OFTLHFRO C96

Chapter 96 Fighting Also Requires Wisdom

That night, seeing Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang’s downcast moods, Luo Mingchen raised a hand and gently rubbed their small heads.

“How about we all sleep together tonight?”

Hearing this, the two brothers froze.

Although Huo Yuhui wanted to agree, he glanced at Huo Yan, then shook his head. “Little Daddy, we can manage on our own.”

“But I want to sleep with you.”

As he spoke, Luo Mingchen turned to Huo Yan. “Right?”

What he meant was that everyone would sleep together.

Naturally, Huo Yan wouldn’t refuse.

So, after washing up, they all lay across the bed so there would be enough room.

This was their first time sleeping together since moving into the new house.

Once both their fathers lay down, Huo Xiang felt much calmer.

Huo Yuhui, who had been pretending to be mature but was actually deeply unsettled inside, also felt his tense emotions ease when he saw his fathers lying nearby.

After a while, Huo Xiang asked softly, “Little Daddy, does that mean Yuanjing won’t be able to use his right hand in the future?”

Luo Mingchen couldn’t give a direct answer. “There will be doctors to help him. Old Master Ming knows many skilled people.”

Given the medical standards of this world, such an injury would be extremely troublesome to cure, with very little chance.

But still, nothing was certain. Perhaps Old Master Ming really did know someone extraordinary.

Huo Yuhui stayed silent.

Then Luo Mingchen thought of something. Nudging Huo Yan, he asked, “Could your inner force help heal his arm?”

He remembered how in the wuxia dramas he’d watched, inner force was depicted as incredibly powerful — deep inner strength could extend someone’s life, even let them live for centuries with vigor.

Huo Yan didn’t say it was possible or not, only replied: “He has no inner force of his own. Forcing it into him would make his body burst apart.”

At that, Huo Yan recalled the gentle, irresistible power within Luo Mingchen, the one that had blended seamlessly with his own inner force. He added, “Your ability is more reliable.”

“…But I’m a water-type ability user. How would I heal?”

Huo Yan didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

Luo Mingchen sighed. “Where I come from, only wood-type and light-type abilities can heal.”

“Why is that?”

Luo Mingchen froze. He had been about to explain, but when asked directly, he realized, “Now that you ask, I’m not actually sure.”

Huo Yan thought for a moment. “Your ability fused with my inner force quite easily.”

“Really?”

Hearing him say that, Luo Mingchen grew eager. “Then try it with me.”

“Alright.”

Huo Yan extended a hand.

Seeing him so trusting made Luo Mingchen a little excited.

Their hands clasped. Luo Mingchen tried channeling his ability over, but it didn’t merge the way Huo Yan described.

Huo Yan quickly noticed something was wrong. “Not like this.”

“Then how?”

Luo Mingchen felt frustrated. “I only know this one kind of water ability.”

The space he had was something that had opened mysteriously — he wasn’t actually a space ability user.

After a pause, Huo Yan explained, “The inner force I use in combat is different from the inner force I can pass to someone else.”

“Hm?”

Seeing that Luo Mingchen didn’t understand, Huo Yan gave him a demonstration.

A warm current flowed from his hand through every channel in Luo Mingchen’s body, like his blood vessels were soaking in a hot spring.

It sounded absurd, but that really was how it felt.

Then Huo Yan shifted, channeling a far more aggressive force.

Luo Mingchen immediately dropped his hand, startled, staring at him.

“That’s the difference I mean.”

While the couple spoke, the three siblings stared at them, confused why their fathers were holding hands and speaking words they didn’t understand.

Luo Mingchen carefully sensed the flow and finally understood Huo Yan’s meaning.

If an aggressive force was injected into someone, it could rupture them. Even a non-fusing force could burst them.

And all this time, what Luo Mingchen had been using was that same aggressive type of power…

Thinking of this, Luo Mingchen recalled that when he had used his perception, he could enter another’s body without being repelled.

That had been the first time he’d used perception on someone else’s body, when checking Ming Yuanjing’s injuries.

And the type of energy Huo Yan mentioned was similar to his perception — the energy within his crystal core, not yet shaped into attack power.

It sounded strange and convoluted, but once Luo Mingchen understood, he succeeded on his first try.

And incredibly, inner force and ability really could fuse.

Neither of them knew why.

Luo Mingchen said, “Maybe it’s because everyone has the five elements inside their bodies?”

His water ability came from his natural affinity with water elements, only awakened under external stimulation.

Huo Yan hadn’t studied abilities, so he didn’t fully grasp Luo Mingchen’s explanation.

But he did know the five elements, and the reasoning wasn’t impossible.

Reminded by Huo Yan, Luo Mingchen felt as if a new door had opened. Holding Huo Yan’s hand, he not only examined the state of his body clearly but also sent his ability through his meridians for a full lap before withdrawing.

That circulation made Huo Yan go quiet.

As Luo Mingchen played with the flow, he suddenly felt a warm current enter his body through his hand, running a full circuit, though in the opposite direction of his own energy path, finally settling in the lower dantian.

Meanwhile, Luo Mingchen’s energy gathered in his crystal core in his head — essentially the upper dantian.

In the darkness, the two looked at each other, as if they had grasped some truth.

After the test, Luo Mingchen turned to the two brothers, who had been waiting for an answer. “Tomorrow, we’ll go check on Yuanjing.”

Did that mean his injuries could be healed?

The brothers brightened, relieved enough to sleep easier.

As for little Huo Xinyue, while they were still troubled, her small head tilted to the side and she drifted off.

The next morning, after breakfast, before they could go find Ming Yuanjing, the Ming household sent someone, saying the two brothers were needed there to testify.

On the way, Luo Mingchen asked about it.

Never had he expected that Liu Jinbao’s father had gone to Old Master Ming, demanding an explanation.

Where did he get the gall?

And the one who beat Liu Jinbao had been Huo Yuhui, yet they had gone to the Ming household instead — it left Luo Mingchen baffled.

Arriving at the Ming family’s grand estate, they found a crowd at the gate. Noisy, but not quite chaotic.

Most of them were people brought by the Liu landlord.

There sat Liu Jinbao, swathed like a mummy in bandages, glaring hatefully at Huo Yuhui and Huo Xiang as they arrived.

Seeing him wrapped up like that, Huo Xiang was stunned. He muttered, “Little Daddy, he’s faking it.”

That phrase was something he’d picked up from Luo Mingchen.

Suppressing a laugh, Luo Mingchen asked, “Xiao Hui, where exactly did you hit him yesterday?”

Huo Yuhui thought carefully. “Face, stomach, arms, and thighs.”

Bone fractures weren’t possible, though he’d bled plenty. The coins scratching his face could leave scars.

Luo Mingchen raised his brows slightly.

All fleshy spots, huh…

Huo Xiang added, “And you pulled his hair, a big handful came out.”

Huo Yuhui then remembered, answering a bit sheepishly, “Mm.”

“So then, just light injuries, right?”

Luo Mingchen now had a clear picture.

As long as there were no crippling wounds — that was enough.

At least for now.