"Smells so good..." Lin QiYe, still aching all over, staggered out of the training room. The smell of food wafting from the activity room reignited the fire in his dull eyes.
Wen Qi Mo's lips curled into a faint smile. "Looks like that beating this morning wasn't for nothing…"
Lin QiYe made his way directly to the activity room. As soon as he opened the door, four pairs of resentful eyes fixed on him at once.
"..." Lin QiYe sensed something was off. "What's... going on?"
"Nothing, just sit down and eat," Chen MuYe glanced at him, speaking in a neutral tone.
"Okay."
As Lin QiYe sat down, Hong Ying looked at Chen MuYe with big, pitiful eyes.
"Eat," Chen MuYe finally spoke the words everyone had been waiting for.
Everyone immediately dug in, like wolves who hadn't eaten for days, their eyes bloodshot.
"Red Ying, do you guys always eat this well in the Nightwatchers?" Lin QiYe asked softly, glancing at the food spread out before him.
Red Ying, irritated, replied, "I don't feel like talking to you right now."
She paused for a moment, then added, "I'll talk to you after I'm done eating."
Lin QiYe: ...
"Lin QiYe."
"Here, Captain."
"After today's training, did you learn anything?"
"Yes, a lot of things."
"Mm." Chen MuYe nodded, then hesitated before asking, "Does it hurt?"
"…A bit."
"XiaoNan, treat him after the meal."
Si XiaoNan pouted but obediently nodded. "Okay."
Chen MuYe thought for a moment and added, "No need to heal him completely, just enough so he can take another beating tomorrow."
Lin QiYe: ...
Clink!
Two pairs of chopsticks collided in the bone soup with a soft noise.
The two sets of chopsticks were locked in a fierce stand-off, both holding the same piece of meat, neither willing to give way.
Red Ying and Wu XiangNan stared at each other, as if sparks were flying in the air.
"Wu XiangNan, I saw this piece of meat first," Red Ying snapped.
Wu XiangNan calmly responded, "I got it first."
"Let go."
"No."
"Let go!"
"I won't."
Crinkle, crinkle...
The tension between them grew stronger.
At that moment, Leng Xuan, who had been quietly eating with little presence, fixed his eyes on the piece of meat. He casually reached into his waist, pulled out a tiny MP5 submachine gun, and placed it on the table.
"Let go," he said flatly.
Red Ying: ...
Wu XiangNan: ...
Leng Xuan smoothly extended his chopsticks, picked up the largest piece of meat, and after a moment's hesitation, placed it in Lin QiYe's bowl.
"New guy, eat more. We'll practice shooting later."
As he put away the submachine gun, he added in his usual cold tone.
"Ah? Oh… okay." Lin QiYe didn't quite process it at first, then stared blankly at Leng Xuan, who was focused on eating...
Wow.
Now this is what you call ruthless and few words.
"Leng Xuan, next time, try not to pull a gun at the dinner table," Chen MuYe reminded with a calm voice.
"Imagine if it went off… these dishes would be wasted."
Leng Xuan nodded. "Okay."
Red Ying and Wu XiangNan exchanged a glance and silently lowered their heads to continue eating.
Once Lin QiYe finished his meal, Leng Xuan stood up and walked over to him, speaking in his usual indifferent tone.
"Full?"
"Yep."
"Let's go, practice shooting."
"Alright!"
As the two of them walked down the corridor, gradually disappearing from view, Wen Qi Mo let out a long sigh and turned to look at Si XiaoNan.
"XiaoNan."
"What's up?"
"Your position as the group favorite has been taken."
Si XiaoNan: ￣へ￣
"Guns are firearms, the crystallization of human wisdom."
In the shooting room, Leng Xuan stood in front of a wall neatly lined with various firearms, speaking with a neutral expression.
"For high-level mythical beings, guns have little effect, but for low-level mythical beings, firearms are often more effective than cold weapons."
"Especially for newcomers. If you don't have strong close combat skills, learning to use firearms is crucial."
Leng Xuan took a handgun from the wall behind him and placed it in front of Lin QiYe.
"I'll teach you two things: one is shooting skills, and the other is the structure of firearms. Unless you plan to specialize in firearms later, this will be enough for you."
Lin QiYe nodded eagerly.
"Now, take this gun and hit the target. Let me see your talent." Leng Xuan pointed to the target not far away.
Lin QiYe nodded, picked up the gun, and stood at the shooting station.
He took a deep breath,
mimicking the actions he had seen on TV,
raised the gun,
aimed,
and shot!
Bang—!
The gunshot rang out, and the faces of both men darkened.
Missed the target...
Leng Xuan walked up to the target, checking it carefully to confirm there were no bullet holes. His expression seemed a little displeased.
"Missed the target from 30 meters? This..."
Lin QiYe lowered the gun and cleared his throat.
"Uhm... how's my talent?"
Leng Xuan looked at him, then sighed in despair and closed his eyes.
"You? You have absolutely no talent."
Lin QiYe: ...
...
Back at Hong Ying's mansion, Lin QiYe collapsed onto the couch, rubbing his tired eyes.
The day's training had been a double torment, both physically and mentally. First, he was brutally cut down by the captain, then shot full of rubber bullets,
And the firearms lesson, though not physically taxing, had repeatedly rubbed his self-esteem into the dirt...
He really had no talent for guns.
After all that training, as he walked out of the shooting range, Lin QiYe could clearly tell that Leng Xuan was more exhausted than he was. The most noticeable thing was the light in his eyes... it was gone.
In the end, Leng Xuan comforted him, saying it wasn't too abnormal for a beginner to be struggling and to work hard in the future.
But as they talked, it ended up being Lin QiYe comforting him instead.
"Don't worry, I think I don't have talent now, but it's just temporary. I'll improve with practice."
"You have to believe in me, and believe in yourself. Your shooting skills are so good, there's no way you can't teach me, right?"
"Time, the most important thing is time... we need patience..."
"Be optimistic, at least within twenty meters, I can still hit the target. There's still hope!"
"..."
While Lin QiYe was feeling dejected, a graceful figure quietly walked up to him.
"QiYe, are you very tired?" Hong Ying, dressed in a fluffy pajama, holding a cup of tea, smiled as she handed it to Lin QiYe.
Lin QiYe forced a smile and took the tea. "Thanks."
"It's not too bad, though. Even though I'm tired, it's been fulfilling," Lin QiYe took a sip of the tea, glancing around, "Where's XiaoNan?"
"She seems a bit upset that you've replaced her as the team's pet, so she went back to her room."
"No wonder. When she was treating me earlier, she kept pinching my flesh. I thought that was normal." Lin QiYe rubbed his arm, which had a few bruises, finally realizing.
Hong Ying chuckled.
"Actually, the captain is strict with everyone. When I first arrived here, even though I'm a girl, he didn't go easy on me at all. He forced me to cry from the training." Hong Ying gazed out the window, as if recalling something, a smile tugging at her lips.
"He's a bit harsh."
"Not harsh, not at all," Hong Ying shook her head, "The decline in the Nightwatcher death rate in Cangnan City is mostly thanks to the captain. One reason is his own strength, and the other... he takes responsibility for his team."
"The harder he trains you, the more you'll remember the pain and grow quickly. He'd rather have his team hate him than let them die in battle because they're too weak... Do you understand?"
Lin QiYe fell silent for a long time, as if recalling the sharp gaze of Chen MuYe from earlier, before slowly nodding.
"I understand."
Hong Ying's lips curled up slightly, like a big sister, she ruffled Lin QiYe's hair and softly said, "Alright, if you're tired, go rest early. Good night."
"Good night."
Lin QiYe bade Hong Ying farewell, returned to his room, and collapsed onto the bed, staring at the empty ceiling in a daze.
After a while, he slowly got up from the bed...
He drew his straight knife from its sheath,
one hand holding the blade, the other holding the sheath,
and closed his eyes, recalling every sword move Chen MuYe had demonstrated today,
under the faint moonlight,
swinging the sword, again and again!