Chapter 425: Chapter 21: Meeting with Huofeng Team
Within the 99+ incoming calls, there were ones from Li Weiguo, Qi Changping, also from Yan’s dad, Yan’s mom, and Jingjing, and of course, there were those from the members of the Zhenhai Team as well. Everyone contributed to the “finding Yan Yu” act.
Although Yan Yu himself couldn’t figure it out, he had already explained to Chen Lingyun, so why was everyone still calling… It must be that wretched woman meddling again.
Lying in the guesthouse of Tang Xiaolian’s home, Yan Yu comfortably lounged in a soft chair, covered with a brightly colored knitted blanket, leisurely reporting the loot of this trip to Li Weiguo.
“Yan Yu, don’t do this again next time,” Li Weiguo seemed to have some complaints about his “vacation first, ask for leave later” behavior, but then again, considering Yan Yu’s strategic value within the Zhendong Army at present, anything goes as long as he doesn’t rebel.
He could have secretly visited a mysterious realm, quietly taken treasures and chose to say nothing; yet, he was still willing to follow the procedure and report. With such considerations, it was indeed hard to reprimand him too much. If someone clung to the matter of leave procedure, it would merely be intentional nitpicking that could lead to trouble.
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Therefore, Li Weiguo just casually mentioned a few words to Yan Yu, which amounted to “How could I not approve your leave,” and then lightly moved on.
...
Such an official reaction was anticipated, but inquiries from the team members required a bit more careful response.
Chen Lingyun was already informed, and Xie Ruoxi didn’t have the guts; these two didn’t need any attention. Zhao Yuanzhen and Lin Ning were a bit upset, scolding him over the phone, and Yan Yu just chuckled, truly sorry but daring to do it again next time.
What was strange was the response from Su Yunjin; Yan Yu had prepared himself for another climb up the rankings, yet the secretary lady unexpectedly showed understanding, saying, “The captain didn’t want me to know, probably for fear of my worrying, so I won’t ask more, but you must be careful,” which left Yan Yu somewhat speechless.
Not good, feeling a bit guilty, felt like he owed Yun Jin.
But then, wait… if you think about it from another angle, could it be her newly developed “guilt spell”? That’s a bit scary when you think about it, haha.
Turning to look at the continuous mountains outside the window, Yan Yu slightly bent his fingers and the Liang Yi Dust Sword beside him deftly took flight, nimbly spinning in the air as if it was a pet bird accustomed to his home.
As the second sword in the dual sword control technique, this Liang Yi Dust Sword perfectly met all of Yan Yu’s requirements: light, swift, and its grade was not inferior to the Huang Ting Kunwu Sword. It was slightly less powerful in head-to-head combat due to its lighter weight, but it was definitely superior in maneuvering and containing the opponent.
Although he had only acquired one sword this trip, due to the high value of this sword to himself, he felt a profound sense of accomplishment, as if he had returned full of bounty.
“Captain Yan, Captain Yan!” Tang Xiaolian hurriedly dashed out of the room, hands cradling the eggs of the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu, rushing up to him and saying, “Look at my bug! Has its color changed?”
“Doesn’t look like it,” Yan Yu glanced briefly.
“Look here!” Tang Xiaolian pointed at the egg, and then brought out her phone to show him the photo from yesterday.
“Isn’t that exactly the same?” Yan Yu asked lazily.
“The color is definitely lighter than yesterday!” Tang Xiaolian argued, “Once it becomes completely transparent, it can hatch for sure!”
“Have you done the bonding yet?”
“Of course, I feed it a drop of blood every day.” Tang Xiaolian placed the egg on the counter and turned with a brilliant smile, “It will definitely be very close to me when it hatches.”
“I really don’t get why you, being a girl, like bugs so much,” Yan Yu teased.
“A person who doesn’t like bugs wouldn’t have become a bug-controlling cultivator to begin with,” Tang Xiaolian reasoned, leaving him with no retort.
Just then, a sound of a door opening came from outside.
“Captain Yan.” The first to enter was Zhang Huaide, who nodded to Yan Yu with courtesy.
Then there was Zhou Hongyu with her expressionless face, still pairing a beautiful visage with a ‘keep out’ cold demeanor, which somehow lent her an odd charm of a chaste goddess.
Seeing Yan Yu lying down on the chaise, she lowered her gaze and suddenly asked,
“I heard you became a cripple?”
“To save your little Xiaolian,” Yan Yu picked up his teacup and took a sip.
“Hmph,” Zhou Hongyu turned to Tang Xiaolian, “Where is the egg?”
Tang Xiaolian pointed to the counter.
Then Zhou Hongyu went to see the egg with Zhang Huaide. Maybe it was an illusion, but Yan Yu felt that, in the moment she turned around, the corners of her mouth seemed to curve up slightly.
“Let me tell you in secret,” Tang Xiaolian sent a message to Yan Yu, “Captain Zhou loves seeing you deflated. During the live broadcast of the Secret Realm of Li Palace, she was really attentive every time you charged into the enemy ranks or were surrounded, ignoring us completely.”
“It could also be that he wants to learn my fighting style, attempting to find a way to defeat me,” Yan Yu said.
“Maybe, but I don’t think it’s very likely,” Tang Xiaolian said with a sigh, “When it comes to fighting, if someone can be rushed to death, they will be; if they can’t, they’ll never be beaten that way.”
Yan Yu was instantly taken aback and said:
“You’re not Tang Xiaolian, who are you? The Tang Xiaolian I know would never say anything bad about her beloved Captain Zhou!”
“I didn’t speak ill of her! I just…” Tang Xiaolian fell silent for a moment, suddenly shocked.
How could I look down on Captain Zhou? How could I actually look down on Captain Zhou? What’s wrong with me?
While she was there questioning her life, Qin Meng walked in with Meng Qingxi and another boy she hadn’t seen before.
“Captain Yan,” he greeted Yan Yu, “Are you feeling better?”
“I wasn’t much hurt to begin with, just drained,” Yan Yu replied with a smile.
“Let me introduce you to the sixth member we’ve just recruited into our team,” Qin Meng nodded and called the boy behind him over, “Hou Qing.”
“Nice to meet you, Captain Yan.” Hou Qing looked like a rich second generation, wearing very tasteful clothes and with well-styled hair. He glanced at Tang Xiaolian without a trace and said to Yan Yu with a smile, “I’m Hou Qing, a Sword Immortal by profession, and I will need to learn a lot from Captain Yan in the future.”
Yan Yu nodded in response, but then heard Tang Xiaolian transmit a message to him:
“This guy has been pestering me lately, so annoying. Captain Yan, help me think of a way to handle him.”
“So should I wish you both a hundred years of bliss?” Yan Yu asked.
“Then I’ll tell him I’m actually harboring a crush on Captain Yan!” Tang Xiaolian was suddenly furious.
“Spreading rumors about me, huh?” Yan Yu laughed, “I’ll go and hang you on the little red tree right now.”
“Hey, this method might actually work,” Tang Xiaolian pondered suddenly, “After all, Captain Yan, you are so outstanding, any man compared to you would feel ashamed, right? If I say my type is someone like you, it might make Hou Qing back off.”
“Hey, don’t you really go through with it,” Yan Yu quickly warned her, “You can’t just say you like this person or that person without thinking it through!”
Seeing the two exchange looks without a word, Hou Qing could guess that they were chatting through message transmission and immediately felt stifled, but he didn’t dare to be presumptuous in front of Captain Yan, so he quietly went to find Deputy Captain Zhang.
The members of the Huofeng Team gathered around the eggs of the Hundred Poison Golden Silkworm Gu, staring at the eggs for a long time, only to hear Meng Qingxi say:
“So how do we hatch it?”
“It’s said that you need to drip a drop of blood every day and nourish it with True Yuan,” Zhang Huaide replied, “After forty-nine days, when the larva is full, it will hatch.”
“That’s too long,” Zhou Hongyu shook her head.
“There’s no other way,” Zhang Huaide replied in a low voice, “Haste makes waste.”
“By the way,” Hou Qing suddenly interjected, “What’s the relationship between Tang Xiaolian and Captain Yan? Why did she go to explore the Mysterious Realm with him instead of taking us with her?”
“It’s said that Captain Yan discovered the Mysterious Realm first,” Qin Meng glanced at him and replied blandly, “Xiaolian just thickened her skin and followed, taking advantage of the situation.”
“Even if that’s the case,” Hou Qing said, “exploring the Mysterious Realm on their own without reporting to the Military Manor is problematic, right?”
No one paid any attention to him, thinking he was being rather nonsensical. However, Zhang Huaide extended his middle finger, gently propping up his spectacles as a cold light flashed across the lenses, and suddenly transmitted a message privately:
“Hou Qing.”
“What is it, Deputy Captain Zhang?”
“During discussions of official matters, do not involve personal emotions.”
“…Yes, understood,” Hou Qing replied.