Xun Wind nodded, half understanding.
Then, with a bang, someone kicked the door open with great force. Hearing the noise, Fan Daoyi was the only one who turned to look.
Two people entered through the doorway. The one in front had slightly messy hair and one hand in his pocket. He wore a sleeveless undershirt beneath a cloak, looking flamboyant and unruly.
The one behind him had a refined air. He glanced sideways at the shoeprint on the door, adjusted his monocle, and looked away. His clothes were simple yet exquisite, their colors subdued and stately. They had little decoration, yet displayed taste and style.
The man in front met Fan Daoyi's gaze, and arcs of electricity instantly sprang up around his fist. Without another word, he charged straight at Fan Daoyi's face.
He Piaojian grabbed a teacup from the table, intending to smash it to stop him. But Fan Daoyi reacted faster, whipping a bamboo staff at the incoming fist and forcing him back.
"Thief!" the man shouted, anger surging from his heart.
The electric arcs grew stronger, and the overhead lights began to flicker.
Li Fire came out of her room, cursing. "Who the fuck cut the power at the most critical moment in my game?!"
When she saw Zhen Thunder covered in lightning, her rage flared. Li Fire pulled a butterfly knife from her pocket and slashed her own arm. "Zhen Thunder, I knew it was you, you little punk!"
The blood on Li Fire's arm instantly burned like flame. She charged toward the lightning-covered figure. "You're dead—"
Kun Earth and the refined man acted at the same time. Kun Earth restrained Li Fire, holding her in place. The refined man stripped away the flames and lightning, and calm returned to the room.
Kun Earth sighed. "Zhen Thunder, could you stop acting like a brute?"
"Kun Earth, I never expected you to betray us."
Those words nearly made Kun Earth choke. She clenched her fists, her eyes still narrowed and a smile on her face, and repeatedly steadied her breathing.
Seeing that Zhen Thunder looked ready to fight to the bitter end, Kun Earth snapped her fingers.
Open the gate, let Li Fire loose.
With her powers restricted, Li Fire went straight at Zhen Thunder and fought him hand to hand.
"Betrayal, betrayal, is that it?!" She yanked Zhen Thunder's hair and grabbed his face. "Your persecution complex is seriously messed up. Who could sneak into [Eight Trigrams] without us noticing and attacking them? Can't you think for a second?!"
"And my game, my game! I didn't save, you know that?!"
Fan Daoyi's gaze remained on the refined man nearby. The man watched everything unfold, intervening when appropriate, and carried the bearing of someone accustomed to command.
Presumably, this man was the "boss" the others had mentioned, Qian Heaven, one of the Eight Trigrams. He managed all those members of the [Eight Trigrams] organization, each more or less messed up in the head. For some reason, Fan Daoyi felt like they were fellow sufferers...
He also didn't know whether those few had properly reformed Guixu.
Inside Guixu.
"Two brothers get along, three stars shine, four blessings bring wealth, five champions, six six six, seven clever ones, drink!"
Flower Tender and Puppet were playing a finger-guessing drinking game when a scarlet entrance opened beside them, and Sculptor emerged with a long face.
"Perfect timing. We're one short of three. Want to play cards?" Flower Tender called out warmly.
Sculptor, however, didn't respond. Sculptor silently sought out a dark corner, squatted there with a small carving knife, and drew circles on the ground.
"What happened? Why so down?" Flower Tender picked up a bottle and walked over. "Did the game go badly?"
Sculptor's voice was low and dejected. "I let Lord Dao Yi down..."
"Oh?" Flower Tender blinked, looking ready to gloat. "Come on, tell me about it."
At that, Sculptor lowered their head even further. "As the final boss of a scarlet Guixu game, I actually got farmed by two players. And now Lord Dao Yi has to waste his Origin Source to revive me. I've failed you, my lord—"
"That's easy enough to solve." Puppet came over, eager to offer advice. "I told you long ago to slack off more. If you're so dutiful, who else would they kill?"
"But before my lord left..." Sculptor's conscience still felt a little uneasy.
"Fool!" Puppet scolded. "How much Origin Source does granting a wish for clearing a Red-level game cost, and how much does reviving a Red-level boss like you cost? Weigh it up yourself!"
Sculptor thought it over seriously and decided they had a point.
Flower Tender shook the bottle in hand. "So, want to have a drink and play some cards together?"
Sculptor's self-reproach didn't last long. After some encouragement from the two coworkers, Sculptor joined them in a game of cards.
"You've got a point. Come on, bottoms up."
The crisp clink of glasses rang through Guixu as they set all their worries and troubles aside for the time being.
Only... Fan Daoyi, out there, had it rough. With a bunch of troublesome subordinates, being the boss wasn't easy.
After realizing his mistake, Zhen Thunder apologized to Fan Daoyi with scratches all over his face. Fan Daoyi maintained his gentle, courteous manner and smiled, saying he didn't mind.
Just as the two sides were about to shake hands and make peace, Fan Daoyi smiled and said it was all right while spurting mouthfuls of blood.
The sudden development stunned everyone nearby, and they immediately scrambled in confusion.
Xun Wind shouted at the top of their lungs, "Holy crap, where's Kan Water? Kan Water, come save him—"
"Cough, cough, I'm... I'm fine." Fan Daoyi covered his mouth and raised a hand with difficulty to show how he was doing.
Zhen Thunder reacted most strongly. Panicking, he said, "Brother, my dear brother, don't scare me! Please don't let anything happen to you! How come I'm the one who got beaten up, but you're the one coughing up blood?!"
"Are you angry because Zhen Thunder suddenly attacked you? He's got a persecution complex and a one-track mind. If nothing else works, I can beat him up again for you to watch and calm yourself down?" Li Fire was also trying to persuade him.
Kun Earth found some healing potions from their reserves and fed them to Fan Daoyi, but they had little effect. She could only keep apologizing to him.
The whole bunch of clowns had been shouting for ages without a single one taking the right practical action. In the end, Qian Heaven, the poor sucker, couldn't stand watching anymore. He took out his phone and called Kan Water.
After quickly explaining the situation to Kan Water, he said to He Piaojian, "Little Jianjian, go pick Kan Water up. Hurry."
A sword appeared in Qian Heaven's hand, and he passed it to He Piaojian.
He Piaojian took the sword and hurried outside. Once there, he immediately took flight on it.
"Woohoo—"
He reached the hospital in less than two minutes. Kan Water had already been waiting there for quite a while.
"Quick, get on," He Piaojian called.
Kan Water felt awful the moment he saw it was He Piaojian. After stepping onto the sword, he said weakly, "Go steady..."
"Steady? We're short on time and have a lot to do."
With a whoosh, the sword carried them a hundred meters away.
Kan Water braced himself against the elevator, wanting to vomit. When it reached the bottom, He Piaojian pulled him straight out.
His face pale, he weakly raised a hand to treat Fan Daoyi, who had already fainted. Then he said to the anxious crowd, "Would some kind soul give me a trash can..."
Gen Mountain handed him a trash can, and Kan Water bent over and threw everything up.