Only then did You Qi realize he had misunderstood.
‘You can know someone’s face but not their heart’— Lord Cong looked like a proper gentleman, but who would’ve thought he bullied underclassmen in private? Given that, maybe the conflict between him and Chun Shijiu wasn’t entirely Chun Shijiu being an idiot.
You Qi’s gaze lingered coldly on Lord Cong’s back for a while.
Lord Cong paused for a second as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to leave, dragging his feet with a heavy heart.
“If he—or anyone else—bullies you again, just come and tell me,” You Qi said to Zhou Mu.
“Okay~ Thanks!” Zhou Mu casually took the packaged cake from You Qi’s hands. He figured it was best to hold onto food himself—he didn’t mind the hassle.
You Qi couldn’t help but be slightly shocked by Zhou Mu’s appetite and tried to advise him, “Don’t eat so much cake…”
“Eat something else too.”
Zhou Mu had looked a bit sad and stunned at the first part, but the second part made him instantly beam again.
Deskmate is the best!
***
It was Saturday.
Lord Cong was carrying a burlap sack full of demonic beast meat—specifically, local specialty cured pork ribs… This was the birthday gift he had prepared for Zhou Mu. He’d promised to make up for it that day, and didn’t dare skip out now. But he wasn’t sure if Zhou Mu would actually like it.
What if Zhou Mu raised his crappy old-man phone again and yelled, “You peasant! Trying to poison me with carcinogens?!”
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he hesitated on the road for quite a while.
And in that moment of hesitation—he ran into Chun Shijiu.
Chun Shijiu saw Lord Cong from behind. He hadn’t been able to get his revenge last time because of You Qi’s interference, so now he crept up stealthily—and launched a surprise attack.
Lord Cong, caught up in his anxiety, sensed the danger too late. He barely dodged, rolling away in a messy scramble. Even so, a slash appeared on his face, and his burlap sack tore open, spilling a few ribs. He hastily tied a knot to seal the hole.
Chun Shijiu burst out laughing at the sight. “What’s this, Lord Cong? Visiting your ancestral grave? Bringing along some local specialties too? Don’t forget to burn some paper offerings for Duke Huan of Qi!”
—Because Lord Cong was considered a relic from ancient times, Chun Shijiu often mocked him for it, just like Lord Cong mocked his grades.
Lord Cong’s face turned dark. He set the sack down. “Say one more word about my family!”
“Family? You mean your graveyard!” Chun Shijiu sneered, eyes sharp. “I didn’t get to finish you off last time. Today, I’ll teach you a lesson and knock that fake noble act out of you.”
The hem of Lord Cong’s white robe fluttered without wind. Both of them locked onto each other’s energy.
Suddenly—
They both attacked at once, closing the distance in an instant. Within seconds, they exchanged over a dozen blows. No spells, just brute strength fueled by rage.
The scene was utter chaos—light and shadow clashing, sword energy flying—until some patrolling officers passed by and stopped them just in time. When they realized both were in school uniforms, they gave them a solid thirty-minute lecture on the spot.
“You’re both high schoolers—one of you’s even in his final year! Can’t you let the younger one go? You’ve got exams coming up!” the officer said sternly, clearly disappointed.
Chun Shijiu snickered.
Lord Cong, standing silently, said flatly, “We’re in the same year. He just repeated two grades…”
“…” The officer looked at Chun Shijiu. “Repeated twice? Tsk. All the more reason for you to study harder! And you’re still getting into fights? You think you’ll even graduate?”
After half an hour of scolding and repeated promises to behave, the officer finally agreed not to inform the school.
Before parting ways, they were forced to apologize to each other. Chun Shijiu grudgingly muttered a sorry, then whispered, “You’re lucky this time. If you’ve got guts, meet me tomorrow night behind the school.”
Lord Cong replied in a low voice, “We’ve got a quiz during evening study tomorrow.”
Chun Shijiu: “…”
Chun Shijiu: “Fine, the day after tomorrow!”
Officer: “What are you two whispering about? Still planning something? Do I need to call your school after all…”
Chun Shijiu burst into tears, “No, please, officer!”
Because of all the chaos, plus the earlier hesitation, Lord Cong arrived at Zhou Mu’s place over an hour late.
“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting forever!” Zhou Mu shouted grumpily as he came to open the gate. His parents were out of town, so he was home alone.
Lord Cong replied nervously, “Something came up on the way…”
As he stepped closer, Zhou Mu opened the gate and saw the sack in Lord Cong’s hand. His expression softened as he said with false modesty, “You didn’t have to bring a gift.”
Lord Cong: “…Hehehe, it’s only right.”
Inwardly, he muttered, If I didn’t bring one, you’d probably tear me apart. I literally came here just to give this gift.
Zhou Mu took the sack straight from his hands, digging through the contents as he spoke, “My folks aren’t home, come on in and sit for a bit.”
“I’ll head back. Don’t your parents get weekends off?” Lord Cong replied stiffly. He didn’t really want to—or rather, didn’t really dare to—get too close to Zhou Mu.
Zhou Mu was still looking into the burlap sack, but said, “They don’t get time off. You should sit down. Now tell me—who hit you? I’d really like to know who dared lay a hand on my person.”
Lord Cong: “……”
He touched the small wound on his face, feeling a complex mix of emotions—touched, but also afraid to feel touched…
Zhou Mu examined the tear in the sack. “Hmph, looks like a few pieces of meat are missing.”
Lord Cong: “Mm… It got ripped during a fight.”
He was actually quite strong, but he couldn’t fully suppress Chun Shijiu. Chun Shijiu loved sneak attacks, so he’d suffered a few losses.
Lord Cong hesitated, then added, “It’s nothing big. Just an old classmate—he’s a demon clan too. We argue a lot. Last time we ran into each other at the mall, we fought again.”
He was worried Zhou Mu might demand ‘meat for meat’ revenge. Office 404 had a lot of rules, and while they wouldn’t dare trouble Zhou Mu, they might come after him instead. Being a literal relic didn’t guarantee safety.
“I see,” Zhou Mu replied calmly. Office 404 was known for its strict rules, and since he was enjoying his time at school and didn’t want to blow his cover, he decided to play along. “If he gives you trouble again, let me know.”
It was strange, but in that moment, Lord Cong truly felt a sense of safety. The greatest danger and the greatest protection could come from the same person.
“Okay,” Lord Cong nodded. “Actually…”
……
On the other side of town, Chun Shijiu—with fresh wounds from his fight with Lord Cong—went looking for You Qi.
“&%@#￥! That bastard Jiang Xiaocong, I won’t let him off!” Chun Shijiu ranted for ten minutes straight about Lord Cong. “I’ve challenged him to a duel behind the school after evening self-study. Can you come with me as backup?”
You Qi, holding an English book, calmly looked up. “Do you think your words make sense?”
You’re calling someone out to a one-on-one fight and then asking me to come help? Is your definition of a duel two-on-one?
Chun Shijiu shamelessly said, “I can’t beat him.”
You Qi was speechless.
They’d at least been classmates for a year, so Chun Shijiu felt they had some bond. In this human-only school, the two of them were more or less kindred spirits. “What’ll it take for you to help me? I’ll do your homework?”
You Qi: “…Why do you insist on repaying kindness with resentment?”
Chun Shijiu scratched his head awkwardly. “I don’t really have anything else to offer. And you don’t need money either…”
You Qi had no intention of getting involved in petty school fights, but then he remembered Zhou Mu had said he was once bullied by Lord Cong. So Lord Cong really might be a school bully.
“I’ll help you this once,” You Qi said after thinking it over. “But just enough to make a point. I’ll warn him, and then it ends there.”
Chun Shijiu was stunned.
“You’re seriously agreeing?” He hadn’t expected You Qi to actually say yes.
You Qi frowned. “Did you say it casually?”
“No,” Chun Shijiu said honestly, “but I didn’t expect you to agree. He’d been planning to recruit a bunch of others to gang up on Lord Cong. If you’re in, I won’t bother finding anyone else.”
You Qi: “……”
You Qi gave up on reasoning and just emphasized, “I do the fighting.”
Chun Shijiu gave him an “OK” gesture.
***
The following week.
Physics evening self-study session.
Zhou Mu was face-planted on his desk, fast asleep. In his dream, he had taken over his mother’s ranch and was laughing maniacally to the sky: “From now on, I’m number one under heaven! I fear no one! Hahahahaha—it’s all mine!”
You Qi saw the teacher approaching and gave him a poke.
Zhou Mu jolted awake, locked eyes with the physics teacher, and immediately buried his head to start solving problems—so panicked he nearly cried at the first question. ‘Damn, that’s hard.’ Even the fiercest beasts fear physics.
Eventually, the bell rang. Zhou Mu stood up and got a WeChat message from Lord Cong.
[I’m at the back mountain.]
Zhou Mu replied with [On my way,] then turned to You Qi and said, “I’ve got something to do tonight. I won’t be walking home with you.”
You Qi, who had already agreed to meet Chun Shijiu to confront Lord Cong, just nodded. “Alright. Be careful on the road.”
He thought of the impending fight, and while he considered reminding Zhou Mu, he figured the back mountain was isolated enough and he’d keep things under control. Compared to a demon fight, Zhou Mu was probably more at risk from traffic or robberies. So he only gave a generic warning.
“You too. Don’t run into any dark areas without lights,” Zhou Mu casually warned his squishy deskmate in return.
After leaving the classroom, Zhou Mu said goodbye to a few classmates, then quickly made his way to the second floor. When no one was watching, he slipped into an open office. He strode to the window, set one hand on the sill while still holding his backpack in the other—and jumped out silently.
He passed through a loquat grove in the dark and reached the school’s back mountain.
This city was built in a hilly region, with lots of mountain terrain. Many buildings were constructed along the slopes, including the school. The hill behind it wasn’t part of the developed campus—not like a scenic school garden, but a completely untouched area, even fenced off with steel wire to keep students out.
Zhou Mu climbed to the hilltop and met up with Lord Cong. He handed over his backpack and put on a face mask. Then, using a special black powder, he marked a line on his eyelids—completely concealing his identity. He couldn’t let Chun Shijiu recognize him at school. He had no plans to blow his cover. Then he asked eagerly, “Where’s that snake?”
“Looks like he’s not here yet.” Lord Cong watched as Zhou Mu casually rolled up his sleeves and tossed his backpack aside—so natural, like he’d done this before. Who knew how many classmates he’d fought in the past?
“Think he’s playing you?” Zhou Mu complained. “Showing up late to a fight? No class.”
Granted, he himself had just arrived, but he was still perfectly confident in his accusations.
Lord Cong broke into a cold sweat. “I don’t know… Maybe he’s been here for a while, just hiding somewhere. He does like to—” He suddenly cut himself off and glanced sharply in one direction.
Rustle rustle…
A massive creature was moving through the vegetation.
Smooth and chilling.
Was it the snake?
“He’s here.” Zhou Mu hadn’t had a proper fight since the school year started. Life in the classroom had been surprisingly harmonious—he didn’t exactly miss the days of living wild in the mountains—but at this moment, he felt a long-lost thrill.
Without a sound, Zhou Mu climbed into a tree. Once he locked onto the target by sound, he didn’t even warn Lord Cong before pouncing in that direction. He dove from the treetop, slamming into the moving figure—but the moment his hand made contact, he realized it was a fake—just a decoy.
So Chun Shijiu wasn’t as dumb as Lord Cong made him out to be?
As Zhou Mu was thinking this, he sensed a strong gust of wind from behind. He wasn’t surprised. His body twisted fluidly, hugging the ground as he dodged the powerful attack.
You Qi raised an eyebrow—he hadn’t expected the ‘head-on fighter’ Lord Cong Chun Shijiu described to actually learn from experience.
‘Lord Cong’ was lying on the ground, back still turned to him. Compared to You Qi, the figure was nearly two sizes smaller. The moon shifted in the sky, casting a cool light over a pale, slender neck—fragile-looking, as though it could be snapped at any moment. And yet, there was something both unfamiliar and strangely familiar about it.
Unfamiliar, because this build didn’t match Lord Cong he remembered. Familiar, because… he felt like he knew this back.
You Qi only hesitated for a split second. With the enemy before him, his hand moved faster than thought, darting toward the person’s neck like lightning!
At the same time, the terrifying aura of a beast surged out, enveloping this smaller opponent. It should’ve been enough to make clear they weren’t up against Chun Shijiu—but something even more dangerous.
You Qi was lightning-fast, too fast for a normal person to react—but what surprised him even more was the opponent’s response: no defense at all.
They practically offered their neck up, taking the blow head-on, then using the moment to twist and throw the much taller You Qi to the ground with overwhelming strength!
Even though they hadn’t revealed their full aura, the sheer force made it obvious—they weren’t ordinary at all.
Definitely not Lord Cong!
They were on a whole different level—multiple times stronger than Lord Cong. You Qi felt his blood boiling like never before. His fighting spirit surged, and his eyes darkened.
He realized he was completely restrained. The figure on top of him had a delicate-looking frame, but there was nothing fragile about it—built entirely for combat. Every movement was clean, efficient, brutal. Once they straddled his waist, they gripped his throat with ease. Even though You Qi still had a hand clamped around their neck, they didn’t seem to care at all…
This person’s fighting style was utterly insane.
Their voice, muffled behind a mask and seemingly disguised, came from above. Arrogant and commanding—just like their fighting. “You’re the one bullying my little brother?”
Zhou Mu studied the person beneath him. This definitely wasn’t Chun Shijiu—he’d smelled Chun Shijiu’s scent before, and this was totally different. Plus, this guy had disguised himself too, hiding his face under a hoodie with only his chin exposed.
That chin… looked kind of familiar…
While Zhou Mu was deep in thought, the person beneath him growled in a low voice, “Your little brother is Lord Cong? Do you even know he’s been bullying other students at school?”
Zhou Mu let out a cold laugh. “Seems we have different opinions. Let’s settle it then—figure out who’s right and who’s wrong.”
And by ‘settle,’ he clearly didn’t mean with a discussion.
The tension was suddenly razor-sharp.
Even though he had promised Lord Cong he’d just teach the guy a lesson, this clearly wasn’t Chun Shijiu—and obviously wasn’t someone who could be taught anything easily.
Zhou Mu narrowed his eyes. In that case—
“Which class are you from?! What are you doing—fighting?!”
Several flashlight beams suddenly shone directly at them. The school security captain shouted loudly. He’d noticed the wire fence had been bent out of shape and came to investigate with his team—only to stumble upon what looked like two students fighting.
The beams shone straight into their faces, trying to get a good look at who they were.
Zhou Mu and You Qi looked at each other—and without needing to speak, they both leapt up and bolted in opposite directions.
“Hey! Stop right there! Who’s your homeroom teacher?!”
“Damn, those little punks run fast!”
The security guards gave chase, stumbling and scrambling behind.
Two rare and powerful beasts in the world—now fleeing in utter disgrace.
