“Is this person seriously ill?”
Lin Qiye looked at Cao Yuan with a strange expression.
He was always willing to speculate about others with the worst intentions, and it was hard for him not to overthink it when someone suddenly came up to him to show kindness for no reason.
“I don’t understand,” Lin Qiye shook his head. “Just because I can restrain you in your mad devil state?”
“You can help me cleanse my sins and achieve merit,” Cao Yuan clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist mantra.
Lin Qiye frowned, “What are you talking about?”
Cao Yuan’s face darkened, a hint of sorrow flashed in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly:
“I carry the lives of 333 innocent people who died tragically, bloodshed and killings as vast as the sea… Only you can help me absolve this sin and avoid the punishment of the flames of karma.”
“You killed 333 people?” Baili Pangpang widened his eyes. “Were you… a bandit before?”
“…No.”
“Then what did you do?”
Cao Yuan remained silent, looking down with a calm expression.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have the ability to help people absolve their sins. You should find a monk,” Lin Qiye said.
“I did,” Cao Yuan looked into Lin Qiye’s eyes. “I chanted and meditated at Mount Jiuhua for seven years, but the bloodshed on my body has not diminished in the slightest… The Great Master Jinchán said that only one person can help me absolve my sins and achieve merit.”
“Did he report my ID number?” Lin Qiye asked strangely.
“…No, but it doesn’t make a difference,” Cao Yuan said calmly. “With a double wood standing, eight gods leaving, ten years into the night, ferrying the people of the world… Isn’t that exactly the three words Lin Qiye?”
Lin Qiye didn’t react much to the first two sentences, but when he heard “ten years into the night, ferrying the people of the world,” his expression gradually became solemn.
Ten years into the night, was it referring to the ten years he was blind, or was it about his agreement with Zhao Kongcheng to enter the Night Watchman for ten years?
If it was the former, it could only mean that Cao Yuan had carefully investigated him. But if it was the latter… When he made the vow, there was no one around, so how did the Great Master Jinchán find out?
“Like I said, I won’t absolve anyone’s sins or help them cross their tribulations,” Lin Qiye shook his head.
“Maybe not now, but I believe the future you can,” Cao Yuan said.
“You believe in me that much?”
“I believe in Great Master Jinchán.”
Lin Qiye looked at Cao Yuan for a long time, sighed helplessly, and said, “Do as you wish, but I won’t make any promises.”
The corners of Cao Yuan’s mouth lifted slightly, as if he had remembered something, and he handed the pickles to Lin Qiye.
“Eat some pickles.”
Lin Qiye hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed some, stuffing it into a steamed bun and taking a big bite.
Cao Yuan showed a satisfied smile.
“That smile looks more and more like a lapdog…” Baili Pangpang muttered, shamelessly leaning in next to Cao Yuan and reaching out to grab some pickles.
Cao Yuan’s expression changed, and he quickly covered the pickle dish with his hand. “Get lost.”
“Let me have a bite! If Qiye can eat, why can’t I? You’re so stingy…” Baili Pangpang pouted.
“All of this is for Lin Qiye,” Cao Yuan said expressionlessly.
Baili Pangpang approached Lin Qiye with a look of grievance. “Qiye, do I, Baili Pangpang, deserve to eat your pickles?”
“No.”
“…My Rolex…”
“Um… You can eat a little less.”
Seeing Lin Qiye relent, Cao Yuan could only reluctantly let go of the dish and quietly gnaw on some raw meat.
Baili Pangpang held a steamed bun in one hand and pickles in the other, standing arrogantly in front of Cao Yuan, laughing foolishly as if he had gained power in the harem.
“Attention, everyone!”
Just as everyone was focused on eating, Instructor Hong walked in with two other instructors, and his loud voice echoed throughout the cafeteria.
Everyone put down their steamed buns, except for Baili Pangpang, who stuffed a bite into his mouth and stood up straight.
Instructor Hong’s sharp gaze swept across the room as he spoke slowly, “This afternoon will be your first extreme training! After you finish eating, everyone gather behind the cafeteria! Do you understand?!”
“We understand!” the new recruits replied.
Instructor Hong nodded. “Here’s a piece of advice: the afternoon’s extreme training will be very tough… You’d better finish the food on your table.”
After speaking, the three instructors left, and the noise in the cafeteria increased once again.
“Extreme training? What’s that all about?” Baili Pangpang asked with a mouthful of steamed bun, looking puzzled.
“I don’t know,” Cao Yuan shook his head.
“Finish the food on the table first,” Lin Qiye looked in the direction the instructors had left, sighed deeply, and said, “This afternoon, it’s probably going to be a real purgatory…”
…
After Lin Qiye and the others finished their meal, they went straight to the back of the cafeteria, where several black buses were parked, their destination unknown.
“Leaving the camp?” Baili Pangpang’s eyes lit up, his face showing some anticipation.
“Leaving the camp may not be a good thing,” Lin Qiye’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
“Why?”
“It means that the facilities in the training camp can no longer meet the conditions for ‘extreme’ training.” Zheng Zhong, a former special forces soldier, suddenly appeared behind the three of them and spoke abruptly.
“Have you trained before?”
“I don’t know if the Night Watchman’s training is the same as in the army, but… the training in the afternoon won’t be as easy as the morning. Preserve your strength.”
Zheng Zhong walked past Lin Qiye, and as the door of the black bus opened slowly, he leaped lightly and disappeared from everyone’s sight.Lin Qiye pondered for a moment but still couldn’t figure out what this extreme training was all about. Deciding not to dwell on it, he followed Zheng Zhong onto the bus, with Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan trailing behind.
Once everyone was aboard, the vehicles slowly started moving. The five black coaches thus left the gates of the Training Camp, speeding towards the wilderness.
After about half an hour, the vehicles came to a halt.
Lin Qiye, who was resting, opened his eyes and looked out the window, his expression slightly startled.
“Jinnan Mountain?” Being a local from Cangnan City, Lin Qiye naturally recognized the lush mountain range before him.
Cangnan City is located in the southeastern plains of The Great Xia, and it doesn’t boast any tall or famous mountains. Jinnan Mountain, with an elevation of only about four thousand meters, is not considered a high mountain. However, it is surrounded by a series of smaller peaks that encircle it at the center, forming a mountain range that is neither large nor small.
Moreover, Jinnan Mountain has not been extensively developed. It is a wild mountain on the outskirts of Cangnan City, with only a small cable car constructed at its peak for tourists to ascend and descend. Even so, it doesn’t attract many visitors throughout the year, making it an extremely unpopular tourist spot.
After the vehicles came to a complete stop, Instructor Hong stood up, turned to look at the new recruits, and his lips curled into a cruel smile.
“All out, disembark!”