Chapter 160 Running
The sky had just begun to lighten, and the world was still immersed in silence. The stillness of the Qiushi Academy dormitory was shattered by a series of rapid and forceful knocks on the door.
Hu Zi stood outside the dormitory door and shouted at the top of his voice: "Get up, get up!"
The students in the dormitory, their sweet dreams disturbed, were all bleary-eyed and impatient. Some rubbed their eyes, mumbling as they struggled to sit up; others rolled over, covering their ears with the quilt, and tried to continue sleeping.
"Who is this so early in the morning?" A student yawned and pushed open the door, complaining dissatisfiedly.
There were also some students who were used to getting up early on weekdays and walked out of the room the moment they heard the sound.
Hu Zi called for a long time, but some people just didn't come out.
He didn't care about the identities of these people. He kicked the door open and walked in. He picked up the person lying on the bed and threw him on the road in front of the yard gate.
When had they ever been treated like this? Some clutched their inner garments tightly. They were about to reprimand, but when they saw Lu Yao, standing expressionless beside them, clutching a sword, the accusations on their lips were instantly swallowed back.
They all knew that Lu Yao was the guard beside Jiang Shanchang. It was rumored that he was a martial arts expert and once killed five enemies with one sword without blinking an eye.
They dare not provoke such a ruthless character easily.
Time passed minute by minute, and it took a full ten minutes before Hu Zi finally woke everyone up.
Looking at these sleepy and listless students, he couldn't help but feel a surge of contempt in his heart and rolled his eyes secretly.
He's in this state? He still dreams of becoming a pillar of the nation? It's simply a pipe dream. No wonder the young lady specifically asked him to train these people.
Hu Zi cleared his throat and said loudly: "From today on, you must go to run exercises with me at this time every morning!" His voice rang in everyone's ears like thunder, and those students who were still in a daze were startled by the sudden sound.
"Running exercises? Is this another new way that Principal Gu has come up with to torture us?" The students murmured in low voices, their faces full of confusion and dissatisfaction.
"We are taking the imperial examination, not aiming to become the top martial arts scholar. Why do we have to do drill exercises?" Another student echoed with a hint of anger in his tone.
"Exactly. Isn't running drill something only done by soldiers? We are scholars!"
The students were talking to each other, their words full of resistance to running exercises.
However, they forgot that people who learn martial arts are naturally sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, and Hu Zi and Chen Yao heard their words clearly.
"Principal Jiang said that if you don't want to run away, get out of Qiushi Academy!" Chen Yao said coldly.
He was representing Jiang Luli at the moment, and just this one sentence made everyone shut up.
Everyone was secretly wondering what kind of magic tricks this Director Gu had given Director Jiang to make a prince willing to stay here and obey her orders.
She was just a country woman, what could she possibly know about teaching? She was holding mock exams and making them run—all of these practices were completely unheard of.
But no matter how dissatisfied everyone was, they didn't dare to say anything. After all, no one wanted to be kicked out of Qiushi Academy because of such a small matter.
Hu Zi didn't care what they were thinking. He glanced at the sky and shouted, "I'll give you one stick of incense to wash up. Anyone who doesn't arrive here after one stick of incense will have ten points deducted! Ten lashes with the board!"
"What?" Yin Siqi jumped up instantly upon hearing this. His face flushed crimson, and he glared at Hu Zi angrily and shouted, "Hit me? I've made a name for myself. You're just a country bumpkin, and you still want to hit me?"
Hu Zi glanced at him with a glint of disdain in his eyes. Then he raised his arm and gently pushed Yin Siqi, who sat down on the ground like a tumbler.
Hu Zi snorted coldly, "If you hadn't gone back to wash up, you wouldn't have been late. If you hadn't been late, you wouldn't have been beaten. Idiot!"
Yin Siqi was completely stunned by this push. He never thought that this seemingly rough man would actually dare to push him.
He sat on the ground, watching his classmates suppress their laughter, his face turning pale and red, filled with shame and anger. "You rough guy, you actually pushed me? Do you know who my father is?"
As he spoke, he got up from the ground, put his hands on his hips, and tried to intimidate Hu Zi by using his father's identity.
Hu Zi looked him up and down. He certainly couldn't compare to his father. But his master was the heir apparent of a marquisate, and few in Kyoto feared him.
But the lady told me to be low-key.
Thinking of this, Hu Zi picked up the notebook in his hand and asked expressionlessly, "What's your name?"
Yin Siqi thought Hu Zi was frightened, and immediately straightened his back. He folded his hands over his chest, tilted his head back, and said arrogantly: "I am the son of the Minister of the Honglu Temple, Yin Siqi."
Hu Zi nodded and quickly wrote on the notebook: "Yin Siqi contradicted the teacher, deduct five points. Disobeyed the instructions, deduct five points."
"Deduct points? What points should be deducted?" When everyone heard Hu Zi's words, they all looked at him with confusion.
Seeing everyone's puzzled faces, Hu Zi kindly explained to them, "This is the standard jointly established by Principals Gu and Jiang. From today on, each of you will have 100 points. Once you deduct all 100 points, you will be kicked out of Qiushi Academy."
Lu Yao, who had been silent all this time, now spoke up and added coldly, "Pay attention, you have to roll out. Not walk, and not lie down."
His voice seemed to carry a chill that made everyone shudder.
Before anyone could react, Hu Zi closed the book and said, "Alright, I see you don't want to wash up, so just run. Stand in order from shortest to tallest."
Although everyone was full of dissatisfaction, they were still frightened at the thought of being kicked out of Qiushi Academy.
You have to know that Qiushi Academy is built on a small hill. If it really rolls down from here, it will either die or become disabled.
However, the Dagan Dynasty had a regulation that people with disabilities or disfigurement were not allowed to take part in the imperial examinations.
Although they were reluctant, everyone started to line up cooperatively.
"Hey, who stepped on my shoes!" A scream suddenly came from the team.
"Hey, Brother Gao, I think you are shorter than me?" said another voice.
"Nonsense, I'm obviously one finger taller than you!"
"Stop pushing and move back a little." someone else shouted.
"Who was it? Who farted? It's so disgraceful!"
There was a burst of laughter from the crowd.
Hu Zi and Lu Yao looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly, both feeling that this training task was a long and arduous one.
"Shut up!" Hu Zi shouted loudly, with unquestionable majesty in his voice.
Everyone was frightened by the roar and stood there silently, shutting up.
Lu Yao personally stepped forward and adjusted their positions.
"Alright, remember who's in front of and behind you. Line up in this formation starting tomorrow. If you make noise like you did today, you'll be deducted points, and get out." Lu Yao said as he glanced at everyone with a cold look.
Seeing that no one dared to cause trouble again, Hu Zi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Come on, keep up with my pace and run. Points will be deducted for falling behind!"
Hu Zi led the team in front and ran with powerful steps.
Lu Yao followed at the end of the team, holding the scabbard, always on the lookout for anyone slacking off and falling behind.
Farmers get up early, and many villagers have already gotten up to start their day's work.
Hu Zi has been here for a long time and most people in the village know him.
"Hu Zi, what are you doing?" A villager named Gu Youjin stood on the road and asked them curiously.
Hu Zi slowed down a bit and replied with a smile: "I'm running to exercise. Brother Jin, do you want to join us?"
When Gu Youjin heard this, his eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "Can I become as good as you by running?" He still remembered the superb martial arts skills that Hu Zi demonstrated on the day of the open class, and he was very envious.
Hu Zi shook his head honestly, "No."
Gu Youjin's excitement instantly vanished after hearing this. His eyes dimmed and he lost interest. "Forget it, I still have to go work in the fields."
Hu Zi didn't force it.
The young lady had instructed that if anyone in the village was willing to run with her, she would take them along; if they were not willing, she would not force them.
Seeing that Gu Youjin was not interested, Hu Zi sped up and ran away with the students.
However, the children were full of interest in running. They followed the team, laughing and playing as they ran. Especially when they shouted slogans, the children's voices were clear and loud, even louder than those of the twenty-nine students.
Hu Zi shouted loudly: "One, two, one."
Everyone responded in unison: "One, two, one!"
Hu Zi shouted again: "One, two, three, four!"
The crowd chanted again: "One, two, three, four!"
The neat slogans echoed over the village in the early morning, injecting a new vitality into Taohua Village.
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