MAKING A COMEBACK
Translator: Sylph
Editor: SilverAndGold
The sun shone brightly in the summer sky so the time to rise in the morning was earlier than before. Last night, when they had arrived at Liang Zhou, everyone was excited and inevitably rested a little late. They were all sleepy when they arrived at the arena, and some of them had their shoes on backward.
Shi was fine, but Mak and Hong Shan tied their belts as they walked. When they saw that He Yan was in high spirits and very energetic, both of them were confused and asked, “Brother He, aren’t you sleepy?”
“I rested early last night and slept well.” He Yan replied.
Mak praised, “You’re amazing!”
As they had talked, they arrived at the arena under Bai Yue Mountain which was surrounded by mountains. Since today was the first day, they still stood in accordance with the previous line up. On the high platform stood a strong man in red, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. His posture was as tall as a tree and looked very imposing as he held a large spear.
“Who is that?” He Yan asked.
“The instructor in charge of overseeing our drills, Instructor Shen.” Mak was a chatterbox and had already made inquiries before he arrived.
He Yan nodded. She had originally thought that Xiao Jue would come to train the soldiers himself, but she didn’t get a glimpse of him today. Even though they were both young generals, each general had their own way of training. He Yan also wanted to see Xiao Jue’s method of being a master, but for the time being, it seemed impossible for her to do so.
“I am Shen Han, your chief instructor.” Shen Han’s voice was very sharp. As they listened to his voice, it felt like something drilled into their ears and made people’s scalps numb, “From now on, I will lead you.” He shook the military register and said, “Count the soldiers now!”
As today was the first time the soldiers were counted, it would take some time. After a few days, they would be divided into troops, brigades, and divisions, and the troops would be sent to their appointed commanders of the army, brigades, and the division would save a lot of time.
The group of people were all skirmishers recruited from the capital. They had never received any training in the past. They stood in the training arena as they felt uncomfortable all over the body and sneakingly moved their bodies from time to time. Mak secretly muttered to his big brother, “Big brother, Brother He is not moving, he’s standing there like a stone.”
Shi glanced at He Yan and pondered.
It seems that He Yan should be called by his name more than he, himself. She stood upright, with her arms on her side and looked brightly at the platform, neither tired nor bored. This posture gave people the illusion that even after two more hours, she could stand still like that.
When Shi and Mak hunted in the mountains, there were wild animals in the mountains, and when the wild animals wanted to catch their prey, they would hide quietly in the grass, motionless, similar to an inanimate stone. He hunted with wheat for so many years – that’s why Mak and himself stood there motionless for an hour. How could He Yan accomplish this too? According to Hong Shan, He Yan joined the army because his family was desperate. He seemed to have a good family in the past. Why do such people have long-term patience and perseverance akin to wild beasts?!
After all, He Yan didn’t need to hunt.
His contemplation didn’t get an answer, and soon, the soldiers’ count was finished.
Instructor Shen closed the military register and said, “From today onwards, hundred people will be formed into one team, and will be assigned an instructor. Here we will train, drill, and charge the troops! What I want to teach you today are military orders!” At this point, Shen Han had a smile on his face, and for some reason, when this smile fell on the eyes of the crowd, they only felt a chill in their hearts.
Sure enough, they heard Shen Han who snapped, “The name will not be called! If the time of arrival is not right or if the troops are too slow, the offenders will be punished! Today you are all a moment late – you should have been dealt with by military laws! Since, it’s your first offense, you all are being spared.”
The people were carried up and down by his words, and as soon as they fell, they heard the emotionless voice of their cold instructor.
“Everyone would run around the barracks with sandbags on your backs – a total ten laps! Not even one lap less. The instructors from each team will be watching you. Whoever dares to be lazy will be dealt with by military law!”
The crowd all sucked in a breath of cold air.
Bai Yue Mountain’s lower martial arts field was the barracks. One lap meant more than one mile, and ten laps would be more than ten miles. Moreover, they would also have to carry a sandbag. In comparison to when they got up today, they didn’t feel excited anymore. At this moment, some soldiers came down.The sun was high, and the heat hung at the top of their head. They all stood there sweating.
The idea of running around the arena, against the sun, made everyone full of grief.
Mak said, “Brother He, instructor Shen said exactly the same as what you said, how did you know he would say that?”
How does she know? Naturally, it was because when she joined the barracks back then, she was in the same situation. It was like a death stick – they would give the new recruits a head start and let them know that they didn’t come here to enjoy happiness. Even if it wasn’t one of stated situations, Shen Han would still find some other reason to punish them.
“Memorizing more military orders,” He Yan patted the youth’s shoulder, “will be good for you.” Mak nodded even though he didn’t understand.
As expected, according to what Shen Han had said, the many soldiers were divided into teams of a hundred men. Everyone went to get a sandbag. At first, He Yan thought that the sandbag would be just like the firewood which she and He Yun Sheng used while going up to the mountain. But when she got to the end, her eyelids jumped.
The sandbag was the size of a baggage, which could not be tied to the leg, but only could be carried on the body. When it comes to heavyweight, the firewood could by no means be comparable to these sandbags.
“Damn it, it’s too much to run ten laps with this thing on your back!” Hong Shan complained.
Mak secretly looked at the face of He Yan. He Yan showed a very calm face from beginning till now. When he picked up the bag of sandbags, there was finally a change in his expression. Mak secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Brother He was also an ordinary person, not omnipotent.
He Yan was speechless.
When she trained the new recruits back then, in order to increase the strength of the recruits, necessary weight running was supposed to be done in the beginning and it was all gradual. Most of the time, it was done with the sandbags she had made in Wo’s house, asnd the weight was increased little by little.
She did not know Xiao Jue’s method of military training before, but now she finally knew it. He was ferocious right from the beginning. Xiao Jue had a beautiful face, but she did not expect that he had such a ruthless heart, so she underestimated Xiao Jue’s ruthlessness.
What a vicious guy…
“Brother He, you.” Hong shan was about to ask if he wanted him to help carry the sandbag on his back when he saw He Yan picking up the sandbag and tying it neatly to her body.
He Yan was thin and small, and compared to the barracks full of men, she was like a teenager who had not yet grown up. The sandbag was too big and heavy and pressed against her back which made the teenager look even shorter. The image looked pitiful.
Shi was a man of few words but still couldn’t bear to watch, and said to her: “Are you alright?”
“I am fine.” He Yan replied.
Several people saw her smile and felt a little relieved, as they concluded that she was a young and strong child, and although she looked a little thin and weak, she still had strength.
In the meantime, He Yan scolded Xiao Jue ten thousand times in her heart.
Of course, there was no problem with such load-bearing in the past. But the original Miss He had a delicate figure, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t turn Miss He into Hercules overnight.
It was that heavy.