Chapter 56

They were worth teaching!

As Zhou Kai looked at Xu Lei and Mi Xue, he had a satisfied expression on his face.

Although he had just interacted with the two of them, he could see their innocence right away. This kind of pure heart came from cultivating wholeheartedly and usually not having much contact with the outside world. Such people were basically rarely seen in impetuous society.

However, he was afraid that the two of them were seedlings cultivated with the utmost care in the Tong’an branch. They had been sent on this mission to get a feel of it and accumulate experience. Perhaps, for the sake of their safety, the big boss of the Tong’an branch might have even given them a defensive Dharma treasure.

Despite those thoughts, Zhou Kai’s expression remained calm.

He just had to know that the two of them were good kids. Nothing else mattered.

“Brother, what do we do now?” Xu Lei asked.

Zhou Kai replied with a smile, “Since we are not needed for the time being, we’ll go our own ways. We’ll just wait here and plan again when we reach that place.”

“Okay, we’ll listen to you.” The two young people were not on guard, just like little chicks eating grains.

Then, they hastened on their journey. They were the first on the highway before they made a detour and took a shortcut. Soon, the main unit arrived at a small mountain village at eight or nine at night.

Upon arriving there, Zhou Kai noticed that the mountain village had been cordoned off. He could see soldiers everywhere patrolling the place with their guns.

When Mi Xue and Xu Lei saw that other people were stationed there, they also packed up their things and got ready to find a place to stay.

Meanwhile, a grave-looking woman wearing glasses gave the three of them a token each. She then said, “This is the access identification token. It will only be effective for 24 hours. After that time frame, you will have to go to the command center and get it stamped for further use.”

After she said that, she turned and left.

Xu Lei, who couldn’t hold it in anymore, quickly said, “Hey, what are our assignments exactly? What do you want us to do?”

The woman in the glasses stopped in her tracks and turned toward Xu Lei before she answered with a light smile, “Assignments? You are two rookies from the Tong’an branch and one last-minute substitute from the Anyang branch. You three are just here to make up the numbers. Tell me, what can you guys do?”

“What? You…” Xu Lei became gloomy.

Zhou Kai reached out to stop him before he looked calmly at the woman in the glasses and said, “I don’t care how you look at us. Since we’re here, we represent the Anyang and Tong’an branches. We have the qualifications to join the activities here.”

The woman in the glasses responded calmly, “You can. With this token, you guys can move around at will. Nobody will stop you. However, let me remind you that the danger level of the ground fissure mission is still currently increasing. It has already reached a degree of over 3 stars. You can do whatever you want if you’re not scared of death.”

After she said that, the woman in the glasses turned and left. At the same time, she said a few parting words. “The three of you are staying in the east end of the village.”

Zhou Kai remained silent.

Xu Lei was fuming with rage. “That’s too much, that’s too much. These traitors are holding their heads really high now. It’s simply…”

He was so furious that he couldn’t continue.

Mi Xue also had tears in her eyes.

She found it hard to bear it when she saw someone she had regarded as family suffer such indifferent treatment.

Zhou Kai looked at Xu Lei in surprise. “Which traitors are you talking about?”

Xu Lei replied in surprise, “You don’t know about that, Brother? In the past, our Kuidou lineage was one of the nine lineages of the Analogous Department. Decades ago, the chief of the Kuidou lineage said he was going to take on a top-secret mission but ended up not returning. Later on, our lineage was slowly coveted and suppressed by the other lineages. Many branches surrendered to the other lineages. Only a few remaining branches are still waiting for the chief’s return. The Anyang branch is one of them.”

Zhou Kai was speechless.

How could such a story even exist? Was the Anyang branch so poor now that it couldn’t even provide rewards?

However, after thinking it through, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with this. They had gotten bigger indeed.

Now that he had understood the whole story, Zhou Kai didn’t care about it.

This wasn’t his profession. However, he made use of this profession to understand more about the mysterious world.

Since they had conflicting views, that would be even better. Nobody would care how he acted and he would be carefree.

“Alright, don’t let your thoughts run wild. You guys should be very happy instead,” Zhou Kai said with a smile.

Xu Lei and Mi Xue looked at Zhou Kai in confusion.

How could they be happy with such treatment?

Zhou Kai said, “If my guess is right, the chief of the Tong’an branch should have expected that this situation would happen when the two of you came here. However, he still let you guys come. Why is that so?”

Xu Lei froze and subconsciously said, “To train us?”

Zhou Kai said with a smile, “That’s right. To train the two of you. A true cultivator will dare to face the fiercest and most terrifying anomalies with a straight face. These cutting remarks and getting the cold shoulder is simply a piece of cake. If you guys can’t even tolerate this pain, how will you face anomalies in the future?”

Xu Lei was silent.

Mi Xue pursed her lips and did not say anything either.

After a long time, Xu Lei said, “I got it, brother. We understand the chief’s painstaking effort. Mi Xue and I used to be flowers in an ivory tower. However, since we’re out now, we have to become grass and withstand the wind and the rain.”

“Yes, yes. I’m not afraid of being bullied.” Mi Xue agreed unyieldingly with a very firm gaze.

Zhou Kai laughed. “Very good. This is what the reserved elites groomed by the Analogous Department and the pillars of the future should be. Let’s go. I’m tired after this long journey. Xu Lei, prepare the bathwater for me. Mi Xue, scrub… Well, scrub my dirty clothes clean later.”

When Xu Lei was about to nod, he suddenly froze and looked at Zhou Kai in shock.

Mi Xue was also a little dumbfounded.

Zhou Kai said with a smile, “Train. Remember that training is your priority.”

Xu Lei’s mouth twitched, but he still nodded firmly. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

The three of them took their things and soon arrived at the east end of the village. The place was guarded, but after Zhou Kai presented his identification, the three of them were led into a courtyard.

Zhou Kai looked around and noticed that the courtyard, which was very new, included a two-story Western building.

After giving them a satisfied smile, Zhou Kai went in to find the bedroom.

However, just as he was about to lie down, his expression changed suddenly. He looked at the photo stand on the bedside table.

In the photo were a man, a woman, and a boy around seven to eight years old. They seemed to be a family of three.

The man and woman looked down-to-earth, as if they had been through hardships. Their child was also a little tanned and had a grin on his face that showed his missing front tooth.

This was a photo of an ordinary village family. However, when Zhou Kai saw it, he suddenly felt palpitations in his heart. It was a strange feeling, but it seemed as if the photo was alive.

As he observed the photo, he didn’t notice anything wrong.

Then, Xu Lei shouted outside the door, “Brother, the bathwater is ready!”

Zhou Kai, who came back to his senses, said, “I’m coming.”

Since he hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the photo, he didn’t intend to look at it anymore. He put down his long saber and walked out of the bedroom.

As Zhou Kai walked out, the boy smiling happily in the photo suddenly had a gloomy, furious expression on his face.