Four shadows fell across the bluestone path, moving forward side by side.
Xiao Wu suddenly stopped and turned to face the other three.
"I'm declaring something. Starting today, the Happy Claw Machine is our secret base. We're going every day, and nobody's allowed to miss it."
"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing answered crisply.
"Sure." Ning Rongrong nodded.
"Mm." Bai Chenxiang's voice was soft, but firm.
Xiao Wu held out her right hand, palm facing down.
Ning Rongrong placed her hand on top. Bai Chenxiang followed, and Zhu Zhuqing hesitated for a second before adding hers. The sleeve of her black leather jacket slid down, revealing a small stretch of fair wrist.
Four hands rested one atop another.
"Same time tomorrow!" Xiao Wu called.
All four hands rose together and slapped the air.
Then the four of them laughed and went their separate ways, chattering all the way toward the classroom building.
Halfway there, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly turned and glanced toward the sports field.
She could no longer see it; the classroom building blocked her view.
But she could picture Dai Mubai limping, his left eye bruised, his ribs aching, and the words "Your Grace" spilling from his mouth.
The curve of Zhu Zhuqing's lips lifted a little higher.
The humiliation of having to swallow her anger and walk away last night had finally been wiped clean today.
Boys' dormitory.
Ma Hongjun helped Dai Mubai up to the third floor. Dai Mubai hadn't said a word along the way, his face dark enough to drip ink.
When they pushed open the dorm room door, Tang San was sitting on his bed, meditating. A medicinal plaster was still stuck to his waist. Oscar was lying on the opposite bed, inspecting his newly repaired front tooth in a small mirror.
At the noise, both of them looked up.
When they saw Dai Mubai, Oscar's newly attached front tooth nearly fell out.
His left eye was swollen like a peach, there was blood at the corner of his mouth, and he limped as he walked. His uniform was covered in dust and footprints.
"You... what happened?" Tang San sat up straight.
Dai Mubai dropped onto his bed, making the whole frame creak.
Ma Hongjun shut the door and leaned against it, his expression complicated.
"He got beaten up by Zhu Zhuqing."
Tang San and Oscar exchanged a glance.
Tang San: "...What?"
Ma Hongjun was about to explain, but Dai Mubai stopped him. "Don't. Haven't I lost enough face already?"
Oscar choked and coughed until his face turned red.
Tang San stopped meditating, his expression grave.
"So, do you believe us now when we said last night that we were telling the truth? San-ge and I aren't sick at all," Oscar said.
The room fell silent.
Last night, Ma Hongjun had thought Tang San and Oscar were babbling nonsense because they'd been shaken up. Now he'd seen Zhu Zhuqing knock Dai Mubai, a level-68 Soul Emperor, flat while she was only level 62.
This wasn't nonsense. It was real.
"What do we do now?" Ma Hongjun asked. He was the only one who hadn't been injured.
The lightbulb in the boys' dormitory cast a dim yellow glow. The four of them sat in separate corners, while the sharp smell of medicinal plaster and the rusty tang of the blood-stanching cotton in Oscar's mouth hung in the air.
Ma Hongjun's question lingered unanswered.
Dai Mubai sat on the edge of his bed, his right hand pressed against his ribs. His fingers dug in, and the pain made him suck in a breath. He remembered the force of Zhu Zhuqing's kicks all too well. Every one had landed on the soft tissue around his joints, precise as if she'd measured them with a ruler.
"What do we do now?" Ma Hongjun asked again.
Tang San sat up on his bed. The plaster on his waist had come loose at one corner, but he couldn't be bothered to fix it.
"It's obvious. In a single day, Xiao Wu's strength surged by eight levels, Ning Rongrong's Soul Skill can turn things to stone, and Zhu Zhuqing's speed doubled. Those three, along with Bai Chenxiang, are all in the same dorm."
Oscar slurred out a reply. "You mean they found some kind of fortuitous opportunity?"
"It's more than just an opportunity." Tang San pressed down the edge of his plaster, his voice low. "Think about it. What kind of opportunity could take a level-62 Soul Emperor to level 70 in just a few hours? Even a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring couldn't do that."
Ma Hongjun leaned against the door with both hands in his pockets and tilted his head, thinking.
"Then what could it be? A secret realm? An artifact? Or did a Titled Douluo pass their power on to them?"
Dai Mubai finally spoke. His voice was quiet, but each word carried a hard, suppressed edge. "Ma Hongjun."
"Yeah?"
"Investigate the situation over the next few days."
Ma Hongjun paused, stunned.
Dai Mubai raised his head. His uninjured right eye fixed on Ma Hongjun, his gaze heavy.
"I suspect Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong are all hiding something. No, there's also Bai Chenxiang. They're all in the same dorm. All four of them are suspicious."
"You want me to investigate them?" Ma Hongjun pointed at himself.
"Yes." Dai Mubai stood up. A sharp pain stabbed through his ribs. He frowned and braced himself against the bedframe to steady his body.
"There's definitely something fishy going on. I suspect they've joined forces with people from outside the academy. A Titled Douluo could very well be helping them from behind the scenes. If they dare pull something like this, they'd better not blame me for what happens next!"
The room fell silent for two seconds.
Oscar pulled the blood-stanching cotton from his mouth and ran his tongue over the gap where his front tooth had been. "Boss, you mean if they call in a strong fighter, we call one in too?"
"Of course." Dai Mubai's voice turned cold. "Anyone can bully people, right?"
Tang San leaned against the headboard, his fingers tapping the bedframe unconsciously.
"Hmph. If that's really what happened, I'll call in a Douluo from the Clear Sky Sect and demand an explanation from the academy."
Everyone present knew what a Titled Douluo from the Clear Sky Sect was worth. It was the continent's greatest sect. If one of the sect elders showed up, even Bibi Dong, the principal of the Spirit Academy, would have to show some respect.
"Right, right, that's it! So that's what's going on!" Ma Hongjun slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened.
He'd thought Tang San and Oscar were talking in their sleep before, but now that he'd seen Zhu Zhuqing beat Dai Mubai flat, he finally took the matter seriously.
"So start keeping an eye on them now." Dai Mubai walked up to Ma Hongjun and patted his shoulder with his uninjured hand, not lightly.
"Make sure we have solid evidence. Ma Hongjun, I'm ordering you to get to the bottom of this within two days."
Ma Hongjun straightened up, unusually serious for once. "Yes. Wait for my report."
Tang San added, "Focus on where they go after class and who they meet. Especially Xiao Wu. She's changed the most today."
"Understood."
Oscar sat up too, speaking nasally through his swollen mouth. "Hongjun, be careful when you tail them. Don't let them catch you. Xiao Wu's a crafty little thing, and now Ning Rongrong can turn things to stone. If your Phoenix Wings turn to stone, losing a front tooth will be the least of your problems."
Ma Hongjun shuddered. "Don't scare me!"
"Enough. Get some rest." Dai Mubai limped back to his bed. As he sat down, a sharp pain shot through the bend of his knee.
He looked down at his right leg. The inside of his knee was bruised dark.
Zhu Zhuqing had kicked him there.
Dai Mubai gritted his back teeth. Once he figured out what was going on, she'd pay for it.
Ma Hongjun rummaged through the wardrobe for a plain gray jacket, pulled it on, and stuffed his conspicuous red academy jacket inside.
"I'll start keeping watch first thing tomorrow morning."
"Mm."
The lights went out.
The four of them lay there with their own worries, and the room held nothing but the rustling of people turning over and the occasional cry of pain.
Dai Mubai lay in the darkness, staring at the ceiling.
Only one image kept replaying in his mind: Zhu Zhuqing's black afterimage circling him while he couldn't land a single punch.
That feeling bothered him more than the beating.
Dai Mubai had always gotten whatever he wanted, ever since he was a child. Whatever he pursued, he obtained. Zhu Zhuqing was the one exception. She had never once given him any respect.
She hadn't been strong enough before, so she'd had to put up with him. Now she'd suddenly grown stronger, and the first thing she did was slap him in the face.
He'd settle this score.