Xia Hunan pulled his clothes tighter. Although it was tropical, the chill of early spring still lingered, and despite taking some precautions against the cold, Xia Hunan shivered as the wind swept over him. Shivering slightly, Xia Hunan cursed inwardly, "What rotten timing, what rotten weather. What decent person goes out at a time like this?"
After scolding himself for getting caught up in his own words, Xia Hunan pondered for a moment: "Well, I am a decent person, but I'm not exactly normal."
Blowing on his hands again as the evening breeze hit him, Xia Hunan looked around. "Where did that person go?"
Xia Hunan vaguely saw a figure walking towards the forest ahead. He immediately followed.
...
In the island's forest, Xia Hunan watched from a distance as two people murmured to each other. Although he could hear them clearly at night, Xia Hunan could only make out the voice of one person. The other person merely nodded in agreement. It seemed only one of the Lixing people was speaking, leaving the identity of the other person completely unknown.
Xia Hunan pulled out an infrared night-vision goggle from behind him and put it on his head. "That figure looks like a man. It should be Miao Longque. What are they discussing at this late hour?"
Xia Hunan stealthily listened closer and heard the Lixing person opposite Miao Longque say, "Do you understand? If you steal both of Xia Hunan's Z-crystals and prevent him from using them in the final match, you can come to Lixing with us after the competition. If you fail, we'll wash our hands of you, you know?"
Miao Longque panicked upon hearing this and loudly questioned, "What? That's not what we agreed on before, before..."
Miao Longque's words were cut short by a slap from the Lixing person. "You have the nerve to say that? What was the task we gave you? Try your best to prevent the Minglong Kingdom from achieving good results. They've already reached the finals. We're already being generous by taking you to Lixing. What more do you want?"
Miao Longque tried to argue further but was kicked in the chest by the Lixing person. "Get out!"
Miao Longque pouted, spat, and then turned to leave in anger. Xia Hunan watched Miao Longque's receding back and shook his head. "Dogs are always like this. When the birds are gone, the bow is stored away; when the rabbits are dead, the dogs are cooked. But this rabbit is still causing trouble, and they're already killing the dogs? Never mind, I should go back too. How else can I deal with this kid?"
Although Xia Hunan wanted to leave, he secretly glanced towards the Lixing person before departing, curious about their origin. To his surprise, the Lixing person was still pacing back and forth, as if waiting for something.
Xia Hunan's interest was piqued. "What's going on? Are they waiting for Miao Longque to return? I bet he's too scared to come back. He must be terrified not seeing me at the campsite."
Xia Hunan hid behind a tree, waiting to see if they were expecting Miao Longque. Not long after, he indeed heard footsteps. Xia Hunan frowned. "That's not right. This sound is different from Miao Longque's. Miao Longque's footsteps are heavier."
Xia Hunan cautiously peeked out towards the direction of the footsteps and saw a figure walking towards them with pursed lips. Xia Hunan sighed. "As expected."
"You're here. You've gotten brave, haven't you? Did you think you could escape?" The Lixing person's voice was cold, and they seemed to be in a bad mood.
"I've had enough. I don't want to do this anymore!" The person who arrived later refused the other's demands in fluent Minglong.
The Lixing person heard this and laughed like an imbecile. "Once you're on our Lixing ship, do you think you can get off? This isn't something you can just quit."
...
Xia Hunan listened for a long time, shaking his head helplessly. Although he had a vague understanding of what was happening halfway through the match, he was unsure what to do when he arrived.
Xia Hunan listened for a while longer. The two had already escalated from arguing to fighting. Unfortunately, the Lixing person was more skilled, relentlessly pushing the figure towards a tree. The figure stumbled backward, tripped, and fell to the ground. The Lixing person leaned forward, grabbed his chin, and said, "You dare to resist? We don't need disobedient people like you. So, go die."
Xia Hunan sighed. He had to resolve the problem himself. "Gua Gua, Water Shuriken!"
Gua Gua leaped out of the Poké Ball Xia Hunan threw and fired a small Water Shuriken at the fruit knife in the Lixing person's hand, knocking it away. Xia Hunan also emerged from behind the tree. "Hey, threatening someone in the middle of the night isn't very nice, is it? Although you guys are quite liberal and free-spirited, our people aren't to be bullied by you."
The Lixing person was startled by Xia Hunan's sudden Water Shuriken. He turned around, saw Xia Hunan, and laughed. "Isn't this Xia Hunan? Where did you start listening from?"
Before Xia Hunan could answer, he continued, "It doesn't matter. You must have heard everything we said. This is a traitor from your Minglong team. Are you going to save someone like this?"
Xia Hunan followed Gua Gua a few steps forward. "How should I put it? I'm a good Samaritan. How to deal with this person is ultimately up to the Minglong Kingdom. I'm taking them with me, don't you think, Luikasiweding?"
Luikasiweding was not a particularly noteworthy person among the Lixing team. Xia Hunan had initially thought he was just an ordinary attendant, but now it seemed he was quite formidable.
Kasweding glanced at the person lying under the tree. "I'd like to give you face, but you have to leave something behind. If you just take the person away so easily, what about my reputation? Hitmonlee, attack."
Kasweding sent out a Hitmonlee, which attacked Xia Hunan. Xia Hunan commanded Gua Gua to counter Hitmonlee's attacks. Fists and shurikens collided. Xia Hunan intentionally maneuvered their positions, gradually moving himself in front of the person on the ground.
Hitmonlee's strength was somewhat inferior to Gua Gua's. Although the type advantage was present, Xia Hunan quickly gained the upper hand.
Kasweding rolled up his sleeves. "Xia Hunan, what do you see here?"
Xia Hunan glanced at it. "Trouble. Z-crystals again."
"Yes. If you don't use a Z-crystal, can you withstand it? Hitmonlee, All-Out Pummeling!"
Xia Hunan had no choice but to place his Z-crystal onto his Z-Ring. "So annoying. Gua Gua, Hydro Vortex!"
The two Z-Moves collided violently in the night. Fortunately, they were very far from the campsite, so even at night, there would be no adverse reactions from the campsite.
After shattering the opponent's All-Out Pummeling with Hydro Vortex, Xia Hunan looked at Kasweding. Kasweding smiled, glanced at the figure under the tree, and then smiled. "So, although they were of little use to me, forcing out one of your Z-moves was very meaningful. After all, Z-moves can only be used once a day."
Xia Hunan said, "It seems you were plotting against me."
"Of course. In our plan, you were the most troublesome. Naturally, we had to find a way to deal with you. Miao Longque and the one under the tree were all bait to lure you out. I just didn't expect a chess piece to want to break free from the player's control."
Xia Hunan smiled. "I sometimes like to meddle. You see through me quite well. But if I hadn't come out, you would have attacked me directly, right? Just forcing out one Z-move would be enough?"
Kasweding didn't even look at the person under the tree and turned to leave. "This is far enough. If something serious happened to you, it would completely escalate into an open conflict with the Minglong Kingdom, which would be more trouble than it's worth."
Kasweding's figure gradually disappeared into the darkness. Xia Hunan and Gua Gua rushed to the tree. They saw a figure sitting under the tree, clutching their stomach. Upon seeing Xia Hunan, the figure lowered their head. "Uh, that..."
Xia Hunan reached out and patted her head. "It's alright, let's go back first. Otherwise, they'll worry. Besides, by coming to save you, I'm indicating that I have no intention of pursuing this."
Su Xiaojiu said with a wry smile, "So, my identity was known from the beginning?"
Xia Hunan carried Su Xiaojiu on his back. "No, I'm not that omniscient. I initially suspected Miao Longque and Wang Zhen. But after the group stage ended and I went to Fenxue to play, that's when I discovered something was amiss.
The incident of me being attacked by Youmou was known to very few people. Among all the insiders, only Chu Xiaodie could contact my girlfriend and ask her to help conceal my identity. And the only person who could send messages from her phone would be you."
As they walked and talked, they soon returned to the Minglong Kingdom's campsite. Xia Hunan glanced at the campsite, which seemed unchanged. After putting Su Xiaojiu down, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Alright, go back and get some rest. We'll talk about anything after today's competition. Don't worry, only heaven, earth, you, and I know about this."
Su Xiaojiu bowed gratefully to Xia Hunan and then turned to return to her room. Xia Hunan lingered outside for a while longer, enjoying the cold wind, before speaking to the side. "Alright, the show is over. The protagonist has left the stage. Are you still expecting me to put on a solo performance?"