It was already eight in the morning by the time Luo Yang returned home.
Just as he stepped through the door, he noticed a new text message on his phone.
【Bank of Shenzhou】 194,000.00 CNY was deposited into your account at 06:12.
Luo Yang stared at the number for a few seconds before opening KK. He found Qiu Shubai’s profile and transferred 180,000 over to her.
The note attached was only two words: Repaying debt.
After sending the transfer, he tossed his phone onto the coffee table and closed his eyes.
He was a night owl and could handle staying up late, but that was usually when he was just idling around at home.
After finishing a battle and staying awake all night, even he felt a profound sense of exhaustion.
Forget it, I have to leave soon anyway. I’ll just sleep on the plane.
He opened his eyes, stood up, and headed for the bathroom.
Heterosequence blood was essentially a concentrated energy body, but for some reason, it still carried a thick, metallic scent of blood.
More troublesome was the fact that once this blood was absorbed by clothing, it didn't vanish when the host died.
Because the energy density was so high, it was difficult to wash out even if sent to a professional cleaner.
Hot water washed over his body, carrying away some of the fatigue.
Luo Yang braced himself against the wall, letting the water pour over his head. Through the rising steam, his blurry silhouette was reflected in the mirror.
He suddenly remembered the look Qiu Shubai had given him last night.
It was a gaze filled with scrutiny and caution, mixed with inquiry and a hint of worry.
She probably thinks I’m a monster.
Luo Yang turned off the water, dried his hair, and walked out of the bathroom.
His phone screen was lit up with KK message notifications sliding down from the top.
It was Qiu Shubai’s reply.
“Got it. Get some rest.”
Only five words. Even the lack of punctuation felt cold.
Luo Yang chuckled and threw himself onto the bed, falling asleep almost the instant his head hit the pillow.
What he didn't know was that after he fell asleep, Qiu Shubai stared at the transfer record in their KK chat for a full three minutes.
One hundred and eighty thousand.
He had repaid the exact amount she had mentioned offhandedly yesterday.
This man... he clearly said he was short on money, yet he was so quick to pay her back?
Qiu Shubai turned off her phone and sat up in bed. Her gray-white hair fell over her shoulders, and the morning light from the window traced a soft silhouette against her cold profile.
She couldn't sleep.
To be precise, she hadn't slept since she watched Luo Yang live-harvest that Heterosequence at the Flowing Light club last night.
It wasn't because of fear.
It was because she had seen something incredibly familiar in that man.
That combat style that was calm to the point of being cold-blooded, that composure that suggested complete control over life and death, and the barely perceptible violence hidden in those eyes.
She was too familiar with it because she had seen the same look in the mirror.
Qiu Shubai stood up, went to the walk-in closet, and pulled a long black box from the innermost cabinet.
She opened it to reveal a sword lying inside.
Unlike the white longsword manifested by her ability, the scabbard of this sword was pure black, devoid of any decoration—so plain it was almost crude.
She gripped the hilt, her heart as still as an ancient well, and gently pulled it out a fraction.
The blade was pitch black and lacked any luster, as if it could absorb the surrounding light.
This was her father’s legacy, the sword he once carried.
It wasn't a luxury item, just a black sword that hadn't even been graded.
A line of small characters was engraved on the blade: I offer my blood to Xuanyuan.
She had never drawn this sword in front of anyone.
Because she couldn't draw it.
From the day she received it, the sword seemed to be welded to its scabbard. No matter what method she used, she could never fully unsheathe it.
She had tried using blood energy to fuel it, tried brute force, and even asked high-rank Punishers for help, but nothing worked.
The final gift her father left her was a sword she could never draw.
“Still nothing...”
Qiu Shubai returned the black sword to its scabbard and placed it back in the box.
Then she changed her clothes and walked out of the apartment.
...
Yonghe Alley, Third Commercial District, Yuanxing City.
This alley was tucked away between old residential buildings, so narrow that sunlight barely reached inside.
At the end of the alley was a rusted iron door with a faded sign hanging above it that read “Yonghe Tea Shop.”
Qiu Shubai pushed open the iron door, the hinges letting out a piercing creak.
The interior of the tea shop looked even more dilapidated than the exterior.
A few jars of tea leaves were scattered on the shelves, and a thin layer of dust covered the counter.
A middle-aged man in a gray jacket sat behind the counter, watching short videos on his phone with the volume turned up.
Hearing the door, he looked up and glanced at Qiu Shubai.
“Oh, it’s Little Qiu.”
“Uncle Zhang,” Qiu Shubai nodded slightly.
The man called Uncle Zhang turned off his phone, stood up, and beckoned to her.
“Come on, let’s talk inside.”
He led Qiu Shubai through a small door behind the counter and down a flight of stairs.
The stairs were long, descending at least four or five stories. At the bottom was a double-encrypted door requiring iris recognition and blood energy verification.
The door opened to reveal a small but fully equipped underground space.
This was the Special Division’s base in Yuanxing City.
“Have a seat.” Uncle Zhang pointed to a sofa while he sat in the chair opposite her. “The higher-ups already know about the Ying Xiu incident.”
Qiu Shubai’s body stiffened slightly.
“Don't worry, it’s not an interrogation,” Uncle Zhang smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling together.
“The higher-ups said no one could have predicted that situation; it has nothing to do with you. You did well to hold out until backup arrived.”
He pulled a metal box from under the table, opened it, and pushed it toward Qiu Shubai.
Inside the box were twenty fist-sized red crystals neatly arranged.
Each was an irregular diamond shape with a surface covered in jagged depressions—clearly raw stones freshly mined from a vein.
Unlike blood spirit stones, these crystals had no signs of processing; they were pure and primal.
“The Jiangnan Bureau authorized these as an extra allocation for you,” Uncle Zhang said. “Twenty pieces of raw blood ore, all of the highest quality. Although the mission wasn't completed, you did enough. Consider these compensation.”
Qiu Shubai looked at the red crystals in the box and remained silent for a few seconds.
Blood ore was the raw material for blood spirit stones.
A pure natural product without any artificial additives, it was the most effective thing for suppressing her ability’s curse.
It couldn't be bought on the market; it was a strategic resource used to enhance a Punisher’s combat power.
All blood ore veins were strictly controlled by the Shenzhou government, and only official organizations like the Ability Bureau and the Special Division could allocate them.
She picked one up. The red crystal felt slightly warm in her palm, as if responding to the blood energy inside her.
“Thank them for me,” she said softly.
“The Director also asked me to pass on a message.” Uncle Zhang’s expression turned more serious. “There’s been progress on your father’s case.”
Qiu Shubai’s hand tightened around the blood ore.
“What kind of progress?”
“I don't know the specifics; they didn't say. They only told me to have you wait patiently. They’ll tell you when the time is right.”
Uncle Zhang paused and added, “Don't overthink it. Just keep doing what you’re doing. The most important thing for you right now is to establish a solid footing in Yuanxing City.”
Qiu Shubai lowered her head, her gray-white hair hiding her expression.
After a long while, she finally spoke.
“I understand.”
Uncle Zhang looked at her and sighed.
“I know you can't let it go. But regarding your father, there are too few clues and too many complications. You can't rush it. All you can do now is get stronger. Only when you’re strong enough will you have the right to touch those matters.”
Qiu Shubai didn't answer. She put the blood ore into her storage ring and stood up.
“Uncle Zhang, I’m leaving.”
As she walked out of the Yonghe Tea Shop, her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She pulled it out to see two new notifications.
The first was from the Punisher app.
“【Notice】 Student Luo Yang’s K047 re-examination task has been changed to the JX-031 Special Rift clearing mission. Departure time has been delayed by one day.”
The second was a KK message from a contact named “Principal Zhang Xian.”
It was only one line: “Bring that brat Luo Yang to my office.”
Qiu Shubai stared at the two lines on the screen, her brow furrowing slightly.
The Principal wanted to see them personally.
She put her phone away and headed toward the Punisher Academy.
Rate on N.U.
