The Shocking Spoils

Seeing Han Li lose his temper, Li Feiyu was not angered. He still wore that look of utter indifference.

With his head tilted, he stuck his pinky finger into his ear and began to dig at it with complete concentration, wearing an expression that said he would handle whatever came his way.

Han Li let out his anger in a torrent. But seeing the other man’s skin was as thick as a city wall, and that he appeared to have heard nothing at all, Han Li calmed down. He began to feel there was something strange about all this.

“You’re no fool, and you’re no megalomaniac. If you did something this reckless, there has to be a reason you can give me,” Han Li asked, now clear-headed.

Seeing that the other’s anger had dissipated so quickly and that his old rationality had returned, Li Feiyu felt a small pang of regret. But his face twisted into a pitiful, aggrieved expression, and he cried out in an exaggerated voice:

“Heavens above! I am truly wronged!”

“Just now I wanted to explain it to you, but you didn’t leave me a single chance to speak!”

“And now you’re blaming me. I can’t win either way!”

This strange, whining tone, this false show of grievance, was far too transparent. Anyone could see through its theatrical nature at a single glance, making him look thoroughly insufferable.

Even Han Li couldn’t help wanting to step forward and kick him into a face-first sprawl in the dirt.

“Stop putting on an act. Just explain yourself quickly.”

“With this shameless behavior of yours, aren’t you afraid those junior disciples who worship you will see it? If they catch you in this lazy state, all the cool, ruthless, killer image you’ve crafted over the years will shatter into pieces,” Han Li said, giving him no good face, with a slight jab.

He was in no mood to fool around with the man right now. If this matter was handled poorly, both of them would be in enormous trouble.

Li Feiyu seemed to understand what Han Li was thinking. He didn’t bother to refute the jibe. Instead, he strolled lazily over to the bundle, bent down, casually picked up a manual, and straightened up.

Once he was standing upright again, a mysterious glint appeared on his face. With a half-smile, he handed the book to Han Li, then signaled with his eyes for him to lift the cover and take a look.

Han Li took the thin manual and glanced at the other man with suspicion.

He couldn’t quite figure out what trick Li Feiyu was playing.

“Open it and look. Then you’ll understand everything.” Li Feiyu coaxed him in a tone that suggested he was about to enjoy a good show.

“Why not just say it directly? What’s this need to be so secretive?”

Though Han Li was reluctant, he still lifted the page.

As soon as he opened the cover, the first page was revealed. On it, in black ink on white paper, were clearly written the four large characters: “Blinking Sword Art.”

“Hm?” Han Li was slightly startled.

The first book Li Feiyu had casually thrown to him was exactly what he had wanted. This surprised him.

“Don’t be shocked yet. Take a look at these books too.” Li Feiyu then tossed several more manuals over to him.

Han Li caught them one by one. After opening and quickly scanning through each, his entire demeanor froze in astonishment.

On the front page of every single one of these books, those same black characters “Blinking Sword Art” were written in clear, unmistakable strokes.

It took a long while before Han Li could pull his gaze away from the books in his hand.

He lifted his head, pointed at the large pile of manuals on the ground, and asked in a halting voice:

“You… you’d better not tell me that these… all of these… are Blinking Sword Art!”

“I’m sorry to say, Junior Han, but you’ve hit the mark.” The other man shrugged, spread his hands, and put on a helpless expression.

But the slight upward curl of his lips and the gleeful tone in his words completely contradicted his meaning.

“That’s impossible. There must be nearly a hundred books here. How could they all be the Blinking Sword Art?” Han Li couldn’t be bothered with the other man’s little act. He questioned him, his voice filled with disbelief.

“You ask me, and I ask who?”

“When I saw so many manuals with the same name piled in a corner of the library, I was pretty shocked myself!” Li Feiyu rolled his eyes and muttered, still looking a little shaken.

Then, seeing Han Li standing there dumbfounded and speechless, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He burst out laughing.

To Li Feiyu, seeing Han Li with this shocked, stupefied expression was a rare spectacle.

The usual Han Li was always calm and collected in front of him, appearing to have everything under control, as if the word “surprise” would never apply to him.

Seeing Han Li in this dazed, wooden state made Li Feiyu feel that all his hard work over the past few days had not been in vain. It was entirely worth it.

After a moment, Han Li finally came to his senses.

He gripped the books in his hand tightly, lowered his head to think for a short while, then lifted his face, now with a thoughtful expression, and began to speak in a measured tone:

“Did you count these books?”

“How many are there in total?”

“Of course I counted them. More than once. A total of seventy-four manuals, all with the same name.” Li Feiyu answered immediately, giving the precise number without any hesitation.

“Without knowing the exact count, if I missed even one or two when returning them, that would really cause a major problem,” he added, offering a small justification.

He gently pinched the slightly yellowed pages, slowly turned the book open, and began to scrutinize one of the manuals he held in his hand.