Chapter 122 Scholar and Soldier
"Hey! Swindler lad!" Qiao Jiajin called urgently from behind, "Who broke in?"
"I don't know." Qi Xia reached the campus and crouched low, moving quickly.
"How can there be thieves in a place ?"
Qiao Jiajin was shirtless, revealing a body covered in scars. Only then did Qi Xia notice that not only did he have a pair of tattooed arms, but his entire back was also covered in ink. What puzzled him was the wound on Qiao Jiajin's lower abdomen. The injury was fresh, as though inflicted recently, its edges gaping open yet devoid of any blood.
Could this be the true cause of Qiao Jiajin's death?
"It’s likely not as simple as a mere {thief}," Qi Xia remarked, collecting his thoughts. "Let us first investigate further."
With that, he led Qiao Jiajin straight toward the campus gates. At this moment, someone was still on duty, but the imposing man standing guard looked groggy, swaying as if he was about to fall asleep.
‘Zhang Shan?’ Qi Xia recognized the sentry but refrained from calling out, opting to remain concealed near the school gate.
"I want to catch that trespasser." Qi Xia replied.
At this moment, fire had already ignited in the rooms of the teaching building, and it seemed that most had awakened. A surge of noise filled the air as people debated the earlier disturbance.
Qi Xia, concealed in the shadows, focused intently on the school’s exit. He had taken a shortcut, knowing he could reach the gate faster than the shadowy figure. If no one escaped through the exit, it could only mean that the shadow was a part of {Passage to Heaven}.
"Swindler lad, look at that buff lou." Qiao Jiajin gestured toward Zhang Shan with his chin. "He looks like he's about to fall asleep. I’ll go give him a good kick."
"Wai—Wait a minute..." Qi Xia stopped Qiao Jiajin. "What do you mean by 'give him a good kick'?"
"What do I mean?" Qiao Jiajin blinked and explained earnestly, "When I say {give him a good kick}, I mean I will raise my leg, using the strength of my thigh, followed by my knee guiding my calf, and then my foot will strike his rear, causing some injury."
Qi Xia was somewhat baffled, each time he spoke to {Qiao Jiajin} he felt as though he were {a scholar encountering a soldier}. "That's not what I meant. Why do you feel the need to kick him?"
"It’s a challenge to duel," Qiao Jiajin said. "If I kick him now, he’ll get angry. When he gets angry, he’ll want to fight me one-on-one. And in that one-on-one fight, I’ll beat him. That’s my whole plan."
"That’s your so-called {plan}?" Qi Xia shook his head and said, "If you fight him, things will get complicated. You’ll both likely sustain severe injuries."
"That so?" Qiao Jiajin gave Qi Xia a confused look. "You think that buff lou has some skills?"
"Yes, not only does he have skills, but he's a decent person too. I suggest you take the opportunity to get to know him," Qi Xia suggested. "If you two join forces, you could likely take down a {bear} unscathed."
"Kill a {bear}?" Qiao Jiajin looked at him like he was out of his mind. "Swindler lad, it's clear you’ve never been in a real fight. Do you understand what a {bear} is capable of?"
"Oh?" Qi Xia eyed Qiao Jiajin with amusement. "What is a {bear} capable of?"
"Let me put it this way." Qiao Jiajin gestured with his hands. "Although I, Boss Qiao, am unbeatable under the heavens, if a bear stood in front of me and challenged me to a one-on-one, I would absolutely, absolutely not even lay a finger on its fur. I would kneel, admit defeat, and wait for death. Any delay would be my failure to show respect."
Qi Xia scratched his head, a helpless expression crossing his face. "{Absolutely, absolutely not even lay a finger on its fur}...? Most people I know talk big but act cowardly. You seem to have developed in the opposite direction...Maybe you should let Lin Qin take a look at you sometime."
"I can't afford therapy..." Qiao Jiajin muttered quietly. "Do I really look sick?"
The two of them chatted aimlessly, passing the time. Half an hour later, as dawn began to break, no one had been seen leaving the campus.
By now, nearly everyone in the teaching building was awake, making it unlikely that a stranger could be hiding there. If that shadow hadn’t chosen to escape, it could only mean one thing—they’re a part of {Passage to Heaven}. But what was their purpose?
This person was highly meticulous, even planning their escape route and setting up the tripwire before entering their room, which didn’t seem like the actions of a spontaneous pervert, but rather someone who was systematically investigating something.
"It seems {Judgment’s Domain} has long infiltrated {Passage to Heaven}," Qi Xia murmured seriously. "But I truly can't understand what these people are after..."
Qi Xia stood up, stretching his numb legs from squatting. He turned to Qiao Jiajin and said, "No need to wait any longer. Let’s go." He knew that the trespasser had already missed the best opportunity to escape. Now that dawn had broken and there were guards at the entrance, fleeing was out of the question.
Qiao Jiajin nodded, standing up to follow Qi Xia back into the teaching building.
"Swindler lad, shouldn’t we have the don of this place help us bring some justice?" Qiao Jiajin rubbed his arm, as the early morning chill seemed to have made him a bit cold. "That little thief broke into our turf—doesn’t that seem a bit audacious?"
"Don..." Qi Xia sighed in resignation. "Chu Tianqiu is the {leader} here, not the {don}, and besides, this matter can’t be handled by him."
"Because we can’t fully trust him yet." Qi Xia lowered his voice. "There’s a possibility that the one who infiltrated our room hails from Chu Tianqiu’s faction."
As the two spoke, they had already reached the entrance of the teaching building, where Chu Tianqiu was walking out, draped in a coat.
"Qi Xia? What happened upstairs, it’s all in disarray..." Chu Tianqiu pushed up his glasses in confusion. "Why are you two coming from outside?"
“It’s nothing. I might have just been seeing things and spent too much time chasing a shadow.” Qi Xia stretched leisurely. "I ended up causing a scene. Sorry for the trouble."
Chu Tianqiu paused for a moment, deep in thought, before speaking. "There are indeed many strange things that roam this place at night, but those things shouldn't pose any harm to people."
Qi Xia nodded, understanding that Chu Tianqiu was likely referring to the insects. He didn’t feel the need to explain further and instead changed the subject, asking, “How come you're the only one here? Where’s Yun Yao?”
"She hasn't returned yet." A trace of worry flickered across Chu Tianqiu's face as he wrapped his coat tighter around himself. "They drove out last night to find Xiao Nian and still haven’t come back."
"I see..." Qi Xia’s expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. The map he had prepared was accurate, so if they couldn't find the woman named Xu Liunian, it could only mean she was relocated.
Could she be on the outskirts of the city? Could it be that she stayed at the edge of the city after he had ridden with her there previously?
Just as Qi Xia was about to relay this to Chu Tianqiu, the deafening roar of an engine blared from behind him.
The three of them looked toward the sound. In the distance, a weathered white sedan, headlights blazing, was slowly approaching.