Chapter 114: No Lessons Learned? (Third Watch)

Qin Tian crouched down and swept his leg, clearing away a good amount of sand in front of him before charging straight at Fox Fairy.

Knowing she would probably be unable to subdue Qin Tian today, Fox Fairy turned and ran.

But Qin Tian had no intention of letting her get away. He hurled the golden-banded staff in his hand.

Bang!

The staff struck Fox Fairy squarely in the small of her back. Her entire body arched backward from the impact, and she nearly fell flat on her back.

Taking advantage of the opening, Qin Tian picked up the staff and swung it at Fox Fairy’s leg as she moved a beat too slowly.

“Ah!”

The golden-banded staff slammed solidly into her leg. With a cry of pain, Fox Fairy pitched forward and crashed to the ground.

Qin Tian raised the staff and brought it down toward her back.

Fox Fairy hurriedly rolled over and caught the blow barehanded, adopting a stance like someone catching a blade with empty palms.

Although she had stopped the strike, a sharp pain immediately shot through her palms. Glancing down, she saw that the webbing between her thumb and forefinger had split open from the force, and blood was trickling down her wrist and into her sleeve.

Qin Tian knelt over her, pinning her beneath him as he forcibly pressed the golden-banded staff downward.

“Ah! Qin Tian, what are you doing?”

A startled cry came from the doorway. Qin Tian turned his head and saw Yingying Jiang and Xiaoqing Shen standing there. It was Yingying who had screamed.

The two women had been delayed by something, but when they finally arrived, they found Qin Tian straddling Fox Fairy.

Seen from behind, their position looked decidedly… indescribable.

Taking advantage of Qin Tian’s distraction, Fox Fairy shoved the staff aside and drove her knee into his lower back.

Qin Tian flew forward and landed flat on his face, while Fox Fairy seized the opportunity to escape.

By the time Qin Tian got to his feet, she had vanished.

“Damn it! She got away!” Qin Tian sighed.

“Qin Tian, I never thought you were that kind of person!” Xiaoqing Shen walked over and pointed accusingly at him.

“What are you two thinking? What kind of person am I?” Qin Tian glared at her.

“You and that woman just now—you two were doing something… indescribable!” Xiaoqing Shen glared back defiantly.

“She was an assassin! I was just about to subdue her, and then you two came along and ruined everything.” Qin Tian shrugged.

“What? An assassin?” Yingying and Xiaoqing exchanged a glance. They had come all the way to Eastlake City, and there was actually an assassin here too?

“Then what did you think she was?” Qin Tian said, rubbing his lower back. Fox Fairy’s knee strike had nearly broken his spine.

Still, he felt somewhat fortunate. Thankfully, he had been straddling her far enough forward. If he had been positioned a little farther back, that knee might have struck somewhere else entirely.

At that point, he would not even have needed to undergo sterilization. That would have been a real disaster.

“Are you hurt?” Yingying asked.

“I’m fine. But let’s forget about rehearsing. There may still be assassins hiding around here. We should go home first,” Qin Tian said.

“Okay.” Yingying nodded. Given the circumstances, continuing the rehearsal was indeed out of the question.

Qin Tian casually tossed aside the golden-banded staff and headed home with the two women.

What Qin Tian did not know was that after he left the Youth Grand Theater, the golden-banded staff vanished from the spot where he had thrown it.

After returning home, Qin Tian lay in bed until evening before finally getting up to buy groceries.

Once he had finished shopping, he suddenly remembered the sizzling squid he had eaten on Student Street that time. It seemed to be on the way, so he made a detour and bought eight skewers.

He had them divided into four portions. He packed three to take home and ate the fourth as he walked, finishing it just as he reached the house.

Then he told Yingying and Xiaoqing that he had only bought three portions, one for each of them.

In this way, he had secretly eaten two skewers first without anyone noticing. He was positively delighted.

With the groceries and packed squid dangling from one hand, Qin Tian held another skewer in the other and began eating as he walked. Humming a little tune, he felt utterly pleased with himself.

Suddenly, he saw a crowd gathered in the distance. He had no idea what was going on, but it seemed lively.

Qin Tian grew even happier. Eating his skewer while watching the commotion—now that was one of life’s great pleasures.

He forced his way into the crowd, but the moment he saw what was happening inside, all his cheer vanished.

Tang Bo was kneeling on the ground, wiping Pei Zhijun’s shoes like a dog. Pei Zhijun appeared to have deliberately stepped in a pile of excrement, and the stench could be smelled from far away.

Fury surged through Qin Tian. He launched himself into a flying kick aimed at Pei Zhijun.

Tang Bo only saw a large black blur whoosh past his eyes.

Just as he was about to wipe Pei Zhijun’s shoe, he suddenly realized that the shoe had disappeared—or, more precisely, that Pei Zhijun himself had disappeared.

“Get up!”

Tang Bo heard a familiar voice. He raised his head and saw Qin Tian standing there, his face dark with anger.

“Brother Tian…” Tang Bo hesitantly rose to his feet. Only then did he notice Pei Zhijun lying nearby, his hands and feet twitching, surrounded by several bewildered underlings.

“Why are you still wiping his shoes? What the hell is going on with you?” Qin Tian demanded.

The previous time, Qin Tian had forced Pei Zhijun to apologize to Tang Bo. Later, Qin Tian had asked Tang Bo what was going on and what sort of relationship he had with Pei Zhijun, but Tang Bo had refused to say.

Seeing that Tang Bo did not want to talk about it, Qin Tian had let the matter drop. He had never expected that just one day later, he would once again find Pei Zhijun bullying Tang Bo.

How the hell could he tolerate that?

“Brother Tian, I…” Tang Bo faltered.

“Since you call me your brother, then your troubles are my troubles. Whatever it is, I’ll shoulder it for you. Now tell me what happened!” Qin Tian declared imperiously.

Tang Bo was about to speak, but Pei Zhijun, who had finally recovered enough to sit up, cut him off.

“You again! Are you deliberately making an enemy of me? Don’t push me too far!” Pei Zhijun pointed at Qin Tian and cursed.

“Push you too far? Who’s pushing whom? Have you already forgotten the lesson you learned last night?” Qin Tian swept him with a cold glance.

Pei Zhijun shrank his neck, but he still summoned his courage and stepped forward.

“What does the matter between me and this fat bastard have to do with you?”

“I’m his brother,” Qin Tian replied.

“Are you?” Pei Zhijun said with a mocking smile.

“Don’t blame me for not warning you. Everyone who has crossed me has disappeared. I respected you as someone of standing and let you off once, but you shouldn’t have interfered with my affairs again and again,” Pei Zhijun said coldly.

“You let me off?” Qin Tian stared at him for a moment. Pei Zhijun truly had no shame.

Who had let whom off? Last night, had it not been Pei Zhijun who knelt on the ground like a beaten dog and apologized to Tang Bo?

Qin Tian handed the groceries and the packed squid to Tang Bo, then patted him on the shoulder and walked toward Pei Zhijun.

Since this fool had failed to learn his lesson, Qin Tian did not mind teaching him another—one he would remember for a long time.