Chapter 479
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Chapter 479: The Sword Saint’s Rhetoric
On the other side, Zhou Ping, Lin Qiye, and Huang Yuande sat together, holding a few leftover bamboo skewers and chatting casually.
Of course, the casualness was mainly between Lin Qiye and Huang Yuande.
Zhou Ping gripped the bamboo skewer, sitting stiffly on the stool. From time to time, members of Team 009 approached him to chat, their faces filled with admiration and excitement. After all, it was their first time meeting the Sword Saint in person, and some even asked Zhou Ping for an autograph.
During this process, Zhou Ping was like a soulless nodding machine, his hands awkwardly clasped together on his thighs. Lin Qiye even noticed that the back of his hands began to sweat…
Huang Yuande also noticed this scene. Remembering their tea time with Zhou Ping earlier, he seemed to understand something and gave Lin Qiye a knowing look. The two then excused themselves under the pretext of going to the restroom.
“Captain Lin, the Sword Saint is…” Huang Yuande was carefully choosing his words.
“Socially anxious,” Lin Qiye completed the thought.
“Ah, no wonder when I chatted with him today, he seemed a bit indifferent. I thought it was just the pride of the Sword Saint…”
“…”
“By the way, Captain Lin,” Huang Yuande seemed to recall something, “I called Captain Li Hong of Lintang City several times today, but no one answered.”
“Is he on a mission?”
“Possibly. In any case, I’ll try calling again tonight. If I still can’t reach him, you can take this.” Huang Yuande pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lin Qiye. “I wrote him a letter explaining your situation. Just give him this letter, and he’ll understand.”
“Thank you, Captain Huang.”
“It’s nothing, just a small favor.” Huang Yuande waved his hand. “Li Hong is a warm-hearted person and gets along well with everyone. You should have a good rapport with him.”
Huang Yuande thought for a moment, “Except for the Sword Saint…”
Lin Qiye wholeheartedly agreed.
“What do you think about the Sword Saint’s… um, social anxiety?” Huang Yuande was still struggling to accept the novel term “social anxiety.”
“Our training trip this time was partly aimed at helping the Sword Saint improve his social skills, but social anxiety isn’t something that can be changed in a short time,” Lin Qiye slowly began. “To change the Sword Saint’s current situation, the key lies not with us, but with him.”
“With him?” Huang Yuande pondered for a moment. “Are you saying he needs to actively embrace society?”
“Exactly. If he decides to shut himself off, no matter how much external influence he receives, he won’t change. Forcing him into social situations will only deepen his fear of socializing, leading to counterproductive results. To encourage him to open up, a catalyst is needed.
This catalyst can be big or small, but the focus should be on instilling a desire for social interaction. Only by making this psychological change can he begin to gradually integrate into normal society.”
Lin Qiye sighed deeply. “Our role can only be to set an example for him. When the day comes that he tries to open up but lacks social experience, he might imitate our social habits to better fit in.”
After listening to Lin Qiye, Huang Yuande’s eyes showed a hint of surprise.
“I didn’t expect Captain Lin to have some knowledge of psychology?”
“I’ve just read some materials on the subject,” Lin Qiye smiled.
In the notes he copied from Dr. Li, there were several case analyses on severe social anxiety, and the thoughts he just expressed were all recorded in Dr. Li’s notes.
When Lin Qiye and Huang Yuande returned to their seats, Zhou Ping’s expression had eased somewhat, but he still looked tense, silently staring down at his skewers. Unbeknownst to him, the skewers in front of him had already piled up into a small mountain…
After enjoying a delicious dinner, Lin Qiye and the others returned to the hotel to rest, setting off for Lintang City early the next morning.
Sitting on the sofa of the private jet, Lin Qiye gazed out at the leisurely drifting white clouds, but a vague sense of foreboding lingered in his heart.
When leaving Xining, Huang Yuande still hadn’t managed to contact Li Hong. It was as if the latter had vanished from the face of the earth, and the landline at his base was also unreachable. This meant that Team 008 hadn’t returned to their base for a day…
Could something have happened?
Just as this thought crossed Lin Qiye’s mind, he dismissed it. Team 008 had a ‘Wuliang’ stationed there, along with five powerful “Hai” realm experts. Such a lineup was already top-notch among the Night Watchers across Daxia. What could possibly go wrong?
While Lin Qiye was lost in thought, he faintly heard a soft voice from the opposite sofa.
He looked up and saw Zhou Ping staring down at his toes, mumbling something to himself.
“Senior Sword Saint, what are you saying?” Lin Qiye asked curiously.
“I’m practicing the dialogue for communicating with Team 008,” Zhou Ping replied earnestly.
“Dialogue?!”
Upon hearing these two words, the others lounging on the sofa widened their eyes in shock. Even Bai Li Pangpang, who was about to fall asleep, suddenly woke up, staring at Zhou Ping in disbelief.
Does he really know what dialogue means?
“…Senior Sword Saint, have you figured out what to say?” Lin Qiye asked with curiosity.
Zhou Ping pondered for a moment and slowly spoke, “Team 008 members, listen carefully. Your lives are in our hands. If you don’t send out five people to spar with us as requested, we will… tear up the ticket…”
“…”
“Wait… Senior Sword Saint, we’re just here to challenge you. Why does your line sound like that of a bandit?” Bai Li Pangpang couldn’t help but retort.
Zhou Ping was taken aback. “Aren’t you doing the same in Xining? And it proved to be very effective.”
“That was… well, it’s different!”
“Different how? Isn’t it just a challenge?”
Bai Li Pangpang suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
Lin Qiye’s mouth twitched slightly. He had a vague feeling that Zhou Ping’s social concepts were heading in a very strange direction…
He rubbed his eyes and corrected him:
“Senior Sword Saint, communication between people still requires etiquette. Such obviously aggressive language should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.”
Zhou Ping nodded thoughtfully.
“Speaking of which, since we’re going to challenge them, wouldn’t it be better to add a bit of a domineering opening line?” Bai Li Pangpang seemed to have thought of something.
“Opening line?”
“Like… ‘Marshal Tianpeng, here to challenge!’”
“…” Lin Qiye’s expression turned a bit strange. “To be honest, that sounds a bit lame.”
“…”
At that moment, Zhou Ping, who had been deep in thought, suddenly brightened his eyes.
“Night Watchers’ Nameless Team, please enlighten us.”
