Before, You Called Me Little White, and I Didn't Hold It Against You

Silence!

A deathly silence. Everyone stood frozen in place, their faces filled with disbelief, as though time had stopped once more.

The sight of Bai Ye smiling as he raised the gun and pulled the trigger seemed to freeze before their eyes.

"It... it really misfired!?" someone cried out in shock after a long while.

"That's impossible!?" Li You sprang to his feet, his eyes wide as bloodshot veins filled them from his agitation.

More and more cries of astonishment rang out.

"Holy shit! A six-bullet Fate Roulette—even if the heavens themselves came down, they'd have to take that shot. Yet Bai Ye came out completely unharmed!?"

"Taboo Objects can misfire too? What lousy quality."

"What the hell do you know? It wasn't a misfire. Taboo Objects have minds of their own. It must have acknowledged Bai Ye, which is why it didn't fire!"

"That makes sense! It was a game of gambling with your life—what mattered was courage. Six bullets... who among us had more courage than him?"

"Look! The gun... the gun is glowing!"

Before everyone's horrified eyes, the Taboo Object [Breath of Bones] suddenly erupted with a blinding bloody light. The crimson glow spread continuously until it enveloped Bai Ye's entire body.

All at once, Bai Ye felt something strange. He looked at [Breath of Bones] in his hand as though he were looking at his own right hand, overcome by the illusion that they were bound by blood.

Had he successfully contained it?

He was not surprised. If he still could not successfully contain it after playing a six-bullet Fate Roulette, then [Breath of Bones] was being rather rude.

As the bloody light faded, the mutated blood vessels on [Breath of Bones] slowly wriggled. They first pulled themselves out of Bai Ye's right hand, then shrank back into the gun until they vanished completely.

The bone-crafted frame of the gun gradually faded as well, becoming a matte black metal.

In the end, [Breath of Bones] became no different from an ordinary revolver.

"Looks like..." Bai Ye lightly spun the revolver in his hand, one brow rising slightly. "This Taboo Object has decent taste."

He twirled the gun once, then casually tucked the revolver into his pocket.

The youth's arrogant words echoed in everyone's ears, yet no one refuted him. Deep down, they even felt that it was only right. Perhaps only someone like him was qualified to possess a Taboo Object.

Only then did everyone recover from their shock, though the way they looked at Bai Ye remained full of awe. What had just happened seemed to shroud him in a veil called miracle.

"Hahaha..." A burst of laughter rang out. Tan Jie, leader of the East District, beamed with delight. "The Taboo Object belongs to our East District now! King Snake, what else do you have to say?"

Faced with Tan Jie's arrogance, King Snake's face darkened. He remained silent, his cold gaze sweeping repeatedly between Tan Jie and Bai Ye. His men gripped their guns tightly, as though waiting for a single command from him.

Tan Jie's smile slowly faded. He gave his men a look, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

At that moment, King Snake suddenly chuckled. "Brother Bai Ye truly is an outstanding young man. It's a pity you were reduced to a slave of the East District. Would you be interested in joining our West District?"

Tan Jie's expression changed abruptly. He hurried forward to Bai Ye's side and threw an arm around his shoulders. "The slave matter was merely a misunderstanding. Little White is now my brother, Tan Jie's brother, and the deputy leader of the East District. How could he possibly join the West District? Right, Little White?"

His gaze toward Bai Ye carried both hope and threat.

Bai Ye smiled faintly and brushed Tan Jie's hand from his shoulder. "Before I contained the Taboo Object, you called me Little White, and I didn't hold it against you. But now that I've contained one, tell me... what should you call me?"

In front of everyone, Tan Jie's expression changed again and again. He forcibly suppressed the fury in his heart and smiled. "Brother Bai Ye, I'm not good with words, but I always keep my word. From today onward, you are my blood brother. From now on, the two of us will rule the East District together!"

Bai Ye raised a brow. "Old Tan, how many times have I told you? Use titles in public!"

Tan Jie froze. When had you ever said that? And you didn't use my title either. But he did not dare argue now, afraid Bai Ye might join the West District. He could only force a smile and say,

"Right, right, Deputy Leader Bai! Brothers, hurry up and greet him!"

The dozens of East District lackeys shouted unevenly, "Deputy Leader Bai!"

Bai Ye nodded in satisfaction and grandly waved a hand. "Boys, we're going home!"

The East District lackeys looked at one another, hesitant to move. Out of the corners of their eyes, they kept glancing at the displeased-looking Tan Jie.

Tan Jie forced a smile. "What are you standing around for? Didn't you hear Deputy Leader Bai's orders?"

The group returned to the East District in a grand procession.

King Snake and the rest of the West District leaders remained where they stood, their faces grim.

"Leader, I..." Li You said in a trembling voice.

"Shut up! Useless trash!" King Snake shot him a cold look. "We're leaving."

Before long, they left as well.

As the two factions of Gray Soil Town withdrew, the onlookers gradually dispersed too.

East District, Tire Tavern.

Tan Jie and the others enthusiastically gathered around Bai Ye. Everyone raised their cups in high spirits, spouting crude obscenities as they drank cheap liquor.

Tire Tavern had not originally been called that. The red-painted wooden sign read—Old Times.

The owner, Old Wang, was over forty and had graying hair. It was said that he had once read a few books and picked up a fair bit of artistic sensibility, which was why he had named it Old Times. No one knew what he was reminiscing about, and no one cared.

With limited funds and no decent decorating materials to be found, he had scavenged a large number of discarded tires from the dump to use as seats. Most people in Gray Soil Town could not read and did not recognize the words Old Times, so they simply called it Tire Tavern.

"Now that Deputy Leader Bai has a Taboo Object in hand, we won't have to worry about those mutated monsters outside anymore!"

"Yeah, those Mutated Beasts have surrounded Gray Soil Town for nearly a month. If we don't deal with them soon, people like us will starve to death!"

"Those Mutated Beasts are damn cunning. I feel like their intelligence is almost no weaker than a human's. They know attacking Gray Soil Town head-on would cost them dearly, so they deliberately keep watch outside, cut off the trade routes, and stop us from going out to exchange for food."

"By the way, Deputy Leader Bai, this is the first time we've seen someone contain a Taboo Object. Why don't you show us its power and broaden our horizons?" someone said fawningly.

Before Bai Ye, who was wolfing down his food, could speak, Tan Jie suddenly snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's not a sideshow—what's there to demonstrate? Besides, firing [Breath of Bones] drains the user's Blood Qi. Is that something you can demonstrate whenever you want?"

Then, as though changing faces, he smiled at Bai Ye. "Deputy Leader Bai, don't lower yourself to their level. A person's Blood Qi is precious. You should save your strength for dealing with the Mutated Beasts."

Bai Ye patted Tan Jie's shoulder with his grease-covered hand, wiping his hand clean in the process. "Old Tan, you really know how to talk. Someone, bring me another plate of meat!"

"This..." A pained look flashed through Tan Jie's eyes. In Gray Soil Town, eating meat was a luxury. Most people could only eat one meal a day and never saw a scrap of meat. Some even went hungry for nine meals out of three days.

Now that the Mutated Beasts had surrounded the town, their food stores were nearly depleted. Only a leader like him could still eat meat every day.