Chapter 206: Heading to Earth

After Qin Mang consumed the poison, his eyes suddenly turned blank, then he collapsed on the bed like a board. The bottle slowly slipped out of his hand and rolled along the mahogany flooring.

At that moment, everybody could smell that horrible stench. The six-winged skylord’s venom was quite prickling to the noise, even breathing it in through the air could deal a certain amount of damage.

It was chaos in the ward as everybody fled outside. Xia Fei tapped his combat suit and turned on his air-filter mask before sitting silently next to Qin Mang’s bed.

The ship had sailed, and it all depended on his luck if he managed to get through it.

Soon, everyone gathered around again with gas masks on. The sound of the room’s air purifier at work filled the room. Detecting the toxic substances in the air, the self-assessment system automatically began the air purification process.

The disinfection devices on the ceiling quickly started, raining down disinfectants on everyone.

Qin Mang was still lying on the bed, not moving at all, even his breathing became so faint it was hardly detectable.

The people gathered became incredibly quiet as they waited for the result. The doctor also stopped at the door; everything happening here was out of his control, and all that was left were Xia Fei’s medicine and Qin Mang himself.

Mata’s lips, which were hidden under the mask, bent into an arc. Qin Mang died after consuming Xia Fei’s poison. Obviously, the young man could not run away from this; even Thuram might be affected via association for lending Xia Fei a helping hand.

The biggest obstacle was now cleared. Mata did not even care about the other group of people as they could be easily dismissed by giving them some small gifts.

Mata, thus, pointed his finger at Xia Fei. “Grab this person who killed Qin Mang!”

A few burly men reacted to the command and went to surround Xia Fei.

Xia Fei drove his Celestial Moon to the floor and its tip dug deeply into the ground. “The old man hasn’t died yet. You can apprehend me, and I’ll gladly be held accountable once the old man breathes his last breath.”

Mata laughed. “Held accountable? Who do you think you are? I’m just afraid that you’ll be unable to bear the responsibility of your deeds.”

“Hmph!” Thuram let out a cold snort. He really wanted to help speak a few words in Xia Fei’s defense, but the truth was right there; everybody saw Qin Mang consuming the young man’s poison.

“Mata, if Qin Mang dies, I’ll send Xia Fei to you myself. Get all your men to back off!” said Thuram with his eyebrows knitted. He could help but blame Xia Fei for being too impulsive, using poison to fight poison, and giving Mata the advantage in this situation.

Hearing Thuram’s words, the Ling brothers entered a stance that appeared as if they were about to go into combat. It was not yesterday’s business that both parties hated each other. If they received the order, they would definitely fight on the spot.

At this moment, Qin Mang, who was lying on the bed, spasmed as if he had received an electric shock. Xia Fei knew that this was the medicine doing its work.

“Old man!”

“Master!”

“Old b*st*rd!”

Everyone huddled over as if concerned yet all actually having different thoughts in their minds. Some hoped the old man would die, while some hoped that he would live, everyone displayed a worried look on their faces.

…

Hek’s central hospital was the largest specialized medical facility. These days, every doctor and nurse was incredibly timid, for some bigshots had entered the hospital. From the countless bodyguards and hovercars present, anyone could easily deduce that the person was definitely someone of high importance.

The director, who was always careful, repeatedly told his staff that they should mind their actions. This made the already-curious doctor and nurses fret even more. They were afraid of being put under investigation if the big shot died in their hospital; after all, these bigshots were always unpredictable.

Finally, after two months of high tension, the staff of the central hospital finally relaxed a bit as the VIP in Special Ward 1 gradually recovered. This news spread like wildfire within the hospital, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief; even the director let out a rare smile.

Luxury hovercars left one after another, and the central hospital regained its usual tranquility, except that the special ward was still tightly sealed, and no outsiders were allowed to enter.

Xia Fei walked around the garden while pushing a hover wheelchair. The person in the wheelchair was old man Qin Mang; Thuram was walking alongside them with a big smile on his face.

Qin Mang slowly regained color on his face, but he was quiet, for Old Black, the cat that usually accompanied him, had passed away while he was sick.

It was summer and the air was quite stuffy. The three of them found a cool spot under a tree and sat there after moving a table over.

Xia Fei made a pot of tea with a smile on his face before pouring a cup each for Qin Mang and Thuram.

“Alright. Don’t you have to return to Earth? Don’t worry about old guys like us; you’d best leave as soon as you can,” said Qin Mang.

It was a big day for Quantum Holdings in a few days’ time as the energy-shield booster was officially put into production. This was the company’s first meaningful product, and its sales would directly impact the expansion of Quantum Holdings in the future, so Xia Fei would like to return and have a look.

“The old man is right; your Vampire has been brought over and you can leave anytime. I’ll be accompanying Qin Mang, so don’t worry about him,” said Thuram.

Xia Fei nodded. “If that’s the case, I’ll go back for now. I’ll come see you after some time, old man.”

Qin Mang waved his hand. “Don’t worry; I won’t be dying so soon. Focus on the things you need to do.”

When Xia Fei was a distance away, Thuram pointed at Xia Fei’s figure and said, “You see? You’ve accepted so many disciples, yet none of them is as capable as that lad. I think that you should just take him in as soon as you can.”

Qin Mang smiled and took a sip from his teacup. “That can wait; didn’t you say that you have something to show me?”

Thuram faked a cough, signaling the hidden sentries to retreat. He took out a microcomputer from his ring and passed it to Qin Mang. “I didn’t dare show this to you a few days ago because you weren’t doing so well; I was afraid that the shock might do you in.”

“Oh?” Qin Mang laughed. “That mysterious, huh? What is it.”

“You’ve always wanted to know what Xia Fei has been hiding under his sleeve, right? It’s right here.”

Qin Mang was shocked. He was incredibly confused by Xia Fei’s change in temperament after returning from Heritage Planet. He vaguely sensed that Xia Fei had gotten his hands on some special technique and gained a bunch of confidence from that. With Thuram learning what Xia Fei had been hiding, naturally Qin Mang was quite interested to know, too.

On the projected screen was a video of Xia Fei capturing the six-winged skylord. When Xia Fei demonstrated his second ability, Qin Mang’s eyes lit up with excitement. There was not a single warrior that had managed to train two abilities to the same level, but not only did Xia Fei manage to do exactly that, from what he demonstrated, it was quite well-cultivated, too, probably between Star Domain and Star River ranks.

It was almost considered as an unspoken rule that no human could possess two abilities, and nobody had managed to show otherwise throughout the years, yet a nobody like Xia Fei had managed to break this taboo; it would probably cause quite a commotion in the Alliance if word got out.

One thing was for sure: This must be related to his sudden disappearance for an entire year. For some reason, Xia Fei never did mention what happened in that one year, and he appeared to be quite afraid to do so, too.

At this moment, the video got to when Xia Fei used the third stage of the Beast Spirit Codex to destroy the six-winged skylord’s brain hundreds of meters away. Not only had Thuram never seen this kind of power before, it was the first time for Qin Mang as well.

“What happened there?” Qin Mang asked curiously.

Thuram shook his head. “That looks like an unknown mental technique. I don’t have a good idea of what’s going on there, either.”

After turning off the projected screen, Qin Mang gently tapped the table with two fingers. “No wonder Xia Fei almost became a whole new person. Turns out he mastered such an incredible technique.”

Thuram laughed. “Heh… That’s why I’m urging you to take him under your wing; if you aren’t doing it, I’ll go ahead and do it myself.”

Qin Mang gave Thuram a cold look. “I’m not dead; it’s not your turn yet.”

They used to poke fun at each other quite often when they were younger, and when those words came out of his mouth, it reminded both of their younger days and started laughing.

“Anyways, this time, you managed to continue living all thanks to Xia Fei. Although you can’t be sure how long you’ll live, you should at least show your gratitude, shouldn’t you?” Thuram said maliciously.

Qin Mang nodded. “I understand where you’re coming from, but you also saw how all those greedy people behaved when they thought that I would die. If I hand over the things I’ve collected over the years to him, it may do him more harm than good.”

There was some evidence behind Qin Mang’s worries. The Alliance was a turbulent place, and once a nobody like Xia Fei acquired something that did not quite match their strength, they would be put on a list somewhere, and once they made it to this list, it was no easy task getting off it.

Thuram blinked and said, “Old b*st*rd, what do you have in your possession that made Mata join the fray without any regard for his position?”

Qin Mang replied, laughing, “First, I can’t tell you about the good stuff I have in my possession; second, how do you know that’s what Mata wants?”

“What do you mean?”

“My few garbage disciples don’t know much; all they’re thinking about is just the few small trinkets, and I don’t care if I give them those, but as for the Mata, I think that it might be inconvenient for those guys to show themselves, so they got him to do it,” Qin Mang said lightly.

Thuram slapped the table. “Could it be the…”

Qin Mang cautiously extended his hand to stop him from continuing. “It’s also because of them that I was forced to leave the headquarters. Plus, there are only so many people who know about it; still, I already have an idea on who it is. As for Mata, to be honest, I didn’t expect him to have the balls to do it.”

“Who would’ve thought that, even after so many years, there are still some who aren’t willing to leave you be?” Thuram said viciously. “What do you plan to do?”

Qin Mang smiled. “As long as I’m alive, they can’t do anything. I heard that Earth is quite a nice and quiet little planet. I plan on spending a few days there to readjust my disposition.”

Thuram thought for a few moments, then he said with a hearty laugh, “I understand. I was just going to say you’re not one to give in so easily. Alright, since it’s decided, I’ll go there with you.”