The next few days passed by, though less than a month remained before the tournament. I was so engrossed with training that I almost forgot about the problems of my friend until classes ended one day.
It was a Friday, right before the weekend. Time really flew by, and before I knew it, the clock was steadily ticking toward D-day. Even though I should theoretically put up a good performance in the tournament, after all the insults and scorn I had received from the elite class and being abandoned like trash even though I sacrificed myself to save them, I wouldn't settle for anything less than winning the tournament.
In fact, it was lunchtime when I ran into one of them. Long Fan Xue and her group of followers passed by in the cafeteria, and a few of them deliberately took the route that would bring them close to my table.
"Oh, look who's here. A loser." One of the guys scoffed when he saw me. "Eating with other trash. I'm glad you found your true place."
"Why are you still in this school?" Lian Hua taunted. "Are you not ashamed of still trying to cling onto Divine Path Academy despite being crippled?"
None of them noticed that I had regained my cultivation. I was doing my best to conceal my qi, but it was still amusing how they didn't pay attention to the people they looked down on.
"Hey, leave us alone!" Tong Xue complained, only for Kuang Zhe to glower at him. He cowered. "We are just minding our own business. No need for you to provoke us."
"Huh? Provoke? What's wrong with calling trash a trash? We're just speaking the truth."
Kuang Zhe glared at him, his hand glowing with qi. Undeterred, Qin Ying slammed both her hands against the table, her long black hair spilling past her shoulders from the sudden movement.
"Stop this at once. Are you trying to attack us regular students in broad daylight? You know that's against the rules."
"Come on, Kuang Zhe," Zi Yan hissed, tugging his arm. "The teachers are looking in this direction."
"You bastards are lucky," Kuang Zhe sneered as he turned his muscular back on us. He rubbed his hands. "I look forward to utterly crushing you useless trash during the tournament."
Most of the group left, but for some reason, Long Fan Xue lingered. I didn't think she was going to insult us, especially since she apologized me that day, but her behavior caught me off guard.
"You have made new friends pretty quickly, haven't you?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah."
Long Fan Xue swept her gaze over Tong Xue and Hao Ren, paying them no heed, but for some reason, her glacial eyes settled on Qin Ying. My current class rep blinked, taken aback by the elite student's scrutiny.
"W…what is it?"
"You have become quite close with Song Jun Wen, haven't you?"
"Huh? No! It's not like that!"
"…is she ignoring our existences?" Tong Xue hissed loudly to Hao Ren, feeling offended. The latter shrugged.
"I think Long Fan Xue is here for something else."
"Huh? What is she here for?"
Hao Ren didn't reply, much to Tong Xue's frustration. He glanced at me, but I also kept my silence, meeting Long Fan Xue's gaze.
"You really shouldn't spend too much time with the regular students. They'll only drag you down."
"Firstly, you guys were the ones who kicked me out of the elite class. Secondly, they aren't burdens. They are my friends."
"You should learn to make better friends," Long Fan Xue said dismissively before turning away. I scowled and shook my head as she left. Turning to my friends, I sighed.
"Sorry about that. That was totally uncalled for."
"Not really," Qin Ying said, picking up some meat with her chopsticks. Her shoulders were slumped. "We are regular students. It's only natural that the elite class looks down on us."
"Hey, you're not that bad. You're actually talented. If it weren't for your family circumstances, I'm sure you would have become an elite student. Speaking of which, how are your parents?"
"They are fine."
"Did the loan sharks come and bother you again after that night?"
"No." However, Qin Ying's grip on her chopsticks tightened and I saw a quiver pass through her delicate body. "But they will be back. They always come back to harass us."
"Bastards," Tong Xue muttered. "They will pay for their audacity."
"How?" Hao Ren asked. He then lowered his head apologetically. "Sorry, class rep. That's not what I meant. I'm sure we'll figure a way out."
"Not at all. I appreciate you guys looking out for me."
Lunchtime was over and we returned to class, going through the lessons as per usual. Once school was over and everyone rose from their desks, eager for the weekend, I caught sight of Qin Ying stiffening when her smartphone rang. She bit her lip and answered the call, listening for a few seconds before a horrified expression spread across her pretty features.
"What?! Are you sure, mom?! Is dad all right?!"
She was already running out of the classroom, almost dropping her bag. Tong Xue, Hao Ren and I exchanged glances before we followed her.
"Hey, why are we even following her? It's not like we can do anything." Tong Xue stopped. Hao Ren and I ignored him and continued onward. He groaned and threw his hands up before following us. "Ugh! Fine!"
It took us about thirty minutes to reach Qin Ying's home from school, which involved a train ride. Even from afar, I could see that Qin's Delicacies were a mess. The signboard, which had been left alone the other night, was now hanging on one hinge, the lights broken. Several furniture was hurled outside, and a group of dudes were standing outside, cordoning off the restaurant.
"They are here!" Qin Ying said, turning pale.
One of the loan sharks, a guy with a pompadour, a green Hawaiian patterned shirt and sunglasses, strode out, barking commands.
"Drag them out!"
"Dad! Mom!" Qin Ying shouted when she saw the thugs haul her parents out, forcing them to kneel in the open. The pompadour guy leaned over, lighting up a cigarette and puffing smoke into Mr. Qin's face.
"We've given you another three days extension, and you still can't cough out the cash. Whatever should I do to you, huh, Mr. Qin?"
"I…I…"
"Don't give me that." The pompadour guy took his cigarette out of his mouth and pressed it against Mr. Qin's cheek, causing the latter to howl in pain. "I warned you that night, didn't I? If you're still unable to pay…"
"Don't hurt my dad!"
Qin Ying interposed herself between her parents and the loan sharks, spreading her arms and trying to chase the assailants away. The pompadour guy chuckled in delight when he saw her.
"Just in time too. How about it, Mr. Qin?" He gestured for his flunkies to seize Qin Ying. "Since you can't pay off your debts, we'll use your daughter as collateral. That way, we'll write off the amount you owe, including the interest."
"Don't even think about it!" Mr. Qin snapped, wincing at the new burn, as well as the ugly bruises that had spread across his face. He had sustained more recent ones since the night I had seen him. Those brutes had handled him roughly. "I won't let you lay a hand on my daughter!"
"Hah! We're taking her. What can you do about it?" The pompadour guy laughed and waved his hand. His lackeys moved in grimly, and though Qin Ying conjured her qi, she realized that the loan sharks were cultivators too. Mostly ordinary ranked cultivators, but still…
"That's enough."
"Hmm? Who are you?" The pompadour guy turned to me before scoffing. "Kids should stay out of this. This is an adult matter. This is none of your business. Get lost, or we'll teach you a harsh lesson in reality."
"No. Class rep…Qin Ying is my friend, so I can't stand by and watch you guys take her away." I approached them. "How much does the Qin family owe you?"
"About 850,000 yuan," the loan shark replied, chortling. "Are you going to pay us back on their behalf, kid? Where are you going to get your money from? Your daddy?"
"What!? 850,000 yuan?!" Mr. Qin was incensed. "We only borrowed 600,000 yuan!"
"Sure, but you forgot the interest."
"The interest was only 10%, wasn't it?! How did it turn to over 40%?!"
"Because I say so." The pompadour guy laughed and gestured to his subordinates. "We make the rules. Have you forgotten? This is a world where the strong eat the weak. If you don't have the strength, then you have no choice but to submit! Only strong people like us have the right to make the rules!"
I was ignoring his bullshit speech, taking my smartphone out and calling up a cash app. After signing in and going to the pay function, I glared at the dude.
"What's your payment details?"
"What? You really want to pay us on their behalf?!" The pompadour guy snorted. I nodded.
"Don't waste time."
"Fine." The pompadour guy input his particulars. I then confirmed the amount and sent it over. a few seconds later, the loan shark's smartphone buzzed and he whipped it out to see the notification of the monetary transfer. "What?! The payment really went through?!"
"Yeah, I told you it will. Now stop bothering the Qin family and leave."
"What are you talking about?" The loan shark sneered, waving his phone. "You only paid 600,000 yuan. Where's the interest of 250,000 yuan?" His features changed to an ugly leer. "No, 300,000 yuan now. I changed my mind, sucker!"
I pushed my glasses up my nose slowly, and shook my head.
"You won't be getting the interest from me or the Qin family."
"Oh, really? You made a stupid mistake, rich kid." The pompadour guy clapped his hands, and his lackeys moved to surround me, Tong Xue and Hao Ren. "Teach that arrogant ass a lesson, boys. We'll see if we can squeeze out more money from him."
They never had a chance to. Azure arrows materialized and rained down on them like comets, causing them to scatter. A few of them shrieked when the projectiles hammered into them, breaking bones.
"Maybe I might consider paying the interest," I said, approaching a now stupefied loan shark leader, who was trembling. He fell over, wetting himself. Pathetic. He wasn't even hit by an arrow, having dodged in reflex – no wonder he was the leader of this gang. But his cowardice made things easier. I cocked my head in what looked to be careful contemplation. "But only if you also agree to pay compensation to the Qin family."
"C…compensation?"
"Yeah, compensation money. You wrecked the Qin family's restaurant, destroyed their furniture, broke their glass door, damaged their signboard and even beat up the chef. Don't you think you should pay for repairs and medical bills? Look at Mr. Qin, it looks like he might need to be hospitalized. Shouldn't you pay for his medical bills since you're responsible for hurting him?"
"Huh? My injuries aren't that serious. I don't need to be hospitalized…"
"Be quiet, dad!" Qin Ying hissed and placed her hand on her father's mouth, silencing him. "Let Song Jun Wen handle it!"
I shook my head mockingly, pretending that exchange hadn't occurred. "And that's very shortsighted of you. If you hurt him, he can't do his job. And if he can't do his job, he can't earn money. If he can't earn money, then how is he supposed to pay you back? Or was that your intention from the start? Beat him up so badly so that he can't pay off the debt, and you'll have an excuse to abduct his daughter?"
At that sentence, I radiated so much killing intent that the pompadour dude actually pissed himself. I didn't know what he saw, but he was literally foaming at the mouth and almost passing out. Take note, I hadn't even summoned my spirit beasts yet.
"I…I…"
"So? How much compensation money should you pay? I would say 900,000 yuan sounds about right."
"N…no! You can't do this! And surely the total repairs and medical fees wouldn't amount to that much! He might as well buy a new restaurant!"
"Oh?" I smirked and conjured a new azure arrow, causing him to flinch. "But wasn't it you who said that only strong people have the right to make the rules? So…you shouldn't have a problem if I call the shots and decide everything, right?"