Chapter 40: Darkness Before the Eyes

How had things spiraled to this point?

Qiu Xu could not fathom it. All he had wanted to do in the beginning was mock Xie Jili.

He turned his head to glare at Xie Jili with resentment, only to be thoroughly startled in return. The lean male was hanging his head, engulfed in an aura of intense gloom, his brows and eyes dark to the extreme. He looked like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Stared at expressionlessly by Xie Jili, Qiu Xu broke into a cold sweat. He felt as though Xie Jili was looking at a dead man. Terrified, he opened his mouth to scream for help, but in the next second, Xie Jili reverted to his usual, honest self. The previous ferocity seemed like nothing more than a hallucination, leaving Qiu Xu feeling dazed.

On her way home, Nian Tu received a message from Xie Jili. It was only two words: [I'm sorry.]

The incident seemed to have rendered the already reticent male even more withdrawn. Even through the screen, Nian Tu could sense that his mood was terrible.

Nian Tu: [You didn't do anything wrong, why apologize? I should be the one thanking you for protecting me!]

She sent a sticker of a little rabbit patting someone's head.

Nian Tu: [It's a pity we didn't get to tour the campus today. Let me find you again next time to show me around!]

Xie Jili read those two short replies dozens of times, his heart racing in agitation.

Next time. Would there even be a next time for them?

On his light-brain, an account with a black bear avatar sent him a message.

Brother Xiong: [9 PM tonight, District C of the Black Arena. Boss Jiao wants to see you.]

Brother Xiong: [Didn't you say you weren't planning to get mixed up with Boss Jiao? Why the sudden change of heart? Give me the bottom line—what are you thinking?]

Brother Xiong: [You need to think this through. Once you board this ship, there is no turning back.]

Xie Jili let the notification blink, ignoring it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his once peaceful and forbearing gaze had turned sharp.

He replied to Brother Xiong: [I've made up my mind.]

One of the shadowy leaders behind the Black Arena, an interstellar pirate chief codenamed "Jiao," had previously expressed his appreciation for him several times, but Xie Jili had rejected his recruitment every time.

But now, he had changed his mind.

Xie Jili stared coldly through the window toward the direction of the Imperial Palace. The most expensive real estate surrounding the palace was where the various nobles resided, the Qiu family among them. One could smell a rot of decadence from nobles like Qiu Xu.

Xie Jili was naturally forbearing, but he could not tolerate such filth staining even a fraction of Nian Tu. Compared to the bullying he had endured in the shadows, Qiu Xu’s actions this time were not necessarily excessive, but they had truly crossed his bottom line.

Brother Xiong was still asking him: [Why?]

Xie Jili replied calmly: [Meet violence with violence, meet evil with evil.]

Since he was already mired in the mud, he didn't mind getting a little dirtier. Although he was no longer worthy of approaching Nian Tu once he was sullied, he would at least possess the power to protect her.

...

Whether it was the Imperial Military Academy controlling the narrative for the sake of its image, or the Qiu family acting in the shadows, the incident did not cause much of a stir on the StarNet, despite the large number of witnesses at the training ground.

It wasn't until a few days later that photos of Qiu Xu receiving treatment in the hospital began to circulate online. The usually arrogant male lay in a medical pod covered in bandages, clearly having been beaten quite severely.

Nian Tu saw the photo while eating breakfast that morning and nearly choked. She widened her eyes and held up her light-brain to show Lu Zhan.

"It seems that having a sharp tongue really does get you beaten up," she sighed, shaking her head, never suspecting that the person who had done the beating was standing right in front of her.

Lu Zhan smiled and nodded, hiding his merit and fame.

Not only was Nian Tu unaware of the true culprit, but Qiu Xu himself couldn't figure out who had attacked him. Lu Zhan worked cleanly and efficiently, leaving no clues behind.

Qiu Xu, who had made too many enemies in his daily life, listed a long string of suspects, but ultimately decided to vent his anger on Xie Jili. Not only because Xie Jili was the target of their most recent conflict, but more importantly, because Xie Jili was the easiest to bully among them all. A poor student with no background—he was easily manipulated.

"Father, you must teach him a lesson for me!" Qiu Xu gritted his teeth as he complained to his father.

Viscount Qiu Ming had been very impatient with this son lately. Although Qiu Xu had a handsome face and resembled him the most—making him his favorite son for a long time—Qiu Xu had caused such a shameful scene in public just days ago. He had even dared to spout wild words insulting a female, leading to an investigation into his ideological and moral conduct by the school, and was even suspended from classes. It had truly caused him no small amount of trouble.

Viscount Qiu Ming wore an impatient expression, but he still appeased Qiu Xu, promising to give Xie Jili a taste of his own medicine. In the end, it was that brat Xie Jili who didn't know his place, causing his son to lose face in public.

Viscount Qiu Ming looked over the information he had someone dig up on Xie Jili. His gaze paused at a certain point, and he gave a cold laugh.

"The Black Arena..."

Since this Xie Jili was fighting in the Black Arena, buying his life would be as easy as taking a drink of water. He had originally only intended to break an arm or a leg to teach him a lesson, but now it seemed he could solve the problem once and for all.

Viscount Qiu Ming sent a communication to a secret number. The person on the other end answered and readily agreed when he said he wanted someone dead. But upon hearing the name Xie Jili, the person fell silent, followed by a meaningful refusal: "The person you mentioned could be killed before, but he cannot be killed now."

Cannot be killed?

A civilian male with an ordinary background who had even cut ties with his mother—why couldn't he be killed? Unless... some big shot was protecting him from behind.

Viscount Qiu Ming quickly did some more digging and discovered that Xie Jili hadn't even gone to school for the past two days, and even his father, who had been in the custody of the Bureau of Supervision, had been released under a reasonable excuse.

In this way, Xie Jili had likely already joined the ranks of some big shot. This person's influence was far greater than the Qiu family's, and Xie Jili must be highly regarded by them to make him untouchable.

Viscount Qiu Ming's expression turned grave. He had thought he was a tiny bug he could easily crush, but it turned out the other party had already silently retreated into the darkness. Who knew when they might strike at the Qiu family in the future... It felt like a sharp blade was hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.

Qiu Xu, oblivious to the change in his father's mood, kept pestering him about when he would deal with Xie Jili. Thinking that all of this was caused by this useless son, Viscount Qiu Ming burned with rage. If not for Qiu Xu causing trouble and making enemies everywhere, would it have come to this?

"Father—!" Qiu Xu urged his father to stand up for him, but unexpectedly, his father swung his hand and slapped him hard. The force sent him spinning, and he fell heavily to the ground, eyes wide with disbelief.

"From today on, you will stay at home, reflect behind closed doors, and you are not allowed to go anywhere," Viscount Qiu Ming left behind these cold words and swept away.

The photos circulating on the StarNet still had to be scrubbed; the Qiu family couldn't afford this level of shame. People browsing the StarNet suddenly found that all the entries about Qiu Xu had vanished, and the photos were no longer accessible.

[Pulled again? It’s so good to be rich.]

[Laughing to death, everyone's already seen it anyway.]

[I saved the pictures, brothers. DM me for the free photos of Young Master Qiu getting beaten up.]

Suddenly, someone brought up:

[Speaking of which, I heard that the student who got into a conflict with Young Master Qiu hasn't been to school lately.]

[Is that for real?]

[I'm from the Imperial Military Academy, I can testify, he really hasn't been to class.]

[The Qiu family dares to do this?]

[These nobles are getting more and more lawless!]

...

Nian Tu, confusedly scrolling through these posts, felt a bit worried and hurriedly asked Xie Jili: [Have you not been going to school lately?]

The message was sent, but it was like a stone dropped into the ocean, with no response.

"Meow," the kitten rubbed against her feet, trying to get her attention.

Nian Tu put her light-brain aside, bent down to pick up the kitten, and scratched it under the chin. "Do you want to go play in the yard?"

She grabbed the little rubber ball she had bought for the kitten and opened the door, but suddenly, everything went black. She hadn't felt dizzy for a long time, and the long-lost sensation swept over her, catching her off guard. Nian Tu clutched her head and collapsed to the floor.

"Meow!!!" the kitten cried anxiously.

Nian Tu struggled to force a reassuring smile, trying to tell it not to worry. It was fine, just a common symptom before her psionic awakening.

Before the reassuring smile could even reach her face, her consciousness was rapidly slipping away. Her eyelids were heavy, and her psionic power fluctuated wildly. In the instant before she lost consciousness, Nian Tu dazedly saw what appeared to be thick black mist emerging from the kitten... exactly the same as what she had seen on the male beastmen.