The moment the words “You’re blocking the way” left his mouth, the expressions of the three old men froze simultaneously.
It wasn’t just the words themselves that shocked them; it was the fact that this boy was so arrogant, and even more so that he dared to say it while standing so close to Qiu Shubai.
The way he had tucked her hair back just now was, in their eyes, more unsettling than if he had physically attacked them.
The elder standing at the very front was the first to take a step forward.
It wasn't a heavy step, and the floor tiles didn't crack, but the muggy air around Luo Yang suddenly surged outward to both sides.
His blood energy could no longer be suppressed—or perhaps he didn't want to suppress it anymore. A titanic aura surged forth, like someone tipping an invisible tidal wave directly over their heads.
The glass door of the milk tea shop by the street let out a low, vibrating hum.
“Brat.”
The elder’s voice was kept very low. “Who are you?”
Luo Yang didn't back down. Standing his ground, he hooked the bag containing the phone box onto his right elbow and cupped his hands toward the elder in a formal greeting.
The gesture was disciplined and the posture wasn't sloppy. However, the smile hanging on his face remained exactly as it had been, without softening in the slightest.
“This junior is Luo Yang. Greetings, senior. May I ask how I should address you?”
The elder let out a snort.
“I am Zhang Lingde, a guest official of the Qiu family.”
He enunciated every word with steady weight. “Brat, what exactly is your relationship with our Eldest Miss? Why did you dare to act so frivolously just now!”
“Guest... official.”
Luo Yang clicked his tongue behind his teeth as he repeated the words, as if tasting a sauce that didn't quite suit his palate.
“Heh.” He tilted his head with a half-smile. “I wouldn't have guessed. For being based in an international metropolis like the Metropolis, this Qiu family is actually quite feudal.”
“It seems I really should bring a few of my uncles and elders along next time,” he said, his voice neither high nor low. “Lest someone starts raising a private army under their nose while the Central authorities are kept in the dark.”
Zhang Lingde’s face changed instantly.
The shift was instantaneous; the dignified air he had been maintaining crumbled significantly, and the light in his eyes darkened.
“Who exactly are you?”
He asked much more slowly this time.
Luo Yang shoved one hand into his pants pocket.
He refined his blood energy into a thread-thin line, wrapping it around his voice so it tunneled through the summer night wind directly into Zhang Lingde’s ear.
The words he sent were very short.
“In Shenzhou, how many noble families named Luo are there?”
Zhang Lingde recoiled several steps.
Those steps were taken with no regard for his image, his heels clicking sharply three times against the floor tiles. A young mother pushing a stroller nearby was startled and instinctively moved to shield her child.
Zhang Lingde’s mind was racing at lightning speed.
If the boy’s words were true—
Then on this commercial street, by that fountain sculpture, on the second floor of that milk tea shop, or even on the rooftops of the distant skyscrapers... it didn't matter where...
In short, there must be top-tier powerhouses lying in ambush nearby to protect him.
Even if there weren't, it didn't matter.
If he, a Dao Manifestation level expert, truly offended a young master of the Luo family, even committing suicide ten times over would be considered a mere nuisance to them.
The other two elders noticed Zhang Lingde’s reaction after only a few words with Luo Yang. Both were stunned and quickly circled around from the other sides of the fountain, standing almost flush against his back, poised to strike at any moment.
Zhang Lingde raised his hand behind him.
The hand wasn't raised high, but it forcibly suppressed the killing intent of the two men behind him.
He put on a different face.
His expression didn't change much, but that titanic blood energy was pulled back inch by inch. By the end, all that remained was a hint of respect that he hadn't even noticed himself; the oppressive aura from before had vanished without a trace.
“Young man.” The tone of his voice had changed as well.
“This old man does not know if what you said is true or false, but today’s matter ends here.”
He paused for a beat.
“Now that things have reached this point, I no longer have the authority to make any decisions.”
“I will take everything that happened today back exactly as it occurred and relay it to the current head of the Qiu family. Someone will naturally come to negotiate with you then.”
Having said that, he didn't even have time to acknowledge the inquisitive gazes of the surrounding crowd. His figure blurred, and three streaks of light rose from the side of the fountain. They moved so fast that the bystanders hadn't even reacted before the men were gone.
The wind rushed into the empty space, causing the lights at the bottom of the pool to flicker and sway.
Luo Yang looked up at the three receding lights and clicked his tongue.
“Must be nice,” he whispered. “Being able to fly through the sky with blood energy once you reach the Dao Manifestation level. Just like an immortal.”
Qiu Shubai was still rooted to the spot.
She should have been the first to move, but after the three pressures surrounding her were suddenly withdrawn, she felt as if a structural support had been yanked out from under her.
The floor tiles beneath her feet were the same as before, but with the heavy weight lifted from her shoulders, she actually felt a bit unsteady standing there.
It took a long while before she turned her head.
“Why are you here?”
As soon as she asked, she realized the question was out of order and corrected herself.
“—No.”
“What did you say to them?” she asked, looking at Luo Yang. “Why did they leave so quickly?”
As she spoke, she realized how strange it was herself.
“It was almost as if they were running away.”
Those three old things at the Dao Manifestation level had actually fled the scene just like that.
The chaotic thoughts in her mind, smashed together by the truth of her father’s legacy, hadn't even been sorted out before they were buried by this new development.
As for the moment Luo Yang had reached out to brush her hair, she hadn't even found the mental space to consider the meaning behind the gesture. She could only ask her questions in a daze.
Luo Yang withdrew his gaze from the sky and let it fall on her face.
He offered a smile.
That smile was much softer than the one he had shown Zhang Lingde; the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly, making it seem as if he truly didn't care about what had just happened and was simply talking to a classmate.
“It was nothing.”
He said plainly, “Since the matter is resolved, shouldn't we get going?”
He paused and gestured toward their surroundings with his chin.
“Look, everyone around us is watching.”
Only then did Qiu Shubai snap out of it.
People weren't just watching; some were holding up their phones.
The boy in the couple closest to the fountain already had his hand raised to his chest, his screen lit up—clearly recording a video. Further away, two girls in academy uniforms were huddled together whispering; when one saw Qiu Shubai look back, she nearly dropped her phone in fright.
Excitement was for those who enjoyed it.
No matter how it was spun, what had just happened didn't look like something that would occur between ordinary students.
The tips of Qiu Shubai’s ears burned almost instantly.
She lowered her head, her grayish-white bangs obscuring most of her face. Without a word, she started walking out of the crowd.
Her pace was half a beat faster than usual.
Luo Yang wasn't in a hurry to follow.
He remained in place for a moment, smiling at the couple still holding their phone. The boy immediately pressed the stop button with his thumb, shoved the phone into his pocket, and pulled his girlfriend into the nearby milk tea shop.
Yan Zhi strolled out from the shadows, the lollipop stick still tucked in her pocket.
“Handled?”
“Let’s go.” Luo Yang reached out and patted her head. “Time to go home.”
He caught up to Qiu Shubai, maintaining a position half a step behind and to her side. As they reached the corner of the commercial street, Luo Yang turned his head and glanced back toward the fountain.
The commotion in the crowd hadn't dissipated yet; several passersby who had seen the situation were huddled together discussing what had just happened.
The smile was still on his face.
However, there was a hidden edge of sharpness within that smile—so deep that outsiders couldn't see it, known only to himself.
Those three old geezers ran quite nimbly. But while they could run today, could they run from the future?
His mother was at his home, and his father was still in the capital. No matter which one of them heard about today’s events, the Qiu family was in for a reckoning.
He didn't even bother to think about how deep these murky waters ran. Whether to get involved was no longer a decision he could make alone. Since everything had been brought into the open between his parents and the Qiu family, he didn't mind borrowing a bit of the Luo family’s strength.
He withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace slightly to keep up with the girl walking ahead with her head down.
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