“Stop, Azu!” Everyone was startled by Mu Li’s words and couldn't help but try to persuade him.
“Don’t try to persuade me, my mind is made up. At worst, we’ll start over!” Mu Li’s gaze towards everyone also became a bit more fervent. “I must reclaim what we’ve lost.”
Deng Fei, enduring the weakness in his soul, struggled to get up from the ground: “That’s right! At worst, we’ll start over. We can’t let others casually snatch away what rightfully belongs to us!”
Chichi stepped forward and tripped him, instantly sending Deng Fei sprawling back to the ground: “You still have the nerve to speak? If it weren’t for you, how would we have lost that treehouse? How would we have fallen to such a state?”
“Exactly!” Wang Qin and the others couldn't help but stand up and kick him a few times.
Hearing Deng Fei’s tragic wails, Mu Li couldn’t help but advise: “That’s enough.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he also walked over and kicked him a few times.
After kicking, Chichi tidied his slightly messy hair, adjusted his breathing slightly, then looked at Mu Li and asked: “Have you made up your mind?”
Mu Li nodded with firm eyes.
Chichi gritted his teeth and nodded: “Alright, since you’ve decided, as your brother, all I can do is support you.”
Mu Li looked at Chichi, his eyes somehow moist. He couldn’t help but sing: “Friendship and righteousness…”
“Are worth a thousand gold…” Chichi sang in response.
“Climb a mountain of blades, descend into a sea of fire, what does it matter…” The two sang in unison.
In the depth of their emotions, the two clasped right hands and embraced each other.
Chichi choked out: “Good brother, go.”
“Brother!” Mu Li’s voice also choked up. “In the next life, we’ll still be brothers!”
Wang Xiang rolled his eyes and complained: “That’s enough, it’s just jumping into an ice pool, no need for life and death goodbyes.”
Mu Li couldn’t help but wipe his tears: “My apologies, I’m just a bit emotional.”
“How about it, Director Wang? Have you considered the wager?” Mu Li asked.
Wang Xiang frowned slightly: “Increasing the wager at the last minute seems a bit inappropriate, doesn’t it?”
Mu Li sneered: “If Director Wang doesn’t dare, then just pretend I never brought it up.”
“Since you’ve said that much, I have no reason not to agree.” Wang Xiang spread his hands and said, “Then it’s all in.”
“All in it is!” Mu Li said disdainfully, “I bet you won’t pick the three of diamonds. I’ll let you go first.”
Wang Xiang sneered: “Go first it is.”
He picked up a cup of drink in front of him and gulped it all down.
One second later, a triumphant smile appeared at the corner of Wang Xiang’s mouth: “Hehe, how about that?”
Seeing Wang Xiang acting as if nothing happened, the Wu Ha group felt their vision go dark.
“It’s over, it’s over. Not only do we have to jump into the ice pool, but we’ve also lost our last house.” Chichi knelt on the ground, his face pale.
“Mommy, I’m never gambling again.” Deng Fei slammed the beach furiously, letting out wails.
The others also let out deep sighs.
Mu Li took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, gently opened his eyes, walked to the cup, picked it up, and drank it all in one gulp, without even a frown.
After a deep breath, Mu Li licked his lips, stomped the cup directly into the sand, and said calmly: “Oh? Why is my cup also water? Could it be that the staff made a mistake?”
Wang Xiang’s eyes widened, and he pointed at Mu Li with a trembling finger: “You… you… you’re so ruthless!”
Before he finished speaking, Wang Xiang felt another chill rise from his tailbone. This time it wasn’t Gengar’s doing, but a truly cold sensation.
The staff naturally couldn’t have made a mistake. The only possibility was that Mu Li, in order to win, had endured the negative effects of the special herbal tea.
This scene deeply shocked everyone present.
That was Mu Li’s self-made Berry Herbal Tea Version 2.0; even he didn’t have an antidote for it.
Yet, even so, Mu Li was able to forcefully suppress the side effects of the herbal tea purely by his willpower.
Mu Li, he was terrifying!
Wang Xiang could almost see Mu Li’s hands, gripping the hem of his clothes, with knuckles white from excessive force. His fingertips, due to too much pressure, had already dug into the tender flesh of his palms, and the faint blood at the corner of his mouth was a mark left by him clenching his teeth and accidentally biting his lip.
“What a ruthless person!” Wang Xiang’s impression of Mu Li instantly elevated.
The others also understood everything that had just happened.
Chichi was the first to walk to Mu Li’s side and supported Mu Li’s shoulder with one hand.
With this support, Chichi was once again shocked.
Mu Li’s back was soaked at some point. Only when Chichi got closer did he realize that Mu Li’s lips were pale, large beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and his body was trembling uncontrollably from excessive exertion.
This was the after-effect of muscles being overused and overly tensed for a short period, leading to rigidity.
And Chichi’s support caused Mu Li to completely lose his strength, and he instinctively fell backward.
“Oh no!” Mu Li’s pupils suddenly dilated, and he thought to himself, “Am I really unable to hold on in the end?”
Mu Li couldn't help but think of the previous wager and the expressions of the others, feeling full of guilt and self-reproach.
Just then, a hand once again rested on his shoulder, followed by several hands appearing simultaneously, forcefully supporting Mu Li’s body, which had fallen into an extremely weakened state.
Mu Li instinctively looked over. His other six brothers had, at some point, gathered by his side, forming an Iron Defense around him.
His eyes moistened again.
“Brothers! You…” Mu Li choked up again.
“Friendship and righteousness…” The six of them sang almost simultaneously.
“Are worth a thousand gold…” Mu Li blurted out.
“Climb a mountain of blades, descend into a sea of fire, what does it matter…” * 7
“Hold on, brother!” Chichi encouraged.
Mu Li nodded fiercely, using the last bit of strength in his body to support himself and stand up, staggering to Wang Xiang’s front, and weakly said: “Director Wang, the staff made a mistake just now, shall we have an Encore?”
Wang Xiang was silent, and after a long time, he replied: “Is it worth it? After this cup, you might not wake up.”
Mu Li gave a bitter smile: “We have nothing left to lose, don’t we?”
Wang Xiang took a deep breath and replied: “Since you insist, then don’t blame me for being heartless.”
Mu Li smiled faintly: “It doesn’t matter, let’s begin.”
Soon, two cups of drinks were placed in front of them again.
Wang Xiang said: “I went first last time, this time, you please go first.”
Mu Li smiled, shook his head, and said: “How about we drink them at the same time?”
Wang Xiang took a deep breath and said: “I respect you as a man. Since you said so, then as you wish.”
Without much unnecessary talk, both of them simultaneously picked up their cups, raised them towards each other, drank them in one gulp, and then stomped their cups hard into the sand at the same time.