The First Part: Reborn from the Fire Chapter 28: The Gentle Devil

  After dinner, the devil continued dancing.

  Haha, lovely ideological and political education classes are far away from us now. I heard that having one class a week is not enough, all the time for ideological and political studies has been taken up by physical training.

  Then you will be honored to hear the beast roar of 'Qiao Yan Wang' again in the night, a sound that may still be fresh in your memory on countless midnight dream recall nights.

  Seeing you idle is my greatest pain. This teeth-gnashing sentence finally found perfect expression in his hands.

  Five kilometers of cross-country running is not enough, so let's do ten kilometers. The road outside our camp gate is not very flat, and having someone to press on with might make it a bit better. After all, it's free labor!

  Is it too dark at night? Doing equipment training and 400-meter hurdles might still be a bit dangerous. Then let's do push-ups and sit-ups, at least these two exercises haven't been known to kill anyone, if someone cries out loud during this kind of training, I think 'Qiao Wang' would be delighted to hear about such a glorious 'achievement'!

  Such torture will last until 9 pm, when he blows the whistle to tell everyone that training is over and it's time to return to the dormitory to wash up and turn off the lights. At that time, you will be like a lump of mud, soft and collapsed on your bed in the dormitory. Many soldiers are so tired that they cry with tears streaming down their faces and fall asleep immediately.

  And all this may not be over yet, you know there might still be an emergency assembly after falling asleep...

  Few people would go to wash up again, most of them have already lain in bed, and even clothes can't be taken off, just fell on the bed, then you can hear a loud snoring sound throughout the dormitory, I dare say that within twenty meters around, it can be heard extremely clearly.

  I and Peng Zhuo were the only ones who could drag ourselves to bed in the end, after all, we had suffered too much torture before, which greatly improved our physical strength. I found that the greatest effect seemed to come from the method taught by 'Qiao Yan Wang', that is, when the physical energy consumption reached its limit, let the muscles quickly tense and relax, which made our muscles extremely developed, and the intensity of physical load was far higher than other comrades.

  When the two of us dragged our exhausted bodies into the dormitory in the midst of snoring sounds, we strangely saw a figure flashing a flashlight and walking back and forth inside. Who was this? His physical strength was even more vigorous than ours, and Peng Zhuo and I were stunned and had to admire this strong guy.

  "What's wrong? Not going to bed yet, do you want another 5 kilometers or what?"

  I screamed, and as soon as I stopped, I saw that the figure had turned into a gray shadow. It was none other than 'Qiao Yanwang', his low voice echoed in our ears, enough to make us feel extremely chilled just by listening to it.

  But what is this devil doing? Is he not yet satisfied, wanting to torture me to death? The words "emergency assembly" immediately flashed in our minds, and the two of us looked at each other, both of our faces suddenly turning pale and terrifying.

  However, after staring at us for a moment, 'General Zhao' ignored us and walked between the beds, as if he was checking to see who wasn't wearing clothes, afraid that someone would cheat during roll call? It's really a matter of life and death, we felt our legs go weak, how could anyone dare to sleep in bed now?

  However, it's a bit unusual that 'Qiao Yan Wang' would see that his comrade hadn't taken off his clothes, he would pat him gently and tell him to get up and take them off before sleeping. If he really couldn't wake him up, then he would quietly undress him. If he saw someone wasn't covered with a quilt, he would also help pull it over for him.

  What's going on? Is this their illusion or something? It's too weird! Even the evil demon king would have a kind heart sometimes?!

  I stared at Peng Zhuo, and although this figure could be recognized even if it were turned to ashes, how could such a kind-hearted person be Qiao Chun Nan, the so-called 'Qiao Yan Wang'? We really couldn't believe our eyes!

  "Go to sleep quickly!"

  Today, this voice is unmistakable, is he really helping these comrades cover their quilt?

  It must be an illusion, I've overtrained, we forcibly comfort ourselves, but after pinching myself hard, ouch! Mom's, it hurts so much, this isn't a dream, is it?!

  "We're here to help!"

  I exchanged a glance with Peng Zhuo, and coincidentally saw 'Qiao Yan Wang' struggling to drag up the largest piece of Zhang Fengbao in the row. It was indeed a very challenging task, my heart suddenly heated up, and I involuntarily walked up with Peng Zhuo.

  "What a fuss!" Our enthusiasm was met with a cold stare.

  But under our joint efforts, we finally managed to pull down Zhang Fengbao's clothes. This kid flipped over and muttered something in his mouth that I couldn't understand. It was only then that I realized he looked very innocent while sleeping, after all, he was still just a child. Except for the tear stain at the corner of his eye that had yet to fade away, which made him look so helpless and desolate.

  This scene has left an indelible mark on my memory, and Peng Zhuo and I immediately took the initiative to sweep past each bed one by one. I don't know why I did that at the time, I just felt like I should do it, maybe because they were my comrades-in-arms, or maybe now they are my brothers who share weal and woe with me, but more likely, under their sleeping faces, I seemed to see ourselves.

  It was at this time that Peng Zhen and I discovered that the devil also has a gentle side, he would carefully and gently treat each comrade, he would help them take off their socks with care, no matter how smelly they were, he would gently wipe away their tears, letting them sleep well.

  Looking at his still stiff face, only the expression in his eyes was no longer fierce, my mind was once again uncontrollably fascinated by him, what kind of person is he? My heart actually skipped a beat, I don't know what taste it was in my heart at that time.

  With complex emotions, I and 'Qiao Yan Wang' swept the entire dormitory, and Peng Zhuo and I still didn't get used to facing an abnormal person, just staring at him with a strange look, without saying a word.

  But 'Qiao Yan Wang' didn't care about that, did he? His stinky face was still as inhumane as ever, and under his forced command, we still got on the bed.

  Sitting in the upper berth, I heard the humming sound by my ear, and the faces of those who were tired flashed through my mind. Although Peng Zhuo and I slept for more than 20 minutes less because of this, our hearts felt incredibly fulfilled.

  I suddenly remembered a painting I had seen at an exhibition, the name of which was "Coal Miner's Labor After a Day", and the scene in that painting was somewhat similar to our current dormitory situation.

  But now in comparison, I feel that the hardships we have endured are far greater than theirs.

  To be honest, we are still a group of children. If we were at home, we might still be spoiled under our parents' warm gaze and enjoy the pure emotions of youth. But in the army, in this furnace that can melt even steel, you will see and hear people crying out for their mothers in their sleep, with faces worn from hardship, making one's heart ache and tears flow...