Chapter 99

Hu Hao came out of the office with Monkey and Big Bear, then went to find Colonel Zhang. However, Hu Hao wasn't actually looking for Colonel Zhang; he was looking for Li Heshang. When he found Colonel Zhang, Li Heshang was right behind him.

"Heshang, Heshang, come over here!" Li Heshang heard Hu Hao calling him and turned to look.

Colonel Zhang said from the side, "Xiao Li, Er Lengzi is calling you, go see what's up!"

"Okay!" Li Heshang really didn't want to go, but he had no choice. Er Lengzi had called him, and Colonel Zhang wanted him to go, so he couldn't refuse.

"What's up, Brother Hao!" Li Heshang came over and, when he saw the two people behind Hu Hao, understood that these were the Li Dabao and Li Xiaobao Hu Hao had mentioned. He looked at them with a sympathetic gaze.

"Hey, Heshang, why are you dawdling? Are your bones loose? Do you want me to tighten them up for you?" Hu Hao said.

"No, Colonel Zhang is over there, I have to say hello to him!" Li Heshang said.

"That's better. Remember to keep an eye on my brother. Don't let him touch anything dangerous, or I won't forgive you!" Hu Hao said.

"Don't worry, Brother Hao! What do you need me for, Brother Hao?" Li Heshang said.

"Right, I almost forgot. Give me the key to your place. These two will be staying with you. It's close to where I live, and you live alone, so it'll be good to have some company!" Hu Hao said.

"Ah!" Li Heshang said, surprised.

"Ah, what? Give it to me!" Hu Hao said.

"Why don't you find them another place? Why do they have to stay with me?" Li Heshang said.

"You live right next to us, isn't that convenient? Don't dawdle, or I'll beat you up!" Hu Hao said.

"Alright, I guess living close is a problem too!" Li Heshang said, then gave Hu Hao the key from his waist. Hu Hao took it, glared at him, and said:

"Wait for it, you dare to disobey me? I haven't beaten you in a while, so your skin must be itching again!" He then left the armory with Monkey and Big Bear, went to Li Heshang's place, opened the door, and let Monkey and Big Bear in. He said,

"Monkey, Big Bear, you'll be staying here. Put your stuff down, and let's go out and play!"

"Ah! Brother Hao, what are we going to play?" Monkey asked.

"Nothing special, I haven't been active lately, so I want to practice with you guys. Hurry up, I'll wait for you outside. If you take more than three minutes, you know the consequences!" Hu Hao said and left.

Monkey and Big Bear quickly put down their things. Big Bear asked, "Bro, what do we do? We can't avoid this. Should we use our secret move?"

"Use it. Damn it, we need to scare him this time. Otherwise, we'll never have a chance to stand up. We'll do it as we planned. Use whatever tricks we have, no matter how dirty!" Monkey said.

"Alright, let's go!" Big Bear nodded and said.

When the two came out, Hu Hao looked at them and felt something was off. They looked like they were going to their deaths!

"What's with your faces? You look like you're going to a heroic sacrifice! What's up, are you going to blow up a Japanese fort or something?" Hu Hao said.

"No, you said you wanted to spar with us. We can't beat you, so why do you always want to spar with us?" Monkey said.

"Who the hell wants to spar with you? I can handle both of you with one hand!" Hu Hao shouted.

"Ah! Not sparring, then what? Beat us up?" Monkey looked at Big Bear and asked, surprised.

"Are you asking for a beating? Do you have a masochistic tendency or something?" Hu Hao said.

"No, no, no masochistic tendency, Brother Hao. If we're not sparring, what are we going to do?" Monkey asked, confused.

"I've been bored lately and want to do something. But going alone to the Japanese isn't as fun. We've worked together before to fight the Japanese, so I thought I'd bring you guys along to play!" Hu Hao said.

"Ah! Brother Hao, you want to go play with the Japanese again? Does Brother Zhang know?" Monkey quickly said.

"Who said I want to play with the Japanese? I just got back from them a few days ago," Hu Hao said, annoyed.

"Then, Brother Hao, what do you want to do?" Monkey asked, now thoroughly confused. He had prepared for a fight, but Hu Hao didn't seem to want to beat them up. Now, he said he wanted to play, but Monkey didn't understand what kind of play.

"I was thinking, if I go alone to rob the Japanese, I can only get so much. But if I bring you guys, you're not ready yet. If the Japanese surround you, you'll be dead. So I plan to train you. Once you're ready, I'll take you to play with the Japanese. How does that sound?" Hu Hao said.

"Ah! Brother Hao, you're going to teach us, really?" Monkey said, excited.

"Yep!" Hu Hao nodded firmly.

"That's great, Brother Hao! I admire your skills. That's why I joined the Eighth Route Army. Brother Hao, when do we start?" Monkey asked, excited. In this era, anyone who could teach life-saving and killing skills would be a fool to pass up.

"Sure, you want to learn from me, but I can't just teach you. You have to agree to my conditions. Otherwise, I'll just play with you. What do you say?" Hu Hao asked.

"Okay, Brother Hao, whatever conditions you have, we'll agree. We left Northeast China at the age of twenty to learn real skills to kill the Japanese and avenge our families. If you teach us, we'll agree to anything, even if it means giving our lives!" Monkey said, his eyes a bit red. Big Bear also nodded firmly.

Hu Hao saw this and felt they were like him and his brother, both carrying deep grudges. One was for the death of his parents, the other for the massacre of his village.

"Why would I want your lives? In this era, everything is valuable except for lives. Alright, I'll train you, but I need to make it clear. To learn what I know, you must be able to endure. No matter how hard it gets, you must persevere. Also, you can't use what you learn against civilians. And if, by any chance, I die, you must protect my brother for the rest of your lives. If anyone tries to harm my brother, you must kill them. What do you say, do you agree?" Hu Hao said.

"Okay, we agree. No matter how hard it gets, we'll persevere. We promise not to use our skills against civilians and to protect your brother for life. We have nothing to lose anyway!"