Xu Zifan didn't waste any words. He reached out and smeared poison on the wound on Bai Yi's hind leg. Bai Yi's hind leg was now useless; he could no longer bear any weight and became a cripple. Bai Yi lost his balance and fell, then lost all feeling in his right hind leg. He cried out in terror, "What did you do?"
"A small gift," Xu Zifan whispered in his ear as he leaned closer, "to thank you for not marrying me back then."
After saying that, he swiftly unfolded his black iron fan and slashed it forcefully. Bai Yi's eyes instantly spurted blood, and he screamed and rolled on the ground. How could a blind and lame tiger survive? It absolutely couldn't survive in the wild. Xu Zifan said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If you hadn't betrayed Xu Zifan back then, wouldn't you be living a life of unparalleled glory now?"
Xu Zifan then retreated swiftly, creating distance between them. Mu Ci screamed and lunged at Bai Yi, but was unintentionally thrown aside by the pained Bai Yi, crashing heavily onto a rock and unable to get up. Mengya, Mowen, Sada, and seven other orcs were locked in combat, killing two and injuring five. The five orcs, their hearts filled with ferocity, turned to terror, and seeing Bai Yi's fate, they all knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.
"Mengya, we've all been deceived by Bai Yi! Please let us go! It's all Bai Yi's fault!"
Mengya looked at Xu Zifan and asked for his decision. Xu Zifan walked over and drew a formation on the ground. He smiled and said, "One by one, walk into the formation and swear to the Beast God that you will never harm the people of the City of Wise Men, or you will die from a broken heart."
None of them dared to disobey. Both the orcs and the females swore an oath within the formation, and then they felt a heat on their foreheads, as if something had been branded into their souls. They all looked at Xu Zifan in alarm. Xu Zifan smiled and said, "The oath has been made, and the Beast God has heard it."
His formation could make oaths and contracts come true, but only in a world with gods. This world had a beast god, so their oaths were all valid. However, Xu Zifan had no interest in supporting them and simply told them to leave.
Several orcs dragged Bai Yi away, while the female supported Mu Ci, and the group hurriedly departed. Xu Zifan put away his Xuan Iron Fan, stretched his body, and asked Mengya and the other two, "Are you injured? Do you need some medicine?"
The three shook their heads, and Xu Zifan took out the marinated meat skewers from his spatial storage and put them on the fire to grill. "Have something to eat, you're all tired."
The three sat by the fire in silence. Xu Zifan belatedly realized that their silence was unusual and asked, "What's wrong?"
Sada looked at him for a while and said unhappily, "You always treat Bai Yi specially."
Mo Wen's voice remained icy, "You really did fall for Bai Yi back then, didn't you? Because he betrayed you, you stopped liking anyone else? What makes him worth doing this to you?"
Mengya poked at the fire with his head down. "You never care about the other tiger clan members, you only deal with them personally when you encounter Bai Yi. If Bai Yi hadn't pursued Mu Ci back then, you would have already married him."
Sada said sullenly, her face darkening. "The more you hate him, the more you care about him. Are you still thinking about that bastard? What's so great about him? Even Su Xin is a hundred times better than him!"
"Wait, wait, wait, when did I start liking Bai Yi?" Xu Zifan raised his hand to stop him. "Revenge and caring are two different things. The wolf clan offended me, so I took revenge. It has nothing to do with liking someone, because I have no emotions. I would never like anyone. I only got along with Bai Yi because of my 'baby bird' complex. I had just come down from the sky and my mind was not clear. After I cleared up, I never paid any attention to him again."
Xu Zifan cleared his throat and handed out the grilled meat skewers to them. "Eat up. You don't need to worry about my brother's marriage. I will never marry anyone in my life, nor will I fall in love with anyone. Don't worry. You should take some time to find yourselves partners. There are many talented, intelligent, and beautiful females in the city. You're bound to find one you like. When you get married, I will definitely give you very precious gifts. We are family."
The three were silent for a moment, then took the skewers and began to eat. After finishing two skewers, Sada took the skewers from Xu Zifan and took over the grilling, talking about other things. Mo Wen took a long time to finish his skewer, then looked up and started talking to Xu Zifan about preparing the medicine. Meng Ya kept his head down and ate in silence, finally saying that he would take the night watch and that they should get some rest.
The four resumed their previous way of getting along, but the three orcs felt somewhat powerless and resigned to the reality. Some people are simply unattainable, and taking a step back might allow them to remain good brothers; foolish persistence would only push the other person further away. Perhaps the only consolation was that they were all treated equally, with no one being an exception. They wouldn't allow anyone else to pursue Xu Zifan someday. It was good enough for them to continue getting along as they were now; no one would disrupt the balance.
After Bai Yi and his group escaped, the beastmen were all frightened and bewildered. Were they going to wander forever? They would surely die sooner or later! They found a cave to spend the night, and the more they discussed it, the more pessimistic they became. When they saw Bai Yi groaning in pain due to his injuries and fever, one of the beastmen impatiently kicked him several times.
"You bastard, how dare you speak up? If you hadn't offended the Wise One, would we be in this state? The other tiger clan members are living good lives now, all because of you, you bastard!"
Mu Ci stood in front of Bai Yi and angrily said, "Stop! Bai Yi is the clan leader, how can you treat him like this? Besides, you all followed Bai Yi voluntarily, so why are you blaming him?"
Instead of getting angry, the orc laughed, "Heh, that's right. We've offended the wise man. No one will help us. We're all going to die sooner or later, so we might as well die a quick death. I haven't even tasted the chieftain's wife yet!"
After the orc finished speaking, he pulled Mu Ci to the ground and pushed her there. Mu Ci's eyes widened and she screamed in terror, repeatedly calling out to Bai Yi, "Save me, Bai Yi, save me!"
Bai Yi couldn't see anymore, so he angrily crawled towards the sound, yelling, "Stop! How dare you!"
"What do I have to be afraid of? You better behave yourself, and I'll give you a bite to eat. Otherwise, I'll leave you here!" The orc kicked Bai Yi away and pinned Mu Ci down.
Bai Yi hesitated for a moment, then turned away from Mu Ci's incredulous gaze. Mu Ci was then possessed by the orc he had always despised. The orc cursed him viciously, "Weren't you so high and mighty? Trying to play me again! I pursued you so sincerely back then, and you ate my prey to seduce Bai Yi, resulting in offending the Wise One. Ha! If you had obediently married me back then, you wouldn't be in this mess today! You're just shameless!"
Afterwards, the orc threw Mu Ci next to Bai Yi without any regard for him. Mu Ci punched and kicked Bai Yi, sobbing incessantly. Bai Yi initially felt guilty, but when his eye wound was touched, a sharp pain shot through him. He flung Mu Ci away and hissed, "What's wrong with you? If it weren't for you, I would have already married Xu Zifan and become the city lord of Wise Man City! You owe me! You're the one who ruined me like this! I must have been blind to think you were better than Xu Zifan!"
Mu Ci grabbed a wooden stick and smashed it against Bai Yi's injured leg repeatedly. "You owe me! If it weren't for you, I would have gone to the City of Wise Men with the others. Why would I be wandering outside? You ruined me! You ruined me!"
The couple regretted their actions and became bitter enemies. It was only after another orc shouted that they quieted down. But the next day, filled with hatred, Mu Ci made a deal with the orcs: he was willing to go with them and warm their beds, as long as they agreed to abandon Bai Yi.
The orcs were naturally willing. Even if Mu Ci hadn't mentioned it, they wouldn't have taken care of Bai Yi for long; if they were good people, they wouldn't have followed him in the first place. When Bai Yi awoke from his unconsciousness, he was all alone in the cave. No matter how much he called out, he received no response, and his numb leg was badly injured by Mu Ci's blows. With no one to treat him, he could only wait to die in this desolate wilderness.
After cursing for a long time, Bai Yi was overwhelmed by a torrent of regret. Looking back on his actions, he realized it was a series of mistakes, one after another. At first, it was all about saving face and gaining status, but later he was trapped with no way back. He deeply regretted not treating Xu Zifan better. Even after betraying him, he should have at least apologized, gone to the City of Wise Men to accept punishment, and humbled himself to beg for forgiveness…
Unfortunately, there's no going back now; it's too late for anything.
He crawled out of the cave to find some food to fill his stomach, but he couldn't see and wasn't used to being lame. Not only did he find nothing, but the smell of blood also attracted a ferocious beast. He couldn't withstand the attack for long before he was devoured by the beast and became its dinner.
As Xu Zifan and his group passed by on their way to the next location, they witnessed Bai Yi's fate. The three orcs glanced at Xu Zifan's expression, but he showed no reaction, treating them like mere passersby, and urged them to hurry and find the next mining site. The three orcs were overjoyed and ran off, leaving Bai Yi behind; it seemed no one would ever mention him again.
Xu Zifan's trip was very fruitful. Besides iron ore, he also found coal and gold mines. Most importantly, he successfully persuaded the Eagle Clan to join the Wise City. The Eagle Clan orcs can transform into giant eagles and soar through the sky, making them much faster than other orcs at any destination. They are also the most convenient for sentry duty, patrols, and exploring unknown territories. Xu Zifan plans to develop them into an air force and an "aircraft" squadron, which will bring great convenience to the Wise City.
On their return to the city, Xu Zifan was carried back by an eagle-clan orc. Sada and the other two, filled with a sense of crisis, rushed back to the city, keeping a close watch on the eagle-clan. Xu Zifan completely ignored their undercurrents. Having found a new mining site, he had even more to arrange and instructed everyone on how to use the resources to craft useful tools. Their city would become stronger and more fortified. The information brought by the eagle-clan orcs allowed him to expand his map once more, accelerating their development until they could establish a nation.
He also wanted the Eagle Clan to spread the word, recruiting more people to join the city, or to build towns in their local areas as vassals of the Wise City. There was still much to be done; Xu Zifan felt his entire life was already filled. In this world, he would build a kingdom.