"What are you looking at?"
Wei Qing walked up from behind. He'd only been gone for a little while.
He'd expected Firefly to be shopping for things girls might like, but instead she was stuck at some tiny street stall.
Firefly jolted at the sudden voice. Almost reflexively, she hid the bounty notice behind her back.
She turned around, her face still pale with lingering shock and a trace of panic, and looked up at Wei Qing—who had somehow arrived at her side without her noticing.
"N-Nothing!" Her voice rose on instinct, far too loud, as if trying to cover up her own guilt. "Mr. Wei Qing, you're back!"
Wei Qing's gaze flicked over the hand she'd hidden behind her, then settled on her tense expression.
At the stall, the tentacled vendor had gone rigid, looking like he wanted to crawl under his counter and disappear.
That face. That name.
No way. Was he really that unlucky?
Wei Qing laughed. "What, boss—don't tell me you think I'm that Lord Ravager?"
"The universe is huge. It's rare for two people to share the same name and look, sure, but it's not impossible."
He spoke casually, even giving the trembling vendor a wink.
Uh… that actually made sense?
The vendor realized he might've overreacted. Skaz was remote. What were the odds he'd run into the infamous Qingzhou here?
And if this man really were Qingzhou, the vendor would've been dead the moment he'd been talking trash earlier.
"Ahem—sorry for the spectacle," the vendor said hurriedly, forcing a smile. "That name just… it's terrifying. I didn't react in time, that's all."
"Understandable," Wei Qing said lightly. "It's been shaking the whole cosmos."
He stopped paying attention to the vendor and looked back at Firefly, who was still clutching the bounty notice behind her as if it were a scorching coal.
"What did you buy?"
His eyes dropped to the small box in her other hand, smoothly changing the subject.
Firefly seized on it like a lifeline. She shoved the box toward him, desperate to pull his attention away.
"It's—it's a wind-up alarm clock! The boss said it's from Screwllum's planet, and it's really accurate!"
She opened the lid. The delicate metal bird lay quietly in its velvet nest.
"Oh? Stuff from Screwllum's planet can be pretty interesting." Wei Qing picked up the bird and toyed with it for a moment. "You like it?"
"Mm…" Firefly answered softly, but her eyes kept darting to Wei Qing's face, trying to read him—trying to figure out whether he'd seen the notice.
Wei Qing put the bird back, closed the lid, and pressed the box into her hands. "If you like it, that's good. Let's go. Nothing worth seeing here."
Firefly froze for half a beat, then hurriedly stuffed the crumpled bounty notice into her pocket and jogged after him.
She stared at his back, her mind a mess.
He definitely saw it, right?
Then why didn't he ask? Why didn't he explain?
Was he really that Lord Ravager?
But he saved her. He cured her. He even gave her spending money.
Had the Xianzhou Alliance… lied to everyone, the way the Glamoth Republic did?
The simple-minded Glamoth soldier spiraled into confusion, but the scale inside her heart had already tilted—without her even realizing—toward the first person she'd seen after waking up.
They walked in silence for a while.
Finally, Firefly gathered her courage, took a few faster steps, and matched Wei Qing's pace.
"Mr. Wei Qing… the person that vendor talked about was you, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Wei Qing said.
He admitted it so directly that Firefly's brain stalled. But she quickly forced herself to keep going.
"I… I don't know what happened," she said, voice shaking. "But I believe you're not what the bounty notice says. You must have some reason you can't tell anyone, right?"
Wei Qing stopped and looked down at her.
In her pink-violet eyes there was no fear—no suspicion—only pure worry and a furious sense of injustice on his behalf.
A thought flickered through his mind.
Wei Qing fell silent. The easy, playful look he usually wore faded, and something that resembled fatigue—and pain—passed through his eyes.
It was gone in an instant, but Firefly was watching him too closely. Her heart tightened.
He sighed, his voice lower than usual.
"Some things… you're better off not knowing."
He looked away, staring at the distant neon skyline—bright and lively, yet strangely cold. In the shifting light, his profile looked almost lonely.
"But…" Firefly stepped forward anxiously. "They're saying those things about you! 'Lord Ravager,' 'Destruction'… those aren't good words. It can't be true, right? You saved me—you're a good person—"
"Saving you and who I am aren't contradictory."
Wei Qing cut her off, calm and unwavering.
"Firefly. The universe is vast. Not everything is black and white. As for the Xianzhou Alliance…" He paused, then shook his head. "Forget it."
He hesitated, as if choosing his words, but in the end he only said quietly, "Some choices aren't yours to make. No one will believe it—and I don't need them to."
The explanation was vague, even self-contradictory—yet paired with his expression and tone, it became something else entirely in Firefly's mind:
A man forced to carry a filthy name. A hero burdened with a crime he never wanted. Someone with too much suffering to speak.
If he was truly evil, why save her—an old war-weapon with no value?
No. The truth was obvious.
The Xianzhou Alliance must have done something unforgivable—something that forced him down this path.
Just like the Glamoth Republic used Iron Cavalry until they broke, then discarded them.
Firefly's fists clenched at her sides. Her resentment toward the Xianzhou Alliance—and her sympathy for Wei Qing—burned hotter.
"I believe you!" she blurted.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was firm enough to cut through the noise of the street.
"Mr. Wei Qing—no matter what anyone says, I believe you're not what they claim! You saved me. You gave me a new life. I'll only believe what I've seen with my own eyes!"
Wei Qing turned back, looking at her deeply. The gaze was complicated—almost relieved, almost resigned—before it softened into another quiet sigh.
"Foolish words. If you follow me, you'll hear more of those accusations. And you might face danger."
"I'm not afraid!" Firefly straightened her back. "My life is yours—you gave it back to me! And I'm healthy now. I can fight. I can help you!"
In that moment, she was completely certain.
Mr. Wei Qing had to be innocent.
He'd been forced to carry far too much alone.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
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