Chapter Eighteen: The Sudden Sound of Gunfire

  If there's one person who has remained largely unchanged until now, it would be Murong Liuyue. To others, he still appears to be very lazy, able to move silently even when his feet touch the ground, so you wouldn't notice him much. Ma Liancheng calls Murong Liuyue's skill "qing chu yu lan sheng yu lan" (the green outdoes the blue). However, Murong Liuyue doesn't recall ever learning martial arts from Ma Liancheng, and he won't take on any trouble when it arises. When something does happen, Murong Liuyue will still remember that inspection report. If there's one thing that has changed, Qin Sihai can always recall that there's a student named Murong Liuyue in this class. Lin Jianbing also remembers, but he was someone who remembered from the start, just like Xu Sanduo. Apart from the time they drank together outside and apart from sleeping in the same dormitory and training in the same class, other people's lives have basically had no intersection with Murong Liuyue's.

  Murong Liuyan now goes to Zhang Dage's place to smoke sometimes and also chats with Zhang Dage for a while. It's no wonder that someone who goes there every day and faces one person from morning to night can't help but spark some romance.

  Murong Liunian sat down on the stool and smiled at Old Man Zhang, saying "I'm here." He then took out his pipe, tobacco, and matchbox, going through the familiar motions with ease. After taking a puff, he asked Old Man Zhang, "Have you eaten, Uncle Zhang?"

  Mr. Zhang now finds this young man more and more interesting. Others either don't greet you, or if they do, they can't wait to shout "hello" at the first opportunity. But Mu Rong Liu Nian is different, he always makes himself comfortable before casually throwing a greeting your way. So it's said that Mu Rong Liu Nian's laziness is not ordinary laziness.

  Mr. Zhang didn't rush back to Murong Liu's words, moved the hot water, then took an old towel and wiped his hands before slowly saying: "What time is it now?"

  Murong Liulian looked up at the sky and then lowered his head to smoke, making some spare time: "About three o'clock in the afternoon."

  "Will you still watch the sky?" Zhang Da Ye chuckled and sat down beside Mu Rong Liu Nian, then took over the tobacco pipe handed to him by Mu Rong Liu Nian, saying "Then are you asking me which meal I ate?"

  "That meal you haven't eaten yet."

  Old Zhang also got used to it. The young man's usual greeting was to ask if he had eaten, so he didn't bother with that question either and casually said: "I'm a strange person, everyone can't wait to get away from this dirty old man, why do you have to stay here?"

  Murong Liuyan stretched his waist and gave a normal answer: "Too lazy."

  Old Zhang smoked a little, took two puffs and stopped, put the pipe against the wall and said: "It's been many years since I've been lazy and haven't gone out. Now that I'm asked to go for a walk, I'm also too lazy."

  Murong Liu Nian placed his hands behind him and gazed at the soft, gentle sky with a lazy expression, saying nothing.

  Grandpa Zhang also looked up at the sky, as if there were countless memories hidden there. After a long while, he withdrew his gaze and smiled slightly: "How was your escape?"

  Murong Liuye's eyes didn't move as he said, "Same old."

  "That young fellow from the small town is indeed your company commander. Although his brain isn't particularly bright, he's still quite shrewd. Old Zhang suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Does Little Year play Go?"

  Murong Liunian currently calls Zhang Da Ye with a simple and clear "little" word followed by the last character of your name. Murong Liunian's eyeballs moved slightly, saying: "A little bit."

  Old Zhang smiled and said: "It just so happens that I also know a thing or two, let's find an opportunity to play another game sometime. It's been a long time since I've played this move, my hand is itching a bit."

  Murong stood up and said: "Good." Then he walked towards the direction of the third class gathering. They gathered again.

  Murong Liuyan is such an unassuming person who doesn't show off or slack off, making people think he's very disciplined. No matter what he was doing the previous moment or where he was, within the designated assembly time, he would definitely return to the team.

  The training content of new recruits will not be fixed and the squad leader will add some extra training projects from time to time according to specific situations. Today's weather looks great, sunny and clear. Lin Jianbing stood in front of the team and suggested: "Why don't we go for a cross-country run now?"

  Xu Sanduo agreed and others remained silent as the proposal was passed smoothly. Then, Lin Jianbing led the team to a mountain road near the military camp.

  The aftermath is still there, and now every time I hear the word "running", I get drowsy. However, it's not as severe as actually fainting anymore.

  The mountains in this area are a special place for troops to conduct actual combat training, and few people other than those from the troops appear here. To ensure the safety of the mountain roads, there is a special patrol team that takes turns on duty every day according to schedule.

  The mountain road was still very muddy and not easy to run after the light rain. Moreover, in this season, people are prone to fatigue, so it's hard to get into a rhythm. As soon as we stepped on the mountain road, one foot splashed up a puddle of mud and water, and soon everyone was dirty beyond recognition.

  They arrived in front of a mountain, and Lin Jianbing was about to suggest that everyone run up. Before he could even make the suggestion, Yu Bo was already panting and leaning on Xu Sanduo's shoulder, saying: "Ah, Captain, you can't be thinking of going up there, are you? I'm telling you, it's a death trap."

  "Is everyone tired?"

  "Not tired."

  Yu Bo's gaze wandered over the crowd. They shook their heads, and aside from shaking their heads, they were all expressing the same meaning: not tired. Poor Yu Bo was once again elegantly ignored.

  Lin Jianbing said with a smile: "Yu Bo, why don't you take a rest first and catch up later?"

  Li Mingjie said: "The class monitor doesn't need to bother with this guy, it's all the same."

  Qin Si Hai kicked Yu Bo with one foot, then pulled Xu San Duo away and didn't let him lean against Yu Bo. Yu Bo stumbled a few steps and almost fell down. Then Lin Jian Bing ran ahead again, and the crowd followed suit.

  "Who's being forced? Li Mingjie, stop right there and explain yourself!" After a long moment of stunned silence, Yu woke up with a start, opened his mouth to shout, and then chased after the departing troops, shouting from afar "Sergeant, you can't abandon your soldiers! Wait for me... Ahh, I'm scared of ghosts..."

  The forest air is fresh after the rain, but it looks a bit gloomy. The occasional animal calls are enough to stimulate people's nerves. Rainwater falls from plants and also wets their heads.

  The air was so still that the sound of each other's breathing and the rhythmic beating of their strong pulses could be clearly heard. Suddenly, a gunshot came from an unknown direction, shattering this rare atmosphere.

  Everyone stopped from Lin Jianbing. Yu Bo, who barely kept up with the team, forgot to breathe and asked, "What's wrong with the class leader?"

  "It's gunfire."

  "It's training."

  "Is it live ammunition or blanks?"

  Yu Bo said: "Will it hit here?" Suddenly he thought of the key to the problem.

  Lin Jianbing smiled and said to everyone, "It's usually a blank shot, don't worry..." Suddenly, a bullet flashed by Lin Jianbing's head with a whizzing sound. Before he could finish his comforting words, he shouted loudly, "Get down quickly!" The others immediately followed suit, pressing their chests heavily onto the ground.

  It was still very quiet, but Xu Sanduo's breathing had never been so heavy. The bullet that could kill people made him think of life. If that bullet hit him, he would be dead. A nameless fear sprouted in Xu Sanduo's heart like a seed.

  They didn't dare to get up because they didn't know when another bullet would fly over, so they could only wait. At this time, no one went to verify the authenticity of that bullet either. Lin Jianbing wanted to go, but he had a duty to protect his own soldiers and couldn't leave arbitrarily.

  It was too quiet, a heavy and frightening silence. The sudden gunshot became the judge who had not appeared but successfully injected fear into their hearts.

  Yu Bo was very anxious, he had to come up with something to dispel the anxiety that terrified him. So he said: "Which son of a bitch is messing around, flying... I..." The others looked at Yu Bo, but his generous words couldn't be spoken out loud.

  Qin Si Hai's mouth cornered a hint of playfulness: "Should be a sniper, right?" This feeling he rather enjoyed.