38 Back in the Camp ...

Three years later ...

The briefing that Qin Feng received from the military forces regarding the forest wasn't very long or very comprehensive. Essentially, there was only one particular message that stood out, and that was what to if he came across a wild beast that was clearly too dangerous for him to handle on his own: run!

Well, that was how it seemed, to his ear.

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he was not trained at all in their military procedures? Or the fact that the briefing was conducted for those who were merely being assessed as logistical support troops?

To be fair, the first half of the briefing - which had taken close to a good half-hour! Well, that had involved a lot of information about the procedures that they were supposed to follow, and what to look out for, when they received and delivered the goods that they would be handling. Qin Feng thought that was rather interesting, although he could see that most of the others at the briefing with him were bored when it began.

Fortunately, they were content to sit there quietly, and let the speaker ramble on, as they did their own thing. Two of them even looked as though they had fallen asleep!

Apart from that, the rest simply ignored the speaker. Something that he found himself doing as well, when the bearded man who was giving it started to delve into the minute details of the paperwork involved. He had been through worse, during his days in the Heaven Sword School, so what was the point of going through that for him?

Still, it was army procedure so he had simply pretended to pay attention, even as he started planning how to avoid those troopers that were out to hunt him, and the others like him, down. It seemed they were a lot better at moving about in the forest than he was.

Of course, that was only to be expected. They were soldiers, and this particular stretch of the woods was more or less their playpen. So he would have to take a great deal of care, that he would not be eliminated too quickly.

Suddenly, one of the soldiers who was listening in on the boring lecture, leaned in closer and whispered to him, much to Qin Feng's surprise. Didn't they have a rule against that, in the army?

But he had admit that the man's question was a lot more interesting than the speech:

"Hey, do you have a weapon with you? Everyone else does."

Qin Feng's eyes swept the interior of the tent where the lecture was being given and came to the realization that the soldier was correct! There were only six of them taking the trial, and he was the only one among them who was unarmed.

Still, he wasn't too concerned about that. After all, he had been concentrating on his Lightness of Body martial arts for his two years or more at Heaven Sword School, so he was rather confident that he would be able to escape any of the predators that would be lurking at the edges of the Forest.

Although he couldn't really say that, could he? At least, not without giving the game away. He was supposed to try to keep things quiet, and not draw too much attention, after all.

So he simply smiled and shook his head. "Didn't bring one along with me, when I came here. Wasn't expecting to be taking the test today," he whispered back, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed as he did so.

Fortunately, the one giving the lecture was just as bored as he was, and couldn't be bothered to see if anyone was not paying attention. This was the rather standard army style of doing things, he learned later on.

If you choose not to listen, and get into trouble later on, that was entirely your own fault. And if you die because of it, no one was going to mourn your passing.

It was just the way the army worked, he supposed. Not that it bothered him. It was something that he agreed with, ever since he started training in the martial arts.

"Come with me."

He looked up at the soldier then, and pointed at the lecturer. But the soldier merely grinned, and waved him to go along anyway. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided to follow the man. After all, he wasn't learning anything new from the lecture anyway.

"You seem to know everything that he's talking about already, so why bother wasting your time in there. Getting a proper weapon is more important to keeping yourself alive, isn't it?"

The soldier looked about thirty years old, and the most outstanding thing about him was the fact that he was clean-shaven. Unlike the rest of the slovenly looking fellows in the camp, this one seemed to take pride in his appearance, as could be seen by his cleaner-than-the-norm uniform, and the hilt of his sabre, which had been polished to a bright shine.

All in all, he looked more out of place in the camp than Qin Feng did.

And he certainly did not look the least bothered by the chill, when he led Qin Feng outside of the warm tent. The pair who were supposed to be guarding the entrance of the same didn't even bother to give the two of them a glance, as the older man led the younger a short distance away.

Clearly, he didn't care to be overheard.

"Now, what sort of weapon have you been training with? Have you advanced to proper steel swords yet?"

Qin Feng blinked, and looked at the man again. How did he know that he had been training with weapons? Or the way the Heaven Sword School arranged their Outer School disciples?Everyone there concentrated on the sword, naturally, so he could hardly have escaped their regimen while he was there. But he was also pretty sure that he had never used any of the moves that he had learned, not even the most basic ones. So how did this odd soldier know?

"It's in the way that you move, the way that you sit and the way that you speak to others. It's not that telling, if you are worried about that. But I'm from the Heaven Sword School myself, so I can usually tell if someone has picked up a few tricks," the soldier said with a chuckle.

Then he looked at Qin Feng expectantly, as though expecting him to give him an answer. So the younger man simply sighed, and grinned at him.

"In that case, I should probably call you Senior Brother. I've trained in the Outer School there as well. For close to three years. Only wooden sword rating though."

"Oh? The Outer School, huh? That means ... the basic Four Seasons Sword Technique and the Flowing Wind Steps?"

Qin Feng nodded. "Those are the basics, so I learned them when I first joined the School. Besides, I left before I could attain the Initial Realm. So I dare not say that I have gotten good at them, much less mastered them," he admitted.

The soldier, however, snorted loudly. "As if anyone could! Those are part of the core martial arts that the Founder left down. It would take a lifetime to gain mastery, unless you have a true Master of the Sword guiding you from behind. Still, it makes for a good foundation."

Then he turned back to his original topic. "Well, it's not easy to get you a sword here, since the Army emphasizes strength and endurance, rather than agility and flexibility. So you'll see more sabres around than swords. Even I have made the switch myself."

Qin Feng nodded again. And pointed at the rest of the soldiers that were around the lecture tent. "So I have noticed. No matter. I am used to not using a weapon. After all, I am not as good with a sword as you might think. But my Lightness-of-Body martial arts isn't too terrible. I should be able to run away, I believe, if I come across any trouble."

"Ah. But trouble will be looking for you, if anyone sees you without a weapon."

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