Chapter 205: In a Fit of Rage (1)

Gu Yun's roar jolted many of the soldiers who had been resting with their eyes closed. They looked toward where she stood and saw Su Ling's tall, imposing figure standing proudly there. Every soldier who caught sight of him wore an expression of panic mixed with awe; they scrambled up from the ground and stood at rigid attention. Those nearby, sensing the commotion, also looked up. Upon seeing Su Ling, they sprang to their feet almost instantly, their fatigue wiped away.

Yu Shijun had been sitting against a large tree to rest. He saw the figures of Gu Yun and Su Ling from afar. As she let out her lion's roar, Yu Shijun had already run up to her. "Yes!"

Looking at Su Ling behind her with some excitement, Yu Shijun called out respectfully, "General!" He was a deputy general under Commander Su and rarely had the chance to interact with the General. The fact that the General had come in person this time showed how much he valued this unit.

Su Ling gave a slight nod, his perpetually stern expression revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

"What are they doing?"

Yu Shijun was too busy observing Su Ling to notice that Gu Yun's expression could no longer be described as merely gloomy. He replied truthfully, "Resting."

Resting? An icy, blade-like glare shot toward him. Yu Shijun belatedly looked at Gu Yun's cold, sharp face. His heart trembled, and he hurriedly replied, "It is not yet the Wei Hour!"

Gu Yun's cold brows furrowed slightly. "Do you mean to say you all ate lunch and came here to rest, waiting for the Wei Hour to begin training?" If they had returned to the camp for their meal, they could have rested in the barracks for half an hour before assembling. Was it necessary to lie on the ground in such a disheveled state?

Yu Shijun explained, "They didn't return to the camp for lunch."

"Why didn't they eat?" They barely ate breakfast, and now they weren't eating lunch either?

"After practicing with weapons all morning, the soldiers were too exhausted to move. Since it was the lunch break anyway, I didn't force them to return to camp. I had the kitchen send over two baskets of steamed buns and water, so they could eat and rest for a while." After finishing, as if to guarantee something, Yu Shijun added hurriedly, "But I have absolutely not gone easy on them during training hours!"

So they thought mealtime was free time, where they could eat if they wanted and skip it if they didn't?! Gu Yun was so angry she laughed. "You like eating steamed buns, is that it? Very well!" The smile on her lips made even Yu Shijun shiver, and even Su Ling felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine, especially at those words, "Very well."

Looking up at the sky, Gu Yun said coldly, "The Wei Hour has arrived. Fall in!"

"Yes." Yu Shijun turned and walked among the soldiers who had already risen and stood at attention, shouting, "Fall in!"

Over a hundred men formed ranks with swift and agile movements, looking as full of energy as if they had been injected with adrenaline. If not for the dust covering their clothes and hair, Gu Yun would have thought her eyes had deceived her.

Turning to Su Ling beside her, Gu Yun asked, "Is there a river nearby?"

"There is. Five li north of the city, there is the Bishui River." Su Ling's eagle eyes narrowed slightly, secretly observing her expression. Unfortunately, her face, having calmed its rage, showed little emotion, and for a moment, he couldn't tell what she was planning.

"Yu Shijun!" Gu Yun shouted.

"Yes." Yu Shijun trotted over. Gu Yun whispered a few words in his ear. A flicker of confusion appeared on Yu Shijun's face, but it quickly returned to normal. He replied, "I will go prepare immediately."

Glancing at the soldiers who had suddenly regained their morale, Gu Yun asked coldly, "Those who cannot swim, step forward."

The Qiongyue Kingdom was vast, mostly inland, with only one side facing the sea. It was not strange for some not to know how to swim. Fortunately, not a single one of these elites stepped forward. Gu Yun nodded in satisfaction and said, "Each person will carry a twenty-jin sandbag and run five li to the Bishui River north of the city."

"Yes!" The deep, powerful roar shook the birds in the trees, sending them fluttering through the forest. Gu Yun felt a sudden mix of amusement and frustration. She waved her hand at the soldiers who were tying on their sandbags and said loudly, "Move out."

Following behind the unit for a few steps, Gu Yun turned back to ask Su Ling, "Are you coming along, or do you have your own matters to attend to?"

Su Ling hadn't intended to watch the whole time, but he couldn't resist her invitation. "I have nothing to do this afternoon. I'll just see how you train the troops."

Gu Yun nodded, then suddenly remembered something and reminded him, "Just don't forget what you promised me."

When it came to how to train the soldiers, she had the final say; he could not interfere. Recalling the respectful way Yu Shijun had treated her, Su Ling teased, "Your prestige in the army is not low." To have trained his elite troops to the point of collapse in just one morning—her methods were not weak.

Gu Yun rolled her eyes at him and replied, "I'm far behind you. I'm currently just a fox borrowing a tiger's might." No one could shake Su Ling's position in the army, and she had no intention of trying.

Su Ling hadn't expected her to be so frank. He laughed, "You don't seem like someone who lacks confidence."

Gu Yun replied generously, "I am confident, but not arrogant. Let's go."

The two walked side by side to the edge of the drill ground. Su Ling led over a pure black steed, mounted it, and reached out a hand to Gu Yun. The afternoon sun was still dazzling. Shining down from above, Gu Yun looked up slightly and could barely open her eyes. She couldn't see his handsome face clearly in the sunlight, only the large hand extended toward her. In the light, the rough calluses on his palm and fingertips were even clearer. Gu Yun thought of the time at Yitian Courtyard when she had held this hand; the warm, powerful tactile sensation made her feel dazed again.

Gu Yun stood there with her head down, neither speaking nor mounting the horse. Su Ling said in a low voice, "Get on."

Only when the deep male voice reached her ears did Gu Yun snap out of it, feeling incredibly annoyed. What was wrong with her today? It was just a hand; when had she become so sensitive? Seeing no other horses nearby, Gu Yun gritted her teeth and placed her hand in Su Ling's large one.

Su Ling's strength was great. Gu Yun felt a force pulling her upward, and suddenly her waist tightened; she was already secured on the horse's back by Su Ling.

Releasing the hand around her waist, Su Ling said only one thing: "Sit tight." Then he spurred the horse forward.

The horse ran fast, the wind whistling past her ears, the trees beside them constantly receding. Gu Yun kept her head slightly lowered; she knew her mindset had changed. When facing him, she seemed unable to be as natural as before. Just like now, she sat very straight because behind her was his warm, rising and falling chest. Gu Yun despised herself. Hadn't she always considered herself free-spirited, never dragging her feet in her actions? Su Ling liked her; it was obvious, she could see it. So, did she like him? Make a clean break of it, so they wouldn't both be so awkward!

Gu Yun was still questioning herself when the reins suddenly tightened and the horse stopped. They had arrived. Whether out of relief or annoyance at not being able to reach a conclusion, Gu Yun jumped off the horse's back as if fleeing. Su Ling stared at that figure eager to escape, his firm lips curling higher and higher. She wasn't that slow after all.

Yu Shijun had already been waiting for them on the bank, a long fishing net placed by his feet. Behind him were two small wooden boats, with four young soldiers standing steadily on them—they were clearly experts at navigating the waves.

Gu Yun squinted. This Bishui River was wider than she had imagined, probably about seventy or eighty meters, and the current was very swift; the ripples reflecting the sunlight were exceptionally blinding.

"Pull the net up and block the downstream." As long as she didn't think about those complicated romantic relationships, Gu Yun's brain was as sharp as ever. Under the puzzled gazes of Su Ling and Yu Shijun, she directed the two boats to stretch the fishing net across the downstream of the river.

Only a moment after the net was set, the hundred-plus men arrived at the bank one after another. Gu Yun ignored them and said to the four young soldiers, "You lot, row to the center of the river. Later, if anyone can't hold on, fish them out."

"Yes." The four nodded blankly, not understanding her meaning. The soldiers behind her were all robust, carrying such heavy sandbags—they must have run a long way, yet they were only breathing heavily and their faces were slightly flushed. Looking like that, they could easily swim a lap or two, right!

The four looked at each other, but not daring to disobey, they rowed to the center of the river.

Gu Yun turned around. The soldiers were already lined up. Because of Su Ling's arrival, they were exceptionally excited. Gu Yun didn't mince words and said directly, "This afternoon's physical training will focus on your endurance, swimming technique, and speed. Swimming from here to the opposite bank and back counts as one lap. Later, in groups of twenty, you will swim ten laps. The last person of each lap will have ten points deducted. Those who complete ten laps pass the test; passing earns no extra points. As for those who have points deducted, go to the bank and do frog jumps until all team members have finished testing."

The more Gu Yun spoke, the darker the soldiers' expressions became. According to her plan, by the end of the afternoon, more than half of them were destined to have ten points deducted, and the punishment for those deducted points was far heavier than for those who persisted. Twenty people per group, seven groups, ten laps—swimming it would take at least two hours. Wouldn't the first group to be eliminated have to do frog jumps for over two hours?

Cold sweat began to drip down their foreheads. They were all secretly praying they wouldn't be in the first group. Their expressions grew uglier, while Gu Yun's tone remained light. "Do you understand?"

Taking a deep breath, the soldiers replied in unison, "Understood!"

After answering, the soldiers began to untie their sandbags, preparing to enter the water. Gu Yun's cold voice rang out, "Who told you to untie the sandbags?"

Not allowed to untie the sandbags? These sandbags weighed a full twenty jin! Once in the water, they would become even heavier. With sandbags hanging on their waists and legs, how were they supposed to cross the river?

Hearing Gu Yun's words, Su Ling's expression didn't change, but his heart began to worry. There was basically no naval force in the Su Family Army; the only ten-thousand-man naval unit was permanently stationed in the east facing the sea. These elite soldiers could swim, but their swimming skills couldn't possibly be very high. They might not even be able to complete ten laps without sandbags, let alone with twenty jin of weight hanging on them.

Even though he was sweating for these soldiers, Su Ling didn't say a word. "Do not doubt those you employ; do not employ those you doubt!" He now understood what the fishing net blocking the downstream was for.

Gu Yun gave them no chance to argue or appeal. Her stern voice rang out again, "Tighten the sandbags! First row, prepare!"

Gu Yun had rearranged the formation by height, so the first row consisted of relatively leaner men. Liu Xing, Leng Xiao, and Shi Hu were all in the first row.

"Move out." Although the soldiers were wailing internally, their movements entering the water were without hesitation, because no one wanted to be left behind and become someone who was both deducted points and forced to do frog jumps for two hours.

The rules Gu Yun announced were cruel. Even if everyone in this group was fast, there would still be a last place. After the first lap, the one eliminated was Liu Xing.

Frustrated, he climbed onto the bank. Liu Xing held his breath, and without Gu Yun needing to say more, he began doing frog jumps on the bank by himself. Gu Yun shook her head secretly. Unity and cleverness had allowed him to enter this unit, but given his physique, Gu Yun worried that before ten days were up, his hundred points would be gone.

Turning her gaze back, the second lap had already ended, and inevitably, more people joined Liu Xing's group. After a few rounds, on the vast river surface, the distance between people gradually widened. Watching their movements become slower and slower, Gu Yun shouted, "Swim faster! What are you dawdling for!"

Yu Shijun, who had been observing the river with trepidation, suddenly said in a low voice, "It seems someone is drowning."

Gu Yun squinted. There was indeed a figure struggling on the river surface, likely due to exhaustion or a leg cramp. Gu Yun waved at the boats in the center of the river and shouted, "Save him."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 206 =====