Stomach Trouble (First Update, Previous Chapter Revised)

After finishing up, Chi Li went to the palace to meet Luo Yu again.

The moment he entered, Chi Li was startled by the overly lavish luncheon. Emperor Luo Yu warmly beckoned him over to sit.

Most of Chi Li's memories were of the mercenary corps and local military forces. One of the most important people in his life was the uncle who had raised him, a member of the mercenary corps.

It was not until he was sixteen that he met Luo Yu, who hugged him with reddened eyes.

As a child, Chi Li had repeatedly asked where his parents were and who they were. His uncle had only vaguely told him that although they were gone, they had once been remarkable people.

There was a long blank stretch in Chi Li's memory. He had forgotten most things, as though he had opened his eyes and already found himself inside the mercenary corps. As he grew older, he rarely asked about his parents as he had in childhood.

Only after meeting Luo Yu did Chi Li learn that his omega father had been the director of the Luolan First Research Institute, while his other alpha father had also been an outstanding researcher. His grandfather had once been a great general whose name was recorded in Luolan's history.

His grandfather had served the former emperor and had watched the current Emperor Luo Yu grow up. Chi Li's omega father had also shared a close relationship with Luo Yu.

Chi Li knew very little about his two fathers and could not help asking a few more questions, but Luo Yu only said, "They were both important and outstanding researchers in Luolan. In the end, they sacrificed themselves for scientific research. They were great."

Luo Yu had once apologized to Chi Li. "I failed your father. I should have found you sooner."

Luo Yu's way of treating Chi Li well was also straightforward: wealth, power, and status.

Chi Li rejected them all.

Luo Yu liked Chi Li, perhaps not solely because of Chi Li's father. He admired Chi Li and even found all sorts of reasons to contact him. In the end, he started with what Chi Li did best and got his wish of keeping Chi Li in Luolan's Central Military Command.

The mercenary corps Chi Li belonged to had an excellent reputation and maintained good cooperative relations with the local military forces because of it.

Because of Chi Li's exceptional talent and abilities, local military forces had once tried to recruit him, but his uncle had refused. Yet after Chi Li met Luo Yu, his uncle unconditionally supported his joining the central military.

Over the following nearly ten years, especially after his uncle's death, Chi Li's relationship with Luo Yu grew increasingly close. Perhaps Luo Yu truly had made him feel another kind of familial affection.

Luo Yu was extremely imposing before others, but in front of Chi Li, he was always as unreasonable as a child. For instance, although Luo Yu had clearly done nothing just now, the look he gave Chi Li was especially aggrieved, as if Chi Li had bullied him.

Luo Yu wanted to hear Chi Li tell the story of infiltrating Si Jinyan's side. Helplessly, Chi Li said, "You already heard them tell it once, didn't you?"

"Hearing Xiao Li tell it himself is different... I'm already this old, yet I don't even have anyone around to talk to. Now even you don't want to pay attention to me. Do you think I'm old and nagging..." The emperor's appearance was flawless. Judging by his looks alone, no one would believe that he was already over forty, yet he had indeed remained alone all this time.

Chi Li had no way of dealing with Luo Yu like this and could only compromise and begin telling the story.

Over the past few months, at Qi Yan's request, Chi Li would sometimes go to the military to help train people.

Chi Li remained in a special central deployment department, where his relationship with the military was more like a partnership. Whenever the military needed manpower, he would come over to lend support. Because of Luo Yu, Chi Li held a privileged position in the military. However, his outstanding abilities left no one with any objections.

The three neat rows on the training ground were elite unit members selected this year. The thirty-two of them were the finest soldiers chosen from various divisions.

Today's class was on combat. Several officers teaching the soldiers knew Chi Li, and two of them were on good terms with him. They had him pick a few promising recruits first and take them aside for instruction.

Chi Li chose five people and personally taught them practical techniques. One of the skills he excelled at most was close-quarters combat.

"Sir, I'm starting." One of the soldiers spoke, pulling Chi Li back to his senses. This was the third soldier Chi Li had been instructing one-on-one.

Chi Li realized he had drifted off again. "Mm, begin."

He had always slept very little, but recently he had overslept several times, dreamed frequently, and lost his appetite. Even during the day, he would occasionally lose focus.

The soldier's name was Ruan Ying. He had long heard of Chi Li, and this being their first meeting, he could not help feeling a little excited.

After a few moves, although Ruan Ying was knocked down by Chi Li in no time, his spirits only rose higher. During their close combat, he could not help sneaking several more glances at Chi Li.

At first sight, Ruan Ying had felt that Chi Li was unlike the alphas in their unit. The alphas in the military were all the same—big and burly.

Chi Li was also an alpha, but he exuded an entirely different air. He had muscles, but they were not exaggerated; his physique was evenly proportioned to perfection, his posture tall and straight, and his features lacked the rugged coarseness of the military's other alphas.

To Ruan Ying, he was simply impossibly handsome. If he had not learned about Chi Li beforehand, he would probably have mistaken him for some pampered young master raised by a scholarly family.

Because he was staring at Chi Li, Ruan Ying lost focus and was knocked to the ground by Chi Li in two moves.

Chi Li nudged his thigh with a kick, his gaze sharp. "What are you staring at me for? Is there something on my face?"

When fighting and speaking, Chi Li carried an added edge, his expression looking even more bold and distinctive.

Ruan Ying's face suddenly flushed red, and he hurriedly got up to apologize. "Sorry, sir."

Chi Li reprimanded him, "Focus. Again."

A few exchanges later, Chi Li seized the soldier's wrist, pressed his knee against the soldier's back, and pinned him to the ground. "Some improvement."

Chi Li offered several suggestions. The soldier listened intently while mimicking the movements Chi Li explained, then could not help saying after he finished, "Sir, let's do it once more."

Chi Li nodded and guided the soldier's movements while explaining. The soldier became increasingly adept.

Just as the soldier clenched his fist and swung at his abdomen, Chi Li instinctively tensed his abdominal muscles and moved to deflect the attack. A sharp, twisting pain suddenly tore through his stomach.

The soldier had not expected that punch to actually land on Chi Li's abdomen. Chi Li dropped straight to his knees, and the soldier's face went pale. "Sir!"

The commotion drew the attention of the nearby officers and soldiers. Several officers jogged over. "What happened?"

The soldier explained what had led up to it.

Chi Li came back to himself and waved away the offered support, getting to his feet on his own. When he looked up, he saw that the soldier's face was pale.

Meeting Chi Li's eyes, the soldier came to his senses and immediately bent at the waist to apologize. "Sir, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Chi Li cut him off. "I'm fine. It's not your fault. You did well. Go train on your own for now."

One of the officers followed Chi Li to the rest area at the side. "What happened?" He did not believe an ordinary soldier could knock Chi Li down.

Chi Li shook his head. "I lost focus."

The officer sighed in relief and teased, "You can't underestimate them that much either, even if they're still young."

As he spoke, the officer looked toward the trainees on the training ground. "They're the pillars of the future. Train them well. The next generation of successors may be born right here among them."

Chi Li smiled. Seeing that his complexion was somewhat off, the officer asked worriedly, "Are you really all right?"

Chi Li had been caught off guard earlier. Now, enduring the twisting pain in his abdomen, he waved the officer away. "I'm really fine. Just a stomach problem."