Seeking Gain, Avoiding Harm

"Ahem, ahem..." Qiao Jiajin lay on the ground, coughing nonstop. He felt as though all his internal organs had been smashed to pieces.

Little Glasses reacted quickly. He scrambled to his feet and began putting the iron plate back in position.

"Come help!" he shouted at the women behind him. "If these two go down, we're all finished!"

Although the women were terrified, they knew how urgent the situation was. They all bent down and gritted their teeth as they began lifting the iron plate.

Qi Xia lay on the ground, his head spinning.

The black bear's blow seemed to have knocked his soul clean out of his body. He had no idea how Qiao Jiajin had withstood two attacks on his own.

"I'm going to make that fat bastard who ran off die a horrible death..." Qiao Jiajin cursed through clenched teeth.

"Seeking gain and avoiding harm... it's human nature..." Qi Xia murmured as he lay on the ground. "'A Memorial to General-in-Chief Liang Shang' says, 'As for seeking gain and avoiding harm, fearing death and cherishing life, all are alike in this...'"

"Did that hit knock you stupid?" Qiao Jiajin struggled to open his eyes and looked at Qi Xia. "What the fuck does some general-in-chief have to do with this? If that dickhead hadn't suddenly abandoned us, this iron plate wouldn't have toppled over like that..."

By now, the women had lifted the iron plate back up. Little Glasses bent down to help Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin up. "Guys, are you okay?"

The two got to their feet and weakly braced the iron plate.

"Can't say we're 'okay.' Just 'not dead,'" Qiao Jiajin answered, glancing at the black bear.

After that collision, the beast wasn't doing much better. Its massive body swayed in a daze, and it kept shaking its head to stay alert.

"Let me take over this time!" Little Glasses said. "You two go to the back of the group and rest for a bit."

With that, he copied Qiao Jiajin, lowering himself and bracing his shoulder against the iron plate.

But Little Glasses looked far too scrawny. Even holding the iron plate in place was clearly a struggle. His legs kept trembling, and veins bulged on his forehead.

"Holy shit... is this plate really that heavy...?" He seemed to think something was wrong with his stance and adjusted the angle of his legs slightly, but the plate didn't get any lighter.

"Brother, it's not that I don't believe in you." Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly. "If you're the one holding up the tabletop, there's no point in us standing behind it. We're dead either way."

"M-maybe you should take over after all..." Little Glasses gave an awkward smile and stepped aside.

By now, the group had more or less re-formed their defensive formation, and Qiao Jiajin was once again braced against the iron plate.

The black bear had also nearly recovered. It was about to attack the iron plate again when it spotted the middle-aged man standing alone off to one side.

"Oh no! Old Lü!" Little Glasses panicked. "Get over here!"

"Hmph." Qiao Jiajin snorted. "That fat bastard went out there to get himself killed. Let him."

"No..." Little Glasses's expression hardened. "Old Lü saved my life before. I can't abandon him!"

"You really are an idiot," Qiao Jiajin said.

But before Little Glasses could think of a way to save Old Lü, the black bear had already moved between him and the group.

It seemed to understand that once Old Lü hid behind the iron plate, it would no longer have a chance to kill him.

Little Glasses looked frantic. After struggling for a while, he finally turned to Qi Xia. "Can you save Old Lü?!"

Qi Xia's gaze turned cold. "Sure. Go save him. I won't stop you."

"I-I don't have a way... that's why I wanted to ask you..." Little Glasses said, trembling. "You seem really capable. Could you help me...?"

"No," Qi Xia said without hesitation. "If you want to go, go yourself."

Little Glasses wanted to say more, but after thinking it over, he realized he had no good reason to ask a stranger to risk his life.

After a long moment of deliberation, he could only grit his teeth and say, "A-all right... then I'll save him..."

He slowly released his grip on Qi Xia's clothes and fixed his eyes on the black bear.

Then, looking rather ridiculous, Little Glasses took three deep breaths, shouted to work up his courage, stamped his right foot, and started to charge at the black bear.

At the last possible moment, Qi Xia reached out and stopped him.

"Whoa, shit..." Little Glasses jumped in fright and nearly wrenched his back when Qi Xia stopped him. "What are you doing?!"

"You'll die. Aren't you afraid?" Qi Xia asked slowly.

"How the fuck could I not be?!" Little Glasses was on the verge of tears. "But I can't just stand here and watch Old Lü die!"

"In that case, let's make a deal." Qi Xia stared at the black bear nearby. "If I can keep you both alive in this game, both your 'Dao' belong to me."

"Huh?" Little Glasses hadn't expected Qi Xia to suddenly make such a demand and didn't know how to answer.

"Of course, if you don't want to, you can always save him yourself."

Qi Xia's tone allowed no argument, leaving Little Glasses caught in a dilemma.

He and Old Lü had risked their lives to take part in this game, only to end up without a single "Dao." What would have been the point of it all?

"I can only promise to give you my own 'Dao,' but Old Lü's..." Little Glasses said uneasily. "I don't know if he'd agree."

"Then guarantee his share," Qi Xia said. "You two are together, right?"

"I... I..." After thinking it over again and again, Little Glasses still felt that their lives mattered far more than the "Dao." "Fine... I'll guarantee his share. If we both survive, our 'Dao' belong to you."

"Good." Qi Xia nodded. "Take off your shoes and give them to me."

"What?"

"Your shoes," Qi Xia repeated.

Little Glasses had no idea what Qi Xia intended to do, but hurriedly took off his two filthy sneakers and handed them to him.

The rules of hunting. Animals are sensitive by nature... Qi Xia recited silently once more. The first taboo: attacking their backs.

Qi Xia hefted one sneaker in his hand, then suddenly stepped forward and hurled it hard, striking the black bear squarely in the back.

The blow gave the black bear a huge fright. Its whole body seemed to shudder, and it hurriedly turned around, looking in every direction.

The second taboo: severely injuring their noses.

Qi Xia picked up the other sneaker and hurled it hard at the black bear's face.

The shoe struck the black bear's nose. Though the impact wasn't particularly strong, it made the bear stagger.

Enraged once again, the black bear completely ignored Old Lü in front of it and turned to charge at Qi Xia.

Qi Xia reacted swiftly, immediately tugging on Qiao Jiajin's clothes to adjust the direction of the iron plate.

This time, the black bear's attack seemed utterly haphazard. It simply slammed its forepaws against the iron plate.

Once, twice, three times.

Although it roared furiously, these attacks were clearly weaker than before. Qiao Jiajin and the iron plate blocked them all.

Old Lü also hurried over in a panic and rejoined the group.