Chapter 43: Repaying Kindness

  Remember in one second

  "Help you beat someone up?"

  Lega almost didn't jump up from the jump, he sat straight up, enduring the pain brought by the bruise, and asked the boy: "I didn't hear it wrong, did I?"

  The boy nodded seriously and said, "That's right, you're so powerful, I'll call you big brother, you can stand up for me, who dares to bully me from now on?"

  Lei Ga glared at him with a bad temper, "You're calling me Big Brother just to show off your power."

  "Or else what's the point?"

  The boy retorted: "Can't little brother take the blame for big brother?"

  "Hey, I haven't agreed to be your older brother yet!"

  "Besides, I have a lot of important things to do and can't just come out to help you every time you're bullied. If you want to truly not be bullied, you need to learn how to become stronger yourself."

  The boy seemed somewhat disappointed, "Forget about Big Brother Bai for now, just help me beat someone up."

  Lei Ga stretched his mouth, and he suddenly felt like he had fallen into the pit he had dug for himself. Originally, beating people was something he didn't want to do, but after the boy asked him to be his big brother, he instead became very willing to beat people. At least, beating people could solve things once and for all, and clear the boy's debt of gratitude towards him.

  "Alright."

  Lei Ga helplessly sighed, "But first I need to start a fire, dry myself off, and eat something. In my current state, I'm not even capable of fighting."

  "This is what I'm good at."

  The boy immediately put down the fish basket, and on the spot used pebbles to build a simple stove. Then he found a pile of dry grass and branches, and let them ignite. After the flames stabilized, he said to Leiga again: "You roast the fire first, I'll go get a few big crabs to roast and eat."

  As he spoke, the boy didn't even take off his clothes and directly jumped into the dark river.

  Lei Ga looked at the splashing waves on the water's surface and couldn't help but smile lightly. This boy was clever, but after all, he was still just a child, so excited that he forgot to bring the angry crab lobster fishing basket.

  Lei Ga thought that if he got up and took away the fish basket now, he would definitely make that cunning boy furious.

  However, he wouldn't really do that. Promises made must be kept, whether to the king in the palace or to a child in the countryside. Moreover, this boy had lent him a helping hand when he needed it most, and although it was just a small effort, it was no different from saving his life.

  Repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge.

  This is Leiga's most basic code of conduct. He will avenge those who have wronged him, such as the thief who stole his Qingyu sword, and he will not forget the help given to him by Chunyu Furen and Xie Pu Laoban. Given enough time, he will settle all scores.

  That day will never be too far away...

  Lei Ga pondered while quietly taking off his wet clothes and drying them by the fire. The angry pincer lobster lay quietly in the fish basket, the weakening medicine having thoroughly turned it into an ordinary lobster.

  The little boy emerged from the water again, holding several green shell crabs in his hand. He smashed the crabs onto the cobblestones to stun them, and then threw them directly into the fire heap. "Are these enough to eat? Do you want me to catch a few more?"

  "That's enough, you'd better hurry up and warm yourself by the fire too." Rega said.

  The boy smiled, revealing his white teeth. He shook off the water droplets on his head, took off his clothes and wrung them out, imitating Rega's actions, and placed them by the fire to dry.

  The crabs in the bonfire woke up from the high temperature, panicked and wanted to climb out. The boy had already prepared stones, knocking them unconscious one by one, and throwing them back into the bonfire. Before long, the aroma of roasted crabs wafted out of the fire.

  The boy said with great satisfaction, "Crabs that are cooked alive taste the best, I guarantee this will be the most memorable meal you've ever had."

  The most memorable...

  Lei Ga couldn't help but think of two days ago, when Xie Pu had served him a large bowl of meat. He had already forgotten the taste of the meat itself, only remembering that each mouthful was warm. Then he thought of Hong Luo Lan, although they hadn't actually eaten a meal in the cave, the scene at the time...

  He shook his head and cleared the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

  "What? Don't believe?"

  The boy crossed his arms in front of his childish chest, somewhat discontentedly: "Have you ever eaten anything more delicious than live roasted crab?"

  "Of course."

  Lei Ga looked at the boy's stubborn expression and suddenly felt like he was having a conversation with his former self. He thought that several years ago, he was indeed not much different from this little boy - cunning, bold, and ruthless when it came to food.

  This stirred up his urge to compete with the little boy.

  Lei Ga smiled and said: "I've been wandering around everywhere, when it comes to eating skills, you're definitely no match for me."

  The boy curled his lip and said nothing, but on his face were clearly written the two words "bragging".

  Lega continued: "There are many memorable dining scenes in this world, but the best food I've ever had is definitely the flesh of the Flower Man Snake."

  The boy's disdainful expression became even more pronounced, "Flower snake? Isn't that just a poisonous but non-lethal flower-patterned small snake? I've eaten it too, but it's absolutely not as delicious as live-roasted crab."

  "How did you eat?"

  "Chop its head off, skin it, make a fire and roast it. What else can you do with it?" The boy shrugged his shoulders.

  "I also chop heads, skin, and cook fires, but I have one more step than you." Lei Ga smiled mysteriously.

  The boy's big black eyes widened suddenly, "What program?"

  "I applied the venom of the cobra to the snake meat."

  "This time, Leiga was delighted, 'The venom of the Flower Snake is not fatal, but it will paralyze you. A moderate amount of snake venom, after being roasted over a fire, completely dissolves into the tender and delicious snake meat. Eating it is both numbing and spicy, better than any seasoning in the world. It makes your blood vessels swell, your heart beat faster, and your consciousness enter a state of perfect euphoria. Even hours after eating, the goosebumps all over your body won't dissipate.'"

  "Boa constrictor can actually be eaten like this..."

  The boy's eyes gazing at Leica became even more worshipful, he sucked his saliva, rubbed his nose, "It's a pity that the flower snake is not easy to catch, otherwise it would be possible to taste it. As for now, let's eat my roasted crab first."

  He pulled out two of the largest and plumpest crabs from the fire pit and pushed them in front of Lega.

  Lei Ga took the scalding crab without hesitation, and with a light crack of his hands, split it into two halves. He took a bite, and the white crab meat and delicious crab roe immediately captured his stomach.

  "Not bad."

  The boy revealed a happy smile and cracked open a crab for himself, starting to nibble on it.

  Two plump crabs went into his belly, and the dampness on his body was also dried up. Leiga stretched out his body with a pleasant feeling, and his bones made a crackling sound.

  "Alright, tell me about your target. What level of warrior are they?"

  There are still quite a few bandits and mercenaries lurking around Crow Ridge, but those above the fourth rank have basically all been eliminated by Lega. The remaining ones shouldn't be his match. Although the boy's request will delay things a bit, it won't be difficult to accomplish as long as he doesn't have to fight against ten or more people at once.

  The boy's mouth was stuffed with crab meat and he mumbled: "What a few levels of warrior?"

  "Didn't you ask me to beat him up for you?" Lui reminded.

  "Oh..."

  The boy swallowed the crab meat in his mouth and licked his greasy lips, "They are either fighters or some older kids from the village."

  "What?!"

  Lei Ga asked in surprise: "You want me to go and bully other kids for you?"

  The dissatisfied boy said: "Lante and Siwang are both older than you. You beat them, it's not considered bullying."

  Lei Ga's face turned somewhat unsightly. "What unforgivable things did they do to you, that you had to find a fighter like me to bully them?"

  "They won't let me fish in the village!"

  The boy said indignantly: "Lante is a big fat man, he almost bullied all the children in the village who are shorter than him. Every time he sees me, he pushes me into the mud pit without saying a word. Siwang is his accomplice. I don't have a father, so he scolds me as a bastard every day and says my mother is a prostitute!"

  "Is it your mother?" Lega asked coldly.

  "Of course not!" The boy clenched his fists in annoyance.

  "Isn't it over now?"

  Lei Ga said ruthlessly, "Just talking big won't make your mother a prostitute. What kind of person she is, that's what kind of person she is, and it has nothing to do with how loudly the toad croaks. At eight years old, you're not considered young for a boy anymore. Since you can stand up and pee, you should learn to be strong and think calmly about problems, instead of being like an idiot who cares what others say."

  "Must I endure his insults?" the boy shouted.

  "So you have to strengthen yourself first, and then let them taste your strength. Even if I help you beat them up today, after they recover from their injuries, they will bully you even more fiercely. What are you going to do then?"

  "It doesn't matter—"

  The boy said stubbornly: "I just want to see them beg for mercy from me."

  Lei Ga slightly shook his head, it seemed that this boy was still different from him. He hardened his heart and said: "I won't help you. My sword is not for resolving petty squabbles between children, I don't care if they push you into the mud every day or whether your mother is a prostitute, in my eyes these things are all insignificant, as you grow up you will gradually forget them because when you grow up there will be more vicious things to face."

  The boy hung his head and silently gazed at the wisps of white smoke rising from the fire. He struggled to understand Lega's words, he still needed time.

  Lei Ga continued to say mercilessly: "If you want to avoid more vicious things from happening, you must learn to endure, self-strengthen, and calm down from now on. Only in this way can you surpass others. Only in this way, when you step on Langte's neck and kick him, he will not dare to fight back. Only in this way, in the future, you can scold Siwang while having sex with his wife and daughter - perhaps by that time, you may not do so, you will find that they are just ants crawling under your feet, you don't even have the mood to step on them to death. But now, no matter how many beatings you take, no matter how many scoldings you receive, you must endure it all yourself."