Chapter 179: Who Bullied You?

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Who Bullied You?

Yun Sheng’s eyes snapped open, and she gasped for breath.

Her cheeks were alarmingly hot, and her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. She was still immersed in the dream she’d just had, unable to distinguish it from reality for a moment.

"Don’t celebrate too soon. The next time we meet, I’ll want more than just this."

That unusually husky voice seemed to still echo in her ears, and the sensation of warm breath brushing against her earlobe felt all too real.

Yun Sheng’s heart was THUMP-THUMP-THUMPING, so fast it felt like it would lose control.

She raised a hand to press against her burning face, trying to calm her chaotic thoughts.

"Yun Sheng, what’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Cheng Nian’s voice, tinged with concern, suddenly rang out, pulling Yun Sheng back to the present.

Yun Sheng took a few deep breaths to quell her racing heart and looked up at Cheng Nian, who was staring at her with a worried expression.

"No," she said softly, forcing a somewhat natural smile. "I’m fine."

As she spoke, she sat up and glanced outside the tent.

The flap wasn’t completely closed, leaving a narrow gap.

The sky outside had already darkened. The afterglow of the sunset dyed the distant treetops a deep, golden-red. From outside, the occasional sound of movement and low voices could be heard.

She had somehow slept through the entire afternoon.

Yun Sheng retracted her gaze and looked down at her own hand.

That hand had been held for so long in her dream, but now it was empty, without a single trace left behind.

But the feeling of being held was seared onto her skin, impossible to shake off.

She frowned. ’I just hope Xing Che gets over his curiosity about me soon.’

’I just got rid of Bai Ye. Please don’t let another, even more difficult one, show up.’

However...

Yun Sheng focused, sensing the immense power belonging to Xing Che within her spiritual landscape, and her mood instantly brightened.

’No matter what, this trip into the dreamscape wasn’t a loss for me!’

"Yun Sheng?"

Cheng Nian’s voice rang out again, tinged with curiosity and concern.

"What’s really wrong with you? You’ve been out of it ever since you woke up. Are you feeling sick?"

Yun Sheng shook her head. "I’m really fine. Just a little groggy from sleeping so long."

Cheng Nian gave her a doubtful look but didn’t press the issue.

She sat cross-legged next to Yun Sheng, resting her chin on her knees with a sullen expression.

"You know, while you were asleep, Li Wen and the others were all called out."

Yun Sheng paused for a moment before it dawned on her. "Major General Qi?"

’As expected, Qi Yao didn’t listen to Bai Ye. He still wants to get to the bottom of what happened.’

"Yep." Cheng Nian pouted, her tone tinged with displeasure. "He said he wanted to understand everything about yesterday’s mission in the dense forest, so he’s calling everyone in one by one."

She counted on her fingers, her expression growing more and more disgruntled.

"Even Zhao Qian was called in, but I was the only one left out. We were all on the mission together, so why am I the only one he hasn’t summoned? Does Major General Qi think I’m so clueless that he couldn’t get anything out of me anyway..."

Seeing her pouty, indignant expression, Yun Sheng couldn’t help but smile.

"Isn’t it good that you weren’t called? When I was called in this afternoon, my palms were sweating from nervousness."

Cheng Nian: "Really? What did Major General Qi ask you? Was he scary?"

Yun Sheng thought for a moment, then told her a carefully selected version. "He just asked about our situation in the dense forest, and some things about the White Tiger leading me out of the ravine. It was fine. He wasn’t scary."

Cheng Nian let out a sigh of relief, followed by another sigh of regret. "Then why wasn’t I called? I know being interrogated isn’t a good thing, but being the only one left out feels weird, like I’m being excluded."

Yun Sheng looked at her, thinking the exact same thing.

’Qi Yao is questioning everyone individually to see if their stories are consistent. He’s clearly still suspicious about the White Tiger’s identity, or he wouldn’t be going to all this trouble.’

’But why leave out only Cheng Nian?’

’Is it because she seems too innocent to know anything? Or... is he intentionally saving her for last?’

Yun Sheng’s brow furrowed slightly. She felt that something wasn’t quite right.

Just then, footsteps approached outside the tent.

An assistant instructor lifted the flap and poked his head and shoulders inside. His gaze swept over the two of them before landing on Cheng Nian.

"Cheng Nian, Major General Qi wants to see you."

Cheng Nian was stunned for a second, then shot to her feet. She dusted off the seat of her pants and turned to give Yun Sheng a wink.

"Finally! See, I told you! There’s no way he’d leave just me out!"

Yun Sheng was amused by her friend’s antics, but the unease in her heart hadn’t completely dissipated.

Cheng Nian had already followed the assistant instructor out of the tent. The flap lifted and fell, and the tent suddenly became quiet.

Yun Sheng sat on her cot, listening to the footsteps outside fade into the distance.

She lowered her gaze, her fingers unconsciously fiddling with the corner of her blanket.

’No matter what Qi Yao wants to investigate or what he might find out, it’s useless for me to worry about it now.’

’I’ll just have to deal with whatever comes my way.’

’Right now, the most important thing is to improve my own strength.’

Yun Sheng took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Following the method Si Jin had taught in his videos, she focused her mind and mobilized the newly acquired power from Xing Che within her spiritual landscape.

The power was cool to the touch, circulating slowly within her spiritual landscape. She tried to touch it with her own spiritual power, guiding it, breaking it down, and integrating it into her own bit by bit.

The power was obedient, as if it had belonged to her all along. It was docilely guided by her, slowly merging with her own spiritual power.

After some time, she opened her eyes.

Within her spiritual landscape, the newly integrated power had completely stabilized, transforming into a ball of gentle light that rested quietly in a corner.

And her own spiritual power had become a bit more condensed than before.

Although the progress wasn’t huge, every little bit counted. One day, it would lead to a qualitative leap.

Yun Sheng smiled, her mood improving considerably.

Just then, a flurry of footsteps sounded outside. The tent flap was thrown open, and Li Wen and the others returned.

Their expressions all looked relaxed, as if they hadn’t been given a hard time.

Li Wen saw that Yun Sheng was awake and immediately came over, grinning as she looked her up and down. "You’re awake? You slept the whole afternoon. You’re quite the sleeper."

Yun Sheng managed a slight smile. "I was tired."

"That’s true. If I hadn’t been called in for questioning, I would’ve wanted to sleep a bit more too," Li Wen said, sitting down beside her.

Zhou Ying gave Yun Sheng a cool glance and a nod of acknowledgment before walking over to her own cot and lying down.

Zhao Qian followed her in. Her gaze fell on Yun Sheng, lingering for a moment with an unreadable expression.

Then she scoffed softly, grabbed something from her bunk, and turned to leave the tent again.

Yun Sheng withdrew her gaze and didn’t ask Li Wen what Qi Yao had questioned them about.

But it was Li Wen who spoke first. "I just ran into Brother Guo. He said Major General Qi has finished his checks, so our squad can go out on missions again tomorrow."

Yun Sheng nodded. Just as she was about to say something, the tent flap was thrown open again.

Cheng Nian walked in.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face was terribly pale. She looked as if she had been dealt a heavy blow, completely drained of her usual energy.

Yun Sheng’s heart sank.

Li Wen was stunned as well. "Nian Nian? What’s wrong? Who bullied you?"