章 31: 1-18

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Jiang Lu shouted, seething in rage.

Walking leisurely toward their rest area Liu Wei threw a quick glance at him, and let out out a short snicker, effectively freezing Jiang Lu in place.

"You-" with a sharp inhale, Jiang Lu's eyes bulged out, his teeth clenched tight, and his whole body tensed.

Yu Qingyu, who was still a good few steps away, immediately broke into run, sensing trouble.

But he was too late.

Before he was able to get there, Jiang Lu already managed to grab Liu Wei by the collar, knocking the open bottle out of his hands. It fell down, spilling the cold water over their legs.

With his face as cold as stone, Liu Wei slowly looked down at his dripping-wet shoes, then at the hand holding his collar, and then at the hand holding his collar, and finally, at Jiang Lu's face, burning red from anger, with veins pulsating on his forehead. His lips stretched in a mocking smile, eyes dark and unmoved. "Heh."

Something seemed to break within Jiang Lu. "You-" he repeated again, as if he lost the ability to say anything else. He slowly released Liu Wei's collar…

Yu Qingyu jumped over the chairs just in time to break in between the two and block the punch that was about to land on Liu Wei. "Jiang Lu! Snap out of it!" He grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "You can't fight him here!"

"Hmm? And why is that?"

A hand grabbed Yu Qingyu's collar from behind, pulling him to the side, out of the way.

Liu Wei was looking straight at him, his brows raised, a mocking smirk still remaining on his face.

Yu Qingyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to do.

A moment later, his eyes snapped open, and with a quick, decisive move, he sent a hook right to Liu Wei's face.

Liu Wei's eyes widened slightly out of surprise. He definitely did not expect Yu Qingyu to have the guts to attack him. However, despite being caught by surprise, his hand-to-hand combat skills were superb, and the body he was in was exceptionally fit, and able to keep up. He avoided Yu Qingyu's fist without any difficulty.

But Yu Qingyu didn't stop there. He didn't expect his hook to land in the first place. Instead, he immediately followed with a jab. Then, with a straight.

The difference between their abilities was just too vast. Liu Wei was able to dodge all of Yu Qingyu's punches without even breaking a sweat. Then, he raised his leg, and delivered a powerful kick right to Yu Qingyu's stomach.

Yu Qingyu got pushed away, struggling to remain on his feet. He paused, suddenly out of breath. But, although his eyes were tearing up from pain, a smile appeared on his face.

That's exactly what he was going for.

He couldn't allow Liu Wei and Jiang Lu to fight. Not just because Jiang Lu was bound to be crushed ruthlessly, but also because he was the team captain, and the person crucial to his mission. If he were to be removed from the match for getting into a fight, Yu Qingyu would lose instantly.

And just as he expected, a moment later both he and Liu Wei were kicked out of the stadium by the security guards.

Before being dragged out, Yu Qingyu threw a glance at Jiang Lu, who was standing nearby, rendered completely speechless. "Good luck. You can do it!" he encouraged his friend in a weak voice, before turning around and walking away.

Jiang Lu recovered just in time to call after him, "Of course! I'm gonna win! And…" He paused for a moment, his mouth twisting slightly, as if he was swallowing something sour. "I'm sorry," he added in a much quieter voice.

It wasn't loud enough to reach Yu Qingyu's ears, who was already too far away, but it didn't matter. He didn't feel like he needed an apology from Jiang Lu. True, Jiang Lu ignored all of his warnings, despite allegedly being his best friend, but… Yu Qingyu wasn't even his real friend. He just took over Jiang Lu's best friend's body. True, over these four months he did get somewhat attached to the man as if he was his own friend, but… He had his own agenda in the first place, and would leave this world soon. So it didn't matter.

Still holding his stomach, Yu Qingyu dropped down to the ground, leaning against the wall. He looked up at the faint cirrostratus clouds stretching across the bright blue skies. He exhaled deeply, letting his body relax, as he listened to the sounds coming from the stadium, trying to hear any snippets of how the game was going.

He felt the dark glare coming from the looming figure standing nearby. It gave him chills, but he didn't spare the man a glance, and closed his eyes instead.

He hasn't seen Liu Wei since the last conversation they had in front of the gym, if that could even be called a conversation. The man seemed unwilling to talk to him, despite all of his efforts to contact him over the weeks, and Yu Qingyu eventually gave up. It seemed that reaching anything even resembling a truce would be impossible anyway.

There was just one thing that kept bugging him.

"If you want revenge, why won't you just kill me?" Yu Qingyu asked, without even opening his eyes.

For a while, a silence fell again between the two. When Yu Qingyu thought that his question would be ignored, Liu Wei suddenly spoke up,

"…Why would I let you off so easily? Besides… even if you die here, you're not gonna die for real, right?"

Yu Qingyu couldn't help but cast a glance at Liu Wei. Was that hesitation he heard in his voice?

Yes, technically Liu Wei had a point. But, if he could follow him to another world, he could just do it again and again, chasing after him and killing him in every world. That definitely wouldn't count as 'letting him off easily,' and would be much more effective, more painful, and quicker than trying to mess up his missions.

'Oi, 520. What do you think? His mission doesn't allow him to kill me, right?'