Chapter 309: Chapter 309: Fighting
"It’s not funny! Not funny at all! Man, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have joked with you, I shouldn’t have run my mouth. I’ll learn my lesson. Seeing as this is my first offense, please, be merciful. Let me go." The horse-faced man wailed, begging for mercy.
"What’s going on?" someone outside demanded. As the voice drew nearer, two uniformed patrol officers walked over.
"It’s nothing, nothing. We were just sparring, just messing around," the other lackey explained with a forced smile.
They didn’t dare say more. After all, Ning Xuan’s fists did the talking, and they were no match for her. Even if they reported her now, a fighting dispute like this would, at most, result in a verbal warning. There was nothing they could do about Ning Xuan.
"Watch yourselves. You’ll all be comrades-in-arms soon. A little sparring is fine, but don’t let anyone get hurt." After offering a few words of advice, the patrol officers left.
Ning Xuan looked at the three men before her. The horse-faced one sported a black eye, his left hand hanging limply at his side, the bones in his fingers misshapen. He looked terrified when he noticed her gaze. Having vented her anger and seeing all three of them cowering, Ning Xuan wasn’t as furious anymore.
However, a glance at the condition of their cabin sent her into a rage all over again.
Still, she had known what she was getting into. She was disguised as a common male from the civilian class, with her Spiritual Power Level suppressed to B-level. She knew she couldn’t expect the same resources she was used to. So, as much as she hated it, she had to accept it.
Fortunately, this leg of the journey on this Starship was only two days long. After that, they would transfer to another Starship to continue toward their destination.
For those two days, Ning Xuan used the status she’d won with her fists to force her three roommates to clean the cabin. They also wisely chose to sleep in the hallway, leaving Ning Xuan plenty of space.
Two days later, during the Starship transfer, Ning Xuan spent 100,000 Star Coins to pull some strings and get moved to a two-person cabin. Although this new cabin was smaller than the last one, it was acceptably clean. Her new roommate was a clean-cut young man.
"Hello, my name is Wang Qing," the new roommate said, timidly introducing himself after seeing the scar on Ning Xuan’s face.
"Hello. I’m Ning Zhi," Ning Xuan replied with a nod.
Her new roommate was like a startled rabbit, stealing a few glances at her before quickly looking away. He seemed incredibly timid.
Ning Xuan paid him no mind. Her new roommate was very diligent, cleaning the cabin spotlessly every day. His personal hygiene was also good, and he had no strange odors, so Ning Xuan was quite satisfied with him.
They spent the next two days in silence. On the third day, a knock came at their cabin door.
"Wang Qing, what are you doing hiding in there? Get out here! Don’t think I can’t find you just because you switched to a double cabin," a gruff voice yelled from outside.
Hearing the commotion outside, Wang Qing’s face filled with fear, and his eyes instantly reddened. He shot a pleading look at Ning Xuan, but she was quietly reading a book and gave no indication that she’d even seen his desperate gaze.
Wang Qing cowered on his bed and covered his ears.
"Go open the door," Ning Xuan said flatly. The loud knocking was disturbing her reading.
"N-no, I can’t go. I’m too scared," Wang Qing said, shaking his head.
Without another word, Ning Xuan flicked her wrist, and the door slid open. The man outside, not expecting it to open, had been about to ram it with his shoulder and came stumbling in.
He hit the floor with a THUD, sprawling flat on his face.
The man had taken a nasty fall. He looked to the side and saw Wang Qing’s wide eyes. With a roar, the man lunged at Wang Qing, smacking him hard across the head. "Wang Qing, you bastard! You’ve got a lot of nerve, trying to set me up! I’m going to teach you a lesson today!"
Without another word, the man started beating Wang Qing senseless. With all the commotion, Ning Xuan could no longer read. She frowned, watching the two of them.
"Hey, you. Stop gawking. Get out of this cabin and move into mine," the man who’d just beaten Wang Qing said to Ning Xuan, his tone arrogant and demanding.
Wang Qing’s once-unblemished face was already swollen. Hearing the man’s demand, he shook his head violently at Ning Xuan, his eyes pleading with her not to leave.
"Not moving," Ning Xuan uttered the two words flatly.
"Oh? Playing tough, are you? Not moving? You want a beating too?" the man threatened, raising a fist. The fall from earlier had split his lip, and blood was still trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Heh." Ning Xuan scoffed. A cold glint flashed in her eyes as her fingers curled slightly.
Her laugh sent the man into a humiliated rage. He spat on the floor and lunged at her. But Ning Xuan was ready; she shifted her weight, sidestepping his charge and swinging her right hand high.
"SLAP—!"
A resounding slap cracked across his face, the force of it spinning him nearly halfway around. One side of his face swelled instantly, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He staggered back a couple of steps, but before he could steady himself, Ning Xuan was on him, unleashing a furious storm of fists and kicks.
"CRUNCH!" A fist connected with the bridge of his nose, sending blood spraying.
"CRACK!" An elbow struck his jaw, sending a tooth flying.
"THUD." A final kick to his knee sent him collapsing to the ground with a heavy thump. His face was now a swollen, unrecognizable mess—just like Wang Qing’s, completely ruined.
Ning Xuan shook out her wrist and looked down at him, a mocking smile playing on her lips. "So, how does it feel to get beaten up? Satisfied?"
The gawkers who had gathered in the hallway, drawn by the commotion, instantly fell silent when Ning Xuan glanced their way. They all shrank back, terrified they’d be next.
The once-arrogant man was now groaning in pain. Seizing a moment when Ning Xuan wasn’t looking, he scrambled to his feet and fled out the door.
When Wang Qing saw the man flee, he scrambled off his bed and hurried to shut the door.
"Ning Zhi, thank you. Thank you for standing up for me," Wang Qing said, bowing to Ning Xuan despite his swollen face.
"I didn’t do it for you," Ning Xuan said, turning away coldly and ignoring him once more.
Despite Ning Xuan’s cold demeanor, Wang Qing became incredibly attentive toward her. He started fetching her meals and water, and even began making her bed. Ning Xuan refused his help a few times, but he would always look so hurt, as if she had just scorned him.
Seeing that he did a good job, Ning Xuan eventually relented and let him.
The Starship traveled through the vastness of space for over ten days, and during that time, no one dared to bother them again.
Occasionally, Ning Xuan would go to the observation deck. Standing before a viewport, she would gaze out at the infinite, brilliant darkness of space.
Sometimes, the view was only a sparse scattering of stars across the deep black, like carelessly tossed diamond fragments. Other times, magnificent rivers of stars and gorgeous, glowing nebulae would drift by.
