Chapter 38: Chapter 32: The Acceptance Letter Finally Arrived

The shadowy figure glanced at the money and couldn’t help but swallow. ’Sure enough, if you want to make a quick buck, you’ve got to resort to robbery…’

’Ahem, I mean, serving justice!’

He didn’t respond to the wide-nosed young man’s words, instead reaching straight for the medicine bottle.

Just as his hand touched the bottle, when he was barely a foot away from Brother Hu, a cold glint of light flashed from Brother Hu’s hand, stabbing straight at the shadowy figure.

Brother Hu, who had been begging in terror just moments before, suddenly had a ferocious look on his face.

“Die!”

Brother Hu was a Third-level Martial Artist, after all. At such close range and with the element of surprise, even a Martial Artist two levels higher might have fallen into his trap if caught off guard.

This dagger of his could cut through iron like mud; it was a prized blade he had always treasured. With this sudden thrust, forget about a Hard Qi Skill—he could pierce right through a solid chunk of iron.

“Ah, spare me!”

Just as he was feeling smug, certain his strike would hit its mark, he felt his own wrist sink as if into a mire. He had only managed to stab forward half an inch before he couldn’t advance any further.

At the same time, the other man’s cold, murderous eyes came into his view.

Unfortunately, before he could utter another word of pleading, his vision went black, and he plunged into endless darkness.

Looking at the limp form of Brother Hu on the ground, the shadowy figure silently picked up the dagger, along with the bag of money and the Qi-Introducing Pills.

After taking the items, he didn’t even glance at the punk girl in the corner or the stunned hoodlums. He walked straight out of the courtyard gate and disappeared into the vast night.

“Let’s get out of here! Nobody says a word about what happened today.”

A while after the shadowy figure had left, the punk girls exchanged a glance, mustered their courage, and bolted from the courtyard.

「Meanwhile」, on a bustling street several blocks away, Zhao Rui, dressed in blue and white shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, leisurely rode his bike home with a backpack on.

He wouldn’t kill someone directly, of course, but that didn’t stop him from using a Jie Meridian technique to leave Brother Hu mentally incapacitated.

’That scum used some delinquent students to lure in middle and high schoolers who were dedicated to the Martial Dao, getting them to buy his Qi-Introducing Pills at exorbitant prices.’

’Not only did he cheat them out of their money, but he also left them to fend for themselves.’

’Zhao Ke was rescued just in time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.’

The Court doesn’t prohibit things like Qi-Introducing Pills. After all, their purpose is clear, and those who take them do so willingly.

However, they don’t allow them to circulate freely on the market either.

And compared to the Qi-Introducing Potions developed by the Court, Brother Hu’s Qi-Introducing Pills were clearly of inferior quality and far more harmful.

’A pity my strength is insufficient!’

Zhao Rui shook his head to himself. ’It’s a shame I’m not a Grandmaster. I don’t have the ability to trace this back to its source.’

His bicycle sped along the curb, and soon he was back home.

“I heard that acceptance letters from many universities have already arrived. How come yours isn’t here yet?”

As soon as he walked in, Xue Wenhui saw him and asked anxiously.

“Dongqi University is always a bit late. It should be here soon.”

Zhao Rui put his backpack in his bedroom, then walked over to the coffee table in the living room, picked up a peach, and took a bite.

’Hmm, the flavor is way worse than the ones at Tian Yaru’s house.’

’I guess you really do get what you pay for.’

“It’s almost the middle of August. If the acceptance letter doesn’t come, how can we host a celebration dinner!”

Xue Wenhui couldn’t help but complain.

“Mom, if I didn’t get in, then we won’t have to host one!”

Zhao Rui chuckled.

“You child, what nonsense are you spouting!”

Xue Wenhui couldn’t help but raise her hand and pretend to swat at Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui dodged with a smile and said, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”

The mother and son chatted in the living room for a while before Zhao Rui returned to his bedroom and opened his backpack.

Inside was a set of black clothes and several stacks of bright red bills, which were particularly eye-catching.

’One act of punishing evil and promoting good is more profitable than a whole vacation of hard work.’

’There’s no justice in this world!’

’No wonder this world is a place where order and chaos coexist, where civilization and brute force shine together.’

’Who, with such immense martial power, would be content to work like an ox doing manual labor their whole life?’

’If Martial Artists weren’t given a special social class, it would be impossible to reach a compromise.’

’This is also why so many students are dead set on becoming Martial Artists and breaking into that circle.’

Zhao Rui put the money in an opaque plastic bag and stuffed it, along with the dagger, into the bottom of his bookshelf.

After hiding everything, he cleaned himself up, got on his bed, and began to meditate and rest.

「The night passed uneventfully.」

The next day, Zhao Rui went to Tian Yaru’s house for her tutoring session as scheduled.

As soon as the little girl saw him, she immediately asked curiously how things had been handled.

Zhao Rui reached out and gave her a light flick on the head, saying irritably, “I’m not an assassin. What is there to handle?”

“Huh?”

“What ’huh’? Get to studying. Today we’re doing Chapter Ten of the second-year high school math curriculum…”

Zhao Rui put on a stern face, picked up the textbook, and began to teach her the lessons for the new semester.

「At the same time!」

In a small alley near Lincheng First High School, a nervous Brother Pao walked up to the entrance of a courtyard and peeked inside.

Behind him were a few lackeys with colorfully dyed hair.

“Brother Hu!”

“Brother Hu?”

Brother Pao called out twice. When there was no response, he cautiously walked inside.

“Where is everyone? Why is no one here?”

Brother Pao looked around the empty courtyard with some surprise. Just as he was about to shout again, he saw Brother Hu walk out of the house.

“Brother Hu, you’re here!”

Brother Pao quickly put on a fawning smile and scurried over.

Before he could get close, he heard a “HEHEHE” laugh coming from Brother Hu.

He looked up in surprise to see Brother Hu staring at him with a vacant, idiotic expression, drool trickling from the corner of his mouth. He was a complete mess.

There was also a wound on his right leg from being struck by a hard object, the surrounding blood long since dried.

Brother Pao was so shocked he fell to the ground. His underlings behind him rushed forward to help him up.

Then the whole group turned tail and ran.

After running for a few dozen meters, Brother Pao suddenly came to his senses and frowned. “Where are the others?”

His eyes darted around, and he waved his hand. “Let’s go. We’re going back to take another look!”

With that, he led his men back to the small courtyard.

“Brother Hu, it’s me, Paozi. What happened to you?”

Brother Pao cautiously approached, his eyes narrowed as he asked.

Brother Hu was delirious and didn’t recognize any Paozi or anyone else for that matter.

All he did was giggle foolishly.

A greedy light instantly flashed in Brother Pao’s eyes. He shot a look at his underlings, then quietly slipped past the idiotic Brother Hu and went into the house.

The moment Brother Pao and his men stepped over the threshold, they were stunned. The room had already been completely turned upside down, with items overturned and thrown about in a mess.

“Fuck, we’re too late!”

Unwilling to give up, Brother Pao circled the room twice but found nothing except for two boxes of condoms.

“Let’s go!”

Brother Pao waved his hand, and he and his underlings quickly fled the courtyard.

After they had run for half a mile, Brother Pao finally called his underlings over. “Brother Hu must have pissed someone off. We need to be more careful from now on. Stop all contact about the Qi-Introducing Pills. I’m afraid that’s what this is about!”

Although Brother Pao wasn’t a good student, he wasn’t stupid. The only trouble he could have gotten into by hanging around Brother Hu was related to the Qi-Introducing Pills.

As for other things like brawls and turf wars, they had nothing to do with him, a mere student gang leader.

“Yes, Boss!”

After giving his orders, Brother Pao calmed his terrified heart and led his men to the pool hall.

…

A petty hoodlum going insane barely made a ripple in this world. Even the Patrol Office couldn’t be bothered with it.

Another week passed in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Rui’s acceptance letter, arriving fashionably late, was finally delivered to him just as mid-August was ending.

When Zhao Jincheng and his wife saw “Dongqi University” written in gold-stamped, flowing script on the acceptance letter, they were so excited they almost cried.

Even the usually quiet Zhao Ke offered a rare “Congratulations!” to her brother.

This was one of the top-tier universities in Dongqi Province. Graduates from this school had a much easier time finding a job or getting into the civil service.

What’s more, Zhao Rui was a Martial Arts Student!

“Huh? This major?”

Just as everyone was overcome with joy, Zhao Jincheng suddenly noticed the “Major” section on the letter. It actually said: “Accounting!”

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