"Baili Tuming, calm down." Instructor Han Li helped Baili Pangpang up and said helplessly:
"After we left Jinan Mountain, the logistics cleanup team went to Jinan Mountain and down into your cave. With the Earth-type Forbidden Ruins ability, they had already searched the entire underground ruins thoroughly."
"They found the bodies of two 'Chuan' realm believers buried in the rubble, and the emblem that Instructor Hong had used, but in the innermost cave, they only found large chunks of charred debris."
"DNA testing revealed that some of the coke fragments originated from Ma Yitian, a powerful figure in the 'Sea' realm among the [believers], and another portion came from... Shen Qingzhu."
Baili Pangpang opened his mouth, his face pale, "But you didn't find his body, did you? So..."
"The cave was filled with flames and lava at the time, so it was impossible for a body to have been left there," Instructor Han Li shook his head.
Baili Pangpang frowned deeply, his head bowed as he racked his brains. Suddenly, he looked up again.
"No, if... if he had drained all the air from the cave and extinguished the flames before they completely burned his body, he might actually have survived!"
"Baili Tuming!" Instructor Han Li grabbed his shoulder, widened his eyes, and said, word by word, "[Returning Heaven Jade] is not a panacea. It can only keep a dying person alive. It is powerless against a dead person!"
"Even if everything is as you say, and he survived by sucking out the air, why didn't the cleanup team find his body? That's two kilometers underground; how could a dying man possibly crawl back to the surface?"
Upon hearing this, Baili Pangpang's lips began to tremble. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to argue, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Instructor Han Li is right, this simply doesn't make sense...
"Shen Qingzhu is dead. You're not the only one who's saddened. Do you think we instructors would feel good watching our soldiers die before our eyes?!" Han Li's eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at the camp outside and shouted.
"But this isn't some magical Mary Sue story, or some invincible face-slapping novel. You can't resist or ignore the existence of reality just because you want to see something!"
"This is the Night Watch! This is the soldier! Sacrifice! It happens all the time!"
"I bet less than a third of you new recruits about to leave the training camp will be alive ten years from now! This isn't just my opinion; this is the stark reality unfolding before us!"
"But at least... we must ensure that the victims depart with dignity and honor! Not like now, where they lack even the courage to face reality!"
Instructor Han Li's voice echoed throughout the ward. Baili Pangpang lowered his head, his eyes filled with confusion, and remained silent.
Lin Qiye slowly walked forward, patted Baili Pangpang on the shoulder, and turned to Instructor Han Li, saying, "Instructor, leave this to me."
Instructor Han Li calmed himself down, nodded, and spoke as gently as possible:
"You all need to get some rest. You'll be attending the oath-taking ceremony tomorrow morning... After that, you should leave."
He sighed and turned to walk out of the ward.
Lin Qiye slowly sat down on a chair nearby. His physical condition didn't allow him to stand for long. He gazed at the absent-minded Baili Pangpang in front of him and spoke softly:
"So...can you tell me what exactly happened back then?"
Baili Pangpang scratched his head, looking dejected, and said, "What happened back then... I'm not really sure. I was knocked unconscious, but Instructor Hong told me later that..."
After listening to Baili Pangpang's account, Lin Qiye also fell silent.
Stealing the instructor's emblem, single-handedly killing Ma Yitian, and falling into flames... Shen Qingzhu's actions seem unexpected at first glance, but upon closer reflection, he is indeed the kind of person who would do such a thing.
Shen Qingzhu... is he really dead?
For some reason, Lin Qiye always had a feeling of unreality in his heart.
Just then, Baili Pangpang seemed to have thought of something, "Qiye, Instructor Hong and I discussed it and decided to keep the fact that you can turn into a woman a secret. Let's coordinate our stories, so that we don't get caught..."
"No, wait a minute." Lin Qiye spoke with a strange expression, "I can turn into a woman... what kind of weird claim is that?"
"But you really did change back then. Your hair grew longer, your skin became smoother, you became fairer, and it even seemed like your Adam's apple..."
"...Let's talk about the collusion."
Lin Qiye was filled with helplessness. The changes in his body were only temporary due to the possession of Nyx's soul. Moreover, he had not actually become a woman; he just appeared more feminine. Physiologically speaking, he was still a man.
But Baili Pangpang's words made it sound like he had become a transvestite.
There was no way to explain this to Baili Pangpang, so we could only leave it at that.
Snap!
Outside the ward, Cao Yuan, who was carrying a basket of fruit, stared wide-eyed, and the basket fell to the ground.
"What?! Qiye can turn into a woman?!"
He spoke in shock.
Lin Qiye helplessly rubbed his forehead...
Late at night.
The training camp is located far from the city, so the pollution is relatively light. Looking up at the sky, you can see bright stars dotting the night sky, vast and magnificent.
At this moment, on the roof of the infirmary, three figures were gathered together, with a small bonfire burning in front of them, and the faint aroma of roasted meat wafting out.
Baili Pangpang took a bite of the skewer in his hand and spoke somewhat uncertainly:
"Won't we get scolded for doing this?"
"Let's just put up with it. It's the last day anyway. Being able to run laps on the training field until dawn doesn't seem so bad," Cao Yuan said nonchalantly."
...
"You're good, but we're still patients! Running around all night, are you trying to kill us with exhaustion?" Baili Pangpang grinned.
"Aren't you afraid of getting scolded, at most you'll get a beating?" Cao Yuan turned his head and looked at Lin Qiye seriously. "Qiye, honestly, are you really unwilling to transform into a woman and let me see what you're made of?"
"Get lost."
"Oh..."
Baili Pangpang finished eating the skewers in his hand, looked up at the starry sky, and let out a long sigh.
"Back when I was still living a leisurely life as a grandpa in my hometown of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, I met a few night watchmen. At that time, I just thought..."
"They were pretty cool, so I asked my dad to let me be a night watchman for fun."
"But I still don't understand what becoming a member of the Night's Watch truly means."
Lin Qiye glanced at him. "And now?"
"Now..." Baili Pangpang paused, then slowly began, "I think I understand a little bit."