"AHH! What the hell are you doing?!" Xiao Ran shrieked, thrashing beneath the assault, but the tall, slender figure towering over her showed no sign of mercy.
The woman delivered slap after slap, each one more ferocious than the last. Xiao Ran’s protests were drowned by the sharp, punishing rhythm of the blows. It wasn’t until after a dozen relentless strikes that the onslaught ceased. The woman straightened slightly, her chest rising and falling as she caught her breath.
“Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin may refuse to lay hands on women,” Yun Yao said, her tone icy and unyielding, “but I don’t have such qualms. Now, do you have any more complaints?”
"You motherfu—!" Xiao Ran snarled through gritted teeth, thrashing to push Yun Yao off her. But before she could rise, her arm was caught and pinned again. Another trio of resounding slaps cracked through the air.
"Say it again!" Yun Yao shouted. "Say one more word about Tian Tian!"
Xiao Ran’s face burned an angry crimson, her cheeks swollen from the relentless assault. Her eyes brimmed with a volatile mix of rage and humiliation. "Zhao Haibo!" she screeched, her voice trembling. "Are you blind?! Someone’s hitting me! Didn’t I let you cop a feel earlier? Was it all for nothing?!"
Doctor Zhao finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly stepped forward, attempting to grab Yun Yao. But just as he reached out, his arm was abruptly seized by two iron grips—Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin flanked him.
"Doctor Zhao," Qi Xia said evenly, his tone carrying a quiet but unmistakable authority, "Let them settle this themselves. We shouldn’t interfere in matters between women."
Doctor Zhao's expression was ever-changing. "But… but you all…"
"Unless," Qiao Jiajin cut in, cracking his knuckles, "you’re itching for a one-on-one with me instead. I’ve got some time to spare."
"I…" Doctor Zhao hesitantly glanced at Qiao Jiajin, then at Xiao Ran on the ground, unsure of how to proceed.
At that moment, Yun Yao landed another dozen slaps, not allowing Xiao Ran even a single chance to fight back.
"Jie! Stop! Please stop!" Xiao Ran cried out desperately, "Your man’s amazing! Your man’s amazing, alright?!"
"Wrong answer!" Yun Yao barked. "Try again!"
"You’re amazing! You’re the most amazing!" Xiao Ran quickly corrected.
Xiao Ran was completely bewildered. "Jie… What do you want me to say?"
"I'm sorry! I’m sorry!" Xiao Ran wailed, "I shouldn’t have said that about her, I was wrong! I’ll never do it again!"
True to her word, Yun Yao finally stopped the barrage of slaps.
Xiao Ran let out a relieved sigh.
"Ten more times," Yun Yao ordered.
"I told you to say it ten more times!"
Under Yun Yao's ‘kind’ persuasion, Xiao Ran stammered out ten more apologies.
"You’d better remember this," Yun Yao warned, her tone sharp as a blade. "Watch your words from now on—there are people here who won’t hesitate to deal with you." With a final, deliberate tug on Xiao Ran's disheveled hair, Yun Yao released her grip, letting the woman collapse in a heap on the ground.
"Idol gal, you alright?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"I'm fine," Yun Yao replied, shaking out her reddened hands. "Just a little sore."
Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "Then let's get a cold compress," he suggested. "It’d be bad if it swells."
"Yeah, yeah!" Qiao Jiajin quickly nodded, and the two of them helped Yun Yao out of the room.
Left behind in the aftermath, Doctor Zhao awkwardly bent down, helping the disheveled Xiao Ran to her feet. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Xiao Ran's eyes were practically bloodshot with fury. "Motherfucker... who does she think she is?!" She gritted her teeth so hard she bit into her own lip, the sharp tang of blood filling her mouth. Spitting viciously onto the floor, she seethed, "I’ll kill you one day… just wait."
Meanwhile, Qi Xia calmly dampened a towel with bottled water and slowly wrapped it around Yun Yao’s reddened hand.
"That Xiao Ran is really despicable..." Yun Yao vented, her voice still trembling with residual anger. She barely seemed to notice the stinging pain in her hand. "How can someone so insufferable even exist? Just listening to her makes me want to lose my mind! She’s a woman too, but I swear, I can't understand a single thing that comes out of her mouth."
Qi Xia nodded, "If you’d held off for just a moment longer, I would’ve taken care of her myself."
"Forget it," Yun Yao sighed. "If you’d hit her, she’d definitely play the victim and drag your name through the mud. It’s like {a toad landing on someone’s foot}—it doesn’t bite, but it’s disgusting all the same."
"It doesn’t matter. My reputation isn’t something I care about," Qi Xia replied, shaking his head as he poured more water onto the towel wrapped around her hand.
"That won't do," Yun Yao said. "In situations , people always side with the weaker ‘victim’. I've been through this before, so after thinking it over, I figured it's best for me to just beat her up properly."
Qi Xia nodded but soon added, his tone growing serious, "Still, I doubt Xiao Ran will let this go. Don’t team up with her in the future. Stay alert—she’s the type to resort to underhanded schemes."
Yun Yao silently nodded. "You're right. I'll be careful."
As the three conversed near the restroom, an elderly woman suddenly approached them.
Qi Xia recognized her at once.
She wore a Buddha amulet and a Jesus crucifix around her neck, and today there was a new string of beads on her wrist.
"Auntie Tong?" Yun Yao stood up, smiling cheerfully. "What brings you here?"
"Xiao Yun..." Auntie Tong, nodded with a benevolent smile. "I heard that many struggled to retain their memories this time, so I plan to continue my lessons. Would you care to join?"
"Ah...?" Yun Yao appeared a bit hesitant. "I'll pass this time... I still have my memories intact."
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged puzzled looks.
Seeing that Qi Xia seemed interested, Auntie Tong quickly approached and grabbed his hand.
"Amitabha, God bless you. Child, you seem quite pious. How about attending my class?"
"Pious?" Qi Xia smiled wryly. "Auntie, unfortunately, you're mistaken; I’ve been an atheist my whole life."
Auntie Tong maintained her benevolent smile, replying, "But child, if there were no gods in this world, how could this place even exist?"
"That..." Her simple question rendered Qi Xia momentarily speechless.
She then turned her gaze to Qiao Jiajin, assessing him from head to toe before commenting, "Child, you seem to have little faith in any gods either."
"Auntie, you’re really not a good judge of character," Qiao Jiajin said awkwardly. "I’ve been worshiping Guan Yi Gor for over ten years."
"Ah, well, no matter," Auntie Tong shook her head. "This afternoon, I’ll be holding a class in the northernmost classroom. I’ll be explaining the origins of {End Point} and the principles of {Reverberation}. You’re both welcome to join if you’re free."
"What?!" Qi Xia was stunned. "Auntie, you know the origins of {End Point} and the principles of {Reverberation}?!"
He glanced at Yun Yao, but she only offered him a helpless look in response.
"Yes, it’s all part of Allah[1]’s arrangement," Auntie Tong nodded, continuing, "Our Buddha has always been compassionate and will guide us to understand every decree of the Holy Mother."
Qi Xia marveled at this Auntie’s surprisingly diverse religious inclinations. In mere moments, he had heard her mention {God}, {Buddha}, {Allah}, and {Holy Mother}, as if she had embraced nearly all of the world's most significant belief systems.
"Unfortunately, I also…" Qi Xia was about to politely decline, but Auntie Tong suddenly grasped his hand again.
"Child, to survive here, you must rid yourself of lingering thoughts(余念) in your heart."