From Here on Out

 Ning Fulan strode into the hatchery early in the morning, even before the hatchlings had their meals. Meng Yue walked up to her at once, feeling nervous however.

 "Tutor Ning-- I have something to report to you,"

 Ning Fulan put her hands on her hips and nodded shortly.

 "That -- one of the girls, Su Hanlin, has broken the rules and made herself leader of a number of others, not listening to me again and going against my orders. She-- she also went to the main camp yesterday,"

 "To do what?" Ning Fulan asked.

 "I-- I don't know," Meng Yue lowered her head, "but she went and returned sometime after midnight,"

 "Su Hanlin!" Ning Fulan called loudly. Su Hanlin got up from Feng Chusan's side and approached the drill instructor.

 "Yes, Tutor Ning,"

 "Is what Meng Yue said true?" Ning Fulan asked. Su Hanlin felt like saying: what did Meng Yue say? But she knew that would only infuriate their instructor, and she didn't want to be whipped, so she said:

 "Yes, tutor,"

 Ning Fulan raised her eyebrows. Su Hanlin returned her gaze steadily, as opposed to Meng Yue who was starting at the ground and shuffling her feet.

 "What is the meaning of that behaviour, then?"

 "Meng Yue refused to get medicine for Feng Chusan; and has been really useless in leading us for quite some time now, ever since--" Su Hanlin paused, glanced at Meng Yue and shrugged, "ever since Yue Li got chosen as Senior Red Monkey's disciple,"

 "You--!" Meng Yue raised a finger at Su Hanlin angrily, shocked she would say such a thing.

 "Enough!" Ning Fulan interrupted, "if you will be a better Big Sister for these girls I don't mind that," she said to Su Hanlin, "how many days have you been here?"

 "Seventy eight days, Tutor," Su Hanlin replied. Meng Yue was looking on with shock and surprise.

 "Tu-- tutor! --," she stammered.

 "Be quiet! Now, everyone!" She called out, and all the hatchlings converged around her, "Su Hanlin is now your Big Sister!"

 "Tutor!" Meng Yue shouted in disbelief. How-- how did it end like this?!

 "Yes, tutor!" Those that had accepted Su Hanlin of their own accord responded happily, while those loyal to Meng Yue remained silent. Ning Fulan didn't care.

 "Drills--"

 "But tutor-- she went to the main camp!" Meng Yue cried out.

 "Yes, that's against the rules!" Her supporters also lent their voice.

 "She should be punished!"

 "She went to the main camp!"

 "Silence!" Ning Fulan roared, and they scuttled back in alarm, "Su Hanlin is now your Big Sister, and her word is law. If she's capable of going down to the main camp and returning unscathed, maybe you guys should look up to her instead of tooting like stupid parrots! The behaviours you were bringing from the outside world before you entered the Mercenaries are still exposing themselves! What have you learnt? Here, Meng Yue still remains in the hatchery after how many months, oblivious to the cogent lesson she hasn't learnt! Enough of this nonsense! Drills! Now!"

 Feeling furious, Meng Yue and her girls hurried to the training ground. At the back, Gu Yuwei said to the instructor:

 "But, Tutor Ning, we haven't eaten,"

 Ning Fulan stopped short. She examined Gu Yuwei's face, then said to her.

 "I'll just drill you guys for a few minutes before returning,"

 "Okay, Tutor," Gu Yuwei smiled. Feng Chusan, who had been restored to health, with Han Yuefeng beside her, exchanded incredulous glances. Few minutes! Since when had their ironbrand Tutor Ning cared whether they had eaten or not? She used to drill them just the same! Who was this Gu Yuwei, they wondered.

 "Alright!" Ning Fulan turned to the hatchlings on the training ground, "I'll be teaching you a fight stance today!"

 The girls tittered excitedly. Finally! 

 "It's called the Swing Kick," Ning Fulan said, "very basic; it was developed by Tutor Yang Yumo, a retired master of the Bear Squad. Pay attention!"

 One girl from Meng Yue's circle pushed Feng Chusan, who was standing in front of her, to the side so she could see the instructor clearly. 

 "Hey!" Feng Chusan staggered and glared daggers at her.

 "Shut up!" She hissed back.

 Ning Fulan had began showing the steps to the stance. She steadied her frame on two feet wide apart, cleched her fists and held them rigid at her side. She then channelled cultivation energy to her fists such that they glowed red, took a running leap, ducked down at the last second, and brought her fist through the air in a way that would have crippled a person she was fighting with. The air sizzled as her fist went through it, and left an afterimage of scarlet and a cloud of vapour. She was that powerful!

 "Chu Gumei!" Ning Fulan called one of the girls who was one of the few cultivators in the hatchery, currently at the rank of Martial Master, and very proud of it. She went forward.

 "Let's see if you've learnt anything," and Ning Fulan attacked her immediately using the Swing Kick. Chu Gumei jumped backwards, and tried to blow the instructor back with a blast of air. Ning Fulan shook off the hot air as if a robe was thrown onto her head, and kicked at the girl again. There was a sickening crack sound. Many of the girls gasped and covered their mouths. This! This was what she called basic?!

 "Aah!" Chu Gumei's short cry did not mean the injury done was little! That was her leg, ah! She fell to the ground immediately as colour drained from her face, clutching her leg with both hands. 

 Ning Fulan walked up to her.

 "That's the pain your enemies will feel when you've mastered this stance. Good day!"

 "In-- instructor!" Meng Yue and Chu Gumei cried out at the same time, "won't you-- won't you do something for her leg?" Meng Yue asked worriedly. Ning Fulan had started walking away!

 Ning Fulan stopped by the small wicket gate surrounding the training ground and turned around.

 "Am I supposed to do something for her? Go and find her medicine if you care," and with that she teleported. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, Chu Gumei fainted from the excruciating pain coming from her broken leg. Her friends screamed in alarm and rushed to her at once, gingerly carrying her inside. Meng Yue stood in the middle of the training ground in shock and disbelief. The other girls glanced at her once and turned away to do their own tasks. 

 "Everyone!" Su Hanlin called out. A few girls looked up warily.

 "I want to address those who see me as their Big Sister. In the kitchens, hurry,"

 A number of girls hurried over to the kitchen at once. Meng Yue watched them leave and she clenched her fists under her sleeves, biting her lips till it bled. This! Why?! Why was all this happening?! Why was she still in the hatcheries, and why was it that with each day her prestige fell more and more till she was almost nothing?!?!

 Su Hanlin, in the kitchen, assessed those that had come over. Twenty-two! Damn, she thought, Meng Yue's girls were really loyal! With the declaration from Tutor Ning, only eight extra people accepted her leadership. However...

 "Welcome, girls. As we all know, Tutor Ning has appointed me officially to be you guys' Big Sister--"

 "But what about the other tutors?" One girl at the back asked. Su Hanlin frowned. She did not like being interrupted. She pursed her lips.

 "Let that be for now. If Meng Yue reports to another tutor again, we'll see their own stance. As I was saying," she got back ok track, "I'm responsible for your well-being and safety. We all have to be careful. As of now, we're the minority. Meng Yue's girls will want to bully us. Stand your ground. Report anyone who hurts you to Gu Yuwei and I. We'll do our best from there,"

 "Big Sister Hanlin," another of the new girls that joined them spoke up, "how will we now divide the foodstuffs here?"

 "That's exactly why I called us here," Su Hanlin nodded, "we'll take from the grains what we need normally," 

 "Let's take more!" A girl called Ye Haobei grumbled.

 "Why's that?" Han Yuefeng asked.

 "Tutor Ning has said you're the Big Sister; you should take control of everything, Sister Hanlin!" Someone else clamoured.

 "That's right! It's only Tutor Ning that usually asks about the goings on in the hatchery; the other instructors don't care. If tutor Ning says you're Big Sister, then you are!" Another girl spoke up with conviction, "you should exercise your authority! Tutor Ning said your word is law. That means you can punish anyone who doesn't obey your orders!"

 "Yes!"

 "That's true!"

 "She's right, Sister Hanlin!"

 Su Hanlin was quite surprised. She gazed at the girl who had spoken, a plump sweet looking girl with, however, sharp calculating eyes.

 "What's your name?"

 "Li Beiyao, Big Sister," she replied.

 "Interesting. Well, we'll listen to Beiyao and take full control," Su Hanlin concluded.

 "Yay!"

 "Yes, that's great!"

 "We'll be the ones doing the bullying, not the one being bullied!"

 "Take all the foodstuffs!"

 "Let's store it in our spatial spaces!"

 "Go on, quick!"

 "I'd like to see the looks on their faces when they realise there's no food for them!"

 "Hahaha!"

 The girls bantered as they worked. Very soon, the store of the kitchen was wiped clean of all supplies. Su Hanlin pinched her forehead with worry. However, she said nothing about it.

 "Let's cook!"

 "Yeah, let's!"

 The girls then brought out of their spatial spaces the ingredients they needed and started cooking. Feng Chusan stood at the side of the kitchen, her arms crossed with a slight smirk on her face, with Han Yuefeng and Gu Yuwei, watching the others.

 "Hah, to think I'll be on the powerful side for once," Gu Yuwei lightly commented. Feng Chusan glanced at her, intrigued.

 "Why do you say that? Were you always on the weak side before?" Never one to mind rules, Feng Chusan had always been curious about the pasts of everyone in the hatchery before they were brought into the Mercenaries.

 "Never mind," Gu Yuwei said, lightly touching her shorn head, "it doesn't matter anymore,"

 Feng Chusan pouted.

 "Come on; tell," she gave Han Yuefeng a side eye and the latter also nodded. Gu Yuwei shook her head.

 "There's no need. Hey, didn't you want to hear about how Sister Hanlin got you the medicine anymore?" she changed the subject. Feng Chusan's eyes brightened, and she nodded excitedly.

 "I want to! You guys were telling me before Tutor Ning arrived. Go on!" She looked eagerly from Han Yuefeng to Gu Yuwei.

 "Alright. So, last night--" Gu Yuwei opened her mouth just as the girl called Ye Haobei approached them, carrying a stack of dirty plates.

 "Hey! Won't you guys help? You might not know how to cook but at least you can wash," she frowned at them, "this is a new regime! Everyone must cooperate! No idling!"

 Feng Chusan and the other two girls rolled their eyes but followed her nonetheless. Ye Haobei walked in front of them, her head held high, her cheeks inflated. She dumped the dirty plates in her hand by the vat of water in the kitchen backyard and then turned to return inside, swaying from side to side as she walked.

 "Pfft," Feng Chusan couldn't keep in her laughter anymore, "bwahahaha! How's that one going to become a mercenary beats me!"

 "Stop it!" Han Yuefeng looked shocked, "she's not gone yet, she might hear you!"

 "So what?" Feng Chusan shrugged, "I'm still being kind. I'm not like Fan Yurou who calls her the Mad Hippo,"

 "She's mean," Gu Yuwei said, as she started scrubbing the plates Ye Haobei had dumped for them.

 "Yurou? Of course," Feng Chusan replied, picking up the drying cloth, "but she'll stop now we're in power. I'll make sure of that,"