gray rain was falling from the narrow strip of sky above the alley.

Some gray sparrows attacking from behind were firmly blocked by Li You's invisible giant hand. Faced with invisible attacks, even mutated beasts had no way to defend themselves.

Inside the Tire Tavern.

Old Wang, curled up behind the liquor cabinet, tightly covered his ears. He seemed deeply afraid of the bird cries and gunfire outside.

He knew Bai Ye was fighting the gray sparrows. He also knew Bai Ye was doomed. One person could not defeat so many gray sparrows. When he died was merely a matter of time.

Covering his ears, Old Wang muttered to himself, "I'm not wrong. I just want to live. A wastelander who has never even gone to school... only those ignorant fools outside would admire him. If I had a taboo item, I could kill hyenas too. I could become a hero too..."

The faster he spoke, the more a light of self-assurance gradually emerged in his eyes. "He wants bullets to deal with the gray sparrows? Who does he think he is? Even the commander couldn't save Gray Soil Town, so why is he playing hero? He must be trying to trick me into opening the door so he can hide inside. He's obviously scared out of his wits... What was that sound!?"

Like a startled bird, Old Wang looked toward the tavern window and met a pair of pale, lifeless eyes. In that instant, he was so frightened that his heart nearly stopped.

Thud thud thud...

The gray sparrow repeatedly slammed into the window. Every impact felt as if it were striking Old Wang's chest. Cracks had already begun spreading across the fragile glass, and the clutter used to block the window fell to the ground.

"Don't... don't ram it! Go eat Bai Ye! He's outside..."

Fear left Old Wang too terrified to get up and reinforce the window. All he could do was pray endlessly.

Yet if prayer worked, there would have long been no disasters, illnesses, or pain in this world.

Bang!

The fragile glass shattered with a crash. A gray sparrow the size of an eagle squeezed inside, its deathly eyes locking firmly onto Old Wang.

"Ah!!"

Old Wang screamed and fled in blind panic, while the gray sparrow flapped its wings and chased after him.

The clutter inside the tavern saved Old Wang's life. The tires hanging from the pillars and walls as decoration crowded the gray sparrow's flying space, making it difficult for it to move.

Ironically, those tires were exactly what Old Wang hated most. His Old Times Tavern had been mockingly dubbed the Tire Tavern by those wastelanders because of them. More than once, he had sworn that once he had money, he would get rid of every last tire.

Old Wang ran around the tavern in panic, only to discover in horror that he himself had blocked every exit. In his desperation, he hurried to the front door and frantically pulled away the tables, chairs, and benches blocking it.

"There's still gunfire outside! That means Bai Ye isn't dead yet. He has a taboo item. He can save me!!"

Rip!

Sharp claws viciously tore through Old Wang's back, and the three claw marks that exposed bone brought searing pain.

"Ahhh!"

Still screaming, he used the tables and chairs blocking the door to smash at the gray sparrow. Aside from shedding a few feathers, the struck gray sparrow was unharmed, but it did manage to halt its attack.

The splinters along the edges of the furniture sliced open his hands, leaving them bloody and mangled, but fear had numbed him to it all.

Finally... as the last obstacle was cleared away, the door... opened.