“Hey! Liar!” Qiao Jiayin asked anxiously from behind, “Who broke in?”
“I don’t know.” Qi Xia moved swiftly through the campus, crouching as he advanced.
“Are there even thieves in this dump?”
Qiao Jiayin wasn’t wearing a shirt, revealing a body covered in scars. Only then did Qi Xia notice that not only did the man have tattooed arms, but his entire back was inked as well.
What puzzled Qi Xia, however, was the wound on Qiao Jiayin’s abdomen.
It looked fresh, as if he had been stabbed recently. The cut was gaping, yet it wasn’t bleeding. Could this be the real cause of Qiao Jiayin’s death?
“Probably not something as simple as a ‘thief,'” Qi Xia snapped out of his thoughts and replied, “Let’s go check it out.”
With that, he led Qiao Jiayin straight toward the campus gate.
Someone was still on guard there, though the burly man looked unsteady on his feet, nearly asleep.
“Zhang Shan?” Qi Xia recognized the sentry but didn’t wake him, instead hiding not far from the gate.
“Liar… what are we doing here?” Qiao Jiayin asked.
“I want to catch that ghost,” Qi Xia said.
By now, flames had risen in several rooms of the teaching building, signaling that many people were awake.
The commotion grew as voices buzzed, everyone discussing the earlier disturbance.
Qi Xia stayed hidden, intently watching the campus exit. He had taken a shortcut, clearly arriving at the gate faster than the shadowy figure.
If no one fled through the exit, it could only mean the figure came from within “Paradise’s Edge.”
“Liar, look at that big guy,” Qiao Jiayin nudged his chin toward Zhang Shan. “He looks like he’s about to pass out. I’m gonna kick him.”
“W-Wait…” Qi Xia grabbed Qiao Jiayin’s arm. “What do you mean, ‘kick him’?”
“What do I mean?” Qiao Jiayin blinked, then explained earnestly, “Kicking means I lift my leg, use my thigh for power, drive my knee forward to swing my shin, then make contact with his butt using my foot—inflicting some damage.”
“I…” Qi Xia was momentarily speechless. Every conversation with Qiao Jiayin felt like “a scholar meeting a soldier.” “That’s not what I meant. Why do you want to kick him?”
“To issue a challenge,” Qiao Jiayin said. “If I kick him, he’ll get mad. If he gets mad, he’ll fight me one-on-one. Then I’ll beat him up. That’s the whole plan.”
“You call that a ‘plan’?” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you two fight, things will get messy. You’ll both probably end up seriously hurt.”
“Really?” Qiao Jiayin gave Qi Xia a puzzled look. “You’re saying that big guy’s got skills?”
“Yeah, and he’s a decent guy too. I suggest you find a chance to get to know him.” Qi Xia added, “If you two teamed up, you could probably take down a ‘bear’ without a scratch.”
“Take down a ‘bear’?” Qiao Jiayin looked at Qi Xia like he was an idiot. “Liar, you’ve clearly never been in a fight. Do you even know what kind of opponent a ‘bear’ is?”
“Oh?” Qi Xia eyed him with interest. “What level is a ‘bear’?”
“Let me put it this way,” Qiao Jiayin gestured with his hands. “Even though I, Qiao Ye, am undefeated in all fights, if a bear stood in front of me right now demanding a one-on-one, I absolutely, positively wouldn’t lay a finger on it. I’d immediately kneel, bow my head, admit defeat, and wait to die. Hesitating even a second would be disrespectful.”
Qi Xia scratched his head, exasperated. “‘Absolutely, positively wouldn’t lay a finger on it’…? Most people I know talk tough but act cautious. You seem to have developed backward… Maybe Lin Qin should give you a checkup someday.”
“I don’t have money for a shrink…” Qiao Jiayin muttered. “Do I really seem sick?”
The two chatted idly as they waited. A full half-hour passed, and by the time the sky began to lighten, no one had left the campus.
Nearly everyone in the teaching building was awake now—hiding a stranger would be impossible.
If the shadowy figure hadn’t fled, it could only mean he was from “Paradise’s Edge.”
But what was his goal?
This person was meticulous, even arranging an escape route and setting up ropes before entering. It didn’t seem like a spur-of-the-moment act by a pervert, but more like a planned reconnaissance.
“It looks like ‘Extremists’ have already infiltrated ‘Paradise’s Edge,'” Qi Xia muttered grimly to himself. “But I really can’t figure out what these people want…”
Qi Xia stood up, stretching his numb legs, and said to Qiao Jiayin, “No point waiting. Let’s go.”
He knew the intruder had missed his best chance to escape. With daylight and guards at the gate, fleeing now was impossible.
Qiao Jiayin nodded and followed Qi Xia back to the teaching building.
“Liar, shouldn’t we get the boss of this place to handle this?” Qiao Jiayin rubbed his arms, shivering slightly in the morning chill. “Some little thief barging into our turf—doesn’t that seem a bit disrespectful?”
“Boss…” Qi Xia sighed helplessly. “Chu Tianqiu is the ‘leader’ here, not a ‘gang boss.’ Besides, we can’t let him handle this.”
“Why not?”
“Because we can’t fully trust him yet,” Qi Xia said quietly. “There’s a chance the intruder was sent by Chu Tianqiu himself.”
As they spoke, they reached the entrance of the teaching building, where Chu Tianqiu was stepping out, draped in a coat.
“Qi Xia? What’s all the commotion upstairs…?” Chu Tianqiu adjusted his glasses in confusion. “Why are you two coming from outside?”
“Nothing serious. I might’ve seen wrong—chased a shadow for a while.” Qi Xia stretched. “Sorry for waking everyone.”
Chu Tianqiu pondered for a moment before saying, “This place does have strange things lurking at night, but they shouldn’t harm anyone.”
Qi Xia nodded. He knew Chu Tianqiu was referring to the bugs, so he didn’t elaborate and instead asked, “Where’s Yun Yao? Just you here?”
“Still not back.” A trace of worry flashed across Chu Tianqiu’s face as he tightened his coat. “They drove out last night to look for Xiao Nian and haven’t returned.”
“Is that so…” Qi Xia’s expression darkened. The map he’d drawn was accurate—if they couldn’t find Xu Liunian, it meant she had moved.
Was she at the city’s edge?
After Qi Xia had hitched a ride with her to the outskirts last time, had she stayed there?
Just as Qi Xia was about to share this thought with Chu Tianqiu, the roar of an engine echoed from behind.
All three turned to see an old white car, headlights blazing, driving toward them from a distance.
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