CHAPTER 715: CHAPTER 715: GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

After Ji You left, Xuzhou concentrated fully on guard. As footsteps sounded outside the door, he quietly stood up, gripping an energy dagger in his hand, and lurked behind the door.

Splash~

Rain poured down continuously.

"It’s me."

Outside the door, a deep voice came through. Hearing this familiar voice, Xuzhou relaxed his grip on the energy dagger.

The door opened.

Ji You slipped inside, and although the tense expression on Xuzhou’s face had disappeared, Ji You immediately noticed his prior state of readiness.

Ji You said with a smile, "Little Zhouzhou, you’re quite vigilant."

Xuzhou was silent, giving Ji You a once over and noting that aside from the unavoidable wetness on her clothes and the slightly damp hair on her forehead, she seemed to be okay.

Only then did Xuzhou, with a straight face, say, "Next time, I will take the patrol."

Ji You nodded, "Okay."

Little Zhouzhou is truly a careful, honest, straightforward, and heartwarming big lad! With his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and sturdy build, his appearance and actions are both very reliable!

This lad, he was well recognized.

Ahem...

After pondering for a moment, Ji You said, "Everything is normal outside, Teacher Mu is also sleeping soundly in the tent."

Xuzhou furrowed his brows, "So you mean, there’s no problem?"

Ji You found a clean spot on the ground and sat down casually, saying, "Whether it’s the terrain within a 300-mile radius or the people and things nearby... it does seem like there’s no problem. This place, it’s just a large farm."

A farm, what problems could it have?

But!!!

Ji You, frowning, said, "But, I just can’t shake this feeling of unease..."

Xuzhou thought for a moment and said, "In half an hour, I’ll go patrol again."

Ji You: "Mm."

Ji You was about to close her eyes for a rest when she suddenly caught sight of Zhong Qing, about 1 meter away.

Zhong Qing’s eyelids fought against her fatigue, but she was still trying to keep them open. Right now, her head nodded forward bit by bit, like a pecking chicken...

Ji You said with a smile, "Student Zhong Qing, go ahead and sleep. In consideration of your group paying the lodging fee, I’ll be generous and notify you immediately if there’s any unexpected incident."

Hearing this, Zhong Qing felt a bit embarrassed and opened her mouth to speak, "I..."

"A gentleman’s agreement is not easily broken. I said I’d tell you immediately, and I will, so there’s nothing to worry about," Ji You waved her hand and said, "Hurry up and sleep! If you don’t rest well, you won’t be able to concentrate on the assessment tomorrow."

"Thank... Thank you, Student Ji You," Zhong Qing lowered her head...

She felt... she felt a bit unworthy.

Earlier, when Group 44 was discussing, they suspected there might be a crisis during the night. Even though Ji You had gone out to patrol for half an hour, Zhong Qing tried to stay awake in order to hear the latest information from Ji You. Zhong Qing was embarrassed to admit that she felt Group 44 would definitely not inform them if they discovered something abnormal...

In truth, Group 44 had no obligation to inform their group.

And—

Student Ji You said she would notify her immediately.

For a moment, Zhong Qing’s face flushed with embarrassment. She closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, but thought to herself: From the Captain to the teammates, Group 44 truly deserves to be the strongest in this cohort, distinguished in their actions from the rest.

When other groups were scrambling about, they were sound asleep.

When other groups were sound asleep, they suddenly became vigilant.

...

In the view of others, including Zhong Qing herself, they believed that there would be no problems at night because Teacher Mu had personally confirmed that it was just artificial rainfall, which would stop after at most another 3 hours.

And—

Teacher Mu herself was sound asleep in the tent. She could be considered the stabilizer for the students, with her presence, no danger would occur, at most, they would only suffer a bit of hardship.

However, the precautionary measures taken by Group 44 might truly turn out to be unnecessary in the end.

But!!!!

Having reliable teammates to keep watch through the night was truly very comforting.

Zhong Qing silently thought to herself.

Then—

She fell asleep.

minute.

minutes.

minutes.

...

After half an hour, Xuzhou stood up and said, "I’m going out to take a look."

Ji You admonished, "Be careful."

At this moment, the heavy rain continued to pour, accompanied by thunder and lightning...

Xuzhou nodded and replied, "Got it."

Ji You thought for a moment and added, "And check on Teacher Mu."

Xuzhou responded, "Understood."

Then he strode off.

Everyone else was sound asleep; Ji You sat quietly, with her Spiritual Silk released, sensing the changes around her...

Nothing unusual.

She pondered for a moment and decided to let Boss, Second, Third, Old Five, and Sixth rest, leaving only Fourth on alert.

Fourth was a slick one, cunning and sharp. Assigning such a task to it made Ji You most at ease.

Fourth stared at Ji You, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Ji You’s face darkened as she blurted out, "I’ve raised you for so long, and when I finally ask you to do some work, you’re always begging for treats. Had I known this, I would’ve been better off raising a piece of char siu!"

Fourth stiffened for an instant but quickly wagged its tail cheerfully, fawning over Ji You: [Master! Master! You’ve got it wrong! Sisi never even thought of begging you for Candy Beans, milk tea, much less red-cooked pork ribs with rice...]

Without so much as a pause, Fourth continued to demonstrate its loyalty: [Sisi just wanted to say, Sisi really likes you, Master! I was just too shy to say it.]

Fourth kept wagging its tail, its voice light and airy, expressing admiration for Ji You in every word...

Ji You: "Hmph!"

What a joke –

Lying through its teeth!

Given the choice between its Master and Candy Beans, Fourth would undoubtedly choose the Candy Beans without a moment’s hesitation.

"Do your job properly!"

"If you do well, not just one Candy Bean, even 10,000 won’t be a problem."

Fourth: [Okay!]

...

Time ticked away...

Ji You knew that Xuzhou was about to return when he was a few hundred meters from the residence, so when Xuzhou pushed the door open, Ji You didn’t react at all.

After carefully closing the door, Xuzhou whispered, "All clear."

Ji You frowned and asked, "And Teacher Mu?"

Xuzhou replied, "He’s there too."

Ji You said, "Close your eyes and rest for a bit. In another hour, we’ll swap shifts with Shen Changqing and Zhang Ye."

Xuzhou: "Okay."

Xuzhou closed his eyes to rest.

Outside, the rain, thunder, and wind were a noisy cacophony; inside, the sounds of snoring, breathing, and even someone grinding their teeth created quite a lively scene.

...

It was less than five minutes after Xuzhou had just returned to the room when suddenly –

Fourth tilted its head: [Master! Something seems off, like – huh? What was it again?]

Ji You stood up abruptly without saying a word, but grabbed the energy great machete that had been resting on her arm!

Xuzhou’s eyes flew open: "What’s wrong?"

As Fourth was still trying to remember what it had detected, Ji You shouted fiercely, "Damn! Wake everyone up!"

"Quick!"