"Are you hungry? Didn't you eat enough this morning?" Zhou Bing chuckled.
Tang Wen silently calculated that if he ran home now, his sister would still need to start a fire and cook. Not only would he be starving, but he'd likely end up eating raw sweet potatoes and foxtail millet again.
The Guard Barracks had a canteen, and while he couldn't be sure about other things, there was definitely ready-made staple food available.
"Captain! I'm a bit hungry, probably need to eat about a hundred buns! Do we have that many in the canteen?"
"A hundred buns? Should I go get them for you?" Zhou Bing was puzzled.
Tang Wen's face rapidly turned pale, and his lips began to crack and peel: "Captain, hurry! It's hard to explain my current state."
His legs were weak, and he could barely stand.
"Ah? What's going on? Wait here." Zhou Bing rushed out like a gust of wind, heading straight to the kitchen, where the chef happened to be steaming buns.
After a few words, she tossed out a silver ingot and carried the ten-tiered steamer back to the training room.
Many people stared at her along the way.
"I must be crazy to believe that kid's nonsense! Could this be some kind of illness? What if this happens during a mission?"
As the aroma reached him, Tang Wen hurried over in two steps, lifted the steamer lid, and started stuffing buns into his mouth.
1, 2, 3... 58, 59... 131, 132.
Zhou Bing silently counted, growing more and more astonished.
The buns in the Guard Barracks were large and generously filled, each about the size of two adult fists.
The soldiers in the barracks were big eaters, but even the hungriest Martial Practitioner could only manage about 50 buns in one sitting.
An average Martial Apprentice-level guard, no matter how hungry, would stop at around 30.
The ten-tiered steamer she brought back contained over 20 buns per layer.
By the time Tang Wen reached the seventh layer, he had already eaten more than 150 buns.
Zhou Bing stood up to get him some water and couldn't help but ask, "Is that enough?"
Tang Wen gulped down the water:
"This newspaper is so soft, it's enough."
"What's really going on? Why are you suddenly so hungry?" Zhou Bing's heart sank.
Tang Wen had just successfully entered stillness and was a promising talent destined to break through to Martial Practitioner.
The reason for this sudden hunger had to be figured out. If this happened during a mission,
the consequences would be unimaginable.
It would be a disaster for the entire team.
Zhou Bing looked at Tang Wen with a hint of sympathy.
Tang Wen chewed a few times and came up with an excuse: "Well, it's a kind of ability. Every time I break through, I need to eat a lot, and then my strength increases a bit."
"Increased strength?" Zhou Bing was momentarily confused, still thinking Tang Wen might never leave the camp again! "Really? Are there any side effects?"
Tang Wen shook his head: "The side effect is that I have to eat dozens of pounds of food each time, with a lot of meat."
"No wonder you're so strong at such a young age."
After this remark, Zhou Bing asked, "How often does this happen?"
This was crucial for determining whether Tang Wen could undertake long-term missions.
"Don't worry, Sister Bing. Generally, it's controllable. I'll have a premonition long before it happens."
Tang Wen reminded himself internally to always be cautious and never attempt a breakthrough without sufficient food.
"That's good." Zhou Bing's feelings were mixed. Just moments ago, she thought Tang Wen might be done for.
Now she found herself envious of his ability.
Eating a big meal to increase strength without the usual hard training.
If word got out, how many people would be envious, even jealous?
"Don't tell anyone about your ability. I'll keep it a secret for you."
As Zhou Bing spoke, she thought of her own abilities and felt a pang of bitterness in comparison.
"Captain, I'm full. I need to sleep for a while." After finishing ten baskets of buns, Tang Wen patted his belly and stood up.
Zhou Bing led him to her room.
The team had more men than women; in fact, she was the only female soldier. The other room was completely occupied by male members, so she had no choice but to let Tang Wen stay with her.
Tang Wen slept until six in the afternoon.
When he woke up, he saw Zhou Bing packing her things to go home.
"It's time. Come early tomorrow. Oh, here's your pocket watch. Every new recruit in the hunting squad gets one. See you tomorrow."
Zhou Bing felt uneasy seeing Tang Wen emerge from her bed.
Last night I slept in his bed, today he slept in mine. That makes us even... not!
Zhou Bing didn't dare to think too much and hurriedly left.
The hunting squad had excellent benefits: three taels of silver per month, plus two hundred pounds of meat and one hundred pounds of rice.
Even better than the treatment of a regular squad leader in the ordinary guards.
For dinner at the camp canteen: pork stewed with cabbage, foxtail millet buns, and as many potatoes as you could eat.
Tang Wen ate a bowlful, patted his belly, went home, and continued his standing meditation to Enter Stillness.
"Little Wen, I went to the inner city today," Tang Tang said mysteriously before bed.
"What's up?"
Tang Tang chuckled:
"I went to inquire about your Team Zhou."
"Huh?"
The older sister explained clearly: "She indeed had three fiancés. The first one was sickly since childhood.
The second was a guard who encountered a silver wolf in the first winter the silver wolves came.
The third was a merchant who traveled between nearby camps. He was killed by Scavengers just three days after the engagement."
Tang Wen exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, sis, you sure got detailed information!"
"Sounds like all three were quite unlucky."
Tang Tang nodded and continued, "It's said that Sister Bing was originally a martial arts fanatic and wasn't very close to any of them. The first fiancé was arranged by her father. But the man was too weak to practice martial arts, so they weren't close at all."
"What about the others?"
The marriage customs in the camp weren't uniform.
Some could freely fall in love, but most were arranged by parents.
"The second one was a refugee from another place. He had some martial arts skills and, after establishing himself, asked someone to propose to Zhou Bing. But I found out that your Team Zhou's uncle is a big shot. People say this man was trying to curry favor with the Zhou family."
"The last merchant was the same. It's said they barely met a few times."
"Uh-huh."
Tang Wen listened to these gossip and fell asleep without realizing it.
"Hmph! Not caring at all. When will you ever get married?" The older sister was quite dissatisfied with her brother.
In the morning, before Tang Wen started his standing meditation, he quietly changed his underwear.
The washed black underwear hung on the clothesline, swaying in the wind.
As he stood in meditation, he thought: Do I really have to get married at 15?
Forget it, better focus on improving my strength first.
During the three-month probation period, the only task was to train and grow.
No need to hunt to support the family, with a salary, meals provided by the canteen, and direct guidance in Martial Arts from a beautiful, fiery, outwardly cold but inwardly warm captain.
Guaranteed income, no need to risk life and limb, and no one cared if you were late or left early.
Life couldn't be more comfortable.
Tang Wen often lamented how foolish he was on Earth; he should have gone for a secure job!
That afternoon, in the courtyard of the training hall.
"You use a saber, I use a spear. Come at me with all you've got, let's see how solid your saber skills are."
With that, Zhou Bing picked up her spear, holding it horizontally in front of her, and signaled Tang Wen to begin with a glance.
"Alright! Be careful, Captain."
Tang Wen closed the distance in a few steps, gripping his saber with both hands. Zhou Bing swept her spear horizontally.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew.
Tang Wen's movements didn't falter. As one strike ended, the blade rebounded, and he immediately followed up with another slash.
When facing a spear with a short weapon, you must never let your opponent create distance.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Tang Wen's strikes came faster and heavier with each blow.
After several clashes, Zhou Bing's wrist went numb: This brat's strength has indeed increased!
She changed her tactics, no longer engaging head-on, but instead moving around to counterattack.
The two of them shifted and dodged, but Tang Wen couldn't break through Zhou Bing's defensive range.
Zhou Bing, on the other hand, couldn't push Tang Wen back enough to fully utilize the spear's advantage.
Five minutes, ten minutes, and in the blink of an eye, over half an hour had passed.
This was the first time Tang Wen had fought so vigorously. His physique of 5.5 was showing its power—one strike fast, every strike fast.
He didn't give Zhou Bing any chance to catch her breath or adjust.
Team Zhou was physically and mentally exhausted.
But Tang Wen seemed like a perpetual motion machine, his saber flashes forming a continuous stream, his offensive momentum not diminishing in the slightest.
"Stop! That's enough, I've got a good idea of your saber skills now."
Another half hour passed, and Zhou Bing was drenched in sweat.
To preserve her dignity as captain and avoid a complete defeat, she seized the opportunity to call a halt.
"Captain, how did I do? Didn't disappoint you, did I?" Tang Wen was still immersed in the thrill of the spar.
Zhou Bing: . . . It's not a matter of whether you did well or not. You're just too good now.
As the captain of the hunting squad and a proper Martial Practitioner, I can't keep up with your stamina! Don't you ever get tired?
Tang Wen didn't notice her discomfort. In that short hour,
His Wind-splitting Saber skill experience had skyrocketed, [Wind-splitting Saber, Profi
cient (517→799/3000)]
He looked at Zhou Bing excitedly and said, "Captain! Let's spar for an hour every day from now on, okay?"
Zhou Bing didn't respond. She subtly used her spear to support her body, silently deciding to call back all the squad members tomorrow.
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(End of chapter)