Intelligence Ultime

Chapitre 48

Maple Snow paused for a moment: "Does it hurt a lot? Just bear with it for a bit. This ointment is very effective; the bruise will be gone by tomorrow."

Zhu Huihui's eyes were filled with fear. Why was the old man suddenly being so nice to her? Experience told her that such unusual behavior was never a good thing!

After waiting anxiously for a long time without seeing the old man make a move, I couldn't help but say, "Sir, although I don't know what I've done wrong this time, whether you're going to cut off my legs or my head, please hurry up, I still have some steamed buns to finish eating!" Anyway, the old man wouldn't really cut me off, so let him finish scaring me quickly, and I'll be at peace!

Maple Snow paused, then withdrew the ointment: "Zhu Huihui!"

"Yes, sir!" came the reply smoothly.

"Get out of the way!"

"Yes, hero!" Zhu Huihui grabbed the remaining two steamed buns and left.

Liu Yue looked at her, a deep smile involuntarily appearing in her peach-blossom eyes.

Zhu Huihui moved a little further away from the two old men, ate her steamed bun, and looked at the two men sitting on the big rock, talking and eating politely, but talking more than eating.

She didn't dare to go closer, but craned her neck to listen for a while. It was all about who did evil, who was powerful, and what they did... It sounded like a story about the martial arts world, but she couldn't understand it very well. It was a hundred times worse than what her mother told her, and it was utterly tasteless.

So she got tired of listening and played by herself for a while. Feeling bored, she lay down on the grassy hillside, put her hands behind her head, propped one leg up, and swung the other leg back and forth. The sun warmed her whole body, making her feel very comfortable. A wave of drowsiness washed over her, and she yawned widely, slowly closing her eyes.

She didn't know how long she had slept when she was suddenly awakened by a strange sound. There was a rustling sound on the grass, as if countless insects and snakes were crawling. She listened for a moment, then suddenly came to her senses, sat up, opened her eyes, and her mouth immediately gaped open.

A fair hand gently pressed against her mouth.

Zhu Huihui was shocked and was about to bite when her eyes met a pair of misty, peach-blossom eyes, and she could no longer bite down.

Liu Yue raised an index finger and put it to her beautiful lips, making a shushing gesture.

Zhu Huihui didn't understand what he was up to and nodded blankly. Liu Yue slowly withdrew his hand from her mouth and pointed around.

Zhu Huihui glanced around, then automatically stretched out both hands to cover her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound.

Liu Yue smiled and gently stroked her hair, as if praising her for being well-behaved.

Zhu Huihui blushed slightly, actually feeling a little shy. She was usually very thick-skinned and didn't care about other people's scolding or sarcasm, but if someone was even a little bit nice to her, she would feel extremely flattered.

Seeing her embarrassment, Liu Yue's smile became even more gentle and radiant.

Zhu Huihui blinked her long eyelashes and looked away. "Um..." Her vocabulary was limited, and she didn't know how to address this person. Feng Xuese was both a chivalrous hero and a grandpa, and the red-robed bald man was a master. Calling him "big brother" wasn't flattering enough, and he definitely wouldn't be happy... She was really in a dilemma!

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear, Part Three: Chapter Fifteen (5)

Liu Yue smiled and said, "You can call me by my name."

"Huh?" Does that mean I should also call Liu Yue "brother"?

Liu Yue's eyes crinkled into a smile: "My name is Liu Yue, Liu as in 'high sky and flowing clouds,' and Yue as in 'king' plus the character for 'moon.'" He picked up a short twig and wrote his name on the ground, "My surname is also Zhu, Zhu Liu Yue, do you know that?"

Zhu Huihui pointed to the character "流" and exclaimed with delight, "I recognize this character! It's the '流' in 'liugang' (hooligan), it's an old friend!" Zhu Liuyue? So what if you're surnamed Zhu too? Don't try to get close to me, I haven't forgotten the grudge I suffered at your hands!

Liu Yue seemed a little disappointed, but quickly smiled again: "What are the two characters in your name?"

"Huihui, it's the 'hui' in dust."

Liu Yue was a little curious: "Why would you choose such a name?" It doesn't sound like a girl's name at all.

"My mother said that dust is very harmful and can cause many diseases, but without it, there would be no light or rain, so people both hate it and cannot live without it."

Liu Yue smiled and nodded: "Is that so? Then, do you have a nickname?"

Zhu Huihui shook her head: "No, we don't have that."

She looked around, so engrossed in chatting that she almost forgot about these things.

The area around her is now incredibly lively:

A red-headed centipede over a foot long, a patterned spider the size of a bowl, a green-scaled snake as thick as an arm, a fat, rough-skinned toad, a giant blue scorpion waving its tail and pincers, a giant tiger-headed wasp the size of a palm, and a black ant as thick as a human head...

Snakes hissed and flicked their tongues, bees buzzed and flapped their wings, centipedes spread their hundred legs, scorpions raised their black stingers, ants sharpened their two large teeth, and poisonous frogs leaped and hopped. Some flew, some crawled, and some jumped, a dense, dark mass of them, everywhere—in the air, in the grass, by the rocks, on the trees… everywhere!

Zhu Huihui had never seen so many poisonous creatures gathered together before, and looked around curiously. These poisonous creatures only looked fierce, but in reality they were not very powerful. They bared their fangs and claws from a distance of about three zhang (approximately 10 meters) away and did not dare to approach at all.

"Um, Brother Liu... Brother Liu Yue, what's going on?" I'm so used to acting like a grandson and flattering people, it's really not my style to be addressed by my name all of a sudden.

Liu Yue smiled and said, "While you were asleep, someone brought this bunch of poisonous creatures over."

She thought to herself: An ordinary woman would probably be paralyzed with fear at the sight of so many poisonous creatures. This child is very kind, not afraid at all... Hmm, if this girl really is her, given her relationship with that person, she would be quite accustomed to mere poisonous insects and wouldn't even care about them.

"Where's the hero? Did he get eaten alive by poisonous insects?" Zhu Huihui asked with a hint of schadenfreude. If that were the case, he'd be free! But—no way! The old man was so powerful; it was more likely he'd be eaten alive by poisonous insects.

Liu Yue smiled and shook her head: "Brother Feng is probably having a pleasant conversation with the owner of these poisonous creatures right now."

That heartless little girl! Despite Feng Xue Se's kindness towards her, she doesn't worry about him at all—well, that's fine, otherwise…

Zhu Huihui really wasn't worried at all.

She had always been "bullied" by the old man, with no room for resistance whatsoever. No matter what underhanded tricks she tried, they were useless. Therefore, the belief that "the old man is incredibly powerful, incredibly strong, and unapproachable" had long been deeply ingrained in her subconscious. Moreover, she had followed Feng Xuese through countless life-and-death situations, and in every fight, no matter how strong or numerous the enemy, she had never lost. So, although she would never admit it, deep down she admired Feng Xuese immensely.

She was incredibly obedient in front of Feng Xuese, partly out of fear of death, but mostly out of respect. Although she was careless and clumsy, she knew that the old man was only fierce on the surface, but actually quite caring towards her. Because of this, whenever the old man disciplined her, she would turn a blind eye, and although she was resentful, she would still give him some face in her actions.

Otherwise, like Xiye Yan, whose martial arts skills are no less than Feng Xue Se's, she would still curse and swear when she got hot-headed, and she was still unconvinced even when she was almost crushed to death; and then there is this "Brother Liu Yue", who is equally unfathomable. She suffered a loss at his hands, and even though she dared not curse because the master was there, she would still curse him in her heart from time to time.

The Sky Over the Martial World is Clear, Part Three: Chapter Fifteen (6)

Although she could only verbally retaliate after being wronged each time, she couldn't be blamed for being spineless. What could a petty rascal like her, who lived in the streets, do besides vent her anger by cursing at those martial arts masters when she was bullied and abused?

Zhu Huihui curled up, hugging his knees, and asked, "Brother Liuyue, how long has the great hero been gone?"