Smack!
The yellow-haired punk was left completely dazed by Lu Liangting’s punch. Truthfully, he hadn’t expected Lu Liangting to have so much nerve, just hauling off and slugging him without warning.
His face stung something fierce, whether from the blow itself or the sheer humiliation of losing face in front of the girls.
“Show some respect. Take your cigarette away from her.”
Lu Liangting pulled back his fist, but before he could even finish speaking, he lifted his leg and drove a kick straight into the yellow-haired punk’s stomach. It just so happened the humiliated and furious punk was also gearing up to kick Lu Liangting. His leg had barely lifted before he took the boot himself, throwing him completely off balance. He flipped backward over his seat and crashed into the row behind.
“Screw you, bastard!” Seeing his buddy get pummeled, the other yellow-haired punk sure as hell couldn’t just stand by. He lunged forward, throwing a punch.
Lu Liangting was still able to fend him off. He raised an arm to block the incoming fist, then countered with a solid punch to the guy’s gut. Just as he was winding up for another blow, the green-haired punk finally entered the fray. He swung a heavy fist, smashing it into Lu Liangting’s nose, and with his other hand, grabbed a fistful of Lu Liangting’s collar.
Still, Lu Liangting had survived plenty of quests. His physical conditioning was remarkably good. This punch? Harmless, nothing to him. On the contrary, he seized the chance and—bang, bang!—landed two more punches into the yellow-haired punk’s midsection. The guy immediately crumpled up like a boiled shrimp.
The green-haired punk, still clutching Lu Liangting’s collar, shoved him hard. Lu Liangting stumbled backward a few steps, ending up in the middle aisle of the bus.
Neither of them knew any real fighting technique. They just latched onto one another, trading wild swings and clumsy kicks. But Lu Liangting’s superior strength and impressive stamina were telling—he had an overwhelming advantage. Two more blows, then a brutal throw, and he had the green-haired punk pinned on the floor.
Just then, the first little yellow-haired punk who’d been flipped over earlier scrambled back up. He even fished out a switchblade from his pocket. Cursing through gritted teeth, his blood was fully up. He raised the knife and charged straight at Lu Liangting.
Lu Liangting, at that moment, was still straddling the green-haired punk, unleashing a rain of lefts and rights. He sensed movement and started turning his head, but the yellow-haired punk was already right in front of him.
Past the point of seeing anything but red, the punk gave zero thought to consequences. Raising the knife, he stabbed directly at Lu Liangting.
Just as the blade closed within ten centimeters of Lu Liangting’s face, a small hand suddenly appeared, gripping the blade itself.
The yellow-haired punk froze. He turned his head and found himself staring at a pretty face behind a pair of sunglasses. That little lolita in the blue-and-white dress had somehow materialized right next to him, and she’d caught his knife with nothing but her bare hand. Bai Yu raised her hand, fist clenched. With a perfectly straight thrust, she drove the protruding middle knuckle of her fist hard into the yellow-haired punk’s throat. In the same instant he was flying backward from the blow, her other hand shot out, similarly clenched, her middle knuckle smashing into the center of his philtrum.
Crack! The yellow-haired punk toppled straight back, crashing headfirst onto the floor. The switchblade clattered away out of his grip.
Bai Yu pulled back her hands, stepped crisply over the punk’s crumpled form, and settled back into her seat. Earlier, Zhao Mingyue had been the one occupying the outer seat. Now Bai Yu had swapped places with her and was sitting there instead.
Shen Shuyun’s own movements froze mid-step. She’d been just about to leap in and save Lu Liangting, but how could she have possibly been faster than Bai Yu?
Lu Liangting’s back had been turned to Bai Yu, so he hadn’t seen how she’d suddenly appeared. All he witnessed was the final result—those two clean, efficient punches that laid the punk out flat. Compared to that, he, a full-grown man, felt distinctly underwhelming. Getting caught up in a brawl with three street punks and still taking a beating like this.
He got up, gingerly touching the corner of his mouth. A slight bruise was already forming there, the result of a wild punch the green-haired punk had landed while they grappled.
“So cool!” Shen Shuyun, from her seat, gave Lu Liangting a big thumbs up. “The hero saving the beauty… too bad the beauty ended up saving the hero in the end.”
“Wasn’t about saving the beauty. I just couldn’t stand by and watch.” Lu Liangting scratched his head. It’d been a pretty cool move, yeah, but the smile that crept onto his face was, to be honest, a little on the goofy side.
It wasn’t because the person being harassed was Zhao Mingyue that he’d stepped in. The truth was, he’d been doing this kind of thankless, trouble-magnet thing ever since he was a kid. Back before he’d gained his current level of strength, he’d frequently gotten beaten up pretty badly. The beatings, those he could handle; he never really minded them—just a few days to heal up. What really messed with him for days on end was those times he’d try to help, and some snake would turn around and try to scam him for it.
But a situation like today—helping the weak out, only to be rescued by the supposedly “weak” in the end—this was a first.
“Oh, right.” Something suddenly occurred to Lu Liangting, and he quickly walked toward Bai Yu. “Thanks for helping me out earlier. Your hand… do you need to go to a hospital?”
He’d clearly seen it: Bai Yu had grabbed the knife barehanded. He couldn’t help but wonder—that fine, delicate little hand, was it really okay? It must’ve been cut, right?
Bai Yu said nothing. She simply raised both of her slightly pale hands. Fine and delicate was true. But there was also, indeed, no sign of any wound whatsoever.
Seeing that, Lu Liangting let out a relieved breath. “No injury, good, that’s good.”
Watching the two of them, Zhao Mingyue smoothly smoothed the situation over. “This is Lu Liangting, my classmate. And this person beside me here is my younger cousin, Zhao Ruoxi. She’s actually learned a bit of martial arts, so that’s how she was able to disarm the guy and knock him out.”
Lu Liangting scratched his head, at a bit of a loss for what else to say. He just gave a small nod and muttered another thanks.
“Right, I’ll handle everything here from now on. You two should head off and enjoy your day. Don’t let this hold you up.” Because of the brawl, the bus had pulled over to the side of the road, the bus driver repeatedly glancing back with obvious unease.
“Ah, are you sure? That’s not really fair to you, is it?” Zhao Mingyue took hold of Bai Yu’s hand, signaling that she wanted to answer for herself.
“It’s fine, seriously. I’ve been at the police station so much lately, I know the place well.” Lu Liangting’s family had money—a serious, serious amount of money. So he had a fair bit of pull at the police station too. Handling this minor trouble was no big deal. Mainly, he’d spotted the carnation in Zhao Mingyue’s hands, and knowing what he did of her family’s situation, he’d guessed at her reason for this outing.
It wasn’t something appropriate to bring up bluntly, nor was there any need. Knowing it silently was enough; letting Zhao Mingyue leave now was all he could do to help.
“Driver, could you open the door, please? Don’t worry, I’m not running off. I’ve already called the police.” Once Lu Liangting had shouted that, the bus’s rear door swung open.
“You two go on ahead. Leave this to me.” Eyeing the three collapsed punks, a thought suddenly struck Lu Liangting. If he wound up at the police station, didn’t that mean he wouldn’t have to go shopping with Shen Shuyun?!
“Aha ha, well… we’ll, uh, be off then! I really do have some errands to run.” Zhao Mingyue tugged Bai Yu off the bus.
What if they did end up at the police station and Bai Yu’s true identity somehow got exposed?! Giving Lu Liangting a huge mental thumbs-up, Zhao Mingyue stepped off the bus and let out a massive breath of relief.
“That bunch is truly so annoying. Every single time I run into them, I know something bad’s going to happen.” As she spoke, she glanced at Bai Yu. “So, uh, Little Sister Yu… you didn’t… accidentally kill that guy earlier, did you?”
“No.”
“Wait, really, seriously no?!” She had clearly seen the guy’s legs go absolutely ramrod straight!
“Probably… no.”
“Probably…? Well, he was the one about to murder someone. Even if we did… that should still count as self-defense, right?”
Zhao Mingyue felt utterly drained. Thanks to the ruckus those junior thugs had stirred up, she’d been forced off the bus a good five kilometers early. Having to walk that distance was such a pain. And anyway, even if she had gotten off at the nearest stop, it’d still be another three or four kilometers of walking to reach the cemetery.
That was because her parents’ grave wasn’t in one of the city’s public cemeteries; it was out in the countryside. Land in those managed cemeteries cost money, money she simply couldn’t afford. Although, back then, she hadn’t been the one to pick the burial site. It’d been her relatives’ decision.
She was, at her roots, a country girl. Her ancestral home was in the village. The family had only moved into the city later, once their financial situation had improved a bit. But deep down, they were still country folk.
So her parents’ final resting place was very simple: just a burial mound and a headstone. The two were buried together—a way to save land and expense. Besides, they’d been husband and wife; being buried together was natural.
In Zhao Mingyue’s eyes, there was nothing wrong with being buried in the countryside. In those cramped public cemeteries, you were packed in with neighbors everywhere, and you’d never know what kind of “neighbor” you were stuck next to. Maybe they’d be terribly loud. Maybe they’d be completely unreasonable. Out here in the fields, there was no such headache. And besides, with beautiful hills and clear waters all around, it was so peaceful. No one would bother them.
Still, that five-kilometer hike? Zhao Mingyue really, really didn’t want to do it. The one saving grace was that the spot where she’d exited the bus was still within the city limits. There were shared bicycles to be found. She could ride one most of the way, then find an appropriate place to park it.
And that was how she promptly ran into a very real, very practical problem.
“Little Sister Yu… you… you seriously don’t know how to ride a bike?” Staring at the bicycle sprawled on its side, and then at Bai Yu, who was eyeing the fallen contraption with narrowed, assessing eyes, Zhao Mingyue felt a jolt of sheer disbelief.
In her mind, Bai Yu was someone who could do everything. From the bloody work of killing and arson to the domestic sphere of kitchen and hall, she was a master of all trades. She could even cook! Yet she couldn’t ride a bicycle?!
“Can learn,” Bai Yu stated icily. Without another word, she righted the bicycle, and then kept right on trying.
Not only was her skirt a hindrance, but she had absolutely zero technique. As expected, before she even managed to properly mount the seat, the bike tipped over. It was only thanks to her cat-like reflexes that she didn’t end up flat on her face from the first crash.
She picked up the bike, kept attempting to ride. Sixteen seconds later, the bike toppled over again.
Picked it up once more. Eighteen seconds later, the front basket cracked from the impact of the crash. Zhao Mingyue hadn’t even managed to get a word out before Bai Yu hit the ground at light speed yet again. This time, the basket was completely torn off, sent flying.
“Little Sister Yu… I gotta say, how about… let’s just not keep trying to learn anymore?” She was finally realizing it. When it came to bicycles, Bai Yu possessed absolutely zero talent. This had to be one of those things where God opens a thousand windows for you, but then goes out of His way to slam one specific door.
Zhao Mingyue felt that if Bai Yu had a visible rage meter floating above her head, right now, eighty points of fury would be a conservative estimate. Maybe even ninety.
Looking at her tensed little face, that deadly serious frown, Zhao Mingyue suddenly felt her heart melt for reasons she couldn’t explain. This side of Bai Yu, she thought, was just so incredibly adorable. It made her want to just scoop her up and squish those cute little cheeks!
But, for the sake of that poor, battered bicycle… she should probably let it go. One more crash like that, and the thing would be a total write-off.
“Let’s switch. There’s an electric one over there. Costs a bit more, but it can carry us both. We can squeeze on together.”
At Zhao Mingyue’s well-meaning suggestion, Bai Yu just stared stubbornly at the bicycle. Two seconds passed. Then she gave a slight nod. “Fine.”
And so Zhao Mingyue swapped their transport. She had Bai Yu sit in the back, arms wrapped around her waist. The scooter’s seat pad was short. Two people on it meant a tight squeeze, pressing against each other. What was more, Bai Yu’s skirt meant she couldn’t sit normally facing forward. She had to position herself sideways, making the squeeze even tighter.
Out on the rural roadside, traffic was sparse. As they coasted along a narrow side lane, Zhao Mingyue gripped the handlebars with intense concentration, her carnation safely tucked in the scooter’s front basket.
From the back, Bai Yu wrapped her arms around Zhao Mingyue’s waist, clinging tightly. To avoid slipping off, she pressed her upper body as close as possible against Zhao Mingyue’s back, her cheek resting against her shoulder.
A gentle breeze blew, lifting the wisps of the young women’s hair. The road was peaceful and quiet. Apart from the lack of bright sunlight, everything felt just perfect. Off to the side, the view opened up to distant fields.
Zhao Mingyue could feel, with piercing clarity, the embrace of Bai Yu’s arms around her waist—a cool, chilling sensation that seemed to touch her very soul. And she could also feel the softness of the girl behind her, her little face nestled against her shoulder, her gaze disappearing into the far-off scenery.
All of a sudden, an overwhelming feeling of tranquil contentment washed over her. A smile, unbidden, crept onto Zhao Mingyue’s lips. It was a smile that came from the very deepest part of her heart, completely involuntary.
She found herself thinking… how wonderful it would be if time could slow down. If this moment could just last forever. She deliberately eased off the throttle, wanting this stretch of time to stretch on longer. This was one of the rare, truly happy moments she’d had since losing her parents and her sister going missing.
Why did she like Bai Yu so much? It was a question she’d never quite known how to answer. Until this very moment. She felt like she finally had the answer.
Perhaps… it was simply the companionship.
Bai Yu didn’t speak either, just quietly gazed out at the distant landscape.
Something she’d never mentioned before… ever since turning into a ghost, she’d noticed a problem. Her emotions and feelings had been greatly dulled. She’d killed many people. In the eyes of outsiders, she was an out-and-out, cold-blooded lunatic. But she’d once been a living person too, with her own emotional swings, her own changing feelings. The difference back then was she’d been very good at controlling them.
But ever since becoming a ghost… she found herself less and less capable of having those emotional and sentimental fluctuations. Like a pool of dead, stagnant water. Even the biggest impact could only cause the faintest of ripples. She knew it wasn’t a good sign, but she was powerless to change it.
Yet just moments ago, she realized… she’d somehow found a bit of that feeling from when she’d been alive. For example, when she kept failing to learn the bike and kept falling, she actually got angry. Genuinely, intensely angry. Logically speaking, such a clear, acute emotional shift in such a short timeframe shouldn’t be possible for a Wraith like herself. And even if she could muster that much emotional intensity, it shouldn’t have been anger or frustration rising up. It should have been resentment. Resentment was a ghost’s strongest emotion.
So why was it? She was only disguised as a living person; she hadn’t truly become one. At her core, she was still a ghost.
But before she could find her answer, this beautiful, peaceful stretch of the journey reached its destination.
“If we go any further, the scooter will auto-lock. Let’s get off here.” Zhao Mingyue brought the vehicle to a stop.
Bai Yu snapped out of her reverie, rose smoothly, and stepped off the seat. Once Zhao Mingyue had properly parked the scooter, she picked up the carnation from the basket. Following the narrow lane further into the countryside, she couldn’t help but glance back one more time at the shared bicycle.
After all, there would be the return trip. And that meant there’d be another chance. It wasn’t like this was the last time forever. She believed, with all her heart, that Little Sister Yu would always stay by her side.
And today, for this trip specifically, she was bringing Little Sister Yu along to her parents’ grave. So that Mom and Dad could also see.
