Book 12: Chapter 23

“Which one of you is Feizhen?”

He Shi instantly replied, “There’s nobody by the name of Feizhen here.”

He Shi was fast, but I was even faster. I had my finger pointed at him as I answered, “Him!”

He Shi looked up at me absolutely confused.

“Sorry, I reacted out of habit.” I turned back to the big guy. “Neither of us are.”

“You expect me to still believe you?” The burly guy started sprinting toward us, I mean, He Shi.

“It’s not me! It’s him! It’s him!” cried He Shi.

“You think I’m stupid? Hand it over!”

As the man reached for He Shi, I pulled He Shi out in the opposite direction, then backed off.

“Oh? You could dodge that? Not bad. Who are you?”

I glared back. “Hong! Jiu!”

“Never heard of you. I’m after Feizhen; don’t get in my way. I don’t know you, and my eighteen arms certainly don’t know you, either.” He deliberately rattled the eight weapons he carried. Even if he didn’t have all eighteen arms, he still had an enormous advantage over us.

I shouted, “How dare you threaten us? Outsiders are prohibited from entering Daren Academy. I’ll have you know there are elite guards everywhere here. I guarantee you’ll be on your back in less than ten sentences, placed on a wooden board and dragged out like two dogs. I suggest you run along now if you know what’s good for you.”

“No reason for me to be afraid, then. I’m your senior.”

“Get out of here with that bs. With your appearance, you could convince me you graduated from here twenty years ago.”

“What was that?!”

I ran the opposite way, dragging He Shi along.

“Leg! Leg! My leg!”

Hell as if I understood what He Shi was crying about. I didn’t even know where I was going. Anyhow, after making a couple of random turns, I finally shook off the hostile guy.

By the time we came to a stop, He Shi resembled someone suffering a severe bout of sea sickness.

I mocked, “You’re weak as, man.”

“I’m weak? My leg is broken!”

“I know. That’s why I pulled you along, man.”

“I’m grateful for that, but… don’t pull me by my leg!”

Oops, may bad, was in a rush.

Since we had some time to catch our breath, I decided to inquire about the big guy.

“His name is Shi Ganxian, also known by his nickname ‘Airsmasher Rock Blast’. He’s supposedly quite the famous martial artist in the capital’s martial arts community.”

“You make it almost sound like there are only a few famous martial artists in the capital. If you ask me, several of the guards here could whoop him.”

“Except they wouldn’t apprehend him because he really is an erstwhile student here.”

Say what?! Is Uncle Huang blind?! The guy should’ve graduated decades ago!

“He’s not someone you want to make an enemy out of. Did you know his grandfather used to sweep His Majesty’s grandpa’s garden? His Majesty’s grandpa decreed that Shi Family would have the privilege of sweeping Daren Acadeny for every generation. They basically will never be unemployed. His descendants attended school at Daren Academy. Shi Ganxian can hold his own in a fight and can’t be fired. Li Muye values him for those reasons, so he recruited him. All that said, I have no clue why he is after you all of a sudden.”

Don’t look at me like I should know why. I don’t know the reason, either. What the hell is his deal? I’ve only been attending classes here for two days, and he already wants to smash my face in?

I had lost my fighting abilities, but my hearing capacity still far exceeded the average man. Hence, I could hear Shi Ganxian quickly closing the gap between us. If I forced He Shi to run again with his new injuries, he might never walk alone.

“No choice but to do it. Bear with it,” I instructed.

“Huh? Wh-what now? I’ll scream! Hey! What are you picking me up f-”

I didn’t hear the rest of what He Shi said since I had thrown him over to the other side of the wall and dusted my hands. I spun around to the approaching big man and asked, “What do you want?”

Because He Shi managed to slip away, Shi Ganxian lost it. “My fists are itchy now. I need some therapy. Where did you hide Feizhen?”

I clearly remember him demanding He Shi hand something over, but that was because he mistook He Shi for me… So I’m the actual person they want something from? What the hell?

“If it’s in my possession, will you cool down? I’ll let you beat me until you’re satisfied.”

Aware that I was buying time, he sneered. “Sure.”

About an hour later…

“I’m back.”

“Big Brother Ming!” Su Xiao rushed to my side and made a big fuss because my face was an assortment of colours. “Who hit you?!”

“Eh, it’s no big deal. Don’t make a big deal out of it. I got this.”

While I did say he could hit me, I didn’t expect him to really accept the offer – and hit so ruthlessly. Of all places he chose to hit, he kept aiming for my handsome face.

“I can’t just let this go! Who hit you? I’ll reason with him. Why did he hit so hard? Does it hurt?”

“I’m okay. Xiao, don’t go. Real men take losses on the chin. Only dishonourable men go calling for backup to get revenge. Besides, this is nothing. I could handle eight hundred cases. Light work. By the way, I’m telling you: I could just chill here for a while, and these injuries will automatically heal.”

“Hahaha, as if.”

“As if? Then go get me some ointment! It flipping hurts like hell!”

Su Xiao soon came back to apply some ointment to my wounds.

“Where’s Tang Ye?”

“Working. He’s questioning the students one by one at the moment. He’s waiting in between each student in case he’s suspected.”

“Oh… Any leads?”

Su Xiao just started shaking his head when Wu Dayong came in to inform, “Uh… Feizhen, the principal summoned you again.”

“Ah?”

***

“What are you looking at?! Never seen a bruised face before?!” I had lost count of how many times I repeated the phrase whilst standing outside Uncle Huang’s office with a “I won’t fight with classmates” sign hanging from my neck.

How should I have known epiphyllum on the wall was Uncle Huang’s? Plus, I only threw He Shi over the wall to save him!

I rubbed my face. Despite it taking longer than usual, my face no longer ached. As long as I had a bit more time, I’d be as good as new. The real concern was that things were starting to go out of my control.

According to my calculations, I needed two more months before I could fight again – provided I didn’t carelessly utilise true qi. I expected it to be difficult to live a few months without a hitch; however, I didn’t expect a barrier to recovery so soon. The last thing I ever expected was that I’d become a victim of school bullying…

Before the burly guy left, he said to me, “Every time I run into you, I’ll beat you,” and even spat!

Every dog will have its day.

“Oh, if it isn’t Constable Ming.”

I looked away.

“You can stop pretending. Even though you look a little different, we have a portrait. We have the right person.”

I turned back to face the three. I couldn’t tell what rank they held based on their uniforms, but there was no mistake they were officials. Their squinting leader was the sort of person you instinctively felt a need to close yourself off from, lest he read you.

“We’re from the Ministry of Personnel. We’re in charge of your case. Please come with us.”

“My case? What case?”

Their leader lifted up a corner of his lips. “Someone has reported you.”

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