Volume One, Chapter 17: Gouge Out His Eyes

“Shen Chi, what on earth are you thinking?”

Wu Xingxue ground her teeth as she looked at Shen Chi’s smug face.

She really wanted to punch him.

But Shen Chi ignored her, waving his hand at the crowd to disperse. “Alright, alright, everyone, go home quickly. I already said we’re not opening the shop, and we’re not selling. We don’t even have enough for our own people, let alone selling to you.”

“Are you kidding us?”

“If you’re not selling, why were you shouting just now?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

The crowd’s expressions darkened.

Wu Xingxue took a deep breath. Shen Chi was a fire-type ability user, and she was too weak to fight him now. She had to stay calm, had to stay calm...

Someday, she promised herself, she would wipe the soles of her shoes across his arrogant face.

She kept her expression cold. “Shen Chi, since when did you get to decide what happens to my things? Even if I threw these herbs away, I wouldn’t give them to your Wu family!”

Shen Chi’s smile stiffened. He turned around and glowered at Wu Xingxue. “Don’t push your luck.”

Wang Liang, afraid the free blood-stopping herbs would be lost, quickly grabbed Shen Chi’s arm, signaling him strongly.

“Captain! Step back... don’t lose your temper!”

The team’s medical supplies were bought with money pooled from five members. The herbs were scarce and expensive, but they had to be prepared. Every time, they bit the bullet to pay for them.

Now that someone was offering them for free, they couldn’t afford to lose them because of Shen Chi’s bad temper!

Receiving Wang Liang’s hint, Shen Chi’s dark expression shifted several times before he forced a stiff smile.

“Stop making a fuss. Aren’t you just trying to get me to find you a way out, to take you home? I have a plan.”

Wu Xingxue didn’t know how he figured out she wanted to go back to the Wu family, but when did he ever become so kind?

Before, whenever she had conflicts with her family, Shen Chi wouldn’t just watch but would stir up trouble. Yet today, he was offering to help her go home?

Wu Xingxue asked, “What plan?”

Shen Chi exchanged a glance with Wang Liang, showing a look that said, “I knew it.”

He knew it!

There was no way Wu Xingxue would truly abandon the Wu family.

Shen Chi stepped closer and lowered his voice. “First, return the exotic parrot to Mian Mian, and give her ten of those beauty fruits from yesterday as an apology.”

Wu Xingxue sneered coldly in her heart. Ten?

He actually had the nerve to ask for that!

Ignoring her increasingly icy expression, Shen Chi continued, “Send this batch of blood-stopping herbs directly to our team. It just so happens we need them for our upcoming graded mission.”

“If you have any other resources useful to explorers, send them over. I can make use of them.”

Shen Chi felt this was a bit troublesome. “Why don’t you just tell me where you get all these exotic plants, and I’ll go find them myself.”

Greed flickered in Wang Liang’s eyes.

Wu Xingxue had a lot of stock. If they knew where she got them—if it was from the wild...

Then they’d never have to buy medical supplies again, and they could sell those ability fruits for huge profits!

Wu Xingxue said, “I’m impressed. I didn’t expect someone as shameless as you.”

Shen Chi was about to retort when suddenly his vision blurred, and a sharp pain shot through his eyes.

“Ah!!”

“Captain!”

Shen Chi clutched his eyes, tears streaming down his face, doubled over in pain, speechless.

Wang Liang stared at Wu Xingxue in shock. “How could you poke his eyes?”

Wu Xingxue flicked her right hand disdainfully. “He deserved it for his foul mouth!”

Seeing Shen Chi sweating profusely in pain, she felt a bit of satisfaction.

The crowd, who had dispersed after seeing the siblings whispering, were astonished to see Wu Xingxue actually attack Shen Chi and turned back to watch.

Taking advantage of Shen Chi’s silence, Wu Xingxue pressed on, “I told you, I’m cutting ties with your Wu family. Since when did my things become yours to command?”

“Do you even know how much those beauty fruits cost?”

She turned and pinpointed one bystander who had been shouting prices yesterday. “Hey, big brother, you were bidding on those beauty fruits yesterday, right? How much did you shout?”

The man stammered, surprised to be singled out. “S-Seven... seven hundred.”

Wu Xingxue said, “Seven hundred! If I put them up at auction, the price would be even higher. Shen Chi, you just casually asked me to give Mian Mian ten of them? Why should I give away ten thousand worth for free?”

“Hah! Throwing out ten thousand just like that! That’s bold!” the crowd muttered.

Wu Xingxue then looked at Cheng Lan. “Cheng Lan, if you had a source that could make you rich, would you just give it away for free and let others know?”

Cheng Lan hesitated, having overheard some of their conversation near the counter despite their low voices.

Thinking of Shen Chi’s entitled expression, the face she had once found appealing suddenly seemed so ugly.

Looking at Wu Xingxue’s stubborn but frail figure, she made up her mind.

Cheng Lan said, “Of course not! I’m not an idiot! In this world, if you have a source of income, you don’t even tell your own parents or children, let alone strangers.”

Wu Xingxue nodded slightly at her, showing gratitude.

Then she turned to everyone and said, “I believe that’s what everyone thinks too.”

“But some people are just shameless!”

Wu Xingxue pointed at Shen Chi, who was barely opening his eyes, tears still streaming down his face.

“You just asked me to give you all the blood-stopping herbs for free. Why should I care if you die on your mission or not?”

“You have money to spend ninety thousand buying a useless exotic parrot for Wu Yuxian, but no money to buy the medicine needed for the mission?”

“You even want me to tell you where I get the exotic plants? That’s insane!”

Wu Xingxue’s eyes reddened, her finger trembling as she pointed at Shen Chi. “I’ve helped your team on missions many times, have I ever taken a single cent or a contribution point from you?”

“Shen Chi, do you have any conscience at all?”

Wu Xingxue narrowed her eyes, a trace of sarcasm flickering in them.

The crowd burst out all at once.

“Hiss—No wonder their team climbed to B-rank in just a year, with no injuries—because of Wu Xingxue!”

“Wu Xingxue is a high-level ability user. Inviting her on a mission costs at least a thousand united coins, not counting the mission commission. And yet she’s helping Shen Chi’s team for free—so selfless!”

“In my opinion, that’s just foolish! Like those two brothers next door who are ability users. They’re on different teams, and when they help each other, they always charge—quite aggressively too!”

“Exactly. Every mission is dangerous. No matter how skilled you are, you can’t guarantee you won’t get infected by zombies. Wu Xingxue doesn’t even ask for commission. I don’t know if she’s confident in herself or if she truly cares about this guy.”

“So, who’s the real ingrate? Wu Xingxue has left the Wu family, yet Shen Chi still demands so many exotic fruits and herbs from her. He’s got some nerve!”

“Sigh, the Wu family raised Wu Xingxue for over twenty years. She should be grateful to them.”

“That’s not how it works. Would you give your financial lifeline to your foster family after cutting ties?”

Shen Chi’s eyes burned unbearably. He barely opened them, tears still flowing.

Feeling the cold tears on his face, he was filled with humiliation.

He, a grown man, was crying in front of all these people!

All because of Wu Xingxue!

Watching Shen Chi’s face darken, Wu Xingxue’s lips curled into a faint smile.

When it came to shameful matters, she could never compete with the Wu family.