Chapter 1123
Xincheng: I'm not panicking!
Everyone looked at him with a helpless expression. Centuries of friendship and countless attempts to reassure and train him had ultimately failed to change Shinjo's innate fear of ghosts, and they could only let him continue to pretend. The noise in the room gradually subsided, leaving only Shinjo's stiff breathing and the tacit glances and soft laughter of the others.
Once the atmosphere inside the room eased a bit, Cui Ming patted Xin Cheng on the shoulder, signaling him to get up: "Alright, stop pretending, go on patrol." Xin Cheng then slowly straightened up, his eyes quickly avoiding Aobik and the other two, and followed Cui Ming out with his head down. Only when he stepped out of the old alley and back onto the street illuminated by the streetlights did his steps gradually relax.
The two patrolled slowly along the empty streets, the evening breeze carrying the darkness past their shoulders. Cui Ming broke the silence first, his tone serious: "Seriously, you still need to train your courage. If the enemy uses this weakness of yours to their advantage, the consequences will be dire."
Upon hearing this, Xincheng, unusually bold, mustered up the courage to complain, his tone tinged with helplessness and teasing: "Instructor, not everyone is like you, daring to even sleep with female ghosts. It's just how I am, it's not so easy to change."
Cui Ming glanced at him sideways and corrected him seriously: "The eight-foot woman is not a female ghost. It's an urban legend. Don't get them mixed up."
Xin Cheng's eyes lit up, his curiosity overcoming his timidity. He took two steps forward and asked, "I've heard that she has a particularly terrifying form, like a blue-faced monster with fangs. Is that true, Instructor?" He had heard this from the gossip in the team before, but he had never dared to ask Cui Ming in person.
“It’s true.” Cui Ming nodded in acknowledgment, without the slightest fear on his face. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his face, and his tone was calm but revealed a preference that was hard for others to understand. “But I think it’s pretty good.”
He wasn't joking. The eight-foot-tall woman's terrifying form was indeed enough to terrify ordinary people, but for Cui Ming, that form didn't bring intimidation, but rather a real boost to attack speed—each time he saw it, it made him even more swift in battle.
After all, in countless cycles of battle and later in his relentless fight against Empera, Cui Ming's mind had already deviated from the normal path. What others saw as terrifying and bizarre was either commonplace scenery to him or an asset that could be used to his advantage; he had long lost the fear that ordinary people should have.
Seeing Cui Ming's serious expression, Xin Cheng shivered instantly and dared not ask any further questions. He suddenly felt that compared to the terrifying eight-foot-tall woman, his instructor's unusual mentality was even more chilling. He could only nod silently and reply, "I understand, Instructor. I will try my best to train my courage."
Even though he agreed to practice his courage, Xincheng still had some doubts. His gaze unconsciously swept over the dark alleys on both sides of the street, and he subconsciously moved closer to Cui Ming. After hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, his tone filled with barely concealed worry: "Instructor, then... then there really aren't any ghosts on this street tonight, right?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Ming glanced at Xin Cheng's paranoid expression, a faint smile playing on his lips. His tone was confident yet nonchalant: "Don't worry, ghosts aren't afraid of me." He wasn't lying to Xin Cheng at all. Years of immersion in battlefield carnage, and daily life-or-death battles with Ampera in his dreams, had amassed an aura of malevolence that was thick and unyielding. It was the pent-up resentment from countless battles and deaths, possessing an innate suppressive power against evil spirits. Ordinary ghosts, let alone approaching, would be terrified at the mere sight of his presence—in their eyes, Cui Ming was a truly terrifying being straight out of hell, his mere aura enough to drive them to madness, a ruthless character capable of making ghosts lose their sanity.
Because of this, Cui Ming also figured out a little trick for identifying enemies. If he encountered something that looked sinister and evil, and the other party was afraid of him, then it was probably just an ordinary ghost that couldn't cause any trouble. But once he discovered that the other party was not afraid of his evil aura at all, and even dared to approach him, Cui Ming could immediately confirm that this thing was definitely not a ghost! Nine times out of ten, it was an alien disguised as sinister, whose purpose was nothing more than to confuse people and cause trouble in secret.
Looking at Cui Ming's confident demeanor and recalling the aura of men he exuded that kept strangers at bay, Xin Cheng's worries eased slightly, but he still couldn't help but shiver and muttered softly, "That's true. With your aura, instructor, not to mention ghosts, even people would be afraid of you."
Cui Ming didn't reply, but instead looked up into the depths of the night, his eyes sharp as an eagle's. Although the murderous aura around him had mostly subsided, it still invisibly dispelled the surrounding yin and evil energy, clearing away any hidden ghostly interference for the two's patrol route, leaving only the soft sound of the evening breeze rustling through the streets.
A gentle evening breeze swept across the street, and the streetlights cast their shadows, sometimes long, sometimes short. Xincheng followed behind Cui Ming, watching the tall, composed figure ahead. The lingering fear in his heart gradually vanished, replaced by a warm, reassuring feeling. To be honest, he actually felt quite at ease patrolling with Cui Ming.
After all, Cui Ming was truly the type of person even ghosts would cower in fear. Just moments before, Xin Cheng had been worried about evil lurking in the shadows, but the thought that even ghosts feared the menacing aura emanating from the person beside him made the surrounding darkness seem less terrifying. Those beings that sent chills down his spine didn't even dare approach Cui Ming, let alone harm him.
Moreover, setting aside the instructor's intimidating aura and unusual mindset, Cui Mingren is genuinely a good person. He is strict in training, but always rushes to the front in critical moments to protect everyone in the team; he may seem short-tempered and stern, but he always shows gentleness in the details, just like now, using his aura to silently dispel all hidden dangers and give those around him a sense of security.
Xin Cheng subconsciously moved closer to Cui Ming, his steps becoming lighter, no longer as timid as before. He secretly glanced at Cui Ming beside him; the other was scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes, his murderous aura well concealed, yet still exuding an unassailable intimidating power.
This feeling of being steadily protected made Xincheng feel exceptionally safe. Even if the night was deep and the road ahead was unknown, as long as Cui Ming was by his side, he felt there was nothing to fear—after all, with such a ruthless character, feared even by ghosts, as his companion, what danger could possibly get close?
Cui Ming seemed to notice his change and glanced at him sideways: "Not panicking anymore?"
Xincheng scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "With the instructor here, what's there to panic about?" His tone was full of genuine trust, all traces of his previous unease gone. Cui Ming raised an eyebrow, saying nothing more, but simply turned his gaze back to the distance, his steps still steady, subtly protecting Xincheng at his side. (End of Chapter)