Having perceived a change in Xiao Jing's aura, Xiao Ye eyed the tiny figure before him cautiously. The situation felt familiar to him. It was the sense of foreboding that preceded whenever he was about to kill someone.
If anyone were to scrutinize Xiao Jing's clenched fists, they would be able to see the protruding green veins that were interwoven under her skin.
"What are you trying to do?" Xiao Ye gritted his teeth through the pain, as he got up. "Are you trying to silence me?" he asked solemnly.
"You're wrong, Fifth Brother. I'm not your match, be it in terms of physique or strength. I may be a pretty simple person, but I'm not stupid enough to attempt the impossible," said Xiao Jing, with a shrug.
Xiao Ye was convinced that there was more to her than met the eye, that she was not as simple as she looked. Otherwise, how could they have come up with a ploy to trick her father and her brothers?
"Well, I've already said what I wanted to say. You better shape up," said Xiao Ye as he tidied his clothes and glanced meaningfully at the skinny person before him, who was a full head shorter.
Xiao Jing remained guarded as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Peace was restored in the room after Xiao Ye left.
Xiao Jing caressed her lips. It had happened too suddenly. She was in a daze when it happened, and remained in a trance after it happened. Even now, after sobering up, she was still feeling somewhat confused, as if what had happened was just a dream.
Yes, it was kind of like a wet dream!
"Ah ah ah, what the h*ll am I thinking?" Xiao Jing buried herself underneath the blanket, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
It was a cloudy night. One by one, vehicles carrying senior officers drove into the stately military headquarters. The army guards on duty verified the identities of the passengers, and performed a military salute as the visitor vehicles entered under their watchful gaze.
"Thud, thud, thud." Heavy footsteps echoed along the quiet corridor, and a dozen well-trained sentry soldiers stood guard on both sides of the hallway to ensure that there would not be any trespassers.
It was the monthly meeting for the Eight Great Generals.
The dark, drab shades on the walls of the conference room made the space seem particularly serious and somber.
Feeling an intense gaze on him, Shen Chengfeng casually turned his head and made eye contact with Xiao Zheng, who was indeed staring at him unreservedly. In the short amount of time that their eyes met, time seemed to have frozen, and it was as if they had already fought three hundred rounds with each other.
Xiao Zheng came up to Shen Chengfeng and did not waste any time beating around the bush. He got straight to the point, saying, "I heard that something interesting happened today. It's unbelievable that the great Master Shen failed to defeat a rookie. Is he perhaps losing his touch?"
"This is not the time or place to be discussing personal affairs," Shen Chengfeng replied evenly as he sat in a chair, glancing casually at the other generals who had turned up.
"Fine, let's talk business then. Concerning the drills between the different Special Command Units, I'm pleased to tell you that we'll be going up against each other this year," said Xiao Zheng, with his arms akimbo. The look on his face betrayed his somewhat murderous intentions.
Shen Chengfeng picked up the teacup and sipped his tea as he responded, "Do you know why Shining Tiger won last year?"
The smile on Xiao Zheng's face visibly stiffened. Everyone knew how last year had been an outlier, the anomaly being Shen Chengfeng's absence, as he had to go on a sudden mission. Of course, even in his absence, the Steel Eagle still managed to do very well and was ranked third overall. After all, aware of Shen Chengfeng's abilities, and familiar with his unique body characteristics, no one had wanted to face his wrath.
It suddenly occurred to Xiao Zheng that he should not count the chickens before they hatched. It would not be wise for him to underestimate his opponent.
"I look forward to this year's drills and hope you won't be letting down your guard too much. After all, I'm a pretty straightforward person, and I like going all out."
" I, too, am looking forward to competing with Steel Eagle," a third voice rang out, interrupting their conversation.
Xiao Zheng turned around to look at the owner of the voice – Peng Minyi, who hailed from the Peng Family, one of the four families that owned a quarter of the Empire's military. He was currently the Commander of SS302 Yi Hong.
"We originally had an opportunity to go up against Master Shen. It was just too bad that he was deployed on a mission at the last minute. What a pity," said Peng Minyi with a smile.
"All of you will have the chance to do so this year," replied Shen Chengfeng. As he put down the teacup in his hand, his gaze then swept over all the Great Generals who were present. Everyone looked over in his direction when he said that.
Shen Chengfeng was the only person who had the gall to say something as outrageous as that. After all, every single troop led by the attendees contained the best elites which the Empire had to offer. Each battalion consisted of the best and the brightest, the cream of the crop.
None of them would be so complacent as to say "bring it on." It would be as good as having a gang fight if they were to challenge each other.
And if it was a fight that involved Shen Chengfeng's superhuman abilities?
Well then, it wouldn't matter if they lost! After all, staying alive was what mattered!
"It appears pointless for me to stay any longer at today's meeting. I shall wait for the notification. But rest assured, every single member of Steel Eagle will be putting in their best."
With that, Shen Chengfeng left the rest of the leaders staring at each other incredulously. What choice did they have? As much as they wished to give him a good thrashing, there was no way they would be able to defeat him.
Looking straight ahead, Shen Chengfeng got into the car, and said bluntly: "Go back to camp."
The car drove away.
It was midnight, and the camp felt a little bleak and desolate. The entire dormitory was deadly silent.
Xiao Jing had returned to camp at dusk. After listening intently, and having ascertained that everyone else had already gone to bed, she finally snuck out of her room.
She gently opened the door to the communal showers, and after making sure that it was empty, locked the door behind her. Rubbing her palms gleefully, she then hummed a little tune as she headed inside.
Xiao Jing removed her jacket, and turned on the shower, fully reveling in the most relaxing time of the day.
"Knock, knock, knock." The sounds of knocking could not be heard over the sounds of the shower."Knock, knock, knock." The knocks were getting more urgent.