Chapter 31: Thrown Into the Tiger's Lair
Prince Wen was sitting not far away, vaguely catching a few words. He couldn't help but ask Ye Fan, "What happened?"
Ye Fan turned to look at Pang Bo. "Didn't you record it on your phone? Play it for everyone to hear."
By now, others had also noticed the commotion and were all looking toward Ye Fan.
Pang Bo understood perfectly well that even if they were going to act, they needed to have the moral high ground, preferably by exposing everything in front of everyone. His expression was grim. "Liu Yunzhi, Li Changqing, and Wang Yan tried to harm me and Ye Fan."
Saying this, he grew furious. "Those three ungrateful wolves! We let them off time and again, didn't hold it against them, but they don't know when to quit. They actually want us dead!"
These words shocked everyone. Their gazes focused on him as they asked in confusion, "What's going on? What happened?"
Pang Bo pressed a few keys on his phone, and a recording began to play.
"Damn it, I can't swallow this. I'm not letting it go!" That was Li Changqing's voice.
Then Liu Yunzhi's gloomy voice came through. "Let him live for a couple of days. I'll definitely finish him off!"
"What? You... you want to kill both of them?" Li Changqing and Wang Yan both seemed shocked.
"That's right. It's either them or me!" Even though it was a recording, you could hear Liu Yunzhi grinding his teeth.
"But we can't beat that quiet-looking barbarian, and that obnoxious Pang Bo is built like a mountain. There's no way." Li Changqing's voice carried frustration and helplessness.
Liu Yunzhi sneered coldly. "It doesn't matter. My Vajra Treasure Pestle has shown a trace of divine power. I think after another night, it'll grow a bit stronger. Then, catching them off guard, I can kill them both in one go."
The phone played Li Changqing's vicious voice. "Fine. If that's the case, what's there to fear? We'll definitely finish them off!"
"Wang Yan, you apologize to Liu Yiyi and lure her aside. I always felt that string of prayer beads of hers wasn't simple—it might also have a remnant of divine power. Too bad you tried to trade with her and ended up making a mess of it." Liu Yunzhi's voice was displeased.
"Fine!" In the end, Wang Yan's tone also turned cold as she agreed to Liu Yunzhi's request.
Liu Yunzhi muttered in a low, hoarse voice, "We can't act in front of others. That's a problem. We need to plan carefully."
*Slap*
Pang Bo snapped his phone shut. "Everyone heard that, right? These three backstabbing jackals want to kill me and Ye Fan. This time, don't blame us for not caring about our classmate ties."
Ye Fan strode forward without a word. Pang Bo followed closely, and Zhang Ziling quickly caught up. The others all stood and trailed them into the grove of trees.
When they saw Ye Fan and Pang Bo approaching, Li Changqing and Wang Yan, guilty as they were, felt their hearts race. Liu Yunzhi's face darkened to the extreme.
"We let you off again and again, didn't hold it against you, and yet you want to kill us both. If I let you off this time, I'll write my name backwards!"
"You... you're lying!" Li Changqing broke out in a cold sweat on the spot.
Wang Yan's face was deathly pale as she stammered in panic, "What... what are you talking about? I don't understand."
Pang Bo didn't bother arguing. He just played the recording again.
At that moment, Wang Yan and Li Changqing panicked completely. Liu Yunzhi's face also turned white. Faced with irrefutable evidence, they couldn't deny it.
"We were just speaking in anger. How can you take that seriously..." Li Changqing shouted, now utterly terrified.
"Speaking in anger? Do you take everyone here for three-year-olds? We all know exactly what's going on." Zhang Ziling, usually quiet, spoke coldly.
"Liu Yunzhi, you've gone too far. How could you even think such things? How foolish!" Prince Wen's expression was very stern.
Lin Jia also shook her head with a sigh. "We're all classmates. How could you be so vicious?"
"This is too much! You want to kill classmates who ended up stranded in this world together? Do you have any humanity left?" Others chimed in, all condemning and berating the three.
Finally, Zhou Yi frowned and said, "Do classmates have to fight to the death? Hurry up and apologize to Ye Fan and Pang Bo..."
Liu Yunzhi and the others were pale, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"No need for apologies. Insincere words have no sincerity or effect." Ye Fan glanced at Zhou Yi, then turned to the crowd. "They've already harbored such intentions. If I said I could face them calmly, I'd be lying to myself. If someone's always looking for a chance to kill us, I can't be on guard every single moment, can I?"
With that, Ye Fan strode forward.
Liu Yunzhi's face went white, bloodless. He immediately gripped the Vajra Treasure Pestle in his hand, a flicker of panic in his eyes.
Wang Yan screamed in alarm, "You... what are you doing?"
Li Changqing also showed fear, his demeanor frantic as he urged Liu Yunzhi, "Use the Vajra Treasure Pestle!"
All three knew that this time, Ye Fan wouldn't ignore them. Once he acted, it wouldn't end well.
Pang Bo moved to follow, but Ye Fan stopped him. "This time, I'll play the villain, and I'll see it through to the end." With that, he took the Great Thunderclap Monastery copper plaque from Pang Bo's hands.
Ye Fan held it with one hand and advanced.
"You... don't come any closer!" Wang Yan shrieked.
Ye Fan didn't look at her. He first walked toward Liu Yunzhi and Li Changqing.
At that moment, Liu Yunzhi suddenly shoved Li Changqing toward Ye Fan, using him as a shield. Then he raised the Vajra Treasure Pestle and swung it with all his might, shouting, "Die!"
*Bang*
Ye Fan swung the Great Thunderclap Monastery copper plaque with one hand, hitting Li Changqing like a scarecrow. The impact sent Li Changqing flying through the air, landing a good four or five meters away. That showed just how much force was behind it.
Behind him, the others were secretly stunned. They felt Ye Fan truly deserved the nickname "Barbarian"—his strength was astonishing.
Pang Bo looked at Li Changqing sprawled on the ground and mocked, "So this is your 'loyal Yunzhi'? At the critical moment, he shoves you out to take the blow. What loyalty!"
Li Changqing felt excruciating pain on half his body, as if several bones were broken. He struggled to get up, but Pang Bo stepped forward and planted a foot on him, leaving him unable to move.
*Clang*
Just then, Ye Fan swung the copper plaque heavily against the Vajra Treasure Pestle. A faint divine radiance flickered from Liu Yunzhi's hand, but it couldn't withstand such immense force!
The copper plaque in Ye Fan's hand didn't emit any light, but his strength was monstrous. When he swung it, it felt like a copper mountain was shaking.
*Clang, clang, clang*
Three metallic clashes in succession. Liu Yunzhi was smashed to the ground by Ye Fan, kneeling there. His arms seemed broken, twitching uncontrollably. The Vajra Treasure Pestle rolled to the side, and Ye Fan picked it up.
At this point, Zhang Ziling walked over and brought Wang Yan forward.
"What... what do you want?" Liu Yunzhi's face was ashen, the heavy copper plaque pressing down on him as he knelt before Ye Fan.
Ye Fan smiled calmly. "What do I want? I want peace of mind in the future, to stop being targeted."
"You... what are you going to do?" Liu Yunzhi was completely panicked. He shouted to the crowd not far away, "We're all classmates! Don't let him do something crazy..."
"Have you heard of an ancient punishment, devised specifically for vicious criminals? They were thrown to their deaths on boulders or cliff faces."
"You... no, please!" Liu Yunzhi screamed in terror, but he couldn't resist. Ye Fan lifted him with one hand, like grabbing a chick, and carried him out of the grove to the stone wall engraved with the four ancient characters "Ancient Forbidden Land."
Pang Bo and Zhang Ziling dragged Li Changqing and Wang Yan along as well.
"No! Help!" All three screamed in fear.
"Ye Fan, this isn't right. No matter how wrong they are, they're still classmates. You can't casually decide their fate like this." Zhou Yi's expression was displeased as he stepped in to stop him.
"Yeah, don't do this. They're three lives. No matter what they did, you shouldn't kill them. Give them another chance to reform." Three or four others chimed in to persuade.
Ye Fan turned to face everyone. "Honestly, I don't want to do this. But giving them a way out is like opening a path to my own death."
Suddenly, Ye Fan froze. On the stone wall, he spotted a cave. Inside, two tiger cubs with striped fur were baring their teeth at him. Though only about a foot long, they already had the aura of fierce beasts.
Saber-Toothed Tigers!
Ye Fan was startled. This species had long gone extinct on Earth. He never thought he'd see one today. Though they looked very young, he could clearly see their sharp, elongated fangs glinting coldly.
This was a saber-toothed tiger's den. The adult tiger was out hunting, or else the group would have been in danger.
At that moment, besides Zhou Yi's dissuasion, others also spoke up. "Ye Fan, don't be impulsive. Give them another chance. Killing classmates doesn't sound good..."
After Ye Fan saw everything in the cave, he turned to face the crowd. "I never held it against them, but they kept harboring malicious intent, wanting to kill me and Pang Bo. I'm doing this purely for self-defense. But since everyone doesn't want classmates to harm each other, I'll listen to you all and give them another chance."
Hearing this, Pang Bo immediately objected. "Give them another chance? Are we supposed to wait for them to kill us?"
Ye Fan shook his head and gave Pang Bo a meaningful look. "Tie them up first and leave them here for a while. We can't have these three dangerous people traveling with us anymore."
Though Pang Bo was reluctant, he knew Ye Fan well. Seeing that meaningful look, he understood Ye Fan had something in mind, so he didn't argue further.
Liu Yunzhi, held by Ye Fan, hadn't seen the two tiger cubs in the cave behind him. He naturally didn't know why Ye Fan had changed his mind. He kept feeling relieved, thinking he'd survive.
Soon, Liu Yunzhi, Li Changqing, and Wang Yan were tied up tightly with belts and strips torn from their clothes. Finally, at Ye Fan's request, their mouths were gagged.
Ye Fan picked up Liu Yunzhi, walked to the cave entrance, and threw him inside. When Pang Bo and Zhang Ziling came close, they were stunned. The two cubs were inside, baring their teeth. This was a tiger's den!
Pang Bo's reluctance vanished instantly. He nearly shouted out loud. Now he understood why Ye Fan had changed his mind. Throwing the three into a tiger den—there was no better punishment. An adult tiger was surely nearby and would likely return soon.
"Mmph, mmph..." Liu Yunzhi's face turned green. He struggled to scream, but only muffled sounds came out.
Pang Bo and Zhang Ziling followed suit, tossing Li Changqing and Wang Yan into the tiger den as well.
At Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and Zhang Ziling's suggestion, the group hurriedly set off. This place was too dangerous to linger. They'd barely gone two or three li when earth-shaking tiger roars erupted from behind them...