171. Departure

"Brother Xuan—no, Monitor, I know we are supposed to obey orders, but I am confused, and so are all of us. Why can't we go out on missions with them? No one else is around right now, can't you just tell us why you kept us behind instead of letting us follow Brother Yang and the others to rescue the children locked up in the stronghold by the human traffickers? Or why not let us lead a mission out there? Are our skills really inferior to those who got picked? Absolutely not! Every single evaluation puts us near the top! So why can't we go? Monitor, you know better than anyone how much hatred we hold for those traffickers!" Nie Zheng demanded, his tone carrying a challenge as he stared directly into Zhang Xuan's eyes. The others mirrored his gaze, demanding an explanation from Zhang Xuan.

Zhang Xuan looked back at Nie Zheng and the group. "You really want to know why you can't go out on a mission?"

Nie Zheng and the others nodded vigorously. They truly wanted to understand why they were being passed over this time. It was not out of arrogance, but they were entirely confident they were no worse than the ones chosen for deployment.

"You few have been assigned a different mission! When the time is right, we move out. Consider that a promise from me!"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's pledge, Nie Zheng and his companions lit up with excitement at the prospect of their own mission. "Monitor, when will the time be right?"

"Just wait, and don't speak of this to anyone else! Remember, this is a classified operation." Zhang Xuan made a hush gesture, and Nie Zheng and the others nodded knowingly. "Understood. Now disperse. If you have nothing better to do, go help the others pack or get back to training!"

At the mention of the word "training," Nie Zheng and the others vanished in a flash. Zhang Xuan watched the backs of the little rascals disappear, falling deep into thought.

When evening came, Zhang Xuan gathered with Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu in the wooden cabin they shared, joined by Old Yang and Grandpa Tong.

Old Yang spoke first, asking, "Zaixing, Yuwen, Yang Hu, are you confident about this mission?" Truth be told, Old Yang was quite reluctant to let them go. Although these youths had made all sorts of progress over the past year, anxieties lingered—especially concerning Yang Zaixing, whom he still viewed as just a kid. Yet he also knew he could not shelter them forever. There comes a time to let go; fledgling eagles protected under wings forever would never soar across the sky.

"Old Yang, rest assured, we guarantee the mission will be accomplished. You can put all your worries to rest and trust us a hundred and twenty percent," Yang Zaixing said as he stood up to give his vow, with Yuwen Chengdu and Yang Hu quickly echoing his sentiment. Grandpa Tong said nothing, perhaps out of absolute trust in the three, or perhaps to spare them any extra pressure. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the conversation naturally drifted to reminders to stay safe.

Once the warm scene settled down, Zhang Xuan produced a small wooden box and handed it to Yang Zaixing, who stared at him in utter bewilderment. "Don't look at me like that. This is the leftover money from our brawl in Wanyang Town, take it and split it among the three of you! Use it to get yourselves some small daggers made. We can't have you going into battle bare-handed or relying on the little wooden practice swords. The equipment might be a bit meager, but something is better than nothing. And when you finish the mission, don't forget to loot all the cash from that stronghold."

Yang Zaixing took the small wooden box. Seeing this, Yuwen Chengdu feigned deep astonishment and exclaimed, "Little Xuan, it's a miracle! You actually managed to pry yourself away from your money pile. Have you turned over a new leaf and stopped being a miser? Ha!"

At Yuwen Chengdu's mock surprise, everyone burst into laughter. Zhang Xuan's reputation as a miser was well and truly entrenched.

"Piss off. Every coin of mine is spent where it counts. I am never stingy when funds are actually needed, so stop equating me with a skinflint. And you guys really—I've said it more times than I can count, you truly have no idea how hard it is to manage..." Before Zhang Xuan could ramble further, Yuwen Chengdu cut him off. He was thoroughly sick of hearing that speech and utterly incapable of refuting it. "Stop! I was wrong. I shouldn't have compared you to a miser. I'm sorry, my fault."

"Correcting a mistake makes you a good boy! I forgive you. However, this casual habit of interrupting people mid-sentence is also a bad trait, let me tell you about that..."

Zhang Xuan launched into yet another grandiose lecture. Within moments, Old Yang and Grandpa Tong yawned and slipped away, while Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu rubbed their heavy eyelids and collapsed straight onto their beds.

Watching them drop, Zhang Xuan thought to himself that he certainly had ways of dealing with them. Chanting like a Buddhist monk really was more than most people could endure—no wonder the Monkey King compared Xuanzang to a swarm of flies. The most effective way to restore peace to the world was to catch those flies, burst their bellies, pull out their entrails, loop those same entrails around their necks, and give a sharp yank. Ah, with the tongue lolling out, a swift chop of the hand would finish it. Ah, sweet silence.

At dawn the next morning, Zhang Xuan and the remaining crew stood in front of their cabin in absolute silence, watching as Yang Zaixing, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yang Hu led fifteen youths away from the camp.