Chapter 56:

Just a joke

So What If I'm a Girl

Seeing Lan Du's lonely figure leaving, the four felt a strange feeling rise in their hearts.They couldn't understand that feeling but they knew it had something to do with Lan Du's age, a child only at the age of 12 is so skilled.

"What has he been through as a child?He kills as if he is used to such things, this cruelty does not fit a child his age"Yu Tian muttered

Liu Bu and Guan Ya took a heavy hit to their self esteem

"w-we were comparing ourselves to a twelve year old...this is embarrassing as hell!"Liu Bu covered his face and screamed

Yuan Min frowned as well

"Normally children his age should be at school, hanging out and receiving education, not out here killing and scheming"Yuan Min sighed and glanced at Lan Du.

Lan Du however didn't know about this, she was too busy cursing at herself for having to act like Yuan Min's fan.That was one of the few things she hated most, those who looked up to 

Yuan Min.The fact that she had to act this part made her feel disgusted with herself.

Yuan Min watched her leave and felt a strange familiarity with that figure but couldn't lay a finger on who it was.He felt that the had met before yet it was so unfamiliar at the same time.This was due to Lan Du's change in attitude, if she had acted arrogant and conceit, Yuan 

Min might have actually recognised her.

Lan Du climbed a nearby tree and sat on it.

'The old man has another child apart from me, men like him should never be trusted, he had a relationship with another woman the moment he left us, this is unforgivable...'

Her feelings became even more complicated, she hated him from the bottom of her heart and wanted to throw out her thoughts at him all at once, but she knew it was not time yet.

She clenched her fist and stared at the bright round moon

"So this planet also has a moon...its much bigger and more beautiful, I wonder how the girls are doing"Lan Du reached out her hand in a motion as if she was grabbing the moon, only to grab nothing but thin air.

"With Yuan Min, we should be able to finish this mission earlier than planned, I will also be able to obtain the Spirit Dew and possibly break through to Royal Spirit"Lan Du smiled bitterly as she glanced at the round moon

"I wonder if they can see the moon now, or will the time be different"

"Who are you talking about?"

Lan Du turned her head to see Yuan Min standing below the tree

"Some friends and my family"Lan Du replied

Yuan Min nodded and turned to her

"Why did you lie about your age to become a mercenary?"He asked

Lan Du froze

"I don't know what you're talking about"Lan Du replied calmly

"No need to hide, I can tell by the aur you give off, with high enough spiritual strength, you can tell how old someone is with ease, as for you, I can see that you're only 12"Yuan Min explained briefly and said

Lan Du giggled

"You really are my idol, I was joking before, I just wanted to know how you were able to tell, now I know, as for why, I wanted to make a name for myself, I needed a way to protect my family and I thought that making a name for myself is the most practical way"Lan Du replied earnestly

Yuan Min nodded slightly

"But you're too young for this, killing at your age, it will affect your future growth"Yuan Min stated

Lan Du leaned back on the tree and shook her head

"There won't be a difference from now and later, if I kill now, it will clear my path faster, as long as I don't harm the innocent, my heart will not go off track"Lan Du gently closed her eyes and sighed

"If I don't kill now, I will still have to do it in the future, though it can affect my mindset a bit, I never really minded it"said Lan Du slowly, her eyes glistened in the moonlight when she opened them once again.

Yuan Min glanced and saw the clear, clean eyes.No other intentions could be seen apart from earnest hopes.He smiled gently and nodded.

"You've convinced me, I hope you can keep this mindset in the future as well, few people are as diligent and honest like you, keep it up"He smiled and walked away

Lan Du smirked in her heart

'Honest?The day you can say I'm honest is the day I call you father...but if that day ever comes, thats a different case, honesty isn't something that fits me' Lan Du chuckled and thought to herself.

Her eyes became cold the moment he left, she grabbed the bark of the tree and her grip increased.The bark was crushed under her grip and blood trickled down her hand as the bits poked into her hand.

'not enough...I couldn't even beat those assassins that the old man beat with just a glare, this isn't enough' She let out a sigh and jumped off the tree.

She took initiative this time and walked over to Yuan Min, her eyes became cheerful and modest the moment she approached him.

"C-Colonel, c-can I ask for a favour?"She asked

Yuan Min gave her a curious look

"Of course, ask away"He replied happily

Lan Du smiled

"Do you have training weights?I took mine off before in order to protect Mr. Yu to the best of my abilities, but I don't have any extras, I'm wondering if I can borrow some from your ship"Lan Du asked shyly, her eyes displayed nervousness and shyness.

Yuan Min thought for a bit

"How much do you want"He asked

Lan Du rubbed her chin

"100 kilos should be good"Lan Du replied

Yuan Min was startled

"100 kilos isn't something you can handle, you're still too young"He said in concern

Lan Du tucked her lips

"Sir, I'm used to this weight so I'm fine"Lan Du said with determination

Yuan Min went into deep thought, he then gave in and had someone bring metal bracelets out.

"You can alter the weights by using the button on the side here, each starts off at 10 kilos and you can change them how you want"He took out the four bracelets and said

Lan Du received them happily and changed all the weights to 25 kilos before equipping them onto her arms and legs.

Lan Du then stretched her body and smiled

"Thank you, it got bothersome that my body felt so light"Lan Du jumped a few times before throwing a few punches

"Much better"She muttered

Yuan Min rubbed his chin in surprise, he didn't think she could handle 100 kilos with such ease

"How do you usually train?Normal people shouldn't be able to exert so much strength at your age"He questioned her with a curious heart.

Lan Du smiled

"I just train, from 1 kilo to 2, then 3, I slowly accumulated it at the age of 6"Lan Du gripped her hand, there was still traces of blood from when she grabbed the bark but it was mostly dry now.

She then turned her head and gave Yuan Min a sweet smile

"Thank you"She said and darted off

Yuan Min smiled, happy that Lan Du asked something from him.

Lan Du however now hid behind a tree, her breathing as heavy and her heart thumped.

"I'm still too immature, to get agitated from just talking to him"Sweat rolled down the side of her face as she slowly began to grind her teeth.

Thinking back on her smile she gave Yuan Min, a horrible sensation rose from her heart as she suddenly vomited.After a few minutes, she slowly returned to normal.

"This is just embarrassing"She muttered and wiped her mouth

She then climbed a tree and closed her eyes, the night passed with the mercenaries drinking their hearts out.With Yuan Min's squad, they felt much more relaxed about the mission.

Lan Du however kept a sharp gaze when she woke up, she would scout the surroundings warily even if the possibilities of danger is minimal now.Yuan Min stationed some of his soldiers to stay with Yu Tian and him while the rest returned to the ship and waited outside the atmosphere.

"Little Devil, there's no need to scout now, with Colonel's squad around, we'll be just fine"A mercenary laughed out mockingly as he watched Lan Du scout the nearby areas.He held contempt against lan Du since she always had an arrogant attitude despite being younger than him.

The moment the words left his mouth, a dagger flew past his face and left a slight cut on his cheeks.

"I'm real sick of your constant yapping, either shut up or I'll feed your vocal cord to dogs, I'm sure that'll play a better role than your useless talking"Lan Du said coldly

The man went silent

Lan Du sneered and headed back into the bushes as they moved.

After a bit, a shadowy figure jumped away from the group.He held a small communication device in his hand and a panicked look.

"Have all forces retreat, Yuan Min is with the target, retract all plans and retreat, this mission is already beyond our capabilities"The man said hurriedly and sweat rolled down his face.

He then put the device away and continued to dart away.He then felt a sudden pain on his leg when his legs then went soft.

"w-when!"He was shocked, he turned his head and saw a young man wearing a mask approaching him slowly, in the right hand was a small dagger identical to the one in his leg.

"y-you!D-Don't come clo-"

Before he went silent, the last scene he saw was a dagger coming down towards his head.On the side of Lan DU's mask was drops of blood that splattered onto her when she killed the man.

Lan Du then dragged the corpse back to where the group was, as they traveled, they heard a rustling sound from the bushes.

Yuan Min stood in front of Yu Tian as he stared at the source of the sound.But then Lan Du walked out, which caused everyone to let out a sigh of relief.

The man who previously mocked Lan DU snorted

"What?Couldn't find anything, can you?I said already, with Colonel Yuan here, we won't have any trou-"

Lan Du continued to walk, her arm was bloodied and in her right hand, was a corpse she was dragging.Blood trailed from the corpse and left a long blood trail on the ground.

Lan Du held a bloody dagger in her other hand and her gaze was calm.The blood on the side of her mask sent fear down some of the mercenaries.

Staring at the man, Lan Du walked over, she held the dagger tightly and dropped the corpse.Her right hand then flew out and grabbed the man by his throat.

"I've warned you about your yapping, there is no dogs around, but ripping out your vocal cords should be good for now, I'll ferment them until we get back and feed them to dogs in front of you, if you make a squeak afterwards, I'll cut off the part that made the sound, the chattering of your teeth, the beating of your hearts, I'll slowly cut those parts out until you're completely silent"Her words caused the group to all feel great fear, the young man in front of them was no longer their usual comrade, it was a complete demon!

Yuan Min frowned

"He's just a bit hot headed, don't get angry over small details"He said sternly, feeling disappointed in Lan DU's actions

Lan Du paused and took in a deep breath, soon she laughed sweetly

"I was just joking around, I don't even have a jar to ferment his vocal cords anyways, a quick scare was what I wanted anyways"Lan Du giggled and patted the man's shoulders with her bloodied hand

"I'm not that cruel...right?"She asked cutely

Beads of sweat rolled down the man's face as he nodded vigorously

Lan Dy scratched the back of her head and chuckled

"I showed an embarrassing side, didn't I, sorry, I'm just sued to making threats so people would work harder, I never actually play out the threat, its more like a motivational source"Lan Du said awkwardly

Guan Ya began wondering what hell his brother has been through under Lan Du's training.

Yuan Min lifted his brow

"Motivation?For who?"He asked

Lan Du smiled and replied

"I have a few...trainees under my watch, they sack off the moment I take my eyes off them so I needed a way to keep them on track"Lan Du sighed and shrugged her shouldersYuan Min then glanced at his soldiers

"is it effective?"He asked

Lan Du rubbed her hands together

"Very, for my idol to think about my training methods makes me very happy"Lan Du smiled cheekily and replied

Yuan Min's soldiers shivered

"ahaha, C-Colonel, we're all very hard working, t-there's no need to apply such methods"

Yuan Min smiled and then glanced at the corpse Lan Du brought back

"Who is he?"He asked

"Probably a scout of some sort, he's has direct contact with the other assassins, when I got to him, he was warning the remaining assassins to retreat since you're here, so the trip will be much more peaceful"Lan Du said but she still glanced around the area.Yuan Min nodded

"Alright, thats good as well, but why did you kill him?We could have gotten information out of him"He asked

Lan Du shook her head

"Check his mouth, you'll find that one of his teeth is plastic and has poison in it, scout type assassins are all suicidal types, they will fight harder if they feel desperate, the best way is to kill them quickly, even if you capture them, they will kill themselves to prevent information leak"Lan Du explained as if she is used to this.

Yuan Min felt that her thoughts were reasonable so he nodded

"Then you did well, we'll keep moving"He looked forward and nodded at Yu Tian

The mercenaries and even some of Yuan Min's soldiers would give Lan Du a fearful glance everyone once in a while before moving away from her.From her previous wording and actions, they gradually felt fear for the young man in front of them.

"tch, getting scared from that, are you proud soldiers or did you go come here on accident!If this is enough for you to feel fear, then get lost, you are soldiers, then act like one!Even my subordinates won't get scared from this measly threat yet here you are, not even daring to walk near me, you are the Colonel's soldiers, you are his reflection, what the hell are you doing showing fear!"Lan DU felt annoyed and roared, not because they were Yuan Min's soldiers, but because they are soldiers.

She didn't do it for Yuan Min, she did it for the fact that she will some day become a soldier as well.And if these soldiers shake in fear, it will affect her image as well.

To her, showing cowardice in front of someone is a weakness, she despised this, especially because she will some day be a soldier in the same organisation as them.

The soldiers all stopped, Yuan Min also gave her a surprised look.A flame ignited within the hearts of the soldiers, as if something awakened within them that they let out a resounding roar.

Lan Du sneered

"Shut up, the day you can do this is when you actually achieve something, I'm greatly disappointed in you all"Lan Du said coldly, she only every says this if they are soldiers, when it comes to her subordinates, she is much more lenient as they are not yet soldiers.The soldiers immediately shut their mouths, not knowing why they took orders from the young man in front of them, they did so without questions.

Lan Du smiled

"I have told my subordinates this and I'll also tell you, you are nothing but garbage unless you can prove yourself, only ever see yourself as garbage and never overestimate yourself there is always a greater mountain and you will only kill yourself if you think you're a chosen one for surviving a few battles, I myself am included until I can achieve my goals"Lan Du's words struck the soldiers deep in their hearts.

Taking note of such, the fear became admiration and respect.

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Author:So sorry my updates are so random, I don't have a manager nagging me about updates, nor do I have enough views to even act like I'm busy

Lan Du:Tch, just another excuse for your laziness

Author:You're dead on