CHAPTER 844: CHAPTER 844: EYES IN THE DARKNESS

All of Five’s underlings were busy rounding up people, and no one paid attention to Shui Jing, who had long fallen silent in the background.

Shui Jing never expected Xu Ke to be such a capable fighter. Even Five was no match for him, making her previous urgent blame-shifting appear so despicable and laughable, like a clown trapped in a cage.

Shui Jing stood there, watching Xu Ke with a complicated expression. When Xu Ke glanced over, she looked back at him, hesitant to speak, as if her words earlier had been born out of such helplessness and necessity, as if everything wasn’t as simple as it seemed, as if she had her own difficulties.

Shui Jing was just waiting for Xu Ke to speak to her. She didn’t even need Xu Ke to angrily question her. As long as Xu Ke spoke to her and gave her a chance to speak, she had a ninety percent chance of getting Xu Ke to forgive her previous actions.

But unfortunately, Xu Ke merely happened to glance in her direction and had no intention of speaking with her, not even considering it worthwhile to cast a glance her way.

With Five’s defeat and departure, the crowd’s gaze toward Xu Ke was unwittingly filled with awe and admiration. Though Xu Ke’s place in line wasn’t toward the front, after the recent events, no one dared to stand ahead of him. They naturally stood behind Xu Ke, sending him to the front of the line without any opposition.

"What would you like to order?" The shop owner put away his sunflower seeds and cola, smiling brightly at Xu Ke.

"I don’t know what’s your specialty, just bring me the best dish you have," Xu Ke said after briefly glancing at the menu placed nearby.

"Got it." The shopkeeper responded energetically and swiftly got to work.

Standing to the side, still waiting for Xu Ke to come over and question her, Shui Jing felt like a fool at that moment. A delayed shame overcame her, not knowing whether it was from the sun’s heat or from sheer embarrassment. Shui Jing’s face turned crimson.

She waited a little longer, noticing Xu Ke showed no intention of talking to her, and seeing that the shopkeeper was about to finish preparing the food, Xu Ke was about to leave.

Shui Jing finally couldn’t stand it. As Xu Ke took the food and stepped out of line, Shui Jing hurriedly rushed forward, blocking Xu Ke’s way.

"Why won’t you look at me? Why won’t you talk to me? Are you blaming me?" Shui Jing spread her arms, blocking Xu Ke’s path, not allowing him to leave her sight.

Because the earlier fight had just ended, Xu Ke was under everyone’s attention, even though many people were in line buying things. In reality, all eyes and ears were focused on Xu Ke. If they weren’t worried about Xu Ke’s temper and possible sudden aggression, they might have rushed over to overhear their conversation.

"There’s nothing to blame, please step aside, I’m in a hurry to leave." Xu Ke looked at Shui Jing blocking his path, having no intention of engaging her in conversation. Everyone has the instinct to avoid harm and seek benefit. He understood Shui Jing’s attempt to avoid responsibility but couldn’t accept having such a betrayer around him.

"I know you’re blaming me, blaming me for not speaking up for you earlier, and shifting all responsibility onto you. But I had my reasons for doing so; I didn’t want to. But you saw it just now. That Combat Power was so high, and I’m so small and weak. One punch from him, and I’d be dead. I said that because I was forced to, for survival. After saying it, I felt guilty too. Can you forgive me?" Shui Jing looked at Xu Ke with reddened eyes.

"If you’re worried about me retaliating against you later, you don’t have to. I’m not interested in that, nor do I intend to. Rest assured, I won’t do anything to you," Xu Ke said, his gaze making Shui Jing feel as if she stood before him without any secrets, incredibly insecure.

"It’s not like that, I’m just afraid you’ll misunderstand me. I don’t want you to misunderstand me." As Shui Jing said this, her gaze at Xu Ke slightly evaded, as if there were countless things to say but ultimately nothing came out.

"There’s no need, we’ve only met once. Whether I misunderstand you or not doesn’t really matter, don’t overthink it." Looking at Shui Jing’s current demeanor, Xu Ke felt quite fed up, pushed her aside, and then left briskly.

On the surface, this matter seemed to end there, but in reality, undercurrents were surging. When Xu Ke returned to the inn to eat, his actions today had already spread throughout the small town, making him the talk of the town.

In a corner of the town, unbeknownst to Xu Ke, someone was reporting everything that happened today to another person.

"Is he really that formidable?" The person held two chess pieces, looking at the board, slightly raising their eyebrows and asking.

"Yes, I asked the brothers present. Little Five didn’t even last a single move under him. Little Five is still in the hospital now, with a diagnosis of a concussion," the person reporting said respectfully.

"Have you investigated what his identity is?"

"His main job is a photographer, but he isn’t well-known in the circle, hardly anyone knows about him," the man said respectfully.

"Where did a photographer get such high Combat Power?" The middle-aged man with the chess pieces mumbled with half-closed eyes.

"It might be related to the things he photographs."

"Oh?" The middle-aged man’s voice lifted slightly, a hint of interest in it.

"The things he likes to photograph are quite bizarre, and most of the shooting locations are risky. If his Combat Power wasn’t high, he might not have returned," the man recalled the information about Xu Ke’s photographic works, finally picking the phrase "quite bizarre" from his limited vocabulary to match.

The middle-aged man glanced at his subordinate, "Bring out his photographic works and show me."

The subordinate, seemingly prepared, upon hearing the middle-aged man’s order, promptly pulled out a paper folder from his bag.

The folder contained not only fabricated life experiences of Xu Ke but also a large number of his photographic works.

Many photos at first glance appeared stunning, and a closer look revealed the risks involved in taking them.

And for one to take such risks and produce such photos, it wouldn’t make sense if that person had low Combat Power.

"Have you figured out what he’s here for?" The middle-aged man stuffed the contents back into the folder and asked.

"Apparently, he accidentally fell asleep on the bus and missed his stop. If nothing unexpected happens, he should leave by tomorrow at the latest," the subordinate summed up the information he received and responded.

"I’m very interested in him. No matter what method you use, keep him here."

"Yes."