Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"Why do you think the villagers only bully Fang Xiaoshi and his son, instead of other people?"

"Are you trying to pull this victim-blaming theory on me?" Chen frowned immediately.

"If I were to use this theory to convict the Fang Xiaoshi father and son, then I would indeed be engaging in victim-blaming."

Qi Yan picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp. Then, wiping his mouth, he said, "But I'm not going to do that. I want you to use this theory to find out the truth about how they were bullied."

"What do you mean?"

Qi Yan didn't answer, but instead gestured with his chin towards the entrance of the village chief's courtyard.

Chen and the others turned their heads and looked through the crowd of villagers, just in time to see Fang Xiaoshi and his son walking into the courtyard.

As soon as the hunter stepped into the courtyard, he was immediately surrounded by a large group of villagers.

"Uncle Fang, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for so long."

"Come, come, Uncle Fang, let me toast you."

"Oh dear, please don't disturb Uncle Fang while he's on his business, but there's something I have to say. Xiao Shi may be a bit mischievous, but I've always felt that he's got the makings of someone who can accomplish great things!"

Faced with the sudden enthusiasm, a hint of unease flashed across the hunter's gaunt face.

He knew why the villagers were so enthusiastic, but he couldn't just give them the cold shoulder.

He came here to plead with Wei Yanwu, since he and his father would still have to live in the village in the future. If Fang Xiaoshi had no one to help him after he died, he would have no way to move around in the village.

The hunter forced a smile, his expression humble and even somewhat ingratiating, and repeatedly bowed to the crowd:

"You're too kind, everyone. I'm also a member of the village. We're all doing this for the village, for the village."

As Chen and Qiu Bai watched the hunter slowly approach, surrounded by villagers, their brows furrowed involuntarily.

But Qiu Bai's brows quickly relaxed, and he then closed his eyes, unable to bear it any longer.

She could somewhat understand the hunter's helplessness and resignation, but that did not mean she approved of his decision.

Compared to Qiu Bai's avoidance, Chen, looking at the scene before him, could hardly contain his anger.

She wanted to help the father and son, but how could she help them given the hunter's attitude?

Just as Chen was feeling annoyed, the hunter walked up to her.

"Young master, and a few young ladies, I've brought my son to apologize to you all," the hunter said cautiously, bowing low.

"You shouldn't apologize to us."

Chen glanced at the hunter, then at Fang Xiaoshi beside him, whose face was full of frustration, and made no attempt to hide his emotions.

The hunter froze, and the surrounding villagers began to panic.

"This girl has drunk too much tea."

Qi Yan stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over: "Uncle Hunter, why don't you take Xiao Shi and the villagers to find Wei Lao Er, lest this girl cause trouble and hurt you later?"

The hunter's lips twitched twice, and he greatly admired Qi Yan's ability to lie through his teeth. Then he grabbed Fang Xiaoshi's hand and walked away quickly.

The other villagers also dispersed with complicated expressions, none of them daring to provoke Chen.

Chapter 948 Wei Yanwu and I combined are invincible!

Qi Yan ignored Wei Yanwu's affairs and looked at Chen with a smile, arms crossed.

"Are you really angry?" He put his face right under Chen's eyelids.

Chen turned his face away angrily and muttered:

"I was already angry just looking at those people, and then you showed me your face, which made me even angrier!"

"Damn, you!"

Qi Yan straightened up, annoyed: "You're the only one here who would get angry over something like this. If you ask me, it's really because Wei Lao Er has protected you too well."

"What do you mean?" Chen turned around and glared at Qi Yan.

"Why are you angry?" Qi Yan asked back.

Chen said frankly, "We've been helping that hunter so much, but he's completely useless. Even though he has powerful backers, he still flatters those villagers. Now I understand what you meant by what you just said."

"It serves them right that these villagers only bully this father and son, not others!"

"A powerful backer? Are you referring to yourself? Or me? Or perhaps Wei Yanwu?"

"No matter who it is, any one of us could handle this matter if we were to take it upon ourselves."

"There's nothing any of us can do about this."

Chen didn't understand, and only felt even angrier.

Qi Yan casually picked up a piece of pastry, but then frowned, realizing that he was too full from drinking tea, and stuffed the pastry into Qi Lin's mouth.

He flicked a crumb of cake from his fingertip and said slowly:

“If we were the local tyrants in this village, we could indeed help the hunter settle things directly, just as you think, and I believe he wouldn’t be too resistant.”

Unfortunately, we are not. We may be a great and powerful support, but such a massive support is too distant in the eyes of the ants at its foot, larger than the world they perceive, and naturally cannot provide them with a sense of security.

“I don’t understand.” Chen frowned.

“Of course you don’t understand, because your world is big enough,” Qi Yan laughed. “You grew up by Wei Yanwu’s side and saw high-ranking officials and nobles. After growing up, you were sent to Victoria University to attend university and came into contact with outstanding young people. After graduation, you joined the Lungmen Guard Bureau and protected the people of the city.”

You know how vast this land is, you understand how complex this society is, you know how domineering the power struggles are, and when you look into the distance, you know how much scenery lies at the end of your vision. But these insights belong only to you, not to this small village.

You stand before these people, but your perspective is one of looking down upon them. You appear close, but in reality, you are much farther away than the three of us, so far that you cannot discern any detail about them.

Chen's expression was somewhat blank. He subconsciously wanted to refute something, but when a thousand words came to his lips, he couldn't utter a single one.

Qi Yan patted her shoulder and wiped his fingers clean in the process:

"Old Chen, I'd really like to know your opinion of this village, including the villagers and the hunters."

"...too much of a good-for-nothing to be helped." Chen Qiangxing uttered a judgment.

Qi Yan smiled and turned to look at his younger sister.

Qi Lin said calmly, "Bad people come from poor and remote places."

Qi Yan said, "I agree with my younger sister's point of view."

List:"……"

She didn't understand the difference between the two judgments, but in short, these people were completely hopeless, including the hunter.

"Alright, if I preach too much, I'll turn into Wei Yanwu too."

Qi Yan put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and walked towards the corner of the yard.

"Where are you going?" Chen pressed.

"I've had too much tea, so I'll find a corner to water the flowers and plants."

"You rascal, where would you get flowers and plants to water you this season?"

Chen muttered something to himself and began to deal with the food in front of him, preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Qi Yan inquired at the village chief's house until he found the location of the toilet. After relieving himself of one of the three daily necessities, he was about to return to the banquet when he saw a little guy blocking the road.

"What are you doing here?" Qi Yan asked with a smile.

Fang Xiaoshi looked dejected and said in a muffled voice:

"I'm waiting for you. I have some questions for you."

Are you and Wei Yanwu really important figures?

"How big is it?"

"Look up, what do you see?"

Why can't I see Wei Yanwu and me?

Seeing Fang Xiaoshi looking at him like he was an idiot, Qi Yan smiled and patted his head for a while.

“Let me tell you the answer.” Qi Yan skillfully plucked a feather. “Because we are higher and bigger than the sky in your eyes. We are in the sky, which is why you can’t see us.”

"Pah, bragging!" Fang Xiaoshi was completely unaware that his feather was missing.

"Look at you, you don't believe me when I tell you the truth."

Qi Yan strolled around the village chief's backyard with Fang Xiaoshi, saying, "Wei Yanwu and I combined are invincible!"

"You guys are that amazing?"

"It's mainly because I'm good," Qi Yan said without any politeness. "If you kick Wei Yanwu out and replace him with you and me together, we'd still be invincible."

Fang Xiaoshi: "..."

He was already used to Qi Yan's boasting, so he simply ignored these absurd words, but his mood was still much lighter because of Qi Yan's words.

"Sect Master, do you think I can become like Wei Yanwu, making the villagers afraid and not daring to bully me?" Fang Xiaoshi asked again.

Qi Yan didn't answer, but instead picked a fight: "Now you know to call us Sect Master, but when you introduced us to your father, why did you only say we were friends?"

You went home, saw your father, and started to reconsider your pride. You no longer need me as the sect leader, but now you've come to me again… You don't respect me; you're not even willing to call me sect leader in front of everyone.”

"I...I didn't mean that." Fang Xiaoshi felt embarrassed and annoyed that his little secret had been exposed.

"Just kidding, I'm not that kind of stingy person."

Qi Yan chuckled and patted Fang Xiaoshi's head: "But do you know, when you're out in the world, you need to have excellent judgment. If you want to achieve great things, you need the courage to not care about what others think. Do you understand what I mean?"

Fang Xiaoshi lowered his head and remained silent.

Qi Yan did not force Fang Xiaoshi to answer immediately. Even Chen would be troubled when he encountered difficulties, let alone Fang Xiaoshi, who was just a little child.

"Speaking of which, you should have some stockpiled items on you, right?" Qi Yan asked abruptly.

"Those bandits gave me a bag of stones; they should be worth some money." Fang Xiaoshi, completely unsuspecting, pulled a bag from his pocket.

Qi Yan took the bag, opened it, and gasped when she saw the various gemstones and jewelry inside.

Even a little kid this big has more possessions than him!

Qi Yan decisively emptied half of the stock in his pocket, weighed it in his palm, and then put it into his pants pocket.

"I've given you everything you wanted," Fang Xiaoshi said nonchalantly. "But what do you need these things for?"

"To be a villain."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry."

Qi Yan forcibly stuffed the remaining half-bag of gemstone jewelry back into Fang Xiaoshi's arms.

Qi Yan patted the bag in Fang Xiaoshi's arms through his clothes and couldn't help but reveal a meaningful smile.

Chapter 949 Knights-Errant, Politicians, and Tea

When Qi Yan brought Fang Xiaoshi back to the banquet, both of them could clearly feel that the atmosphere was even more lively.

Qi Yan came to Chen's side and asked, "Is the matter resolved?"

"I'd say it's barely acceptable," Chen said indifferently. "Because of the hunters' pleas, the quota won't be canceled, but it won't be directly allocated to Moushan Village either. They'll have to continue competing with other villages."

"Hehe, with this arrangement, Wei Lao Er is definitely up to something." Qi Yan chuckled.

Chen immediately turned his head: "What did you see?"

Qi Yan didn't answer, but instead nudged Fang Xiaoshi beside him and instructed:

"You should go too."

Fang Xiaoshi was a little dumbfounded, but seeing Qi Yan's encouraging look, he still hesitated before walking towards Wei Yanwu.

The village chief and the hunter were talking to Wei Yanwu when they saw Fang Xiaoshi, and their reactions were quite different.

The village chief, with a kind smile on his face, kept waving:

"Xiao Shi, come quickly and greet Lord Wei. Thank him for personally escorting you back."

The hunter said solemnly, "Behave yourself, come over and thank Lord Wei, and don't talk nonsense like an immature child."

Wei Yanwu smiled without saying a word, quietly watching Fang Xiaoshi.