Chapter 48

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

When An Xiaohai was escorted back to Cell 27, he could clearly feel the heavy atmosphere.

Peng Yuangui was squatting alone in the corner. Although there was no outward sign of anything unusual, An Xiaohai knew that the parts of his body covered by clothes must be riddled with scars.

Zhao De, the leader who had been beaten by An Xiaohai, was lying on the bed, staring at An Xiaohai with an intense, murderous look in his eyes. However, his nose was bandaged, making him look somewhat comical.

An Xiaohai avoided Zhao De’s gaze, lowered his head, and slowly walked over to Zhao De’s bed.

Just when everyone thought An Xiaohai would soften and give in to Zhao De, he suddenly lifted his foot and stomped forcefully on Zhao De’s neck!

A miserable scream echoed, and Cell 27 immediately descended into chaos again. This time, An Xiaohai didn’t need to give any orders. Peng Yuangui, who had been squatting in the corner, roared and joined the fray, his eyes bloodshot and wild like a madman.

Next, the prison guards arrived, followed by the medical room and the city hospital, and the same routine was repeated.

This time, An Xiaohai’s injuries were far more severe than before.

Zhao De also suffered greatly. An Xiaohai’s stomp on his neck had cracked his Adam’s apple bone, and for a long time, he would likely have difficulty speaking.

This time, An Xiaohai didn’t just receive a warning—his sentence was extended by three months, and Mo Qinglian had already filed the report.

As for what kind of punishment Zhao De and Peng Yuangui would face, An Xiaohai didn’t care, because it was pointless to get involved.

More than ten days later, when An Xiaohai entered Cell 27 for the third time, the atmosphere had obviously changed. The other inmates no longer looked at him with mocking eyes but with a sense of awe.

Peng Yuangui was no longer hiding in the corner. Instead, he was sitting on his bed, eyeing everyone warily.

This time, An Xiaohai didn’t immediately go after Zhao De. He simply walked to his own bed and sat down. Though he appeared calm, his muscles were tense.

He understood that the same trick could only work once. If he did the same thing as last time, not only would it be difficult to achieve the same effect, but the cost would be enormous.

Of course, just as An Xiaohai could launch a surprise attack, others could do the same. So, he waited. After a long while, instead of an attack, the “skinny monkey” approached him.

“Ahem! An… An Xiaohai, my brother wants to talk to you.”

“Get lost!”

An Xiaohai snapped sharply, causing the skinny monkey to jump back as if stung by a bee.

“An Xiaohai, don’t go too far!”

An older man, one of Zhao De’s subordinates, spoke up. An Xiaohai recognized him well. This man had caused most of the serious injuries to his ribs.

“Are you that old, and still like telling jokes?” An Xiaohai scoffed.

What does “going too far” mean? It’s perfectly fine for them to bully others, but if someone fights back, it’s suddenly “too much”? What kind of logic is that?

However, the fact that the other side was just talking and not attacking was a good sign. It showed they had backed down, and An Xiaohai had already figured out why this would happen when he was in solitary confinement.

In prison, the most severe punishment for misbehavior is an extended sentence.

An Xiaohai had already been given an additional three months. If he did something similar again, the next time his sentence would increase by at least a year, and the time after that could be three years or more. If there were even more offenses, it could be worse.

So, even if An Xiaohai repeated the same thing a couple of times, he would only end up with an extra four and a half years in prison, which he could afford. After all, his original sentence was only three and a half years. But for others in the prison, the added time could be unbearable.

Those sentenced to ten years—what would happen to their sentences? What about twenty years? Life imprisonment? Death sentence with a suspended sentence? Could they handle it?

For An Xiaohai, an extended sentence meant spending more time in prison, but for others, it could mean the difference between life and death.

So, one has to let go!

Once you let go, you’ll realize that the world starts to look different.

As for talking back, there was no way anyone could out-talk An Xiaohai, especially considering the difference in education levels. The man who had tried to argue with him couldn’t find any words to say, stammering for a long time before finally looking toward Zhao De, who was lying in bed.

An Xiaohai was also looking at Zhao De and gave him a faint, almost imperceptible smile. Then, An Xiaohai sat on his bed, closed his eyes slightly, and began to relax and rest.

But everyone could tell that An Xiaohai wouldn’t let things end like this. As soon as Zhao De’s side let their guard down, An Xiaohai would strike again.

This situation continued until early the next morning.

Zhao De’s group finally began to crack. The older man came to negotiate again. He had two big black eyes and spoke much more kindly than before.

“An Xiaohai, stop causing trouble. It’s no good for anyone. You don’t want to be given an even longer sentence, do you?”

“Extended sentence? Honestly, I don’t care. Do you think I can still go back and study? Didn’t we agree not to discuss this? So, what’s the point of continuing this? What do you mean by all this?”

“An Xiaohai, don’t go too far!”

“Heh! ‘Too far,’ that word shouldn’t be coming from your mouth,” An Xiaohai laughed.

“Well, what do you want then?” the older man asked, his patience clearly running out. His violent instincts were beginning to surface again.

“I’ve said it before. I just want to do my time quietly. But if you want to stir trouble, I’ll play along. After all, prison is pretty boring.”

“We can make peace. You can sleep on this bed, and we’ll avoid each other from now on.”

“So, my two beatings were all for nothing? The extra sentence is for nothing too? You think that’s okay?”

“Well, what do you want then? Say it!” The man’s tolerance had reached its limit, and his violent instincts flared up.

“I’ve already said it. I just want to sit in prison peacefully. Since you want to kill me, fine. I don’t think life has much meaning anyway. But it’s lonely to die alone. Let’s all go together, it’ll be more lively!” An Xiaohai said this with a smile.

No one in the cell really wanted to die. If there had to be one person who was the most willing to die, An Xiaohai felt it would probably be Peng Yuangui.

This was just a feeling.

When a person no longer cares about life, they care even less about other things—like face, profit, or status.

An Xiaohai had experienced this feeling for a long time and understood it deeply.

Zhao De and his group were stuck in prison, but they still cared about status and face. This meant they still had a strong desire to live.

That made things easier.

As the saying goes, those who are stubborn fear those who are reckless, and those who are reckless fear those who are willing to risk their lives. To get them to compromise, just risk your life.

“You…!”

The man was once again silenced, his eyes now filled with fear. He could sense the madness of someone who wasn’t afraid of life or death in An Xiaohai’s gaze!

The situation reached a stalemate.

“Young man, don’t get so worked up. Peace brings wealth, peace brings wealth. Heh-heh.”

A voice with a strong southern accent rang out. An Xiaohai turned his head and saw that it was Guo Xiangshui, the man who had helped him to the medical room twice.

It was clear that Guo Xiangshui was trying to mediate.