The moment he spoke, the entire square went dead silent. The smug smiles on the opposing group's faces instantly vanished, replaced by glares of intense, hateful wariness. They all knew exactly who this monster was.
"Someone whispered that the Law Enforcers need to handle this," Yoriichi continued, his boots clicking softly against the stone as he walked directly toward Xiao Mei. "But it seems the Enforcers are busy. So, I will handle it."
Xiao Mei looked up, her eyes widening. "Xiao Ning..." she said weakly, trying to force a brave smile. "It's... it's nothing. We can handle this. You don't need to get involved."
She didn't want to drag him into a genius's petty, vindictive politics.
Yoriichi's gaze swept over her bleeding arm. His eyes were completely devoid of emotion, a terrifying calmness that made the surrounding crowd hold their breath.
"Senior Xiao Ning!" one of the girls beside Xiao Mei burst out, unable to contain her righteous anger. "It was them! They started this ruckus entirely unprovoked. We were just buying herbs, and one of them intentionally shoved Xiao Mei into a sharp display rack!"
A tall, lanky student from the opposing group scoffed, crossing his arms and putting on a facade of innocent mockery. "Hey now, I already said I was sorry, didn't I? I even threw some gold coins on the ground for compensation. So why are you dogs still barking?"
"Yeah, exactly," another boy chimed in, snickering as he jingled a pouch of coins. "If you country bumpkins need more money, you can just get on your knees and beg. We have plenty of pity to spare."
"You... you bastards!" Xiao Mei's another classmate yelled back, her face flushed red with fury. "You used Dou Qi! It wasn't an accident. You sneaked a wind blade into the push, or else there wouldn't be a deep cut in her arm! This was completely intentional!"
The tall, lanky student threw his hands up in mock offense. "Miss, please. We are cultured disciples of the Jia Nan Academy. We don't provoke anyone who doesn't provoke us. What evidence do you have that I used Dou Qi? Did anyone here see a wind blade?"
He looked around the crowd, daring anyone to speak up against Bai Shan's faction. The onlookers immediately lowered their heads, unwilling to get involved.
Xiao Mei gritted her teeth and gently pulled on Yoriichi's sleeve. "Ok fine. Let's just end this. We will leave and not bother with them," she whispered, glaring at the opposing group. "Bastards."
She knew the opposing group numbered a dozen, with some having Dou Shis among them. She didn't want her cousin to face disciplinary action for starting a massive brawl in the commerce district.
The lanky student smirked, feeling completely emboldened by Xiao Mei's retreat. "That's right, little girl. Run along. Just because you have some 'talented' cousin doesn't make you powerful."
Yoriichi's expression did not change.
He simply reached out and gently took Xiao Mei's injured arm. He placed two calloused fingers lightly near the bleeding cut.
He closed his eyes. His Transparent World vision had improved slightly over the past few months after Dou Shi breakthrough. It didn't just see physical structures anymore; with absolute focus, it could perceive the lingering, residual flow of elemental energy and track its origin.
'A sharp, jagged residue of wind-attribute Dou Qi. The density belongs to a 4-Star Dou Shi,' Yoriichi analyzed instantly, mapping the exact energetic signature of the foreign Qi lingering in the wound.
He opened his eyes. They glowed faintly in the dim light of the plaza.
His gaze slowly tracked across the dozen students opposing them, looking right through their skin and muscle, analyzing their internal circulatory systems. He saw their Dantians, their active meridians, and the elemental affinities flowing within them.
His eyes locked directly onto the tall, lanky student who had been doing most of the mocking. The boy's Dantian was swirling with wind-attribute Dou Qi, perfectly matching the exact density and signature of the residue on Xiao Mei's arm.
Yoriichi let go of Xiao Mei's arm.
"I see," Yoriichi stated softly.
Swish.
To the eyes of everyone in the square, Yoriichi simply vanished. There was no crack of lightning, no roar of wind. He was just gone.
Before the lanky student could even blink or register the sudden movement, he felt a crushing, immovable weight clamp around his throat.
His feet suddenly left the cobblestones.
The crowd gasped in absolute horror.
Yoriichi had reappeared directly in the center of the opposing group. He was holding this student completely off the ground by his neck with a single, bare hand. His grip was not erratic or violently angry; it was terrifyingly steady, like an iron vise slowly tightening.
The other eleven mates in the group panicked, instinctively reaching for their weapons, but a sudden, blistering wave of thermal pressure radiated from Yoriichi's body, forcing them to stumble backward in fear.
Yoriichi looked up at the dangling, thrashing student. His crimson eyes were pools of absolute, frozen tranquility.
"Will you speak the truth of what you did?" Yoriichi asked, his voice dropping to a harsh, freezing whisper that made the surrounding students violently shiver. "Or do I need to be more forceful with my interrogation?"
He slowly tightened his grip. A sickening creak echoed from the boy's windpipe.
The lanky student's face turned a deep, desperate shade of purple. He clawed frantically at Yoriichi's arm, but it felt like trying to scratch solid steel. His eyes bulged in sheer, unadulterated terror as he looked into the emotionless eyes of the youth holding his life. He realized instantly that this was no joke. This wasn't academy posturing. The red-haired boy would actually crush his throat without a second thought.
"I... I..." the student stuttered weakly, his legs kicking uselessly in the air. "I... will... speak... please... spare me..."
Yoriichi slightly relaxed his grip, just enough to allow the boy to draw a ragged, desperate breath, waiting for the confession that the entire plaza was now holding its breath to hear.