Yun Qiang was doing pushups with four weights tied on his back. Voss's word constantly echoed in his mind.
"You need a clear and calm mind to solidify your Qi."
He grumbled inwardly.
How can I practice a clear and calm mind when you force me to do physical training all the time?.
Was it because I talked back?. Three days had passed since he dared to stand and talk back to Voss. Well, at least he had tried to talk back; he had only managed to say "But" before Voss had shut him down.
My mind is clear! I am ready to train my Qi mastery. Just allow me, I don't want to spend all of my time on physical training!.
He was about to inwardly complain more when a sudden thought snaked its way into his mind.
Your complains are superfoulous. Your mind is not clear.
For a second, he couldn't realize his own thought, and he paused mid-pushup, his body trembling and complaining about the position he had stopped in. He continued with the exercise.
Yes, even if his thought was weird, it was right. His mind had been too active since he had entered the fortress; sometimes he felt like he was in a roller coaster. First fearing death after revealing the array names, then getting excited about receiving proper training and the pay he would receive once he became an official soldier.
Besides all of this, there was the hidden fear of being sacrificed by the Blood sacrificing array. Thinking about it rationally, he knew that the builder wouldn't use it in time of peace. If he really did that, then he or she would be hunted down by every sect of the continent. However, knowing that it wouldn't be activated didn't stop him from feeling a lingering fear and tension every time he entered the Shard. You don't stop fearing a lion only because you think it's not hungry.
Yun Qiang stopped again, took a deep breath while struggling to stabilize his trembling muscles, then restarted. This time he focused only on the exercise he was given. No more thinking about his situation or where he was. He only focused on keeping his balance and correcting the mistakes and imprecisions in his movements.
Move up and down, regulate your breath, move and align your hand to facilitate your movement, repeat. In his focus, he didn't notice the weird looks that he was receiving from Voss or his companions, nor did he notice the fact that he had spent more than two hours doing pushups without pausing.
However, his concentration completely shattered when the training session ended. When Voss announced the end of the session, Yun Qiang's mind was taken back to reality, and the accumulated fatigue hit him like a truck, forcing him to heavily pant and tremble while barely managing to stand up.
Voss started speaking, his voice loud and clear as usual.
"I have an important announcement to make," his commanding voice slightly echoed in the empty training ground. "Most of you must have seen the red leaflets that are hanging around the notice boards in the fort, so I will be brief. Starting from tonight, the Array that defends the fort will be shut down for maintenance."
"For this reason, tomorrow we are tasked with a longer patrol that will last for four days. Since this route will stray far away from the Shard, I want you to be always ready and attentive. There is a non-zero chance to encounter enemies during our travel."
Voss looked at them while silently analyzing their faces and reactions. He didn't see much. Only some confused expressions. He shook his head; it was normal, they were recruits and didn't truly know what to expect. If things went as usual, they would realize the importance and danger of their situation during the patrol or when the Array was shut down tonight.
"You can go and rest."
Having said that, Voss moved away without giving them time to stop him and ask questions about the patrol or the maintenance.
Later that night
Yun Qiang had just finished his meditation and was chatting with Lee before going to bed.
"Anyway, that's how I solidify—" A thunder interrupted Lee's voice.
They looked at each other. Another thunder sounded, this time stronger and louder. Yun Qiang was about to tell Lee to go on when rain started pouring from the sky.
Yun Qiang, Lee, Sun, and the other recruits stopped what they were doing and moved towards the door. All looked at the pouring rain in silence. The rain was falling in copious amounts, forming straight lines as it traversed the sky.
"It must be the Array. The maintenance has started." The one who was talking was Hai Ming, a noble-looking man who always seemed calm.
Seeing the strange glances of the surrounding people, Hai Ming explained further, "I made friends with some of the veterans around the fort. They say that every time the maintenance of the Array starts, it rains all day."
Yun Qiang wasn't surprised by Hai Ming ability to make friends, his social skills had been clear since the first week; even He had tried to made friends with Hai. However he soon stopped interacting with him when he discovered that he was imprisoned because Hai Ming had murdered his entire family for an heridatary dispute. EEven though all the recruits were ex-criminals, Yun Qiang had learned their stories, and most had committed crimes out of need, desperation, or ambition. For example, Lee had stolen some spirit stone to cover his sister's debt, Guang had risked arrest to steal pills that would help him advance as a cultivator. But Hai Ming was different, he was the second in line of a rich family and he had killed his own brother for the family fortune. Yun Qiang didn't trust someone who had killed his own family for money to cover his back in a life or death situation.
Yun Qiang stopped paying attention to the random chatter around him and looked at the rain. He didn't know why, but something about it seemed off. Even if the array was disabled, rain shouldn't pour all out instantly, right? The rain, however, didn't care about his opinion and continued to fall in a straight and regular manner like most summer rains did.
Another intrusive thought made its way into his mind.
The rain and thunder are following a pattern.
Even if it sounded absurd, he instinctively believed it. He kept staring at the sky, trying to understand what logic guided the rain and the distant thunders. The more he focused, the more an irrational conclusion formed in his mind. The array was still active and causing the clouds and thunder to move and fall in patterns. He stared at the sky, this time trying to focus only on one point. Suddenly, pain assaulted his eyes, causing him to lower his gaze to the ground before it vanished as quickly as it came. However, it wasn't in vain. It was only for a brief moment, but Yun Qiang clearly saw some dark snakelike patterns inside the clouds.
The array is still active.
His pupils shrank. He quickly turned around and started looking at his companions. Most of them were already in bed, while some were talking or meditating. Their faces were calm as if nothing had happened and it was just another night at the Shard.
Am I the only one that saw it? What about the team leader?
He wished he could see Voss's face to gauge his reaction and see if he knew about the array. Thinking about it, the entire situation didn't make sense. The leaflets telling soldiers about the maintenance were scattered all around the Shard. Adding to this, Hai's veteran friends had said the rain always came when the array was shut down.
A voice reached him from the side, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Qiang, stop staring at the rain and go to bed. I can't sleep if you stand there."
The one who spoke was Guang, one of the more grumpy recruits.
Guang's complaints were soon followed by others coming from the rest of the recruits. Yun Qiang put on an embarrassed face and walked towards his bed while trying to act natural.
"Sorry, sorry."
As he walked, he tried to wrap his head around the current situation. Why would they put fake maintenance notices around the Shard? Was it to test the soldiers' loyalty? He entered his bed.
He didn't know why the upper management of the Shard did it, but he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He didn't like the idea of being manipulated or lied to. Are they trying to bait an enemy attack? Is tomorrow's patrol part of it?. This thought made him even more on edge about tomorrow's events. He changed sleeping position.
It doesn't matter, all I have to do is go on patrol and become an official soldier. After that, I can get paid and get resources for my cultivation.
Yes, everything will go well. I just have to go on patrol.
He constantly repeated these lines in his mind while trying to calm himself down. However, every time he thought about going on patrol, new doubts surfaced in his mind.
What if it's a trap and the Sacred empire launches an attack? Are they sending us to die?
Soon the various fears and insecurities that he had suppressed during the last month resurfaced. Will I survive at the border? What if we encounter enemies that are stronger than me? What if they know Qi mastery? What if they launch a surprise attack while we sleep? What if they have a golden core cultivator with them?
Similar thoughts clouded his mind, unknowingly his focus had completly shifted towards tomorrows patrol. His growing worries pushing him towards a sleepless night. Luckily, the fatigue accumulated from his physical training slowly obscured and slowed down his mind, forcing him to sleep.
However, this luxury couldn't last forever, and his thoughts and doubts about the patrol resurfaced the next day, this time stronger than before.
"Everyone, you have 5 minutes to form a double line outside."
Voss's commanding voice clearly resounded throughout the barracks, forcefully waking up the few recruits that were still in bed or still yawning.
Yun Qiang was sitting on his bed, tying the back laces of his leg armor. His mind was still a mess like the night before, his concern about today's patrol growing with each passing second.
He checked the knot he had just tied. Are we just baits? He undid both the knots that kept his armor in place and did them again. Is this a trial to test our skill? After finishing the knots, he stared at them and undid them again. Are we going t—
Sun's voice reached him from the side; he sounded calm and secure like always.
"Ready?"
Yun Qiang looked him in the eyes before quickly looking away. In Sun's eyes, he didn't see fear or hesitation. A wave of shame assaulted him. He couldn't even reach the first level of Qi mastery; how was he supposed to go out on long patrols? He had also heard the stories of the official soldiers. Long patrols were deadly, and it wasn't unusual for a few recruits to die while doing them. The sense of calm and confidence that he had built up in the last month seemed just like a mirage now.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Sun nudged him on the shoulder.
"Something on your mind?"
Yun Qiang responded in a low tone.
"No, it's just... What if we get attacked during this patrol? You know the stories about the border..."
He looked at Sun in the eyes while trying to analyze his reaction; he wanted to know what Sun felt. As Sun responded, Yun Qiang could only see confidence and understanding in his eyes.
"Qiang, we are just recruits. Our route won't be dangerous. Just follow the orders, and everything will be okay."
Yun Qiang looked toward the exit; the last recruits were walking out, leaving him and Sun as the only ones in the barracks. He felt ashamed; he was a coward.
Sun patted him on his back.
"It's normal to be nervous; there is nothing wrong with it. A lot of the other guys are as nervous as you are, they just hide it better." He smiled at him. "Just follow the orders, I'm sure Voss won't lead us into danger."
Sun started walking toward the exit. "The five minutes are almost up, let's go."
Yun Qiang felt better. He tied the last knots and walked out with Sun. As he walked out, he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Just follow the orders."
Meanwhile, Lu Bu watched this scene unfold with a wide smile on his face. Even if he was already convinced that Yun Qiang didn't see his array, this scene made his conviction unshakeable. He laughed.
Just follow the orders, little boy. I'm sure nothing will hurt you at the border. I'm sure the enemies will be friendly and won't try to kill you!
He continued laughing, his laughter becoming more and more maniacal. He had always loved this kind of scene; they were always so naive and so far removed from reality that he couldn't help but laugh every time he saw them.
He let his laughter die down before sitting at his disordered desk. He casually picked out a few papers from the messy stack on his left and started rereading them with a smile on his face. Even if the orders on them didn't say it explicitly, he already knew what it was all leading up to. The patrol routes were becoming longer and traveling closer to the border, the supply lines were becoming more guarded than before, and spies were being purged from their ranks.
To Lu Bu, the Rose Kingdom's intentions were clear. A war with the Sacred Empire was inevitable, and they were already taking the first steps toward it. The official declaration wasn't that far; it was just a matter of time.
Lu Bu's grin widened as he took out a greyish sphere from his pocket; his time to shine wasn't that far.