Deep into the night, Jiang Yan said goodbye to Tang Long and hurried back to his quarters to rest.
He had returned late, and the courtyard was already quiet.
Lying in bed, he thought back over the night's events, letting the useful information he'd learned flow through his mind.
Tang Long had told him that since his identity token couldn't be delivered right away, they couldn't give him the待遇 of a squad leader yet. He would still need to patrol for the next few days. Once the token arrived and he was officially appointed squad leader, he would have other duties.
In the Patrol Team, squad leaders and ordinary patrol members had different jobs.
At that thought, he silently summoned the Martial Arts Modifier.
The supernatural ability panel appeared.
Character: Jiang Yan Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: First Form, Mastery. Improve (Available) Derive (Unavailable) Weird Value: 9
A gleam swirled in his eyes. After he'd improved the first form of Chopping Iron Four Forms that day, he could actually have continued improving it, but he had chosen not to.
The Martial Arts Modifier's powers were incomparably strong. After mastering the first form of Chopping Iron, he had advanced to Martial Apprentice.
His strength was real, and so was his martial arts experience.
But he still felt strangely unfamiliar with this strength and experience.
As he understood it, he needed time to adjust. He still couldn't use these abilities with ease and needed to practice.
In fact, every martial artist needed time to adapt after breaking through to a new realm and seeing their strength surge.
"Soon." In the darkness, Jiang Yan clenched his fist. "In another day or two, I'll improve it again."
Early the next morning, Jiang Yan woke up early.
He wore a long sword at his waist and tucked Blazing Flames Talismans and Ice Talismans into his clothes. After checking the sky, he strode out.
Today was the day the Patrol Team would be reorganized into new groups.
The square was especially crowded today.
After the meal, Fei Shan assigned the newcomers to groups of four. The groups were arranged quite sensibly, with experienced members in almost every group. This was to keep inexperienced newcomers from making mistakes while on patrol.
At a glance, it looked just like the past few days: experienced members and newcomers together, still in groups of four. There wasn't much difference.
But from today onward, the veteran members wouldn't go out of their way to look after the newcomers.
Hearing his group's roster, Jiang Yan's lips curved into a smile. His three teammates were Shan Renhu, Meng Sheng, and a man named Ying Cong.
Shan Renhu was still the captain.
Before long, Jiang Yan easily found Shan Renhu. Meng Sheng was standing beside him and hurriedly greeted Jiang Yan when he saw him.
"Brother Shan, hasn't our other teammate arrived yet?"
Shan Renhu saw Jiang Yan and forced an ugly smile, then shook his head.
"Brother Shan, what's wrong?"
Noticing that Shan Renhu seemed upset, Jiang Yan asked.
"Ah, Brother Jiang, Old Shan's luck wasn't too good this time."
He raised the slip of paper in his hand. He'd drawn the night watch.
Jiang Yan's expression fell too. The night watch was far more dangerous than the day shift.
Meng Neng began stammering again. "B-Brother Shan, y-y-you..."
"How can my luck be this lousy?"
Shan Renhu finished the sentence for him.
"If a night-watch group has suffered any casualties, it can skip the draw this time and work the day shift instead. For the rest, the group captain draws to decide whether they'll take the night watch."
"Then Brother Shan, you really did have bad luck this time."
Meng Sheng sighed.
"Heh."
Shan Renhu let out a cold laugh, his face turning completely dark. He ignored everyone, gathered his things, and tossed out a brief, "Meet at dusk."
Then he left.
Jiang Yan and Meng Sheng exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Old Shan to have such a short fuse.
"Brother Jiang, don't blame Old Shan." Fei Shan walked over. "He's had a hard time."
Fei Shan already knew Jiang Yan had broken through, so he treated him with great courtesy.
"What do you mean?" Jiang Yan asked, curious. Old Shan seemed cold by nature, but Jiang Yan had never seen him openly scowl like he had today.
"Uh, you newcomers probably don't know. Old Shan's been on the Patrol Team for over a year. Ever since he started leading a group, every time he draws, he gets the night watch."
Fei Shan emphasized with a serious expression, "Every time!"
"Ah, then why is he on the day shift this time?" Meng Sheng asked blankly.
"Old Shan just said it. If the group suffers casualties on night watch, they get the day shift."
Jiang Yan spoke slowly.
"Exactly. The more night watches you pull, the more likely you are to run into a monster."
"Then why is Brother Shan on the day shift this time?"
"A Ranked Monster came near the village a few days ago. The Patrol Team suffered heavy casualties. Everyone in Old Shan's group was wiped out except him."
After saying this, Fei Shan patted Jiang Yan on the shoulder and said, "Let's get a drink sometime," then went off to arrange other matters.
Jiang Yan shook his head. He hadn't expected to meet someone with such spectacularly bad luck.
"No wonder he's in a bad mood. He's a walking jinx."
He'd better go back and get some rest. The night watch was dangerous.
At dusk, the four of them assembled. Ying Cong was a young man with a big head and big eyes, very talkative and quick to warm to people. He circled around Shan Renhu, asking him one question after another.
"Brother Shan, sorry about this morning."
Jiang Yan cupped his hands and apologized.
Shan Renhu waved him off. "No need to apologize. I was only angry with myself."
He sounded rather rueful as he added, "I've been on the Patrol Team for so long, and my luck's always been like this. I've... gotten used to it."
"The night watch is dangerous. I've worked with so many people, and now some are dead, some are injured. Ah."
Shan Renhu gazed at the sky as it gradually darkened, falling silent.
By the time he came to his senses, he found three pairs of eyes fixed on him with an expression he couldn't understand.
Meng Neng started stammering again. "B-Brother Shan, y-y-y-you..."
"You mean you've done the night watch so many times, and your partners have all been pretty unlucky?"
This time, Ying Cong finished the question for Meng Neng.
Shan Renhu's cheek twitched, but he didn't deny it.
Jiang Yan: "..."
No wonder Old Shan was so experienced. He was a man who danced on the edge of death.
The four of them fell silent and headed toward another part of the village. This time, their patrol route was the orchard east of the village.
Scrape, scrape...
Footsteps hurried along.
Sun Fang was an ordinary fruit farmer from Yuyang Village. He still had a little work left at dusk, and he wanted to finish it so he could take the next day off. So he'd decided to stay late and get it done.
But now, staring at the sky that had grown completely dark, he regretted it.
There was no one around, only the rustle of wind through the leaves.
The night air was cold. Sun Fang suddenly felt a chill in his body, a cold dread rising down his back.
He quickened his pace, eager to get back to the village. Suddenly, he felt a chill at the back of his neck and hastily looked over his shoulder, but there was nothing there.
"Getting old really does make you a coward. The village is protected by Rune Soldiers, and the Patrol Team is patrolling everywhere. What are the odds I'd run into a monster?" Sun Fang laughed.
He rounded a bend and suddenly spotted a small figure by the roadside. It was bent over, panting as it dug at something.
He stopped in his tracks, his heart turning cold. Forcing himself to call out, he said, "Whose child are you? It's so late. Hurry home."
The figure didn't answer, still panting as it dug at something.
Sun Fang paused. He didn't dare approach, so he turned onto another road.
"Honestly, it didn't even answer me. Scared me to death."
He'd gone a little farther when his pupils suddenly shrank. By the roadside ahead, a small figure was bent over, panting as it dug at something.
Boundless terror surged at him from every direction. His whole body trembling, he threw himself forward and sprinted.
As he ran, he suddenly felt his body growing heavier and heavier, as though he were running with a mountain on his back.
A small figure walked toward him. The hair on Sun Fang's back stood on end.
"Mister, have you seen my head? I've been digging for so long, but I can't find it."
Sun Fang's eyes flew wide, his face contorted with terror. "Help me..."
The wind blew, leaving behind only a corpse.
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