Eternal Empire

Chapter 17 - Lastly, I Want to Thank Master Cha Once Again

The more one got to know Yang Qibao, the more he proved to be a person worthy of being friends with. Even though his personality and his muscular appearance did not match, and that he lacked the confidence that a general should possess, it was an entirely different matter - it had nothing to do with being a friend.

Shen Leng really liked chatting with him - it made him feel at ease. He did not feel the need to guard himself against him.

As Shen Leng was walking, he was still thinking about something else. The soldier he ran into earlier happened to be the unlucky fella that he met by the riverbank before - the one who got kicked in the chin by Master Cha, and flew three meters upon impact. He guessed that he must have gone to look for Mu Xiaofeng.

The new recruits' boot camp huh?

Shen Leng knew that Mu Xiaofeng was still in confinement, but he knew for a fact that it would not be difficult for Mu Xiaofeng to t*****e a newcomer in the boot camp. Even so, Shen Leng was not afraid at all.

When Yang Qibao brought Shen Leng to the new recruits' camp, initially, the in-charge, who was a commander named Pang Zhang, was very polite. After all, the squadron leader of the garrison personally brought Shen Leng there, signifying that this new recruit was not an ordinary one. However, when he got back after somebody called out to him, the way he looked at Shen Leng became somewhat strange.

By rights, a commander was a Seventh pin military official, who was of a higher rank than the squadron leader of the garrison, and a person receiving a decent official's salary. However, the garrison was too special - they were not to be provoked.

"Shen Leng!"

Pang Zhang, who just got back, yelled at him from outside the door. Shen Leng, who was making his bed, stood upright abruptly. "Yes!"

"The boot camp tests for physical strength and endurance. Run ten rounds around the barracks right now."

Shen Leng asked, "The new recruits' barracks?"

Pang Zhang replied, "You wish - the entire Navy barracks. If you don't finish running, you are not allowed to have dinner."

"Yes, sir!"

Naturally, Shen Leng knew that Mu Xiaofeng was pulling strings from behind the scenes, albeit discreetly. He wore the new recruit's uniform and tied water pouch to his waist before leaving.

"Leave the water pouch behind!"

Pang Zhang scoffed. "Who says you're allowed to bring water with you?"

The entire Navy barracks was huge. He would be extremely exhausted from running ten rounds around it, and yet he was not allowed to bring water with him.

Shen Leng put down the water pouch, and walked out of the barracks without saying a word. He took a deep breath and did some warm-ups. Pang Zhang was about to kick Shen Leng's butt from the back, but when he lifted his leg, Shen Leng abruptly turned his head around. When Pang Zhang saw the look in Shen Leng's eyes, he got a shock and did not dare to extend his leg any further.

"Quick...quick go! Why are you dilly dallying!" yelled Pang Zhang, in a bid to bolster up his courage.

After Shen Leng completed his warm-ups, he started slow jogging, and gradually picked up speed.

Before he had completed one round, Zhuang Yong had already gotten wind of it. He called Yang Qibao into his tent and gave him some instructions. Thereafter, Yang Qibao returned to the garrison and selected twenty soldiers, who were the best at combat, and armed them with equipment. They were to be mobilized at any moment to complete a task.

After he ran two rounds, more and more nosy people gathered to watch. A round was slightly more than three miles. This was because the barracks had a smaller area than that of the river. Ten rounds was equivalent to at least thirty miles. An ordinary person would not be able to finish walking thirty miles in one day - not because there was not enough time, but because they did not have the physical capacity to do so.

"That fella is a new recruit. He just entered the camp, why did he get punished so badly?"

"Yeah, it doesn't make any sense. Did he offend Pang Zhang?"

"Pang Zhang, that rat. He became bossy just because he's in charge of the boot camp. He bullies the weak and fears the strong."

"Poor fella. But he seems pretty fit. It should be his fourth round bye now. If I were him, I would have collapsed."

The people standing there got into a commotion. Nobody knew what happened, but they pitied Shen Leng. Only the locally hired fisher folks had to enter the boot camp. Hence, only the soldiers who were specially recruited in the same way sympathized with Shen Leng.

When he was on his fifth round, even Pang Zhang was in disbelief. After fifteen miles, at the very minimum, that fella was still jogging. It seemed as though he kept going at a perfect pace, consistently.

Fifteen miles at one go?

"Dammit, I'll see how long more you're able withstand. Even if you can finish running all ten rounds, you'd be exhausted to death."

Pang Zhang swung his arm and went back into his tent. He took out his ten taels of lustrous gold and admired them. It was real gold. He thought about how imposing Military Officer Mu was. As expected of the Great Scholar's son. That fella named Shen Leng sure is unlucky - offending the military officer of all people. He deserves to be unlucky.

It was not that Pang Zhang was stupid, but rather, he knew too little. He would not have known the details of the feud between Mu Xiaofeng and Shen Leng, let alone the fact it was because of this new recruit that the six soldiers got flogged to death the day before. Naturally, he also did not know that the scar on Mu Xiaofeng's face was caused by Shen Leng himself. If he had known these details, he would most likely be unwilling to get involved, even if it meant suffering a little.

Ten rounds!

Shen Leng actually managed to complete ten rounds!

For the rest of the afternoon, everyone in the camp was discussing about this matter. Most people were swept off their feet and were full of admiration for Shen Leng. The Navy's training regime was extremely tough. Carrying a load and running for three miles was already unbearable enough, let alone thirty miles. It was practically a run to hell.

"He's a man!"

Yang Qibao stood on the high slope, looking at Shen Leng. He was filled with admiration and respect for him. He felt that both Shen Leng and himself came from similar backgrounds, suffering hardships. Hence, inevitably, he developed an anger against a common enemy in his heart.

"Dammit. Pang Zhang, that asshole!" cursed Yang Qibao softly.

What surprised Pang Zhang was that Shen Leng did not miss dinner time.it seemed as though he had perfectly calculated his time and finished his run before dinner, with half an incense stick worth of time left to spare. He even washed his hands thoroughly and took his bowl before squatting there, waiting for his food.

Seeing that there were several pairs of eyes watching, Pang Zhang did not dare to be too harsh. He thought to himself: You'll suffer tonight. And walked off angrily.

The soldiers in the Navy received superb treatment; even though the new recruits were not treated as well as the actual soldiers, they were not lacking in food. Shen Leng ate three steamed buns and a bowl of mapo tofu in silence. Thereafter, he got up and took three more steamed buns and a bowl of pork with bamboo shoots.

When young men scarfed down their food, they look like true soldiers.

After he had finished his dinner, he returned to the barracks. Just as he was about to sit. Pang Zhang strolled in and looked at Shen Leng with narrowed eyes. "Your physical strength is not bad. There is not enough water in the kitchen, go fetch some buckets of water.

"Alright."

Shen Leng happily got up - he seemed as though he bore absolutely no resentment at all.

After they had eaten, several soldiers were strolling around and chatting idly under the sunset. That was when they saw the new recruit carrying buckets of water with a carrying pole, making multiple trips. He had to make six to seven trips in total before the three water vats were fully filled. At this moment, the barracks were clearly lit. Everyone looked at him squatting by the kitchen door gasping for air, and felt wronged on his behalf.

Pang Zhang hid in a dark corner and saw that Shen Leng seemed to have reached his limit. He laughed out loud, thinking about how he had to make sure that he executed ten taels of gold worth of t*****e. After he got back to his tent, he called for his most obedient subordinates.

"Tonight, put the new recruit on guard duty at the back of the camp. Pay close attention - the canal that was newly dug has not been repaired. If anyone were to fall into it and lose their life, it would be bad."

Naturally, his few trusted aides understood what he meant. Earlier in the day, they had seen the commander tormenting the new recruit, and hence, they roughly guessed that that fella had offended the commander. They immediately nodded and said, "You can rest assured, commander. We are the best at taking care of the new recruit."

"I'm worried that he's too stupid and clumsy. If he fell into it by accident, there's nothing we can do about it."

"That's right. Look at how clumsy he is."

Pang Zhang smiled, feeling satisfied. "Run along. I will remember to reward your share. I will tell the chef early in the morning, to get you to buy the food."

Upon hearing that, the few of them thanked him immediately.

By rights, Pang Zhang was not allowed to interfere with the procurement of food in the kitchen. However, the chef of the new recruits' camp was a local recruit too, hence he did not dare to go against Pang Zhang - he could only feel anger and hatred towards him.

Just as Shen Leng got back to the barracks and laid in bed for a short period of time, Pang Zhang clasped his hands behind his back and walked in. He smiled with his eyes closed and said to Shen Leng, "In order to help you join the Navy as soon as possible, I need to take good care of you. You will be put on night duty tonight at the back of the camp, to help you get familiarized."

Shen Leng had expected that Mu Xiaofeng would not be able to wait till the next day to torment him. He stood up and asked, "May I ask, how many people are on night duty?"

"Only you."

Pang Zhang patted Shen Leng on the shoulder and said, "It's windy and chilly at night, wear more clothes."

Shen Leng gave a half smile. "Thank you, Commander, for your kindness."

Pang Zhang smiled, "It's my duty to take care of new recruits. You don't have to thank me."

"May I ask, where can I get the weaponry?"

"You're on duty within the camp, why do you need to carry any weapons?"

After Pang Zhang finished saying his piece, he walked off. "Pack up and go immediately. Do not delay any further."

Shen Leng patted his clothes - his small hunting knife and sheath were still there. The knife and repeating crossbow that Mr. Shen had prepared from him back in the Daoist temple were not allowed to be brought in.

Mu Xiaofeng was still in confinement, and hence he did not dare to move about as he wished. Naturally, his subordinates also did not dare to interfere. Hence, the people carrying out the mission tonight were the people from the new recruits' camp.

Shen Leng pondered for a moment and thought that perhaps he might not need to use the sheath. He prepared a pot of water for himself and tidied his clothes, before strolling leisurely towards the back of the camp.

Pang Zhang, who was standing in the dark corner of the tent, saw how unguarded Shen Leng was, and sneered to himself. He muttered, "Don't blame me. It's your fault for being undiscerning, offending the son of the Great Scholar, who is a significant figure."

He patted his precious gold that he kept on his body. Pang Zhang was extremely pleased.

The wind at night was indeed strong. Shen Leng found the four guards who were on duty at the back of the camp, and took over their shift. He stood there alone, in a complete daze. Three years ago, he squatted by the riverbank, while waiting for Meng Changan's return, and saw the Navy's patrol battleship pass him by. He swore to himself that one day, he will join the military and eliminate all the water bandits in the world. As of now, he was on the road to achieving his goal.

Thinking about Meng Changan, Shen Leng calculated the days. This year was Meng Changan's final year in the Yanta Academy of Classical Learning. After ten years of being there, he would be able to join the military. It was said that the top three individuals were allowed to select where they wanted to go. Meng Chang'an was an ambitious person, it would be strange if he did not make it into the top three.

Shen Leng's thought process was straightforward - he took it for granted that that would be the case. He was not the kind of person who would think about how many other geniuses there were in the academy. This was because to him, Meng Changan was the most abnormally talented genius.

After thinking about Meng Changan for a while, he pretended to think about Mr. Shen. Thereafter, he thought to himself: I had already thought of Meng Changan and Mr. Shen, so it's not too much if I think about Master Cha, right? Of course it's not too much. Hence, he spent the remaining time thinking about her.

Master Cha is really beautiful.

And at this moment, Shen Leng saw a few black figures from afar, who were making their way towards him at a fast speed. The few people intentionally chose to walk in the shadows to conceal themselves. If not for the fact that he spent years training and honing his power of observation and keeping his guard up, it would not have been easy for him to notice them.

Shen Leng touched his scabbard and muttered to himself, "Believe it or not, I will rub my scabbard against your face."