"I have no complaints and I'm willing to accept the punishment." Casio didn't grumble at all, considering that he had a gun pointing at his head in reality. Even if the Youth Training Camp didn't punish him, he would have secretly practiced more on his own.
"Oh? You're rather enlightened." Lixia smiled in slight surprise, she had originally thought the boy to be impulsive and easily irritated. Even though he was the victim, he was still being punished and was sure to harbor some resentment. Yet unexpectedly, Li Wei's character turned out to be rather mature.
She flicked her short hair behind her ear: "Don't worry, the punishment Finn receives will only be heavier than yours. But, he has a family connection with Sean, the teaching assistant in the Youth Training Camp, so under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be expelled. By the way, why don't you and your sister come over to my side..."
Upon hearing this, Casio's thoughts started racing.
Tutor Lixia was helping him and had pointed out the relationship behind Finn. Casio had no reason to feign politeness.
"Okay, thank you, Tutor Lixia."
"You're quite polite." Lixia gave a small smile: "Did you know? The news of you thrashing Finn yesterday has spread all over the Youth Training Camp. The new batch of students has given you a nickname..."
Casio lifted his head.
"Madman Li Wei."
********************
Four days flew by in the blink of an eye, and it was time for Casio to be discharged from the hospital.
The special potion from Wind Elephant Gate was more effective than Casio had imagined, healing his wounds quickly. The only drawback was that applying the potion was extremely painful, beyond expectation.
It didn't feel any different from pouring salt into a wound.
Every time Casio applied the potion, he would whine for a while, and his sweat could soak half of the blanket. Seeing this, Li Chu felt sorry for him for quite a while.
However, compared to Finn who was living on the second floor, the noise Casio made could be considered minor. Every time Finn applied the potion, he screamed like a pig being slaughtered, his high-pitched screams attracting people from the distant sports field.
It was said that Finn fainted five times while applying the potion.
Once, he couldn't hold it in and soiled himself. It was a running joke.
However, this was acceptable as Finn was just a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, his will was not strong enough. Moreover, his injuries were worse than Casio's.
On this clear morning, the sun was shining brightly. The clouds were slowly moving across the azure sky, with light filtering through the gaps in the clouds.
The dew on the tips of the leaves were shimmering with colorful micro-lights.
Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Casio left the hospital window slightly ajar.
Last night, Li Chu had cried for a long time in the hospital room. News from their hometown had arrived; their mother had passed away from illness two days ago.
He didn't know how to console Li Chu, so he just silently listened to her sobbing and talking throughout the night. In the beginning of his reincarnation into this alternate world, Casio was merely an orphan abandoned at the door of an orphanage.
The memories of his past life were also gradually blurring.
The concept of parents seemed quite distant to him.
However, Casio still tried to console Li Chu, who was the sister of the body he now inhabited. The main concern was that he feared Li Chu might resort to extreme measures, like suicide, just as the original memory suggested.
Fortunately, Li Chu found solace in "Li Wei".
Eventually, her emotions stabilized.
Casio turned back and looked at the bedside table.
There were a loaf of white bread, two eggs, and two cups of milk.
The standard meal in the Youth Training Camp consists of one loaf of white bread, one egg, and one cup of milk. The extra portions were what Li Chu had saved up.
Casio sat back on the edge of the bed and ate the bread and drank the milk.
Then he put the two boiled eggs into his pocket.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
Just as the knock on the door sounded, the door was opened.
The short-haired and handsome Tutor Lixia walked in.
The morning training consisted of basic kung fu and physical exercises, so she asked the teaching assistant to temporarily stand in for her.
"I see you've finished your breakfast. That's good, let's go. You've missed four days of the Youth Training Camp, I will help you catch up this morning."
Lixia gave a thumbs-up towards the door. It was apparent that she was quite fond of Casio.
"Alright, Tutor. But could you give me about ten minutes first? I need to bring something to my sister," Casio requested.
"Go ahead." Lixia raised her eyebrows and nodded.
"Thank you, Tutor."
Casio left the ward, walked through the hallway, and went down the staircase. The warm sunlight shone on his head. He squinted to look into the distance. There were dormitories, canteens, and martial arts fields. The buildings with spires and dome-shaped roofs were bathed in a layer of golden sunlight.
This place looked no different from a miniature school.
The warm breeze made one feel oddly lazy.
Following the stone path, Casio headed straight to the martial arts field.
Halfway there, a boy coming from the direction of the toilet kept staring at him with a curious expression.
Casio stopped in his tracks and asked reluctantly.
"Can I help you?"
"No, no..." The boy in a blue and white training suit quickly shook his head and timidly asked: "Are you Li Wei? The madman..."
Casio stood rooted to the spot, not knowing how to respond.
The nickname "madman" was quite derogatory.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it." The boy looked scared as he saw Casio's silence: "People said that on the rainy night, you took down three people by yourself. You even beat the leader, Finn, until his brains nearly spilled out! You're a ruthless person!" He gave Casio a thumbs up in admiration.
"Uh..." Casio was lost for words. The rumor had been blown out of proportion.
"Alright, bro, I need to go now. See you if we're meant to cross paths again."
The boy waved his hand at Casio and then walked towards the lineup.
Casio took a deep breath and walked quickly to the iron gate.
A young man who looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, sitting next to a bench, stopped him. The youth was dressed in pale yellow clothes, he was an official disciple of the Wind Elephant Gate who had been assigned to be a teaching assistant.
"Your name, which lineup do you belong to?" The youth asked.
"Li Wei, just discharged from the hospital, I am here to visit my sister."
"Madman Li Wei?" The youth looked up in surprise.
"Senior Apprentice Brother, so you've also heard of this nickname..." Casio felt somewhat awkward. It seemed that Tutor Lixia was right. His infamy, or should he say, his reputation for being fierce, was widespread.
"Of course I have, everyone in the Youth Training Camp knows of your reputation. Go on in." The youth stood up and patted Casio's shoulder.
As Casio passed through the iron gate, the youth said from behind him.
"Well done, you've got courage."
Casio paused, not because of the youth's words, but because he noticed that the icon in his view had gotten brighter.
The faint golden hue had inexplicably deepened a bit.
Little points and marks were flickering above it.
When his view swept to the right, Casio was suddenly shocked to find that the progress bar on the timeline, which originally had a hundred and nineteen markings, had suddenly jumped, and ten small marks had immediately appeared at the end of the right side.
One hundred and nineteen days had turned into one hundred and twenty-nine days!
Casio immediately understood that protecting his sister on that rainy night was only meeting the minimum requirement of his obsession. Demonstrating his bravery had also brought rewards.
Which meant, not only could he stay in the Era of Retrospection for four months, he could also extend his time through other means.