I didn't think you'd need help

A million curse words ran through Guan Ting's mind as he slid into the driver's seat of his car. Some of the blood from his nose had stained his hand and had now smeared on to the stirring wheel.

"Shit." He groaned in displeasure as he tried wiping it off with the sleeves of his sweater. He was about to tell the kid to get him a couple wads of tissue paper from the back when he noted the empty seat beside him. He rolled his eyes as he started checking outside the car for the boy he took with him. It was then that he realized that he didn't even know the kid's name.

He sighed at the thought that the kid was more trouble than help anyway. It took him a while before finally catching sight of him at the corner of one eye.

"Mr. Guan," the boy got in the passenger seat and held up a bag of ice out to Guan Ting.

Guan Ting was still carefully pinching the tip of his nose to stop the bleeding and he grabbed the bag hatefully, setting it on top of his nose to relieve the swelling. The weight of the ice bag made him wince in pain and frustration. He still couldn't believe that a harmless mission to "take photos" ended up with the future madame attacking him without fear.

The memory of the smug look on that woman's face after she hit him with a can of mushrooms was gravely etched into his mind. The worst part? He couldn't even fight her back.

He had a hard time imagining the master being paired up with a woman like that. They'd probably be at war all day -- or worse, she'd throw the female card so that Fei Huangjin could just follow her lead. He shook his head and shuddered at the thought. There was no way his master would allow a woman like her to do anything she wants. He would definitely tell Fei Huangjin about the incident today so his master could tame her. Guan Ting may not be able to do anything to her, but Fei Huangjin could.

He turned to the boy beside him and spat out a few curse words at him. "Where the f*ck were you when she was assaulting me? You couldn't even bother to protect your superior, huh? You just ran away, is that it? Were you being a coward? Is that how a new member of the Dragon club should act? I should throw you in the training pit the moment we get back to base!"

"Sir, you're Guan Ting of the Dragon Club, I didn't think you'd need help." The boy sitting beside him didn't quiver in fear, and instead looked over Guan Ting with innocent eyes. "And I was there at the end of the aisle holding a basket full of noodles. I guess my disguise was too good and she recognized you, instead."

He was good with words -- he'd give him that. But how dare this boy point fingers at him.

Guan Ting eyed the new recruit detestably. The kid was wearing dark jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt. Indeed, he did look like some teenager with the way he dressed.

His nose became extremely painful again and he slid open a knife to check his reflection. There were dried crusts of blood peeking out from his nares and his nose bridge was extremely erythematous and swollen. Luckily, it didn't look like it was deformed, so there was a good chance that his nose wasn't broken after all. But still… it would take him a while before he could show his face. What would his men think if they found out he was beaten up by a girl?

He made a tsk-ing sound.

The kid beside him scrunched his eyebrows and he peeked at Guan Ting with a hesitant face. "Should we get you to a hospital?"

Guan Ting slid his knife close and looked down at him with a look that said he was giving him a stupid suggestion. "I don't need a f*cking hospital. Haven't you seen the infirmary at the base? That thing has better technology than the biggest hospital here. I'll beat your ass up when we get back so you can get a better look at the infirmary."

"Sorry, Mr. Guan."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, you idiot."