Chapter 10: Yu Xiaogang: Don't Bully People Like This
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment + 8888]
The system prompt chimed in Qin Xuan's mind, as crisp and satisfying as a coin dropping into a bank.
The moment Bibi Dong's protective, wine-red figure vanished into the trees, the faint, polite smile on Qin Xuan's face dissolved, replaced by a look of cold, calculating amusement. The air in the small clearing grew heavy, the humidity clinging to the skin.
Yu Xiaogang was startled. "You—"
He flinched, taking an involuntary step back. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. His pupils constricted immediately, and he gritted his teeth, his eyes suddenly, shockingly, bloodshot with fury.
Humiliation. An unprecedented, naked humiliation.
This scoundrel in front of him, this arrogant junior, had insulted him repeatedly while Bibi Dong was present, and that was bad enough. But now, with her gone, the look in Qin Xuan's eyes... it challenged his very dignity as a man.
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment + 18888]
Qin Xuan's smile widened. The numbers were flooding in. It really had to be you, Xiao Gang. This man was a walking, talking battery of resentment, just waiting to be harvested.
"That's right. Just as you think," Qin Xuan said, his voice smooth and casual. He took a slow step forward, closing the distance. He released Yu Xiaogang's shoulder, only to pat him condescendingly on the cheek.
"What, not convinced? Want to make a move?"
Yu Xiaogang didn't respond. He just glared, his breathing heavy, his face flushing a deep, mottled red.
"Go on," Qin Xuan encouraged, his tone light, as if speaking to a child. "Make a move. Show me the power of the great Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Or, better yet, use that farting pig of yours to blast me to death."
He snapped his fingers. "Oh, wait, I'm sorry. It's not a pig, is it? It's 'Luo San Pao'. My mistake. Such a... powerful Spirit."
Clap.
With a crisp, sharp sound that echoed in the quiet forest, Qin Xuan delivered a moderate slap to Yu Xiaogang's face.
Yu Xiaogang remained frozen, his gaze still fixed on Qin Xuan, his eyes now red-rimmed. The sheer audacity of the act had stunned him into immobility.
Qin Xuan was amused. He had seen cowards, but never one to this extent. The other party was practically defecating on his head, yet he could still endure it.
[Yu Xiaogang's resentment + 28888]
Clap, clap, slap—
Qin Xuan continued to deliver several more resounding slaps, one after another. He didn't even put any spirit power into them; it was pure, physical, mundane humiliation.
His hand simply couldn't stop. It felt too good, and the system rewards were too sweet.
In just a few moments, the corner of Yu Xiaogang's mouth split, and a trickle of blood appeared. The entire left side of his face swelled up, turning a furious red, already covered in angry slap marks. It was beginning to resemble a steamed bun.
It wasn't until the slow, crunching footsteps of someone returning sounded from the jungle that Qin Xuan finally, reluctantly, stopped.
"Pah." Qin Xuan spat a mouthful of saliva onto Yu Xiaogang's face. It landed on his swollen cheek, mixing with the blood from his split lip. "What a coward."
He then grabbed Yu Xiaogang's right hand. Yu Xiaogang, looking behind Qin Xuan and seeing Bibi Dong returning, found a sudden surge of courage. He tried to resist, to pull his hand back.
However, he heard Qin Xuan's voice, a deadly whisper that only he could hear.
"Yu Xiaogang, you wouldn't want to be executed by His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff for peeking at Spirit Hall's top secrets, would you? That book. 'Spirit Hall Confidential'. The one with the Seraphim pattern."
Yu Xiaogang froze.
"That's not for outsiders," Qin Xuan whispered, his smile chilling. "That's for the Supreme Pontiff and the High Priest only. You'd be executed. And Bibi Dong? She'd be imprisoned as your accomplice. All your theories, all your ambitions... gone. You'd never be able to prove yourself. You'd just be a dead good-for-nothing."
"You—" His soft spot was hit. His eyes, already red-rimmed, could no longer hold back the tears. They streamed down his face, mixing with the blood and spit.
Qin Xuan lowered his voice, his tone dripping with contempt. "What 'you'? Dawdling, sniveling... you're just like a woman. I'm telling you, if you don't want to die, you cooperate with me."
He pushed Yu Xiaogang's own hand against his swollen cheek, forcing it into the pose of slapping himself.
"Otherwise," Qin Xuan continued, his voice barely audible, "even if that old dragon from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan comes, he won't be able to save you. I believe you already know the power of Spirit Hall, so I don't need to say more, right?"
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is called one of the Upper Three Sects, but in reality, without that old dragon, they are nothing."
"My two teachers, the Consecrated Elders, could destroy your entire clan."
"And..." Qin Xuan's smile turned positively demonic. "Hehehehe... Yu Xiaogang, you wouldn't want Her Highness the Holy Maiden to know about your cowardly appearance, would you? Where you don't fight back or retort when cursed at? If so, your grand, wise image in her heart would be... completely ruined."
"Without her protection, can you still stay in Spirit Hall?"
"If you don't stay in Spirit Hall, without our data and information to support you... can you still become a theoretical Grandmaster?"
Qin Xuan asked the series of questions, each one a hammer blow, gradually shattering Yu Xiaogang's psychological defenses.
The emotion value was good, but it needed to be a steady stream. If Bibi Dong knew he was bullying Yu Xiaogang, then his plan to emulate a certain Prime Minister Cao would be much more difficult.
[Inorin's Note: "Emulating Prime Minister Cao" is a reference to Cao Cao, a historical figure from China's Three Kingdoms period. In modern internet slang, it refers to having a fetish for another man's wife (or, in this case, girlfriend).]
At this precise moment, Bibi Dong finally walked over.
Qin Xuan, as if just noticing her, kept his back to her, holding Yu Xiaogang's hand against his "self-slapping" face. He spoke in a loud, earnest, and deeply concerned voice.
"Oh, Senior Yu Xiaogang, how could you do this? I've already promised Her Highness the Holy Maiden that I won't report you, so why hurt yourself like this... Is it to prove your remorse?"
Bibi Dong heard this and stopped, her brow furrowing in confusion.
As she approached and saw Yu Xiaogang's face, swollen like a pig's head from the slaps, two emotions—heartache and anger—suddenly erupted. "Xiao Gang! What happened to you? What exactly happened?"
"I—" Yu Xiaogang saw Qin Xuan's threatening glare over Bibi Dong's shoulder and immediately choked on his words. The truth died in his throat.
Qin Xuan smiled inwardly. He turned around, his face a mask of concern and subtle manipulation. "It's like this, Your Highness the Holy Maiden. When I came out of the woods just now, I saw... Grandmaster Xiao Gang... slapping himself."
Yu Xiaogang was Bibi Dong's "theoretical Grandmaster." To some extent, Qin Xuan calling him 'Grandmaster Xiao Gang' was not wrong, but it was the first time anyone had addressed him in such a manner.
He couldn't be happy about it at all.
"Xiao Gang, is that true?" Bibi Dong asked with some suspicion.
Regarding Qin Xuan's words, Bibi Dong neither disbelieved nor fully believed them. Although love can be blind, she knew Yu Xiaogang's character. While he had a deep inferiority complex, being from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he was inherently very proud.
Something like slapping himself... it seemed absolutely impossible for him to do.
"I—" Yu Xiaogang really wanted to answer no. He really wanted to scream that Qin Xuan did it.
But then he thought of Qin Xuan's threat. The book. Execution. The end of his life's work.
He didn't want to be a good-for-nothing for life. He took a deep breath, a choked, broken sound, as if giving up his last shred of dignity. He looked at the ground, tears of pure humiliation streaming down his face. "That's right... I'm sorry... I've implicated you."
Qin Xuan, on the side, stepped in, his voice filled with 'heartfelt pain'.
"Grandmaster Xiao Gang, look at you... How should I put this? I've already said it, I won't report you to His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff. I won't! As long as you don't touch Spirit Hall's core secrets in the future, you can read any other theories you want. Why don't you believe me?"
He sighed. "Look... You've made yourself look like this. Don't you know that Her Highness the Holy Maiden will worry about you?"
"You—" How can you be so shameless?
Yu Xiaogang's face, already swollen, flushed an even deeper shade of red. He choked for a long time, unable to utter a complete sentence.
He had seen shameless people, but never one so utterly, despicably shameless. The ability to lie through his teeth, to twist reality itself, was even stronger than his own.
Today, he had truly learned his lesson. With his weakness held as leverage, he could only swallow his teeth, blood, and pride.
Bibi Dong, however, didn't know the undercurrents. Hearing Yu Xiaogang's pained "confession" and Qin Xuan's "earnest" plea, she completely dispelled the suspicion in her heart.
*Xiao Gang wouldn't lie to me. He must feel truly, terribly guilty. It seems Qin Xuan didn't do it.*
"That's right, Xiao Gang, you can't hurt yourself like this anymore." She turned to Qin Xuan, recalling the scene of being "ambushed" not long ago, and his "suicide mission" to the City of Slaughter. A faint blush suddenly flashed across her beautiful, perfect face.
"Thank you, Qin Xuan. No matter... no matter if you can get out of that place or not, you will always be my friend."
Bibi Dong was shy. At the same time, a renewed sense of guilt for Qin Xuan grew in her heart.
She thought to herself, *Although I like Xiao Gang, Qin Xuan is willing to go to the City of Slaughter—to his death—for me. How can I suspect him for no reason? He's even protecting Xiao Gang's secret for my sake. It's truly inappropriate of me.*
[Bibi Dong's favorability + 1]
[Ding, congratulations to the host, Bibi Dong's favorability has reached 71, achieving the 'More Than Friends, Less Than Lovers' achievement. Please continue your efforts.]
That was truly an unexpected surprise. *It seems I'm one step closer to making him wear the green hat...* Qin Xuan was delighted.
He looked at Bibi Dong, his eyes filled with "deep" and "unwavering" devotion. "You too. With your words, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles lie ahead, I will overcome them."
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