The Frail Guide Who Devoured an Entire Pollution Zone

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: The Forgotten Person

Xu Qingsui had heard of Qi Qin. She also knew he had played an indispensable role in Xu Ruming and Shen Ling’an getting into the Heiyu Alliance.

’His words sound righteous and stern,’ she thought now as he spoke, ’but I wonder if he’ll show favoritism in private.’

Hearing they would be punished according to the rules, the few female members with Xu Ruming panicked.

Elder Qi had always valued the rules. Regardless of Xu Qingsui’s actions, they had indeed been the ones to start the trouble today.

If this was truly investigated, punishment would be unavoidable.

Their hearts pounded with anxiety as they secretly glanced at the instigator, Xu Ruming.

But the person who should have been the most worried was currently wearing a smug expression, as if she hadn’t taken Qi Qin’s words to heart at all.

The last time, it was Qi Qin who had protected her and Shen Ling’an, so Xu Ruming was convinced he was on her side.

’For their plan to work, Qi Qin can’t punish me too harshly.’

’Besides, I have Xie Qingling backing me. I’m sure if Xie Qingling says something, any punishment will be waived.’

Full of confidence, Xu Ruming immediately agreed, ”Then we’ll ask Elder Qi to decide for us.”

Qi Qin glanced at Xu Ruming but didn’t respond. He instead told Xu Qingsui to go with him.

He had heard all the rumors since Xu Qingsui’s arrival in Zone 9.

Initially, he had been very interested in the talk of Lu Jingyu—a man who never showed interest in romance—finally falling for someone. He thought it might not be a bad thing.

But things changed with Xie Qingling’s arrival.

At first, he had only noticed that Xie Qingling and Lu Jingyu knew each other.

But in the past few days, rumors that the two were childhood sweethearts had become rampant.

For a moment, he couldn’t tell what was true and what was false.

But based on his own calculations, he had more or less made his choice.

Xu Qingsui might have some ability, but Xie Qingling was on another level.

Furthermore, if Xie Qingling and Lu Jingyu formed a union of powerhouses, it would provide even greater security for the Alliance.

Because of this, Qi Qin had been wanting to talk to Lu Jingyu again for the past few days.

He hadn’t expected to run into this incident as soon as he arrived at the Alliance today.

This was the perfect excuse to push his own agenda.

’There’s no getting out of this today,’ Xu Qingsui thought. ’The outcome will depend entirely on what Qi Qin decides to do.’

Xu Qingsui said nothing and resignedly followed his steps.

Xu Ruming, on the other hand, puffed out her chest like a victorious rooster and strutted after them.

Seeing Xu Ruming’s fearlessness, the female members she had incited regained their confidence.

But no one noticed that as Xu Ruming left, she shot a venomous glare back.

The earlier commotion had attracted countless onlookers. Everyone’s attention was on Xu Qingsui and the others, but no one noticed Shen Ling’an, who had been on the ground before they even arrived.

Afraid of the humiliation, Shen Ling’an held his breath and endured the pain in his lower body, trying his best to become invisible to avoid making a spectacle of himself.

Now, seeing that the involved parties and the onlookers had all left with Qi Qin, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A cold chill was still spreading from his crotch. Shen Ling’an cursed silently and punched the ground.

HISS...

The pain from his crotch combined with the pain in his fist made him suck in a sharp breath.

”Xu Qingsui, you just wait. It won’t be long before I make you pay for what you did today!”

”When that time comes, even if you’re on your knees begging to serve me, it’ll still be up to me whether I feel like giving you another chance.”

Shen Ling’an snarled to himself. Only after the voices outside the alley had completely faded did he stagger to his feet.

The physical discomfort made him hunch over. He leaned against the wall, shuffling step by step to the mouth of the alley.

He peeked out, and only after confirming that no one was really there did he miserably make his way back to his residence.

The involved parties and the crowd of onlookers followed Qi Qin in a great procession to the assembly hall.

The onlookers wanted to follow them inside but were stopped by a single cold glare from Qi Qin.

Still, they tried their best to grab a spot near the door to watch what was happening inside.

”Alright. Who wants to explain what exactly happened?” Qi Qin asked, his cold gaze sweeping over Xu Qingsui and the others.

”I will, Elder Qi! Let me explain!” Xu Ruming hurriedly stepped forward, seizing the initiative and giving Xu Qingsui no chance to speak.

Qi Qin nodded. Xu Ruming immediately shot Xu Qingsui a triumphant look, preparing to twist the truth.

But just then, Xu Qingsui abruptly spoke up. ”Let me make one thing clear. They started the rumors and insults. I only struck back at Xu Ruming afterward. And they attacked me as a group first, so I was only acting in self-defense.”

Xu Qingsui knew all too well how good Xu Ruming was at twisting the truth. She didn’t even need Xu Ruming to speak to know what she was going to say.

She couldn’t be bothered to argue with Xu Ruming, so she preemptively clarified the points she knew Xu Ruming would distort.

Xu Qingsui’s words hit a nerve, and Xu Ruming’s expression instantly turned ugly.

Xu Qingsui raised an eyebrow at her, waiting to see what else she could possibly say.

Xu Ruming was so furious she was momentarily speechless. It took a prompt from Qi Qin for her to snap out of it.

’I can’t just let this go.’ Remembering she had powerful backing, Xu Ruming forced herself to say, ”Elder Qi, I admit that we sought out Xu Qingsui. But we didn’t spread any rumors. The reason we looked for her was for the sake of justice and for the reputation of our Alliance.”

The more Xu Ruming spoke, the more confident she became, her momentum building once more.

”Elder Qi, you must have heard the recent gossip. Captain Lu is the face of our Heiyu Alliance, so any gossip involving him also affects the Alliance’s reputation.”

”That’s right!”

”If it were some positive talk, that would be one thing. But the current rumors are clearly tarnishing our Alliance’s name.”

”Right!”

As Xu Ruming spoke at the front, the female members she had won over nodded constantly from behind, chiming in with grunts of agreement, just like a crosstalk act.

”Furthermore, as fellow women, we can’t stand to see a womanizer ruin another’s relationship. Out of empathy, we wanted to seek justice for our injured companion.”

”Seek justice!”

”We originally didn’t want to get physical today. We just wanted to give her a warning, to tell her to be smart and leave Captain Lu on her own. Who knew she would hit me first? My sisters couldn’t stand by and watch, so they stepped in.”

”We hope Elder Qi can uphold justice and severely punish this morally corrupt person who resorted to violence.”

”Yes! She’s the one who’s morally corrupt! She hit Rumeng first, that’s why we fought back. So it’s her fault. She must be severely punished!”

After listening to Xu Ruming, Qi Qin nodded slightly and looked at Xu Qingsui with a stern expression.

”As an outsider, I shouldn’t meddle in matters of the heart. But if this relationship has indeed caused some negative consequences, to the point of affecting the Alliance’s reputation, then I cannot sit back and do nothing.”

”Regarding this matter, Xu Qingsui, I ask that you eliminate the negative impact as soon as possible. Do not ruin our Alliance’s reputation.”