Chapter 8 - He Doesn’t Have Any Other Future!

Over the past couple of days, Shen Leng followed a fixed routine - he cooked, trained, cooked again, and then trained again before he slept...

Every single day, mornings were the most painful time of the day for Shen Leng. That was because his mornings belonged to Shen Cha Yan - she was like a whip-brandishing little demon, who was merciless. But for some reason, Shen Leng was not afraid of her; not even a little bit.

Every morning after he got out of bed, he would wash up and prepare breakfast. After taking a fifteen-minute rest, he would then begin training. First, he would stay in horse stance for an hour. Thereafter, he would do weighted jump squats. Shen Cha Yan said that this was to develop explosive strength and power.

On the battlefield, explosive power and strength were extremely important.

On the other hand, his afternoons belonged to Mr. Shen. They were very quiet - Mr. Shen made him read books, study the map, analyze past battles, and all kinds of other things. Additionally, he dedicated an hour for him to learn the dialects from different areas.

Shen Leng’s everyday schedule was extremely packed. He was like a pocket that Shen Cha Yan and Mr. Shen continued to shove all kinds of things into.

When it came to day four, they added one more item to the list - close quarters combat. It was more like a close quarters beating session.

Shen Cha Yan allowed Shen Leng to be on offense, while she was on defense. Initially, Shen Leng felt bad and held back, which resulted in him being beaten up badly. That was when he realized that he should not have felt bad because it amounted to nothing. When Shen Cha Yan counterattacked, she did not feel bad or hold back at all. The young lady was pompous and conceited - she told Shen Leng that every beating he suffered was his best way of training himself to dodge the deadly attacks of his enemies on the battlefield.

Just like that, days flew by. Mr. Shen noticed that Shen Leng was akin to a rubber - no matter how much he tried to stretch and pull, he was not damaged. No matter how much pressure he was subjected to, he was able to withstand it.

Initially, he assumed that it was because he was used to toiling hard since he was young, and hence he was able to withstand the harsh training; after all, Mr. Meng treated him poorly. However, afterwards, Mr. Shen was certain that it was not because he was used to being subjected to harsh circumstances. Instead, it was because he was very tenacious.

“Go to the riverbank and bring some fine sand back.”

After Mr. Shen instructed him, he went back into the house. He had been spending his days writing and drawing. The book of military tactics, that seemingly had no words, would be finished soon, at the rate he was going.

Shen Leng grunted and picked up two casks and a carrying pole. The distance between their secluded dilapidated Daoist temple and the river was almost two miles in total, to and fro. Two casks filled to the brim with fine sand weighed more than 110 pounds. However, after he went back, Mr. Shen said that it was insufficient. He needed to make ten more trips, at the very least. Shen Leng’s shoulder were already red and swollen, but he clenched his teeth and pressed on.

She Cha Yan glared at Mr. Shen hard before following Shen Leng out the door.

By his third trip, Shen Leng’s shoulders were hurting so much to the extent he had almost reached his breaking point. Nonetheless, he continued to persevere. Shen Cha Yan followed behind him without saying a word. She saw Shen Leng staggered for a bit and took a huge step forward and took the carrying pole from his shoulder with one hand.

Thereafter, she tossed the carrying pole back to Shen Leng and carried one cask in each hand before taking large strides forward.

After walking a couple of steps, she saw Mr. Shen waiting for them in front, with a cold look on his face.

“I...”

Shen Cha Yan opened her mouth and was slightly blushing. She did not know how to explain herself.

“Punish yourself.”

Mr. Shen only said those two words.

“He couldn’t take it anymore!”

Shen Cha Yan obstinately talked back.

“What?”

Mr. Shen’s eyebrows twitched - he was truly furious. Even though Shen Cha Yan had always been rude in the way she spoke to him, and that it was hard to tell she respected him at all, it was only what it appeared to be on the surface. He snorted, and Shen Cha Yan lowered her head and put the casks down before heading back to the yard of the Daoist temple.

“Don’t blame her. It’s my fault.”

Shen Leng tried to plead on her behalf.

“Alright, I want to see how she’s punishing herself. You go too. After you complete your punishment, come back and finish retrieving the fine sand.”

“Yes sir!”

Shen Leng lifted the two casks and staggered his way back to the yard.

In the middle of the yard, Shen Cha Yan was already in a horse stance. When she saw Shen Leng entering, she glared at him. Shen Leng felt very guilty. He placed the casks on the ground and ran over to her, getting into a horse stance next to her.

“What are you doing?”

“Accompanying you.”

“There’s no need for that.”

“Ok.”

“Why are you still here? Get lost.”

“I’m resting in horse stance. It was too exhausting carrying the casks.”

“Idiot. Don’t you know what’s going to happen in a while?”

“I don’t.”

Shen Leng laughed. His teeth were very white; his smile looked very clean. “Whatever.”

After Shen Leng returned to the yard, Mr. Shen headed straight into the house, before carrying a bunch of things out. Only when he was closer did Shen Leng realize that he was carrying some short spears; they were oddly shaped - they were pointed on both ends. Each of them was about 1.2 to 1.3 meters long.

Mr. Shen placed a few short spears under each of Shen Cha Yan’s arms. The short spears were so sharp that it sent chills down one’s back. Thereafter, Mr. Shen took two stone dumbbells and passed them to Shen Cha Yan. She stood there in that manner. If either one of her arms were to drop slightly, she would get pierced by the spear.

Shen Leng was immediately taken aback. 　　

“You know for a fact that you would get punished this way.”

He looked at Shen Cha Yan, “Why did you still help me?”

Shen Cha Yan scoffed, “None of your business. If I were to see a puppy get exhausted from carrying water, I would have helped too.”

Shen Leng asked, “Why would a dog be carrying water?”

Shen Cha Yan glared at him, “Is there something wrong with you”

Mr. Shen said sternly, “Reward good behavior and punish undesired ones. That is the philosophy of a leader. Shen Leng, you have to remember this as well.”

Shen Leng grunted. “What about mine?”

“What about yours?”

Shen Leng used his chin to gesture to his armpit. “Spear.”

Shen Cha Yan was slightly irked. “I don’t need you to accompany me!”

Shen Leng said earnestly, “Sir said that we should reward good behavior and punish undesired ones. I had made a mistake earlier, hence I should be punished too. It’s not that I want to accompany you - I played a part in it too.”

For some reason, subconsciously, Mr. Shen smiled slightly. Thereafter, he placed two short spears underneath his armpits each. However, there were no more stone dumbbells in the yard - both of them had already been given to Shen Cha Yan.

“Casks.”

Shen Leng stuck out his lips, “ There. Right over there. I haven’t poured out the sand.”

Shen Cha Yan was already very anxious, “Are you insane?”

Shen Leng shook his head, “Reward good behavior and punish undesired ones. Both should be executed impartially and uniformly. If the punishment varies from person to person, the masses will not be convinced and obey orders.

Mr. Shen nodded and fetched the casks for Shen Leng. Shen Leng carried the casks and moments later, his arms started trembling. In less than ten seconds, his arms got pierced by the spear and blood started flowing out immediately.

“Get him out of here!” yelled Shen Cha Yan in a high-pitched voice.

Mr. Shen shook his head, “This was his choice.”

Shen Leng smiled. Due to the pain, his smile was slightly distorted. “Psst...are you thinking that I can’t take it? Let me tell you...ouch...this is nothing!”

He got pierced once more.

Mr. Shen sat on the stone bench, while looking at the two children. He maintained a stern look on his face, but his heart was filled with joy. Unity was the most important quality for soldiers. If there was no unity, the warship would be akin to a sheet of loose sand - the soldiers would not be able to cooperate with one another.

After Shen Leng was pierced four to five times, Mr. Shen stood up and announced that their punnishment was over. Shen Cha Yan tossed the stone dumbbells aside and immediately grabbed Shen Leng’s arms to take a closer look. Her eyes were slightly red. “Idiot!”

Shen Leng said, “Stop calling me an idiot all the time. What if I really become an idiot?”

Shen Cha Yan replied, “But you’ve always been an idiot from the get go.”

Mr. Shen found their conversation exceptionally interesting, even though they repeated the same thing over and over again. He got up and entered the house, and started looking for an ointment for wounds. He tossed it to Shen Leng, “Apply it yourself.”

Shen Cha Yan wanted to take it, but Mr. Shen grunted disapprovingly. Hence, she stomped off to one side and sulked.

“Don’t forget - you haven’t finished retrieving the fine sand.”

After Mr. Shen said that, he went back into the house, and continued to draw and write at the table by the window. Sometimes, Shen Cha Yan find it hard to understand Mr. Shen’s actions. It seemed to her as though there were two different souls in his body. When he was warm, one would be intoxicated by it. When he was cold, one would be filled with fear.

After Shen Leng applied the ointment, he dressed the wounds. However, it was his first time dressing a wound, hence it seemed as though he did a bowknot on both arms. When Shen Cha Yan saw that, she could not hold back her laughter.

After he was done, Shen Leng took a deep breath and started making multiple trips back and forth to collect more fine sand; each trip was slower than the one before.

Finally, he poured out the last cask of fine sand. Mr. Shen tossed a map out the window, “Follow the map and form its topography.”

Shen Leng grunted and caught the map. Thereafter, he followed the map and used the fine sand to recreate its topography.

The sky gradually darkened. Shen Leng continued to carry out his task earnestly. Shen Cha Yan sat at one side, observing him. In truth, she had done all these things before. Initially, she felt that Mr. Shen was already very strict and harsh with her. However, ever since Shen Leng came along, she realized that she had it easier back then.

“Too slow!” said Mr. Shen after peering out of the window.

Immediately, Shen Leng moved faster. It was not that he was unable to pick up speed - he wanted to be extra careful and not make any mistakes. Nobody had ever taught him how to read the map. No matter how gifted he was, it was inevitable for him to be unfamiliar with it.

Before it got dark, Shen Leng finally recreated the topography. Mr. Shen walked out of the door, with his hands clasped behind, and took a look. He extended his leg and swept the fine sand with it. “Wrong, wrong, wrong!”

Shen Leng worked so hard to recreate it, but immediately, almost half of it got ruined just like that.

“Sir, what are you doing!”

Shen Cha Yan stood up immediately. She felt even more anxious for him than when her hard work got ruined. This was because she observed the entire process of Shen Leng creating it, little by little. He was very meticulous. She had seen the map before - it should be correct.

“How do you feel?’ asked Mr. Shen.

Shen Leng was quiet for a while. “I was wondering where I went wrong. Thereafter, I came to the conclusion that I did not make a mistake.”

“And after that?” asked Mr. Shen once again.

Shen Leng took a deep breath and replied, “I’ll do it one more time.”

Mr. Shen looked at Shen Cha Yan, “In the future, he will be entering the military. No matter how hard I try, I will not be able to help him when he’s in the military camp. He has no background or anyone to back him up; no matter how good his performance is, he will still be misunderstood or suppressed...but in any case, he did a pretty decent job.”

Mr. Shen asked, “What will happen after you do it once more? What if I told you that you’re still wrong?”

Shen Leng replied, “Then I will do it again for the third time, fourth time, fifth time, and so on.”

Mr. Shen stayed silent for a moment and said, “Perhaps, you might think that I am rather harsh on you. However, I need to take into account everything you are going to face in the future. You don’t have much time left...”

Shen Cha Yan said, “Perhaps that is not what he wants!”

Mr. Shen narrowed his eyes, “Do you think he has any other options? If he doesn’t want a future as such, then the only option he has is death. Compared to the people who want to kill him, you and I are nothing. Nobody can protect him for life, he can only depend on himself.”

“Sir, what are you saying? Who wants to kill me?” Shen Leng looked puzzled.

“It’s nothing.”

Mr. Shen turned around, “Collecting fine sand had taken almost half a day. The homework that needed to be done in the day will be done at night. You will only go to bed after it’s done.”

“Yes, sir.” Shen Leng answered, lowering his head.

Thereafter, he asked Shen Cha Yan softly, “Who wants to kill me?”

Shen Cha Yan turned around and replied, “I don’t know!”

For some reason, when she was turning around, she seemed to have seen a glistening item getting flung out, from the corner of her eye. It was sparkling like a diamond, under the lights in the dark sky.