Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 296: Pretty Much

Chapter 296: Pretty Much

Hu Wen Cheng’s head snapped around as he looked at the man he had asked to be his second in command just hours ago.

"What is going on?" he demanded in a low growl. There was nothing more that he hated than to be blindsided, and that woman had saved his life. He owed her everything, and he wasn’t going to let someone come and ruin it for him.

Chang Guo Zi let out a long breath but said nothing.

Hu Wen Cheng snorted in feigned amusement. At least he wasn’t trying to justify his actions or give an excuse. There was nothing more that he hated than when someone refused to admit that they were wrong.

"I am sorry, Healer," he murmured, lowering his head. And he was sorrier than he could ever say. He never should have brought this man, but he had heard that the two of them got along.

"No need to be," she assured him, a bright smile on her face. "But I will not be used, and I will not be manipulated, not after everything." She gave him a sad look like this was going to change the relationship they had between them. But he refused to let that happen.

He had made a promise to himself that he would become stronger in order to support her in whatever way he needed to, and he was going to keep doing that, no matter what.

He watched as her shoulders relaxed, and she leaned back in her chair. "Do nothing," she said again, softly. "This is not going to be over in a day or even a week. We are all in this for the long haul. But City A will be destroyed, and hundreds of people will die. But you will live a long life."

"Thank you," murmured Hu Wen Cheng, standing up and bowing at a 45 degree angle. "I appreciate what you have told me."

"I know you do. And for that alone, I will give you a bit of advice if you want it," she continued, her face becoming serious.

"Of course I want it. Anything you have to say, I will listen," he assured her, his body still maintaining the bow.

"Take those that you want to protect, but don’t tell them anything. Have them go and live in the Retribution building. Find anything living that you can and plant it around the building and inside of it. The more, the better. Trees, flowers, plants, grass. It doesn’t matter. As long as it is connected to nature, keep it around you."

"As you wish," replied Hu Wen Cheng as he straightened up. "And what about Chang Guo Zi?"

"Whatever happens to him has nothing to do with me. I have washed my hands of him. He will never be able to ask me a question and get an answer."

"Understood. And, once again, thank you."

Turning around, Hu Wen Cheng quickly left the room and started racing down the stairs. He had a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done.

Storming into the guild building, he went over to the reception area, where multiple teams were just hanging around, doing nothing. Lai Dan Dan, the secretary, stood up from her chair but didn’t make a move.

"I want everyone to go out and find living plants. Not the fake kind, but the real ones. Trees, flowers, plants, whatever you can get your hands on, even if you have to pull it out of the earth. Bring them here and plant the trees outside, and everything else will come inside," growled Hu Wen Cheng.

The men looked at him like he was an idiot, but he didn’t care. Those who followed his orders could stay here. Those that couldn’t were more than welcome to leave. He wouldn’t keep a snake in the garden.

"You heard him," shouted Chang Guo Zi, and immediately, more than half of the men stood up and raced out of the building.

"You, with me," grunted Hu Wen Cheng, glaring at his second. "We’ll be in the conference room just off to the side. Make sure no one disturbs us," he continued, looking at Lai Dan Dan. "Except for Bin An Sha and the men from his team."

Yeah, if the Healer had something she wanted to talk to him about, it would probably be for the best if she wasn’t kept waiting too long.

Going over to the conference room just off to the side of the reception area, he opened the door, gesturing for Chang Guo Zi to go in first. Closing the door behind himself, he locked it and turned his attention to the other man.

"You are going to tell me everything you know about the Healer, and you are not going to leave anything out. Not the smallest bit of detail, do you understand me? And start with the reason why you think that you can ask questions and demand answers."

"It’s not like that," said the man as he walked over and took a seat. Lying his head down on the table, he closed his eyes for a second. "I didn’t know she was the Healer when I first met her."

"You mean, her eyes didn’t give it away?" snorted Hu Wen Cheng, taking a seat at the head of the table.

"When I first met her, she had two brown eyes. Bai Long Qiang had only said that she was his woman and she was recovering," explained Chang Guo Zi, not opening his eyes. "I really didn’t think anything of it until she told us about a dream that she had. She didn’t want Bai Long Qiang and the others to go on a mission because she saw their deaths."

There was a long pause as Chang Guo Zi lifted his head and looked at his new boss. "I knew then that she could tell the future. She was able to see what could happen and change it if necessary. But sometimes, she needed encouragement."

"So you would ask her questions, and she would be forced to reply," assumed Hu Wen Cheng. Now it was his turn to close his eyes and send up a prayer of thanks to whoever would listen that he wasn’t as dumb as the idiot in front of him.

"Pretty much."