Chapter 176 Squaring off with Soldiers (1/2)
The kick landed right on my sore thigh. The afternoon had seen me running Heaven knows how many laps around the field. My legs had become so frail that I could have sworn they had turned as soft as marshmallows. A painful yelp escaped me when the blow hit my leg and I cursed, ”Who the hell would do such a terrible thing!” Even before I could clearly see who it was, I swore, ”What the hell! Are you crazy!?”
In truth, I had no reservations of sprouting any expletives; not when most of the students in my zither class were almost my size, even though I was still the same scrawny boy fresh out of high school. I was never afraid to get into a fight, more so, when the odds of physical size were more or less even. Right after the chain of curses, I thought, ”Here am I, tired as a log, and you dare come provoke me! Come at me then! But don't you ever blame me when I get my tit for tat with a Charm of Divine Sight to make you honest! Let's see how you'd dare come at me again after two whole days of seeing ghosts!!”
But just when I was still thinking about ways to retaliate against my attacker, another blow struck on the same spot on my thigh. A sharp voice cut through the air over us, ”WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MURONG SHIYAN! YOU'RE DISMISSED! GET OUT OF HERE!” He crouched down and sneered. ”How do you like my hospitality today? It's just barely more than ten laps today, so you'd better learn how to behave!” ”Oh Heavens, it's Instructor Cao!” I grimaced quietly. But I was hardly pleased with what he did and what he just said. ”Asking me to behave when you clearly have a personal vendetta against me!” With an unknown burst of strength, I sprang to my feet and barked loudly enough for everyone to turn their heads our way, ”So what if I do behave, and what if I refuse to behave!!”
Being spoken to this way must be a first for Instructor Cao; he was stunned beyond words when he heard me. But he was nevertheless a young man in his early twenties, the same hot-headed youth as all of us were. He quickly recollected himself and coldly hissed, ”Humph. Behave, and slink back quietly to your dorms like how a good dog would. Otherwise, my fists...” I cackled before he could finish. ”Enough prattling. Here I was, wondering if I should help you. But your manners clearly show that I shouldn't. So good luck!”
As a matter of fact, I knew why Instructor Cao was losing his temper. The cursed aura about him was influencing him. It would not be enough to cause him a danger, but it was adequate enough to make his life miserable. He had been met with a string of bad luck and clearly, the bad fortune had hardly seen its end.
I did not wait for any reaction from him. I promptly spun on my heels and helped my dorm mate up. We were barely a couple of steps of clambering away when a hand grabbed on my shoulder. ”What did you say?! Speak clearly!” Instructor Cao barked. I looked back and pushed his hand away, but not before shooting a wicked smile. ”Nothing. Just food for thought.” My dorm mate nudged me hastily, motioning me to stop prodding him and get on our way. But I was rather enjoying myself as Instructor Cao stood rooted to the spot, his face boiling with rage to the point of becoming purple. Suddenly, he raised his arm and prepared to punch.
The punch would have lopped off my row of front teeth. But I chortled and that made him stopped. ”Think before you act.” The fist stopped barely some inches away from my face and I continued giggling. ”I'm sure you've noticed how bad your luck has become today? You've barely hit the bottom yet. But hit me, and you'll see.” The army instructor's expression turned infinitely sourer. Even my companion was too perplexed to speak a word.
Instructor Cao lowered his fist. He stared at me and yelled, ”What the hell is going on?!” My friend and I traded quick looks and we smirked, still saying nothing.
Instead, we turned and held on to each other on our way out of the field. But the episode did not go unnoticed. Everyone crowded around us with inquisitive and curious questions, asking about what happened between the instructor and us. I guffawed, as if to make things worse, and remarked, ”What else? I merely uttered a joke, but someone here seems to take it really personally and now he wants payback.” Out of the crowd waded out a horrified Lu Shengnan. She coiled an arm under my armpit and steered me away, whispering, ”What's wrong with you? I'd just left you alone for a minute and you're asking for a fight with the instructor in the next!?” I chuckled. ”Well, I guess that's the short version of it.”
Mistaking that Lu Shengnan and I were a couple, my dorm mate expertly eased himself away from my arm and slipped away into the crowd, but not after leaving me to her. I shook my head when I realized he was gone, scowling, ”What a bloody snake!”
Lu Shengnan took control of my wearied and sore self, steering me away as she began grilling me for answers. ”Everyone could clearly see that the instructor was in you two like a viper! You'd think no one noticed his flaring eyes when he sees you? What have you done to get on his wrong side?” I shook my head. ”How else? Your friend, Huang Li, of course! I had merely made a little joke about him just before the afternoon session and he used his chance to get back at me.” Lu Shengnan grumbled while jested how daft I was. But this tomboy girl had become my only friend aside from my dorm mate, so I was only too happy to set aside her rebukes.