166. Game

When Zhang Xuan and the others finished their dinner and arrived at the designated location, all twenty-four children were already there, neatly arranged in formation, quietly waiting for the arrival of their squad leaders. Zhang Xuan, Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu had a brief discussion. Mostly, it was Zhang Xuan doing the talking while the other three listened. During this discussion, they finalized the first training subject: the standing posture and its four constituent movements, with some running interspersed throughout this initial training period. Naturally, Zhang Xuan also warned them that unexpected training modules could occur at any time, urging the children to be fully prepared.

Subsequently, Zhang Xuan walked to the front of his own squad. "This was originally tomorrow's subject, but we've brought it forward. After all, nobody wants to finish dead last in the thirty-day assessment, right? Next, I will be holding you to extremely strict standards, so mentally prepare yourselves. I hope that one day, you will all give me the nickname 'The Demon'."

Nie Zheng, Shi Qian, and the other four smiled upon hearing this. Looking at Zhang Xuan, they found it utterly impossible to associate him with the word "demon"!

Zhang Xuan gazed at the six smiling faces before him. Go ahead, smile while you still can, enjoy it a little longer! "Alright, wipe those smiles off your faces. Oh, and A Ke, from this moment on, I will not treat you as a woman; you're on your own, handle it accordingly. Now, I will begin explaining the first training item." Zhang Xuan suddenly turned serious. Nie Zheng and the others instantly收起 (withdrew) their smiles. Looking at him now, they felt as though they were once again facing that unfamiliar, terrifyingly stern Zhang Xuan. Afterward, Zhang Xuan had Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu bring their groups over for unified instruction.

Once everyone had gathered, Zhang Xuan called out, "First, the fundamental posture is the attention stance: bring your heels together and align them, point your toes outward, and keep both legs straight. Slightly draw in your lower abdomen and naturally puff out your chest; keep your upper body upright with a slight forward lean. Keep your shoulders level and pull them back slightly; let your arms hang naturally at your sides, with your fingers closed and naturally curled. Keep your head straight, your neck upright, your mouth closed, your chin slightly tucked, and your eyes looking straight ahead."

Following this, Zhang Xuan demonstrated and explained the stances for at ease, stand at ease, left turn, right turn, and alignment. He demonstrated them himself once, then led Yang Zaixing and the other two through them. Afterward, he had all the children practice them all together. "Simple, right? Easy to learn on the first try! Alright, squad leaders, take your units back and practice in your respective groups."

Once Yang Zaixing and the others led their squads away, Zhang Xuan looked at the six people in front of him with a rather seductive and mischievous smile. Yet to Nie Zheng and the rest, this smile felt thoroughly strange, though they couldn't quite put their finger on what was amiss. "Let's play a game!"

"What kind of game?"

"Very simple. Just the attention stance—just stand like that, maintaining the posture as accurately as possible. Whoever stands the longest gets a reward! The prize is exemption from doing laundry for ten days, while the six who lose will take turns washing clothes for them one day each. How does that sound? Any objections?"

Nie Zheng, Shi Qian, and the other four looked at each other, suspecting the game was too simple and yet fearing it might be a trap.

"What's wrong with you lot? I'm just asking you to stand straight, and you're hesitating and dawdling this long. Are you incapable of even this?" Zhang Xuan provoked them, and the effect proved remarkably potent.

"Come on! Who's afraid of whom? It's just washing a few extra pieces of clothing!" In truth, Nie Zheng and the others had another consideration: although winter was drawing to a close, clothes didn't need to be washed every single day anyway, and ten days would fly by in an instant. However, in the days that followed, Zhang Xuan would prove with hard facts that Nie Zheng and the others had vastly underestimated what going days without doing laundry actually entailed.

"Attention—march!" At Zhang Xuan's command, all seven adopted the standard attention stance he had prescribed, standing rigidly straight. Throughout the standing process, they cast sidelong glances at one another, trying to gauge who would break first and collapse.

After standing for a while, Zhang Xuan noticed that some bodies were already beginning to tremble slightly. "Chen Feng, Zhang Hua, stand straight! Keep those calves rigid! And A Ke, Nie Zheng, check the position of your hands! Give me straight backs!" Zhang Xuan corrected the errors made by several of them, reinforcing the key points of their posture so that their forms would solidify, gradually cultivating the habit of standing tall, majestic, motionless, and strictly according to the rules. Of course, this wasn't something that could be mastered in a single day; they would take it slowly.

Yang Zaixing and the others also noticed the current state of Zhang Xuan's group. Following suit, they took the lead and instructed their own team members to stand according to the standards. As for whether they had any wagers of their own, that remained unknown.

The duration of an incense stick later, some legs were already shaking. They never imagined that such a seemingly simple posture, when held for too long, could become so excruciatingly exhausting. Watching them, Zhang Xuan called out again, "Can't hold on anymore? Want to give up? Can't keep your legs and backs straight? Feeling your whole body tremble? Be decisive and just quit then! Why push yourselves so hard? It's just washing some clothes."

Before Zhang Xuan could finish speaking, A Ke could no longer hold out. Her thighs shook, her body listed to one side, and she collapsed onto the ground. She tried to rise again, but her legs felt completely numb, making it impossible to stand up immediately. Following A Ke's fall, like a row of dominoes, Zhang Hua, Chen Feng, and Zhang Sheng all lost their endurance and slumped onto the ground. As for the squads led by Yang Zaixing and the other two, those capable of lasting the length of an incense stick were vanishingly rare.

Another incense stick's worth of time passed. In Zhang Xuan's squad, Shi Qian also fell, leaving only a final showdown between Zhang Xuan and Nie Zheng. Among the others, only Yang Zaixing and Yang Hu were still persevering, while Yuwen Chengdu was already sitting on the ground, vigorously pounding his calves.

Everyone else watched the four figures still standing, eager to see who would claim final victory.