Chapter 72:

Of all times

So What If I'm a Girl


Lan Du's eyelids trembled again before she opened her eyes slowly, she glanced beside her and saw Xie Ying and Xie Jing, seated beside her,

She rubbed her eyes as she was not fully awake at the moment, her mind was still a bit hazy, so she blinked twice before letting out a yawn.

“You two are getting bolder by the day, even enough to sit beside me when I'm asleep” She chuckled and reached out both hands as she squeezed their cheeks gently

"You two blush the moment you sit next to me before, now it seems you grew up in the few weeks I was gone" Lan Du's voice was still a bit dozy and half asleep, she blinked once again and rubbed her eyes.

"L-Lan Du, y-you're still half asleep, wake up before you continue speaking" Xie Jing said in a flustered manner, both their ears were red, and their eyes showed a trace of panic.

Lan Du nodded before she stretched her arms

"Back to business, I've said it earlier, no need to be held by the past, what you two said is normal, after all, what you have been through with your father has left a scar in your hearts, I myself have experienced this as well, so I know how painful it is" Lan Du said calmly, she glanced at mother Xie and smiled.

"Although my mother isn't as wilful as you, she has always stayed positive despite what my father has done, you two have some common points, maybe that's why I feel comfortable about speaking my past with you" Lan Du smiled lightly and turned to the twins.

"Meeting you two has brought many surprises to my life, I don't wish to ruin this" She smiled sweetly, as if time frozen with her smile, the three dazed for a moment under her smile.

Xie Jing and Xie Ying then leapt into her arms and hugged her, there were tears at the end of their eyes, but they carried a smile on their faces.

Lan Du stroked their heads

"Now now, I knew you two grew bolder, but I didn't expect it to be this much, I-I'm still not prepared for this, aiya, I'm so shy, you two are even bold enough to do it in front of your mother, we're still young, how can you do such actions" Lan Du said cheekily, she acted shy and giggled

Mother Xie burst into laughter while the twins jumped back out of embarrassment and shyness, Lan Du yet again twisted what they did and made them seem so aggressive.

"Youngsters" Mother Xie laughed

Lan Du then stood up

"It's getting late, I still need to go check if my sister is still alive in the shop, hehehe, she doesn't even leave, and I have to buy her meals, if I go back late, I might need to hold a funeral"

"Oh, you have a sister?" Mother Xie lifted her brows and asked

"Indeed, a troublesome older sister, sometimes I wonder which one of us is really the elder sibling"

Xie Jing and Xie Ying leaned in suddenly and kissed her lightly on each side of her cheeks, Lan Du and mother Xie were both stunned for a moment, but a smile rose.

"You two, just wait till we come to age, don't expect me to do nothing" Lan Du chuckled and walked towards the front entrance.

Mother Xie rubbed her daughter's heads and hugged them both.

"I'm proud of you two, you have grown up so well, despite our situation, you were able to find someone who cares about you two and willing to stand up for you"

Lan Du just walked out of a store with bags in her hand. She hummed quietly as she walked down the street, the night was calm and silent.

She stopped in front of the shop and entered, inside, she saw Hui Yue munching on chips while seated on the sofa. She turned her head over to Lan Du and a smile rose on her face.

"Lil sister" She waved her hand and called out

Lan Du walked over and pinched her cheeks

"Who's the one taking care of you right now?" She snorted and pulled her cheeks

Hui Yue made a strange sound as her cheeks were getting stretched by Lan Du.

"Y-You" She replied

"It's good that you know, now, how should you address me?" She smiled brightly, when the words little sister were about to come out, Lan Du stretched even further.

"Geh, b-big sister?" She muttered again

Lan Du laughed lightly

"I'm sure you know that I want you to call me big brother, what? Is my gender really that important when I'm dressed like this" She smiled and released her hands.

Hui Yue rubbed her cheeks gently

"You're such a cute girl, why did you have to be like this" She puffed her cheeks and stated

Lan Du tossed the bags she brought back onto the sofa and replied

"You already know, anyway, call me sister in front of anyone, and I'll reduce your food by half"

Hui Yue immediately nodded

"Yes brother" She said hurriedly

Lan Du smiled

"This semester for school ended, but I need more physical combat training, so I might be away for some time since I need visit the Mercenary guild a few times" Lan Du leaned on the sofa and said

Hui Yue glanced at her

"Lan Du, Mercenary work is dangerous, I don't want you to get hurt, or even die" She said caringly

Lan Du smiled sweetly

"I have only ever beat up others, unless they are of dragon rank or above, I will not lose" Lan Du said confidently, she took out her mask and wore it as she spoke.

"It's late now, where are you going" Hui Yue knew that Lan Du was heading out since she wore her mask.

"The mercenary guild, I'm just going to claim my rewards and maybe get another mission" Lan Du waved her hand and left the shop soon after. Hui Yue gazed at where Lan Du left off.

"If I had her determination back then...would I have been as free as she is now" She muttered, but then a smile rose to her face.

"Hehehe, but now I'm living a more free lifestyle than anyone else, the past no longer matters" 

She continued to eat as she watched the television.

Lan Du arrived in front of the mercenary guild, the moment she stepped in, all the attention landed upon her. Many of the mercenaries who went along with her before on the escort mission were there. Sweat rolled down the side of their faces when they saw her.

"I'm here to claim my reward" She said lightly

The person at the counter nodded and passed her a small box.

Lan Du opened it and inside was a small glass bottle, inside was a clear blue liquid. She could feel her spiritual strength resonating with the liquid inside.

"The spirit Dew is mysterious indeed, with this, I can break through my bottleneck and into the later stages of Imperial Spirit, recently my spirit strength rose to 540 with the boost of the Karmic Dew, now, if I can go past 660, then my strength will progress once again" She muttered to herself, she closed the box and turned to the attendant.

"I want another room key for training" She said

The person nodded and passed a key to her, when she saw about to walk over to the rooms, someone came over and blocked her.

"Lad, you're still young, how about you give the room key to this uncle and you go lay elsewhere" He smirked and said

Not waiting for anyone to warn him, Lan Du grabbed him by his cheeks with one hand. Her hand covered his mouth as she pulled him closer to her face.

"Shut up, I'm in a hurry, so I'll make it quick, do you want your left leg broken or your right leg, you have five seconds to decide" She said coldly

The man was baffled, he realised that her grip strength was beyond what he could comprehend, he couldn't even budge her hand!

The people by the side sighed

"Poor lad, of everyone he decided to pick, it had to be that devil, not even some dragon ranks want to touch that little beast, yet a mere tiger rank like him wants to take his key"

"I can only pray for his health"

They all shook their heads and gave him a sympathetic gaze.It was then that the man realised he messed up big time, before he could shout out for help, he felt a strong force crush down upon his leg.

"Painful, isn't it? Once spirit strength surpasses 500, you can basically materialise it, since you didn't answer, I'll break both legs" She smirked and tossed him to the ground.

She then snapped her fingers and the pressure on the man's legs intensified.

"AH! I'm sorry, forgive me!" He cried out, but one one helped, nor did Lan Du stop, after all, this was the law of the jungle within the guild. Only the strong will prevail.

Lan Du removed the pressure and raised her leg

"In the end, spiritual strength is still too inefficient, might as well do it myself" She muttered and stomped onto his leg. After that, she left for the room, her head felt slightly light for using her spiritual strength in such a manner.

Her cruel methods terrified many of the other mercenaries, some even looked away due to how disastrous the man's legs ended up as. One was bent to the side while the other was bending forward.

"AH!" He cried out in pain as he shrieked

Lan Du ignored his cries and closed the door behind her.

She sat down in the room, the walls were soundproof, and the door was made with a strong metal so nothing can enter once it closes. She took out the Spirit Dew and opened the lid.

"Let's see how effective this baby is" She then gulped down the entire bottle in one go, a pleasant feeling rose in her stomach as she felt incredibly comfortable.

As if she was being embraced by the clouds itself, she felt nice and cosy. After an hour, the effects wore off and she checked her spiritual strength once again.

[642]

She frowned lightly

'I didn't break through the barrier of mid-rank imperial spirit' She thought to herself, but shook her head.

"Being able to increase by 100 is already a miracle, I shouldn't ask for too much" She muttered and stood up, she stared at the steel dummy standing in the centre of the room and threw a heavy punch at it. The steel bent in slightly and wrinkled under her punch.

"Not bad, my strength increased by a decent amount" She smiled and punched it a few more times to familiarise herself with her new-found strength.

By the time she was done, all that was left in the centre was no longer a dummy, but a wrinkled up pole what was covered in fist dents.

She walked out with a satisfied look on her face, after a few moments, the next person who walked in was shocked silly by the dummy.

"H-How, who in the world did this" He muttered

He immediately reported this to the front counter, yet even they were left speechless, they have never seen someone scrap the dummy into this shape before. It was normal for it to be dented, but not to this degree.

"W-Who entered it before you" He asked

The man wiped his sweat

"I-I think it was the rumoured devil, he really deserves his title, scrapping the dummy to this degree" He replied

Lan Du who left just placed the key back at the front counter, not knowing the commotion she had caused due to her actions. However, she suddenly felt something and her heart skipped a beat. She immediately ran to the front counter again.

"I need another room now" She said hurriedly

The person shook his head

"One person can only recieve one room a week, otherwise, why do you think people can take the keys from others" He replied

Lan Du grinded her teeth, she tapped her fingers and her head turned to the door. It was too late, someone stepped in and looked around.

His eyes landed on Lan Du and it lit up.

"Ah, little Devil, you made it back safe and sound, I saw the news about what you did, quite lawless if you ask me, but you treate yoru sister well" He smiled, he was Yuan Min.

Lan Du coughed and her aura changed completely, her coldness was gone, it was replaced with excitement and traces of admiration.

"Ah, Colonel Yuan" She walked over and howed her head

"I cannot thank you enough, if not for you, my sister would have-"

Yuan Min shook his head and had her straighten her back.

"No need, it's good that you made it back safe and sound, my offer still stands, my army will always be open for you" He smiled and said

Lan Du nodded, but her hands were clenched

'Why does he have to be here of all times, it must be to get back his ship, but now of all times'

Her eyes however shined brightly

"I-I'll consider it" She muttered, but she showed a trace of hesitation.

Yuan Min nodded his head, satisfied that he wasn't rejected.

The people in the mercenary guild were shocked, they have heard about Yuan Min and all saw him as a role model. But what shocked them even more was that the devil in their hearts actually bowed and acted cute in front of him!?

It was then that two people walked up behind Yuan Min. They were Wang Liu and Wang Shu, seeing the two of them, Lan Du felt more troubled.

"You two must be the Wang brothers under colonel Yuan! I've admired you two for so long, being able to stand on the same battlefield as the colonel" Lan Du praised

The two felt slightly embarrassed but smiled

"Colonel, is he the one you're talking about? I don't see anything special apart from his ability to flatter" Wang Shu chuckled and said, not caring that Lan Du was right there.

Lan Du laughed along with him

"Hahahaha, you must be Wang Shu, despite your appearance, your brother Wang Liu is probably more popular than you right? I'm sure there are those who admires you, but for the sake of it, I find it hard to respect your attitude, if not for the fact that uou serve the colonel, I'd use dozens of ways to ruin your reputation for what you just said" Lan Du smiled sweetly as she said cutely

Wanhg Shu suddenly stopped laughing, on the other hand, Wang Liu and Yuan Min were holding back their laughter.

"How dare you say Im not as popular as my brother, I'll have you know, I have more fans than he does" Wang Shu retorted

Lan Du giggled

"I'm sure most of them are thugs, either that or they mistook you for your brother"

Wang Shu found it harder and harder to stand it, his domain burst forth and surrounded the whole guild. Apart from the four of them, everyone else were frozen in place. His domain was pitch black and no light entered. All Lan Du could see was the colonel and the Wang brothers due to the affect of the domain.

Lan Du gasped

"Ah, the all mighty Domain realm master is lifting his hands against a weak and defensless child, I wonder how the public would see this" Lan Du smirked, though Wang Shu can kill him in a flash, she knew he wouldn't as Yuan Min was there.

Wang Shu's hands trembled

"Enough, I'll teach you how you should treat your elder" Wang Shu raised one hand, Yuan Min didn't stop him as he knew he wouldn't do anything overbourd.

However, the next scene took him by surprise.

Lan Du sudddenly flew back, her body landed heavily on the ground as she began coughing intensly. Red liquid suddenly flowed out from beow her mask as it dripped down to the ground.

"y-you, s-shamless man" Lan Du pointed her fingers at Wang Shu as she coughed, she then dropped down to the ground and stopped moving.

"Wang Shu!" Yuan Min glared at him and roared, his domain envelopped Wang Shu's, the darkness was washed away by his domain. Yuan Min's was based on space due to his occasional travel, stars could be seen above and a suppressive gravitational force bore down upon on Wang Shu.

"Do you know how talented he was, he is merely 12 or 13 but is already at Imperial Spirit realm!" He roared

Wang Shu however was in a daze

"B-But...I havn't even made a move on him yet, why did he go flying?" Wang Shu's expressioned was more baffled than either one of Yuan Min or Wang Liu.

"Brother, you probably lost control of your emotions, but he was still a child the colonel wishes to rope in" Wang Liu sighed and shook his head.

Wang Shu felt indignant as he walked over to Lan Du's body. But he found out that Yuan Min's gravitational field was so strong that every step was intensly heavy. He stood beside Lan Du and reached out his hand. However, right before he touched her, Lan Du grabbed his hand and pulled him down to the ground.

She then took out a dagger and placed it at his throat.

"Oh my my, scared me to death, I thought I was dead for sure" Lan Du smirked and said sarcastically.

Her sudden sneak attack caught everyone by surprise, they didn't expect that the entire scene was but an act that Lan Du put up.