Chapter 1129 - 1129: Ma Yuliang, Villainous to the Core

As it turned out, Xiao Feng had still underestimated Ma Yuliang's ability to tank insults.

Normally, forget old folks—even young people hearing something that inauspicious would get pissed, start swearing, maybe even start swinging.

Instead, Ma Yuliang just burst out laughing, laughing so heartily that Xiao Feng's temper got laughed away.

When he finished laughing, Ma Yuliang said, "They say an old man who won't die is a thief. My whole life, I don't know how many people have been hoping I'd croak, but this old thief is still living it up, hahahahaha!"

"..." Xiao Feng.

Respect, respect—this was a real master!

The guy was calling himself an "old thief" already; what else could he do?

He couldn't really throw away all face and start spewing filth at an eighty-something old man.

"Just spit it out. What did you come find me for?" Xiao Feng rubbed his brow, feeling an uncharacteristic sense of helplessness.

Facing this kind of old thief, fighting was off the table; cursing him out just made the guy happier than anything.

What else could he even do?

Ma Yuliang chuckled. "Nothing huge, just wanted to remind you: the situation in Jiangcheng is going to change. I'm allowing you to wave the banner of your status, but if something really happens, no one's going to clean up your mess."

Now whenever Xiao Feng heard Ma Yuliang laugh, his scalp hurt, but he still had to calm down and parse the meaning behind those words.

On the surface, this was just the usual routine all those units used whenever shit hit the fan.

To put it bluntly: if nothing happens, fine; if something does, you suddenly "work part-time," and your work unit sure as hell isn't taking the blame.

But "I'm allowing you to wave the banner of your status"—that part was very interesting. Was he hinting at something?

As he was thinking that, he heard Ma Yuliang continue, "There's a saying: there's no such thing as a free lunch. Nothing is inherently good or bad; it depends who you're comparing it to.

For example, if one day the Demon Suppression Action Team wipes out the Devil's Concentration Camp, for you, it might only mean you don't have to worry about being hunted anymore.

For me, it's nothing more than completing an important mission.

But from the perspective of the international landscape, it means something else entirely…"

At this point, Ma Yuliang rarely put away his smile and said seriously, "You might feel like what I'm saying is way too far away from you, not something you need to care about or consider.

But I only want to tell you one thing: from the moment you borrowed the Demon Suppression Action Team member identity to gain convenience, you were destined to not stay uninvolved.

You don't want to join the core members group—probably because you have your own concerns.

That, I understand, and I agree.

But some things, you're fated to neither avoid nor dodge. It has nothing to do with how many secrets you know or whether your identity is peripheral or core."

Xiao Feng thought for a long while, then asked, "After saying all that, you're trying to talk me into joining the core members group?"

Ma Yuliang shook his head. "I'm just stating facts. In this line, sooner or later you pay the bill. There is no such thing as only taking advantage and never taking losses.

The loss you haven't tasted yet doesn't mean you won't taste it in the future."

With that, Ma Yuliang clasped his hands behind his back, turned, and walked away, letting out a string of laughter.

Xiao Feng didn't stop him to keep pressing. If the man didn't want to say something, asking was pointless.

Soon, he couldn't help wondering what Ma Yuliang had really wanted to tell him under that whole long speech.

As for not abusing the special status of a Demon Suppression Action Team member, he'd actually thought it through clearly even before joining the team.

Because that identity was a double-edged sword. Every time he used it, his binding to the Demon Suppression Action Team got deeper.

Once it reached the point of being inseparable, the trouble he'd face would be ten times, even a hundred times more than the conveniences he enjoyed from that status!

"So he just wanted to give me a wake-up call?" Xiao Feng muttered to himself, a bit unsure.

In fact, he really had thought about using his Demon Suppression Action Team identity to intimidate those Kyoto big shots who were about to step in or had already stepped in.

But after what Ma Yuliang said, he really did need to think that over again. At the very least, unless it was absolutely necessary, he couldn't entertain that idea anymore.

Even though the way Ma Yuliang acted—like the more you cursed him, the happier he got, that cheap-boned vibe—made him seem really unreliable and tanked the credibility of his words.

But since it concerned an unseen future, it was still better to be cautious!

Besides, between the lines, Ma Yuliang seemed to be implying that the Demon Suppression Action Team wasn't so unbreakable either.

That only made Xiao Feng more determined that he absolutely could not join the core members group, in case something really did go down and he got dragged into it.

He looked up at the already brightening eastern sky, then pulled his thoughts back. He decided that was enough thinking for now; at worst, he'd just be a few degrees more careful in how he acted going forward.

On his way back, Xiao Feng replayed everything that had happened since he went up the mountain, and couldn't help sighing, "This really is one of those 'I wanna stay low-key but my strength won't let me' situations!"

That wasn't him flexing!

Beating the crap out of Qi Guanghe had been out of sheer helplessness—he wanted to avoid more trouble.

Buying and selling supplies was to make money.

Even though in doing business like that he'd gone against his principle of keeping a low profile, Xiao Feng didn't particularly regret it.

If you really forced him to choose between lying low and making money, he would, without hesitation, choose to lie… pfft!

Choose making money!

Because only when you have money do you have the right to choose between low-key and high-profile; if you're broke, you have no choice but to stay low-key.

Thinking along those lines, he'd already walked back near the tents.

He saw Hui Er and the others huddled together, seemingly discussing something.

When they saw Xiao Feng coming back, Hui Er stepped forward and asked, "Brother Feng, that old guy just now, was his name Ma Yuliang?"

"Yeah, he said he knows your master." Xiao Feng nodded.

"I knew I wasn't mistaken!" Hui Shi suddenly got worked up. "Even if that bastard turned to ashes, I would still—"

Halfway through, he seemed to realize he'd already broken precepts, quickly pressed his palms together, and kept mumbling, "A sin, a sin."

Seeing Hui Er and the others all gritting their teeth, Xiao Feng couldn't help asking curiously, "What did Ma Yuliang do to you guys?"

"Brother Feng, let me put it this way: we've all seen people lacking morals—scammers, crash-for-cash types, robbers and whatever. You pile all those together, and I still think they're not as lacking in morals as Ma Yuliang." Hui Er said viciously.

"Give me specifics. What exactly did he do?"

"Take Senior Brother for example. That year, the walnuts in the backyard ripened. After he learned Senior Brother could use Iron Head Skill, he pinned his head and smashed it into the tree.

He knocked the walnuts down with Senior Brother's head, then used his head to crack the walnuts open to eat.

My senior brother had just turned ten then—a ten-year-old kid! Is that something a human being does?"

As soon as Hui Er finished, Hui San immediately followed up, "Senior Brother wasn't even the most miserable one. I once personally saw Ma Yuliang make Seventh Junior Brother…"

Before he could finish, Hui Qi clapped a hand over his mouth and snapped, "Third Senior Brother, we agreed we'd never talk about that for life! You even swore an oath!"