Chapter 9 - The Sun, The Rain, and The Bread
Rustle, rustle…
The evening breeze gently caressed the ground, playfully swirling the leaves around.
Cassius looked up at the moon. The hunger that he had been suppressing suddenly reared its head. He wiped the sweat off his face and trudged out of the rectangular training field and along the dimly lit road.
A shadow, hidden in the corner of the building, left unhurriedly.
"Of course, it's closed." Cassius stood before the tightly secured door of the canteen. The soft white moonlight coated the building's spire with a thin layer of frost.
Helpless, he had no choice but to return to the dormitory area along the path.
The door, slightly ajar, creaked open a little wider, hitting Cassius with a scent of damp cloth combined with soap. He pushed it all the way open and went in. He found his roommates, all five of whom he had briefly met, already asleep. There was a vacant spot on the bed beside the window. Next to it, the chubby Jojo and another person were sound asleep.
Cassius tiptoed around the room, picking up his toiletries and a clean apprentice uniform from the floor before quietly leaving. Twenty minutes later, he came back, freshly showered and in clean clothes. After tidying up his belongings a bit, he laid down on the bed.
A wave of soreness spread through his body. His arms, thighs, waist, back—every single part of his body ached. Some muscle groups were especially painful and numb, almost like he was constantly pricked by needles.
Next to the window where moonlight streamed in, Cassius found a brown bottle among a pile of items. As soon as he popped the cork off, a pungent and moldy stench instantly enveloped the room.
This medicine was distributed to all trainees in the Wind Elephant Sect’s youth training camp. Similar to a healing salve, it was to be applied directly to the body. It was especially useful for muscle soreness and bruises; just apply it to all affected areas before sleeping, and they would feel as good as new the next morning. A single bottle lasted a month.
Cassius poured out some of the light purple contents, rubbed his hands vigorously, and then massaged it into his sore muscles.
As soon as the medicine touched his skin, a clashing sensation of heat and coolness spread through his entire body and shot straight to his brain. Cassius's arms trembled, and fine goosebumps erupted over his skin.
It was hot and painful, like he was being burned. After a moment, coolness replaced the heat and spread over a larger area of his skin. He felt like he had been set on fire and submerged in ice at the same time.
Cassius leaned against the wall and waited. Five or six minutes later, some of his muscle soreness subsided. The medicine was indeed quite effective.
He capped the bottle and put it back in place. He lightly pressed his stomach; the muscle pain was gone but the hunger remained. With the canteen closed, he had no choice but to endure until morning.
Taking a deep breath, Cassius laid down. A wave of fatigue spread from his limbs to his brain like a tide. For a fleeting moment, he could no longer feel how sore his body felt. His vision gradually blurred and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
"Little Wei… Little Wei… Little Wei…" A faint sound came from outside the window.
"Huh?" Cassius rubbed his tired eyes and scrambled to his feet. He shuffled a few steps alongside the bed and quietly opened the window.
Under the wooden window frame, the moonlight illuminated a familiar figure. Li Chu was looking up, her pale face slightly nervous. But as soon as she saw Li Wei open the window, her expression lit up and she quickly scurried forward.
"Sis? What are you doing here in the boys' dormitory…"
According to the tenth rule of the youth training camp, boys and girls were not allowed to enter each other's dormitory areas after 7 p.m. If caught, there would be a public reprimand followed by expulsion from the camp.
"You didn't eat dinner, did you? Here." After casting a nervous glance at the surroundings, Li Chu pulled out a piece of white bread out of her pocket. She tiptoed over to Cassius and handed it to him.
Before Cassius could utter a single word, Li Chu took a few steps back, waved, and retreated back to the girls' dormitory.
Cassius stood by the window, watching over Li Chu until she had safely left the boys' dormitory area and disappeared from his line of sight. Only then did he slowly close the window.
He sat back on his bed, looking at the still-warm bread in his hand. He blinked a few times, trying to process what had just happened. The bread was split down the middle, with a big piece of light brown meat inside. Cassius took a huge bite.
"Delicious," he mumbled to himself.
***
On the first day of double training, he was exhausted. Cassius was introduced to basic Combat Techniques, but his moves and strength were still below average. By the time he finished the morning and afternoon sessions, it was way past the scheduled training times. Fortunately, Instructor Lisa had asked the assistant to set aside lunch for him, and at night, Li Chu brought him a meat sandwich.
On the second day, he was still exhausted. Due to the extremely hot weather, Cassius almost got a heatstroke during the morning training. Instructor Lisa had to call for a five-minute break in the shade every now and then. In terms of progress, Cassius still completed the morning and afternoon training way later than the rest so his lunch and dinner were similar to the first day's.
The third day wasn’t much different. He was still exhausted and the sun was still scorching. In the evening, Cassius discovered that he had been sunburned. Thankfully, the Wind Elephant Sect’s medicine was effective on sunburns as well.
On the fourth day, he was once again drained, but with the cloudy weather and strong winds, it was the most comfortable day so far. Although he was still tired, his condition was much better compared to before and he was able to complete the morning training twenty minutes earlier than usual. For this accomplishment, Instructor Lisa rewarded him with an extra half portion of lunch.
Then on the fifth day, in addition to his fatigue, he felt depressed. There was also a heavy downpour on this day, making training efficiency much poorer than usual. Cassius’s performance dropped by a third. By the time he finished his lunch, the afternoon break was already over. Compared to the scorching sun, Cassius detested this kind of weather even more. When night fell, Li Chu once again came by with dinner but after almost getting caught, she deemed it too risky and stopped for a while.
By the sixth, he had grown accustomed to the exhaustion. On the bright side, the weather was cloudy and suitable for outdoor training and Cassius was in peak condition. For the first time in a long while, he got to eat dinner with the rest of the trainees.
He returned to the dorm early and listened to Jojo’s plans for the future. He said if he got eliminated and was sent home, he would work hard to earn a lot of money. Not only would he be able to support a family of eight, he could also buy a noble title and make a name for himself as a noble with a large estate. Afterward, he would marry a beautiful, virtuous, and kind girl. He had even decided on a name for his child, George Joestar.
On the seventh day, Cassius opened the window. A single glance at the skies and he could already tell that the weather would be miserable. It was currently somewhere between cloudy and rainy, making him wonder if it would suddenly rain in the middle of training.
As usual, he put on his apprentice uniform and left the dormitory. Today's breakfast at the canteen was quite good but Cassius still felt a bit unsatiated even after finishing his milk. Regardless, he followed the cool breeze to the training field.
Only half of the trainees had arrived. They chatted with each other as they waited for Instructor Lisa. Nearby, the teaching assistant leaned against a big tree, eyes narrowed.
Cassius glanced around and caught sight of a familiar figure in the formation on the right. The red hair, freckled face, and the roguish look between his brows; it was unmistakably Finn. It looked like he had rejoined training after his injury had healed.
Sensing someone’s stare, Finn turned his head. As soon as he realized it was Li Wei, he avoided his gaze. This lasted only for a moment before his eyes suddenly widened as if he remembered something. He shot a vicious glare, filled with fury and a hint of resentment, at Li Wei.
Cassius frowned and looked away.
Finn had been bedridden for ten whole days; no wonder he was so energetic. Hopefully, he kept this up later…
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