Chapter 397: Hitting Back

"What are you looking at!" Following Xia Qingzhi's gaze, Juanzi realized she was staring at one of the hooligans. "You little slut, showing your true colors already? I thought you were so good at playing innocent!"

Xia Qingzhi had only been looking at the phone the hooligans had snatched from her. She withdrew her gaze and lowered her head.

She knew defending herself was pointless. No matter what she said, the woman in front of her would find new ways to humiliate her.

"Speak! I thought you were good at playing innocent!" Juanzi twisted a hand into Xia Qingzhi's black hair and yanked her head back, like a vicious beast.

Of the two remaining schoolgirls, one was recording while the other held Xia Qingzhi's hands down.

"Say something!" Juanzi raised a hand to slap her, but suddenly thought of something. She dropped her hand, patting Xia Qingzhi's cheek instead. "Brother Xiang and the guys still have a use for this pretty little face of yours. I'll let you keep some dignity today."

"Juanzi, we're just letting her off? Isn't that too easy on her? I haven't even vented my anger yet." The heavyset girl pinning Xia Qingzhi's arms down glared with unhidden jealousy.

"This little slut is used to getting beaten. Besides, she's cheap to the bone; hitting her would just dirty my hands." Juanzi wandered around the back alley and picked up a brick. "Xue Yuan, keep recording. We're going to have some real fun with her today!"

Brick in hand, Juanzi approached the garbage pile in the alley, periodically smashing it down on something. Just as everyone wondered what she was doing, she walked back out clutching something in both hands.

"Juanzi, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Giving our class beauty some wonderful memories, of course." She tossed the brick aside and lifted the object in her hands to show her friends. It was a battered, half-dead rat.

"Holy shit, stay away from me, that's disgusting." The girl recording took a few steps back. "I'm terrified of those things."

"Look at you, what a coward." Juanzi pinched the rat by its tail and turned to the other girl. "Rip her clothes open. I'm going to stuff it inside her. A little slut and a dead rat—what a perfect match."

Xia Qingzhi resisted with all her might, desperately trying to escape, but before she could break free from the fat girl's grip, the hooligan named Xiangming walked over from the mouth of the alley. "Behave. Are you that impatient?"

His eyes burned with lust. Mouth dry, riding the buzz of alcohol, he pinned Xia Qingzhi's hands down in a death grip.

"Brother Xiang really is the best," Juanzi said as she and the heavyset girl tore open Xia Qingzhi's school uniform. The struggling rat drew closer and closer to Xia Qingzhi. "You little slut, today is just the beginning. If I don't force you to transfer schools, I'll—"

"You'll what?" A bicycle blocking the alley entrance was knocked over. The moon ducked behind the clouds, and the already dim alley seemed to plunge into pitch blackness, unable to let a single ray of light through.

I wasn't certain of Xia Qingzhi's identity, nor did I know if she was a pawn of the Underworld Live Show. That was why I had hesitated until now.

But when I saw Juanzi threatening Xia Qingzhi with that rat, I couldn't stand by any longer. They were in the same class—what kind of deep-seated grudge could make someone do this to a female classmate?

Whether human nature was inherently evil or inherently good was too broad a generalization. There were simply good and bad people in this world. You couldn't use childhood experiences or family misfortunes as excuses. Some people were just rotten to the core, and showing tolerance to the wicked meant inflicting double the harm on the innocent.

"Trying to play the hero? Where did this little punk come from?" The hooligan known as Brother Yu glared at me. "My little sister is talking with her classmate. Piss off, and don't make trouble for yourself."

The lighting was terrible. The group in the alley could hear the commotion outside, but couldn't see clearly.

"Juanzi, I think someone came in. It's not the cops, is it?" The girl recording on her phone was timid. "Maybe we should just drop it. We've already vented our anger for today."

"We can't drop it. Doesn't she act all pure and innocent at school? Isn't she so aloof, ignoring everyone? I'm going to tear her mask off today. This bitch is a hundred times dirtier than us! Strip her! I want her to watch as I stuff this rat inside her! Record it! Record everything!" Juanzi's words were frantic, her expression tinged with panic.

Xia Qingzhi struggled desperately, but Xiangming and Xue Yuan pinned her arms down in a death grip.

"You little slut, I—"

"Your name is Juanzi, right? I gave you a chance last time." Under the Judging Eye, the night was as bright as day, so the darkness barely affected me. I could see every single movement of those schoolgirls perfectly clearly. "It's a pity you didn't cherish it."

"Juanzi, is he your friend?"

Brother Yu turned his head, only to find that Juanzi's lightly made-up face had turned deathly pale, her expression incredibly unnatural.

She had already sensed something was wrong just from hearing my voice. The moment she pulled out her phone and shined its light on me, her pitch skyrocketed. "Brother Yu, Brother Xiang! That guy is Xia Qingzhi's boyfriend! He's the one who beat up Achen and me last time!"

"You have a good memory, it's just a shame you never learn your lesson."

I strode into the alley. Brother Yu stuck out an arm to block my path. "Kid, you're pretty arrogant, huh? Do you know who I—"

Taking a half-step forward, I threw a Crushing Fist like a loosed arrow!

My clenched fist slammed heavily into Brother Yu's lower abdomen, forcefully cutting off the rest of his sentence. Watching him clutch his stomach and drop to his knees, I raised my foot and kicked him aside. "I don't know, and I have no interest in knowing."

I stood before the three schoolgirls. They were wearing the same school uniforms and carrying the same backpacks as Xia Qingzhi. Just moments ago at the school gate, I had even seen the short girl greeting a teacher.

They looked no different from any other students. Who could have ever guessed they would do something like this to Xia Qingzhi?

A person's appearance and role in life were their best disguises. I had learned that lesson deeply in the Death Game.

"Let go." My voice wasn't loud; only the few closest to me could hear it. The fat girl named Xue Yuan shot a glance at Juanzi, but Juanzi just kept her head down. Her hands were trembling so badly she didn't even notice the rat escaping.

"Kid, think this through. We aren't the ones who want to mess with this girl. If you dare touch me, someone is going to make you pay for it later!" Xiangming glanced at Brother Yu lying on the ground, but after delivering his threat, he released his grip.

"Don't worry, I won't lower myself to deal with small fry like you. I also want to see who's trying to touch this girl. I have a lot of enemies in Jiangcheng, so I need to make sure I don't retaliate against the wrong person." Pulling out my phone, I opened the camera and handed it to the short girl. "From now on, you record with this."

The girl held my phone, unsure of what I was going to do and too terrified to move.

"Your name is Juanzi, right?" I looked at the schoolgirl in front of me and reached out to pull Xia Qingzhi behind my back. "It was you last time, too. Why would you do something so vicious to a classmate?"

Juanzi said nothing. She clutched her pants, looking incredibly innocent. Right now, she seemed like a completely different person from the girl who had been wildly abusing Xia Qingzhi just moments ago.

"Tell me your reason. If this really is Qingzhi's fault, I'll leave right now." I waited for a minute, but Juanzi still didn't speak. "Not saying anything means you don't have one, right? Last time, I spared you because you were a girl and only hit that guy surnamed Chen. Now I see that you're the one who needs to be taught a lesson the most."

I gestured at the phone camera, then grabbed Juanzi's uniform and slammed her into the corner Xia Qingzhi had just been backed against, winding up my right arm.

"Smack!"

A bright red handprint was branded onto Juanzi's face. The sudden force knocked her off balance, sending her crashing to the ground. Her eye swelled and her lips trembled, unable to squeeze out a single word.

"Kid! You got a death wish?!" Two or three meters away, Xiangming reached into his pocket, whipped out a switchblade, and charged at me. He was fast, and it was a sneak attack.

The knife thrust straight toward my chest. It looked incredibly dangerous.

"A desperate dog leaps over a wall?" Under the Judging Eye, I easily spotted the flaws in Xiangming's attack. Raising my left foot as if predicting his movement, I kicked him right in the knee.

Taking advantage of his interrupted assault, I punched him squarely in the shoulder blade.

"Crack!" The sound of shattering bone echoed far down the back alley. I followed up with two more kicks and knocked the switchblade aside before stopping. "If you hadn't attacked me, how would I have a reason for self-defense?"

Crouching down, I grabbed Juanzi with one hand. "Do you know you were wrong?"

"I know, I know! I'll never cause her trouble again, I swear!"

"Smack!" I delivered another heavy slap to Juanzi's face, putting all my strength behind it, acting as if I couldn't care less whether she lived or died. "I'm not your parents. I won't hold back just because you admit you were wrong."