Sun Tzu once said, "Know thyself, know thy enemy, and you shall win a hundred battles without disaster."
Tang Fei sat at the desk, ready to list the strengths and weaknesses of both the enemy and his own side.
He first found a piece of paper and neatly wrote down four large characters: "Enemy Forces":
At the top of the list naturally was the Imperial Family of the Phoenix Empire, wielding Feng Lei, with a single word able to determine life and death.
The Shen Family was the head of the nine major families, with Shen Wuxiang in charge of the Military Department, clearly the biggest beneficiary after the annihilation of the Tang family. Thus, they should be ranked second.
The Yu Family was related to the royal family, the Empress’s family, sharing in the glory and the loss of the Imperial Family, and deservedly ranked third.
The Qin Family was also one of the nine major families, with formidable strength, holding one of the Empire’s most prosperous industries, so they were ranked fourth.
Who made Qin Jianyi and his worthless brother come provoke him?
Of course, there were also the Shi Family, the Dongguo Family, including the old man’s Gongshu Family...
Tang Fei, new to New Star, was not familiar with the roles these families played in the case of the Tang family’s demise or their hidden strengths and would need a long period of observation and understanding.
Or perhaps he should ask the old man, who had been holding a grudge for so many years, wanting revenge, surely he wouldn’t have done nothing, right?
Tang Fei switched to a new piece of paper and wrote down four more characters: "Our Strength":
Tang Fei, being the Marshal’s son, blood of the Tang family, was naturally the undisputed champion and main force of revenge.
This number one, take it if you dare.
Little Fatty was his close brother, sharing life and death, never leaving nor forsaking.
Based on Tang Fei’s understanding of him, not even beating or scolding would drive him away...
So he’ll rank him second (provisionally).
The old man, he and Tang Li were brothers, for the sake of Tang Li he did not hesitate to take even this "traitor’s" son far from the Old Land, with hatred deeper than mountains and oceans... third.
Tang Fei looked at the densely listed "Enemy Forces" on the left and the few "Our Strength" on the right, feeling that the world was not worth it.
How could one take revenge?
No matter how strong Little Fatty could be, how many blows could he withstand?
Tired, he did not want to think of revenge anymore.
But the raging fire atop the high platform, the couple struggling and howling within the flames without a sound to be heard, cut him to the heart, the pain deep to the bones...
This was a slaughter!
Moreover, it was the slaughter of his own birth parents.
Thinking of the palpitations in his heart when he saw that woman, that blood-tied mirroring and pull, his nose soured again...
Previously, Tang Fei had no clear concept of the word "parents."
He only knew that his parents gave birth to him and then they both died.
As for their personalities, appearances, or why they died, he knew nothing.
Only when pressed would the old man reluctantly provide a few explanations.
For instance, when Tang Fei asked the old man why his parents had given him the character "Fei" (bandit), the old man said it was because your parents thought you were too good-looking and worried you would be bullied when you grew up, so they wanted you to exhibit some bandit spirit.
Tang Fei found this explanation persuasive and took it for truth.
Looking at it now, it must have been the old man who picked that name, right?
Did he want him to become a "rebel" dedicated to opposing the Imperial Family?
This old fellow, had he mapped out his entire life trajectory from the start?
At that moment, someone was pounding on the room door.
With an intelligent doorbell available and yet someone still chose to knock on the door, like the customs from the Old Land, it could only be Little Fatty.
Tang Fei hid the strength comparison tables from the table, rubbed his face hard to relax the muscles, and checked his appearance in the mirror. Seeing nothing amiss, he then went to open the door and asked Little Fatty, "What’s up?"
"Bro, you didn’t eat much tonight... I cut some fruit for you," Little Fatty said, handing over the plate of fruit he was holding.
Ice Spring Fruit, Desert Watermelon, Dragon Blood Fruit—these were some of New Star’s unique fruits, and also Tang Fei’s favorites.
Little Fatty knew Tang Fei’s taste very well.
"Thank you," Tang Fei took the fruit plate, ready to close the door.
Little Fatty placed his hand on the doorframe, looking worriedly at Tang Fei.
"What is it?" Tang Fei looked at Little Fatty with a puzzled gaze, asking, "Is there something else?"
"I’m fine," Tang Fei said, breaking into a smile, "What could be wrong with me?"
"You’re not okay," Little Fatty insisted.
"You didn’t tell any jokes at dinner," Little Fatty said seriously, "Not even one."
Tang Fei looked at Little Fatty, annoyed, and said, "I’m tired, I can’t tell them."
But Little Fatty looked as if he had discovered a new world, his face grim as he stared into Tang Fei’s eyes, saying, "Bro, why are you crying?"
He had never seen Tang Fei cry.
No matter how severe the injury, or how harshly scolded by his godfather, he had never cried.
Once, when hunting in Hate Mountain, his chest was clawed by a bear, breaking several ribs and tearing off a large chunk of flesh, yet he gritted his teeth and endured...
Even the old man, who was treating him, couldn’t bear it and said that if he couldn’t hold it in, he could shout out, no one would laugh at you...
Tang Fei said he would laugh at himself.
It was always Little Fatty who cried, and Tang Fei would ridicule him, calling him a crybaby.
But today, his big brother was crying.
Who on earth had bullied big brother?
Thinking that someone had bullied his big brother, Little Fatty was filled with rage, wanting to pick up the Skull Hammer and go out to smash someone.