Chapter Forty-Four: The Matter Resolved Perfectly

Observing from a distance with his evil eye, Feiyan saw the two monsters masquerading as Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang reveal their true forms. He snorted coldly, “What a bunch of useless fools. Do they really think these creatures can take out Qin Xiaochuan and his group? Ridiculous…” As he spoke, Feiyan wrapped his forehead with a white cloth. Remembering what the Little King of Hell had told him, Feiyan hesitated.

‘Qin Xiaochuan and his friends have only just learned to use spiritual energy. After such a battle, their bodies will be trapped in fatigue and pain for several days, losing all fighting strength. They might not even be able to defeat an ordinary person. If they run into a regular monster, they could be killed in a single blow.’

“Tch, if they die, so be it…” Feiyan closed his eyes and tried to erase the Little King of Hell’s words from his mind. As if Qin Xiaochuan’s life or death had nothing to do with him—why should he worry about others’ survival? That was never Feiyan’s way.

“There really are so many dangerous people—it’s hard not to worry…”

Startled by the voice behind him, Feiyan realized he’d been so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed someone approaching from behind—an unforgivable mistake. In the Demon Realm, such carelessness would have cost him his life already. Hearing Bai Ying’s voice, Feiyan spoke coldly, “Don’t deliberately suppress your aura just to sneak up on me. You really have a twisted sense of humor!”

“What are you doing here?” Noticing Feiyan’s irritation, Bai Ying stepped closer and said, “The Spirit World tasked us to protect Qin Xiaochuan during this period. My injury hasn’t healed yet, so…”

“What a bore. What does this have to do with me? If Qin Xiaochuan gets killed by a bunch of nobodies, that’s his own fault…”

“I see, haha.” Bai Ying didn’t press further. “I just came to confirm their meeting place. It’s this afternoon at four, on the lawn in Jinxiu Park…”

“Pointless…”

“If you don’t want Qin Xiaochuan to lose to some third-rate monsters…”

“I already said I’m not going, didn’t I?”

At the rooftop door, Bai Ying glanced at Feiyan and said offhandedly, “Suit yourself. But that’s the guy who once beat you. I’ll be off, then…”

……

At noon, as school let out, Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang walked to the school gate and found a group of students in their uniforms gathered, watching something. Curious, Qin Xiaochuan pushed his way through the crowd and saw two people lying on the ground—it was Fatty and Rooster, the two who’d treated him to breakfast on the rooftop that morning. They’d been beaten so badly they couldn’t stand.

“Fatty! Rooster!” Seeing his cronies in such shape, Zhang Yang rushed over and cradled them. “Wake up! What happened? Who did this to you?”

The two had been beaten so severely their faces were swollen and they could barely speak. Seeing they weren’t responding, Qin Xiaochuan grabbed a bystander and demanded, “Did you see? Who did this to them?”

“It… it was Ironhead from No. 15 Middle School… He said…”

“What did he say?”

“He said if you don’t want to get beaten to death, you’d better settle things at four this afternoon, on the lawn at Jinxiu Park…”

“Bastard! Arrogant to the extreme!” Staring at his friends lying in Zhang Yang’s arms, Qin Xiaochuan was seething. “Before we deal with those two imposters, let’s finish off this Ironhead first. Let’s go!”

“I’m coming too. It’s about five kilometers from here to Jinxiu Park…”

“What’s to be afraid of? Let’s head out now. Four hours is plenty of time…”

……

Pain, pain, pain—every step was agony as the two limped with canes toward Jinxiu Park. This was too much. To be ambushed right at their own school—Qin Xiaochuan had never been blocked like this before.

After three and a half hours of trudging, they finally reached the park’s lawn, only to see nearly a hundred students from No. 15 Middle School. Zhang Yang, trembling, turned to Qin Xiaochuan. “Can you keep going? I’m about to collapse… this stabbing pain is unbearable!”

“Heh, heh, just standing here is already a feat.”

Seeing them arrive, Ironhead stepped out, club in hand, and pointed at Qin Xiaochuan. “So you finally showed up! You had the guts to challenge us at our school—looks like you’re tired of living!”

“What challenge? What are you talking about?” Qin Xiaochuan was confused; he had no clue what this bald guy was on about. “Was it you who beat up Fatty and Rooster from our school?”

“Fatty? Rooster? What are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean! What’s wrong with you?”

Hearing Ironhead deny it, Zhang Yang shouted, “Coward! Fatty and Rooster were beaten up by you at the school gate at noon. Now you pretend you don’t know? What a bunch of gutless trash!”

“Who are you calling trash, curly? I’ve never even met any Fatty or Rooster! Quit spouting nonsense. Wasn’t it you who issued the challenge yesterday?”

“What challenge?”

“Don’t play dumb! You said to fight at four o’clock today, right here! Wasn’t it you and Qin Xiaochuan?”

……

Exchanging bewildered glances with Qin Xiaochuan, Zhang Yang was at a loss. What was this guy talking about?

Seeing their silence, Ironhead took it as an admission. He waved his club and shouted to his crew, “Enough wasting time. Get them, boys!”

“Finish them off!”

“Go!”

At his command, Ironhead’s gang raised their sticks and surged forward.

“What do we do, Xiaochuan? There are too many of them. I don’t think we can hold out!”

“Damn it, if I weren’t in so much pain, these guys would be nothing!”

Sweating coldly as the hundred-strong crowd charged, Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang knew that before their injuries, these small fries would be no match even for one of them. But now, the agony made even walking a struggle. Surviving would be a feat.

Just then, a rose flew from the sky and landed in the ground between the two groups—it was Bai Ying, who had arrived at last.

“Wait! I think there’s been a misunderstanding between you.”

Seeing a newcomer intervene, Ironhead gestured for his gang to halt. He decided to listen before making a move.

“The misunderstanding between you is due to these two.” Bai Ying pointed to two figures emerging from the woods—the very monsters who had impersonated Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang.

Realizing they’d been exposed, the two monsters stopped hiding and swaggered towards Qin Xiaochuan’s group.

“Heh heh, so what if we’ve been found out? I just don’t like you, Qin Xiaochuan!”

“And you too, Zhang Yang!”

Ironhead began to understand, pointing at them. “You two were the ones who challenged us?”

“Heh heh, yeah, you big oaf. If you weren’t so slow-witted, I wouldn’t have used you as a scapegoat! And you, Qin Xiaochuan, today I’ll finish off you and Zhang Yang right here!”

“So it was you causing trouble!” Ironhead finally realized he’d been played by these imposters. Seeing their smug expressions, he waved his hand, and his crew surrounded the two monsters.

But the two imposters seemed unfazed, as if they still had an ace up their sleeves. The one resembling Qin Xiaochuan sneered, “You think you’re tough? Watch my invincible army! Come out! Destroy them!”

He raised his right hand, signaling for his backup. But after a long wait, nothing happened. The two monsters grew awkward. Where was their invincible army? They’d gathered nearly two hundred delinquent youths, hiding them in the woods, ready to attack at his signal. Why was there no response now?

“What’s going on? Get them, boys! Destroy them!” Ironhead, seeing through their bluff, couldn’t let this slide. He’d lost face in front of his crew and had to make an example.

“Wait, wait!”

Seeing Ironhead’s crew close in, the monster who looked like Qin Xiaochuan hastily waved his hands. They might be monsters, but they couldn’t take on so many. “Dare to settle this in the woods? My forces are all there—come if you’re not afraid!”

“We’ll go! Who’s scared? Let’s check the woods, boys!”

Ironhead and his crew herded the two monsters into the woods. When the monster saw the ground littered with bodies, he nearly collapsed in fright. “My invincible army…”

“You mean these worthless ones?” Feiyan, perched on a branch, called down to them. “These guys are so weak, they’re not even as strong as a livestock handler!”

“Mercy… have mercy…”

“We were wrong!”

As Ironhead and his fierce-looking crew closed in, the two monsters seemed to know what awaited them. They both squatted down, desperately protecting their vital parts.