Chapter 122: Hit the Wrong Person

To ensure his state of mind was not too violently shaken, Fang Qi did not consume his twenty-four-hour allowance in the cultivation room all at once; instead, he rationed it to about six hours a day, which equated to roughly three months within its walls.

With Jiang Xiaoyue growing increasingly adept at managing the internet cafe's affairs, Fang Qi found himself with the leisure to pursue other matters, and so, seeing everything in the shop running smoothly on track, he returned upstairs, took a deep breath, and once more plunged into the duel against his own game character.

...

"So one can actually play while wearing a mask and concealing one's identity...?" Xiao Yulv had been salivating over the Häagen-Dazs and various games in Fang Qi’s shop for the longest time!

Thus, every day he had watched others indulge themselves to their heart's content, while he himself wished for nothing more than to rush forward and play every single thing!

Yet, on every occasion, he could only trail behind others and watch; forget playing games, he could not even post a single bullet comment!

But yesterday, he had unexpectedly discovered that one could wear a mask to hide their identity and play in the shop!

This realization made him absolutely ecstatic!

Xiao Yulv glanced up at the signboards; the one before him read "Zhou’s Shop," a rather inconspicuous little establishment.

With a faint smile, Xiao Yulv stepped inside to find a small, white-haired old man sitting within; with a snicker, Xiao Yulv produced the spirit crystals he had prepared beforehand and said, "Old Man Zhou, how is the mask coming along?"

"Right there on the table," Old Man Zhou muttered, shooting a glance at Xiao Yulv. "This old man has imbued it with a breath-concealing technique for you; when you use this mask, others won't be able to detect your aura."

"Heh heh! Excellent!" Xiao Yulv weighed the mask in his hand before promptly fitting it onto his face; it conformed perfectly to the contours of his features, prompting him to hastily fish out quite a few more spirit crystals. "Make me a few more, and mind you, not a word about these masks to anyone!"

After all, he intended to use them for some mischief, and it would be disastrous if Fang Qi traced it back to him.

To say nothing of Fang Qi, he suspected his own aunt would give him a sound thrashing upon his return.

The mere thought brought a wave of silent tears to Xiao Yulv's eyes; the elders of other families always shielded their young at every turn, so why did everything turn sour when it came to his own?

And they dared call it for his own good?!

Bloody hell!

After using his status to threaten Old Man Zhou for a spell, Xiao Yulv finally departed, masked and thoroughly satisfied.

...

"Instructor Zhou... we have a lead so quickly?!" Li Yang, his hands still swathed in bandages and his face a mottled canvas of green and purple bruises, asked with bitter resentment.

"Naturally!" Zhou Kaibei's countenance was equally grim. "I, Zhou, possess no small measure of means within this Jiuhua City! To think they dared instigate the proprietor to turn around and give us a thrashing?! Do these brats still have any respect for their instructors?! They have truly overturned the heavens!"

"Precisely!" Li Yang ground his teeth, his voice laced with venom. "Once we uncover exactly who it is, I, Li Yang, will certainly report it to the academy to have them expunged from the registry!"

A few helpers followed in their wake, the leader of whom bore a deep, jagged scar across his face; Zhou Kaibei cast a glance at them. "Old Ba, lead the way quickly."

"What's the rush? It's just up ahead," the scarred man spoke up. "Just past this alley and a right turn will bring us there. Rest assured, I've inquired about it; there are only three people who commissioned this kind of mask. Once we learn what those three look like, I guarantee you'll be able to find out who it is."

Yet, before they even reached the mouth of the alley, Zhou Kaibei caught sight of a figure flitting past just outside.

"Eh?" Li Yang gasped. "I think I just saw someone wearing that same zombie mask from yesterday...?"

"I saw him too!" Zhou Kaibei’s face darkened ominously. "He actually dares to show his face around here?!"

"Is that the brat who caused you and Brother Zhou to get beaten yesterday?" Behind them, Dao Ba surreptitiously snatched up a discarded paper bag meant for trash from the roadside. "Move, follow him, and when the time comes, the two of you seal his cultivation together!"

He had done this sort of thing plenty of times; one could say he was steeped in experience.

Meanwhile.

The mere thought made Xiao Yulv exceptionally delighted: "To think such a loophole existed?! In this manner, the shop's ban is nothing more than a scrap of paper. Let's see how you stop me from playing games now!"

Moreover, the masks Song Qingfeng and the others had used yesterday were truly rather amusing; because they were crafted so realistically, he had seen with his own eyes how Song Qingfeng and his lot, clad in those masks, had nearly scared those few customers at the entrance right onto their backsides!

Consequently, he had taken a fancy to that very mask last night and had commissioned someone to discover that, by a stroke of luck, there was a shop in the city capable of fashioning such things!

He had gone to the shop yesterday afternoon to place a custom order, and it was said it would be finished today; presumably, it was now time to collect it!

The anticipation made Xiao Yulv particularly animated, as he thought with vicious glee: "This time, this young master will not only play the part of several customers to gorge myself on the shop's delicacies! I shall play for twenty-four hours straight! I'll flood the place with a screen-full of bullet comments, and while I'm at it, scare away whatever customers you have left!"

At this thought, an explosion of pure gratification erupted within Xiao Yulv's heart, as though all the grievance he had previously suffered had vanished into thin air.

"Hahahahaha!" Right in the midst of his booming laughter, Xiao Yulv suddenly felt his vision plunge into darkness!

"What is happening?!" How could things suddenly go pitch black while he was just walking?! What had been shoved over his head?!

Before Xiao Yulv could comprehend the situation, he suddenly felt two formidable surges of aura violently breach his back, instantly suppressing the spiritual essence within his body!

Immediately thereafter, a flurry of heavy fists rained down upon him!

"Ah—! Who is hitting me?!"

"Who the hell dares to strike me? Do you value your lives so little?!"

"Still acting arrogant?! Keep beating him!"

"Threatening us, are you?! I think it's you who values your life so little, boy!"

At once, another severe thrashing ensued.

"To dare lay a hand on me, Xiao Yulv—are you seeking death?!" Xiao Yulv finally erupted in fury.

"Xiao..." The faces of the assailants stiffened as they exchanged glances. "Xiao Yulv...?!"

"That great scourge from the Liuyun Daoist Palace?!"

"This voice does seem somewhat different from those three yesterday..." Li Yang ventured.

"No way..." Dao Ba was also dumbfounded.

"Not good! We've thrashed the wrong man!" Zhou Kaibei's face turned black as thunder. "Run! Run quickly, if he finds out, we're finished!"

"Run, run, run! Get out of here quickly!"

Xiao Yulv: "Motherf—!!!"

...

Word had it that today, the disciples of the Lingyun Academy were to hold a masked celebratory gathering at the Origin Internet Club; it was meant to be an exceedingly joyous occasion, but Xiao Yulv, who had managed to procure a mask with no small difficulty, now bore a face as rigid as iron.

Xiao Yulv did not arrive at the Origin Internet Club until nearly nightfall today; his mood was exceptionally foul, having been inexplicably beaten within an inch of his life while simply walking down the street!

As night fell, watching player after player—some masked, others clad in full-face helmets, all manner of hidden identities—stride into the Origin Internet Club, Xiao Yulv, wearing a zombie mask that concealed a face mottled with fresh green and purple bruises, ground his teeth: "Today, this young master will play the game no matter what!"

.