Married the Second Generation Fox Demon with a Baby in a Flash Marriage (GL) - Chapter 17
The person looking for Hu Mengmeng was none other than the vice president of the martial arts club, Tong Qiao.
Hu Mengmeng had never given the martial arts club a second thought before. However, ever since her brief encounter with that demon hunter, she had felt a constant sense of impending doom. If she accidentally revealed her fox tail and was discovered, she would be relentlessly pursued by demon hunters and turned into mincemeat, or perhaps even a fur coat.
That sword alone was terrifying enough, not to mention advanced gadgets like helicopters. It felt like if a few mercenaries from TV showed up, she’d be finished with a swift strike.
After losing weight, she felt much lighter, and exercise didn’t seem so unpleasant anymore.
So, when Tong Qiao mentioned the martial arts club, Hu Mengmeng became somewhat interested.
The unlocked memories in Hu Mengmeng’s mind mainly consisted of fox demon instincts, some strange and peculiar secret arts, mostly related to pleasure and bewitchment. For self-preservation, aside from charm, there wasn’t much else, let alone human martial arts skills.
If this martial arts club really had some substance, even if Lin Yunya wasn’t in it, she wanted to join and learn something.
Otherwise, if she were captured, leaving Su Mingli alone would be so pitiful, especially since her fox mother had already been taken!
“Mengmeng, the martial arts club! So cool!” Zhao Qingqing was even more excited than Hu Mengmeng. She knew that the martial arts club was the hardest club to get into at Fengcheng University, with strict screening. This year, hundreds of freshmen applied, but only a dozen or so new members were recruited. Hu Mengmeng had actually been invited directly to join.
“Martial arts club? Will they teach martial arts? Not just fancy moves, right?” Hu Mengmeng asked.
“Our martial arts club has won the championship in the National University Martial Arts League for three consecutive years. We have members in the special police team and the provincial sports meet. Do you think it’s just fancy moves?” Tong Qiao said with a confident smile.
“Why did you ask me to join? Do I look like I have talent?” Hu Mengmeng asked again, wondering if she had somehow seen through her fox spirit identity. That shouldn’t be possible, right?
“Of course, you have talent. Look at your height, long legs, proportions, and bone structure – they’re all very suitable. If you agree to join, you’ll have to work hard, or you’ll be eliminated. New members have a one-month observation period,” Tong Qiao said.
“Okay, then I’ll join. What’s the procedure?” Hu Mengmeng asked.
“We won’t make it now. This is the form, fill it out when you get back. Add my WeChat, and I’ll come get it later. Submitting the form makes you an official member. I’ll tell you the martial arts club’s activity times, training grounds, daily opening hours, etc., then,” Tong Qiao said with a smile.
The two exchanged WeChat IDs, and Hu Mengmeng took the form. She and Zhao Qingqing went to have breakfast together and then went to their morning class.
Tong Qiao watched Hu Mengmeng leave, her eyes curving into a smile.
What Hu Mengmeng didn’t know was that even though she had concealed her demon aura and suppressed her bloodline, she still carried traces of spiritual energy.
Tong Qiao was very happy to have recruited this new member with spiritual energy. Ye Xinyu would definitely be pleased.
Ye Xinyu sponsored the martial arts club not just to promote martial arts, but also to find talented individuals who could absorb spiritual energy and expand the ranks of demon hunters.
The ancient demon-hunting families had all been conservative, tightly guarding their secret techniques.
This was also the case in Ye Xinyu’s grandfather’s generation. Now, the direct line of the Ye family only consisted of Ye Xinyu’s grandfather and Ye Xinyu.
A single tree was hard to support. Relying solely on Ye Xinyu, the Ye family was too vulnerable.
So, ever since Ye Xinyu went to university and gradually took control of the Ye family, she had begun searching for such talents, not only having the martial arts club at the university but also establishing schools and security companies.
The selected individuals were first taught the basic methods of absorbing spiritual energy, and then their talent and character were assessed to decide whether to continue their training.
However, they had started relatively late, and there weren’t many people who could be of real use yet.
“Xinyu, are you coming to the new members’ meeting? There are a few promising ones among the new recruits,” Tong Qiao said, dialing a number in a quiet place. Her voice softened considerably, and her gaze also became gentle.
“Mm. Thank you for your trouble. I still have some things to take care of here for now. If I finish up, I’ll definitely go,” Ye Xinyu’s voice came from the other end of the phone.
“Alright then. You must be careful. If there’s anything you need my help with, please don’t hesitate,” Tong Qiao said.
“Mm. Binhe Avenue hasn’t been very safe recently. Remind them not to go there for morning exercises or evening runs. Also, try not to swim at night,” Ye Xinyu said from the other end.
Tong Qiao nodded repeatedly, and after hanging up, her eyes still seemed to sparkle.
***
Hu Mengmeng arrived at the classroom and filled out the form before the official start of class.
The first class in the morning was advanced mathematics.
Hu Mengmeng used half of her attention to suppress her bloodline. Her foundation was already weak, so she understood very little of what was being said.
Before she knew it, two periods had passed.
Hu Mengmeng looked at the book she had doodled abstract drawings on with her pen and grabbed her hair.
She had promised Su Mingli that she would study hard, and this was how her first class went!
There were no more classes for the next two periods. Hu Mengmeng felt dizzy from suppressing her bloodline. She wanted to go back to her dorm after leaving the teaching building, but after thinking about it, she sent a message to Tong Qiao instead, arranged a meeting place, and gave Tong Qiao the registration form.
“I’ll add you to the club’s group chat. For now, there’s a separate group for new members. After a month, when you become an official member, I’ll add you to our main group. The group owner there is our president, Ye!” Tong Qiao said to Hu Mengmeng after taking the registration form.
“Senior Tong, will there be someone to teach martial arts if I join the club?” Hu Mengmeng asked. She wasn’t very interested in that President Ye, only caring about whether she could learn some skills.
“Of course, there will be. We have a national martial arts champion as our instructor, and President Ye will also come to teach when she has time. There are training sessions every week, and senior members will lead the training. There will also be regular sparring matches to select participants for competitions. It’s all practical combat,” Tong Qiao said. As for more in-depth details, such as teaching how to absorb spiritual energy, that would be discussed after the observation period when they became official members.
Hearing what Tong Qiao said, Hu Mengmeng held a glimmer of hope for this so-called martial arts club.
The two of them exchanged a few more words and then parted ways. Hu Mengmeng glanced at her phone and saw Lin Yunya’s ID in the WeChat group. She was in there too.
Hu Mengmeng had always remembered what happened in their childhood. Even though Lin Yunya had treated her that way, she didn’t hate her.
She had changed a lot for the better now. Lin Yunya shouldn’t dislike her anymore, right?
Lin Yunya had originally been a very, very good person!
Hu Mengmeng sighed slightly with sadness and quickly carried her backpack back to her rented place.
The first thing she did when she got home was close the door and release the suppression on her bloodline.
The clumsy method, going against her nature, definitely came with a price.
The longer she suppressed it, the more she felt her fox spirit bloodline pulsating, struggling like it was alive, requiring more and more effort.
Hu Mengmeng let out a long breath, changed into slippers, sat down, and drank a glass of water. Her head felt much clearer. Looking at her backpack, her heart stirred. She took out the advanced mathematics book she had been vaguely looking at earlier.
Focusing her attention on the book again, this time, she could understand some of what had previously felt like gibberish.
Without dividing her attention anymore, and with the integration of her fox spirit bloodline, her memory had also improved. She could remember anything she had read once. Only the things she couldn’t understand due to her weak foundation remained incomprehensible.
For the things she couldn’t understand, she used her phone to look them up, getting to the root of the matter and resolving her foundational issues. Before long, she felt incredibly clear about the first lesson of advanced mathematics, and she easily finished the homework the teacher had assigned.
These past few days, Hu Mengmeng had been busy helping Su Mingli. When she got home, she would release the suppression on her bloodline and go straight to sleep. She hadn’t expected her mind to be so clear at this time, which she could use for studying and improving her learning efficiency.
Hu Mengmeng sat down and also previewed the courses she had in the afternoon, memorizing all the articles in her English textbook.
Hu Mengmeng had never learned so easily before. She felt that learning was so easy!
In the past, besides eating, Hu Mengmeng had spent most of her time studying, but no matter how hard she tried, she was terrible at it. Her memory was poor, her comprehension was poor, and she always felt like she was missing something. Now, it was like her Ren and Du meridians had been opened, and she had gone from walking to driving on a highway.
Hu Mengmeng studied intently until a little past twelve noon, when Su Mingli called her to bring food. Su Mingli had made braised pork rice for her at the snack shop.
Su Mingli had already started working, but she strictly forbade Hu Mengmeng from helping out on weekdays, telling her to study whenever she had time, or else she would break her legs.
Hu Mengmeng went to the small shop, brought back the braised pork rice to eat, and continued studying after finishing.
This learning speed finally made Hu Mengmeng feel like she was doing justice to the food Su Mingli made.
When Su Mingli returned from closing the shop at night and saw Hu Mengmeng reading, she felt much relieved. No matter how much or how little she learned, as long as she put in the effort, that was enough.
The cost of living in Fengcheng was high, and the shop rental was also high. Having only been open for a short time, the gross income had already exceeded that of the small shop in Taolin County. Su Mingli felt that working a bit harder was worth it.
With Su Mingli taking care of the logistics, Hu Mengmeng spent the following days studying her freshman textbooks as soon as she got home. Her learning efficiency and concentration were highly focused, allowing her to learn very quickly. In one week, she had learned a quarter of the semester’s material.
On weekends, Hu Mengmeng helped Su Mingli in the morning, delivering takeout orders on the small electric scooter whenever there were any.
One Saturday evening, a little after 7 o’clock, Hu Mengmeng was returning after delivering a takeout order and passed by Binhe Avenue when she saw a familiar figure – Lin Yunya.
She was wearing a pink layered tulle dress, draped with a darker shawl. The river breeze blew, causing her clothes to flutter, making her look like a scenic view.
The sky was somewhat dim, and there were guardrails and warning signs along Binhe Avenue.
Hu Mengmeng didn’t know what Lin Yunya was doing here, so she slowed down.
She always felt like there was something in the seemingly calm river, and it didn’t feel right.
On the other side, Lin Yunya’s eyes were only on Ye Xinyu, who was “strolling” on the riverbank.
She was somewhat excited. She had inquired with many people before finally learning that Ye Xinyu would come to Binhe Avenue recently. Today, she had finally encountered her.
Lin Yunya went down the steps, ignoring the yellow caution tape blocking the way, and walked only towards Ye Xinyu’s direction.