Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 48: On the Eve of the Storm

The days slipped away unnoticed, and the weather grew hotter and hotter, a week quickly passed!

At noon, Cheng Xiaoxiao stood at the door, looking at the sky which was a dull grey, the air was more stagnant than a few days ago, and even the birds felt the oppression, continuously circling low and crying, as if to warn people that disaster was imminent.

She watched the ants on the ground, forming long lines, uncertain of where to move their nest!

Actually, every time disaster strikes, nature gives a warning, it’s just that people overlook it.

These past two days, even the fish in the river were easier to catch than usual, which delighted many of the village’s kids, who went into the river to catch fish. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Previously, they didn’t dare to, as the river was rapid and deep, the shallow areas were narrow, and hardly anyone could catch fish there, only sometimes during the farming off-season they would try their luck fishing.

Now things were different, Qi Fei had come, and had become an icon for the kids. His fish-spearing skills and homemade fishing net were truly impressive, and the best part was Qi Fei’s excellent swimming skills, as long as he was around, if anyone accidentally fell into the water, they could be pulled out immediately, the rapid river didn’t seem to trouble him at all.

The children felt the fish had become stupid, jumping to the surface, swimming to the shore, they were all excited, their thrill over this bountiful harvest overshadowed the adults’ anxiety about the impending disaster. Children tend to have short memories; they mocked the fish for being stupid, not realizing they were the real fools, unaware of the impending crisis sensed by the fish.

Cheng Xiaoxiao walked slowly on the village path, carrying a basket filled with a few bamboo flasks of cool boiled water. At the foot of the mountain, on an open space, where the breeze gently blew and the greenery cast shadows, she looked at the hot and sweaty group of children with satisfaction, "Hmm! Quite impressive."

Five days, the children had been learning for five days!

Five days ago, Leng Qi received the order to follow Cheng Xiaoxiao’s instructions, feeling frustrated for quite some time, wondering how the Pavilion Master could assign such a task to him. After all, he was an Elite Dark Guard, and now he’d fallen to being a Martial Arts Instructor.

Saying too much would bring tears; now, seeing Cheng Xiaoxiao coming, he ignored her.

"Rest in place for a quarter of an hour!" After saying this, he walked to a large rock nearby to sulk.

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t mind, "You’ve all done well, come take a break and have some water."

She watched as a group of them, upon receiving Leng Qi’s command, immediately slumped down.

Only Cheng Jia and Cheng Ran came over, grabbing water from the basket and drinking it eagerly.

So thirsty, so hot!

So tired, so hard!

The people lying on the ground yelled for Cheng Jia to bring them some water, claiming they couldn’t move.

Previously, they envied Brother Dashan for knowing martial arts, allowing him to follow his father into the mountains to hunt. If they knew martial arts, they could also go into the mountains to hunt wild chickens and rabbits, just thinking about it was sweet, but after eagerly starting martial arts training, they realized how tough it was, and nearly wanted to give up.

But when they saw Coach Leng flying up such a tall tree, resolving a situation with a wild chicken and a small stone, they were in awe, vowing to become as formidable as him. Of course, these were the boys’ thoughts; among the girls, only Erya was diligent, while Dalan, Xiaolan, Xiaohua, and Cheng Xiaoxiao were only expected to learn enough for self-defense.

Actually, Cheng Xiaoxiao wanted to learn too, but she was too busy, and felt a bit embarrassed to start later.

"Brother Jia, take this water to your teacher." Cheng Xiaoxiao handed a flask to Cheng Jia, suggesting he should please his instructor a little.

Even though Brother Jia wasn’t happy, he quickly took the water to his teacher. He actually liked having a skilled instructor, but since his teacher didn’t like his elder sister, it made his impression of him decrease rapidly.

His sister told him the teacher just had a little temper and it would get better, and advised him not to mind, but... How could someone so mature still throw tantrums, it seemed his teacher was less mature than him, which was truly embarrassing.

But what could he do? His sister invited the teacher, and only he had truly apprenticed, others just joined in. The teacher only accepted him as an apprentice and only taught him, but his sister argued that whether it’s one sheep or a whole flock, they must be tended to, suggesting the teacher should instruct all the kids as a coach, not as a master taking disciples, even though the teacher was unwilling. His sister disagreed, although Brother Jia didn’t hear what was said from afar, but the teacher’s face was gloomy when he returned, and nothing about refusing to teach was mentioned afterward, so the matter was settled.

Nonetheless, the teacher often showed a sour face around his sister, which made him upset, since his sister was the most wonderful person in the world, and whatever she said couldn’t be wrong, not even his teacher could argue.

In Brother Jia’s eyes, Cheng Xiaoxiao was the most admired person, not even family members could compare, Cheng Xiaoxiao wasn’t aware of this, she just thought Cheng Jia was a good child who listened to her well.

Later, during many trials and tribulations, Cheng Jia played a crucial role, nearly losing his life several times for her sake.

Leng Qi didn’t refuse the water Cheng Jia brought over, since after all, he was his apprentice, as long as the female Rakshasa didn’t bring it, he chose to deceive himself. Since arriving here, he hadn’t been at ease once. Whenever he encountered someone troubling in the past, he solved it with his sword, but now, this Cheng had him so furious, he still needed to protect her, bringing him endless frustration.

Hmph! Who knows, she might be Boss Han’s favorite; otherwise, why would he care so much, each time contacting would remind him to protect well, without letting anything happen.

Right! That’s correct, Han Yi’s order seemed to supervise on the surface, but secretly it was to protect.

This is why Leng Qi felt so tormented. He couldn’t fight nor scold her, yet he had to meet her daily, occasionally being given absurd tasks, as if he were a subordinate!

He didn’t quit just because of Boss Han!

Cheng Xiaoxiao was unaware of Leng Qi’s rich inner world. In her eyes, as long as someone was useful, that was fine; if they didn’t listen, they would be taught to listen.

Cheng Xiaoxiao delivered water to each girl, seeing them all drenched in sweat, looking exhausted, she felt quite sympathetic, particularly towards Erya, who had been taking care of her almost all the time since arriving, she felt ashamed as a sister needing her younger sister’s care.

Nonetheless, she thought it best not to soften, thinking about how chaotic the times were getting, girls without any means of self-defense, how could they survive.

"Alright, soon it’s time, hang in there, half an hour till lunch."

Cheng Xiaoxiao made a gesture to encourage them.

The weak Erya complained, "Sis, we don’t need your encouragement, why don’t you train with us? Didn’t you want to train before?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao touched her nose, "Well, I’ve been very busy, I’ll start practicing once things settle down."

Xiaolan interjected from the side, "Sister Xiaoxiao, aren’t you always super busy, like it’ll never end!"