Chapter 406 - 402: Footwork

Chapter 406: Chapter 402: Footwork

Gu Nuan Nuan couldn’t help but laugh at how Zhang Huai, Liang Changsheng, and Jiang Wenhao looked ready to turn on each other at a moment’s notice.

Of course, she knew Luo Hongyi’s disdain for Liang Changsheng was just an act. In her past life, she had never met Fourth, the sole survivor of that mission. But seeing him now, she found him strangely familiar. Thinking hard, she recalled that his features were remarkably similar to the young orderly who had always been by Luo Hongyi’s side back then. ’That orderly was probably not his son or grandson, but he must have had a deep connection to him.’

She looked up at Liang Changsheng with a meaningful glance, then raised an eyebrow at Luo Hongyi. Luo Hongyi smiled back at her, giving a subtle, almost imperceptible nod as if to acknowledge her unspoken question. Seeing that the three had fooled around long enough, Luo Hongyi decided not to indulge them any further. He coughed twice. "Ahem." The three men immediately stopped and stood at attention as if by reflex. Luo Hongyi’s face turned stern, and he squinted at them. The entire mood shifted in an instant. "Hmph. Got a lot of free time? Plenty of energy left?"

"No, no! We were just playing around. We’ll get to work right now," the three hurriedly said, shaking their heads in unison. Luo Hongyi nodded. "Then get to it. Get back to the real work. How long are you planning on dawdling out here?"

"Sir!"

The three of them scattered like birds, each immediately pretending to be busy—very busy and completely absorbed in their work. However, while Luo Hongyi was focused on looking at Gu Nuan Nuan and talking to her, the trio would sneak glances over, winking and making faces in their direction. These little antics didn’t escape Gu Nuan Nuan and Luo Hongyi. Watching this lively, animated scene, Gu Nuan Nuan’s smile became much more genuine. "Your teammates are quite a handful."

"Don’t be fooled by how rowdy they are now. When it comes to real training and missions, they’re completely different." A smile touched the corners of Luo Hongyi’s eyes. "Including Old Qi, every single one of them is a teammate and a comrade I can trust with my life."

As he spoke, he looked down at Gu Nuan Nuan again, his gaze full of deep affection. "Nuannuan, thank you."

"Why do you keep thanking me? I didn’t do it just for you." Gu Nuan Nuan felt a little awkward, even more so than when they had saluted her earlier. She looked away uncomfortably. "I just think they’re the most endearing and admirable people, and I want them all to be safe and sound. So, in this life, you absolutely must complete the mission and come back with them, all of you intact."

’Please don’t let that tragic ending happen again,’ Gu Nuan Nuan silently added in her heart.

"We will." As Luo Hongyi spoke, he raised the hand wearing the storage ring.

Gu Nuan Nuan glanced at Luo Hongyi’s finger and suddenly felt a sense of relief wash over her. ’Even though losing a storage ring means I have a lot less space for my things, it’s better than worrying myself sick all day...’ She froze mid-thought, then silently forced her mind to go blank.

Luo Hongyi, who had been watching Gu Nuan Nuan intently, saw the change in her expression as clear as day. Although he sighed inwardly at her refusal to face her true feelings, he couldn’t stop a wave of sweetness from washing over him. At the same time, a deep sense of guilt also surged through him. ’If it weren’t for me, why would she have suffered such deep psychological trauma?’ His gaze on her grew even more resolute and fervent. ’In this life, no one will be allowed to cause my Nuannuan any grief. Not even me.’

Sensing Luo Hongyi’s gaze, Gu Nuan Nuan felt even more uneasy. For some reason, she suddenly didn’t dare to look at him, so she shifted her attention to Zhang Huai, Liang Changsheng, and Jiang Wenhao, who were busy working. Seeing them gathering dry grass, she didn’t overthink it and asked curiously, "Why are they gathering so much dry grass? Isn’t a small amount enough to start a fire?"

"They’re getting it to lay on the ground for sleeping tonight." Seeing Gu Nuan Nuan’s question, Luo Hongyi’s gaze also turned to the three men, and he smiled. "Since we have the opportunity, we might as well make ourselves a little more comfortable. Besides, with you and our patient, Old Qi, here, even if we don’t do it for ourselves, we have to think of you two, don’t we?"

"In that case, let’s help. Many hands make light work," Gu Nuan Nuan suggested, not wanting to just stand there. Although she and Luo Hongyi hadn’t actually been standing around for long, she felt she’d be more at ease if her hands were busy.

"Don’t worry, they’re almost done. Besides, we have another place we need to get to," Luo Hongyi said with a smile, stopping her as if he’d just remembered something.

"Where?" Gu Nuan Nuan looked at him.

"Our backpacks," Luo Hongyi answered directly. "They’re a ways from here, but I’ve seen that you’re pretty fast. Why don’t we make a run for them together? It’s best we get them back. They have our sleeping bags, a change of clothes, and some other less important things. They were inconvenient to carry earlier, so we found a place to hide them."

"A change of clothes? That’s great." Gu Nuan Nuan breathed a sigh of relief. "Then let’s hurry up and go! I was just thinking how terrible it would be if you guys couldn’t change. But after running all over this mountain, can you really still remember where you put the backpacks?"

"You underestimate me. What good would I be if I didn’t even have that much skill?" Luo Hongyi said with a confident smile. "Wait here. I’ll go give them some instructions, and then we’ll go. I’ll show you what I can do." He went over and gave Zhang Huai, Liang Changsheng, and Jiang Wenhao some detailed instructions, then turned back, picked a direction, and took off, pulling Gu Nuan Nuan along with him.

On the way, Gu Nuan Nuan quickly realized that Luo Hongyi’s speed came from his peculiar footwork. She couldn’t help but try to copy him. Seeing her interest, Luo Hongyi slowed down and patiently instructed her. Gu Nuan Nuan was a fast learner and discovered that with this footwork, her speed increased by at least a quarter. She couldn’t help but ask, "Is this Qinggong?"

"Not really true Qinggong. In my last life, after I obtained that Internal Cultivation Methods manual, I discovered that Ancient Martial Arts really did exist. So, I put some effort into finding secret manuals and other things to try out. In the end, I discovered that of the so-called manuals I found, ninety-seven or ninety-eight percent of them were complete nonsense. But it wasn’t a total waste. This footwork, for instance, is something I pieced together from the two or three percent of usable material I found among the rest. Heh—"

Luo Hongyi shook his head with a wry smile. "The real secret manuals are all hoarded like precious treasures, held onto so tightly that they eventually get lost to time. How could they possibly be easy to find? But I can’t really blame anyone. After all, isn’t that exactly what I did in my last life?"