Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

"Be serious when you're telling the story, Captain!" Lin Ning really complained, "Don't compare girls to beggar's chickens!"

"Don't sweat the small stuff." Yan Yu said nonchalantly, "I took out all the Curse Technique Masters around the temple, saved Zhou Hongyu, and when we were leaving the Thousand Buddha Temple, we encountered an old monk practicing Red Lotus Zen, who used the Red Lotus Bowl to obstruct us."

He omitted the incident with the Red Lotus Demon Sound, just mentioning how he and Zhou Hongyu were trapped by the bowl, as burning red lotuses rained from the sky. At that moment, Zhou Hongyu had just escaped from a fiery attack, was severely wounded and not yet recovered, so he himself had to use his superhuman swordsmanship. He described how he dodged the numerous red lotuses, how he tempted them to destroy each other, how he used the explosion to accelerate, and how he sneak-attacked the Red Lotus monk, eventually taking him out—Lin Ning and Su Yunjin listened, tense with nervousness.

Lin Ning even felt a vague sense of guilt, thinking to herself that the Captain had been through life-and-death situations, narrowly survived the perilous mission, and now she had the audacity to doubt whether he had something going on with Captain Zhou... I really deserve to die!

Su Yunjin, however, was not as innocently well-disposed as she was; after pondering for a moment, she asked again:

"Then, what's the deal with what Ling Yun said, about Zhou Hongyu starting to care a lot about you after she came back, Captain?"

"Ah." Yan Yu feigned a sigh, spread his hands, and said, "The hero saves the beauty, everyone understands, it's normal for her to fall in love with me, right?"

"So Captain Zhou has fallen for you?" Su Yunjin was surprised.

"I don't know about that." Yan Yu immediately replied seriously, "Based on Zhang Huaide's description, it feels like Zhou Hongyu might have a thing for me, but who knows if what Huaide is saying is true or false? Maybe he's just too sensitive."

"The Captain doesn't know?" Su Yunjin asked doubtfully.

"I really don't know." Yan Yu answered.

"Should we send a message to ask Zhang Huaide?" Lin Ning quietly suggested to Su Yunjin.

"Sure, you find Huaide, and I'll ask Tang Xiaolian." Su Yunjin responded.

These two girls weren't exactly close with the Huofeng Team, but they weren't complete strangers either; it was fine to have a private chat and ask about something.

Yan Yu calmly picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked:

"Ningning, how come you never decorated your room?"

"It's just a temporary stay, no need to decorate specially." Lin Ning said without lifting her head.

She quickly typed out her message and sent it to Zhang Huaide.

————————

Over at the Huofeng Team, to celebrate Zhou Hongyu's safe return, everyone went to their familiar hot pot restaurant—the owner was a fan of the Huofeng Team and had set aside a private room which remained vacant just for them, offering utmost privacy.

Yet, the atmosphere was off compared to usual.

Zhou Hongyu's comment, "You and Yan Yu are close," though interpreted by everyone as irritation towards Captain Yan, left two people feeling uneasy.

One was Tang Xiaolian. As a girl, she keenly sensed that Captain Zhou's remark didn't seem to have any malice towards Captain Yan, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact emotion behind it.

The other was Qin Meng. Everyone had long noticed his silent admiration for the Captain. Now, despite the Captain's unchanging attitude towards him, her constant preoccupation was with the Captain of the rival Zhenghai Team—even if it was a negative perception, it somewhat hurt him.

Ultimately, he wasn't strong enough! If he had the same strength as Captain Yan, the Captain surely would look at him in a new light, right?

"Speaking of which," Meng Qingxi said after eating a few slices of tripe, suddenly asking, "Captain Zhou, we're all relieved that you're okay. So what exactly happened to you and Captain Yan over in Jawa?"

As soon as he asked, those who were picking up food put down their chopsticks, those who were pouring drinks pushed away the bottles, and all ears perked up to listen.

Zhou Hongyu pondered for a moment before answering:

"There's not much to say, just fell into an enemy's trap and almost got stuck there, but later was saved by Yan Yu."

Zhang Huaide narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that if it were the usual Captain Zhou, she probably would have just said "There's not much to say" and ended the conversation there; what was with the additional details?

Not wanting to speak was exactly Captain Zhou Hongyu's style of standing out.

But now, even though she seemed as aloof as ever on the outside, she appeared to be more personable on the inside. For the Huofeng Team, this was a good thing, but if they couldn't figure out the reason, there might be trouble if a bad change occurred and they were unable to address it.

Could it be, as Chen Lingyun had said, that she had fallen in love with Yan Yu, and that had spurred a drive for self-improvement?

He discreetly raised his glass, covertly sending a message to Meng Qingxi:

"Keep asking."

Meng Qingxi paused, then grinned.

Deputy Captain Zhang, I didn't expect you to be so into gossip...

Emboldened by his vice captain, old Meng instantly got bolder, and with a sneaky smile, he said:

"Isn't that the classic tale of the hero saving the beauty? Captain Zhou, you mustn't pledge yourself in return. Otherwise, we Huofeng Team will always feel inferior to Zhenhai Team in the future."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces changed.

Old Meng, don't court death, is this the kind of joke you can make with Captain Zhou?

Zhou Hongyu glanced over with a chilly gaze, and Meng Qingxi immediately shook uncontrollably, his previously convincing demeanor gone, even his hand holding the glass starting to tremble.

He was about to kneel and apologize when Zhou Hongyu lowered her eyelids and said:

"No."

No? No what? Everyone was baffled.

Only Zhang Huaide instantly understood; she was saying she wouldn't pledge herself in return.

But this answer was even stranger. Considering her previous hatred for and obsession with Yan Yu, shouldn't she have immediately reacted to such a comment?