Seeing Xu Nanâs reaction, the others shook their heads as they laughed bitterly.
âAlright, weâll stop here,â Sergeant Gao said as he slowly brought the car to a stop.
All six of them got out of the car and headed to a straw hut nearby.
âI need a cigarette.â With that, Sergeant Gao went off by himself. It was a little embarrassing to smoke with a woman around.
âHehe, Iâll come along too.â Li Hu smiled and followed suit.
When they were some distance further away, Li Hu took a deep breath and scowled as he asked, âSergeant Gao, why did you agree to let Xu Nan bring an outsider to this mission?â
Sergeant Gao took a puff, pulling a trail of smoke around him. âXu Nan has brought up the topic of her master outside of our circle. Arenât you curious?â
âOf course Iâm curious.â Li Hu paused momentarily, then continued. âSergeant Gao, are you planning to use this chance to check him out?â
âWhat other chances would we have?â Sergeant Gao threw a glance at Li Hu, faintly smiling. âWe canât have Xu Nan ask him out for a date to show us right? By chance she suggested this by herself, so I just play along.â
âHaha, Sergeant Gao you cunning old fox!â Li Hu laughed, but then asked in a worried tone, âWill this affect our mission?â
âSince Xu Nan respects this person so much, he shouldnât be too sloppy. Furthermore, our mission this time is not to attack. Weâre only doing reconnaissance. It wonât be affected greatly.â Sergeant Gao shook his head. His decision seemed to be made after careful considerations.
âI still feel that Xu Nan is being conned. Women her age are easiest to fall for blind worshipping,â Li Hu stated. â I must know who this person is. If heâs a con artist, Iâll give him a good strangling! How dare he con his way into our heads!â
Sergeant Gao kept his silence after hearing that.
He was also sighing softly in his heart.
Li Huâs worry was the shared sentiment of the entire police station. Xu Nan was the station belle [1]. Furthermore, her personality and overall performance was great too. Everyone there treated her as a treasure. Nobody expected her to suddenly find a master just a while ago. Whenever she spoke of him, her eyes would be gleaming; that sent the entire station into a frenzy. Although they did not mention it, everyone kept this master of hers in their minds.
âXu Nan mentioned that her master is good at fighting. Even the boxing champion was no match for him,â Sergeant Gao sighed.
âNonsense! What a load of nonsense!â
Li Huâs voice boomed suddenly, carrying his extreme dissatisfaction. âJust the mention of that makes me furious! By Xu Nanâs words, her master is just like those martial arts experts on TV, one with those whatchamacallit inner force, hitting a cow through a mountain. Isnât that just bullsh*t?!â
âWith our department, weâve encountered several experts. Which of them werenât proficient with combat? Even within the Warriorâs Department, we have yet to meet an expert like that! How can someone like that be a commoner? Hidden expert? More likely a con artist!â
Li Hu was infuriated. Because of this incident, he had overtly and covertly reminded Xu Nan multiple times, but she just would not listen.
âLi Hu, do you remember someone in the Warriorâs Department mentioning something about inner force martial artists?â Sergeant Gao asked out of the blue.
âInner force martial artists?â
Lu Hu nodded, then shook his head. âSergeant Gao, I believe in the existence of inner force martial artists, but I donât think Xu Nanâs master is one. Itâs too difficult to be an inner force martial artist. Thereâs only a few of them in the entire Warriorâs Department. Thatâs even rarer than pandas. Almost none of them show themselves to the public!â
Sergeant Gao nodded. âWait for Xu Nanâs master to come, then weâll have a good look. If heâs a con artist, weâll find some ways to expose him. We mustnât let him hurt Xu Nan.â
When both of them returned to the straw hut, they saw Xu Nan sitting there. She was occasionally checking out her phone, then looking around. She was obviously excited.
The frowns on their brows knitted even tighter together.
âMy master is here!â
Xu Nan shot up and ran toward a direction excitedly at full speed.
As the gang looked up, their gaze suddenly turned cold.
100 meters away, a figure was leisurely approaching them. Although it was difficult to make out his appearance, he was obviously young.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
As he neared, their hearts turned heavier.
âSergeant Gao, do you think this kid can fight?â Li Hu asked. âThis kid is at most in his twenties. Based on his physique, I donât think heâs even trained in martial arts. I can defeat 10 of him single-handedly!â
âThis canât be. I thought Xu Nanâs master would be of similar age to us. Heâs this young?â another person added.
Another person shook his head. âThis guy can defeat the boxing champion? Are you kidding me? How did he con Xu Nan?â
âHe must be some rich kid!â
Sergeant Gao focused his eyes. âThe set of clothes heâs wearing is Vattiâs newest limited edition model. Him defeating the boxing champion is most likely through bribery.â
It was impossible to be an inner force martial artist at such a young age.
Spending money to make a show, hiring the boxing champion to be his wingman, that would easily win him the girl.
âF*ck! How can we tolerate this? This is cheating Xu Nanâs feelings!â One of them jumped up. âMotherf*cker, these rich kids are the king of scumbags. How dare he set his eyes on our station belle?â
Li Hu was already glaring at Ye Lingchen with an ugly expression as he walked up to him.
Xu Nan was in the middle of some casual banter with Ye Lingchen, giving some pointers for Xu Nan on some difficulties she faced in her practice. Seeing Xu Nanâs team coming over, he could not help but stop in his tracks.
They were carrying out a special mission, therefore everyone was in their casual clothes. However, their bodies were broad, each step was firm, and their backs were unconsciously straight, giving off an extraordinary aura. They were not to be trifled with.
âIâm Li Hu, Xu Nanâs colleague. Youâre Xu Nanâs master?â Li Hu looked at Ye Lingchen, a hint of condescension flashed in his eyes.
The closer he got, the more he realized how young Ye Lingchen was. He looked just like a high schooler.
Ye Lingchenâs physical attributes were improving as he practiced. Along with that were better bodily functions and better health. He was much younger compared to others at his age, thus looking fresh.
âHello, Iâm Ye Lingchen.â Ye Lingchen nodded at them.
âIâve heard Xu Nan mention that youâre a capable fighter. Can we have a little spar?â as Li Hu finished his sentence, his body was lowered, watching Ye Lingchen menacingly with his battle stance ready.
âUncle Li, you...â Xu Nanâs expression turned a little gloomy, looking at Li Hu displeasingly.
However, Li Huâs focus was on Ye Lingchenâs eyes. âI didnât expect Xu Nanâs master to be this young. Us old folks do not have much left to pass down to Xu Nan. Weâre really curious as to what you might be teaching her. Why not show us a little?â
Ye Lingchen shot Li Hu a look as he thought about it. Before he could reply, Sergeant Gao already approached them, and lectured, âLi Hu, mind your manners!â
âBut Sergeant Gaoââ
âThis is a crucial time. We donât have the luxury to act impulsively. Since weâre all a team, we should focus on teamwork!â
Li Hu gritted his teeth, then kept silent dejectedly...