Chapter 30: Just Duel
Chapter 30: Just Duel
The night grew deeper. District 51, though the newest established district, boasted skyscrapers as tall and bustling as those in the Empire’s First District. The colorful street scenes blurred past the car window.
After getting out of the taxi, Xia Feng hurried towards the villa. It was almost eight o’clock, and Mushroom, that lazy bum, probably hadn’t even eaten dinner. He needed to hurry.
However, just as he reached the corner, his phone suddenly pinged with a message.
[Don’t come back yet, Yan Xujia is here.]
“Brother Yan~ This little brat isn’t behaving herself.”
At the same time, a woman’s light laughter could be faintly heard from not too far away.
“Slap her.”
Yan Xujia’s indifferent voice cut through the air. Xia Feng’s pupils widened, and he immediately leaped forward.
The small, curly-haired Mushroom girl, wearing a bear pajama, had her hair pulled high. Her pupils were filled with fear and helplessness.
“Yes~” Under the streetlamp, the woman’s fingernails glinted with a dazzling blood-red light as she raised her hand high.
“I’ll f*** your mother!!”
*BANG!!!* Before the woman’s hand could even swing halfway, accompanied by a chilling yell filled with murderous intent, the sole of a shoe kicked her directly in the face. Under the immense force, her surgically altered cheekbone instantly twisted. Her heavily powdered skin caved in, and with a spray of saliva, she violently turned her head—
The woman was sent flying through the air, crashing against the metal pole of the streetlamp with a thud. Disheveled, she vomited a mouthful of blood.
But before she could recover from the tearing pain, her long hair was yanked up again by a man.
“Xia Feng!!” Seeing the person who arrived, Mushroom was instantly delighted. Her heart relaxed, but the next moment, she became nervous again, her gaze filled with worry and a touch of confusion.
Xia Feng glanced back at Mushroom’s right cheek, which was slightly scratched and bleeding, then looked down at the woman, his expression indifferent.
Blood trickled from the woman’s lips. Her face contorted, and her voice became sharp, “You lowly peasant! Do you know who I am!!”
“Slap—”
The woman’s face tilted to the right, and a blood-stained tooth flew into the air, tracing a perfect parabola. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain.
Several Holy See Knights nearby changed their expressions.
“Lowly peasant, stop this instant!!”
Yan Xujia, jolted from his shock, regained his composure, his expression displeased and angry. Although this woman was merely the daughter of a minor noble attached to Marquis Dongbo, she was not someone who could be bullied by just anyone.
“Yan Xujia, do you know what dog shit is?”
Xia Feng kicked the woman on the ground away, clapped his hands, and walked towards Yan Xujia. “I was having a pleasant walk home when some evolved dog shit decided to rub itself against my feet.”
“…”
Yan Xujia’s face darkened. “Xia, what do you mean by that!?”
“Don’t be in a hurry. I said dog shit, not you.”
“!!!!!!” Veins bulged on Yan Xujia’s forehead. He wanted to curse but didn’t know how to retort. His eyes flashed with cold killing intent. He took half a step forward, and a powerful Spirit Pressure quietly spread out.
The shadows behind him seemed to grow taller and more terrifying. Yan Xujia stared indifferently at the black-haired man. “Xia Feng, do you want to make a move against me?!”
“Make a move? No, no, no—” Xia Feng grinned, leaned close to Yan Xujia’s ear, and whispered with a cold laugh. “After all, one must consider the master before hitting a dog. Go ask your master if I should make a big deal out of a silly dog sending its pups to bite me in the Evil Dragon Forest?”
Yan Xujia’s pupils contracted sharply; his neck froze for an instant. He had already investigated this matter through ‘Time Shadow.’ Although it was only a second of footage, he was certain that the bald guy was swallowed by a black hole catastrophe and died in an unknown place, not at Xia Feng’s hands. So how could this guy possibly know he sent the assassins?
It would have been fine if no one knew about this. But once exposed, even as the son of a noble Marquis with considerable privileges and immunity from the death penalty, it would still be very troublesome. This was an important period for the Saintess selection, and he, as a Guardian Knight, could not afford any stain on his reputation.
Moreover, this was no longer the era before the invention of lie-detecting Spirit Robes. With the continuous invention of such Spirit Robes, interrogating low-level Spirit Masters had become extremely simple.
“Weiyang Academy belongs to the Imperial Holy Department and is a Level Two military organization. I wonder if harming Weiyang Academy students falls under military court jurisdiction or the Black Moon Tribunal?”
Xia Feng reached out and patted Yan Xujia’s right cheek. “Of course, if you’re a useless coward, you can try to kill me now!”
“Presumptuous!!”
The four Knights behind him, seeing Xia Feng’s arrogant disrespect, immediately changed their expressions and were about to draw their swords.
However, Yan Xujia suddenly raised his hand, gritted his teeth, and coldly hissed, “All of you, stand down!”
The four Knights were stunned. After a moment of hesitation, they sheathed their swords and retreated.
“Xia Feng, what exactly do you want?”
Yan Xujia saw that Xia Feng had no intention of exposing him. He naturally didn’t want the matter to be revealed. After all, if it were exposed, it would not only affect his eligibility as a successor to the noble title but might also deepen his master’s dislike for him.
What do I want? Xia Feng smiled. He obviously wouldn’t expose him. Exposing Yan Xujia would only result in some minor, inconsequential punishment for this brain-damaged fellow, which wouldn’t hurt him at all. It wouldn’t kill the guy.
!
However, that didn’t mean there was no way to eliminate this guy.
As he was thinking, Xia Feng’s gaze suddenly fell upon the half of a pocket watch peeking out from Yan Xujia’s collar, his brow furrowing slightly.
Engraved on the upper right side of the light gold watch casing were the two small characters ‘Pingshan’.
“So familiar, Pingshan…”
These two words acted like a switch, instantly awakening the dream that Xia Feng had buried deep in his mind.
Biohazard, daughter, unborn wife, Pingshan…
“That’s right, I remember now, the unborn wife in the dream was at Pingshan Hospital!”
With his thoughts racing like lightning, Xia Feng no longer looked at the pocket watch.
He quickly determined the best plan to kill Yan Xujia, then looked up:
“It’s very simple. In five days, it will be the monthly Just Duel at Weiyang Academy. I will challenge you to a Just Duel.”
“Tsk~” As soon as he finished speaking, the Knights behind Yan Xujia let out light laughter.
Yan Xujia also curved his lips, raising his eyebrows with interest. “Oh? Then what will the stakes of this Just Duel be?”
Although he and Xia Feng were both First-stage Spirit Masters, regardless of the difference in the number of Spirit Robes they possessed, Yan Xujia’s Spirit artifact, the ‘Forest Scepter,’ was reputed to be invincible among those of the same stage. With his Forest Scepter, he hadn’t lost a single one-on-one duel in years.
Yan Xujia couldn’t understand it and found it somewhat ridiculous. How could Xia Feng dare?
“The stakes are simple. After signing the Just Contract, whoever loses will leave District 51. Of course, not for the Northern Territory, but for the Southern Border! And you cannot leave the Southern Border for ten years.”
Hearing that the stake was exile to the Southern Border, Yan Xujia frowned. He deeply disliked the idea. As a noble from the Northern Territory, he had always disliked that wild land.
However, it wasn’t a big deal. After all, he wouldn’t possibly lose. This guy named Xia Feng was also quite pleased with himself, completely lacking a clear understanding of his own strength.
How ridiculous and tragic.
Yan Xujia glanced at the black-haired youth in front of him, shaking his head helplessly. He really couldn’t understand why his master had once liked such an ignorant, brainless peasant like Xia Feng.
“Very well. I hope you truly have the courage to come to the dueling arena in five days to face me.” He clicked his tongue, Yan Xujia turned around and waved his hand. “Let’s go.”
