WebNovels

Chapter 27 - Chapter Twenty Six - Fight

The old man and Long Teng spoke simultaneously, then looked at each other. "Grandpa/Xiao Teng, you know him too?" 

Xie Sen observed the two men's identical movements and thought to himself, no wonder they looked so similar; they were grandfather and grandson. Thinking back to his previous interactions with the two, he secretly thought their clingy skills were also a common thread. 

"He's the neighbor I was talking about," the old man said. 

Long Teng's eyes suddenly lit up. He jumped in front of Xie Sen and put his arm around his shoulders, looking expectant: "The spicy dried meat is super delicious. Do you have any more? I want to eat more!" 

Xie Sen looked at the old man, who spread his hands: "I didn't tell anyone else. This kid found out when I was eating it." He snorted, "He ate most of it!" 

Xie Sen took Long Teng's hand away: "No more." 

Long Teng's smile faded, and he looked disappointed. A second later, he suddenly smiled again, his teeth shining white: "Tell me where you bought it. I've been watching it every day, and I'm sure I'll buy it!" 

The old man nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, tell us where you bought it. This kid is very quick, he's sure he can grab the goods. If he does, I'll share some with you." 

Xie Sen looked at them embarrassedly. This was not bought by him at all! 

He mumbled, "Just search online for spicy pork jerky." 

"No," the old man replied immediately. "I've already searched online numerous times. I've also bought a lot of spicy food, and none of it tastes the same as the spicy pork jerky. It's awful!" 

Xie Sen pondered, "Maybe the online store is deactivated because they're out of stock." 

Deactivation wouldn't leave no trace. The old man glanced at Xie Sen, a flicker of thought in his eyes. 

He'd originally assumed Xie Sen had bought the spicy pork jerky online and kept the seller's details secret for fear he'd snatch it up. Now, it seemed his suspicion was wrong. 

"What a shame," Long Teng pouted. He had no other thoughts; he simply believed Xie Sen's explanation. 

Xie Sen smiled, "It's alright, I'll go home first!" He said, heading for the apartment. 

"Hey," Long Teng followed him in two steps, his hand on his shoulder. "Did your contracted beast rest well? You promised to fight me!" 

Xie Sen was helpless. Why was this man still thinking about this? 

The old man slapped Long Teng on the forehead. "I don't mind if you like to fight, but you absolutely can't fight a female. Don't you want to find a wife?" 

Long Teng covered his forehead and pouted. "But his contracted beast is very powerful. I want to fight it." 

Xie Sen frowned and said emphatically, "I'm a male!" He opened his bracelet and pointed to the contracted beast column. "See? Male!" 

The last time he went to the contracted beast research institute, after confirming that he was a male, his personal information column was no longer blank. 

The old man gave him a surprised look. Long Teng jumped up happily. "Grandpa, can I fight him now?" He shook Xie Sen's shoulder. "Fight with me!" 

Xie Sen slapped his hand away. "You're shaking me to pieces," he pointed at himself helplessly. "Do you think I can be your opponent?" 

"It's okay. I'll fight your contracted beast one-on-one." 

"What is your contracted beast?" the old man asked curiously. 

Before Xie Sen could even begin to speak, Long Teng quickly answered for him: "It's a Mimic, incredibly powerful. It previously disguised itself as a chili tree and defeated a Wolfhound in a single blow!" 

The old man looked at Xie Sen. "Chili tree?" He paused. "Is the spiciness of the spicy meat jerky the same as the chili peppers?" 

Xie Sen chuckled, "I don't know. I've never tasted chili peppers, so I can't compare." 

"Really?" The old man's eyes narrowed with laughter. 

Squinting eyes are all monsters! 

Xie Sen gave a dry laugh and nodded. Long Teng, oblivious to their differences, continued to pester Xie Sen for a fight. By the time Xie Sen reached the apartment door, he was desperately trying to throw himself on top of him. 

This was the scene Maine saw when he returned. A faint smile played on his lips, but his eyes froze. He reached out, twisting Long Teng's collar and pulling him off Xie Sen. 

Almost on reflex, Long Teng launched a backhand strike behind him. Maine easily dodged it by stepping back. Long Teng turned his head and saw Maine, his eyes lighting up. "It's you!" 

Maine loosened his collar. "What are you doing here?" 

Long Teng pointed at Xie Sen cheerfully. "Going to fight him." 

Maine frowned. "You want to bully him?" 

"No, didn't you see that the other day? His contracted beast is incredibly powerful! I'll fight his contracted beast, not him," Long Teng retorted, leaping in place. 

"That won't work either," Maine had some idea about Xie Sen's contracted beast, knowing that the less his beast appeared in public, the better. "If you want to fight, I'll fight you." 

"Really?" Long Teng's voice suddenly rose, his whole body excited, but still a little doubtful. "Didn't you refuse to fight me before?" 

Maine said, "I'll fight you, and you're not allowed to fight him again." 

Long Teng blinked, agonizing over his fingers. "Can't I fight both?" 

"No," Maine flatly refused. 

Long Teng looked from Maine to Xie Sen, then leaped to a nearby open space, waving his arms. "Alright, let's fight first. If he wants to fight me later, I won't be breaking the rules." 

Maine nodded nonchalantly. In his opinion, Xie Sen would never challenge Long Teng to a fight. 

"Wait." Seeing the two about to fight, the old man spoke up to stop them. Long Teng jumped down in displeasure and called out "Grandpa. 

" The old man glared at him. "Don't you smell blood on him? If he's injured, your victory wouldn't be worth celebrating." 

Long Teng shrugged and asked Maine, "Are you injured?" 

"No," Maine said. 

The old man approached Maine, sniffed it, and looked at him in surprise. "Hairy boar beast's blood? Did you leave the city?" 

"Grandpa, are you mistaken? He's in the same grade as me. The league starts in a week, and we don't have permission to leave the city yet." 

Maine frowned. "No, you smelled it wrong." 

The old man raised his eyebrows, glanced at him, and then smiled. "Maybe I smelled it wrong!" 

Xie Sen's heart skipped a beat. If the blood Maine had been carrying these days came from leaving the city, then that made sense. 

But how had he left the city? According to regulations, citizens without permission were prohibited from leaving the city. 

Could it be that the illegal act he was talking about was simply leaving the city illegally? 

But... Xie Sen couldn't help but worry. If he had left the city, the chances of coming into contact with the beast would have been even greater! 

"You're not injured, so let's fight!" Long Teng urged. 

Maine nodded, and without further ado, he rushed towards Long Teng like a phantom, delivering a clean, side kick. He was extremely fast, and each move was exceptionally sharp. 

Long Teng was incredibly excited, dodging attacks while simultaneously attacking, constantly shouting, "Awesome! Watch me!" 

The two exchanged blows, countering each other with spectacular force. For a moment, neither could do anything to the other. 

"What's his contracted beast?" Xie Sen, entranced by the scene, heard the old man's question. 

"Giant Lion Beast," Xie Sen replied.

As Xie Sen answered, he was deeply puzzled. Long Teng's description was exactly the same as in the book, but Maine's wasn't. In the book, Maine's contracted beast was Feishimon, also S-rank. 

If he were only an A-rank contracted beast master, he wouldn't be the protagonist's strongest opponent. 

"A-rank contracted beast master?" the old man said admiringly. "He's very powerful. Even an S-rank contracted beast master wouldn't be able to perform so well against Xiao Teng." 

Xie Sen smiled as if he had been praised, nodding heavily. "Yes, he's very powerful." 

"You're amazing too," the old man said, changing the subject. "I've seen a mimic beast master, but I've never seen a mimic beast that mimics a plant. I'm really curious." 

He smiled at Xie Sen, "Can you satisfy my curiosity?" 

Xie Sen hesitated for a moment, thinking that the more he was secretive, the more suspicious he'd be. He nodded, "Sure." 

He summoned a chili tree and mentally instructed it to do some animal-like movements. After careful observation, the old man smiled and said, "I've really broadened my horizons." 

Xie Sen retracted the chili tree. The old man suddenly said, "Have you heard of a plant contract beast master?" 

Xie Sen was startled and shook his head, "No." 

The old man studied his expression and said with a grin, "You young people nowadays are too hard to learn. In fact, contract beasts are not just animals, they can also be plants." 

Xie Sen looked surprised, "Really? How amazing!" 

The old man nodded and suddenly changed the subject, "The spicy dried meat is really delicious. I don't know when I can buy it again. You said the store owner suddenly disappeared. Could it be because he was worried that he would be targeted because he used chili peppers?" 

Xie Sen blinked. He was definitely not wrong. The old man must be hinting at something! Including the previous plant contract owner. 

Without waiting for an answer, the old man continued with a smile, "Actually, it's nothing. If you really don't want anyone to know, why not just cooperate with the Botanical Research Institute? There are new plants to research, and Dean Ma will surely keep it secret. We can just say the chili peppers are from the institute, and no one will doubt it." 

Xie Sen's heart trembled slightly, and he mumbled, "Spicy meat jerky isn't necessarily made with chili peppers." 

The old man smiled and nodded. "You're right," he said, looking at the two fighting. "Who do you think will win?" 

Xie Sen glanced at the old man and secretly called him a fox. He knew the old man had probably guessed his identity. 

"Probably a draw." 

"No, Xiao Teng will win," the old man said with a smile. "Your friend lacks stamina. He won't be as strong as Xiao Teng when he returns." 

Just as the old man had predicted, twenty minutes later, Maine defeated Long Teng by a single move. Long Teng happily tried to put his arm around Maine's shoulders, but Maine swatted him away. He didn't care, and followed him to the apartment. 

He smiled brightly and patted Maine on the shoulder. "How refreshing! You're amazing! My victory today doesn't count; you just lost due to physical strength. Let's fight again tomorrow!" 

"No," Maine said without a second thought. 

Long Teng was about to say something when the old man slapped him on the back of the head. "Who else has nothing to do but fight like you?" 

Maine opened the door and walked into the apartment. Xie Sen followed him, followed by the old man and Long Teng. 

"Anything else?" Maine asked, tilting his head. 

The old man smiled and said, "I just moved here a week ago. My name is Xu Da, you can just call me uncle. I am this kid's grandfather," he pointed at Long Teng, "You are classmates, right?" 

"Yes, they are!" Long Teng said quickly, "Grandpa, do you have something to talk to them about?" 

"It's for you!" The old man glared at him and looked at Maine, "Take this kid with you when you participate in the league. You have seen that he is very good in combat and will not be a drag." 

"I can do it alone, there is no need to form a team," Long Teng patted his chest confidently, pointing at Maine, "I want to be his opponent, so I can fight with him!" 

The old man slapped him in the face: "You are a person with no direction, so keep quiet. You don't want teammates. Do you want to spend your next life on the island?"

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