bestfiction Chapter 114 Answer Me Directly
Chapter 114 Answer Me Directly
As the chain passed through the large hole in the mountainside and circled the mountain to close, the ground shook violently, and the entire Jishui Mountain seemed to rise from the ground.
Countless rocks tumbled down, along with some uprooted trees, weeds, and clods of earth, resembling the logs and rolling stones that ancient soldiers faced when attacking a city.
Having only recently begun cultivating at the Qi Refining stage, their magical abilities are still quite rudimentary. They can only shorten the time required to perform certain tasks, and most of these are things that ordinary people simply cannot do. Their mindset is also quite rudimentary, resembling that of capable but ordinary people. Ordinary people would be terrified upon witnessing such a scene.
They will run away, they will shout, and they will regret their momentary lapse of judgment as they rolled down the mountain.
Zhong Ming used his last bit of strength to squeeze out the last drop of spiritual power from the dragon vein. He then picked up the magic weapon he had borrowed from Yue Kaishan and dug into the rocks, barely managing to make a hole. He then pulled Xueyan inside.
It was more of a pit than a hole; it was too small. Zhong Ming had to take out the "Laid Spring Cold" (a type of pine tree) and place it at the entrance, hoping it would bring him good luck and block one or two boulders.
The tumbling rocks didn't roll along the mountain like snowballs; instead, they bounced and shattered. Fortunately, their position was low enough that the rocks had bounced high into the air, crashing down towards the foot of the mountain like meteorites. The two were in a recessed area, which was relatively safe.
They watched in terror as massive boulders fell before them, the swirling winds and dust from the shattering rocks carrying the scent of the depths of a mine.
"After a long time" does not mean that the shaking has stopped, but rather that most of the loose rocks on the mountain have fallen, and what remains are relatively hard rocks or rocks reinforced by cultivators, which will not fall easily.
It was only then that Zhong Ming realized that he had been holding a beautiful woman tightly for quite some time.
Moreover, it was a one-handed hug with an unusually firm attitude.
Driven by fear, he instinctively kicked his legs inward, and although it was impossible for him to squeeze even an inch deeper into the cave, he successfully pulled Xueyan's body even further in. She bent her knees and hugged her chest, curling up in Zhong Ming's arms. Her calves were just enough to trap Zhong Ming's bent thighs, and the air she exhaled blew directly into his chest through his slightly open collar.
When he realized this, dry mouth was no longer an accurate description of his condition.
"Xueyan...instructor."
"That's about enough, we can go out now."
"This... should..."
Xueyan kicked hard, striking his bent thigh and straightening his leg. At the same time, she kicked the hook-and-sickle spear that was stuck in the cave entrance.
The sudden chill of early spring caused the spear tip to point inward, landing squarely between Zhong Ming's thighs, just 0.01 inches away from turning him into a lone-testicle warrior.
A chill instantly extinguished his restless heart. He slowly released his arms, and the two of them crawled out rather ungracefully.
Zhong Ming, feeling a chill of fear after the sudden onset of spring, twisted his body a few times and crawled out of the small cave, only to see Xue Yan standing there with a serious expression, arms crossed, waiting for him.
"Instructor..."
Do you know what the problem is?
"The question... is?"
“You still see me as a woman, not a soldier.” Her words were powerful, like the gently warming volcanic lake on a volcano about to erupt.
If you still think it's a wonderful hot spring and jump in, you will die a horrible death.
But at this moment, Zhong Ming stood up straight.
Perhaps it was the fresh blood that had just been circulating that had provided enough nutrients to his tired muscles, or perhaps it was the time he had spent resting in a semi-reclined position that had allowed his energy to recover, but he did not feel weak at the moment.
When he stood up straight, he was a little taller than Xueyan, looking down at her slightly, and said seriously and earnestly, "No, this is not contradictory."
"what are you saying?"
“Soldier and woman, these two identities are not in conflict, they coexist, and you cannot deny this fact.”
"What did you say?!" Her face was full of disbelief, whether from a defiant rebuttal to Zhong Ming's arrogance or from shock at his audacity in defying the instructor.
"These two identities exist simultaneously. You can't rank them because they are not the same type. They are completely independent and have no connection to each other."
Throughout his military career, Zhong Ming always felt something was amiss. When Xue Yan said, "Treat her as a woman, not a soldier," he finally understood.
Everything she did—her ruthless methods, her extreme punishments, and her constant display of instructor authority—was designed to make the recruits forget that she was a woman.
She wants to be seen as a soldier, but the problem is, the fact that she is a woman cannot be changed. We can't invite her to roll in the mud, take a bath naked together, or kick her in the butt if she does something wrong.
She felt there was still a barrier; we still didn't treat her like a real soldier. However, it wasn't that we didn't recognize her as an excellent soldier; it was simply an avoidance of a woman.
“You’re wrong. I must make that clear. You are the best soldier, and I believe your superiors would say the same. You resist emotional contact, believing that any emotional connection with you is a result of ‘not fully treating you as a soldier.’ But even if I had been hiding from a landslide where I could have been crushed to death at any moment, the bond of brotherhood forged in life and death would have only grown stronger.”
Once Zhong Ming had said those few words, he immediately lost all restraint. He had already said so much, what harm was there in saying a little more?
“A guy without feelings isn’t a soldier; he’s at most a weapon, a cold weapon, a human-shaped weapon. Soldiers have feelings. They have feelings for their generals, feelings of ’I would die for them,’ feelings of ‘I would go through fire and water for them’; feelings for their comrades, feelings of ‘I would fight alongside them,’ and feelings for the mortals and places they are protecting, feelings of ‘I would be the only one to defend my country.’ That’s what makes a good soldier. But you’ve rejected everything, everything you should have accepted.”
She took a step forward, her footsteps so heavy they almost cracked the narrow space beneath her feet. Though she wasn't as tall as him, her aura was dozens of feet higher. "Tell me, soldier, do you dare say that your emotions just now weren't mixed with any other feelings?"
“I will never deny my desires. They are the same as my desire for money and my desire to kill. Soldiers will face the temptation of money from the enemy, the insatiable urge to kill, and the fear of the enemy. These desires are regulated by military law, the supervisory team, and superiors who are fair in rewards and punishments, rather than denying their existence.”
Zhong Ming was very surprised. Normally, she would have interrupted him long ago, but today she actually let him finish speaking. What surprised him even more was what came next.
"So, soldier Cuihong, how do you plan to categorize your feelings for me? Answer me directly."