Chapter 127: He Lianming
"Tsk, tsk. Even someone like Long Zhanye is only so capable. Since when does he enjoy topping a sapling?" The unknown person"s voice may be charismatic, but the words they spit out are hostile and a little provocative. "Un, seeing this appearance is rather pleasing, but I wonder how he will be in bed?"
Who knows when a man clad in a deep purple military uniform appeared, leaning against the lattice fence encircling the Ability Users" training ground. Sword eyebrows, slender peach blossom eyes, straight nose and full lips, the individual"s outer appearance is rather striking. If Long Zhanye possesses the aggressive kind of handsomeness, then this person is a charismatic demon.
"He Lianming, don"t think that just because you are J base"s leader, you can entice our Boss" man as you wish. Take care that Boss doesn"t beat you to a cripple!" Hao zi steps in front of Huo Zaiyuan, sneering at the man.
Suffice to say, the stranger"s status is not low. However, taking into account the unfriendly looks in the three soldiers" face as they stare at He Lianming, that person is not friends with Long Zhanye.
Careful seizing up the other party, Huo Zaiyuan also notices he is being scrutinised. A corner of the stranger"s mouth pulls up before a surge of water sweeps him up into the air, crossing over the two-meter tall fence with no difficulty at all.
"Does Long Zhanye possess this kind of ability now? Compared to us Ability Users, he is nothing more than an ordinary man who possesses only brute force."
"An idiot who got bitten by a zombie actually wants to compete with our Boss - ahh - !!" Hao zi"s furious words are cut off when he is sent flying away by a strike from a water whip.
Huo Zaiyuan"s brow wrinkles. When Dong zi and Hui zi reach out, intending to pull him away from the stranger, they too, are thrown aside by a stream of water.
"He Lianming, what are you planning to do?!" Hao zi roars as he crawls to his feet a few meters away. "If you dare touch him, I will definitely chop your fingers off!"
Blatantly ignoring Hao zi"s furious yell, He Lianming extends a hand to stroke Huo Zaiyuan"s lower jaw. "Tsk, tsk. Grow a little more and you"ll definitely be a - "
Swish -
Suddenly, a shadow flickers pa.s.s for a split-second before disappearing, leaving a thin cut behind on He Lianming"s cheek. Red blood wells up from that thin slice even as a soft, bland voice rises.
"If you touch me again, the next target will not be your face." Huo Zaiyuan stares calmly at the startled man.
The shock morphs swiftly into amazement and a seductive smirk surfaces. Pulling his hand back, He Lianming asks, "You are an Ability User too?"
Regarding him silently for a moment, Huo Zaiyuan turns to leave. As his figure draws into the distance, a faint voice drifts back to the man. "Even if Zhanye doesn"t have a special ability, you are still not his opponent."
Seeing Huo Zaiyuan walking away, Hao zi and the other two quickly follow.
Gaze fixed on that slim, departing back, He Lianming"s expression darkens, teeth clenching as a feeling of discontentment rises in his heart.
"Fool! What does Long Zhanye count as!!"
Listening to the explosion of fury behind, Hao zi"s face is filled with black lines as he cautiously peeks at Huo Zaiyuan. "Um…eldest sister-in-law, just now…"
"My name is Huo Zaiyuan, don"t call me eldest sister-in-law." Huo Zaiyuan interrupts. "That person is pretty interesting."
"Eh? But he and Boss…" Hui zi mutters under his breath.
Heavens ah, really can"t tell this fragile and soft-looking eldest sister-in-law is a hidden master ah. In just one move, he reduced that b.a.s.t.a.r.d to a bl.u.s.tering mess.
"Arch-enemies?"
"Un, un." Dong zi nods. "He Lianming"s family is about the same as Boss". They are also a military line. These two Houses have been fighting covertly and sabotaging each other throughout the generations. At the age of fourteen, He Lianming was sent to the Military Academy and accomplished great deeds even before he graduated. Afterwards, our much more remarkable Boss appeared and he became jealous. He has never been friendly with Boss, always finding faults with him…"
"So that"s the case." Huo Zaiyuan nods in acknowledgement as a small smile plays on his lips.
It seems Zhanye has always been bullying others since childhood, or else how could someone be provoked to this extent when a mere indirect jab is made? He simply mentioned Zhanye"s name and didn"t even insult He Lianming"s person. (Author"s note: You really understand your gong very well.)
Huo Zaiyuan eventually finds Qin Jun in the medic bay. As he is still a medical student when the apocalypse broke out, Qin Jun is made an apprentice to a veteran army medic. Only after learning at the older man"s side for a month will he be allowed to perform independent diagnosis and treat the patients.
After chatting with Qin Jun for a while, Huo Zaiyuan bids goodbye to his friend, not wanting to delay him further. He walks out of the medic bay, still trailing three sticky tails behind.
As they pa.s.s by the Ability Users" training ground once more, their path is blocked by He Lianming, who only seconds ago was staring soullessly into the distance.
"All bark and no bite. He Lianming, what do you want in the end?!" Hao zi has always disliked He Lianming. Now the latter is deliberately blocking their path, he detests him even more.
"Long Zhanye"s mutts, stand aside. I want to talk to him, not you. Someone, come and drag these three dogs away." Crossing his arms over his chest, He Lianming displays a crafty smile.
In a blink of an eye, an intense stream of concentrated air whooshes past, throwing the three soldiers far away from Huo Zaiyuan. At the same moment, a few figures dash forward, pinning the p.r.o.ne men down on the ground, immobilising them.
"He Lianming, you despicable man! If you have the guts, don"t hide behind others! Harm our eldest sister-in-law and Boss will skin you alive!" Hui zi bellows as he struggles to free him pinned arms.
"Eldest sister-in-law, quickly run ah! Don"t bother about us ah!" Dong zi tags on.
"He Lianming, touch one hair on our eldest sister-in-law"s head and Boss will never let you off ahh - " Hao zi let out a pained groan before he finishes speaking.
"Don"t harm them." Huo Zaiyuan says as he beholds the fox-like smile on the man"s face.
"Tsk, tsk, little thing, you"re really benevolent ah. Can"t even protect yourself but still worrying about others…" He Lianming clicks his tongue as he leisurely approaches Huo Zaiyuan, peach blossom eyes curving upwards. "Don"t fret, even if I don"t like Long Zhanye, I wouldn’t stoop to harm his subordinates. At most, I"ll severely punish them a little so they will learn the consequences of offending their superiors."
"What do you want?" Meeting those narrowed eyes calmly, Huo Zaiyaun eventually opens his mouth again.
"Nothing, really. I only wish to invite you to our Ability Users" training ground as a guest."
"What if I refuse?"
"You wouldn"t." A vicious gleam surfaces in He Lianming"s eyes. Waving a hand, a stream of water rises and shoots towards Huo Zaiyuan.
Retreating quickly, Huo Zaiyuan flicks the fingers of his left hand. In a flash of silver, the Holy Dragon Bone Brush appears. As the controlled body of water approaches, the brush flies out to meet it head-on. Drawing on Huo Zaiyuan"s inner spiritual energy, a protective screen forms from the bristles, blocking the stream.
Taking advantage of the explosion of water when it collides forcefully with the silver screen, Huo Zaiyuan retreats a few paces further, vanishing the brush at the same time.
This method of manipulating the Dragon Bone Brush using his spiritual energy is a skill he discovered only two days ago. Truth be told, he drew inspiration from seeing the black-robed man in his dreams summon the brush before presenting it to his ancestor. That move is simple but very efficient.
Afterwards, as he began to experiment, he found out that not only can he summon the brush in a blink of an eye, he can also imbue his spiritual energy in it and use it as a medium to throw out defensive techniques. Naturally, he is not very skilled with it yet. On top of that, he doesn"t want anyone to see his true abilities, which is why he vanishes the brush when everyone is distracted by the explosion of water. He is more than happy to deceive the other party into thinking he is also an Ability User.
"Truly very good ah. Although I detest Long Zhanye, I cannot deny his noteworthy ability to see people"s potential." He Lianming"s expression is now one of ecstasy. Not waiting for Huo Zaiyuan to respond, both hands rise. Two columns of water streak towards the youth, attacking from both sides. "Let"s see how you"ll block it this time!"
A small smirk emerges as Huo Zaiyuan glances at the two streams of water. His body disappears in a flash of silver, causing the attacks to strike empty s.p.a.ce. The water hits the ground in a huge splash, raining droplets down on everyone in the vicinity.
In another flash of silver light, Huo Zaiyuan appears behind the giant puddle, not a single drop of water on his clothes.
"How - how is that possible?" He Lianming stutters in shock, eyes blown wide. "What exactly did you do?!"
"What do you think I did?" Huo Zaiyuan spreads his arms in mock-innocence.
He refuses to engage in a real combat situation with He Lianming. Not only is he not good at close combat, the other party is the leader of J base and the acknowledged arch-enemy of Long Zhanye. Which means his fighting skills will be extraordinary. Not to mention, he is now an Ability User too.
Staring at Huo Zaiyuan, He Lianming slowly eases out of his offensive stance and waves a hand, gesturing for his subordinates to release the three soldiers on the ground.
"Haha…interesting. Really too interesting. Youngster, you"ve piqued my interest. Go back and tell Long Zhanye…I"ve set my sights on you. Let"s go!" Saying this, he turns around and departs with his subordinates.