Chapter Forty-One: The Tunnel of Death—The Week of Hell Begins!

The next day, at a quarter past dawn, darkness still enveloped the earth. Li Yi was awakened on time by Bingyu, washed his face, gave Bingyu instructions for the day's tasks, and then made his way to the training ground.

After the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn past dawn, Li Yi appeared punctually on the training field. At a quarter past dawn, Chang Dong and the other seven arrived on time as well. What pleased Li Yi most was that the two youngsters also arrived punctually—though they looked somewhat dispirited, they had shown up nonetheless.

Li Yi’s face was expressionless, his demeanor severe. Once everyone had lined up, Li Yi walked to the head of the row.

“Everyone, turn left. Keep close behind me. If you fall behind, just withdraw on your own!” With those words, Li Yi began the morning long run.

The group ran out of the Li residence, all the way to the gate of Jiang Lichen’s house, where they found Qi already waiting. Without any change in expression, Li Yi only told him to rejoin the team, then continued running.

Mornings in the Great Tang were peaceful. The nightly curfew had only just been lifted, so there weren’t many people in the streets, yet this quiet was soon shattered.

Zhuzi was a servant in the household of a certain prince. His daily task was to leave home as soon as the curfew was lifted to buy the freshest ingredients for his master. Today, as usual, he pushed his small cart out the door, already accustomed to his solitary walks down empty streets.

“I’m just a lackey, running errands and working, without even a concubine—just enough to keep from starving! When will the Bodhisattva open her eyes and grant me a good life? La-li-ga-lang, li-ga-lang!” Zhuzi was humming a poem he’d bought with several years’ worth of New Year’s money, just to make himself appear more cultured, when he saw a group running toward him in the distance. At first, he thought something had happened, but upon closer look, he saw the runners wore all sorts of clothing—some in fine robes, some in plain garb, adults and children alike. Yet every one of them shared one trait: they ran in silence. Even as their breathing grew heavy and sweat poured down, they pushed themselves desperately onward.

“Sigh, seems the lives of the wealthy aren’t so easy either! Look at how exhausted they are—their work isn’t any easier than mine. These days, being alive is just hard work for everyone.”

Li Yi led the eleven out through Chunming Gate and straight for the banks of the Wei River. Before they realized it, they had been running for nearly half an hour, all of them thoroughly exhausted. The two youngsters, especially, were left behind shortly after leaving the city. Li Yi had them wait there to rest, for he brought them mainly to temper their spirits and lay a foundation—not to truly make special forces out of them.

“What’s wrong? Can’t run anymore? Aren’t you all supposed to be experts, top picks? A bunch of weaklings! If you can’t keep up, stop now—real training hasn’t even begun yet, and you’ll still have a chance!” Li Yi himself was bone-tired, a bone-deep exhaustion, but he persisted. If he collapsed, no one would go on; just as now, no one wanted to admit defeat to a fifteen-year-old boy. Sometimes, people need to be provoked.

“A bunch of rookies—what’s wrong with all of you? You could have been elite soldiers or officers, yet you’re here suffering this torment. Since that’s the case, no one’s allowed to stop!”

After half an hour, Li Yi led them on the run back, without the slightest rest. Soon they saw the two youngsters, who hadn’t stayed put but had walked and jogged after them the entire way.

A flash of delight crossed Li Yi’s eyes, but he didn’t show it. Without even glancing at the two, he continued running with the group.

As the troop ran back into the city, they immediately attracted a crowd. In the morning, they had all been neatly dressed, but now each looked utterly bedraggled, staggering along like a band of half-dead men.

Suddenly, Li Yi roared, “Run with some spirit, all of you! Do you want to be gawked at?” With that, he sped up. Though the group was nearly too tired to think, a sharp sense of shame pushed them to break through their limits a little, and they began running back in better form.

At a quarter past the hour of the dragon, Li Yi led them back to Jiang Lichen’s residence on time.

Jiang Lichen’s house was spacious, especially the back courtyard, which had plenty of open space, with the buildings clustered in the front. Li Yi took the group directly to the rear courtyard. The aroma drifting from the kitchen made everyone’s stomachs rumble. Thanks to Li Yi’s instructions, Bingyu had already gathered all the people Li Dejian had found and brought them to Jiang’s house, and breakfast was ready.

No sooner had they arrived than the whole group collapsed to the ground, but Li Yi kicked each of them upright.

“Get up, all of you! Don’t you know sitting down right after a run will give you cramps?”

They had no choice but to stand, enduring their fatigue as they slowly loosened up. After a stick of incense’s time, they began to recover.

Then Li Yi had them change clothes. It was the dead of winter; catching a cold would be no good. He gave them half an hour to eat and rest.

Afterward, Li Yi and Bingyu busied themselves with preparations. First, he directed workers to build a training ground on a patch of open land in the Jiang estate. Lacking proper equipment, Li Yi could only arrange for the simplest facilities—tracks, horizontal and parallel bars, balance beams, and other basics. Still, something was better than nothing.

Once he’d given the foreman his instructions, Li Yi left the site.

“Bingyu, I’ll draw up some designs later—have a tailor sew some special clothing for me.” That morning’s run had reminded Li Yi that Tang dynasty garments were utterly unsuited for special forces, so he decided to have clothes from later eras made up.

“Yes, young master!”

Next, Li Yi headed to the kitchen. Aunt Han had also been brought over to teach the cooks how to prepare proper meals. Li Yi explained the dietary requirements: plenty of pork and rice every day, for building special forces required this basic standard. He even planned to use his spare time in the coming days to teach the cooks new dishes, just to ensure proper nutrition.

Half an hour later, Li Yi returned to the back courtyard, which he’d designated as a temporary training ground.

Looking at the eleven exhausted figures before him, Li Yi frowned.

“What’s wrong? Can’t keep going? Ha! That’s to be expected—you’re only capable of this much.”

At Li Yi’s words, Jiang Lichen finally couldn’t hold back. “Wen Yong, isn’t this a bit much?”

“One must announce ‘Request to speak’ before talking. Only when I permit it may you speak. This is a basic rule—I expect there won’t be a next time.”

Jiang Lichen hesitated, but seeing the icy look on Li Yi’s face, he had no choice but to shout, “Request to speak! Understood!”

Li Yi’s expression was cold as he said in an icy tone, “I know you’re disgruntled, full of resentment—that’s only natural. But I need you to understand one thing: this is no longer Jiang’s estate. From now on, this is hell, and you are a band of lost souls. Here, there is no freedom, no dignity, no resistance, no hope, no light. The sky is black, the grass is yellow, the air is cold. By coming here, you lose everything—what awaits you is only pain, torment, despair, a longing for death that you cannot fulfill, forced to struggle again and again on the edge between life and death. This morning’s run wasn’t even a warm-up. The real agony will be a hundred, a thousand times harder. Although this is training, I make no guarantees—death in training is not impossible. Some of you may think I’m joking, that I use laughter and anger to deceive you. Let me be clear: when it comes to matters of life and death, I do not jest. Perhaps you see this as a shortcut to promotion and fortune. I tell you now: that is impossible. Down this road, there is only one destination: true hell. I give you one quarter of an hour to consider—this is your last chance. Miss it, and you will have no other choice: either die, or live a life worse than death.”

After a quarter of an hour, not one person left. Yet the expression on everyone’s face grew grave, a resolve to face death with equanimity. As for the two youngsters, Li Yi had informed them beforehand. They did not have to give their all, and their training load could be halved as needed.

“You really are fools. Since that’s the case, don’t blame me! From today, you’ll first endure the Seven Days of Hell, then the Seven Days of Purgatory, and then the Seven Days of the Inferno. I don’t care to know your names. From now on, you are Ghost One, Ghost Two, up to Ghost Eleven. You may call me Instructor, or Devil. When you are reborn from the flames, having passed through the tunnel of death—after these twenty-one days—I will learn your names, your personalities, your everything. Only then will you be worthy of my respect. Now, you have ten counts to choose a captain and a vice-captain among you.”

Ten counts later, they selected Chang Dong as captain and Jiang Lichen as vice-captain, as these two had performed best in the morning run. In this hell, it was a world for the strong.

“Very well! Now, I declare Hell Week has begun!”

Standing at attention, marching in step, saluting (right fist placed over the heart), push-ups, standing long jumps, horse stance, deep squats—Li Yi trained them in basic movements for two days, imparting simple foundational knowledge. At night, they had cultural lessons, mainly politics, for without this, even if the special forces were outstanding, Li Er would never dare use them. Li Yi even moved in to live with them during these days, sharing their training or directing the construction of the training ground, snatching moments to teach the cooks new dishes—so busy his feet barely touched the ground.

It’s worth mentioning the two youngsters. Perhaps they truly awakened that day—not only did they complete Li Yi’s assignments, but they even added extra exercises for themselves. Though still unable to match Chang Dong and the others in training volume, for their age and foundation this was their limit. The brothers encouraged each other, gritted their teeth, and persevered, earning the admiration of all and serving as a spur to the others. If even such young children refused to give up, what excuse did the rest have?

Though exhausted, Li Yi felt fulfilled these few days. He even rediscovered the feeling he’d had in the army, as if he’d returned to those days of iron discipline, burning passion, and unforgettable camaraderie. He almost wished it could go on like this forever.

Yet, just when one is most at ease, surprises have a way of arriving right on time. On the third day of Li Yi’s training, an uninvited guest appeared at the door.