Chapter 136: I Don't Want to Run Anymore

"Teacher Li, are you just going to let him be like this?" Wang Tingyue asked Li Yang, watching Sikong Xu's gradually receding figure.

"Let him be. That kid... you couldn't control him even if you wanted to. When he gets stubborn, he won't give me any face at all," Li Yang said with a soft laugh, shaking his head.

"Those bastards are always trying to usurp the principal's position. We absolutely cannot let them blow this matter out of proportion. If the academy ends up under their control, it will be completely ruined." Li Yang slowly walked over to the window, gazing at the night outside.

"If we let that kid stir up some chaos, it might actually produce some unexpected wonders. Neither the Student Council nor the Disciplinary Committee should interfere in this matter. If those bastards really want to make a scene, they will definitely mobilize their core forces..."

"Understood."

"Understood."

Hearing Li Yang's words, Wang Tingyue and Wang Hao responded simultaneously.

When Sikong Xu left the school, it was already quite late. Since Liu Mingming remained unconscious, Sikong Xu had asked Xiao Yuqi and Mu Ning to take turns taking care of her.

As for himself, he hurried straight to the antique coffee shop. Truth be told, Sikong Xu wanted to go straight home; after all, it was already so late, and Mikasa and Yeshi must be terribly worried.

However, the matter regarding the Ghouls could no longer be delayed. If he didn't warn them in advance, it would be too late by the time the school sent out a raiding party.

To keep Mikasa and the others from worrying, Sikong Xu intentionally took out his phone and sent them a message.

While hurrying along, Sikong Xu replayed in his mind the encounter with the Student Council Vice President and the Disciplinary Committee Vice President just moments ago.

Now that he possessed the Eight Gates Dunjia, Sikong Xu felt somewhat confident in his own strength. At the very least, with the Eight Gates Dunjia opened, he could help out to some degree. However, if the Student Council Vice President were to join the fray...

Given that terrifying level of strength, Sikong Xu wondered if he would even be able to inflict any damage on him at all.

Moreover, by Wang Tingyue's side was Wang Hao, the Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee, whose depths were equally unfathomable!

Wang Hao could hold the position of Vice President of the Disciplinary Committee, so his strength would certainly be no weaker than Wang Tingyue's. If either of these two were to participate in the extermination of the Ghouls...

I'm afraid even Yoshimura, an SSS-rated Ghoul, would find it difficult to withstand them!

Strength! Strength! Strength!

Sikong Xu deeply felt the importance of strength. If he possessed absolute strength, then everything would be decided by his own words alone!

"Once this matter is resolved, I swear I must bury myself in training to improve my strength!" Sikong Xu muttered inwardly.

The antique coffee shop was a certain distance away from Morning Glow Academy. It took Sikong Xu nearly half an hour, panting heavily, to finally rush there.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the coffee shop, he found that it was still open for business, so Sikong Xu walked right in.

"Huh? Why are you here again?" Touka, assuming a customer had arrived and wearing a professional smile, was just about to step forward to welcome them.

But the moment she saw that the visitor was Sikong Xu, her sweet smile vanished instantly.

"Are you really that unwelcome to me?" Sikong Xu let out a bitter laugh. He had rushed over in such a flurry to bring them news, only to find the other party unwelcome.

"Was the business with Jason your doing?" Touka asked.

"Eh? You guys found out about this so fast? I thought it would take a while."

After expressing his surprise, Sikong Xu remembered that he had business to attend to. He reached out, grabbed Touka by the shoulders, and opened his mouth to speak.

Who would have thought that the instant Sikong Xu's hand rested on Touka's shoulder, she would overreact, let out a sharp cry, and instantly slap away at Sikong Xu.

Slap! Fortunately, Sikong Xu reacted quickly and caught Touka's hand; otherwise, his lifelong reputation would have been ruined.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Why such an intense reaction!"

Touka said with a blushing face, "Who told you to touch me without my permission? You have the nerve to say I'm overreacting!"

"Sigh, fine, fine, I won't argue with you. Hurry up and call everyone in the shop over—something big has happened!"

Seeing the serious expression on Sikong Xu's face, Touka put aside her shyness and gathered everyone in the shop at top speed, including Manager Yoshimura.

"Sikong-kun, what is the matter? You seem so flustered," Yoshimura asked him in his typical Japanese-accented tone upon seeing Sikong Xu.

"Manager, there is something I must apologize to everyone for." After calming the anxious emotions in his heart, Sikong Xu finally spoke.

"It must be about 'Jason', right..." Yoshimura seemed to have already seen through what was on Sikong Xu's mind, and said unhurriedly, "I express my regrets regarding the matter of 'Jason'. After this incident occurred, I knew humans would inevitably vent their anger upon us, so I had already prepared myself in my heart..."

"Manager..." Sikong Xu stammered somewhat. Originally, he had promised to guarantee their safety, and they had trusted him so completely, but now... he had broken his word...

Looking at the calm expressions of Touka and the others around him, Sikong Xu figured they must have known this day would come all along.

"Rest assured, I will—I will definitely secure a peaceful homeland for all of you!"

When reading the original work, Sikong Xu had found it difficult to understand the contradictory psychology of the Ghouls at the antique coffee shop—yearning for peace yet forced to kill. Now, however, Sikong Xu finally understood.

"Hmph, if it weren't for the manager, we wouldn't have trusted you at all. Now that trouble has come, you bear some responsibility too," Touka said, pouting slightly.

Seeing Touka's tsundere expression, Sikong Xu couldn't help but want to tease her.

"Don't worry, Touka, I will definitely protect you."

"You... y-y-y-what are you saying! Saying such ambiguous things out of nowhere!" Touka was startled by Sikong Xu's words, and immediately said with a flushed face, "I don't need your protection!"

"Haha, I was just teasing you."

"Do you want to die?! Is teasing me fun?"

Seeing Touka and Sikong Xu bickering and playing around, the heavy atmosphere in the coffee shop finally eased somewhat.

It was only then that Touka realized: So this was his real purpose for teasing me all along...

After her mood relaxed, Sikong Xu turned to Yoshimura and asked, "So, Manager, what are your plans for the future? My personal suggestion is that you all evacuate from here first."

"Evacuate..." Yoshimura opened his clouded eyes with the expression of someone who had seen through the world.

"Anteiku is our home... We have no intention of moving anywhere else..."

"But this isn't your original world!" Sikong Xu retorted.

Before Yoshimura could speak, Koma Enji, who stood beside him, chimed in.

"Young man, don't you understand yet? This place is already our home. We spent our whole lives hiding in that world; please grant us Ghouls the bare minimum of dignity here... I was once a man known as the 'Devil Ape'; a man must have some dignity, after all. We don't want to run anymore!"

"You guys..." Sikong Xu fell silent.

Indeed, the Ghouls of Anteiku had hidden in their original world for many years, sacrificing even their dignity just to survive.

If they were to blindly flee once again now that they were here, they truly would be casting aside their final shred of dignity. They really didn't want to run anymore!

"Alright... Since that's how it is, I have no choice but to stay with you all." Sikong Xu smiled. Looking at those familiar yet unfamiliar faces around him, a surge of burning blood welled up from deep within his chest.