3:00 o'clock in the evening.
The nurses healed Shinro Qiqi and the mother Tsubane and daughter Momo. They were the only survivors during the unknown spirit attack that had taken in Nagi's Superstore. One nurse was sitting beside Qiqi for almost 30 minutes now, waiting for her to wake up.
It was 3.00 o'clock on the dot when Qiqi opened her purple eyes and her vision became clearer. "I… Am I –"
"You're safe now, Shinro Qiqi." The nurse reassured her. Qiqi slowly turned her gaze to the nurse.
"Wha… Ling. What happened to Ling?" Qiqi was slowly getting back to her senses now.
"Huh?" The nurse was confused. Then, she fixed her glasses and smiled. "You, Shinro Qiqi… managed to save a ton of lives today. You are fit to be a cultivator. How could you even pull it off? You must be blessed to defeat that S-Rank spirit, Qiqi."
Qiqi frowned when she heard this. "But I… didn't do anything."
"What?" The nurse chuckled. "Yes yes. We will keep your secret if you do not –"
"I wasn't the one! It was Ling!"
The nurse fell silent.
"Ah, you don't have to put it on your friend's shoulder, you know. Ling Tao, was it? He was the one who told us how you defeated the spirit when our recovery unit arrived at the superstore. He told us how you saved his life, and he also asked me to tell you that he's thankful for saving his life."
'AH? LING! THAT LIAR!' Qiqi was furiously gritting her teeth; veins pumping in her forehead. She pulled away the blanket covering her and stepped off the bed in her hospital gown.
"Thank you for the recovery, dear miss! But I'll be taking my leave now! Where are my clothes??"
"Um… We cleaned the clothes and folded them. It's in that room," she replied, pointing at the door beside Qiqi's bed.
Qiqi turned around and set foot to rush towards the door, but she suddenly remembered something. 'The little girl…'
She turned around.
"Miss… is the little girl and her mother safe?"
The nurse smiled and nodded. "Yes yes."
"Ah… thank God." The girl turned around and rushed inside the changing room.
"Such a kind girl. She will be one of our greatest saviors one day," the nurse said to herself.
After getting dressed in her pink sweatshirt and her small blue jean shorts, she got discharged from the Xin City Public Hospital and went straight into the streets. The one thought that disturbed her all the way was… 'Who is Ling Tao?'
There was no explanation as to what he was. She had no words. Shinro Qiqi didn't believe in anything that was just mere gossip and words, but her own eyes never deceived her. "I…"
A memory of Ling Tao flashed in her head. A memory from Grade 4. This same Ling Tao came pushing through the crowd and announced that he was a cultivator… and her reply was:
"I think living like a regular person – is a blessing! After all, you can't deny who you are. And you should be proud of yourself. You don't need powers… Ling. As long as you're happy, what more is there to life?"
'I told him that… and I didn't believe him.' Shinro Qiqi felt guilty. The memories of how all the girls chuckled when she told them what happened with Ling came back to her. Everyone thought Ling was a joke.
Qiqi felt horrible. She stumbled across the streets through the crowds, wondering what to do about the situation. 'That power… the white light. He's a god in human form,' she thought to herself, finally coming to a stop at the Ming Yon Park and falling onto a bench.
"What should I do?"
'Should I talk to him at school tomorrow? No. I need to apologize right now! I can't live with this! Argh! I need to… know what he is.'
She laid back on her bench and sighed. "Is this a dream?"
She pinched her cheek. "Hmm… It's not?"
Then, she heard a few familiar voices passing her. A voice of a dear classmate. She instantly turned to this voice. And… it was a boy. Not just any boy. A boy that knew Ling Tao closely, as Shinro Qiqi assumed.
"Hey… Matsu Korochi! Aren't you?" She called out to the boy.
The boy turned around, surprised. He was a tall guy wearing glasses.
Matsu Korochi decided to take a walk at the park with his ears plugged in on a Sunday evening to calm himself, and now he was called out by his name by his own class's idol.
"What the – Shinro Qiqi??"
"Ha… It is you, Matsu. You tell me where Ling Tao lives! You're one of his friends right?? You surely know where he lives…" The girl cried out.
"Eh? Ling? Why Ling?" Korochi was confused.
"Why!? I asked you where he is, Matsu. Tell me right this moment!" The girl became fearsome.
"Oh! I… wait. Um, I think he's living in the Waterfalls Residence building at the haunted apartment – ah, which was it…" he tried to remember the number. "Ah! Apartment no. 23. And… Ling isn't really a friend – more like an acquaintance! He doesn't really talk with us much –"
"Thank you so much!" Qiqi bowed to him, making the four eyes step back in fear.
Then, Qiqi turned around and began to run. For a moment, Matsu stood there with his headphones around his neck, watching the girl run as fast as possible. He was recovering from the shock of speaking with "Shinro Qiqi" personally.
Then, he repeated his words.
"Why Ling?"
///
Waterfalls Residence was the most gigantic apartment complex in the whole area, so it was pretty well-known. Qiqi rushed down the alleys towards the apartment complex and stood in front of the building, trying to catch her breath.
"Ha… Ha…" Sweat was dripping down from her forehead now. She hasn't run across the town like this in forever.
She looked at the building once again. 'So… you are there, Ling Tao. If you're that powerful… your aura might just be enough to surround the whole building.'
She looked around for an aura ring but, she did not feel any aura from this building either. Maybe even stronger?
'I… I can't be wrong. The spirit didn't explode on his own! It must be you Ling… but such power!'
'Argh! And… I told you that you weren't a cultivator. I need to apologize to you!'
///Author's Note///
[Arc 1: PAIN IN THE ASS]
Arc one, chapter four is finished folks! Hope you enjoy it!! Give up your goddamn power stones if you need more daily content! And leave a review and a comment, thank you. Makes my day.