Chapter 633 - Never Heard of It

Never Heard of It

Yang Chen knew what Li Dun was here for the moment he saw him. Li Dun pointing it out did not come as a shock to him. The vibe of a rugged veteran resonated from Li Dun, which he assumed wouldn’t be interested in much else besides a decent fight.

“What makes you think I will accept your request?” Yang Chen retorted.

Li Dun was determined to get the yes. “I know you will. Why else would you humor me?”

Yang Chen shook his head. “If I fight you because you want me to, how shameful would that look on me?”

“Then tell me. What can I do to make you fight me?” Li Dun surprisingly reacted with civility over immediate hostility. He was well aware of their current position within hospital boundaries.

Yang Chen replied, “I’m all in for a duel. But let’s raise the stakes to make it more interesting. If I agree to fight you there should be rewards and punishment. Now it is for you to decide on whether your request still stands.”

Li Dun might be short-tempered but as the captain of the special forces, he sure was no idiot; otherwise he would’ve been dead in combat long ago. Idiocy was for the weak and he was not weak by any means.

“So Mr Yang, what problems are you facing which might need my support?” Li Dun was as straightforward as ever.

Yang Chen applauded and said, “Glad to see you have your wits about you. Such a refreshing change of pace. There is only one thing I need your help for.”

He continued by briefly explaining the incident between Cai Ning and Yong Ye. Yong Ye and his parents were considered part of the Li clan, but given their distant relations it went without saying that they naturally had less significance in the clan than Li Dun.

Yang Chen kept his terms short and simple—if Li Dun lost, he would have to nullify the wedding contract that Cai Ning was embroiled in. This way, Yang Chen himself was free from the obligation of making a controversial appearance. Cai Ning would be detached from Yang Chen’s involvements, thus retaining her independence.

Li Dun upon hearing Yang Chen suggestion frowned and thought for a bit. “Mr Yang, Yong Ye is part of my family regardless of how distant we are. I need a solid reason to follow through with your plan. The bet alone does not suffice. Maybe in your eyes my cousin and Miss Flower Rain’s marriage might be inappropriate, but regardless it was their own business. I can’t be poking my nose in places it shouldn’t be.”

Yang Chen was frustrated with his reply. “There is a reason, there is! You can just say that Cai Ning doesn’t like him, and there’s no point holding a meaningless wedding.”

Li Dun laughed as he replied, “That isn’t a reason. Neither of us is involved in the marriage. How would we know if she was reluctant or not? Besides, if their marriage turned out to be a fruitful one, wouldn’t that just tarnish my name for trying to break them up?”

Yang Chen was caught off-guard by his thoughtful and thorough personality. Never would he expect a person as short-tempered as Li Dun to remain this clear-minded.

Li Dun in slight pity added, “I apologise for that but I simply cannot agree to conditions like that. If you had asked for money or something else, I could have reconsidered. But if it’s related to my cousin’s relationship, regardless of how much I want to have a duel with you Mr Yang, I cannot jeopardize the family and our reputation over a duel.”

“I guess you’re right.” Yang Chen guiltily giggled. This wasn’t the first time his desperation had led him to make some rash decisions. If Li Dun had actually accepted the request, he would become a pawn in Yang Chen’s plan of disrupting a loved one’s marriage. That would have only ended in a tragedy.

Li Dun on the other hand carefully thought about Yang Chen’s terms and said, “But, if my cousin was found guilty of abusing the position of our family to manipulate Miss Flower Rain into marrying him, then it would prove that his means of going about the marriage was not ethical. If you can prove that Miss Flower Rain actually has no intention of marrying my younger cousin, then I as his cousin brother will stand up to expose his misdeeds.”

Yang Chen for the first time, gave a detailed look at Li Dun. He started to like this fellow. His personality was one of the rarer few that he admired.

Humble, confident, thoughtful and willing to put others before himself. The children of most wealthy clans could hardly say the same.

Excluding Yuan Ye who was now his cousin, Yang Chen had never met a male friend in China that he would be eager to build a platonic friendship with. Of course it went without saying that a large part of that was because Yang Chen prefered female company over male ones. He had spent too much time on his women that he had no time to find any guy friends.

“I suppose you are a nice, honest person. Well then I’ll cut the games,” Yang Chen continued with a smile, “Even if you don’t plan to help me, if you really want to fight, then I’ll accept the duel.”

Li Dun originally thought that this request was going south really quickly, but it took a quick turn and so did his emotions. He burst into laughter and gave Yang Chen a quick pat on the shoulder. “You sure are worthy a man of the Pluto god status! Then I’ll skip the formalities. Let’s make it happen as soon as possible! Please follow me to a wider area where we can really let loose!”

It was after all in the hospital compound, which was not too convenient for a duel. Yang Chen had no objections.

Around this time, Sky Dragon and Ye Zi made their way to the two men. Ye Zi anxiously asked, “Brother Yang, are you really going to duel Master Li?”

Yang Chen rubbed his nose and replied with a smile, “Well his enthusiasm is infectious. But don’t you worry, this is a friendly match. Nobody is going to get hurt.”

“If you can shred my flesh and break my bones so be it. Do your worst,” Li Dun replied headstrong.

Sky Dragon couldn’t help but stare at Li Dun like an idiot before he sighed and said, “If that’s the case then I won’t stop you, but we will still be around. Just yell whenever you need us.”

Meanwhile, the situation at the hospital was mostly settled. After Tang Wan completed her blood test, she was allowed to return to the Tang residence. Yang Chen’s first task on his current trip to Beijing was officially checked off the list.

As for the mastermind behind Tang Wan’s poisoning, Yang Chen was not too concerned about it. After his fight with Li Dun all he needed to do was to stop by at the Tang residence. As a fellow lawbreaker himself, he was sure that there was no traceless crime.

After about half an hour, Yang Chen aboard Li Dun’s military-grade Hummer arrived at a special operations base camp outside Beijing’s 5th Ring Road.

The entrance personnel immediately bowed and saluted at the presence of Li Dun’s vehicle.

Li Dun drove his vehicle past the heavily guarded entrance into a vast training field. To its sides were several minimalistic flat buildings of various sizes. The buildings were no doubt built with extremely durable materials which were able to withstand earthquakes or landslides without leaving a dent.

Yang Chen got down from the vehicle and curiously glanced through his surroundings. There were several stern, sweaty men jogging past, evidently under training.

It seems like all these people are not inferior to the Dragon Group Recruits that Yellow Flame Iron Brigade once had me train. Many of them have their temples bulged upwards, probably as a result of hard cultivation. These soldiers are pretty decent,

thought Yang Chen.

Having noticed Yang Chen’s curious glances at the site, Li Dun proudly boasted, “So how was it, Yang Chen? All these people here are my brothers. They have been carefully selected to be part of our special forces.” After some casual chats on the vehicle, bold and forthright Li Dun started to call Yang Chen by his full name.

Yang Chen nodded, and replied only with two words, “Not bad.”

That was all he could say—even though these special forces could match those from the Dragon Group Recruits, there were still a considerable gap between them and the best in the world.

Li Dun however felt that Yang Chen lacked sincerity but he did not let it affect him. He once again gestured Yang Chen to invite him to a nearby practice room.

Along the way every special operation personnel stopped to give their salute towards Li Dun as he casually walked towards his destination.

Yang Chen curiously asked, “Which squad are you the captain of again?”

Li Dun was visibly agitated by Yang Chen’s enquiry. He briefly glared at him. “You actually don’t know?”

Yang Chen was frustrated by his response.?

Am I supposed to know?

Li Dun was slightly annoyed as he answered. “My team’s name is actually related to mine—Blunt Blade Special Forces.”

[TL note: ‘dun’ from Li Dun’s name means blunt.]

“Blunt Blade?” Yang Chen frowned.?

I can’t recall ever hearing their name prior to this!

“We were originally a squad under the jurisdiction of the security bureau. But recently, we have gained our independence from the government. I believe you know that our family controls a huge majority of China’s special forces on top of maintaining the security bureau. Blunt Blade is the best of the best among them. Every year, the members of this squad would be assessed and the less competent ones would be replaced. Everyone in the squad is undoubtedly the cream of the crop,” Li Dun explained.

Yang Chen was however still intrigued by the name. “Blunt Blade. Who chose the name?”