Chapter 15 Your Face is a Bit Hard – Requesting Monthly Tickets! (σ≧▽≦)σ
The Ghost Infant diligently pulled at the Black-clothed man’s murderous aura, conscientiously rolling them into small balls.
Jiang Xia observed the Ghost Infant’s progress and was surprised to find that a small portion of the murderous aura on the Black-clothed man remained unyielding—this seemed to be a new surge of killing intent directed at him.
So, Jiang Xia swung the baseball bat and continued to hit the Black-clothed man.
The younger brothers at the warehouse entrance were initially curious about what Jiang Xia meant by “evil dragon saving the princess.”
After surveying the warehouse, they found that besides their boss, there was 【a little boy with a bloody head × 1】, 【a little girl tightly bound × 1】, 【a dying dog × 1】, and 【a man with a harsh face who was being beaten by their boss × 1】.
...Everyone was from the world of Conan.
Looking at these elements, and then considering the “abandoned warehouse” as a standard kidnapping location, they immediately guessed the preceding events.
The younger brothers scorned the Black-clothed man for bullying children, rolled up their sleeves, and wanted to go and gang up on him.
However, seeing Jiang Xia standing next to the Black-clothed man who couldn't get up, happily hitting him with one strike after another, they hesitated a little.
...They couldn't disturb their boss's fun.
...
The little girl beside them was already dumbfounded.
At first, she was watching the Black-clothed man being beaten and rolling around.
Later, her gaze inadvertently shifted upwards, and when she saw Jiang Xia's face, she froze instantly.
...
A little further away, Conan slowly got up from the ground.
He had been dizzy from being hit by the Black-clothed man earlier.
Now, regaining his senses, he looked at the miserable Black-clothed man in front of him, who seemed on the verge of being beaten to death, and was instantly shocked.
After recovering, Conan quickly ran to Jiang Xia’s side, wanting to stop him.
But as he got closer, he remembered that his current height wasn't enough to reach Jiang Xia's arm.
So he could only risk his life to hug Jiang Xia's leg, trying to pull him back: “Stop hitting him! Any more and it’ll be a crime!”
Jiang Xia’s raised hand paused slightly, and he looked down at him.
The Black-clothed man seized the opportunity and crawled away in the chaos.
Conan breathed a sigh of relief.
However, before he could fully exhale, Jiang Xia walked unimpeded towards the Black-clothed man who was getting up, and like playing whack-a-mole, raised his hand and struck again with the bat.
“@#%*...”
The Black-clothed man despairingly swore, then rolled back onto the ground.
Throughout, Conan was unable to play any role.
It was as if what was hanging on Jiang Xia's leg wasn't a person, but a light feather pendant.
Conan: “...”
Only by losing it can one appreciate the preciousness of body weight.
...He would never forgive those two scoundrel Black-clothed men who turned him into an Elementary School Student!
...
Jiang Xia wasn't worried about beating someone to death.
The world of Conan has many unique rules.
Its natives might not be aware of them. But Jiang Xia, as a semi-outsider, saw them quite clearly.
For example, in this world, when acting heroically, one doesn't have to worry about beating someone to death, nor will they be judged for excessive self-defense.
—Even if a villain’s head is kicked crooked and their teeth are knocked out, they can still revive once the police arrive.
...
However, after hitting for so long, there was still some murderous aura that couldn't be knocked off... perhaps it really required a change of method.
Jiang Xia pondered for a moment and stopped his hand.
Seeing this, Conan secretly let out another sigh of relief.
Then, once again, his breath caught halfway through his exhale.
—He saw Jiang Xia raise a hand and beckon.
Immediately following, the younger brothers at the entrance excitedly ran over, surrounded the Black-clothed man, and began to beat him with all their hands.
Conan: “...?”
That, incitement, would it be an aggravated offense?
He stared blankly at the group of people he couldn't possibly pull away, his already aching head suddenly hurting even more from worry.
Conan: “...”
Although he had long heard that Jiang Xia often hung out with delinquents, he really hadn't expected it to be this kind of 'one call, a hundred responses' mingling.
...His neighbor had become extroverted in a strange way.
But... would this really not result in fatalities?
...
Jiang Xia stood leisurely beside the Black-clothed man, inspecting the progress of the murderous aura’s dissipation.
The sense of oppression from being beaten by one person versus being surrounded and beaten by a group of people was vastly different.
Before long, the Black-clothed man completely lost his fighting spirit.
Forget killing intent, he now only wanted to find a hole to hide himself in.
The Ghost Infant successfully pulled off the last wisp of murderous aura, hugged it, and squeezed out of the crowd, running back to Jiang Xia’s feet, the entire ghost radiating the joy of a bountiful harvest.
Jiang Xia pulled out the cigarette case containing ghost mint and tore open a seal.
The murderous aura was quickly absorbed, gradually filling half of the cigarettes in the case.
The Ghost Infant climbed back onto Jiang Xia’s shoulder, rubbing its hands expectantly, watching the cigarette case.
Jiang Xia, living up to the ghost’s expectations, tapped out a cigarette and lit it.
Smoke rose, and Jiang Xia glanced at the Ghost Infant, who was eating with relish, and was about to try it himself.
Suddenly, a faint voice drifted up from his feet: “The law stipulates that smoking is prohibited for those under 20.”
Jiang Xia: “...”
He looked down and saw Conan.
If this person hadn't spoken, Jiang Xia would have almost forgotten he had a leg pendant hanging on him.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Xia grabbed Conan by the collar, wanting to lift him off: “Let go, you’re covered in dirt.”
Seeing that Jiang Xia had finally noticed him, Conan immediately hugged him tighter: “You first tell them to stop!”
He thought for a moment, feeling his tone was too stiff, not like he was asking for a favor.
So he added a dry trailing phrase: “...okay.”
Jiang Xia made a thoughtful sound, then looked at the Black-clothed man who was still rolling around on the ground.
Now that the murderous aura was in hand, it was indeed time to stop.
He whistled at the crowd, and the younger brothers were very cooperative, stopping in unison and stepping back in unison...
Mainly also because the Black-clothed man was already scared silly, acting like a sandbag throughout, offering no resistance, which made hitting him quite boring.
Seeing this, Conan finally managed to fully exhale a sigh of relief.
He let go, sat down on the ground, exhausted, and turned to observe the unlucky Black-clothed man.
He found that although the Black-clothed man was bruised and swollen, he was still conscious and breathing, which slightly relieved him.
At least they didn’t beat him to death on the spot...
After solving the food problem, Jiang Xia suddenly remembered that there was still a little girl tied up nearby.
He walked over and looked at the knot, finding it was a dead knot. Too lazy to untie it, he pressed the cigarette butt onto the rope.
A gap was burned into the rope, and Jiang Xia reached out, pulled it open, and casually tossed it aside.
The little girl, through the swirling smoke, stared blankly at Jiang Xia, feeling that this hero who descended from the sky was more handsome than all the heroes combined on her cousin’s posters.
The cigarette in his hand didn’t smell as pungent as her father’s pipe; instead, it had a faint, fresh, plant-like aroma...
The little girl remembered the TV dramas she used to watch, and pink bubbles began to quietly emerge above her head.
She hesitated, then called out: “Big Brother...”
“Hmm?”
Jiang Xia turned his head and saw a tender little face constantly enlarging, enlarging in front of his eyes: “...”
The girl shyly closed her eyes, puckered her lips, and gave a loud smack.
...She kissed the baseball bat.