Chapter 162: My Dislike Runs Deep

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“Put me down already!”

It takes a long time for Feng Hao to make himself heard by Huang Shing. The older disciple runs so fast all of Feng Hao’s words are lost to the roar of the wind, and he’s so strong that Feng Hao can barely move while caught in his grip.

If only he’d been taught how to transmit his thoughts through Qi like older people are capable of!

“Easy, Young Master,” Huang Shing says as he finally stops and puts him down. “I was just making sure you were safe.”

“You left my brother alone!” Feng Hao yells, not caring that Huang Shing is much stronger than him.

“I don’t really care for your brother.”

“He was wounded!” Feng Hao yells, stomping his foot. “What if he lost? What if he died?!”

Huang Shing stares at him blankly for a few seconds.

“I don’t really see the problem.”

Feng Hao’s glare deepens.

“However!” Huang Shing adds. “Your brother won’t die. I am sure of it.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“Because Elder Dang told us we should do our best to avoid harming members of the Feng Clan. Senior Brother Xi wasn’t a member of the Punishment Force, but it’d be weird if he hadn’t received similar instructions. Although…” Huang Shing trails off and frowns. “Lots of people don’t like Feng Zhi, and if Feng Zhi dies, I might never find out what happened to Yi Jiao.”

Feng Hao has no idea who Yi Jiao is, but he seizes the opportunity all the same.

“Then we should go back!”

“Taking you back there means exposing you to danger. That’s not good,” Huang Shing points out. He looks to the direction they have come from and sighs. “Ah, this sort of thinking is not my strong point. I wish Qjng Jin were here. He’s much smarter than I am.”

Feng Hao blinks.

“Qing Jin? You know Elder Brother Qing?”

Feng Hao supposes most people know of his Elder Brother by now. Still, this Huang Shing speaks of him with familiarity, an oddity considering he is representing his uncle.

“Of course, I do! We took the Selection Exam together! How do you know…” Huang Shing trails off and snaps his fingers. “Right! He’s been tutoring you. They also told us that.”

“They?” Feng Hao frowns as he remembers what Huang Shing just revealed about himself. “You mean the Punishment Force?”

“Elder Dang was very thorough.” Huang Shing shivers a little. “He was angry about what happened in the Sparring Hall, so he wanted to make sure we wouldn’t, to quote him, ‘act like a bunch little babies who still reeked of their mother’s milk.’”

Feng Hao is not sure how to respond to that.

“Anyway! If Elder Brother were here, he would tell you we need to go back for my brother!” Feng Hao says. “We can’t leave him alone there! The thing you saved me from-”

“Stop.” Huang Shing raises his palm to cut him off. “I just made up my mind. We are not going back there no matter what.”

“What? Why?!”

“If I go back, your brother is going to attack me, and I’m going to attack him right back. Instead of your brother fighting Senior Brother Xi, it will be your brother fighting Senior Xi and me.”

Feng Hao stares at him.

“Could you… not attack my brother?”

“Impossible. My dislike runs deep, Young Master.”

“Your reasoning for not going to rescue my brother is… that you really don’t like him?” Feng Hao asks, unable to believe the gall of this disciple.

“And that he doesn’t like me right back, but yes. That is basically it, Young Master. I’d feel bad, but I have come to realize most things boil down to that. If the strongest brothers of the Eternal Flame Clan can be petty and childish, surely it is allowed for this Huang Shing to be the same?”

As he speaks, Feng Hao calculates his odds of escaping.

They are low.

“What are we to do then?”

However, this person doesn’t seem very bright, so he’s bound to let his guard down eventually.

“The temple is the best place for us to go,” Huang Shing answers. “Senior Brother Yong told us he and some other Core Disciples would remain in the Eye in case some of us needed help. If we are lucky, we will find him on the way to the temple.”

“Senior Brother Yong?” The name is familiar to Feng Hao. One of the faces in the welcoming feast for his uncle flashes through his mind. “Is that one of the disciples my uncle took to the Crimson Cloud Tournament?”

Huang Shing nods. “Yes, he spoke to all of us the day before the assembly and assured us he’d do his best to make sure we all returned alive. Of course, that was before Patriarch Feng transported us like that, but if there’s anyone we can rely on right now, it’s him. Also…”

Huang Shing suddenly shoves his whole arm into the ground.

Feng Hao stumbles back as the older disciple grunts and pulls out a wiggling, screeching mass of pink flesh with flecks of green.

“Sneaky thing, aren’t you?” Huang Shing asks, holding his catch like a fisherman. “You thought I wouldn’t notice you following-Ow!”

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Huang Shing immediately tosses the creature away and grabs hold of his arm. His wrist has become an angry red, and the veins and nerves there now bulge under his skin. The pink creature screeches and tries to escape underground.

[A Hundred Blooming Lotuses]

Huang Shing’s attack obliterates it.

“What in the eighteen hells was that?” Huang Shing asks, looking at his wounded hand. It is already healing, yet the fact that he was wounded in the first place is cause for concern. “If I hadn’t thrown it away in time…”

Feng Hao recalls how the lizard Spirit Beast was absorbed and shudders.

“It’s after you,” Huang Shing tells him. “You realize that, right?”

Feng Hao blinks. “What?”

“I’ve fought several Spirit Beasts and nearly died more times than I am comfortable with since I was thrown to the Dead Plains, but I have never fought a thing that felt like death before,” Huang Shing says. “Since we met, I’ve already fought two. That thing has been following us since we left Feng Zhi and Senior Brother Xi. Well, following you.”

“It was… following me? Why?”

“I don’t know, Young Master. I will beat them up when they get close but don’t expect me to solve any mysteries. I am bad at those. Just don’t let those things touch you.”

Huang Shing holds up his arm, presenting his wounded flesh.

“I am in the True Realm, and this still isn’t healed. It hurts. Badly,” Huang Shing says. “If that frail thing did this to me, I do not want to imagine what it can do to you, Young Master. When it touched me… it felt foul.”