"Do you want to be an enemy of the whole world?"
What Tang Fei and the old man intended to do was indeed to be enemies with the entire world.
However, Shang Xiulin, not aware of Tang Fei’s true identity, asked him this odd question out of nowhere...
It was something he could never admit.
So, Tang Fei looked at Shang Xiulin in surprise and said, "Dean, why would you ask me such a question? Why would I want to be an enemy of the whole world?"
"I come from Blue Star, I know how terrible war is, I love peace."
Tang Fei’s smile was bitter, his expression helpless. "Besides, I’m just a small, insignificant person with a small nose and small eyes. Even if I did want to be an enemy of the entire world...on what grounds? Who would even take me seriously? If I harbored such thoughts, wouldn’t it be humiliating myself?"
Shang Xiulin was not deceived by Tang Fei’s self-mockery and evasions. From the first time he saw him, he had been clear about what kind of character this guy had.
He was exactly the kind of product one would expect from a place like Old Land, like Little Fatty...
Without such a brother, he would not have survived in a dog-eat-dog place like Old Land.
He would have been eaten by now.
"Since you have never thought of being an enemy of the entire world, what exactly have you been up to recently?"
Shang Xiulin looked sharply at Tang Fei and challenged him, "First you hit the Lu Family, then the Yu Family, and now the Qin Family... do you know how dangerous they are? How terrible they can be?"
"The only reason you are still alive, still able to sit in front of me and drink tea, is because all this is within their controlled range, you haven’t hurt them, haven’t pained them..."
"If you make them feel a crisis, make them feel that this is a matter of life and death, they will show their true power... then, no one can save you, and they won’t save you either."
"You will be discarded like a useless chess piece, no one will care about your life or death..."
"You don’t really think, just because you have the Monitoring Bureau behind you and the Royal Family might support you, that you can be arrogant and lawless on this New Star, do you?"
It must be said, Shang Xiulin’s words were harsh, unpleasant.
But from them, Tang Fei could hear deep concern and worry.
Was he worried about him?
Because he was Little Fatty’s mentor, and he himself was Little Fatty’s brother?
Or did he feel at such a critical moment that these two brothers, who are on their own, needed someone to stand up and remind them?
Was it merely sympathy?
Seeing his mentor’s sharp accusations against his brother frightened Little Fatty immensely.
His chubby white face was full of terror and confusion. If anyone else dared to treat his brother this way, he would have taken up a hammer against them, but the person sitting across from him was his respected and beloved mentor, Shang Xiulin.
So, he hurriedly tried to explain on behalf of Tang Fei, saying, "Master, you’ve misunderstood my brother, he’s not the kind of person who likes to cause trouble... it’s usually others who provoke him, and he has no choice but to fight back."
Worried that this might upset his mentor, he looked up at Shang Xiulin and said, "Master, I will go back and seriously advise my brother to be more careful, but please don’t let those bad people harm him..."
"I know Master is doing this for my brother’s sake, my brother is much smarter than me, he will definitely understand your good intentions."
As if worried that Tang Fei wouldn’t understand, he turned to Tang Fei and said, "Brother, Master is doing this for your own good, he’s worried about the dangers you might face... you understand, don’t you?"
Tang Fei squinted and smiled, then patted Little Fatty’s head, just as he used to when he was a little boy looking up at him with admiration and worship.
"I understand," Tang Fei nodded.
"See, Master... I knew my brother would understand, he knows you want the best for him..."
The chatter from Little Fatty gave Shang Xiulin a headache, yet he couldn’t bring himself to scold this genuinely kind-hearted child.
If he hadn’t cared about him, he would not have taken him in as an apprentice and raised him in his home like his own son.
Shang Xiulin didn’t speak, just stared intensely at Tang Fei, waiting for him to give a real reason, not just some superficial response.
Having taught and nurtured people all his life, he had a keen sense of whether someone was sincere or lying.
Tang Fei was silent for a moment, then looked at Shang Xiulin and said, "Dean, if I say I had no choice, would you believe me?"
Shang Xiulin frowned slightly but did not voice any objections.
He understood what Tang Fei meant, he also knew who could make him feel that he had no other choice.
"You may not know this, but I actually resigned once. Honestly, I was scared, I didn’t want to do it anymore," Tang Fei spoke solemnly.
Shang Xiulin nodded and said, "Phoenix City has no secrets. Even if there are, they’re only temporary."
He knew that situation, even better than many others.
Not to mention his sons and daughters held positions in critical government departments, but even he himself... no one dared underestimate the power of a dean of an academy.
Moreover, he was the dean of the Imperial First Military Academy.
"But, the night I resigned, I was brought to the Phoenix Palace, they talked with me for a long time... they hoped I could step up, they wanted me to see that task through."
"Dean, I know, people outside are cursing me, calling me the grim reaper, the executioner, some even say I’m a vicious wolf, merciless..."