Ding Chen did not respond. Covering his face, he quickly walked around Chen Xian and entered the tent.
Chen Xian frowned and followed him inside.
Inside the tent, Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the others noticed Ding Chen's bruised and swollen face as well. They all crowded around him, firing off questions from every direction.
Ding Chen lay down on the communal bunk, pulled the blanket over his face, and said nothing.
The others looked at one another, then turned to Chen Xian.
"Who hit you?" Wang Yan raised a brow.
Chen Xian shook his head.
Ding Chen was a Minor Cook Leader. The people he came into contact with in the army differed from theirs. Anyone who dared hit Ding Chen was either another Minor Cook Leader of the same rank, a Chief Medic, or perhaps even a lieutenant.
Just as everyone was at a loss, Ding Chen suddenly threw off the blanket and sprang upright, coldness shooting from his eyes. "Train!"
At that moment, they all found Ding Chen's gaze somewhat frightening.
Chen Xian's eyes flickered. Over the time he had spent with Ding Chen, he had found that Ding Chen was not particularly humorous. He handled matters steadily, and there was a streak of pride in his bones.
Though he often cared for his subordinates and was a man of loyalty and feeling, he always gave Chen Xian the lonely impression of someone standing above the rest.
The original owner's memories contained nothing about Ding Chen's background.
Chen Xian guessed that Ding Chen's origins were not ordinary. At the very least, he had to be the son of a wealthy and distinguished family.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-August.
Chen Xian received last month's pay: two taels of Silver Shards and one Body Refinement Pill. This was the lowest-tier reward in the military camp.
Ten days had passed since Ding Chen was beaten that day.
Even now, Chen Xian and the others did not know who had beaten Ding Chen or why.
Yet whenever they had spare time, Ding Chen led Chen Xian and the others in training, never relaxing for even a moment.
Seven days ago, Ding Chen had obtained the Blood Moving Realm cultivation method for the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique. Wang Yan, Qin Fei, and the other two survivors from the beginning, Xue Qishan and Luo Ying—
The four of them had also reached Body Refinement Completion and applied to Zhao Tong for the Blood Flame Ox Demon Technique.
Today, the manuals happened to be issued to them all together.
Every day, aside from practicing his saber techniques and palm techniques, Chen Xian sat cross-legged at night to cultivate the Ox Demon Breathing Technique and fill his acupoints.
After cultivating for nearly more than twenty days, he had only filled three more acupoints, reaching a total of forty-six.
At this pace, filling all his remaining acupoints would take six or seven years.
Chen Xian could only feel helpless. Recently, the Demon Army's raids had become less frequent. More often than not, once the vanguard finished killing, they cleared the battlefield themselves, leaving the Cooks' Camp no chance to head out.
"A Body Refinement Pill?"
Chen Xian pinched the dark-red pill in his hand and glanced at Ding Chen and the others.
Wang Yan grinned. "Xianzi, the Body Refinement Pill won't do much for you anyway. Why not give it to me? I can temper my physique a little more."
Chen Xian said, "One tael of Silver Shards!"
Wang Yan immediately rolled his eyes. "Good brother, we should share sweetness and hardship alike. You wouldn't want your Brother Yan holding you back next time either, right?"
Chen Xian shook his head speechlessly. "Rather than give it to you, I might as well give it to Cao Fang and Zhao Yu. The two of them are only at late Body Refinement."
At those words, Cao Fang and Zhao Yu eagerly came before Chen Xian. "Brother Xian still understands the bigger picture."
Cao Fang grinned. "Brother Xian, you're such a good man!"
Ding Chen nodded to himself. "Xianzi, give your pill to Cao Fang. I'll give mine to Zhao Yu."
Cao Fang and Zhao Yu were the two fortunate ones present when Chen Xian arrived. They had not gone to the battlefield and were now at late Body Refinement as well.
The eight of them had spent the longest time together, so their bond was closer.
The cooks Zhao Tong had transferred in later were not as close to them.
Cao Fang and Zhao Yu each gained an additional Body Refinement Pill and were naturally deeply grateful. At noon, Cao Fang gave more than half of his wolf meat to Chen Xian.
Chen Xian could only smile helplessly at that.
That afternoon.
As Chen Xian packed his things, he remembered the letter in his robes. He went to Ding Chen for a sheet of rough paper and wrote back to that so-called childhood sweetheart.
He also tucked the two taels of Silver Shards into the envelope and sent it back home.
Having inherited the original owner's body, Chen Xian believed he ought to shoulder some of his obligations.
Besides, he could not spend money in the military camp anyway.
As for saving it to grease palms and build connections, Chen Xian did not even consider it. That was not his character. Rather than keep the money, he might as well send it home for the two elderly father and younger sister he had never met to use.
After handing the envelope to Ding Chen, Chen Xian calmed himself and continued filling his acupoints.
August twentieth.
The vanguard clashed with a demon squad.
The cries of battle outside the Ninth Camp shook the heavens.
Chen Xian and the others stood before their tent and listened as the fighting continued from daytime until dusk.
In the middle of that night, Zhao Tong woke Chen Xian and the others, saying they were to clear corpses from the battlefield.
Ding Chen and the others naturally did not want to go, but Chen Xian was brimming with enthusiasm.
Clearing the battlefield meant a chance of encountering Demonic Beasts that had not quite died. Those were Experience Points.
After putting on their armor and taking up their sabers, the group rushed out of the tent and discovered that Zhao Tong had summoned only their small squad. The other small squad had not stirred.
The other Cooks' Camps had not moved either.
"Brother Zhao, why is it only our small squad?" Ding Chen frowned at Zhao Tong.
Zhao Tong's eyes flickered. "Don't ask so much. Obey orders!"
A cold glint flashed through Ding Chen's eyes. Without another word, he led Chen Xian and the others away from the tents toward the location Zhao Tong had specified.
Once outside the tents, Chen Xian noticed that some of the vanguard soldiers were still awake. One after another, riders dragged Demonic Beast corpses back toward camp.
Every Demon Slayer Soldier was drenched in blood and looked utterly exhausted.
Half an hour later.
Chen Xian and the others arrived at a valley in the foothills of Wumeng Mountain.
By the time they arrived, the Demon Slayer Soldiers in the valley had almost all left. Blood Flowed Like a River across the ground, and the foul stench stabbed at their noses. Bloodlust floated in the air, refusing to disperse.
As for the demon corpses, the Demon Slayer Soldiers had already taken many away. Chen Xian and the others were left to clear the rest.
Chen Xian turned to stare at the final Demon Slayer Soldier leaving. He only felt that man's gaze was sharp, while the aura around him was terrifying beyond measure.
The look the man had given them before leaving was somewhat strange, making Chen Xian grow wary.
"Brother Ding, it's the dead of night. Let's move these corpses quickly, in case more demons are lurking in the darkness," Chen Xian said quietly as he came to Ding Chen's side.
Ding Chen nodded. "Move them quickly!"
He too felt there was something wrong with the final Demon Slayer Soldier's gaze.
When the six joking and laughing men noticed Chen Xian and Ding Chen's solemn expressions, they instantly became vigilant as well and began moving the corpses at once.
The night wind howled as it swept fiercely out from the depths of the valley, churning the bloodlust through the air.
Before the cart was even full, Chen Xian and the others swiftly drew their sabers and stood on full alert.
They had experienced this before, so they did not dare let down their guard.
They waited quietly for ten breaths, but there was no movement.
Only then did Ding Chen order everyone to hurry and load the cart. Yet the Demonic Beast corpses in the area could not be carried away in one trip, nor would two trips be enough.
"One load at a time!"
Ding Chen said in a deep voice. For some reason, his heart pounded wildly, and he constantly felt danger drawing near.
Among Chen Xian's forty-six refined acupoints were those in both his ears and eyes.
Secretly, he circulated Origin Qi into his ears and eyes.
In an instant, he gained night vision. His gaze could easily pierce through the dense bloodlust and see three li away.
Naturally, he could see farther than that, but the valley twisted and turned, with trees and mountains blocking his sight. He could not see deeper inside.
"One, two, three..."
As he counted, Chen Xian's expression became incomparably grave.
Wang Yan frowned. "Xianzi, what are you counting?"
Chen Xian whipped his head around and shouted, "There are demons!"
Before you continue