Chen Qiao stared straight at Qin Xun.
Qin Xun could only lower his head, avoiding her gaze.
"Why are you blushing?"
"Am I?"
Qin Xun guiltily touched his face.
"You're redder than a ripe apple. What's the matter? Got a guilty conscience?"
There was such temptation in Chen Qiao's gaze that few men could have resisted it.
The men at several nearby tables merely caught a glimpse of her gaze, and they were already squirming and drooling.
"Maybe I just got a little hot all of a sudden," Qin Xun explained.
Chen Qiao was about to say more when a heated argument suddenly erupted outside.
"Which blind fool dares cause trouble on my turf?" She raised a delicate brow and limped out from behind the counter. "Come on, help your sister outside to take a look!"
Qin Xun looked down.
Chen Qiao wore a slipper on her left foot, and her small, delicate toes were painted red.
Her right ankle, on the other hand, was wrapped in bandages.
"What happened to your foot?"
"I accidentally twisted it."
Qin Xun lent her his shoulder and helped her outside.
Outside, two groups were arguing.
One was the group that included the woman named Lulu.
The other consisted of four men who seemed to have just arrived.
"What's going on?"
Chen Qiao shouted.
No one in either group paid him any attention. The argument grew fiercer, and they shoved and jostled one another, looking ready to come to blows at any moment.
Chen Qiao raised her right hand and pinched two fingers together.
A flash of red light appeared, and a red shuriken materialized between her fingers!
"She's a Psionic Power user too..." Qin Xun muttered to himself.
After she threw the shuriken, it split in midair, one becoming ten, and hurtled toward the two groups.
Both groups sensed the danger and scattered at breakneck speed!
The dozen or so people all turned to look at Chen Qiao.
"Causing trouble, are you?" Chen Qiao regarded the two groups coldly. "Don't you know the rules here?"
Lulu pointed at the four men and said to Chen Qiao, "Boss Chen, these guys are no good. They sold us out once in District 107 and nearly got all of us killed! Could you drive them away?"
"No matter who they are, they're guests once they come here. As long as they don't break the rules, I have no reason to drive them away!"
"If you have a grudge against him, that's between you and them. If you want to settle it, do it outside!"
"If you'll give me face, then rest up properly. If you won't give me face, you should know what happens when you make me, Qiao'er, angry!"
"I don't want to see anyone bleed!"
Chen Qiao was utterly imposing, completely different from when she had just asked Qin Xun to keep her!
Both groups lowered their heads, gritting their teeth. It was clear they were all furious.
But under the pressure of Chen Qiao's presence, not one dared challenge her.
"A Hu!"
"Coming!" The young man named A Hu stepped behind Chen Qiao.
"Bring them two dozen drinks, and arrange rooms for the new arrivals. If anyone causes trouble again, throw them straight out!"
"Got it!"
"Help your sister inside," Chen Qiao said softly to Qin Xun.
"Sister Qiao'er, you were pretty imposing just now." Qin Xun helped Chen Qiao back inside.
There was a lovely fragrance about Chen Qiao. It seemed to be perfume, yet somehow it didn't.
Her body was soft, and her hand was as smooth as silken tofu.
"I have no choice. All kinds of guests come here: robbers, murderers, wanted criminals, each more ruthless than the last. If I didn't act like that, how could I keep them in line? This place would have closed down ages ago!"
"That makes sense."
Chen Qiao returned to the counter.
Qin Xun sat on the same high stool as before.
"Sister Qiao'er, was that your Psionic Power just now?"
"Yes!"
Recalling the shuriken that had appeared in Chen Qiao's hand,
Qin Xun smiled sheepishly and looked at the steel fork embedded in the target. "Looks like I was showing off my axe skills in front of a master carpenter."
"Not at all. You're already impressive." Chen Qiao then asked, "What about you? Are you a Psionic Power user?"
"I..." Qin Xun thought back to the chains and shook his head. "Probably not..."
"Either you are or you aren't. What do you mean, probably? Here, let me check!" Chen Qiao placed a hand on Qin Xun's chest.
Gradually, Qin Xun felt a warm current enter his body.
The warm current flowed through him with a tingling sensation, finally reaching the spot where the vortex inside him was located.
"You are a Psionic Power user!" Chen Qiao withdrew her hand.
"I'm a Psionic Power user?"
"What, you didn't know? How old are you?"
"I just turned eighteen today."
"Your Qi Gate is open. You're a Psionic Power user now!"
"Qi Gate..."
Qin Xun murmured. Could the vortex in his body that absorbed energy be the so-called Qi Gate?
"Looks like you didn't know. Your Qi Gate probably just appeared today and opened without you realizing it. You're pretty lucky." Chen Qiao turned around and brought Qin Xun another cake. "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you!" Qin Xun nodded gratefully.
"Then am I a first-realm Psionic Power user now?"
"If your Qi Gate just opened today, then you're a first-realm Psionic Power user. A complete beginner, I suppose."
Qin Xun looked thoughtful. A few seconds later, he said earnestly, "Could you teach me how to use Spirit?"
"That's not a service my little shop offers. Xu Chao is a Psionic Power user too. You can ask him to teach you."
Chen Qiao propped her chin on one hand and gazed at Qin Xun. In a teasing tone, she said, "Of course, if you call me good sister, I might consider teaching you."
Qin Xun fell silent for two seconds, then raised his head and called out, "Good sister!"
After all, if calling her good sister once could get him a way to use Spirit, wasn't it well worth it?
"Good boy!" Chen Qiao smiled sweetly and spread her five fingers against Qin Xun's chest.
Soon, Qin Xun felt the vortex inside him stir. Warm currents flowed out of it and through his body, just as before.
"Can you feel it boiling inside you?"
"Yeah!" Qin Xun nodded.
"Does it feel like a warm current is flowing through your body in every direction?"
"Yes."
Qin Xun could feel the warm currents clearly. They flowed through his body like hot water, from head to toe, making him feel wonderfully comfortable.
"These warm currents are Spirit. Now, try to control it."
"How do I do that?"
"Focus completely. Don't let yourself get distracted. This Spirit is already part of your body; it belongs to you. Imagine it as your hands and your feet. Try to guide all of it into your left hand."
Following Chen Qiao's instructions, Qin Xun closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and tried to control the Spirit inside him.
Time ticked by, second by second.
He tried several times, and finally, after three minutes, he succeeded in guiding the Spirit into his left hand.
His left hand felt hot, brimming with power!
But the moment he grew happy, he lost focus, and the Spirit receded again.
"I did it, but only for a moment." Qin Xun opened his eyes.