The handsome man rose from the bed and stretched himself while rolling his shoulders to relax the slight stiffness there. He glanced down at his naked body and dusted off his pectorals.
"That was a good meal," he remarked before heading toward the bathroom for a shower. His host had shown him how to use the amenities yesterday, something that he was grateful for.
This might be a different world, but their technology and facilities were so far ahead of those that he was used to. Back in the Celestial Realm, he would have to fill a wooden tub up to take a bath in if he didn't want to bathe in the river, but here they had taps, showerheads and bathtubs. They had soap and shampoo too.
He could just get used to this…
After the long shower, he stepped out of the bathroom, toweling himself. He then proceeded toward the small bag of clothing that his host had bought for him yesterday, rummaging through the packaging and pulling out a sleek, black suit.
Following the steps that his host taught him in the changing room yesterday, he began to dress up. A navy blue shirt with a dark yellow tie, with a black blazer over it, and black slacks. She even bought him a matching watch. Given her meager salary as a nurse, she couldn't afford an expensive one, but nonetheless he appreciated it.
"Thank you," he said to the prone form on the bed. Not that he expected any answer.
The nurse who took him out for a date yesterday was lying motionlessly on the mattress, her desiccated body naked and shriveled.
The man studied her form sadly. It was a pity. He really liked the nurse, but he didn't have a choice. The amount of qi in this world was so thin he could hardly absorb anything. It would take him forever to recover his cultivation at this rate.
Then again, he knew the risks when he volunteered. All those who went through the Nine Heavenly Temporal Tribulation would experience a colossal drop in their cultivation, especially when they visited the lower realms.
As such, he had no choice but to resort to crude measures, such as devouring the qi essence of living humans, in order to restore as much of his cultivation base as possible.
Not that it mattered. Raising his hand, he clenched it into a fist and flexed his qi, allowing a wisp of purplish black energy to shroud his arm. Not bad. Even without restoring his cultivation fully, he would still be able to accomplish his mission.
Right now, he had more than enough strength to destroy his target.
Turning to the dead nurse, he bowed his head slightly and mouthed his thanks. Then he stepped out of her bedroom and left her apartment. As he walked toward the elevator, he contemplated on his next move.
"Oh, right," he remarked suddenly, a smile coming over his face. "Didn't the beauty say that Shu Cong would be going to school today?"
*
"Whoa! Bro Cong! You're back!"
Pang Zi was on the verge of sobbing when he ran toward me, his eyes red. I had to step to the side to dodge his running tackle. As much as I appreciated his sentiments, I wasn't fond of being hugged by another guy.
"How are you?" I asked him. My friend scowled.
"What do you mean? You're the one who got beaten up! I should be asking you that!"
"I'm fine," I assured him. "Just a few bruises and cuts here and there. Nothing too serious. It's only natural I would get scrapes after a scrap."
Pang Zi rolled his eyes. "If you can make such stupid jokes, you're definitely fine."
"Yeah, as long as they don't fine me, I'm fine."
"Dude…just…stop."
We continued toward the classroom, but the silence was broken after a few seconds. Pang Zi grinned when we stepped into the corridor.
"Oh, by the way, did you hear? After the stunt they pulled yesterday, Qi Fu Ren and his gang were all suspended. The teachers caught them and then brought them to the principal's office. You getting hospitalized turned into a big fuss – I think your parents complained to the principal. So they took action. Qi Fu Ren and the others won't be coming to school for at least two weeks, maybe three."
"Good riddance," I said, feeling a little vindicated.
"But you've to be careful, though. They'll definitely want revenge when they return."
"I guess so. I'll deal with them then."
Pang Zi glared at me worriedly. "Deal with them? How? There's like five of them and only one of you."
"Maybe I'll learn some martial arts and beat them up if they attack me," I responded brightly. Pang Zi sighed in exasperation and buried his pudgy face in his palm.
"In just two or three weeks? Do you think this is a manhua or something? That you will suddenly come across some cheat skill or item, or receive memories of a life from another world and begin to cultivate, then you can start kicking bullies' asses without having to train longer than a day? Wake up! This is reality!"
Speaking of reality, I was brought back to it when I heard a commotion. Curious, I paused in the corridor and looked out of the window. Apparently there was something happening near the school gates. Teacher Qiang, who usually took charge of physical education, was standing at the gates, his hands on his hips. He was dressed in his usual green and orange tracksuit.
"What's going on?" I murmured. Pang Zi shrugged as he stepped beside me to also peer out of the window.
"Who knows? Looks like we have a visitor?"
My chubby friend was right. I caught sight of a man in a black suit and yellow tie striding through the gate. Teacher Qiang was barring his way, though, reaching out with a burly hand to stop the trespasser.
"I'm sorry, but outsiders are not allowed on school premises. Please leave."
"Is that so?" the man in the black suit cocked his head to the side, a creepy grin on his handsome face. "But I was told that school was an institution for learning. How can you not welcome people who wish to learn?"
"You are not a student here. Don't bullshit me. I know you're not here to learn."
"Oh, but I am here to seek information."
The man met Teacher Qiang's ferocious gaze evenly. I couldn't believe it. I had seen six-foot tall delinquents with bats and pipes quail underneath the physical education teacher's imposing glare. Yet this guy showed no signs of fear. If anything, he was amused.
"Do you have a student named Shu Cong here?"
"Maybe?" Teacher Qiang probably didn't know who I was. He had so many students under his command. "Why are you looking for him? Are you his parent or guardian?"
He frowned and studied the man.
"You don't look old enough to be his father."
"No, I'm simply an associate."
"Then you can meet him after school," Teacher Qiang said dismissively. "If you're a parent or guardian, you'll have to contact the office first to make an appointment. But if you're not a relative, then you'll have to contact him in other ways."
He placed his hands on his hips and struck an intimidating posture.
"And if you're trying to get his contact info from the school, I'm afraid you won't receive it from us. We protect our students' privacy."
The man sighed. "But he's here, right? Shu Cong, I mean."
"I guess. But if he's here, he'll be in class right now. Like I said, you'll have to…"
"…kill my way through," the man muttered under his breath. "I didn't want to attract too much attention, but this is taking way more time than I anticipated. The longer I let him run about, the higher the risk. Now that I've confirmed that he's here…"
"Huh? What did you say?" Teacher Qiang scowled in annoyance. "What are you mumbling about?"
The man responded by punching him.
For a second, I thought I was seeing things. Squinting through my glasses, I narrowed my eyes and watched as blood spurted from Teacher Qiang's neck. It took a couple of seconds for me to realize that his head was gone.
The stranger's single punch had obliterated Teacher Qiang's head.
As the burly teacher's headless corpse toppled over, the students in the courtyard began screaming. The man surged toward them, his eyes scanning about swiftly. Several students ran, a few fainted, and many were paralyzed by fear, still stunned by the grisly display.
Without wasting any time, the trespasser seized the nearest student, a girl who had fallen to a kneeling position, and pulled her up.
"I don't suppose you can tell me where Shu Cong is?" he snarled.
The girl spluttered something and pointed toward the campus building where I currently resided. I couldn't make out her words because she was too far away (funnily enough I could hear the man mumbling to himself, which was weird…it was almost as if I sensed his words more than heard them), but it was clear that she knew who I was.
"Thank you," the man beamed brightly at the girl. She relaxed for a second, evidently relieved that her life seemed to be spared…only for her captor to break her neck. Even from up here, I could hear the crunching snap and I stumbled back to fall out of view before the man let go of her corpse.
"Bro, this looks really bad." Pang Zi swallowed and turned to me. "Who is that man? Why is he looking for you?"
"I have no idea. I have never seen him before."
"Well, you had best get going then." Pang Zi shoved me away from the window. "That dude is searching for you, and he's bad news."
I nodded and began running down the corridor. I reached for my smartphone, wanting to call the police, but I saw that the teachers were already doing so. The voice of Teacher Huang was hysterically, the language teacher almost in tears as she shouted incoherently at the police operator at the other end of her phone.
"Hey, Shu Cong!" one of the students shouted at me when he caught sight of me. He was among the fleeing crowd, stampeding away from the corridors and toward the back gate. "I heard that the killer is looking for you! Why?"
"I don't know!"
"Fucking asshole!" another student shouted. "It's your fault he's in our school killing us! Go surrender yourself to him!"
"Yeah! Take responsibility!"
"Why should we die for you?"
"If you give yourself over, maybe he'll stop killing us!"
"You cowards!" Pang Zi snapped at them furiously. "You only think of yourselves! You saw what that man did! He's a murderer!"
"Yeah! If he wants Shu Cong's life, he can have it! Why should we all be forced to die with him?!"
"Grab him!"
A mob of students pounced on me. Pang Zi tried to block their way, but they shoved him aside, slamming him against the wall and grabbing me. I didn't struggle. Inwardly, I realized that they were right. Teacher Qiang, the female student…other people were dying because of me.
The man was clearly searching for me. I didn't know the reason, but I couldn't continue running away while others died in my stead. This wasn't my style.
"Let go of me and run. I���ll go to him."
"Fuck you!" one of the students struck the back of my head. "You think we'll trust you?"
"Yeah! If we let go of you, you might run away!"
I bristled, but said nothing. Honestly, I couldn't blame them. If I were in their shoes, I might think the same thing. How would I know I wouldn't run off on my own and leave others to die in my place?
Personally, these fuckers weren't worth sacrificing my life for, but they made up the small minority of students. I glanced at the dazed Pang Zi and nodded at him once.
"Bro Cong…" he mumbled.
"Don't worry. I'll end this. Stay there."
I allowed my captors to frog march me toward the corridor. Right at that very moment, the handsome man in the suit emerged from the stairs and spun about to face us. Before he could ask his question, I looked up at him defiantly.
"I'm Shu Cong," I told him. "What do you want?"
"Your life," he replied before lunging forward.