Chapter 23 - Training Camp II (1/2)

Chapter 23: Training Camp II

Translated by Shiya of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

The water in the mountains was clean, it was natural and unpolluted. As the location of the pond was surrounded by trees, very little sunlight could reach it, so the temperature of the water was just as low as the underground ones. The four of them submerged in the chilling water for a while, and soon their anger and hotheadedness were all gone; it was comforting and refreshing, in no time they felt like they had recovered most of their strength.

Li Sui stared at the reflection of his scars on the rippling water. They were once his deepest, darkest secrets, but now, he had made his peace with those memories; they were now merely a part of his life experiences. Li Sui couldn’t remember how long ago the nightmares had stopped, but ever since the familiar warmth of Lu Shang appeared, Li Sui’s dreams were never plagued by anyone else again.

In the ancient times, people would take a new name to purge illnesses and curses, some would also use it to flee from their fate. Li Sui always wondered if perhaps the one who bestowed him with a new name also blessed him with a new life.

“The water is so refreshing. Wang Wei, are the vines usable?”

Wang Wei swam over, he grabbed one and pulled on it, “Should be fine, but there are spikes on it.”

“Who is the lightest? Test the vines out first.”

After SiMa JingRong finished the sentence, SiMa Yan who was beside him paused a bit before realizing who he was referring to. He glanced at SiMa JingRong with a not-so-pleased face, but he still swam to the waterfall understandingly. He grabbed a piece of vine, and encircling the vine on his arm, he swiftly pulled himself out of the water using the vine as support.

SiMa Yan was thin and slim, and he was agile—it was as if he were a veteran climber. Li Sui neared the small waterfall carefully, raising his head to examine it. Looking on dry land, the waterfall didn’t seem tall. When Li Sui got closer, he noticed that the rocks were all covered in moss. If one wasn’t capable enough, it would be impossible to even set foot on the rocks. Luckily, beneath the vines and rocks there was a pond, so even if they fell, it wouldn’t cause any serious damage.

“Take it slowly.” Wang Wei stared at SiMa Yan with a hanging heart, though he wasn’t worried that SiMa Yan would fall. As these rocks were under constant stress from the flowing water, some of them might be loose, it looked like they could fall down anytime.

SiMa Yan was quite steady on his feet, and his legs were strong as well; very quickly, he reached the top part of the rocks. The higher he got, the heavier the water became, so his vision was also hindered. The soaked shirt stuck to his skin, Li Sui looked up and noticed that his lower legs were trembling slightly.

“What’s wrong? Don’t push yourself, if you can’t, then come back down.” Li Sui swam closer to where he was at, so he could help if anything happened.

SiMa Yan rubbed the water on his face away; he said something, but it was covered up by the sound of the rushing water. He wrapped his arm in another thicker vine, then with one push from his right leg, he climbed up another meter or so, he was almost at the top.

But just at that moment, SiMa JingRong who was quiet all this time suddenly screamed, his voice unexpectedly tinted with worry, “Rocks! Quick! Let go!”

Right after the warning, a piece of loosened rock fell down along with the water, it was dropping directly towards SiMa Yan’s head.

At the same time, SiMa Yan clicked his tongue. He loosened his grip on the vine, then placed his feet on a piece of rock, pushing himself outwards. He landed in the pond bellow on his back.

A circle of water splashed up. Li Sui quickly swam over and dived in to pull SiMa Yan up.

“Cough……” SiMa Yan was choking on the water, his face red as he coughed, lying on Li Sui.

“Are you okay?” Wang Wei went over as well.

SiMa Yan was coughing so much that he couldn’t even speak, so he just waved his hand to show he was fine.

“Let’s get out of the water first.” Li Sui said in concern.

He was soaked in water; his T-shirt and shorts were all wet. Perhaps he was shocked, his face was pale, he was a bit like a wet baby bird, and it was quite gut-wrenching. That was when Li Sui noticed, SiMa Yan was seriously thin, perhaps even lighter than most girls his age.

“I was almost there…” SiMa Yan stepped out from his vigorous coughing, he said, feeling dejected.

“Safety first,” Li Sui patted his shoulder.

“Don’t try to steal the limelight, if you can’t do it.” SiMa JingRong said as he handed SiMa Yan a dry change of clothes.

SiMa Yan didn’t take the clothes, he laughed coldly, “You are quite disappointed that the rock didn’t injure me, aren’t you?”

SiMa JingRong did not refute this time, on his face was something that looked a lot like guilt. That was unexpected; Li Sui and Wang Wei stared at each other, both had shock written all over their faces. It seemed like the siblings’ relationship was not as rocky as they had originally thought.

“I took a peep before I jumped down.” SiMa Yan dried his face, then he stood up. Pointing at the waterfall, he said, “Up there is a pool, beside it are some trees. I’m not sure if there are watermelons up there though.”

When SiMa Yan put it like that, it reminded Li Sui. If there was a pool up there, it means the ground above would collect water very easily. The soil would subsequently be sticky, could watermelons grow in soil like that?

“Fuck. That trainer is toying with us?”

Li Sui had a better grasp of the situation now, that calmed him, he said after sitting down, “It makes sense that he’d toy with us.”

Though he was never in the army, he knew how much they valued order and discipline. People who ignored the rules so blatantly, then showed absolutely no remorse, would naturally be punished as an example for others.

The trainer’s whistling reached them from afar; judging from the sounds, the other must had started their morning training. SiMa Yan sank his feet into the water, “We can skip the trainings, that’s even better. Who wants to be there?”

Losing Lu Shang’s face the first day here, Li Sui didn’t feel good about that, the only one who could possibly help him persuade them was Wang Wei. Yet, his only hope was sitting by the water, not budging, with eyes shut—he was asleep again.

“Since we can’t find it anyway, maybe we should go back and report to the trainer. If he wants to punish us, then there’s no escape.” Li Sui tried persuading them.

Just hearing the word punishment made SiMa JingRong quit. Back at home, he was the master of the house, everyone obeyed him. Not flipping out at the trainer was already the best he could do, now you want him to go receive punishment obediently? That was absolutely out of the question.

“I’m not going to go back, see what he’s going to do about it.”

SiMa Yan was quiet, but on his face, you could see that he was unwilling as well. Li Sui knew in his heart that these two were rich kids, his words wouldn’t be enough to change them from their habits, so he gave up. Now, he was even more aware of how far apart he was from Lu Shang, no matter the situation, that person’s words seemed to have an absolute effect on others, it was as if his leadership skills were innate and that no one will ever doubt his decisions.

They played with the water leisurely, looking at the shadows under the sun turn from long to short, then long again. At the beginning they fooled around, splashing water at each other, but as time passed by, they just laid on the ground exhaustingly. They were out of options, they were on an empty stomach, without food, they lacked strength. They were all growing males, just missing a single meal was unbearable, plus, a certain someone thought the meals in the cafeteria tasted horrible, so he didn’t even move his chopsticks last night.

“Are we going to stay in the water for the whole day? If we don’t go back, we won’t make it to dinner,” Wang Wei said.

Due to his experiences in earlier years, Li Sui was already quite well-versed in the starving department, but even he felt weak on his limbs. It was imaginable what state pampered big and small SiMas were in.

When they first arrived at the campsite, SiMa JingRong brought snacks, but his father somehow caught wind of it. The next day, he ordered the vice-captain to confiscate everything, he even reminded all the servants not to bring them anything again. At this critical moment, they were reminded how the whole drawer of cup noodles, chocolates, and biscuits were forever out of their reach. SiMa JingRong’s face turned grim, he said, “But that trainer is obviously just playing us, we have to come up with something to get past him.”

Li Sui looked at the setting sun at a distant, he stood up and batted away the dust on his trousers, “You guys go back to the dormitory, I’ll go take the punishment myself.”

“We can’t have that.” Wang Wei immediately stood up.

With a piece of grass between his lips, SiMa JingRong sighed, “Li Sui. You’re great in every aspect, but you’re too obedient.”

Li Sui didn’t know what to reply with. SiMa JingRong crawled up from the ground, arching down, he searched the ground for a while. Scratching up a small green germinating seed, his eyes glowed, “I got it!”

“What is that?” Wang Wei asked.

“Watermelon sprout.”

“Watermelon sprout? This thing is smaller than a bean, how do you know it’s a watermelon sprout?”

SiMa JingRong smiled proudly, “Who say this isn’t a watermelon sprout?”

“You go scam people, don’t pull us down.” SiMa Yan didn’t take him seriously.

SiMa JingRong giggled in front of them, revering the little thing in his hands, “Don’t worry. Your brother will lead you to food and spice.”

Most of the attendees had left the training ground already, only two males were left, they were doing planks, it seemed like they were being punished as well. The trainer was standing straight beside the two, in his hand was a stopwatch.

“Trainer! We found it!” SiMa JingRong ran over as if he was presenting a great treasure.