Back to Life in the Army Camp

Wang Qi's return to training caused little stir, because everyone discovered that he was still the officers' favorite kid...

Physical conditioning continued. Since they were preparing for mountain warfare, marching through mountainous terrain remained the first training exercise every day.

During target practice, Wang Qi discovered that everyone had moved from targets at thirty paces to targets at fifty... How should he put it? There wasn't much difference.

The afternoon literacy lessons continued as well.

But after listening for a while, Wang Qi discovered that the literacy lessons had been "upgraded" into tactics lessons, covering things like military commands and flag signals.

These were quite important, probably preparation for the formation and drill training that would begin in the fourth month. Wang Qi dared not take them lightly and studied seriously... Really, it was just a matter of remembering what the different horn calls and flag signals meant, which wasn't difficult for him.

Then he realized that it truly wasn't difficult. In fact, one day was enough to explain every command and flag signal... Then Wang Qi learned from the fellow soldiers beside him, who still struggled to understand everything despite their furrowed brows, that this was actually the fourth time these lessons had been taught...

All right, Wang Qi realized that everyone seemed to have trouble learning... They were like little brats who had spent an entire summer vacation playing, only to suddenly find themselves back in a classroom, unable to get their brains turning no matter what.

Wang Qi looked with some disdain at the people around him whose minds had jammed. After glancing around for a while, he slipped away during the break...

These lessons were indeed something one could skip. The officers didn't make attendance compulsory.

The soldiers could choose to continue training on their own at the Drill Ground or come here for formation lessons... Those who attended the formation and drill lessons were, in fact, the ambitious ones who wanted to make something of themselves in the army camp.

Seeing that it was still early, Wang Qi wandered around the Drill Ground, looking for suitable training exercises... He had been a "fitness enthusiast" before, which was also why he had such a knack for practicing Wang Dashan's Mighty Stele-Crushing Palm.

The problem was that he took good care of his body. He wasn't even seventeen yet, and his body still had plenty of room to develop. He couldn't start piling on the intensity this early... So he still focused mainly on flexibility exercises.

Just then, however, he spotted someone he knew... It was Wang Ergou, his neighbor from Wang Family Village, straining to lift a stone weight.

Wang Qi walked over to take a look, then suddenly said, "When you lift a stone weight, keep your forearms vertical and open your shoulders instead of drawing them inward. Otherwise, you won't get much out of it, and you'll hurt your arms."

Wang Ergou hurriedly set down the stone weight and looked up. Seeing Wang Qi, he greeted him with considerable delight. "I heard you were sick a while back. Are you better now?"

Wang Qi nodded. "I'm better. But aren't you going to the formation and drill lessons or practicing your Internal Qi? Conditioning your body too early will affect its growth."

Wang Ergou shook his head. "There's only so much in those drill lessons. I just need to remember the parts for the Spear Soldier unit I chose. Why would I need to memorize everything?"

"As for Blazing Sun Qi, Military Marquis Wei said it's a cultivation method that works most efficiently alongside physical conditioning... Even if it drains our bodies, we can't afford to worry about that. For people like us, living to forty already counts as a ripe old age."

Wang Qi looked at Wang Ergou in surprise. He hadn't expected him to change so much in just half a month... Surely this counted as having his mind opened?

Perhaps being mischievous as a child was a sign of intelligence. Once such a person suddenly saw the light, he could naturally do everything more efficiently than ordinary people... Wang Ergou had a nimble mind, with a sense of order and insight. Perhaps he would have a promising future in the army.

Still, since Blazing Sun Qi did offer rapid progress at the cost of the body's potential, Wang Qi advised him, "Then you don't need to focus too much on cultivating Internal Qi. Put more thought into those basic combat techniques instead. They'll be more helpful."

"As for Internal Qi... Take it slowly for now. Later, when the right opportunity comes along, you can switch to something better and keep practicing."

Wang Ergou knew this advice was for his own good and nodded repeatedly... He did indeed need to gain greater strength quickly so he could rise through the ranks.

But if there was good advice that would reduce the side effects, he was certainly happy to follow it.

Then, however, he looked at Wang Qi with some embarrassment, opening his mouth only to hesitate...

"What's wrong?" Wang Qi asked.

"It's just that I think there's a bit of a problem with my name... Little Qi... Ah Qi, you've read more books than I have. Do you have any good suggestions?"

So Wang Ergou thought his name wasn't presentable.

Indeed, villagers in remote mountain country gave their children lowly names in the hope that they would be easier to raise.

But with a name like "Wang Ergou"-Wang Two Dogs-getting ahead in the world was impossible...

Wang Qi thought for a moment and decided he might as well give him a similar-sounding name.

"Then you can call yourself 'Wang Er' from now on. The 'Er' from 'famed far and near,'" Wang Qi said.

Wang Ergou loved it the moment he heard it. "Famed far and near"-that sounded like an extremely sophisticated idiom.

So he said, "Wonderful! I'll be 'Wang Er' from now on. That's a great name!"

Wang Qi looked at the delighted Ergou... No, he ought to call him Wang Er now. He wondered whether he should tell him that the character "Er" could also mean shallow.

Forget it. Let him be happy. With his level of education, he probably wouldn't know such an advanced meaning anyway.

Only after confirming that his fellow villager was doing well did Wang Qi sling his hunting bow over his shoulder and go looking for Xu Sanlang and the others...

Sure enough, they were already preparing to head out hunting... Winter was nearly upon them, and game in the mountains was becoming harder and harder to hunt, so they had no choice but to leave earlier.

"Little Qi, they finally let you out... Wonderful! Now we can finally enjoy some proper drinking and meat again." Xu Sanlang was delighted to see Wang Qi.

Wang Qi, meanwhile, noticed that the five company military marquises who had grown accustomed to hunting with him seemed to have lost some weight over the past half month... No, it would be more accurate to say that they had gained quite a bit during the previous month while following him!

He felt truly worn out. How had he somehow ended up worrying about these grown men's meals again?

He said, "Let's go. There's less game in winter, but winter has its own ways of getting by."

This time, instead of taking everyone farther into the mountains, he followed the river downhill.

Mountain rivers were mostly swift, making them unsuitable habitats for fish.

But where the current slowed below the mountains, aquatic plants could flourish more easily, and fish could survive.

Moreover, cold weather was precisely when Black-Spotted Fish were active. These were large fish that remained lively beneath the ice even after the river froze over, and their flesh was delicious.

Thus, under Wang Qi's direction, the group reaped a tremendous haul by the river.

The three Archer Company military marquises kept shooting fish as well, and before long they had filled two large baskets with their catch.

"All right, that's enough. Let's build a fire and have a meal, and then it'll be about time to head back."

As Wang Qi spoke, he spread out a sheet of parchment and began making simple annotations on it.

The others were used to this. Every time they hunted, Wang Qi recorded the terrain they passed through and the game found in each area.

This made their next hunt easier, and of course also helped them plan their hunting grounds sensibly.

Only after finishing his annotations did he say, "We can eat fish for the next couple of days, but we can't keep eating like this forever... Winter is long. It looks like we'll still have to venture farther into the mountains."

Xu Sanlang promptly replied, "There's no hurry. Commandant Lin has already reached an agreement with the surrounding county towns. They'll deliver two big pigs every five days... So we only need to come out once every three days."

"Winter training will mostly focus on drill and formations, so there won't be too much physical exertion... But Little Qi, you'd better put on a good showing at the Grand Military Review before that, or you'll make us look bad too!"

Hearing this, Wang Qi helplessly tossed him a gourd of distilled liquor to shut him up... It was only the Grand Military Review. He knew.