“I’m saying… aren’t you all on the same side?” Qi Xia frowned.
“So what?” Old Sun looked Qi Xia up and down. “Just because we’re on the same side means we can’t fight?”
Qi Xia felt that the man before him had a quality very similar to Qiao Jiajin.
It was just that this quality, combined with regional differences, manifested in completely different effects on the two men.
“Thanks, but I don’t need anyone standing up for me.” Qi Xia said. “If there’s nothing else, you fight your fight—we two want to leave first.”
“Leave…?” Old Sun’s expression looked a bit stunned. “I’m standing up for you… and you want to leave?”
Qi Xia felt like he had once again fallen into the situation of a scholar meeting a soldier.
“I said I don’t need anyone standing up for me.” Qi Xia said. “If you want to put on an act for me, forget it right now.”
“An act?!” Old Sun was instantly furious. “Come, come, come—see if I’m acting or not!”
After saying this, he clenched his hand into a fist and said to Qi Xia, “Here’s a stone for self-defense. If a fight breaks out in a bit, you’ll see whether I hold back or not.”
He extended his hand forward, looking as if he was handing something to Qi Xia.
But Qi Xia knew that hand was empty.
“I’m saying you…”
Before Qi Xia could raise an objection, he suddenly discovered that there was now a heavy stone in his hand.
This stone lay quietly in his palm, as if it had been there all along.
“This?” Qi Xia was startled. “Creating a stone out of thin air?”
Old Sun didn’t hesitate. He reached out and grasped, and a thick stone club appeared in his hand. “Xiao Xiao! Apologize to this guy quickly. If we keep offending him, how can we recruit him?”
“I’m not apologizing. I didn’t do anything wrong.” Xiao Xiao said. “If it weren’t for my help, could Qi Xia have understood the ‘Land of the End’ so quickly?”
Qi Xia’s expression darkened. He threw the stone in his hand aside and said, “You’re all too absurd. I’ll state it once more—I won’t join. Even if you two beat each other to death over me right here, I still won’t join.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Buddy!” Old Sun turned back and grabbed Qi Xia’s arm. “Let’s talk this through! If you don’t feel satisfied, take this club!”
Qi Xia snorted coldly. “Just as I thought—you’re acting… I don’t want to get involved with you people.”
“Hey, I’m really not acting.” Seeing that Qi Xia wasn’t buying it, Old Sun casually tossed away the stone club in his hand. “I’ve always been dissatisfied with Xiao Xiao’s methods. She’s too extreme.”
Qi Xia gave Doctor Zhao a look. Not wanting to get entangled, the two prepared to go around them and leave.
“Buddy!” Old Sun still didn’t let go of Qi Xia’s hand. “You really won’t consider joining?”
Qi Xia stopped and looked at Old Sun before him. “Are you going to kill me?”
“What?”
“If you’re not going to kill me, then don’t waste time. My attitude is already very clear, isn’t it?” Qi Xia turned to look at Xiao Xiao. “I could never align myself with this kind of lunatic.”
After hearing this, Xiao Xiao’s expression showed a trace of disappointment.
Old Sun also froze awkwardly in place, not knowing what to do.
Jiang Ruoxue slowly walked forward with a smile. “Forget it, Old Sun. Let him go.”
“Huh? Little Jiang… didn’t you say this person was very capable?”
“But his first impression of Xiao Xiao has already gotten as bad as it can be. There’s no need to keep pestering him.” Jiang Ruoxue smiled bitterly and turned to Xiao Xiao. “Xiao Xiao, did you take that bottle of lithium salt I found before?”
“I did. I take it every midnight.” Xiao Xiao said with her head lowered.
“What the hell?! Midnight?!” Old Sun was instantly shocked. “Please look carefully before taking it! I wondered why I kept getting acid reflux every midnight—turns out you’ve been eating it all into my stomach?!”
“Huh?” Xiao Xiao was startled. “No, no way… I ‘Shifted the Blame’ to you?”
Qi Xia looked at this group of lunatics, feeling his patience had reached its limit.
Was this yet another act?
“Let’s go.” He said to Doctor Zhao in a low voice.
“Okay, okay, okay.” Doctor Zhao jogged along, about to leave.
“No, no…” Xiao Xiao suddenly turned around, her expression blank as she looked toward Qi Xia’s fleeing direction. “Ruoxue, we can’t let him leave. He’s too smart—he’ll collect three thousand six hundred ‘Dao’…”
“Calm down a bit, Xiao Xiao.” Jiang Ruoxue said with a furrowed brow.
“I am calm.” Xiao Xiao took a deep breath and said, “Everyone else isn’t worth mourning, but Qi Xia is different. He’s destined to live here with us…”
As soon as her words fell, she took off her shirt, revealing a sports tank top underneath and a body full of hardened muscles.
This scene startled Doctor Zhao.
“Good lord…” He had never imagined that beneath Xiao Xiao’s T-shirt would be such a strong physique.
Xiao Xiao picked up the stone that Qi Xia had just discarded.
“Xiao Xiao!” Jiang Ruoxue anxiously grabbed her. “Don’t be impulsive! Didn’t we agree to discuss things together?”
“I’ll make Qi Xia stay first…” Xiao Xiao revealed an eerie smile. “I’ll make him stay first, then we’ll discuss it!”
After saying this, she fiercely swung the stone and struck her own forehead.
This action left both Qi Xia and Doctor Zhao stunned.
With this strike, Xiao Xiao’s forehead had already begun streaming with blood.
“Wha—what is she doing?”
“Don’t worry about it—let’s go quickly!”
Qi Xia grabbed Doctor Zhao and turned to run.
A disappointed expression slowly appeared on Xiao Xiao’s face. “Did it fail? Never mind…”
She raised the stone once more and struck down hard a second time.
With a dull thud, Doctor Zhao beside Qi Xia was sent flying on the spot.
“Ahh!!” Doctor Zhao lay on the ground clutching his forehead. “Damn it! What the hell is this?!”
His brow was tightly furrowed. He felt like he’d been struck by a stone, but his forehead only had the sensation of pain without any injury.
Seeing Doctor Zhao rolling on the ground continuously, Qi Xia gritted his teeth and looked at the three people before him. “Lunatics… Are you never going to stop?”
Seeing this, Xiao Xiao swayed unsteadily and dropped the stone. She didn’t look to be in very good condition either.
“Old Sun, quickly tie him up…”
“Huh?” Old Sun was startled. “No, you really want to tie him up?”
“Stop talking nonsense… hurry up…” Xiao Xiao said while covering her forehead.
“Well… sorry about this, buddy.” A stone club appeared out of thin air in Old Sun’s left hand, while his right hand pulled out a small coil of rope from his pocket. He slowly walked toward Qi Xia.
Qi Xia’s expression turned cold as he slowly rolled up his sleeves.
“Tie me up? You try it.”
Jiang Ruoxue’s expression also looked unnatural. She hurried forward to help Doctor Zhao up, feeling that things were getting a bit out of control.
“Um… are you okay?”
Doctor Zhao clutched his forehead and looked at the current situation, then slowly stood up with an apologetic smile. “I’m fine, I’m fine…”
After saying this, he instinctively touched Jiang Ruoxue’s hand. “Thanks!”