Chapter 12: Captain Ding Is Definitely Not Jealous

Ding Ren stared at Chang Ping expressionlessly.

Chang Ping’s toes curled in embarrassment; while he wasn’t afraid of poaching talent, doing it behind someone’s back was indeed a bit underhanded.

Most importantly, he was caught red-handed.

Moreover, he suddenly remembered he was still counting on Ding Ren’s help.

“Hahaha, good morning, Captain Ding.”

Ding Ren continued to watch him calmly.

Chang Ping swallowed hard, feeling extremely guilty; Ding Ren wasn’t even using his aura to suppress him, but his heart was still racing like a panicked deer.

“I’ll go prepare breakfast for you all.”

It was already four in the morning, and dawn was approaching; Chang Ping made an excuse and quickly scurried away.

“Morning, Captain Ding.”

Xi Yu greeted Ding Ren and continued his training.

He knew he would draw attention, but he didn’t care.

As long as no one connected him to the white dragon, it was fine; besides, it was impossible to increase his strength without attracting notice.

Ding Ren leaned against the wall, watching Xi Yu train.

Actually, he knew the moment Xi Yu woke up, but he had been too exhausted and fell back asleep.

After sleeping for over an hour, his spirit had recovered significantly, and finding that Xi Yu hadn’t returned, he got up.

He had been watching from the corner until now.

Looking at Xi Yu, he couldn’t help but recall his own past; he must have been just as hardworking back then.

However, he was somewhat puzzled; Xi Yu was incredibly powerful as a white dragon, yet in human form, he seemed to have no combat strength at all.

He felt Xi Yu was full of enigmas; if he hadn’t seen the transformations twice, he would truly doubt if the fellow before him was a divine dragon.

And what exactly was wrong with his body?

He really wanted Xi Yu to tell him everything—to tell him alone.

Zhang Qingyuan and the others were too tired, feeling as though one night of sleep wasn’t enough, but instinct forced them to wake before six.

Seeing them rise, Xi Yu stopped his training.

Although he hadn’t rested all night, his state felt slightly improved to everyone.

However, his spirit was still a bit weary; he took a bath and rested for a while to recover.

Chang Ping enthusiastically sent someone with two more sets of clothes, which Xi Yu accepted with thanks.

Breakfast consisted of congee and vegetable buns—not lavish, but plentiful.

Everyone ate with great satisfaction.

After eating, the group didn’t intend to enter the inner city of Shilu County, preparing to purchase supplies and head straight for Xincheng City.

Throughout the morning, Chang Ping seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue, looking at Ding Ren with great hesitation.

Ding Ren didn’t really want to deal with him and acted as if he hadn’t seen, maintaining his usual cold demeanor.

Of course, he could only do this because Zhang Qingyuan and the others were there; otherwise, no matter how much he disliked Chang Ping, he wouldn’t truly ignore him, given the help Chang Ping had provided.

“County Seat Chang, if there’s something on your mind, just speak plainly; if it’s within our power, we won’t refuse,” Zhang Qingyuan took the initiative to speak.

“Thank you, Captain Ding, thank you, Captain Zhang, and thank you all,” Chang Ping said, thanking them before even stating his business.

If he hadn’t been caught poaching just now, he wouldn’t have been so embarrassed to speak up.

He had held onto a shred of hope, but who would have thought the famous Ding Ren cherished Xi Yu so much that he wouldn’t even sleep just to keep an eye on him.

It seemed the other party not only knew Xi Yu was a treasure but valued him even more than he did, which made Chang Ping flush with shame.

Although he was still salivating over the prospect in his heart, he knew Xi Yu wasn’t someone he could covet anymore.

However, Ding Ren and the others were about to leave; if he didn’t speak now, it truly would be too late.

Since Zhang Qingyuan had given him an opening, he no longer stood on ceremony and quickly shared his anxieties.

But as soon as he spoke, Zhang Qingyuan and the others were stunned.

What Chang Ping mentioned was precisely the matter of the Head-Swapping Ghost.

The ghost had left Xincheng City a few days ago and begun terrorizing the surrounding counties; a C-class expert had even fallen to it, leaving Shilu County in a state of panic.

It just so happened that Ding Ren and his team had arrived.

They didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and naturally hoped he would take action.

“County Seat Chang, you don’t need to worry anymore,” Zhang Qingyuan said directly.

“What do we mean? Could it be…?” Chang Ping was startled.

“Yes, we already ran into it; just before arriving at Shilu County, we crossed paths and eliminated it,” Zhang Qingyuan nodded.

“No wonder even you guys were injured,” Chang Ping said with a mixture of shock and joy, sudden realization dawning on him.

They had long heard of the Head-Swapping Ghost’s terror and eeriness; they hadn’t expected Ding Ren and his team to have actually killed it.

As expected of the Realm Guards, they were truly impressive.

He was also very relieved; the fact that the ghost could injure even Ding Ren proved its horror, and it was fortunate that Ding Ren’s team had arrived.

He didn’t doubt Zhang Qingyuan’s words; given the status of the Realm Guards, it was impossible for them to tell such a lie.

Zhang Qingyuan didn’t explain exactly how Ding Ren was injured; it was just as well that Chang Ping misunderstood, as it filled in the gaps regarding why they were here.

As for the crucial role Xi Yu played in eliminating the ghost, he didn’t mention a word.

It was enough that they knew; Xi Yu’s peculiarities absolutely could not be revealed.

Since the greatest threat to Shilu County had been resolved, Chang Ping had no reason to keep them from leaving.

He quickly helped them prepare supplies and even took the initiative to lend them a van without Zhang Qingyuan having to ask.

“We’re brother units, why mention money? If you mention it again, I’ll get angry.”

Chang Ping waved at their departing vehicle.

Although the Head-Swapping Ghost had left Zhang Qingyuan and the others with lingering fears, and their injuries hadn’t fully healed, they didn’t hesitate for a moment to head toward Xincheng City.

Shilu County and Xincheng City were both part of the first line of defense for Xichuan Province, but Xincheng’s position was more critical; driving from Shilu would only take three hours.

Shilu County had people there, so Ding Ren and his team wouldn’t even need to return the van; they could just leave it there.

“Little brother Xi, are you really not going to consider staying here?” Chang Ping stuffed a bag of food into Xi Yu’s hands as they were leaving, unable to help himself from shouting one last time.

“Thank you for the hospitality!” Xi Yu waved back at him.

“Hahaha!” Inside the car, Zhang Qingyuan and the others laughed heartily as they drove away.

Xi Yu was theirs.

Zhang Qingyuan was especially smug; he hadn’t expected Xi Yu to abandon the captain to sit with him.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, his faint, lingering smile seemed like a provocation directed at Ding Ren.

“According to my analysis, Xi Yu is seated based on the order of visual appeal,” Ding Ren remarked airily.

He hadn’t intended to say anything, but since Zhang Qingyuan was asking for it, he would oblige; therefore, he wasn’t angry at all that Xi Yu had specifically stayed far away from him to sit with Zhang Qingyuan.

Pfft.

Fang Jianbo had little self-control and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The others weren’t much better, struggling hard to keep a straight face.

Ping Feng, who was driving, nearly caused the van to skid.

Zhang Qingyuan wanted to cough up blood; while he wasn’t ugly, he was indeed the least handsome among them.

Recalling how even the Head-Swapping Ghost thought he looked old made him even more depressed.

Even though he felt Xi Yu couldn’t possibly mean that, he was still deeply hurt.

His heart ached.

Fortunately, he was too embarrassed to ask for confirmation; otherwise, Xi Yu wouldn’t have the heart to tell him that Ding Ren was actually right.

Of course, it was also because Zhang Qingyuan happened to be sitting the furthest from Ding Ren, and his visual appeal just happened to be the lowest.

He really hadn’t expected Ding Ren to be so petty; he definitely shouldn’t offend him in the future.

‘But I’m avoiding him again today… surely I haven’t been added to his list, have I?’

Xi Yu stole a glance at Ding Ren, only to find the man already staring at him; thus, Xi Yu flashed him a bright, sunny smile.

Ding Ren watched him for a moment before turning his head away as if nothing had happened.

‘Heh, as if I’d be afraid of you,’ Xi Yu felt quite amused in his heart.

There wasn’t much else to do on the bus, and sitting crowded together in the small van felt a bit strange.

Xi Yu decided to shift everyone’s attention by introducing some future knowledge on mutation, including the two characteristics of Mutation Particles and so on.

Along the way, Zhang Qingyuan and the others listened very seriously, hungrily absorbing this knowledge.

Seeing how intently they listened, Xi Yu also spoke with great focus.

Just then, a sudden abnormality occurred within the van, leaving everyone stunned.