Chapter 110: King?
"Return a favor...?" Old Lü clearly didn't understand.
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly.
The middle-aged man before him was timid, greedy, prone to lying, impulsive, and quick to anger—almost every flaw imaginable rolled into one. Yet, for some reason, Qi Xia found it impossible to truly dislike him.
He decided not to dwell on this topic any further and walked straight toward Zhang Shan.
These people had yet to make a move against him, which struck him as odd.
"Why did you tie up my teammates?" Qi Xia asked.
Zhang Shan flexed his aching back where he'd been hit and said, "Didn't I already tell you? It's on Chu Tianqiu's orders. You hit pretty hard just now, but Chu Tianqiu told me not to tie you up..."
"If Chu Tianqiu doesn't have a good reason, I'll hit even harder than that." Qi Xia's tone was serious, with no hint of bluffing.
"Damn, can't you just talk nicely? But whatever, Chu Tianqiu wanted to see you anyway." Zhang Shan waved toward someone in the distance, and the little four-eyes came running over. Qi Xia once again saw that familiar face.
"You okay, Zhang Shan?" asked the little four-eyes.
"I'm fine. Take this guy to see Chu Tianqiu." Zhang Shan waved his hand, cracked his back, helped up the young man Qi Xia had knocked to the ground, and left with Qiao Jiajin.
The little four-eyes sized up Qi Xia and said, "Mr. Qi, right? Please follow me."
Qi Xia nodded cautiously and followed.
The two walked down the hallway until they reached the door of the southernmost classroom.
The little four-eyes raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door. "Mr. Chu, Miss Yun, I've brought him here."
"Let him in," a man said from inside.
Without waiting for the little four-eyes to say anything more, Qi Xia pushed open the door and entered the classroom.
Yun Yao was sitting at a desk, painting her fingernails, while a refined-looking stranger was scribbling something on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.
As soon as they saw Qi Xia, both turned to look at him.
"Oh! The handsome broke guy!" Yun Yao pointed at Qi Xia and called out cheerfully. "Have you agreed to be my 'rumored boyfriend' yet?"
Qi Xia ignored Yun Yao and stared instead at the unfamiliar man.
"Qi Xia?" The man smiled, placed the chalk in the groove of the blackboard, and brushed the dust off his hands. "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Chu Tianqiu."
Qi Xia nodded and walked forward. Behind him, the little four-eyes tactfully closed the door.
Yun Yao stood up and approached Qi Xia, carrying a pleasant fragrance. "Qi Xia, I'm so glad you're here!"
Chu Tianqiu also walked toward Qi Xia, a gentle smile on his face. "I'm sorry to meet you like this. I hope you can forgive me."
"Chu Tianqiu, tell me why you did this," Qi Xia said without beating around the bush.
"You mean... taking control of your teammates?" Chu Tianqiu smiled faintly. "How should I put this? After all, this is our territory. Honestly, I don't have to explain myself to you."
"Let me clarify something..." Qi Xia frowned slightly. "You lured us here, restrained my teammates, and now you're not even going to give me a reason?"
"So what if I don't?" Chu Tianqiu pushed up his glasses. "Qi Xia, this is your first time at 'Heaven's Gate,' so you probably don't know the rules here."
"Then what are the rules here?" Qi Xia asked.
"I am the rule." Chu Tianqiu smiled again, a smile that made Qi Xia very uncomfortable. "As long as everyone listens to me, I'll lead us all out sooner or later."
Qi Xia stared coldly at Chu Tianqiu, his mind working behind an unreadable expression. An odd tension hung in the air.
"Oh, come on... what are you two talking about?" Yun Yao stepped forward to mediate. "This is your first meeting—why so serious? You'll be teammates from now on."
Seeing that neither of them responded, Yun Yao recalled what Chu Tianqiu had said earlier about "a king cannot see a king." Perhaps these two really weren't cut out to be teammates. But both were brilliant and indispensable forces—losing either would be a huge blow to "Heaven's Gate."
"How about giving your idol some face?" Yun Yao smiled, taking Qi Xia's hand and then Chu Tianqiu's. "Shake hands in front of me, and from now on, we're all friends."
"No need." Qi Xia pulled his hand back.
"That's right." Chu Tianqiu also withdrew his hand. "Don't worry, Yun Yao. Qi Xia is a smart guy. He seems to understand the 'rules' of this place now."
"Let me confirm one last time." Qi Xia frowned slightly. "You see yourself as some kind of 'local emperor,' so anyone who joins 'Heaven's Gate' has to obey you unconditionally, take your orders, and never ask questions. Is that right?"
"Somewhat biased, but roughly accurate." Chu Tianqiu pushed up his glasses. "Of course, I'm no 'local emperor.' I'm just the leader of this place. You know that if a group has no leader, it's like a sheet of loose sand. In the end, no one gets out."
Yun Yao shook her head helplessly. "Qi Xia, don't take it the wrong way. Chu Tianqiu is our leader, but his goal is to lead us out. We're all still 'teammates,' after all."
Qi Xia nodded again, looked at the two people in front of him, then suddenly turned to Yun Yao. "Could you step back a bit?"
"Step back?" Yun Yao was taken aback, then laughed. "What? Don't you like how I smell?"
"No, it smells fine," Qi Xia said. "But I'd prefer if you stepped back."
Yun Yao thought for a moment, nodded, and stepped back two paces. "I get it. You want to check out my figure?"
She turned around in a little twirl.
"No. I just don't want to hurt you," Qi Xia said.
"Hurt me?"
Before Yun Yao or Chu Tianqiu could react, Qi Xia suddenly stepped forward. Mimicking the way Qiao Jiajin had struck the black bear in his memory, he moved his shoulder with his waist, swung his right arm like a whip, and punched—his fist spinning a hundred and eighty degrees through the air.
He had aimed for Chu Tianqiu's chin, but the punch landed on his mouth instead. It seemed his fighting skills still needed a lot of practice.
*Bam!*
Chu Tianqiu had no time to dodge. He took the hit full force, let out a groan, and fell flat on the ground like a felled tree.
Yun Yao covered her mouth with both hands in shock, unable to understand how things had turned out this way.
Qi Xia shook his slightly swollen right hand and walked over to Chu Tianqiu again.
Chu Tianqiu's mouth was full of blood, and his face was twisted in pain as he lay on the ground.
Qi Xia slowly crouched beside him, staring into the man's eyes, and spoke each word deliberately:
"Chu Tianqiu, who do you think you're fooling?"