Chapter 405 - 401: Give

Chapter 405: Chapter 401: Give

Gu Nuan Nuan flew into a humiliated rage. She shoved him and reached for the bowl of strawberries. "Who’s being a hypocrite? Who said I wanted to treat you the best? Are you going to eat these or not? If you’re not, give them back."

"I’ll eat, I’ll eat... Who said I wasn’t going to?" Luo Hongyi clutched the bowl of strawberries, refusing to let go. He looked genuinely afraid she would actually snatch it back and jumped away, watching her warily. "I want to save them and eat them slowly later. You can’t be like that! How can you think about taking back something you already gave me?"

"...So. Childish." Gu Nuan Nuan stared at him, utterly speechless. She gave him a huge eye-roll and turned to leave.

"I can’t eat them now. I’m afraid if I do, the others will smell them." The strawberries in Luo Hongyi’s hand had vanished. He reached out, grabbing her arm and explaining in an aggrieved tone.

’I don’t really care whether you eat them now or not. I only brought them out to show you that the ring you have isn’t the only one of its kind.’

’Fine.’ Seeing how seriously Luo Hongyi was explaining, she sighed. "Are you guys really that good?"

"Yes. In normal situations, people with our kind of special training are even better than you can imagine. You see, a person’s words, overt actions, and deliberate body language might fool an ordinary person."

"But subtle expressions and imperceptible details can’t lie. Especially to people like us, who’ve undergone a level of special, rigorous training you can’t even imagine. For us, seeing through those tells is child’s play—it’s incredibly easy. It’s just a matter of whether we point it out or not. However, special cases like you, things that can’t be explained by science, are an exception," Luo Hongyi said with a grave and earnest expression.

"So you’re saying that all this time I thought I was hiding things well, you’ve actually seen right through me?" Gu Nuan Nuan’s eyes widened.

"That’s not entirely true. Didn’t I just say your situation is a special exception?" Luo Hongyi gave a wry smile and brandished the ring in his hand. "Take this, for example. Never mind not having seen one before—even if you had, it’s the kind of thing you’d find hard to believe exists. And that Array of yours... tell me, who could possibly imagine that something so unscientific exists in this world? If anyone else saw that, wouldn’t they think they’d seen an Immortal or that the place was haunted?"

Gu Nuan Nuan: "..."

She suddenly lifted her hand in front of Luo Hongyi, making the ring on her finger appear for an instant before hiding it again. "You can hide it with your thoughts. You just have to think it." ’Since I’ve given it to him, I have to explain how it works,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, Luo Hongyi will have to spend ages fumbling around to figure it out himself. If he can’t use it in a critical, dangerous moment, then what’s the point of me giving it to him in the first place?’

She explained, a bit listlessly, "Once it’s hidden, it’s invisible and intangible. And since you’ve claimed it with a drop of your blood, no one but you can see inside. Even if someone manages to take it, it can’t truly be lost. The contract will only be broken automatically if you die."

"So that’s how it works." Luo Hongyi slipped the ring onto the same finger Gu Nuan Nuan had worn hers on. With a flicker of his will, the ring vanished. He ran his other hand over the spot; his finger felt completely bare. He glanced from his finger to Gu Nuan Nuan, looking like he wanted to ask something but stopping himself.

"I tried to put everything you might be able to use inside. Take a look for yourself. If there’s anything you don’t know how to use, you can take it out and ask me." Gu Nuan Nuan pretended not to see his questioning look; she wasn’t ready to tell him that much yet. ’He pretty much knows the gist of it already,’ she thought, ’but let’s just leave it at this for now. Maybe in the future, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll tell him that all these things came from the Cultivation World. As for Cao Cao’s existence, however, I could never—and would never—tell anyone. That doesn’t just include him, but also my future children. I’m not prepared to tell a single soul.’

Seeing that Gu Nuan Nuan didn’t want to say more, Luo Hongyi didn’t get hung up on it or insist on knowing everything right away. He obediently began taking items out of the ring’s storage space one by one to humbly ask for her guidance.

’Even though Nuannuan is still hiding things from me, I’m not the least bit dissatisfied. On the contrary, I’m already very content. I know with perfect clarity that even if the things she has given me aren’t of use this time, they will certainly be useful in the future. As long as I’m careful to avoid others, these items could be my foundation and my trump card. They’re like adding wings to a tiger, capable of turning a desperate situation around at a critical moment.’

’However, I have no intention of relying on them completely. I won’t use these things lightly unless it’s a true life-or-death crisis. In my mind, the only real foundation is one’s own power. Becoming stronger—that is my true source of confidence.’

’But I’ll probably never say that to Nuannuan.’

’She’s a woman. She’s completely different from me. She would likely never understand how intensely a man craves and pursues absolute personal power and strength. I don’t need her to understand that, though. As long as I’m around, I’ll naturally be the one to shelter her from the wind and rain. Knowing that these things can protect her when I’m not there puts my mind even more at ease. I know she secretly cares about me, even if she refuses to admit it. Her actions can’t deny it. Giving me these items that could save my life at a critical moment is the clearest proof. That’s why I accepted the gift with a clear conscience, even after learning it wasn’t one of a kind. To me, it’s a token of Nuannuan’s feelings for me, and I can’t be so foolish as to not appreciate the gesture.’

When Luo Hongyi reappeared before Zhang Huai, Liang Changsheng, and Jiang Wenhao with Gu Nuan Nuan in tow, her hands were empty, while Luo Hongyi was dragging the unlucky, not-particularly-old tree he had knocked down. The three men, who were gathering hay, immediately stood up and greeted them with smiles, completely ignoring the fact that their captain had just shown up dragging a tree.

Liang Changsheng shot Luo Hongyi a cheeky grin and a suggestive wink. "Captain, you and the missus done with your private chat already? That was quick."

Luo Hongyi glared at him, then turned to Gu Nuan Nuan with a perfectly straight face. "From now on, just ignore this guy. Out of everyone here, he’s the idlest and the most indecent. Nothing good ever comes out of that mouth. If you ever hear him say something you don’t like, just let it go in one ear and out the other."

The moment Luo Hongyi finished speaking, Liang Changsheng put on an exaggerated display, clutching his chest and staggering as if he couldn’t handle the blow. Not only did Zhang Huai and Jiang Wenhao fail to comfort him, they kicked him while he was down, chiming in to Gu Nuan Nuan, "That’s right, the captain’s absolutely right. You shouldn’t even give him the time of day."

Liang Changsheng didn’t have the guts to challenge Luo Hongyi, but he had no such reservations about those two. At their words, he let out a dramatic "AWOO!" and pounced as if ready to fight them to the death, yelling, "I’ll take it when the boss says it, since I can’t beat him! But you two? You’re my defeated foes! You dare to kick a man when he’s down?"