I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

Chapter 135: Chapter 110: "Throw One Punch to Avoid a Hundred

The news spread like a virus, passed continuously via Sound Transmission Talismans across Jiangbei and Jiangnan after nightfall.

Night fell.

The rainy season was over.

That incessant, almost maddening drizzle was finally gone. The last traces of corrosive rain had vanished completely into the ink-black sky.

A crisp, clean scent wafted over the entire Nameless Mountain.

It was as if it had just been through a cleansing ritual.

The pitter-patter of the rain was finally gone, replaced by the faint chirping of birds and the buzz of insects.

Chen Fan sat alone in a chair on the City Wall, idly toying with the Jade Scroll that Medicine King Valley had left behind. He gazed out beyond the cave at the weather-beaten canyon walls on either side.

He was simply spacing out.

There weren’t many forms of entertainment in this world, but he seemed to have grown fond of simply spacing out. He enjoyed just staying in his own territory—a place where he was in absolute control, where he was completely safe. A place to live in peace.

’This is nice.’

But...

Someone didn’t want him to be so comfortable.

Just then—

"Young Master."

Lame Monkey walked onto the City Wall and draped a cloak over Chen Fan’s shoulders. "Are you still thinking about today’s events?" he asked quietly. "The Pill Sect really went too far. It’s no wonder you were so angry, Young Master."

"..."

Chen Fan paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. "What was there to be angry about? Honestly, I wasn’t that angry. They’re just bullies who throw their weight around. This world has all sorts of people, so of course, there’s no shortage of their kind."

"But, how should I put it... often, when people expect you to be angry, you need to show a little anger."

"Otherwise, they’ll think you’re weak."

"And that will make things inconvenient for you later on."

"Is that so?" Lame Monkey had never expected such an answer from his Young Master. He pondered for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Back when I was with the Jiangbei Chen Family, the others at the Private School used to mock me for being a cripple. I wasn’t actually that angry at the time, because, well, I am a cripple."

"But if I had rushed up and fought the first person who said it with everything I had..."

"...would fewer people have bullied me then?"

"Exactly."

Chen Fan put an arm around Lame Monkey’s shoulder and said emotionally, "It doesn’t matter if you can’t beat them. Even if they knock out a mouthful of your teeth, as long as you gouge out one of their eyes, no one will dare to bully you ever again."

"It’s a case of ’one punch now saves you from a hundred later.’"

"When you enter a new circle,"

"if someone is the first to jump out and bully you,"

"remember this:"

"at all costs, you must gouge out one of their eyes. Otherwise, you’ll be bullied forever."

"What you see as refinement, others will see as weakness."

"You have to go berserk first. Only after you’ve shown your wild side can you be refined. That’s the only way they’ll believe your refinement is real."

"But..." Lame Monkey hesitated. "But what if I’m really not strong enough? What if I can’t gouge out their eye and can only scratch their skin? Should I still fight?"

"Fight. As long as you’re sure you won’t be killed, you must fight."

"It’s just a scratch. Will others fear me for that?"

"No, but they won’t bully you as much, either. Because even if it’s just a minor injury like a scratch, no one wants to get hurt for no reason."

"I understand now!"

Lame Monkey suddenly had an epiphany. "So according to your plan, Young Master, when you go to the Pill Sect tomorrow... you’re just planning to ’scratch their skin’? You don’t actually intend to destroy them?"

"..."

Chen Fan glanced at Lame Monkey and sighed helplessly. "We’re not that weak, you know."

"I’ve read the Jade Scroll left by the Young Master of Medicine King Valley. It contains general information on most of the major powers in Jiangnan, excluding Medicine King Valley itself."

"The defenses at the Pill Sect’s main headquarters aren’t particularly strong. They’re not even on par with the Sheep Race."

"A large part of the Pill Sect’s power comes from its network. Many factions are dependent on their control over elixirs and don’t dare to oppose them. Once the Pill Sect applies pressure, those factions will naturally start causing minor trouble for us."

"For example—"

"When the rainy season in Jiangnan ends and our caravan prepares to travel there for business, one day a faction might stop us, claiming a station is under repair and we can’t stop there. The next day, another faction might block our path, saying we can’t pass. All sorts of petty little tricks like that."

"The impact won’t be huge, but it’ll be incredibly annoying."

"Another example."

"The Pill Sect’s most famous elixir is the Cultivation Pill, which can rapidly increase one’s Cultivation. Consequently, the Pill Sect is the faction with the most High Level Cultivators, and they are also extremely skilled in assassination."

"One day, someone might pop up to assassinate me. The next day, another one might try."

"It’s a huge hassle."

"The Pill Sect has only two main strengths: its network and its assassins. What we need to do is strike first, before they have a chance to leverage either of them."

"As long as we move fast enough that they can’t react, how much stronger can the Pill Sect be than the Jiangbei Chen Family once those two strengths are neutralized?"

"Just you watch."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, gazing up at the darkness shrouding the top of the Celestial Pit. "Right now, the outside world is buzzing with talk about this," he said softly. "It’s happening at the precise moment when the rainy season in Jiangbei has ended and the one in Jiangnan is about to begin."

"Everyone must be speculating about how the Pill Sect will deal with us once the rainy season in Jiangnan is over."

"The Pill Sect is also eager to use this as an opportunity to flex its muscles and reassert its dominance in Jiangnan."

"What we need to do is..."

"...strike first."

"A dead man has no network."

Chen Fan said no more, simply leaning back in his chair and falling silent. If this matter wasn’t handled well, his path forward would become much more difficult.