Chapter 266
Chapter 266: If You Can’t Stand Us Holding Hands, I’ll Drop Some Bombshells And We Can Hurt Each Other
Jiang Tea Tea reminded him in surprise: “Your Highness, Zhong Li He, the Executive Commander, is your friend. You are really going to set up your friend like this? What about your image, your morals? Do you not want to keep your place in the M31 Star System anymore?”
Chong Ming answered with a clear conscience: “It is exactly because he is my friend that I can throw away my image and my morals to pit him.”
“This is my turf. No matter what I do, no one will spread it outside. So relax. I can still do very well in the M31 Star System!”
His partner still had not been chased down yet. He could not openly hold hands and show off in front of everyone, so why should he have to watch them hold hands?
Zhong Li He: “!!!!”
[He had made friends with the wrong person!]
Once he went back to the Western Kingdom, he was going to block him.
As for cooperation, since the contract was already signed, he would just make do and finish it.
After they were done, they would never contact each other again.
Jiang Tea Tea looked him up and down.
She came to a conclusion. Every time she looked at him, he felt new. Every day he refreshed her understanding again and again.
People who knew him would say this was just his personality. People who did not know him would think he was flirting with her on purpose, trying to make her understand him better.
Jiang Tea Tea refused: “Sorry, Your Highness. Zhong Li He, the Executive Commander, and Kong Que, the Lieutenant General, all have strong supernatural abilities and very high endurance. I cannot make them roll all over the floor in pain and wish they were dead.”
Chong Ming said with regret: “Fine, then we can only watch them support each other.”
The two of them each gripped the arm of the chair with one hand, and with their other hands they folded their fingers together, ten fingers tightly interlocked.
The veins on the backs of their hands bulged. Cold sweat kept breaking out. They were afraid that if they used too much strength they would hurt the other person, but they still borrowed the strength of the other’s grip to endure the pain from their spiritual seas being combed.
Following Chong Ming’s gaze, Jiang Tea Tea stared at Zhong Li He and Kong Que. All of a sudden, inspiration flashed through her, and she came to a sudden realization.
[Old Mud was not trying to make her comb their spiritual seas harder so the two of them would be rolling on the floor and looking miserable on camera. He was reminding her: gossip, gossip, watch the gossip!]
Jiang Tea Tea kicked Chong Ming’s foot: “You do not need to calm anyone’s supernatural abilities or repair any spiritual seas. Hurry up and go to work. Stop hogging the seat.”
[I can watch the gossip slowly by myself. He can get lost!]
Chong Ming’s foot took her heavy kick, but he did not even frown. He shifted over a little, lowered his gaze, and motioned to her: “Sit.”
[He was crazy.]
[Sit together with him?]
[Who wants to sit with him and watch gossip? I am a dignified Great Demon Stage. Do I not care about my reputation?]
Jiang Tea Tea nodded: “If you will not give up the seat, I will just go sit on the side.”
“Fine, I will move!” When Chong Ming saw her lift her foot to leave, he stood up at once and quickly spoke to keep her: “You sit. I will go work. When their spiritual power and spiritual seas are all done being combed, come to my office once.”
Once he left, Jiang Tea Tea did not need to leave. She would have a place to sit.
Jiang Tea Tea immediately took his seat and sat down. She had to admit, Old Mud’s seat was really comfortable. The view was wide, and she could see a lot.
Chong Ming handed her a cup over his shoulder: “Keep an eye on them here. If anything happens, call me.”
Jiang Tea Tea took the cup and waved her hand: “Got it. You are so noisy.”
Chong Ming gave her a deep look, then turned and left.
Inside the enclosed Training Ground, Jiang Tea Tea’s healing spiritual power spread everywhere. Among the more than eighty people, everyone except Zhong Li He and Kong Que was in a sorry state, with no image at all, rolling on the ground, groaning nonstop, and bumping into each other.
Jiang Tea Tea thought there was water in the cup, but when she opened it and looked, it was blood. Dragon blood. It was the spare blood Chong Ming had left for her.
Pouring out spiritual power to heal them and comb their spiritual seas really would make her body weak. Besides the faint glow of karmic merit on her, the thing that could help her recover and replenish the fastest was Chong Ming’s blood.
Jiang Tea Tea took a sip. The blood was fresh and still warm. Chong Ming had picked a pretty good cup. Next time she would have him use this cup again.
Just like that, Jiang Tea Tea sipped dragon blood one mouthful at a time, her eyes fixed on Zhong Li He and Kong Que as she watched the gossip.
Time passed quickly. After thirty minutes, many people stopped rolling on the ground like they were dying and stopped crying out in pain. Soaked all over, they pushed themselves up to sit, their eyes bloodshot, as if they had gone through a life-and-death tribulation.
Although the residual pain of their spiritual seas being combed was still there, their minds and bodies felt extremely light, as if years of old grime had been washed clean.
People from the Healing Department entered the enclosed Training Ground and led the now pain-free, wide-eyed crowd away to have their bodies checked.
More than eighty people, over the course of two hours, went in four groups to the Healing Department to cleanse their bodies and get checked.
After the cleansing and exams were done, ten percent of them had their supernatural ability ranks rise by two levels. Two percent had their supernatural abilities reach Level Three. Among the rest, some advanced to Level One, and for others the restless pain of their supernatural abilities disappeared.
Jiang Tea Tea’s healing strength made the looks in the eyes of these more than eighty people change again and again. Their recognition of her ability was confirmed over and over.
Several strands of karmic merit light fell onto Jiang Tea Tea. She could not tell if it came from these eighty people or from other people’s faith and worship of her.
“Thank you, Sister Tea. I feel like my whole body is full of strength now.”
“Thank you, Roommate. I feel like I can conquer the universe now!”
After washing up and finishing their exams in the Healing Room, Sui Xuan Chu and the other six ran over to Jiang Tea Tea. They clenched their fists and raised their arms in poses to show how full of strength they were and how much booming admiration they had for her.
“Sister Tea, the Beast God is first, my parents are second, and you are third. You are my second set of parents. I will love you forever, heart gesture!”
“I will also love you forever, always worship you, and always be your flunky. Heart, heart!”
Jiang Tea Tea looked at the seven of them. They were idle. Way too idle. They really had way too much free time.
Jiang Tea Tea cleared her throat: “Do not love me. I have a big back-to-school gift to give you.”
Sui Xuan Chu and the other six were instantly full of interest: “A big opening-of-school gift? School starts tomorrow and you are giving gifts today, Sister Tea. You are not planning to throw money at us, right? That would be so embarrassing.”
“Yeah, yeah, Sister Tea, if you want to smash me with mecha armor, smash me with the newest flying device, or smash me with huge sparkling gems, I will go wash up and change clothes before coming to receive it.”
Each one of them was really daydreaming with their eyes open.
Jiang Tea Tea reached back into her space knob storage device and pulled out a big stack of materials, tossing one into each of their arms: “Read these carefully. I am going to report back to the Commander in Chief first. See you.”
After she spoke, she did not wait for them to open the materials. She quickly turned around and left.
Sui Xuan Chu and the other six suspiciously opened the materials. As soon as they saw the first line, their pupils shook. They could not believe it.
They rushed through all three pages each, then all looked up at one another at the same time, faces pale, and asked from the bottom of their souls: “Is this our second-year homework, the stuff we have to learn?”
“No, this is not our second-year homework. This is only the stuff we have to learn in the first half of our second year. The plan for the second half is not out yet.”
“Hahaha, we are beastmen, not beasts. Does the Commander in Chief not see us as people?”
“Congratulations, you got it right. Look at the plan. Every single item is extreme on top of extreme. He does not see us as people at all. He is treating us like livestock!”
“No, I mean, even though we are young and strong and our supernatural ability ranks keep going up, if we only sleep five hours a day, will we really not just drop dead?”
“To be accurate, strictly speaking, you will not drop dead sleeping five hours a day, because you still have half an hour at noon to eat, half an hour for a nap, and a small health check before bed every day, plus a full health check every ten days.”
“Once any organ goes over the limit, you will be dragged to Healing, so the chance of sudden death is almost zero.”
“Yes. Giving you daily checkups is my job. To keep you and me from dropping dead, I have decided that we will also do a checkup when we meet in the morning, another before lunch, and another before bed.”
“Three checks a day. Do not worry. I will definitely not let you die on the road of learning.”
Sui Xuan Chu and the other five looked at Cheng Lin Yue turning one checkup a day into three, and even telling them in all seriousness that they would not die on the road of learning.
They could not say anything. They could only silently shout in their hearts, So amazing, so awesome. They were moved to the point of wanting to cry but having no tears.
Jiang Tea Tea went to find Chong Ming. By chance, Zhong Li He and Kong Que were also in his office. The two of them had had their supernatural abilities and spiritual power calmed, and their spiritual seas combed. After washing up and changing into their regular uniforms, they looked even younger and were full of energy.
Zhong Li He’s sapphire blue eyes looked as if they had been washed by water, pure and bright. He did not look at all like the Western Kingdom’s Executive Commander who held great power, plotted all the time, and handled tens of thousands of matters each day.
When Jiang Tea Tea walked in, he instantly ignored Chong Ming, turned his head, waved to her, and greeted her: “Jiang Tea Tea, schoolmate, come over here and sit next to me.”
On his left was Kong Que. He wanted her to sit on his right?
Was Jiang Tea Tea that clueless?
Of course not.
She sat down on the single sofa beside them, spread her hands in a “please” gesture, and said: “You two keep talking, do not mind me.”
Zhong Li He’s sapphire blue eyes stared straight at Jiang Tea Tea: “My cooperation with him is already signed, and the news has already been sent out. There is nothing more to talk about. Now I want to talk with you.”
Jiang Tea Tea looked back at him: “Oh? What do you want to talk to me about?”
Zhong Li He had been sharing a sofa with Kong Que, but he felt that he was too far from Jiang Tea Tea, like there was something between them when they talked.
He stood up and, acting very familiar, squeezed into Jiang Tea Tea’s single sofa, sitting very close to her.
Chong Ming leaned his body forward a little, picked up the glass of water on the table, gave Kong Que a meaningful look, and started drinking.
When Kong Que met Chong Ming’s gaze, he also acted as if nothing were going on. He picked up his water on the table and started drinking too.
When Jiang Tea Tea saw him move closer, she leaned her body to the side: “Chief Zhong, Executive Commander, if you have something to say, just say it. Why are you so close to me?”
When she leaned to the side, Zhong Li He leaned toward her instead: “What are you so afraid of me for? I am not going to eat you.”
Jiang Tea Tea shot back at him: “I am not afraid of you. It is just that your status is so noble and we are not on the same level. You should pay attention to your image.”
Zhong Li He did not care: “Noble status my foot. Our human forms all look the same anyway. One nose, two eyes, two arms, and two legs.”
“There is no ‘not on the same level’. There is nothing to watch out for. If you really feel there is a class gap between us, then when I go back to the Western Kingdom tomorrow, why not come back with me? Whatever you have here, you will only have more of it when you go with me, not less.”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked: “You still have not given up. You still want me to go back to the Western Kingdom with you?”
Zhong Li He felt she was too naive: “Give up on what? Someone like you, a Nation-level, irreplaceable talent, how could I ever give up on poaching you to my Western Kingdom?”
“How about it? Will you leave with me tomorrow?”
Jiang Tea Tea laid her hand across her belly. The cub inside was already eight months along. In the M31 Star System, dragon cubs were usually born between ten and fifteen months.
She really needed to think about how to safely give birth to this Little Brat without letting Chong Ming know, and then change Little Brat’s coloring afterward so he would not know so much.
Seeing that she did not speak, Zhong Li He knew very well that he had no shot at stealing her away, but he still wanted to get under the skin of that old dragon Chong Ming.
He gave Chong Ming a proud sideways glance and leaned even closer to Jiang Tea Tea: “Jiang Tea Tea, schoolmate, think about it. Come back with me. Whatever that old dragon Chong Ming gives you, I can give you too. I can even give you more than he does.”
“Come on, come on, come back to the Western Kingdom with me. When I retire in ten or eight years, I will become a free Star Pirate, roaming the universe, robbing the rich to help the poor. I will bring you along then. The two of us can live free and easy in the universe.”
When Jiang Tea Tea heard this, light suddenly flashed in her eyes. He was right. The universe was as big as a deep abyss, bottomless. Once you entered the universe, it was like a small fish entering the sea. Who would ever be able to find you?
Jiang Tea Tea pushed down the plan rising in her heart, pointed at Chong Ming who was drinking water beside them, and said: “Chief Zhong, Executive Commander, if you fight him and beat him, I will go with you.”
Zhong Li He asked in disbelief: “Really?”
Jiang Tea Tea replied seriously: “Really.”
Zhong Li He immediately stood up and started provoking Chong Ming: “That Chong guy, come on, let’s go fight!”
Chong Ming did not even lift the corner of his eye at him and instead looked straight at Kong Que.
Kong Que met his gaze, put down the cup in his hand, stood up, picked up Zhong Li He’s coat, and walked to his side: “My lord Executive Commander, according to incomplete statistics, in the last fifty years you have fought Commander in Chief Chong Ming a total of eleven times and lost nine of them.”
“If you still provoke him and fight him today, you will lose one hundred percent. For the sake of the reputation of your Phoenix clan, and for the sake of the reputation of our Western Kingdom, this fight cannot happen. We should set off for the Western Kingdom today.”
Zhong Li He was not willing: “My supernatural abilities have just been calmed today, my spiritual sea combed, and my supernatural ability rank has risen to Level Three. I still cannot beat him?”
“Kong Que, how come I find that you now like to boast about others and crush your own? Whose side are you really on?”
Kong Que lowered his eyes, obedient: “I belong to you, my lord Executive Commander.”
Zhong Li He complained: “Then why are you taking the side of this old dragon?”
A light flashed in Kong Que’s eyes. He raised his head to look at him: “I am on your side. I have received news that over on Sky Vault Star, Emperor Cong Yan is going to bring his eldest princess, Cong Bei, to the Zhenlin Empire in about twenty days for a visit and study trip, and at the same time to arrange a blind date for Princess Cong Bei.”
Zhong Li He was instantly pulled along by him and asked curiously: “Princess Cong Bei is coming to the Zhenlin Empire for a blind date. With whom? The Chong family’s Crown Prince?”
Kong Que opened his mouth and spilled it right away: “It is not a blind date with the Zhenlin Empire’s Crown Prince. It is a blind date with Commander in Chief Chong Ming.”
“From what I have learned, once the Merfolk royal household heard that Sky Vault Star’s Princess Cong Bei was coming to have a blind date with Commander in Chief Chong Ming, they also started planning to send a princess and a prince over together.”
Jiang Tea Tea was like a critter in a melon field. Her urge to eat melons, to watch the drama, completely covered the discomfort she had felt when she first heard that Chong Ming was going on a blind date.
She stared at Kong Que with burning eyes, her mouth full of hunger for gossip and melons: “Lieutenant General Kong Que, excuse me. I can understand other Nations sending princesses over to have blind dates with Commander in Chief Chong Ming, but sending a prince over for a blind date is…”
Kong Que picked up where she left off and explained to her: “Here is the situation, Miss Jiang Tea Tea. Commander in Chief Chong Ming is one hundred and fifty years old. Although in the last few months he has told your maternal grandfather that he has a partner and a youngling, no one has ever seen his partner or youngling, and there is no legal proof.”
“None of the upper levels of all the Nations in the M31 Star System believe that he really has a partner and a youngling. They all think this is something Commander in Chief Chong Ming made up on purpose, just to stabilize the situation and calm the Zhenlin Empire’s common citizens, and that he deliberately created that whole story with Xue Ding E’s ‘partner and youngling’.”
“There is also a rumor going around the M31 Star System. It says that Commander in Chief Chong Ming is already one hundred and fifty years old and has never found a partner and never had any scandals because he suffered trauma on the battlefield. He does not like females. He likes males. So the Merfolk clan is bringing along a prince who is not favored in their Nation, planning to give him to Chong Ming!”