"So fragrant..." Lin Qiye, aching all over, staggered out of the training room. The scent wafting from the recreation room reignited the dead-ash look in his eyes.
The corner of Wen Qimo's mouth lifted slightly. "Looks like that beating you took this morning wasn't for nothing..."
Lin Qiye walked straight into the recreation room. The moment he pushed the door open, four pairs of resentful eyes swept toward him in unison.
"..." Lin Qiye felt that something was off. "What... happened?"
"Nothing. Sit down and eat." Chen Muye glanced at him and spoke flatly.
"Oh."
After Lin Qiye sat down, Hong Ying looked pitifully at Chen Muye, her eyes full of longing.
"Eat." At last, Chen Muye said the words everyone had been waiting to hear.
They all sprang into action like wolves that had been starved for days, their eyes practically red.
"Sister Hong Ying, is the food for you Night Watchmen... always this good?" Lin Qiye looked at the spread of dishes on the table and asked quietly.
Hong Ying answered irritably, "I don't want to talk to you right now."
After saying that, Hong Ying thought for a moment and added, "I'll talk to you after I'm done eating!"
Lin Qiye: ...
"Lin Qiye."
"Here, Captain."
"Did you gain anything from today's training?"
"Yes. I gained a lot."
"Mm." Chen Muye nodded, paused, then continued, "Does it hurt?"
"...A little."
"Xiao Nan, treat him later."
Si Xiaonan pursed her lips and obediently nodded. "Okay."
Chen Muye thought about it, then added, "Don't heal him completely. Just make sure he can still take a beating tomorrow."
Lin Qiye: ...
Clack!
Two pairs of chopsticks collided in the bone broth, making a soft sound.
The two pairs of chopsticks remained locked in a deadlock over that piece of meat, neither willing to give way.
Hong Ying and Wu Xiangnan glared at each other, their gazes seeming to spark in the air.
"Wu Xiangnan, I had my eye on that piece first." Hong Ying glared at him.
Wu Xiangnan replied calmly, "I picked it up first."
"Let go."
"I'm not letting go."
"Let go!"
"No!"
Crackle...
The sparks between them grew more and more intense.
Just then, Leng Xuan, who had been quietly eating with barely any presence at all, stared at that piece of meat and reached toward his waist...
He pulled out an MP5 Submachine Gun,
and placed it on the table.
"Let go." He spoke calmly.
Hong Ying: ...
Wu Xiangnan: ...
Leng Xuan naturally reached out with his chopsticks and picked up the largest piece of meat. After hesitating for a moment, he placed it in Lin Qiye's bowl.
"You're new. Eat more. We'll practice shooting later."
Leng Xuan coldly said this as he put away the submachine gun.
"Huh? Oh... okay." Lin Qiye did not react for a moment, then blankly watched Leng Xuan lower his head and continue eating...
Well, damn.
What did it mean to be ruthless and a man of few words?
This was what it meant to be ruthless and a man of few words!
"Leng Xuan, try not to draw your gun at the dinner table next time." Chen Muye reminded him.
"If it accidentally goes off... it would be a shame to ruin all this food."
Leng Xuan nodded. "Oh."
Hong Ying and Wu Xiangnan exchanged a glance, then both obediently lowered their heads and ate.
After Lin Qiye cleaned every last bit of food from his bowl, Leng Xuan stood up, walked over to him, and spoke blandly.
"Full?"
"Full."
"Come on. Shooting practice."
"Okay!"
Watching the two figures gradually disappear down the corridor, Wen Qimo let out a long sigh and turned to Si Xiaonan.
"Xiao Nan."
"What is it?"
"Your status as the team's darling has been replaced."
Si Xiaonan: (pouts)
"Guns are firearms, the crystallization of human wisdom."
In the shooting room, Leng Xuan stood expressionlessly before a neatly arranged wall covered in all kinds of guns.
"They are of little use against high-level Mythical Creatures, but against low-level Mythical Creatures, guns are often more effective than cold weapons.
"Especially for newcomers, when they do not possess strong close-combat ability, learning to use guns is very necessary."
Leng Xuan took a pistol from the wall behind him and placed it before Lin Qiye.
"I'll only teach you two things: shooting techniques and the principles behind how firearms are constructed. Unless you plan to specialize in firearms in the future, that will be enough for you."
Lin Qiye nodded repeatedly.
"Now, take this gun and shoot at the target. Let me see your talent." Leng Xuan pointed at the target not far away.
Lin Qiye nodded, picked up the pistol, and stood at the shooting station.
He took a deep breath,
copied the movements he had seen on television,
raised the gun,
aimed,
and fired!
Bang—!
At the gunshot, both of their faces immediately darkened.
He missed the target...
Leng Xuan walked up to the target and confirmed again and again that there was no bullet hole. His expression seemed rather ugly. "You missed a target only thirty meters away? This..."
Lin Qiye lowered the gun and coughed twice. "Um... how's my talent?"
Leng Xuan looked at him, then closed his eyes in despair.
"You? What talent could you possibly have?"
Lin Qiye: ...
Back at Hong Ying's huge villa, Lin Qiye collapsed weakly onto the sofa and rubbed his weary eyes.
After a full day of training, he had suffered a double torment of body and mind. First, the captain had hacked at him mercilessly, then he had been riddled with rubber bullets.
The firearms lesson that night had not been tiring, but it had ground his self-esteem into the floor again and again...
He truly had no talent for guns.
After the entire evening of training, when Lin Qiye walked out of the training room, he could clearly feel that Leng Xuan was even more exhausted than he was. More importantly, the light in Leng Xuan's eyes... was gone.
In the end, Leng Xuan had even comforted him, saying that it was not too outrageous for a beginner to be like this and telling him to work hard in the future.
But as he kept talking, Lin Qiye had ended up comforting him instead.
"Don't worry. I think my lack of talent right now is only temporary. It'll be fine if I practice more."
"You need to have faith in me, and faith in yourself too. Your marksmanship is so good—there's no way you can't teach me, right?"
"Time. The most important thing is time... You need to be patient..."
"Be optimistic. At least I can still hit the target within twenty meters. I'm not beyond saving!"
"..."
Just as Lin Qiye was feeling dejected, a graceful figure quietly approached him.
"Little brother Qiye, are you tired?" Hong Ying, dressed in fuzzy pajamas, smiled as she handed Lin Qiye a cup of tea.
Lin Qiye forced a smile and accepted it. "Thanks."
"It's actually not too bad. Although I'm tired, it feels fulfilling." Lin Qiye took a sip of tea and looked around. "Where's Xiao Nan?"
"She seems a little angry that you stole her position as the team's darling, so she went back to her room."
"No wonder. When she was treating me just now, she kept pinching my flesh. I thought that was part of the normal procedure." Lin Qiye touched the bruises on his arm in sudden realization.
Hong Ying burst out laughing.
"Actually, the captain is this strict with everyone. When I first came here, even though I was a girl, he did not hold back at all. He beat me until I cried." Hong Ying looked out the window as if recalling something, a smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
"That's a bit harsh."
"Not harsh. Not harsh at all." Hong Ying shook her head. "The death rate among the Night Watchmen in Cangnan City has gone down, and that is basically all thanks to the captain. One reason is that he is strong himself, and the other is... he is responsible enough toward the other team members.
"The harder he beats you, the more it makes you remember the pain and grow quickly.
"He would rather his team members hate him than have them die on the battlefield because they lack strength... Do you understand?"
Lin Qiye was silent for a long time. He seemed to recall Chen Muye's sharp gaze from that morning again, then slowly nodded.
"I understand."
The corner of Hong Ying's mouth lifted slightly. Like an older sister, she patted Lin Qiye's head and softly said, "All right, get some rest early if you're tired. Good night."
"Good night."
After bidding Hong Ying farewell, Lin Qiye returned to his room. Dragging his exhausted body onto the bed, he stared blankly at the empty ceiling.
After a while, he slowly climbed back out of bed...
He drew the straight blade from its sheath,
gripping the blade in one hand and the sheath in the other,
then closed his eyes and recalled every sword technique Chen Muye had used that day.
Under the hazy moonlight,
he swung his blade again and again!
Before you continue