Chapter 489 - 429: Saying What Needs to Be Said
Chapter 489: Chapter 429: Saying What Needs to Be Said
Thankfully, Zhou Hui Lan arrived and coaxed Gu Shaoying away.
Gu Shaojun seized the opportunity to lead Xiao Man down the corridor to his room. They had finally met again after two years apart. She had grown taller and put on a little weight—a wonderful surprise for him.
"Xiao Man, Manman! I missed you so, so much. Whenever I dreamed, I saw you! That means you were thinking of me too, right?"
Xiao Man just smiled and replied, "Mm-hmm!"
"What does ’mm-hmm’ mean? Tell me, did you miss me or not?"
"I did! I really did!"
"Who did you miss?"
"I missed... I missed you!"
"And who am I?"
"Brother Shaojun."
Gu Shaojun chuckled softly. ’She’s grown taller and older, but I shouldn’t be too hasty, or I’ll scare her.’
"Brother Shaojun, you’re injured too!"
As Gu Shaojun held Xiao Man’s face to study it carefully, she looked up at him and noticed a scar, over an inch long, on his jaw. Although it had already healed, its color suggested the original wound had been quite deep. Xiao Man reached out to touch the scar, letting out a soft gasp.
Gu Shaojun sighed. "It’s already healed. And now it’s been rewarded, so it was worth it!"
"How did you get injured here?"
"Oh, it was in the jungle. Things were a bit tense, and we were in a hurry. I was clearing a path myself and accidentally got hit by a recoiling branch. It’s nothing serious..."
Gu Shaojun wasn’t telling the truth. The wound was indeed from a branch, but it wasn’t from a simple recoil. The level of danger at that moment was chilling to even recall.
He didn’t want Xiao Man to worry. That mission in the primeval jungle had been fraught with danger. Towering trees, tangled vines, and thorns were everywhere, blotting out the sky. Walking beneath the vegetation, one could carelessly fall into a large pit at any moment. Or, out of nowhere, you’d be drenched by a sudden cascade of water—rain and dew collected on the broad leaves that would pour down at the slightest touch. If you brushed against a poisonous plant, a dense rash would instantly break out on your skin, red, itchy, and swollen. And those were the minor dangers. While clearing a path, poisonous snakes would sometimes fly straight at you, or land leeches would quickly and accurately jump onto any exposed neck or arm, viciously sucking blood. Without experience, you couldn’t even pull them off! There were even vines that would suddenly extend and snatch people away, perhaps the man-eating plants of legend...
In short, everything was gloomy and oppressive. You couldn’t see the sky or tell which way you were going. It was a despair akin to the end of the world.
Fortunately, Gu Shaojun was a Cultivator and carried some medicines that Xiao Man had prepared for him, which solved many problems. He had already guided Gu Shao Feng through Energy Introduction to reach the Qi Refining Fourth Level. The primeval jungle had dense Spiritual Energy for the brothers to absorb for their Cultivation. Since the advancement-assisting elixirs Xiao Man had prepared were only suitable for Gu Shaojun, Gu Shao Feng stood guard for him. This allowed Gu Shaojun to have successive epiphanies and advance in the jungle, becoming a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.
In the Cultivation World, one could ride a sword upon reaching Foundation Establishment. This was unrealistic in modern society, however, as there were no swords to ride. Those swords were Magic Artifacts that needed to be forged and refined. Even if Gu Shaojun had the ability to refine one, he had neither the materials nor the time back then.
However, the Spells of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator were incredibly useful. Gu Shaojun used a Spell to determine their route and direction, leading his Special Team out of the mist-shrouded primeval jungle.
After that, they should have been able to complete their mission and secure a top rank smoothly. But they encountered a team of unknown identity. Those people were clearly not there for the training exercise; they came at them with live ammunition from the start, trying to kill them. They surrounded, pursued, and intercepted them, holding nothing back. Their weapons were sophisticated and advanced—they even used rocket launchers! Meanwhile, Gu Shaojun and his men had nothing but their rifles and daggers, with fewer than twenty bullets left among them.
With such a great disparity between forces, Gu Shaojun commanded his team to fight back calmly. Outgunned and with their ammunition dwindling, they made full use of the swamps and beasts like alligators, pythons, and rhinos to cleanly and efficiently eliminate this group of enemies. But another group arrived soon after. Seeing that there was no way to withstand the assault, Gu Shaojun used the Protective Jade Token Xiao Man had given him to ensure his and his comrades’ survival.
Of course, he did it discreetly, with his back to his teammates. Even Gu Shao Feng didn’t notice.
His teammates followed his command, taking cover behind designated shelters to wait for the next wave of attacks to pass. The nearby trees, rocks, and mounds of earth were all obliterated by the shells, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation. Yet, they themselves only suffered minor external injuries. None of them were blown away or killed. And at their commander’s order, they were even able to rise up and counterattack, wiping out the enemy!
The experience was perhaps too surreal, but who would complain about escaping death and getting to live?
In the end, the Huaxia Special Team still managed to save enough time to complete all the tasks before the other countries’ special teams, winning first place in the competition and bringing honor to their motherland.
After a brief silence, Xiao Man reached out and touched Gu Shaojun’s chest. Beneath his military uniform was a cashmere sweater, and beneath the sweater, the Jade Token was gone. Her heart ached for him. ’Why does he always have the fate of cannon fodder? He was already off the battlefield, yet he still encountered such a powerful attack. This Jade Token was also a High-level Jade Talisman, its protective level wasn’t much lower than the previous Moyu Token.’
"Brother Shaojun, you went to a primeval jungle, right? Was it fun? Tell me about it."
"The primeval jungle... Uh, some parts of it are indeed beautiful, but it’s also full of dangers. It’s best for ordinary people to stay away... I’ll tell you all about it later. We’ve finally gotten to be together, let’s talk about what we should be talking about, hm?"
’Brother Shaojun, you didn’t abandon me in our last life. In this life, we must love each other and live well together. And in the next life, please wait for me. I still want your doting affection and protection!’