Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 194: None Of Your Concern

Chapter 194: None Of Your Concern

Fan Teng Fei nodded his head in agreement but didn’t say anything. Instead, he shifted the two of us until he was taking all of my weight.

The strangers had taken over both couches and the chairs, and I wasn’t willing to get close enough to them to sit down and get comfortable.

"I am sorry for our lack of manners. This wasn’t how I thought we would be introduced," said the man who had initially explained about the guild. "My name is Chang Guo Zi, and I am the leader of Phoenix Rising."

I tipped my head forward in acknowledgment but didn’t know what I was supposed to say.

"Fan Teng Fei, Wang Tian Mu," grunted the man behind me, taking over the introductions. "I am a fighting power user."

"And her?" asked one of the men sitting on the couch. I stiffened under his gaze. It wasn’t malicious by any extent, but he was a stranger.

"None of your business," growled Fan Teng Fei, not willing to divulge anymore.

"She is if she is on our team," pressed the man, not knowing how close to death he was getting. I was pretty sure that Fan Teng Fei didn’t even have to move in order to kill him.

"She isn’t, so you don’t have to worry," said Bai Long Qiang as he appeared from the hallway. He hadn’t taken the time to wash up, but I was pretty sure that he was at least healed.

I might have to share my snack if this kept up.

"Still, just because Chang said that you are one of us doesn’t make it so," grunted another guy.

"Oh, so I didn’t need to take that bullet for you? Good to know. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time we are out on a mission," smiled Bai Long Qiang tightly.

"Excuse me?" I asked, cocking my head to the side to stare at Bai Long Qiang. "You want to repeat that?"

Fan Teng Fei’s arm tightened around me as if he was ready to stop me from lunging forward and killing Bai Long Qiang. It sucked when the guys knew you well enough.

"Now, Kitten, it wasn’t that bad," replied Bai Long Qiang, holding his hands up to placate me.

News flash.

It wasn’t working.

The fucker who was alive and in my living room clearly wasn’t appreciative of the move, either.

"Teammates always have each other’s backs," he continued to explain. "There are some minor growing pains when it comes to integrating two teams together, but that will be overcome with some time."

"It damn well better be," I growled, turning to look at the guy claiming to be the head. "If you want my men watching your backs, you might want to smarten up."

"Now look," sneered the man who had asked for my power. He opened his mouth to continue, but the door flew open, causing everyone to turn and look at the newcomer.

"Where do you want them?" asked Rip as he looked around the room.

"Put them in the spare room for now," I replied with a wave of my hand. I was in the middle of dealing with some crap, and I wasn’t willing to get indigestion eating while there were strangers in my house.

Rip nodded his head and made his way over to the room, dropping his burdens on the floor before closing the door behind him.

"What the fuck was that?" asked the man, his eyes widened as he looked around the room.

"None of your concern," grunted Rip, coming to stand by me.

Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and let my power flow inside of him. He wasn’t injured except for some bruises that were healing even as I saw them.

Still, I gave him a boost in power, enough to make sure that he was back to peak physical condition.

"That’s enough," he whispered in my ear as he kissed my cheek. "I am fine, Little Bird."

"These are the people you want to be part of our team?" continued the man, this time turning his attention to Chang Guo Zi.

"Yes," replied the other man with a shrug. "Fan Teng Fei is the heir to the Fan family. The same family that controls all other marital arts families. And I am going to assume that the newcomer is Rip."

"I’m afraid that you have me at a disadvantage," smiled Rip. However, the look on his face caused more than a few men to shiver in fear. Personally, though, I loved it.

"Sorry," smiled the head, not taking offense at all. "Bai Long Qiang gave me a list of names when your team joined mine. I am Chang Guo Zi."

"And I joined your team?" asked Rip, raising an eyebrow to look at Bai Long Qiang. The other man shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.

"Easiest way to integrate into the base," he shrugged.

"And I want to do that; why?"

"Because it will make things easier for Wang Tian Mu if we all had the privilege that being part of a team would give us," answered Cheng Bo Jing as he came up behind Bai Long Qiang. "The shower is free."

Bai Long Qiang nodded his head and disappeared.

"Fine," grunted Rip.

"In his defense, he did warn me that you would not be willing to leave your woman behind. However, I was hoping to get your help on certain missions," explained Chang Guo Zi, and I could see what made him such an effective leader. He was cool under pressure and a good strategist.

"Are you going to tell the rest of the class?" asked the man, the sneer on his face seeming to be a permanent fixture.

"Hao Yuan Jun, it’s not you to question," said a third man who had been quiet up to this point. "My name is Duan Zhao Hui; I am the second in command of Phoenix Rising."

"Pleasure," I replied, nodding my head. I appreciated how he reacted to the situation and shot down the other man.

"I am a Reaver," smiled Rip, this time flashing his teeth. "And if he knew that, then I can only assume that he wants me around to deal with the other Reavers."

There was silence in the room as the newcomers turned as one and stared at Rip. I was pretty sure that if they could, their eyes would have fallen out of their heads; they were so wide.