The Attack of the Wastrel

“Are you okay?” Qin Xinran asked Gu Lingzhi, seeing her sit on the floor in astonishment. Qin Xinran returned to her usual demeanor and spoke in a timid voice, radiating a completely different image from her ferocious disposition as she continued to hold the club in her right hand. 

“…I am okay,” Gu Lingzhi forced herself to overlook the stark difference between Qin Xinran’s behavior and image. She then asked the burning question she had ever since Qin Xinran took out her Attack Scrolls, “Why didn’t you use your Attack Scrolls earlier on the Howling Lion Beast?”

If only Qin Xinran had used it earlier, maybe they would not have suffered as much.

Qin Xinran blinked and gave a look between slight embarrassment and something that was common sense, “The Attack Scrolls are additional enhancements. For Martial Artists like us, it is important to train our own abilities and not use any additional help if possible.”

Gu Lingzhi twisted her mouth, “But that also depends on the abilities of our opponent.”

If Qin Xinran had taken out her Attack Scrolls any later, they might not be able to sit here and talk.

Qin Xinran stuck out her tongue and said, “I momentarily forgot because I was so scared. In the future, I will definitely take out the Attack Scrolls first.”

Gu Lingzhi stopped questioning her upon hearing this. Her body was also screaming in pain and she had no more energy to continue talking. The cave reeked of blood. She took out a Healing Pill and ingested it.

Qin Xinran glanced at Gu Lingzhi. She had suffered more injuries than Gu Lingzhi during the battle but was suppressing the pain using her spiritual energy. Now, as she saw Gu Lingzhi start to heal herself, she also took out a Healing Pill and sat down.

They only walked out of the cave after waiting for the Healing Pill to completely take effect and this was when they had realized that night had already fallen.

Neither of them were in the mood to submit their mission to the Student Union, so they both said their goodbyes after making plans to meet during their Alchemy class the next day.

On the way back to her dorm, she received several astonished looks from students around her. This caused Gu Lingzhi to be slightly embarrassed as she hurried to her dorm.

“Lingzhi you are finally back?” Seeing Gu Lingzhi appear, ecstasy was written all over Ye Fei’s face. However, once she saw how disheveled Gu Lingzhi looked, her eyes filled with fury.

“Did you go with Qin Xinran to complete a mission from the Student Union this afternoon?”

She then looked at Ye Fei who was grinding her teeth, “Are you unafraid of dying?!”

“Didn’t I warn you not to get close to that crazy woman? You actually dared to go out with her, aren’t you scared of dying?!”

Although she did not understand why Ye Fei was so angry, Gu Lingzhi knew that at times like this, it was better to keep silent.

It was good that Ye Fei did not wait for Gu Lingzhi’s reply before she continued to rage, “Do you not know that Qin Xinran is completely and utterly crazy? Everyone who gets too close to her always ends up dying!”

“Dying?” Gu Lingzhi was suddenly interested in what Ye Fei had to say.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Qin Xinran’s favourite thing to do is to treat life as if it were a game. She loves to put people in the most dangerous situations. Those that were unlucky enough to be charmed by her appearance and treat her as a friend all died not long after knowing her.”

Immediately, Gu Lingzhi thought of the danger they were in today.

Was the fear of going alone truly the reason why Qin Xinran suggested going to kill the Howling Lion Beast cubs today?

She suddenly remembered the delight and lack of fear on her face as she brutally killed the Howling Lion Beast with her club.

“I’m guessing that you witnessed her delight in a life-threatening situation today. Anyway, if you don’t want to die an unknown death, you should stay away from her.”

Seeing Gu Lingzhi finally listen to her, Ye Fei patted her shoulder.

Gu Lingzhi wanted to rush out to find her but was held back by Ye Fei.

“She is way stronger than you and you will be of no help even if you manage to find her. Leave it to my servants to go and find her.”

Gu Lingzhi breathed a sigh of relief as she sat in the living room and waited for Ye Fei’s news. Before an hour passed, Tianfeng Jin returned.

Seeing the disheveled look on Gu Lingzhi, she frowned and went to her room without saying another word. Ye Fei narrowed her eyes at Gu Lingzhi.

“Don’t mind her, she is always like this. Even if she is worried, she doesn’t know how to express it. You should go and wash up. From the looks of your injuries, you had better not be thinking of fighting within the next 10 days.”

Gu Lingzhi choked out a bitter laugh and thanked her before heading up. When she walked past Tianfeng Jin’s door, she hesitated before knocking on the door and entering to thank Tianfeng Jin. 

“You don’t have to thank me, I had already planned to go to the Red Leaf Hill to train against some beasts.”

Gu Lingzhi giggled as she realised how accurate Ye Fei’s description was. She was worried yet she did not show it, it was the epitome of someone that was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

“Whether you meant to look for me or if it was just convenient, I still want to thank you. One day, I will treat you and Ye Fei to a meal. I heard that the specialty dish of the Bright Silk Eating House, the Mandarin Fish, is very nice. We should go try it.”

Inside her room, Tianfeng Jin broke out into a small smile, but continued to reply in a cold voice, “It is not necessary, I already said it was convenient.”

Gu Lingzhi laughed lightly, “I want to treat you all to dinner not only because of tonight. Ever since I heard about the Mandarin Fish from Bright Silk Eating House from Ye Fei, I’ve been wanting to try it. It is just that I am not sure how to get there and I need someone to show me the way.”

Gu Lingzhi waited for a while before hearing Tianfeng Jin reply in a plain voice, “Okay.”

Tianfeng Jin’s agreement lifted a weight off Gu Lingzhi’s shoulders as she headed back to her room.

She would never take for granted the people that were nice to her.

But what about Qin Xinran? What motive did she have for approaching her?

From today’s incident, did she have the intention to kill Gu Lingzhi? Hopefully, it was not like what Ye Fei had suggested.