Xiaoxia gritted her teeth and struggled to her feet from Pei Yan's spikes, stubbornly saying to the man facing away from her like a mountain, "I didn't need your help; I could have avoided that hit myself."
"I know, but I won't allow any possibility of death between you," Gu Shenghui said calmly, standing unmoved despite Pei Yan pulling back and forth at the blade between his fingers.
"Time isn't up yet; this is still my fight!"
"Your joint techniques are no longer effective on him, and besides, you're not equipped today, which is unfair to you. Step down; my promise of a reward for you remains the same. You've done well enough."
"Combat has never been about fairness, and a prize that's not won holds no meaning for me! The fifteen minutes aren't up yet, so please step aside; this is my fight!" Xiaoxia said, starting to take off her vest, soaked and stained with blood, then tore it in half and wrapped it around her hands.
Gu Shenghui looked back at Xiaoxia, who's upper body was now only clad in a bra, her eyes burning with a fighting spirit, and he helplessly shook his head and conceded, "I'll give you two more minutes!" He said, then released his grip and leaped aside.
Pei Yan, once relieved from the Longsword's restraint, swiftly retracted it, and his mechanical arms returned to their original arm forms, standing still in place.
As Xiaoxia wrapped the cloth around her palms, she softly muttered to Pei Yan, "I know this fight came out of nowhere, and I know you're currently unconscious. I shouldn't be mad about it, but I am, so I'm sorry, but you'll probably be bed-bound for a day or two."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoxia charged forward again for her last attack on Pei Yan today. As she got close to his body, she utilized her smaller stature to dodge his left hook, crouched, and delivered a merciless elbow strike to the center of his chest above the abdomen.
"Thud!" The dull thud of metal being struck rang in Xiaoxia's ears, and she didn't stop her onslaught. On the way back from the hit, her left arm delivered a hand chop hard onto the inner thigh's groin.
After two heavy blows and losing balance, Pei Yan's body lurched forward. At this moment, Xiaoxia's right palm, which had been poised, slammed upwards fiercely into his chin.
"Ah!" With the body's most vulnerable part suffering such a heavy blow, Pei Yan eventually let out the first groan of the night and was sent flying back and into the air.
At this moment, Gu Shenghui, standing to the side, rushed forward again, steadily catching the falling Pei Yan, cradling his head to prevent a secondary injury from hitting the ground.
He glanced down to see Pei Yan's nose starting to bleed profusely from the blow, and his mechanical modifications slowly dispersing, returning to flesh, exposing his naked body.
Wang Wenze rushed over in a sprint, taking off his coat as he ran to cover Pei Yan's body, offering his roommate a bit of dignity. Simultaneously, Elder Lin, Instructor Miao, and other staff members gathered around.
Elder Lin stopped by Xiaoxia's side, paused to ask with concern, "Girl, how's your injury? Come over, and I'll help treat it."
"No need, my own recovery ability will be enough to handle it. Please check on Pei Yan; even though I held back a bit in the end, I still didn't go easy." Xiaoxia waved him off, dropping onto the ground and refusing.
Elder Lin nodded without another word and briskly walked to Pei Yan's side, squatted down and felt his wrist, after a moment flipping his eyelids and checking his limbs.
"Elder Lin, how is he?" Gu Shenghui asked.
"No major issues, possibly a mild concussion; he will need professional scans soon. He has some mild bruising around the joints too; it seems even in a mechanical state, the body doesn't entirely shield from damage," Elder Lin said, placing Pei Yan's hand back in place and signaling to the staff, "Carry him upstairs, and I'll be up shortly to treat his injuries myself."
The staff scrambled to get Pei Yan onto a stretcher, with Wang Wenze's coat slipping several times, each time he hurriedly picked it up to cover Pei Yan again, finally just holding it in place as they all headed upstairs.
Stopping by Xiaoxia, Wang Wenze shouted, "Xiaoxia, are you okay? I'll take this guy back first! Do you need me to...?"
Sitting on the ground with a cigarette in her mouth, rifling through her coat pockets, Xiaoxia waved without looking up, indicating he needn't worry and should hurry on with the job; she was more annoyed about not finding her lighter.
At this point, she noticed a shadow squat before her; she didn't need to look to know who it was. She tossed her clothes aside and beckoned rudely.
Gu Shenghui took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for her, and as he was about to put the lighter away, Xiaoxia snatched it and tossed it on her coat.
Gu Shenghui chuckled without anger, "Still smoking Xuanhe Sect, huh? Young lady, smoke less. Girl, you did well tonight; drop by my office tomorrow and take whatever you like."
"Originally, we agreed on ten minutes, and I still went over time. We'll call it a draw tonight; I'll take this lighter instead," and with that, Xiaoxia exhaled smoke, stood up, put the lighter in her coat pocket, shook off two pieces of clothing, carelessly draping them over her shoulders, and walked upstairs without looking back, leaving Gu Shenghui with an awkward smile.
"Caught on cold shoulders!" quipped Instructor Miao, squatting nearby for fun.
"Get lost!"
Clutching his pounding headache, Pei Yan sat on the hospital bed feeling like a fool, listening to Wang Wenze animatedly recounting the thrilling fight against Xiaoxia.
Yet he had no memory of any of it. He barely recalled arriving at an internet cafe with his friends, booting up the computer, and everything else was a blank, as if he'd blacked out drunk.
Waking up again, he found himself in a medical gown in an entirely unfamiliar infirmary, with a weary-looking Wang Wenze and Hu Wenjun at his side.
"Hey, talk to me! Oh my god! Did Xiaoxia's palm strike make you dumb? Should I fetch Elder Lin for another check?"
Pei Yan slapped Wang Wenze's hand away from his eyes and weakly licked his chapped lips, asking, "How long was I out?"
Hu Wenjun, who hadn't spoken since Pei Yan awoke, put his crossed leg down and stood up to adjust Pei Yan's pillow, "A day and two nights. I say, you guys can really get into trouble. Just because I went home early that day to see my wife and kid, you guys pulled a big stunt. Alright, enough blame, Pei Yan, how are you feeling now?"
"I, I need to use the bathroom!"