The Rise Of A Porter

Kang You could not believe a single word that came out of Xiaofan's mouth. She was supposed to be the most intelligent and responsible person standing behind him and yet she did something so inconceivable? Kang was baffled she even thought of doing something so silly just because she was 'trying to protect him from a monster'. After listening to her insane plans, Kang You didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. 

"Have you lost your fcking mind?" Kang You was on the verge of slapping Xiaofan, "You're supposed to be the intelligent one among us and yet you tried to kill Lord Deathless and Master Yu Zhung? Have you- Argh! Even though I know why you did what you did but I still can't wrap my head around it."

"I did it for the good of our people and you-"

"Shut the hell up! You did not do this for me. Just what is wrong with you?" Kang You was not in the mood to hear any crap that she spewed, "You know what a nuke is, do you? You know, it's a weapon that can obliterate entire countries in one blow? This man here survived that! And your brilliant plan was to kill him with a bullet? A freaking bullet? That's the best thing you could come up with? Where the fck is logic in there?"

"..."

Xiaofan remained quiet but tears in her eyes were the indicators of how she was feeling. This was the first time she had disappointed Kang to such an extent that he was swearing up and down in front of her. Kang You had forbidden everyone from his clan from swearing ever again as he considered it to be extremely disrespectful to everyone and yet now, he wasn't holding back anymore.

"Honestly, I don't even know what should I fcking do with you!" Kang You was not only disappointed in her but he was also afraid for her life. He could forgive Xiaofan because she was a dear ally, but it wasn't the case with deathless. "On one hand you were trying to look out for me, which I appreciate from the bottom of my heart. But on the other, you did something completely absurd and fcking unacceptable."

Unlike what Xiaofan thought, Kang You had done his own research about Deathless before he went to ask for his help. Thus he knew it very well that Deathless wasn't someone who would forget about the people who had wronged him in any way.

If worse come to worse, Deathless would think this was all a plan to get him killed. And as a punishment, Deathless could even back down from their agreement and not get rid of the minotaurs, which would definitely doom them for good. Kang could not let something like that happen, no matter what. Even if it meant he'd have to sacrifice Xiaofan.

The worst thing about it all wasn't even what Xiaofan did. But that Kang You couldn't get a read on Arnold's mood. For the moment Xiaofan finished telling her tale, Arnold had gone silent. It was almost as if he was waiting for Kang You to do something about the problem.

Thanks to the mask he was wearing, Arnold's expressions were perfectly hidden. Hence making it impossible for anyone to read his face. Kang was torn up. He knew he had to make a choice now. Either he could let Xiaofan stay alive and risk angering Deathless which would mean that the civilians would inevitably die at the hands of minotaurs. Or he could sacrifice Xiaofan, please Deathless and save the others.

It wasn't a choice Arnold had given him, but it was Kang's personal decision. He needed to show Arnold that he sincerely did not know anything about the plan and his people were innocent in all of it. Thus, Kang made his mind to do the 'right thing'. He knew he would curse himself till his last days but Xiaofan made a mistake and she would have to pay for it as well. 

'I don't have a choice...' Kang You drew his fist to punch Xiaofan into oblivion. But the moment before his mana imbued fists could even graze Xiaofan's skin, someone grabbed his fist.

"Lord Deathless!?" Kang was surprised to see Arnold was the one to stop his punch. He was even more surprised when he saw that Arnold did so with just a finger. 

"What are you doing?" Arnold asked the man. His eyes were boring a hole in Kang's face.

"Sir I have to punish her for wronging you... That's the least I can do to quell your anger, right?" Kang asked before drawing his fist back.

"There's a difference between punishing someone and straight-up killing someone." Arnold shook his head in disbelief.

While Arnold was saying that, he didn't notice but everyone there was staring at him like he was a ghost or something.

"What!?" Arnold asked his summons when they began sniggering because of his words.

"Nothing at all, Master." Talos was the first one to reply, "But I think it'll take us quite a while to get used to your new 'ideology'."

"Whatever." Arnold smiled and waved his hands before stepping back.

"So... I don't need to-" Kang wanted to confirm that he was no longer required to kill Xiaofan but Arnold interrupted him before he could ask what he wanted.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not going soft on anyone. But I don't see the point in killing a dog just because it failed to do the trick it was trained to do." Arnold replied, "Moreover, I think she is quite important to you and as your so-called Lord, it means she is important for me as well. But it doesn't mean I have forgiven her. Not at all. It's just that her existence doesn't bother me."

Arnold continued, "However, I trust you can deal with the two assassins on your own?"

"Yes, my lord. I assure you, none of us would give you another chance to complain." Kang You and his warriors banged their fists on the chest before kneeling in front of Arnold.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. But shall we go and do what I'm here for?"