The First Order

Yan Liuyuan looked at the old deck of cards in Wang Fugui’s hand. He explained to him earnestly, “In my brother’s hands, the cards would be bombs. But in your hands, they can only be used to play Fight the Landlord.”

Off to the side, Wang Dalong said, “Can’t we play three-card brag[1] instead?”

Yan Liuyuan paused for a moment. “Well, you can.”

Wang Fugui might have been surprised by Ren Xiaosu’s four “threes” the last time around, so he still had some lingering thoughts. When he found a pack of cards that someone had dropped, he was quite happy about it. They were ammo to him. However, when Yan Liuyuan told Wang Fugui he could not use it, he smacked his lips and said, “I’ll keep it for Ren Xiaosu.”

Yan Liuyuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Ren Xiaosu’s cards might seem like ordinary cards, but they were really conjured up by his superpower.

As all the other refugees cried in misery, Yan Liuyuan and company were caught in a heated discussion about card games. It even seemed like they might start playing Fight the Landlord at any moment now.

Truly, there was a difference between being prepared and unprepared. Although it was very cold outside in the wilderness and would be quite difficult to bear even if you were prepared, people usually lived in comparison to others. When you saw other people in a miserable state, you wouldn’t think you had it that bad anymore.

Chen Wudi mumbled from off to the side, “Master will get abducted by the ruler of Womanland soon, and y’all are still in the mood to play cards?!”

Wang Fugui chuckled heartily and said, “Don’t worry, Master will definitely not ditch us.”

“Really?” Chen Wudi’s eyes lit up.

“Of course!” Wang Fugui said with a smile.

Chen Wudi said, “Then let’s play three-card brag, I’m pretty damn good at it.”

All of a sudden, a cry rang out from the crowd in the distance. Chen Wudi immediately stood up and turned his attention to them. He saw a man trying to snatch a scarf from a plump woman.

Snow blanketed the ground with white. The man must have been unable to bear the cold since he was only wearing his fall clothing. However, he didn’t dare snatch the other men’s clothing, so he could only snatch some from a woman. A woman’s clothes wouldn’t fit him, but a scarf would still be useful.

It can be difficult to imagine how despicable some people can get in the face of adversity. The man was willing to resort to any means necessary as long as it meant survival for him.

But this was only the beginning of their escape. For refugees like Yan Liuyuan, Xiaoyu, and the others, all of them knew quite well that things would only get worse for this group of escapees.

During their previous escape, the weather was not this cold. As such, human nature did not get pushed to such desperate straits. There wasn’t a lack of food either at that time since they managed to locate a field full of sweet potatoes.

But it was different this time. The evil side of human nature thoroughly surfaced at this moment, baring its fangs.

Chen Wudi stood up and strode over. “Get your hands off her!”

That man looked at Chen Wudi. “Mind your fucking business!”

Chen Wudi was tickled pink by this man. “As the Great Sage reborn, I have to poke my nose into the injustices of this world. If you don’t let her go, this punch of mine might just kill you!”

By the campfire, Yan Liuyuan and the others quietly watched this unfold. They all knew Chen Wudi’s character. In the past, everyone had suspected that Chen Wudi might be putting on an act. But they realized later that he was simply a guy who imagined himself a hero.

Actually, when Yan Liuyuan followed Ren Xiaosu to the bar to listen to the storyteller’s stories when he was younger, he also had fancied himself becoming a hero in the future. But Ren Xiaosu told him at that time that other than tears, this world did not believe in heroes.

Back then, Yan Liuyuan felt that Ren Xiaosu was lying, since he was clearly very inspired by the stories too. So Ren Xiaosu must also have had dreams of becoming a hero. It was just that he had suppressed the thought of it.

If giving up on physical strength was the price humans paid for gaining intelligence—then crushing his dreams would be the price Ren Xiaosu paid for survival.

However, Yan Liuyuan felt that the fact that since Ren Xiaosu chose to help Jiang Wu and bring Chen Wudi along with them on their escape, it showed Ren Xiaosu had not completely given up on his dream of becoming a hero.

At this moment, the man who snatched the woman’s scarf threw a punch at Chen Wudi. However, Chen Wudi didn’t even dodge and just let the punch land on his face. With a crack, the man’s wrist apparently broke while Chen Wudi looked totally unaffected.

Yan Liuyuan shouted from afar, “Don’t kill him.”

Chen Wudi said, “OK!”

After that, Chen Wudi lightly punched the man’s stomach. The man slowly tumbled to the ground as his entire body turned numb from the attack.

Chen Wudi said, “That’s a small lesson for you as an example to everyone else.”

The woman whose scarf had been snatched stood up and came over to retrieve it. Then she hurried over to Chen Wudi and said, “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“It’s no big deal.” Chen Wudi was about to turn and leave.

But the woman suddenly seemed like she wanted to get closer to Chen Wudi. She said, “It seems like we were fated to meet!”

In this wilderness, there would always be a greater chance of survival with help from others. Chen Wudi and company, who were riding on bicycles, stood out too much, so everyone else knew they were well-prepared for the escape and even had food with them. As such, this woman was looking to cotton up to Chen Wudi.

Chen Wudi turned his head. “Huh? Fated?”

The woman shyly twirled her hair. “Aren’t you the Great Sage? My name is Zixia, Zhao Zixia!”

Chen Wudi looked like he had been struck by lightning. “You’re Zixia?! But you don’t look that age!”

Zhao Zixia joked, “I might have been reborn a few years before you.”

Chen Wudi despaired a little. ‘How is that a few years? It’s more like a decade, at least! Aren’t you jumping the gun?!’ However, Chen Wudi calmed down and said, “Big sis, I’m sorry, but I’m not your version of the Great Sage.”

Yan Liuyuan and the others were laughing themselves silly over at the campfire. When Chen Wudi came back, no one held back from teasing him. Previously, Chen Wudi had said that he was searching for Zixia, a fairy immortal, but no one thought he would suddenly change the version of the Great Sage now that he had finally found her? He could even switch the version of the Great Sage? That was probably Chen Wudi’s last route of retreat he had left for himself.

At the beginning, Yan Liuyuan and Ren Xiaosu thought Zixia was just a relationship setback trope Chen Wudi had created for himself. Now that Zixia had personally appeared and met him, she helped Chen Wudi cut himself off from all mortal desires.

Right at this moment, Yan Liuyuan caught sight of a figure of a person slowly making their way over in the snowy weather. The escapees started whispering among themselves as they never expected someone to still be coming from the direction of Stronghold 109 at such a time.

Before everyone else could react, Chen Wudi and the others stood up. Yan Liuyuan waved his hands excitedly and shouted, “Bro! Over here, over here!”

Although Yan Liuyuan knew Ren Xiaosu was definitely fine, he could only feel truly at ease after seeing him again. For Yan Liuyuan, there wasn’t a point in living comfortably if Ren Xiaosu wasn’t around to accompany him.