Chapter Eleven

Xiao Ai scratched her head, bewildered by the others' weird looks, but shrugged it off. Squatting down, she impatiently swatted Xu Haoyue's head aside and peered through the hole in the wall. A single glance was enough to shock her—inside the other room, a man held a woman, and the two were locked in a kiss.

"Holy crap, are you guys that depraved? Actually spying on people doing... *that*?" Xiao Ai hurriedly covered her eyes. A moment later, as if realizing she was now the peeper, she kept her voice low despite her alarm.

"No way, they started kissing awfully fast." A Xu, who'd been there longer, knew Qi Ziguang hadn't been inside for long.

Xu Haoyue chuckled smugly, jerking his chin toward the hole. "Hmph, take a closer look. See who the man is."

Xiao Ai hadn't gotten a good look before. Hearing this, she peeked again out of curiosity. Crap, isn't that Qi Ziguang?

"Scumbag!" Enraged, she immediately wanted to charge into the next room and pummel him. Jing Yuan was faster, swiftly gripping her shoulders and clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle any shout. Then, with the others' help, he hastily hauled the furious Xiao Ai out of the room.

Seeing the corner spot empty, Little Wu couldn't resist and leaned toward the hole, catching a glimpse of something pale and flashy. Before he could see clearly, someone grabbed his ear and yanked him away from the opening.

"Little Wu, what are you doing?" Little Wu turned to see Le You grinning at him.

"Heh heh, Sis Youyou, I was just... curious, wanted a quick look."

"Curious about what? Get out. Now." Le You pulled him by the ear toward the door.

After the chaotic struggle of dragging Xiao Ai out of the Joyful Red Pavilion, she cursed Qi Ziguang nonstop all the way back. Fortunately, she was using her hometown dialect, which nobody around seemed to understand.

Back at the inn, Xiao Ai had calmed down a bit. Little did she expect to run into an old lute-player sitting in the lobby, weeping pitifully. A nearby waiter quietly shared his story: the old man once had a beautiful daughter who sang here daily to earn a living. One day, she accidentally caught the eye of a local tyrant who insisted on taking her as a concubine. The girl refused and nearly dashed her head against the inn's wall to end her life.

Coincidentally, some disciples from the Qi Shang Sect were present at the time and saved her. Among them was that Qi Ziguang. After the rescue, the girl secretly fell for Qi Ziguang, and he showed her much attention, generously tipping her with silver every time he visited.

Not long after, the girl followed Qi Ziguang into the Qi Shang Sect. Everyone thought it was a joyous match, but within a year, she was cast out, pregnant. Filled with indignation, the old man went to confront Qi Ziguang but couldn't even get past the gate. Their hearts grew cold, and they planned to leave. Yet, his daughter died during childbirth from complications. Now, the old man came here daily to wait for Qi Ziguang. If Qi Ziguang didn't show, he would cry for half the day before returning home.

The waiter lamented the pair's plight multiple times, but Xiao Ai and her companions grew even more furious hearing it. The thought that she had almost been fooled by such a scumbag made Xiao Ai so angry she wanted to flip a table. Le You barely managed to talk her down and quickly pulled her back to their room.

Inside the room, Xu Haoyue gave a sinister chuckle. After closing the door, he asked, "So, Xiao Xiao'ai, listen to your senior brother—wasn't I right?"

"Alright, I was wrong, Bro Haozi. I want revenge." Xiao Xiao'ai didn't hesitate, apologizing promptly.

Xu Haoyue shook his head and spread his hands. "We're not exactly revenge experts." After speaking, he turned an expectant look toward the fat guy and A Xu.

Xiao Ai was sharp; she immediately switched targets, wedging herself between them, linking arms and pleading, "Fatty, Xu Xu, you guys must have a good plan."

The two exchanged a sleazy grin. The fat guy spoke first, "We've got a plan, but we don't think just beating him up would be satisfying enough."

"If we're doing it, let's go big." A Xu chimed in. Just thinking about how Qi Ziguang had deceived so many girls with his good looks, while they themselves were still hopelessly single, filled them with fury.

After huddling and whispering plans in the room, they finalized their scheme and set the operation for the next evening. The next day, Xiao Ai miraculously didn't sleep in, getting up early for morning training and obediently eating lunch with everyone. When Qi Ziguang came to invite her out in the afternoon, she swallowed her temper and refused very tactfully.

As soon as night fell, the whole group changed into night-clothes the fat guy had procured from who-knows-where and slipped out the back door. Taking advantage of the sparse street crowds, they hurried to hide in an alley near the Joyful Red Pavilion. This was supposedly Qi Ziguang's necessary route back to the Qi Shang Sect, intel they'd pried from that waiter.

Little Wu and the fat guy hid behind a haystack, using a stick to poke a spy-hole through it. However, with so many mosquitoes buzzing at night, Little Wu didn't dare swat them; lying atop the fat guy, he was both itchy and sleepy, utterly miserable.

Finally, after half the night had passed and most of them were nearly asleep, a drunken Qi Ziguang finally stumbled into view. The ever-watchful A Xu and Xiao Ai seized their chance as he passed, swiftly yanking a sack over his head. Startled awake, Xu Haoyue and Jing Yuan immediately set upon him with rope. No matter how skilled Qi Ziguang was reputed to be, he was left helplessly trapped inside the sack, his muffled cries futile.

It was hopeless; his usual techniques were useless here. Every time he tried to struggle, Little Wu and A Xu would rain down blows, pummeling him until he had no strength left to fight back.

By the time Xiao Ai, A Xu, and Little Wu had thoroughly vented their frustrations, Qi Ziguang lay sprawled and unconscious to the world. Xu Haoyue, holding a writing brush, stared down at him with a sinister grin. As Youyou pulled Xiao Ai away, she glanced back and felt a sudden, eerie chill. The fat guy and Jing Yuan simply exchanged a smile and got to work.