Chapter 1109: Old Friends! Joining the Mentor Team
Even late at night, the ghostly howls in the heavy training room never stopped!
The itchy men were all under the pressure of thousandfold gravity, forced by a pair of ghostly hands!
They underwent dual training of physique and willpower!
Of course, Jiangnan, living up in the sky, couldn't hear the ghost howls!
At this moment, he was lying in bed, one hand spinning a large spirit pearl, the other scrolling through his phone!
His gaze inadvertently fell on the copper bell in his hand, and he couldn't help but miss Sister Shanmiao a bit!
She skipped such an important medal ceremony, and Jiangnan was a bit worried!
So he sent a message over.
Nan Shen: (´◔～◔`)
"Are you asleep yet? I got promoted to young marshal~ bigger than you! Hehehe~"
"Next time you see me, you have to call me chief, got it?"
After sending, Jiangnan lay on the bed kicking his little feet, waiting for a reply.
On the train, Mountain Cat was in casual clothes: cropped pants below, a denim jacket on top, and a small hat.
Even on the train, Mountain Cat sat upright, her spine straight.
Her big eyes stared blankly out the window, seemingly a bit troubled.
Suddenly, the phone on the table lit up, and a special notification sound rang out.
Mountain Cat turned, and seeing it was a message from Jiangnan, her expression softened.
But as she read the content, her face darkened.
Luo Tianhong: (˶‾᷄~‾᷅˵) Go die!
Nan Shen: ∠(｀ω´*) Received! Is natural death acceptable?
Mountain Cat was stunned, then burst out laughing.
Nearby passengers looked at her in surprise.
Mountain Cat blushed, quickly suppressed her smile, and pulled down her hat brim.
(˃᷄﹏˂᷅๑)
Luo Tianhong: "Approved! Got back to the academy? Be careful with the Pocket Rabbit matter—all countries are very interested in it, and they might secretly trip you up."
Nan Shen: (๑¯ิꇴ¯ิ)"Don't worry, I have it under control. Why didn't you come to the medal ceremony? I didn't even get to say goodbye to you!"
Mountain Cat tugged at her hair, a bit worried.
"My dad is sick. They say it's serious. I'm going back to check on him."
Jiangnan was startled and quickly typed.
"Do you have any small ginseng over there? Give one to Uncle. It should basically cure him. If there's anything you can't handle, be sure to call me!"
Mountain Cat's face softened with a gentle glow.
"Sleep early. Night."
Jiangnan scratched his head. Mountain Cat's family?
He'd never heard her talk about her family before. She never went home for holidays either...
---
On the train, after replying to Jiangnan, Mountain Cat rested her chin on her hand, staring out the window.
She could barely remember how long it had been since she'd last gone back.
She even felt some resistance and fear.
Just then, her phone rang again.
A message from someone saved as "Sister."
Sister: [7″ꉂꉂ]₍to text₎
"Little Rainbow~ Are you home yet? Let me tell you, Dad's really sick!"
Mountain Cat's heart tightened.
"What kind of illness? Why didn't you tell me? Are you home too, Sis?"
Sister: (˘ก˘｡) "Cough~ It's that illness. He can't even get out of bed. He keeps saying he misses you and insists on holding on to see you one last time."
"Me? I'm abroad. Can't get away. Just go see Dad yourself! Besides, Dad sees me all the time; he's tired of looking at me."
Mountain Cat: ???
If Dad is dying of illness, how can you not get away?
Mountain Cat bit her lower lip, tears glistening in her eyes.
(°¯᷄﹏¯᷅) "I told you guys not to practice that! None of you listened!"
Sister: "Ah, don't talk about that. You haven't been back for a long time. This time, go and spend more time with Mom and Dad."
Mountain Cat clenched her fists, but eventually slowly released them and took a deep breath.
"Got it. I will."
Sister: (︶.̮︶*)ﾉ "Enough about that! Hey hey—after so many years in the military, do you have a boyfriend? If not, I can introduce a few for you?"
"You're not getting any younger. Find yourself a companion, huh?"
Mountain Cat: !!!
If Dad is dying, is this the time for gossip?
(⑉Ծ~Ծ) "No! Don't introduce! And you dare talk about me? You're 30, aren't you? If you don't find someone soon, no one will want you!"
Sister: (งᵒ̌◠ᵒ̌)ง "Nonsense! I'm 29 years old! Don't count by lunar age!"
"Oh wow~ Could it be you already have a crush?"
Mountain Cat's face turned even redder. The image of Jiangnan instantly flashed through her mind, and she slapped her cheeks hard.
(乛◠乛ꐦ) "I said no! You're annoying!"
Sister: (˵ಡꇴಡ˵) "Hehehe~ Such a strong reaction? You must have one, right? Is it that younger guy, the space-attribute one who's been popular lately? The one named Jiangnan?"
(*¯͒◡¯͒*) "Not bad, Little Rainbow likes the tender puppy type? Tsk tsk tsk~"
Mountain Cat: !!!
(◦`~´◦) "I don't! It's not like that! It's... it's..."
Sister: (๑͡°.̮͡°)✧ "It's love! Wahahaha~"
Mountain Cat gritted her teeth. With a squeeze, the phone was crushed into pieces!
Nearby passengers looked at her in terror.
They say girls have no strength to bind a phone?
Nonsense!
She crushed it into fragments!
Meanwhile, the sister kept sending messages.
(ಡωಡ) "Want me to check him out for you? I hear he's pretty tough in a fight."
"Looking at you, I bet you're being all quiet again, huh? If you like someone, just say it boldly!"
"Hey hey! Why aren't you replying? You didn't really block me, did you?"
---
The next morning, Jiangnan got up and stretched hard.
He did a carp flip out of bed and teleported to the living room.
(๑⁼̴ࡇก̀) "Xuexue! Morn..."
Before he could finish, he saw the prepared sandwiches on the table, heart-shaped fried eggs—even the yolks were heart-shaped—
and a glass of warm milk.
There was a small note on the plate.
"We got up early to train. Remember to drink your milk so you grow taller~⸜(๑॑꒳॑๑)⸝"
Jiangnan rubbed his nose, his eyes full of warmth.
Xuexue is really nice!
No wonder she came asking for Pop Rocks yesterday—training this early? Does she have to be that hardworking?
He treasured the little note in his alternate dimension, ate the egg, drank the milk.
Then he grabbed the sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth.
But Jiangnan's eyes instantly bulged. He grabbed his hair, face turning red.
୧(‧̣̥̇๑‧̣̥̇ŏжŏ‧̣̥̇๑‧̣̥̇)୨
Crying, he forced the sandwich down and coughed violently.
Then he ground his teeth.
"Da Lang Mie! You made the sandwich, didn't you? Did you squeeze a whole tube of wasabi in there?"
Almost choked me to death!
"Damn it! Just wait till I get back at you!"
In the training room, Xia Yao was cackling secretly. Little Nan must be awake by now, right?
I wonder what expression he made after eating my wasabi sandwich.
(⑉ԾกԾ⑉)
Too bad I can't see it!
---
Jiangnan wandered over to the playground, ready to go to class.
But he noticed the mentors weren't there.
Turning around, he saw all the academy mentors standing neatly at the entrance, standing straight as arrows.
Guan Hu and Tao Xinyi were both there.
Even Zhao Dezhu was grinning widely, waiting happily.
(◞•̀ᗜ•́◟)
But the mentors all looked dejected, and Guan Hu's legs were even trembling a bit.
Many students were also watching the excitement. Jiangnan's interest spiked.
He quickly teleported over.
"What's up? New students coming?"
As he spoke, he spread out his vendor cloth on the ground and started pulling out items—small slippers, small ginseng, everything.
Yu Qingqing laughed. "Giggles~ Not new students. I heard new mentors are coming."
"Since we expanded enrollment and are short on mentors, they recalled some pioneers who had no current missions to come and teach."
"They're all graduates from previous years, and they're really strong!"
Jiangnan looked disappointed. Not new students. He thought business was coming.
But even for mentors, why such a big welcome?
Just then, a ten-wheeled bus slowly drove over.
Eight of its ten tires had blown out, and the wheel hubs were scraping sparks on the asphalt.
Jiangnan's eyes widened. Did they run over a nail?
At this moment, seeing the blown tires, Guan Hu and the others were sweating profusely, trembling even harder.
(‧̣̥̇꒪﹏꒪)…
Then the bus door opened.
One by one, the new mentors got off—all with bruised and swollen faces, tear stains still fresh.
(#)꒦ິД꒦ີ(#)
Among them were familiar faces: Ling Feng, Wang Ba, and Gong Lin had all come over.
These were pioneers who had been on missions with Jiangnan in the abyss before.
But they weren't in much better shape either.
Ling Feng's mechanical arm was shattered; Gong Lin had a huge red bump on her forehead.
Wang Ba was swollen all over. As soon as he got off, he coughed up a mouthful of old blood.
This scene stunned everyone. What happened?
Had they been bombed by a missile?
Wang Ba caught sight of Jiangnan in the crowd and rushed over like he'd seen a savior.
(#)･᷄ཀ･᷅)ﾉ "Quick! Nan Shen! Give me some small ginseng! I can't take it anymore! I feel like I'm dying!"
"Save me!"
Jiangnan's expression didn't change. He pulled out a large green stick and cracked it over Wang Ba's head.
With a loud "bang," Wang Ba rolled his eyes, showed the whites, and fell unconscious on the spot.
The students all gasped.
Holy crap!
Nan Shen is still this fierce!
The newly arrived mentor team—not a word said, but first crack one open as a sign of respect?
Is he that savage?
Jiangnan said happily, "Feng Ge? Linlin Jie? You guys came too?"
Ling Feng laughed loudly. "Mission got too tough, so we came back to rest for a while."
Jiangnan asked suspiciously, "How did you get hurt? Did you get ambushed on the way back?"
But hearing that, Ling Feng and the others shivered, their faces full of bitterness.
Zhao Dezhu rubbed his forehead in pain. Really, not giving any face at all.
Just then, a tall figure stood up from inside the bus.
As she moved, the entire bus shook with her steps.
The iron floor creaked under the strain, "creak, creak"...
—Author's note—