Chapter 24 Stop playing dead and get up at once.

"Is this... considered manslaughter?"

"If she hadn't pulled the arrow out, he might have lasted another minute..."

"Isn't she that medicine peddler from yesterday? I remember her claiming her hemostatic powder could stop heavy arterial bleeding. I guess it was all a lie, huh?"

"It’s stuck right in his neck... that’s even worse than an arterial rupture, isn't it?"

The crowd began to whisper among themselves. Someone even speculated, "Do you think her real goal was to test the efficacy of her own medicine?"

Qian Qi looked up at them. She had heard these suspicious remarks, but she didn't take them to heart. After dusting off the remaining powder, she stood up.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to run away!" A young man with distinct, sharp features gripped Qian Qi’s arm tightly and shouted to the surrounding crowd, "This is murder! You can't just leave, freshman!"

Hearing his words, some students who hadn't seen clearly thought Qian Qi was actually fleeing and joined in, shouting, "Don't let her run! She has to stay here!"

Qian Qi turned to look at the young man. A flicker of memory—one she hadn't possessed before—flashed through her mind. She paused, and then a strange, mocking smile bloomed on her face.

She grabbed his arm in return, her grip firm, and a hint of malicious threat crept into the corner of her mouth. "Who are you, classmate? Why are you spouting such nonsense? You’re making things very difficult for me, aren't you?"

The young man’s expression stiffened, then he sneered. It seemed Chen Miaomiao hadn't lied; Qian Qi really had lost her mind and forgotten some things. Otherwise, there was no way she wouldn't recognize him, Chen Tong.

"Don't misunderstand, freshman," Chen Tong said, his lips curling into a cruel smirk. "I mean no harm, but someone is dead, and you just accelerated his death by pulling that arrow out. That counts as negligent homicide. You should stay here and wait for the school’s investigation."

He had been trying to figure out a way to dispose of Qian Qi quietly, but after hearing about the miraculous hemostatic powder, he had secretly followed her and stumbled upon this perfect opportunity.

Besides, Qian Qi had brought this on herself. Who told her to be stupid enough to pull an arrow out of someone’s throat!

Chen Tong desperately suppressed the ecstasy in his eyes. Just imagining Qian Qi being dragged away and the ways he could pay people to torment her made him incredibly excited. He couldn't wait to see her groveling on the ground, looking like an idiot.

Qian Qi raised an eyebrow, observing Chen Tong’s reaction. Unlike his attempt at restraint, she didn't bother hiding the menacing, irrepressible grin on her face.

How interesting. Now, let her think about how she should "play" with Senior Chen Tong.

***

Seeing Qian Qi’s terrifying smile, Chen Tong shivered, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

Under Chen Tong’s increasingly alarmed gaze, Qian Qi lowered her eyes leisurely and kicked the boy on the ground, Xiao Wang. "Stop playing dead. Get up."

Her words stunned everyone present. They looked at Xiao Wang in confusion, only to see the "corpse" suddenly gasp for air, his upper body jerking upward as if he were a zombie coming back to life.

Following that, Xiao Wang began to cough violently. After clearing the residual blood from his trachea and esophagus, he touched his neck—which was completely intact and devoid of pain—and exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap, I'm not dead?"

Xiao Wang’s resurrection shocked everyone present. A few seconds later, someone in the quiet crowd let out an exclamation, "Holy hell, is that hemostatic powder really that powerful? It can save someone from that?"

"Is this some kind of divine medicine? Someone pinch me, am I dreaming?"

"Damn, this... Big Sister! Do you have any more of that powder? I want to buy some!"

"Me! Me! I want to buy a bag too!"

"Don't fight me for it! I was here first! I want five bags!"

The students who had witnessed this miracle swarmed toward Qian Qi, desperate to open their optical devices to transfer money and build a connection. "Big Sister! What's your ID? Add me! Add me!"

The atmosphere in the plaza changed in an instant. What was just a tense and fearful scene had turned into a frantic shopping frenzy.

Seeing that the situation was turning against him, Chen Tong tried to slip away in the chaos.

However, the moment he turned, he felt Qian Qi’s fingers locked firmly onto his arm. Amidst the noisy crowd, she stared at him with an amused, playful glint in her eyes, her expression becoming increasingly eerie and wicked.

She mouthed silently: *Found you.*

Chen Tong’s heart skipped a beat.

At that moment, the shooting instructor for the second-year students and a doctor from the school infirmary rushed over. Pushing through the crowd, they panted, "Where is the patient? Where is he? You didn't move him, did you?"

They immediately saw Xiao Wang, who was looking shocked and wiping the blood from his neck. The school doctor screamed, "Don't touch the wound! Who pulled the arrow out? Are you trying to kill him?"

The surrounding students couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. Seeing the doctor and the instructor, Xiao Wang quickly explained, "Teachers, it's fine. My injury is already healed."

"What?" the doctor asked, stunned. "Didn't the student who called say you had an arrow stuck in your neck?"

Although the shooting students intentionally controlled the size of their arrow-daggers during training, it was by no means a minor injury!

"It's really fine, I used the hemostatic magic powder." Xiao Wang wiped his neck and showed it to the doctor. "Look, the wound is gone."

On Xiao Wang’s neck, there was only a faint, pale pink diamond-shaped scar. It seemed the concentration of the powder hadn't been quite high enough for a perfect repair.

The doctor examined it carefully, confirming that it was indeed a scar left by an arrow-dagger, but in such a short time... The doctor asked, puzzled, "You said, what kind of hemostatic powder?"

Injuries to the neck were not easily treated. Hemostatic powder... by the name alone, shouldn't it just stop bleeding?

Just as Xiao Wang was about to explain, Qian Qi grabbed the doctor. "Doctor! You should still take Xiao Wang to the hospital for a check-up! Just to be safe!"

The doctor snapped out of it, nodded, and quickly signaled to his colleagues to load Xiao Wang onto the infirmary cart.

The second-year shooting instructor wanted to follow, but was suddenly held back by Qian Qi.

"What is it, student?" the instructor asked patiently, thinking Qian Qi had something important to ask.

Qian Qi held onto Chen Tong’s arm tightly. The eerie, wicked smile on her face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of aggrieved, tearful distress as she looked at the instructor. "Teacher! I want to report something. Someone was taking advantage of the chaos to harass me!"

The instructor’s expression turned stern. "Who? Which girl is harassing you?"

Qian Qi: "???"

Qian Qi didn't care anymore and pointed at the dark-faced Chen Tong. "It’s him!"

The instructor turned to look at Chen Tong, then: "???"

The instructor looked at Chen Tong, then back at Qian Qi. After a long pause, she carefully weighed her words and asked Chen Tong, "Student, this classmate says you were harassing her. Is that true?"

"Qian Qi! Are you freaking insane?" Chen Tong finally couldn't hold back his rage. "You’ve got nothing going for you, and I’d harass you?"