Chapter 168: Morning Exercise

The night passed in silence, with everyone deeply immersed in their dreams.

However, just after the first watch of dawn, harsh and piercing gongs suddenly echoed around the wooden cabins. The people inside nearly tumbled out of their beds; some rubbed their eyes and sat up, while others dawdled, simply pretending not to hear, wrapping themselves tighter in their quilts to continue sleeping. Perhaps, as Yang Zaixing had suggested, they were slightly overdrawn and utterly exhausted, making it simply impossible to get up.

Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu rubbed their eyes, yawning as they emerged from their cabin. In contrast, several other cabins remained completely still. Inside one of them, Shi Qian and a few others suddenly bolted upright from their blankets, slapping the shoulders of those next to them. "Quick, get up! The gong has sounded, hurry out and assemble!"

"Oh, let me sleep a little longer, I'm so sleepy..." muttered someone with half-closed eyes, burying their head back beneath the covers. Scenes of this sort were playing out in every single cabin.

Before long, Zhang Xuan led Yang Zaixing and the others into the cabins, bringing his foot down in a fierce kick against a wooden bed. "Sleeping? Didn't you hear the gong?" Without an ounce of courtesy, Zhang Xuan raised his leg and delivered a vicious blow. The boy on the bed was sent flying head over heels with no chance to dodge, rolling off the mattress and slamming flat onto the floor. "Sleep your head off! This isn't your sleeping time, get your asses up and make it snappy!" Zhang Xuan roared like a madman, his gaze severe and intensely fierce. Unfortunately, due to the dimness of the early morning darkness, none of them could actually see his menacing expression. The occupants of the cabin scrambled out in a rush, after which Zhang Xuan "visited" the rest of the cabins one by one, delivering fierce kicks to anyone still lingering in bed.

Once everyone was assembled outside, Zhang Xuan stepped before the crowd, his face dark and extremely displeased with everyone's performance this morning.

"I am very disappointed with all of you today! Did I not say yesterday that upon hearing the gong, you were to assemble here immediately? Yet not a single person managed it. Let me tell you this: the rules I set are absolute. Anyone who dares to break them will see what happens. Furthermore, do not try to flaunt your individuality in front of me—I only require your obedience to my orders, even if those orders are wrong. Now, everyone, run twenty laps around this field!" Zhang Xuan roared, showing not a shred of mercy. "If anyone tries to slack off, dares to run fewer laps, or cuts the corners, you can forget about breakfast. Begin!"

As Zhang Xuan shouted his orders, everyone kept their heads bowed. Once he finished speaking, the group started running laps under the leadership of Yang Zaixing and the others, while Zhang Xuan positioned himself right at the rear. For Zhang Xuan and his companions, this was routine operation. But for the other children, by the eighth or ninth lap, some could no longer bear it; their bodies listed sideways, feeling as though they were about to collapse. Among them were Nie Zheng and Zheng Chao. (As a brief aside: Zheng Chao was in Yang Hu’s squad, Zheng Jian in Yang Zaixing’s squad, and Nie Rong in Yuwen Chengdu’s squad. The names of the other children will appear in future chapters.) Even so, they gritted their teeth and kept going.

Zhang Xuan jogged over beside the children who were clutching their stomachs. "You haven't even finished half of it yet? Can't take it, can't run anymore? Is that all you've got?"

The children shot Zhang Xuan sideways glances without a word, as if speaking to him would be a sheer waste of their remaining breath, and simply continued running.

After gritting their teeth through another four or five laps, some children were panting heavily, reduced to a walking pace, while others collapsed flat onto the ground. Zhang Xuan ran in place right beside those sitting on the earth, looking down at them with undisguised contempt. Everything was conveyed without a word. Perhaps stimulated by Zhang Xuan’s gaze and actions, the seated children slowly rose to their heads, shook their heads, and violently slapped their own cheeks with their hands. Letting out a fierce roar, they forced themselves onward to finish the final few laps.

A little while later, Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu had already led a portion of the group across the finish line. Aside from the three of them, everyone else’s faces were deathly pale, gasping heavily for breath and attempting to sit down. However, they were stopped by Yang Zaixing and the others, who made them stand for a short while before instructing them to walk in circles to cool down.

When Zhang Xuan crossed the finish line of the twentieth lap, everyone had completed the morning's twenty-lap run. Over the course of the run, many of the children had wanted to give up, but through mutual encouragement, they ultimately persevered to the end. Throughout this ordeal, Zhang Xuan saw something on the faces of many children—a quality called stubbornness, and an unyielding spirit that refused to ever bow or admit defeat.

"Unexpectedly, you all actually finished it. Not quite what I had in mind—I thought at least half of you wouldn't get any breakfast. Since you've all completed it, go eat! Eat your meals and rest for a quarter of an hour, then assemble right here again. And make sure you eat your fill, but don't forget to feed the livestock afterwards. Dismissed!" Zhang Xuan said expressionlessly.

After the children dispersed, Yang Zaixing walked over to Zhang Xuan. "Little Xuan, aren't you exhausted putting on such a fierce act?"

"I am naturally this fierce, alright? I just don't usually show it!"

Yuwen Chengdu chimed in at the opportune moment. "Just the other day, I saw someone practicing their facial expressions in secret to make themselves look a bit more menacing! Who on earth was that again? How did I suddenly forget his name?"

Hearing Yuwen Chengdu’s words, the rest of them burst into laughter.