Chapter 76 - 75: Blackest day, with the brightest heart

Zhu Zhuqing let out a sigh as she finally finished absorbing her third spirit ring. Her eyes shone in a darkish-red color as she opens them. Three spirit rings rose underneath her body, surrounding her with them, showing their splendid color.

Yellow, yellow and purple with tints of black spirit rings surrounded her, causing a rare happy smile to appear on her face.

'One step closer...' Her smiling expression then fell into a frown. 'But I'm ten steps behind...'

She let out a long depressing sigh out and decided to looked around her to see that her friends and teachers were several meters nearby to check if the absorption process was going alright, or there was any surprise attacks like that previous yellow lightning spirit beast.

Zhu Zhuqing trembled at the thought, a slight trauma was created in her mind when that yellow adorable but highly dangerous spirit beast had struck them with a powerful thunder and lightning ability.

She and her friends would sometimes unconsciously twitched their bodies as if they were being relived of that moment.

She just put that in the darkest parts of her memories and move on.

Though talking about moving on...

"Here." Dai Mubai said as he handed Zhu Zhuqing a gourd full of clean water. "You must be thirsty, you've been in the absorption process for about three hours after all."

"Un, thank you." Zhu Zhuqing nodded in agreement and gratitude for the gourd, she then drank water from it.

They remained silent for a few moments, while Zhu Zhuqing drunk water, Dai Mubai suddenly said.

"So, how's the progress with Xiao Yan? Did you guys manage to at least take it to first base?" A teasing smile and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes as he witnessed Zhu Zhuqing do a spit take.

She then coughed roughly, while trying to regain her senses, the sounds of her sudden outburst of surprise gained the attention of the others but Dai Mubai waved them off that it was alright.

"W-What, h-how?!" Zhu Zhuqing stuttered with a completely red tomato face and widened eyes.

Dai Mubai's eyes turned deadpanned. "Practically everyone, maybe except the guy himself Xiao Yan, knows that you, Ma Xiaotao and Xun Er has a major crush on him."

"... Everyone?" At his nod, Zhu Zhuqing's jaw dropped in disbelief and lowered her head moments later in her hands out of embarrassment.

"... I thought we were hiding it well, how did you guys find out so easily?!" She asked out of curiosity and trying to hide her embarrassment further.

Dai Mubai made a 'are you serious' face and let out a sigh. "Me, fatty and the teachers are experienced men so we pretty much deducted it just from the love sick glances you girls sent him most of the time. While Tang San, Xiao Wu, Oscar and Ning Rongrong just realized it when you girls have your 'cat' fight over him, that you girls disguised it as spars."

Zhu Zhuqing g.r.o.a.n.e.d through her hands, moving her knees to rest against her c.h.e.s.t and arms to rest on top of her knees, she then hide face in her arms and said.

"The pun was unnecessary..."

Dai Mubai shrugged.

"Meh, thought it was a good joke."

Zhu Zhuqing turned silent; as her thoughts now processed with the knowledge that all her friends now knows she is in love with Xiao Yan and that two of her friends does too.

In a normal situation she would have started freaking out more and shut down but she had something to talk about, something that not Xiao Yan nor the other two girls would have to know.

"... Do you think I still have a chance?" She muttered with a low voice of a mosquito but Dai Mubai had heard clearly with his great sense of hearing, benefits of being a beast spirit type spirit master. Enhanced six senses, the last being instincts.

Although he isn't certain, Dai Mubai could guess that Zhu Zhuqing is talking about having the chance of getting the heart of Xiao Yan, when there's two other girls after his own heart; whose talents greatly outstrips hers by a long mile.

He scratched the back of his head, clearly troubled, as he being the guy giving out advices to others isn't really his thing. 'But f.u.c.k it, she's my childhood friend and all that, I owed her a lot from the trouble I caused her in the past, so time to repay some of that debt off.' he thought

He then sat down on the grass besides Zhu Zhuqing, staring at the afternoon sky, and said.

"Well, you want the honest truth or white comforting lie?" Zhu Zhuqing remained silent, prompting a sigh out of his mouth.

"Honest truth it is then." Putting his chin on his left palm, his left elbow resting on his left t.h.i.g.h, he said. "Honestly, you have a snowball chance in hell with those two around. They're both hot, both figuratively and literally, an entire spirit realm above you, much more closer to Xiao Yan and, most importantly, they're both more sociable than you despite being highly adverse to strangers, by acting cold, more specifically to males."

"I knew it!" Zhu Zhuqing cried out in despair, digging deeper into her arms. The term, "the truth hurts", is true as she is experiencing it. Silent sobbing could be heard from her.

Dai Mubai remained silent however, for several moments before asking.

"So, are you just going to give up?" Silence was the reply he got for a few moments, until Zhu Zhuqing's head rose up and simply said two words that surprised him.

"F.u.c.k. No."

Dai Mubai's eyebrows raised out of surprise and shock for a moment and asked.

"Oh, and why not?"

Zhu Zhuqing wiped away her tears, took a deep breath in and out, and stood up with her right clenched hand raised at her c.h.e.s.t level.

"I'm come this far and gone too deep into my emotions for him that I refuse to give up. He's the reason why I'm pushing myself further than most of my peers do, which is bringing myself at near death's door every goddamn time in training, and I do not regret it." She then turned towards Dai Mubai and said. "He gave me a chance to love again. What I'll likely regret in my entire life is not continuing to pursue him. If I just stop, just because of those obstacles called Xun Er and Ma Xiaotao, I just know that I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Dai Mubai stared at her in utter shock and awe, for this was the first he ever saw and heard Zhu Zhuqing saying so much words and with so much passion than she has ever done in her life.

'You really are a person of greatness Xiao Yan, for you to have Zhu Zhuqing feel these much emotions, I just know that I'll be entirely relieved to have you both hooking up.' He, and everyone who knew Zhu Zhuqing, knows that she was a cold woman of a few words. For her to speak this much and with such emotions, it could be said that it was a miracle. 'Though the repercussions of the Zhu Clan, and by extension my own clan as well, of ever hearing that you guys had hooked up would be completely disastrous. So, I'll help you guys out."

With that thought done, he stood up and clasp his hand on Zhu Zhuqing's right shoulder and whispered.

"Good. My only good advice; do not waver, do not lose that only brightness of your lonely heart, and most importantly; DO. NOT. Let him go." He then walked her past and met up with the others.

"Hey boss Dai, what were you two talking about?" Ma Hongjun curiously asked as he held a chicken drumstick in his right hand. Oscar and Ning Rongrong nodded in agreement.

Dai Mubai shook his head, grabbed the chicken drumstick from fatty's hand, and said. "It's nothing important. Though even I tell you I'm sure only you fatty wouldn't understand." He then proceeded to eat the chicken leg while ignoring the indignant cries of Ma Hongjun.

Zhu Zhuqing blinked for a couple of seconds, as she stared at her friends, before she had a small smile appear on her face.

"Thank you, Mubai."