Better to Kick Tang San into a Ditch

Ye Lin bent down, picked her up, and settled her in his basket.

There was just enough room for her to sit curled up inside. But with her weight added to the load,

Ye Lin's knees buckled sharply. He gritted his teeth before he could steady his stride.

The stones had already weighed over a hundred pounds. With another person added,

more than two hundred pounds pressed against his back, and his breathing grew ragged at once.

Oscar caught up from behind. Without a word, he moved ten kilograms of stones from Ye Lin's basket onto his own back.

Zhu Zhuqing came over too. She took back the twenty pounds of stones Ye Lin had carried for her and put them in her own basket.

Xiao Wu followed and moved ten pounds of stones from Ye Lin's basket onto her back.

The load grew much lighter. Ye Lin caught his breath, and his steps steadied a little, but only a little.

Gritting his teeth, he adjusted the basket's position and kept moving at the same pace.

Tang San walked at the very back of the group, his steps already faltering.

Head lowered, he stared at the mountain path stretching ahead beneath his feet. At last, he could no longer hold back the thought in his mind.

Won't anyone spare a little sympathy for me? I'm a support-type Soul Master too. We're a team.

I've been carrying twenty pounds of stones this whole time! Even a body made of iron couldn't take this!

Several people around him heard that inner complaint, and the same thought rose in all their minds.

A team? Who's on a team with you?

You're full of nasty schemes.

We're not on your team.

Getting stabbed in the back would be way too easy!

They covered another twenty kilometers.

Ning Rongrong woke in Ye Lin's basket. When she realized she was still curled up inside it, she hurriedly struggled to get out.

Ye Lin bent down to let her onto the ground. Once she was steady, she moved her arms and legs. She was still a little weak, but she could walk on her own.

She quickly caught up with the group. Without her weight in his basket, Ye Lin's load felt much lighter, and some spring returned to his step.

But it did not last long. After another five kilometers, Oscar began to stagger.

His eyelids grew heavier, and his vision blurred.

At last, his knees gave out on an uphill stretch, and he pitched forward.

Ye Lin reached for him but was too late. Oscar hit the ground and passed out completely.

Zhu Zhuqing began to stumble too.

She gritted her teeth and took a few more steps before she tilted sideways. Ye Lin caught her.

At the back, Tang San found the loose stones underfoot growing denser. His vision swam, and his knees buckled twice in succession.

He pitched forward and landed face-first on the gravel path.

His consciousness blurred for a moment. He struggled to push himself up, but his arms had no strength left.

Ye Lin stood in the middle of the group.

Unconscious Oscar was on his back, he held the barely standing Zhu Zhuqing with his left hand, and Tang San lay on the ground to his right.

His gaze swept over the others.

He took a deep breath and spoke, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible. "Let's shift the load. Split the stones Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Tang San are carrying between Boss Dai, Xiao Wu, and Fatty. Ning Rongrong only needs to take five kilograms."

Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and Ma Hongjun said nothing. Each took stones from Oscar's, Zhu Zhuqing's, and Tang San's baskets and added them to their own loads.

Ning Rongrong came over too. She took five kilograms from Tang San's basket and put them in her own, which had grown much lighter.

Ye Lin bent down and settled Oscar properly on his back, then looked at Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San, who lay on the ground unable to get up.

He gritted his teeth and bent to lift Zhu Zhuqing. He held her against his chest, supporting her with one arm.

Then he looked at Tang San and fell silent for a moment.

Dai Mubai stood nearby, watching Tang San lie there helplessly. "Just leave Tang San here. We're all at our limits. If you drag one more person along, you won't make it either."

Ye Lin shook his head. "No. We're a team."

He paused, drew Zhu Zhuqing closer against him, and undid a rope from his waist with his free hand.

He tied one end beneath Tang San's armpits, wrapped it around twice, and secured it. He fastened the other end to his own waist.

He pulled Tang San up from where he lay and rolled him onto his side, then adjusted the tension of the rope.

Zhu Zhuqing stirred slightly in his arms and opened her eyes in a daze. When she realized Ye Lin was holding her again, the tips of her ears reddened for an instant. But she soon closed her eyes, too exhausted to struggle.

Ye Lin took a deep breath. The rope tightened around his waist. He was dragging one person behind him, carrying another in his arms, and bearing a third on his back. With the stones still in his basket,

his total load was close to four hundred pounds.

His knees bent, then he forced them straight again.

As he took his first step, gravel crunched beneath his feet. He pitched forward before regaining his balance.

He did not stop. He fixed his gaze on the darkening path ahead and moved forward one step at a time.

His vision began to swim. The shadows of trees and rocks along the roadside blurred together until he could no longer tell where the path ended and the slope began. He could only judge his direction by what he felt beneath his feet.

Still, he kept walking.

Forward.

I have to keep going forward.

It was the only thought left in his head. Nothing else mattered.

With two kilometers left to the finish, Oscar woke first.

He opened his eyes on Ye Lin's back. Realizing he was being carried, he immediately struggled to get down. "Ye Lin, put me down. I can walk."

Ye Lin said nothing more. He bent to let Oscar onto the ground.

Oscar's legs nearly gave out when his feet touched solid ground. He steadied himself against a nearby rock for a couple of seconds, then hurried after the group, moving his numb arms as he walked.

Zhu Zhuqing woke soon after.

The first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was that Ye Lin was carrying her in his arms. Her face was almost against his chest, and she could smell the sweat on his clothes.

The tips of her ears burned red. She braced a hand against his shoulder and slipped out of his arms. She stumbled as she landed, then caught her balance.

Head lowered, she hurried to rejoin the group and shouldered her basket, which had grown much lighter.

Tang San woke too.

More precisely, the pain woke him.

Lying facedown had put all his weight on his hips and knees. His backside had scraped against the rough gravel path for nearly twenty kilometers.

His once-sturdy trousers had long since worn into strips, and most of his underwear had torn too. His bare buttocks had dragged over the gravel, rubbed raw and bloody by the stones.